Today at Coni Lombardia in Milan, an appointment that makes Italian cycling a world example in terms of athlete training was renewed: the course for neo-professional riders, the result of collaboration between the Italian Cycling Federation, Professional Cycling League and Italian Pro-cyclists Association. The only woman present was Matilde Vitillo (Liv AlUla Jayco), followed by Matteo Ambrosini, Christian Bagatin, Diego Bracalente, Cesare Chesini, Edoardo Cipollini, Luca Cretti, Lorenzo Masciarelli and Lorenzo Nespoli (confirmed by MBH Bank Ballan Csb Colpack in their "promotion" to the Professional category), Matteo Regnanti (Solution Tech Vini Fantini), Marco Manenti and Matteo Turconi (VF Bardiani Csf Faizanè), Dario Igor Belletta, Thomas Pesenti, twins Gabriele and Tommaso Bessega (Polti VisitMalta), Edoardo Zamperini (former Oscar tuttoBICI U23, moved from Arkea Development to Cofidis) and, moving to World Tour, Alessandro Borgo (Bahrain Victorious), Pietro Mattio (Visma Lease a Bike), Matteo Milan (Groupama FDJ), Simone Gualdi (Intermarché Lotto) and Mattia Gaffuri (Picnic PostNL).

Offering their greetings and encouragement, representing the various organizing components, for the FCI the president Cordiano Dagnoni and training manager Iolanda Ragosta, for the LCP the new Secretary General Luca Papini, for ACCPI the president Cristian Salvato, the "historical memory" Gabriele Landoni and councilor Elena Valentini. The 22 participants attentively followed these presentations: Adams Norms and daily anti-doping requirements (speakers: Martino Pezzetta from UCI and Carmel Chabloz from ITA agency), Contracts and Professional Team Institutions (speakers: Fabrizio Bontempi and Stefano Piccolo from FCI), Athlete Mental Wellness and Health - Career Transition (speaker: Maurizio Bertollo, president of the FCI Scientific Commission), Prize Platform, Rights and Duties of the Rider (speaker: ACCPI president Salvato), Safety Devices (speaker: National Women's Team coach Marco Velo), Media Relations and Social Media Usage (speakers: Giulia De Maio and Pietro Illarietti, press officers of ACCPI and League respectively) with a final focus on the Coppa Italia delle Regioni, the new races in 2026 calendar, and Roberto Pella’s invitation to «be ambassadors of the most authentic values of cycling, with the determination of those who know that every day is an opportunity to grow, and that their talent is a precious asset for the future of our sport».

A precious overview to better guide riders in their big leap into Professional and World Tour ranks.

PHOTO ©ACCPI - TaskFoto/Sprint Cycling Agency