The appointment with The Oscar Night is approaching, which marks the ideal conclusion of the 2025 season and paves the way for a new adventure. On stage, as always, will be the best athletes of the year in each category: we present one per day, in a path leading up to the party on Friday, November 28th in Milan. Spotlight today on the Elite category and its winner Lorenzo Cataldo.

The battle for the Jayco Alula Grand Prix as best Elite athlete was uncertain until the end, a tight fight that was decided at the end of the season thanks to Lorenzo Cataldo's final push. Born in 1999 and part of the Gragnano team, in 2023 he had celebrated the Oscar Tuttobici of his teammate Nicolò Garibbo, but this time he will be the one climbing on stage. "It's a great satisfaction and I admit I'm quite emotional - he tells us as soon as we call him - the president of my team really wanted this, but I was far from the top. Then in the finale I made an incredible comeback".

In 2025, Lorenzo Cataldo scored seven times, between Italy, Europe, and China. The start was excellent with the victory of the Gp Industria Civitanova Marche in early March, but for him, who is practically a pure sprinter, suitable races began to become scarce. He worked a lot as a team player, putting himself at the service of his teammates while waiting for his opportunity. The last two months of racing were truly exciting, between August and September he won two stages at the Tour of Bulgaria, then a success at the Tour of Poyang Lake and finally the overall classification of the Tour of Serbia with the addition of two stages.

"The victory at the Tour of Serbia was undoubtedly the most special because it was my first stage race in 20 years of cycling. I also carry in my heart the experience in China where I was overwhelmed by people's affection. I simply won a stage, yet after the awards there was an entire crowd ready to congratulate me and ask for photos and autographs. There were so many and they made me sign anything, I remember a child even passed me a slipper asking if I could sign it. It was quite surreal" Lorenzo tells us, not hiding his emotion.

The season just concluded is undoubtedly the best in Lorenzo Cataldo's career, who found the tranquility he needed in the Gragnano team. For the Tuscan, it was a homecoming after joining Vini Monzon in 2024, a constructive experience with Stefano Giuliani's team that however was interrupted earlier than expected due to lack of funds. The Gragnano president welcomed him with open arms and Lorenzo made only one request: tranquility. "Before arriving at Team Gragnano, I gained experience in other teams, I got along well with teammates, yet something was always wrong, I always had so much pressure and was never satisfied. This year I just wanted to stay calm, give 100% for myself and with teammates, but without the obligation to necessarily achieve results. I believe that was ultimately the key to my season, and I'm very satisfied with how I approached amateur races and those with professionals. By now I've defined myself better as a pure sprinter, I know my limits and recognize the right days for me, knowing I would have the entire team behind me gave me a great boost that allowed me to achieve results".

Winning the Tuttobici Oscar in the elite category has often opened doors to new teams, to jumping into professional or even World Tour ranks, and for Lorenzo, the same might happen one day. Yet the Tuscan, who has been practicing cycling since he was 6 years old, knows the cycling world too well and even before we formulate the question, he tells us loud and clear that he no longer has illusions. "At 26, I've stopped having the obsession of necessarily moving to a World Tour or Professional team. Sure, it's a dream, but there was never a place for me. I ride a bike because it's my passion, I try to do it at my best and as long as I can, then one day I'll have to stop" says the athlete from Prato, who in the meantime, in his free time, helps out as a mechanic in a shop near home where he learns and creates his new path. For 2026 he should join a Chinese Continental team and focus especially on the Asian calendar where there are races very suitable to his characteristics. It's still too early to have a detailed program, meanwhile, he's getting ahead with Chinese lessons just to be ready.

to know all details of the Jayco AlUla Grand Prix CLICK HERE

to learn more about Team Jayco AlUla CLICK HERE

TUTTOBICI OSCAR ELITE HONOR ROLL

1996    Maurizio Vandelli
1997    Vladimir Duma
1998    Gianluca Tonetti
1999    Marco Zanotti
2000    Antonio Salomone
2001    Denis Bondarenco
2002    Luca Solari
2003    Manuele Mori
2004    Giairo Ermeti
2005    Alexander Efimkin
2006    Marco Cattaneo
2007    Francesco De Bonis
2008    Emanuele Vona
2009    Paolo Ciavatta
2010    Federico Rocchetti
2011    Matteo Busato
2012    Patrick Facchini
2013    Gianfranco Zilioli
2014    Davide Pacchiardo
2015    Gianluca Milani
2016    Davide Orrico
2017    Andrea Toniatti
2018    Umberto Marengo
2019    Simone Ravanelli
2020    Stefano Gandin
2021    Cristian Rocchetta 
2022    Francesco Di FelicE
2023    Nicolò Garibbo
2024    Sergio Meris
2025    Lorenzo CATALDO