He's at his 5th Oscar, almost like a Hollywood star. Marco Villa doesn't love the spotlight but has learned to live with it. Multi-medalist, multi-titled, and now a "pentacampeón": for the fifth time in the last six years, he was chosen by our readers as the best Italian coach of the season and won the TuttoBICI Gran Premio Fondazione Iseni y Nervi Award.

After bringing the Italian track cycling to international heights, in his first year as National Professional Men's Road Team Coach, he prevailed among a group of 10 names selected by a jury of experts and specialized journalists, collecting over a quarter of the votes (27.5%), ahead of Davide Bramati from Soudal Quick Step and the UAE Emirates XRG duo composed of Marco Marzano and Fabio Baldato. The National Coach, who continues his work also as the elite women's track team manager, will receive the well-deserved award on November 28th in Milan, amidst the applause of all the season's champions, who with their talent and his magic touch want to bring Italy back to world heights in road cycling.

The Coach changed discipline, but not the result.

"It's always nice to take the stage at the TuttoBICI Awards Night. I thank those who voted for me and congratulate the other sports directors I competed with. This year I collaborated a lot with them, and I almost feel bad about doing this to them. I want to share this award with them and with our entire cycling movement".

What kind of season was it?

"For me, it was different. I was used to different rhythms and contacts. I had to adjust, understand how to do things, talk to the teams. I didn't stray too far from the work method I used on the track and found good collaboration from team trainers and sports directors. As a result, the riders I had in mind arrived at the major events in the blue jersey with an excellent preparatory race schedule".

The most complicated moment?

"The injury of the designated team leader Damiano Caruso was unexpected, as was Giulio Pellizzari's fever. The Rwanda trip was difficult to plan. In the post-Olympic year, all nations are 'catching their breath' economically, trying to save money ahead of expensive qualifications. So I tried to moderate my discussions to avoid overcommitting. It's not my style to promise a World Championship selection if I know I can only bring a limited number of riders. So when the Italian Cycling Federation decided to expand the roster to 8 names, I was a bit caught off guard".

The biggest emotion of this 2025?

"The response I received from the athletes, seeing them race in the blue jersey, all united for a single goal. In Kigali, there were intense moments: when Pogacar attacked, which we expected, only 30 riders remained, and seeing 4-5 Italians among the best was beautiful. We also performed well at the European Championship and showed we could organize ourselves in crucial phases. When Tadej accelerated in the Drôme and Ardèche route, Bettiol and Ulissi were in the right place at the right time, protecting Christian Scaroni. We knew we didn't have a superstar who would solve the day against a phenomenon like the world champion, but I'm proud of the team's overall performance. Everyone would want Pogacar on their team, but I'm happy with our riders. We returned home with our heads held high from both Rwanda and France".

What does the best coach of the year dream of for the coming seasons?

"When I started working with the Track National Team, it would have been unimaginable to think about world titles and Olympic medals. Now I'm not doing badly like back then. Italian road cycling is at a good level. We must compare ourselves with the excellences we admire, but we're not so far behind. Dreaming of bringing home a world jersey now costs less than when Elia Viviani and I started competing in international races in velodromes. In my personal record, a world championship and an Olympic medal in road cycling are missing. If we could fill this gap, I would be happier for the athletes and the movement than for myself. Plus, I have the time trial joker - that counts too. Italy is here, and we'll prove it. I'm confident".

BEST ITALIAN COACH AWARDS HALL OF FAME

2009 Valerio Piva
2010 Stefano Zanatta
2011 Roberto Reverberi
2012 Luca Scinto
2013 Giuseppe Martinelli
2014 Giuseppe Martinelli
2015 Stefano Zanini
2016 Davide Bramati
2017 Paolo Slongo
2018 Giovanni Ellena
2019 Davide Bramati
2020 Marco Villa
2021 Marco Villa
2022 Marco Villa
2023 Fabio Baldato
2024 Marco Villa
2025 MARCO VILLA