After Giulio Pellizzari, Alessandro Pinarello is the second rider from the Bardiani "young project" to make the jump to the WorldTour. The Treviso native from Giavera del Montello had already known this for more than a year, as he was promised to the NSN Cycling Team, formerly Israel, since 2024. His growth has been gradual and constant because, although he officially skipped the U23 category, in reality he raced with the Reverberi family for the first two and a half years more with the under riders than with professionals.

"It was the right choice, I never regretted signing with Bardiani and even four years later I would make the same decision - Pinarello recounts. My path and that of Giulio Pellizzari I believe confirm that this type of route is valid, you can reach the WorldTour with a gradual growth year after year (even if the new UCI rules, in fact, put an end to the original Bardiani project, ed.)".

"2024 has been my best season so far (he won the Palio del Recioto, 2nd at Trofeo Piva and 4th at Belvedere, ed.) and it's no coincidence that I signed with NSN that very year. The last part of 2025, however, also satisfied me (4th at Giro della Toscana, 6th at Giro della Romagna, ed.), especially because I was coming back from an injury that made me suffer".

The scaphoid fracture he suffered at the Giro d'Italia, in the Matera stage, after just 5 days. His first Corsa Rosa, unfortunately for him, represents more of a bad memory. "I was desperate, even now talking about it makes me want to cry - Alessandro admits. Anyone who saw me on the train returning home to Naples after the crash probably thought 'this guy is not okay', because I was truly sad and bitter. It was the first major injury of my career and I must admit I didn't handle it well. I was home for a week with a broken scaphoid, waiting for surgery, then I had to get used to doing rollers twice a day in the middle of summer, rehabilitation and so on. It was tough, but it was worth it since I then came back very strong".

For a few weeks now, however, he has immersed himself in the world of the big leagues, that of the WorldTour. Until the end of January, he is in a high-altitude training camp on Teide: "Everything is bigger. The first approach with NSN was a bit disorienting because I wasn't used to having all these riders and staff around. Plus I only knew Marco Frigo and Simon Clarke from before, so it was truly a leap into the unknown, not to mention that I have to get used to communicating in English. Already now on Teide we are only 14 and about ten staff members and I feel more comfortable. But I know it's just a matter of getting used to it, I'll gradually adapt to the magnitude of this structure. In terms of preparation, I'm doing more hours compared to last year, with harder and longer workouts, both in terms of elevation and watts, and even my approach to the gym has changed".

For his official debut in the new colors ("I really like the jersey, it's different from others, a bit ignorant... (laughs, ed.)" he will have to wait another month. After Teide, he has a week at home and then another in Mallorca, to refine his pedal stroke. "The team doesn't put pressure on me, but I ask myself to be ready to seize any opportunity that presents itself. I'll start with the Figueira Classic and Volta ao Algarve, after which I'll do the Trofeo Laigueglia, a race I really like, Strade Bianche and Tirreno Adriatico. Then I hope to earn a call-up to the Giro, I want to erase the memory of last year".

Of course, the last few months of the team have been quite turbulent. In fact, Israel failed to complete the 2025 season and for Pinarello, who had signed with them the year before, it was not pleasant to follow so closely and as a direct stakeholder the entire affair that led to the change of identity. "August and September were effectively complicated, I had some uncertainties, but the general manager Kjell Carlström was excellent at keeping us all calm and assuring us that the team would be there in 2026. In December, during the first training camp, he gave us a great speech that charged us up, I saw everyone relaxed and motivated, ready to start over. It's a new beginning, for them and for me".