There is a jersey that stood out more than others in the finale of the toughest stage of the last Giro di Sardegna, a fraction where, among the colorful kits of World Tour teams, Devo teams and ProTeam formations, the bright colors of General Store-Essegibi-F.Lli Curia of Davide De Cassan also caught the eye.

Holding his own against numerous accelerations in the closing kilometers of the Arbatax-Nuoro stage, the twenty-four-year-old from Riva del Garda positioned himself among the main protagonists of the fourth day of racing, closing his effort with a respectable fifth place finish, a result that, for now, remains the best result achieved so far by the Italian Continental team in this first stretch of 2026.

The young Trentino rider, seventh in the general classification of the short Sardinian stage race, has undoubtedly started his new adventure with the colors of the Verona-based team on the right foot, a squad he joined this winter after spending the last two seasons as a professional with Polti-VisitMalta.

At this level, De Cassan has not hidden his desire to try to return to the professional ranks soon, but to succeed in this endeavor, everything depends on what he will be able to do under President Beghini's leadership over the course of a long season full of challenges in which, seeking to achieve the maximum in every circumstance, he will attempt to strongly relaunch his name and his qualities.

Davide, you appeared ready right away at the Giro di Sardegna where, finishing in seventh place overall, you certainly delivered a strong performance: quite an encouraging start to the season...

"Starting strong was my objective because I know that, in the end, I need to try to achieve maximum results at the beginning of the season. For this reason, I'm happy with how I performed in Sardegna. Now we'll try to maximize my current form and get the best possible result from every race: certainly, depending on the prestige of the race, in some cases it might be more difficult to achieve this, but we will always fight in that direction".

How did you manage the winter to be so ready at the start of this season?

"I didn't do anything different from other years except for a long training camp in Spain in January that certainly helped the whole team a lot. Now, in particular, is the moment when that choice is bearing fruit. Apart from that, we didn't do anything special".

What does your calendar look like?

"This weekend I will race two one-day events in France (Le Tour des 100 Communes and the Grand Prix de la Ville de Lillers-Souvenir Bruno Comini, editor's note) and subsequently I will compete in Settimana Coppi e Bartali and Giro della Magna Grecia".

Does the fact that you're in this team after having competed on important stages give you extra motivation to try to return to the professional level?

"Absolutely. My desire, in the end, is to demonstrate my value and the quality of the work I do".

Don't you have some regrets about how last season went? Any occasions where perhaps you could have acted differently?

"With hindsight it's too easy to say yes, so I'll tell you that I have no regrets".

But have you asked yourself what was missing for you to be confirmed or to remain at the professional level at the end of last year?

"Obviously I've asked myself that, but I wasn't able to give myself an answer because, if I had one, I would have taken countermeasures when I could have. What I know is that now I'm at General Store, to whom I'm grateful for giving me a chance and believing in me this year, and I will fight in every race seeing what comes along each time".