After a 2025 crowned with two gold medals and a bronze at the junior track world championships in Apeldoorn, Alessio Magagnotti has already achieved three victories in his first races of the season with Team Red Bull BORA hansgrohe's U23 team and excellent performances with the World Tour team. We caught up with him at the end of the Tour de Bretagne, where he distinguished himself with two stage wins, and asked him to share his first impressions of moving up in category.

Hi Alessio, your season with your new team has started brilliantly, with victories and excellent performances. But let's take a step back: tell us about the teams that contributed to your development as a rider until bringing you to Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe.
«I started at SC Avio and stayed there until the G5 categories. Then I raced as an Esordienti and Allievi with Forti e Veloci Trento. After that, I moved to Team Autozai Contri, where I spent two years as a junior and, thanks to them, I'm now here at Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe».

With the excellent results you achieved among the juniors, there must have been quite a few teams interested in you. What convinced you to accept the offer from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe?
«I was convinced by their overall project. I immediately liked the race calendar for my first season, and the fact that there are other Italian guys on the team made my choice easier. I'm settling in well; we're a great team».

Team Autozai Contri, at the junior level, is certainly one of the most prestigious in Italy. The move to a Development team must still be noticeable. What are the biggest organizational differences between teams of different categories?
«At the team level, we have a larger staff here. Each athlete has a coach completely at their disposal who draws up a personalized training program. In terms of equipment, they provide three bicycles: one for training and two that the team brings to the races. Additionally, transfers for races, given the international calendar, are mostly by plane».

Compared to World Tour athletes, are you in the Development team given more freedom in terms of training and nutrition, or are you followed in the same way?
«In terms of training, I'm followed by a coach who also works with World Tour athletes, so I don't think there are many differences. However, we don't have a nutritionist. We have some meetings where they give us advice on nutrition, but otherwise we don't have many constraints».

Have you already been in a training camp together with the World Tour team? Have you trained with them?
«Yes, in December in Palma de Mallorca we had a training camp together and we happened to train with them. I did two sprint training sessions with the World Tour guys».

In a sprint against more experienced athletes, how did you fare in training?
«In training I could compete with the World Tour teammates, but racing is another thing. When you sprint after 180-200 km, the game changes. The World Tour guys are all very approachable and, both in races and in training, they give useful advice».

Tell us about your season debut in early February at the Trofeo Palma: a great start, I'd say.
«Yes, that day I was the team captain, but we agreed that in case of any issues, Arne Marit would do the sprint. My race went well until about 2 km from the finish, when there was a crash in a U-turn. I didn't put my foot down, but I had to slow down. I made a great comeback to get back with the leaders and in the end my teammate Arne Marit won, while I finished third».

At the Scheldeprijs, a Belgian classic between the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, you were up front in the finale: tell us about it.
«That day I was the third-to-last rider in the Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe train, ahead of Danny Van Poppel and Jordi Meeus. In the last seven kilometers there were two crashes, I fell back a bit but managed to get back with Merlier, staying on his wheel. In the last 4 kilometers I got back to the front group, helped my teammates move up positions to set up the sprint, and made the final push at the head of the group until about 700 meters from the finish».

In a race of more than 200 km you showed you have the legs to be up front; that's no small feat.
«Compared to the junior category, where races are around 120 km, now when you get to 200 km it's a completely different thing, but I adapted well. At the Scheldeprijs I did my job, I was satisfied with the race. Unfortunately we couldn't get a top result (Jordi Meeus 14th), but you know: sprints don't always go as planned».

A few days after the Scheldeprijs you raced the Paris-Roubaix Espoirs, won by your teammate Davide Donati. Was this your first ever experience in a cobblestone race? What sensations did you have?
«Yes, it was my first cobblestone race, but I felt very comfortable. Unfortunately, at the beginning of a cobblestone section, about 60 km from the finish, when the group was already split up, I got a puncture and lost about two minutes. I then managed to get back with other riders who were dropping from the front group and won the sprint of the group I finished with at the velodrome. Without that setback I would have managed to do better than my 43rd place».

So far we've talked about placings, but in this early season you've already brought home three victories.
«Yes, in March at the Istria Spring Tour I got my first season victory in a sprint, in a stage with a relatively easy course. Then, at the end of April, came the two victories at the Tour de Bretagne, where I won the first and third stages. On the first one I felt very good and maybe I even overdid it: I made so many attacks and then, fortunately, I managed to win, but I paid for that effort in the following stages. However, I also managed to win the third stage, which was about 190 km long with 2,300 meters of elevation gain. The finish was on a climb and I won the sprint of a small group. The help of my teammates was crucial; they did exceptional work, and I wanted to repay them. In the last stages, instead, I was simply exhausted».

The beginning of 2026 has certainly been positive and you've shown you have excellent qualities. Looking to the future, what type of rider do you aspire to become?
«I would like to become a versatile rider, capable of winning on hilly terrain as well, not just the classic group sprint finisher».

Your dream race?
«Paris-Roubaix is a race that I think suits my characteristics and it would be a dream to manage to win it».

Which champions would you like to have by your side on the podium to crown this dream?
«There are many strong riders. If I have to name two, then I choose Wout Van Aert and Mads Pedersen».