This year's Giro d'Italia, as is now known to everyone, has taken place so far and will conclude without the brilliant presence in the peloton of the tricolor jersey of Filippo Conca. The Lecco-based rider for Jayco AlUla dreamed, as he had already told us last autumn in Singapore and then again at the Trofeo Laigueglia this year, of taking part in the Corsa Rosa wearing the Italian champion's outfit conquered in Gorizia, but instead bad luck, in the form of unpleasant health setbacks, got in the way, depriving the class of '98 former Swatt Club member of the opportunity to realize this dream.

Conca, therefore, was forced to admire the events of the 109th Giro from home, trying to come to terms with an absence that was very hard for him to digest given the sentiment that binds him to our Grand Tour, a race that he has so far only experienced from the outside. On the positive side, however, thanks also to the valuable support provided by the team and his medical staff, the tricolor champion has traced back the reason behind the complicated months that forced him to skip the May appointment, and now, as he himself revealed to us, he is ready with new energy to launch himself toward the second half of the season.

To learn about his state of mind and take stock of his situation, understanding, beyond his next objectives, what the tricolor champion had to go through during this first third of 2026, we intercepted him in Milan at one of the collateral events organized on the occasion of the Corsa Rosa's return to the Lombard capital.

Filippo, unfortunately you were not selected for the Giro d'Italia that is being held these days, but the last period has not been simple for you...

"I'm coming off difficult months, with various physical problems but finally I'm doing well now. Before the Giro I knew I could recover in time to potentially arrive in fairly good shape and that's what I did: at the Romandia, in fact, I wasn't at my best, but I still showed I had a good level, sufficient, in my opinion, to be competitive at the Corsa Rosa and help the team. However, I understand, coming off difficult months, the team's choice not to call me up. Now I hope to have no more problems and to be able to do well in the coming months which, with the heat, are historically the ones where I perform better".

You mentioned problems, what exactly did you have?

"When I returned from the off-season, I had blood values that were quite low compared to usual. At first I didn't pay too much attention to it because I didn't have any strange symptoms related to the situation and because I knew it was something that could happen. After a month, however, I started having intestinal problems and practically all of January I was stuck because I was feeling terrible. Not understanding what was causing all this, we redid the tests and found that some values, especially iron, were still down: in the end, after having a colonoscopy, gastroscopy and a bunch of other visits, we understood that I had become gluten intolerant. At that point, I removed it from my diet and started feeling better, but in the meantime I had contracted chronic intestinal inflammation and so it took two full months, with proper treatment, to get back on track. This led me to start training in February and, with only a month of training in my legs, then start racing. Shortly after, however, April arrived when I suffer every year because of asthma".

In short, not an easy season so far.

"I have to thank the team and in particular the doctors because in situations like these, when a rider is not well, it's never simple to understand the reason for the problem. These first months have been a continuous chase and they were difficult both physically and mentally because I won't hide that I would have liked to have fun, show off the jersey, be competitive and try to get some results. I still put myself at the team's disposal 110%, I pulled a lot of kilometers at the front of the group, I raced a lot both with Schmidt and with Plapp and I'm happy that the captains appreciated all the work I did. At the Romandia I finally had good sensations and good values, but it was too late for a last-minute call for the Giro. Until the last moment, however, I believed in it and, perhaps precisely because I continued to hope for it until the end, this period was very stressful for me. Everyone kept telling me I should stay calm but given how much I care about the Giro, which for me is everything, it was impossible to live this phase serenely".

I gather there's some disappointment...

"Yes, because I know very well that I'm a normal rider, one who works for others and maybe three times a year manages to get a personal satisfaction: precisely for this reason I thought, all the more so, that going to the Giro d'Italia with the tricolor jersey for someone like me would have been something unique".

What races will you do now?

"I will compete in the Tour of Wallonia, the Bruxelles Classic, another race in Belgium on June 10th and then I'm a reserve for the Tour of Switzerland, a race that I would particularly like to do because the first stage is in Sondrio, very close to my home, and arrives on the same straightaway where I won a youth race: at the moment, however, I'm a reserve, so we'll see. After that I will obviously do the Italian Championship: I know it will be almost impossible to win it, but I will certainly give my best to arrive ready and be able to race well".

Objectives for the rest of the season? Is it too early to talk about it or do you already have something particular in mind?

"After the Italian Championship I know I will participate in the Tour of Austria. Then we still need to figure out how to organize the calendar even though, at this point, I hope to do the Vuelta. My first objective, in any case, now remains the National Championships. Apart from that, more generally, I would like to stay at my levels, not get sick and be able to work in a constant manner".

Which is basically also your mission for next year and your future in general.

"Exactly. The year in which I got sick the least was the past one when I was racing in gravel, doing fewer races and this, probably, makes a big difference since I managed to be a bit more consistent. I've been working on this aspect for years, but I still haven't managed to achieve a good result: I will continue to work on it in every way to get it".