He has never competed in road races and in return he flies on the track. Filippo Cusumano, 18 years old, from Bergamo, at the recent European Track Cycling Championships in Cottbus covered the 200 metres flying start (qualifying for the speed tournament) in 9"991. It's an Italian record, achieved on a concrete track, not particularly smooth, and outdoors, so with wind that, albeit minimally, hinders athletes. At the Europeans, junior Cusumano finished 3rd in speed ("sprint") and in team speed ("team sprint"). 

These are results not achieved by an athlete raised on track and nothing else, but rather by someone who until mid-2025 competed exclusively in BMX races, a discipline in which courage and explosive power are fundamental. 

BMX was born in the USA and when it arrived in Europe in the early 1980s, it was defined as the bike of "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial", the famous film character by director Steven Spielberg. BMX has become a reservoir of champions for both track and road, the most traditional cycling disciplines.

Luca Paolini, Tom Steels, the Vicenza sprinter Angelo Furlan are among those who practiced BMX before dedicating themselves with great success to road cycling. Now there is Filippo Cusumano demonstrating talent after countless victories in BMX.

Filippo has the typical sprinter's build, 75 kilos distributed over 173 centimetres. On the "E.T." bike he became Italian Champion 3 times and won 4 Lombardy titles. He lives with his mother Alessandra and father Marco in Villaggio degli Sposi, the western outskirts of the Bergamo capital. Filippo got on a BMX at the age of 6, bringing many beautiful achievements to himself and the Caravaggio Off Road club.

For great talent to emerge, an important mentor is needed. In Filippo Cusumano's case, the mentor is Ivan Quaranta, technical commissioner of the Italian national track cycling team - speed events sector. The coach from Vaiano Cremasco brought Cusumano to the track in Montichiari. The athlete underwent the national team's performance testing protocol which deemed him "fit and enlisted" for speed and team speed.

"The first race I competed in on the track – says Filippo, a student at the Industrial Technical Institute – was the 2025 Regional Trophy. I know I'm a rare or almost unique case of an athlete who becomes a track cyclist without competing on the road. In fact, practicing road cycling would have been good for me to acquire the fundamentals. Certain gaps on the track are filled faster thanks to the technical baggage from the road".

Also in 2025, Quaranta brought Filippo to the European Track Championships. The Bergamo rider finished 5th in team speed. Recently Cusumano, despite being a junior, challenged professionals, Elite and Under 23 riders at the speed tournament held alongside the Pordenone Six-Day. And now he races in Fiorenzuola.

"My main objective – he declares – is the Italian national jersey in speed at the Italian Championships in San Francesco al Campo. Then I hope to go to the World Championships".

Cusumano has a young history in track cycling: "In fact I don't have an example to imitate and apart from Harrie Lavreysen who is number 1 in speed events, I don't yet know all the greats of the various track disciplines. I dream of becoming an athlete of great international interest and participating successfully in the 2028 Olympics. Achieving part of what Lavreysen has done would truly be the maximum". Filippo is very meticulous: "I train twice a week on the Montichiari track. I also go to the gym three times a week, and of course I also ride on the road".

Ivan Quaranta tells us about Filippo: "He is one of Italy's most talented sprinters. His time of 9"991 in the 200 flying start in Cottbus can certainly be improved on a wooden track. In 2024 Mattia Predomo covered the 200 in 10" flat: in projection Cusumano is at the same level. He immediately liked the speed discipline also because the chances of doing well are high for him".

The Italian coach reveals another detail regarding Filippo's participation in the Europeans: "In the team sprint I fielded Filippo as the first leg rider. He, being a junior, registered the best absolute time among all first leg riders in all team sprints, including the Under 23s. Finally we've found an athlete of high quality. He's a student and just finished school, so we haven't yet started intensive preparation work. Clearly many months of the year Juniors go to school in the morning hours, they can't numerically do the same training as Elite and Under 23 riders. Now we're preparing Cusumano and the others for the World Championships with the hope that bronze medals turn into gold".