It's October 3, 1992, the Coppa Sabatini is being raced in Peccioli with the best professional cyclists competing. It's pouring rain over the Valdera and after 202 kilometers, a twenty-three-year-old Lombard triumphs: Stefano Zanini, rider for Titanbonifica-Navigare. Zanini on the Peccioli hill has the merit of beating in a sprint a champion of the caliber of Andrei Tchmil, then Moldovan, 3rd place goes to Simone Biasci, 4th the Dane Bo Hamburger, 5th Enrico Galleschi and 6th Enrico Cecchetto. For Zanini it is his 3rd professional victory, to the delight of Bruno Reverberi, general manager of Italbonifica-Navigare.

«The rain bothered us all day» Zanini points out. The Coppa Sabatini route back then was different from the more recent editions. Initially the protagonists faced a lap of about 100 kilometers, then the final short-range circuit repeated several times.

«In the first kilometers we broke away in a group of 20 – explains Stefano – and at the entrance to the final circuit sector we became unstoppable. Our group of 20 shattered as the laps went on. Massimo Podenzana, my teammate at the time, gave me strong support. The “Pode” did exceptional work».

The victory in Peccioli is unforgettable for Zanini; he beat Tchmil, a rider who after that second-place finish went on to win races of the caliber of Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders. Now Zanini directs XDS-Astana which will present itself at the Valdera classics with competitive and motivated riders. In the September 9, 2026 race, Giro della Toscana, and the Gran Premio Città di Peccioli – Coppa Sabatini (September 10) XDS-Astana will field Simone Velasco, Diego Ulissi, Christian Scaroni, Clement Champoussin, Sergio Higuita and perhaps also Marco Schrettl and Nicolas Vinokurov.

Frenchman Champoussin won the 2024 Giro della Toscana in Pontedera. Instead Ulissi is in the Sabatini honor roll; he triumphed in 2013. Limited to the Coppa Sabatini on September 10, XDS-Astana will also have Davide Ballerini. 

Scaroni in 2025 won the Coppa Italia delle Regioni of the Cycling League, of which Tuscany and Sabatini are part. This year Christian has achieved 3 victories: Classica Camp Morvedre in Spain plus a stage and the overall classification of the Tour of Oman. «Scaroni – Zanini clarifies – is coming off a good Tour of Poland in which he was also the leader in the standings. He lost it on the last day because time trials are not his strong point. At the Giro della Toscana and Coppa Sabatini we will also count on Christian, who would like to gain enough points to climb in the Coppa Italia delle Regioni standings. Ulissi, Higuita, Champoussin and Velasco are all riders who in the two Valdera races can make a good showing».

Ulissi in his first 16 seasons as a professional has always won at least one race per year. He is in his seventeenth season, the only one in which he has not won so far. «I hope that on September 9 and 10 Diego already has at least one seasonal victory to his credit – the sports director specifies – and if not, Tuscany and Sabatini will become excellent opportunities to get off the mark». In case of victory in Peccioli on September 10, Ulissi would become the only multiple winner of the Sabatini to achieve a repeat 13 years after his 1st triumph. «Victories aside – Zanini adds – having Ulissi in the race is very important for us. He is always an added value for his experience. At the age of 37 he is still strong, he can still have a significant impact». Clearly Champoussin also dreams of a repeat at the Giro della Toscana.