Perhaps, with a sprint launched from further back, the outcome of the Coppa Agostoni 2026 would have been different for Andrea Raccagni Noviero. This is the only regret that the young Ligurian rider from Soudal Quick-Step let slip after the conclusion of the Brianza classic, which ended in third place behind Paul Lapeira and world champion Brandon McNulty, a placement that, while not comparable to a victory, nonetheless left him with positive feelings.

"I believe that, in terms of performance, it's in line with what I've shown so far this season" said the twenty-two-year-old from Chiavari in a press conference. "It wasn't easy managing the two weeks after Luxembourg, where I had raced with the jet lag from the trip to Canada, but I continued training anyway, trying to manage everything as best as I could. At the Giro dell'Emilia, for example, knowing that the course wasn't particularly suited to me, I raced a bit with the handbrake on to be able to focus everything on today (yesterday, ed.) and on the Tre Valli Varesine. In the end, a good result came out of it that doesn't satisfy me 100%, because victory was within reach, but that, in any case, confirms my growth" continued Raccagni Noviero, also certain about what was missing yesterday and what still eludes him to unlock his first professional victory.

"Certainly a bit of self-belief and a bit more courage. Today, for example, I didn't feel I had full confidence in my abilities and in the final, looking back, I can say there was a moment when I should have tried to attack but I hesitated".

Despite this, the 2004-born rider brought home a more than respectable result, reaffirming the small but continuous steps forward made over the last two seasons, which have not lacked challenges and difficulties to overcome.

"I struggled quite a bit in the very first months of last season" revealed the Italian time trial champion among Under 23s in 2024. "Then, discussing it with the team, we modified something in the preparation, the approach and the training and, from around the middle of last year, I started to achieve more. I certainly didn't expect to see this trajectory, but I'm happy and hope to be able to aim a bit higher. What changed compared to the races I did with the Under 23s? Perhaps the biggest difference is made up of everyday life, how one manages and lives training, nutrition, recovery from travel and everything that is external to the race".

In this sense, the Grand Tours are certainly a school of life for a professional cyclist, stages that Raccagni Noviero had the opportunity to tread for the first time this year, making his debut in a Giro d'Italia that, in addition to two ninth-place stage finishes (his best results), presented him and the team with new questions to reflect on.

"At the Giro I had more or less the same numbers as today, but there I was a bit heavier because I wasn't able to arrive at the start with my lowest weight. That said, at the Corsa Rosa there was then another issue related to nutrition because during the first week I felt very heavy at the start of each stage and this prevented me from attempting the breakaway as I wanted. On this front, I need to understand what to change in the coming years because in the future what I'll be able to target in the Grand Tours will be precisely the attacks from a distance.

Beyond these, however, Raccagni Noviero has already identified the type of races where in the future he could be competitive and try to achieve important satisfactions.

"Speaking in more general terms, I believe that stage races of five days or a week, where I could try to compete for the overall classification, suit me just as much as perhaps races like the Amstel Gold Race which, for example, I did this year and really enjoyed. However, I don't think I yet have the necessary level to target this objective, so races like Il Lombardia which I'll race on Saturday will serve to gain experience, better feel out the terrain and understand if I'll be able to do well in this type of context in the coming years" concluded with great honesty the best young rider of the last Santos Tour Down Under.