Ganna changes teams and steps up a gear

Filippo Ganna won again in 2026. He has been doing so consistently for years. A guaranteed source of medals for the Italian national team on the road and on the track, holder of the hour record, and with a host of time trial victories to his name, this year he also added the Dwars door Vlaanderen to his trophy cabinet – a Flemish classic that precedes the Tour of Flanders. This is probably his most prestigious victory in road races. At the Tour de France, he came within a whisker of the yellow jersey on the opening stage in Barcelona, finishing 8” behind Vingegaard in the unique team time trial devised by the organisers. A narrow margin that highlights the other side of Ganna’s career, one in which he has been denied several more victories in an era of phenomenal competition. When he managed to get ahead of even Pogacar, he came up against van der Poel (Milan–San Remo 2025); his unwavering consistency in time trials has, for some years now, come up against the obstacle that is Evenepoel. Only the Belgian finished ahead of him at the last World Championships in Montreal, as well as in 2023, 2024 and at the Paris Olympics. “I’ve won a lot; without Remco I’d have won even more, but that’s the beauty of cycling, of competition,” he tells Il Foglio Sportivo, “finding rivals like that who always push you to improve. That’s what I’m doing, and I hope next year will be the right one to raise my arms in victory many more times.”

To achieve this, he has also changed teams. On 13 October, his move from Netcompany Ineos to Lidl-Trek was made official: “An opportunity that arose very quickly and led me to make the change after eight years. I’ve found a great Italian team and I’m delighted. I’ll be racing alongside my teammates from the track quartet (Jonathan Milan and Simone Consonni, ed.), and Matteo Sobrero will be there too. From an emotional point of view, it’ll be easy to settle in and tackle the races.” Teammates with whom he has forged a bond through Italian triumphs: with Sobrero he won gold at the last World Championships in the mixed team time trial, whilst with Milan and Consonni he is used to taking turns at the velodromes. Two weeks ago, he returned to compete at the Track World Championships in Shanghai, taking home a silver in the team pursuit and a bronze in the individual pursuit. That brings his total to 16 indoor world championship medals: “After two and a half years, I’d missed the team; it was great to be back and see familiar faces again. Track cycling has proved to complement my road work; I might well incorporate it more often in future. The soreness in my legs that I felt during the final days of the competition didn’t affect me on the road, so it’s worth training on the track. It comes in handy.”

There’s still time to work out the precise plans: “I’ve taken a break now and I’m ready for the holidays. The weeks in training camp will help me work out what the plans will be.” Might the Tour’s 71-kilometre time trial – the longest since 2012 – tempt him? “It’s too early to talk about it, not least because the Giro route hasn’t been announced yet (it’s due to be revealed on 3 November, ed.). As an Italian, I always prefer it, but if the team asks me to do the Tour or the Vuelta, I’ll do the Tour or the Vuelta. I’m versatile; I’ll slot in wherever they tell me to.” Preferably without back-to-back races. “I’m 30 now and I struggle too,” he says, letting out a laugh. “It’s been really tough this year with the Tour, the Giro and the classics. I’ve had a long and difficult season; unfortunately, under these conditions, you never manage to reach 100 per cent – you end up hovering around 90. For me, it’s better to choose just one Grand Tour and do it well. What’s more, there’s the Super World Championships in August, and I need to rack up points for the Olympics. In any case, it’s going to be a season with a lot on the go.”

He has already won one gold, one silver and one bronze at the Games. Yet some people do not recognise him, or worse still, do not listen to him on very sensitive issues. A surprise guest at Vidigulfo (Pavia) for the ‘Stessa Strada’ event – a round-table discussion on road safety and coexistence between motorists and cyclists organised by Quattroruote, Škoda Italia and the Italian Cycling Federation – he recounted some incidents he had experienced first-hand: “There needs to be awareness on both sides. I’ve seen cyclists ride through red lights and been told to get lost for telling them off. I’m exposed to potential danger for hours and days on end because of my job; those who cycle for pleasure, but then set themselves time limits for various reasons, cannot fail to follow the rules. Just as a motorist must wait to overtake safely, so too must a cyclist wait for the green light. It’s not that wait that spoils the ride; on the contrary, it makes the journey to your destination safer.”

Ganna also displays this confidence when setting out his future goals. “What do I expect from the future? First and foremost, to get to the Maldives without any turbulence on the flight. And in the long term, I’d love another Olympic medal and a Monument Classic.”