MBH Bank CSB look set to continue their rapid rise through the professional ranks in 2027, with Lotto-Intermarché's Lorenzo Rota and EF Education-EasyPost's Samuele Battistella reportedly poised to join the Italian ProTeam.
Neither transfer has yet been officially announced, but La Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Ciro Scognamiglio reports that both deals are effectively complete. "This can be considered a done deal, with only the official announcement still missing," he said of the double move.
It would be another notable step for a team only approaching the end of its first season at ProTeam level. MBH Bank CSB have already collected victories across Europe and Asia in 2026, while Alessandro Fancellu has emerged as one of the revelations of their campaign.
The 26-year-old won the final stage of the Czech Tour on the summit finish at Pustevny in August after finishing second on each of the previous two stages, eventually taking second overall. A month later, he struck again on the opening stage of the Giro d'Abruzzo. Earlier in the season, Fancellu had also finished fourth overall at the Tour of Slovenia, fifth at the Tour de Hongrie and sixth at the Tour of Turkey.
Christian Bagatin gave the team another significant result with victory on stage six of the Tour of Turkey, while the roster already contains considerable top-level experience through former Quick-Step and Astana rider Fausto Masnada.
Lorenzo Rota is reportedly stepping down off the WorldTour
Rota offered fresh start after six years with Intermarché
Rota would arrive after six seasons with the Intermarché structure, having remained for 2026 following the creation of Lotto-Intermarché. The 31-year-old has not been retained for next season after a quieter period than during the peak years of his spell with the Belgian team.
His best campaign came in 2022. Rota won a stage and the general classification at the Sazka Tour, finished second at the Italian national championships, fourth overall at both the Belgium Tour and Tour de Wallonie and came within sight of a Giro d'Italia stage victory when he finished second in Genoa.
That season followed a fourth-place finish at the 2021 Clasica San Sebastian, while Rota went on to finish runner-up in the Italian road race championships for three consecutive years between 2022 and 2024. He also took fifth at WorldTour-level Eschborn-Frankfurt in 2023.
Results have become harder to find since then. Rota's 2025 season produced tenth at the Figueira Champions Classic as his only top ten, while seventh at Trofeo Serra Tramuntana has been the standout result of a similarly subdued 2026.
At MBH, he would return to ProTeam level for the first time since leaving Vini Zabu for Intermarché ahead of the 2021 season.
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Battistella is four years younger and has spent almost his entire professional career in the WorldTour, first with NTT, then Astana and, since the beginning of 2025, EF Education-EasyPost.
The Italian first attracted major attention at the 2019 World Championships in Yorkshire, where he was awarded the under-23 rainbow jersey after initial winner Nils Eekhoff was disqualified for prolonged drafting behind a team car following an earlier crash.
Battistella backed up his promise with victory at the inaugural Veneto Classic in 2021 before enjoying one of his strongest seasons the following year. He finished third at the Italian championships and seventh overall at the Tour de Pologne, while a near miss at the Vuelta a Espana saw him finish second to Jesus Herrada on the uphill finish at Cistierna.
Regular victories never followed, however, and his move from Astana to EF at the beginning of 2025 did not produce the hoped-for breakthrough. EF still selected him for the Giro d'Italia this May, but his race ended with a withdrawal on stage five.
Battistella has continued racing deep into the Italian autumn without threatening the podium, most recently finishing 42nd at Coppa Bernocchi, and a move to MBH would end a run of seven consecutive seasons at WorldTour level.
For MBH Bank CSB, the potential arrivals would put two more experienced Italian options alongside Masnada and an emerging core headed by Fancellu. Rota has built much of his career around hilly one-day races and demanding stage races, while Battistella's fast finish and ability over rolling terrain have produced his best results on similar roads.
Official confirmation is now the remaining step. No contract lengths for either rider have yet been reported, but if Scognamiglio's information is confirmed, both Rota and Battistella will begin 2027 outside the WorldTour for the first time in years as part of a team heading firmly in the opposite direction.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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