At age 35, Diego Ulissi continues pro career to keep making history - "Cycling has changed a lot in these 16 years"

Diego Ulissi holds a rarely mentioned but incredibly impressive record. Ever since the year he turned pro, 2010, he has won a pro race every single year without exception. The Italian rider, classics specialist by nature, wants to take a win in his 16th consecutive season and is motivated to perform with the XDS Astana Team.

“It's a small record that makes me feel proud of the career I'm running, because it's not easy at all," Ulissi told AS. The 35-year old made his pro debut in 2010 with the Lampre team, which became UAE Team Emirates in 2017. He raced his entire career with the same structure until he made a change this winter, with a more important role in the Kazakh team who has an Italian base and several compatriots next to him.

"Every year there are new riders who raise the level and now it is more difficult, but I want to continue increasing and increase the record. This change of team was a bit unexpected, but it also helps me find new stimuli. Lampre and UAE were a great experience for me and now, at 35 years old, with the race close to ending, it is important to have this type of different motivation," he explains.

And motivation he certainly has. Despite going through several generations of riders, his performances have continued to be strong enough to win at the top level. Last year, besides finishing second to Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de Pologne, he won at the Tour of Austria and Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali. He now counts on 48 pro wins, one of the riders with the most in the current peloton - a consistency that is highy impressive and has earned him this record.

“Cycling has changed a lot in these 16 years that I have been a professional. Before, we went to some races to train, improve our condition and little else. Now it is not like that, and you have to be mentally focused throughout the year for the [UCI] points. You don’t have to think about the classification because you cannot eliminate the two previous years. We will do our best and, at the end of the year, we will see where we are," he says. Astana in 2025 are actually the second team with the most UCI points scored behind UAE, as they begin the battle for survival at World Tour level.

The veteran was also asked by the Spanish outlet about the upcoming stars in the Iberian nation, and was quick to mention one of his former UAE teammates. “In Spain there is a lot of young talent and more who are coming up behind. For example, last year I was with Juan Ayuso and I think there are several who will have a great career," he adds. "In Italy and Spain we had become too accustomed to it, with many successes. As with everything, there is a generational change, and there may be a few years of waiting, but the future is coming for both Italy and Spain.”