Final race of overlooked veteran: Domenico Pozzovivo ends 20 years long professional career at Lombardia
Cycling
Saturday, October 12th will be the last time the Italian cyclist Domenico Pozzovivo will pin on his racing BIB numers. The veteran of cycling veteran will do so at his home race Il Lombardia - a race he came within 10 seconds of winning in 2011, but only finished 6th, just like six years later in 2017.
When the 22-year-old Pozzovivo turned professional in 2005 with Ceramica Panaria - Navigare, the Italian fans had huge expectations of the little climber who podiumed U23 Giro and Valle d'Aosta year earlier and finished 4th at the home U23 World Championships.
And it indeed didn't take long until Pozzo ticked off the first of his total of seven top-10 finishes at la Corsa Rosa in 2008. Final podium was often within Pozzovivo sight, but poor time trials didn't allow for more than 5th place in 2014 and 2018.
In 2019, disaster struck then 36-year-old Italian, whose elbow took a permanent damage in a training accident involving a car. This forced Pozzovivo to adapt a new bike position - one that had become rather signature for him in most recent years.
Another thing that became signature for Pozzovivo was his eternal struggle to find a new team every year. If it was up to Pozzovivo, he would probably race forever, but when VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè came to rescue with a contract offer, Pozzovivo acknowledged it would be an ideal moment to pull down the curtain on his long career - in the same team (under a different name) where it all begun 20 years ago.
On Saturday, VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè likely won't play the card of Pozzovivo but rather bet on his successor - the climbing talent Giulio Pellizzari, 2nd in a stage of Giro d'Italia at the age of 20 - whose career may become even brighter than Pozzovivo's.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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🍂L’ultima tappa della lunghissima carriera di Domenico Pozzovivo sarà al Lombardia, per lui 16 partecipazioni, la prima fu nel 2005🤯 Ecco la formazione ufficiale🫵 #italianteam 🇮🇹#vfgroupbardianicsffaizane
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