Former Giro stage winner and Pogacar domestique to step away from the World Tour in favour of growing Italian team
Cycling
MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort are a team that spent 2026 under the radar, but in 2027 they might be a surprise appearance at the Giro d'Italia. The Italian-Hungarian team has recently announced several strong signing, and might get another big name added to their lineup in Davide Formolo.
Formolo turned professional back in 2014 and has spent his entire career racing at World Tour level. According to Ciro Scognamiglio of Gazzetta dello Sport, the veteran is very close to signing with the Italian team.
The team formerly known as Colpack rose to ProTeam level in 2026 and with the signing of Alessandro Fancellu, managed to put their name out in the international scene. The Italian rider, now departing towards Team Jayco AlUla, is inside the Top100 at the UCI rider rankings, and has substantially increased the team's numbers in 2026.
His consistent and strong results throughout the year meant that the team is within reach of a wildcard for the 2027 Giro d'Italia, whilst Bardiani CSF 7 Saber for example is not. The team is losing Fancellu, but is building itself a new block.
Several World Tour signings for MBH Bank
MBH Bank have recently announced the signing of multiple riders that will build out a new leading block. Lorenzo Rota of Lotto-Intermarché and Samuele Battistella of EF Education-EasyPost come straight out of the World Tour, with plenty combined years of experience at the top level.
Davide Formolo is expected to join MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort as a new leader in 2027
The team also signed Kamiel Bonneu of Solution Tech - former Intermarché rider - and Luca Covili straight from their direct rivals Bardiani. All four riders are classics specialists and climbers, with the clear focus of performing over those races throughout the season. Filippo d'Aiuto, a stage winner at the recent Giro d'Abbruzo, has also been signed.
Davide Formolo to roll back the years at ProTeam level?
But the team may have yet another trump card to play. At age 34, Davide Formolo might bring to the team 12 years of World Tour experience, which can serve as a base for the development of the team's current uprising talents; a change in methodology within the team; and different points of view on how to take on the big World Tour teams.
Formolo has raced for the EF Education team from 2014 to 2017; Red Bull - BORA from 2018 to 2019; UAE Team Emirates from 2020 to 2023; and has spent the last three seasons with Movistar. He has helped Tadej Pogacar win his first two Tours de France.
But Formolo himself has a quality palmarès, with a stage victory at the 2015 Giro d'Italia; at the 2020 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes; and podium positions in races such as Strade Bianche and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He has also been an Italian national champion in the past.
His most recent victory came at the 2023 Veneto Classic, his final race for UAE. At Movistar he was attributed a domestique role, and has not raced a Grand Tour in 2026. At MBH Bank, he might regain a leading position, and get to perform in the vast Italian calendar.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- "c'mon Jonas!"wrsty05-11-2026
- I see I missed a lot during my boycott.Jumpyjohn05-11-2026
- What kind of sauce is on that rice? Ketchup?Kbd05-11-2026
- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
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