Giulio Ciccone misses Il Lombardia and ends season due to illness

Giulio Ciccone will not ride anymore in 2025 due to an illness. The Italian rider fell ill during the World Championships in Rwanda, which took place almost two weeks ago, and has not been able to recover in time to participate in the last monument of the year.

Il Lombardia was one of the main goals of the season for the Italian rider, who already finished in the podium in last year's edition, just behind Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel. He also missed preparatory races such as the Giro dell' Emilia, Coppa Bernocchi and Tre Valli Varesine.

Ciccone had a sucessful 2025 season, winning Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa, the first stage of the Tour of the Alps and the fifth stage of the Vuelta a Burgos. He was also a contender for the GC at the Giro d'Italia, but a crash in stage 14 forced him to abandon. 

He also finished second in the GC of the UAE tour early in the season, while his last result was at the Worlds, where he was the leader of the Italian team and finished in sixth place.

He was not the only rider affected by a disease in Rwanda, as his teammate Mads Pedersen also fell ill and was subsequently forced to skip the Münsterland Giro and the European Championships.