“He doesn't worry so much about minor details” - Ciccone set for free role at Vuelta alongside Pedersen

Giulio Ciccone will be present at the Vuelta a España 2025 when it begins tomorrow, but not in the role many had anticipated. The Lidl-Trek climber has often been linked with general classification ambitions, especially after winning the mountains jerseys at both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in previous years. With riders like Jonas Vingegaard, João Almeida, Juan Ayuso, Tom Pidcock and Egan Bernal all aiming for podium positions, Ciccone was widely expected to try and join them in the GC fight. Instead, the Italian has different priorities, with the team confirming that he will look for opportunities in the mountains and preserve strength for later targets.

His shift in approach can be traced back to misfortune earlier this year. Ciccone was riding strongly at the Giro until a crash on stage 14 forced him to abandon with a thigh injury, which then impacted a large portion of his summer.

“The team and Cicco were doing really well, and it looked like he was finally going to achieve his big goal. The fact that he was struck was very tough. The injury was also very nasty, so when you can't ride for a while and you have all the time in the world to think about it, that's difficult,” explained De Jongh to IDLProCycling.com.

Since then, Ciccone has made a steady recovery, underlined by his victory at the Clásica San Sebastián in August and a stage win at the Tour of Burgos. De Jongh believes Ciccone has returned in better shape mentally and physically. “A high-altitude training camp in Andorra did him a world of good. After that, he had the morale and confidence to go for the win in San Sebastián. Giulio has made a really strong comeback. He is calmer and has much more confidence in himself. He doesn't worry so much about minor details anymore.”

Although not targeting the GC, Ciccone could still light up the race when the road goes uphill over the next three weeks. “If you look at the course realistically, he could easily take the leader's jersey in the first week, and of course, you're not going to give that away. We'll see when he starts losing time; as a team, we haven't designated any stages for that yet. It's still too early. Day 2 is an excellent opportunity for Ciccone. And because the GC isn't really a main goal, he can also pick his days,” De Jongh added.

The Vuelta also sees Lidl-Trek fielding a strong lineup. The team has enjoyed a brilliant grand tour season already: Mads Pedersen claimed four stage wins and the points classification at the Giro, while Jonathan Milan collected two stage victories and the green jersey at the Tour de France. Pedersen will ride alongside Ciccone in Spain, and their partnership could prove crucial. “Ciccone and I believe we can help each other,” Pedersen told Feltet.dk. “Obviously, if we didn’t believe we could achieve our goals together, the team would’ve made a different call.”

De Jongh has his eye on stage 13 as a key test, when the peloton will finish atop the legendary Angliru. The climb was last won in 2023 by Roglic ahead of Vingegaard when the pair famously dropped eventual race winner and teammate Sepp Kuss on the slopes, and it is a climb that has been circled in red by the Lidl-Trek director.