“I asked the guys to give me a parting gift”: Luca Guercilena targets Tour success before beginning new chapter with RCS Sport

The 2026 Tour de France is starting, and it will be the last one for Luca Guercilena as the team manager of Lidl-Trek. He has done this job for 16 years, but he is ready to finish this part of his life when the race reaches Paris. Soon after, in September, he will start a new job leading the cycling group at RCS Sport, the company that organizes the Giro d'Italia.

Guercilena did a long interview with BiciSport to talk about what his team hopes to do at the Tour, his favorite memories from his career, and how he wants to help Italian cycling in the future.

Guercilena said the team arrives at the Tour de France well prepared, with clear objectives in both the general classification and the stage races.

"The team is doing well. Obviously, Mads will try to aim for the green jersey, Ayuso will look to break into the top 5 and possibly the podium. And then, obviously, stage victories with Vacek, Pedersen, Simmons, as well as Skjelmose and Ayuso, are certainly another big objective we have, so we will try to be competitive on all fronts."

When asked about Juan Ayuso, who is racing close to home in Spain. Guercilena explained exactly what the team expects from Ayuso and how another rider, Mattias Skjelmose, will help protect him while also trying to win.

"Well, as I was saying, the goal is clearly to hit the top 5 as a baseline. Then we know that fighting for the podium is complicated, but Juan is ready to try and do the best possible, so we will try to support him with that in mind, along with Skjelmose, obviously, who is equally ready. Surely Juan starts as the leader, but Mattias will definitely be a highly protected rider because we also know that his qualities are valid for staying high up in the classification. Then, obviously, stage wins, because it's clear that once we are there to play our cards, we must also hunt for stage victories, including with Ayuso."

Giulio Ciccone was supposed to race the Tour de France after finishing the Giro d'Italia, but he was taken off the list at the last minute. Guercilena explained that it was a choice made together with the coaches to help Ciccone rest and spend time with his family.

"No, well, first of all, let's say that he finished the Giro well. Giulio proved all week that he was going strong. Then, together with the coaches, obviously we started to evaluate the idea of doing the Tour or moving further ahead with his seasonal objectives. Furthermore, there was also a family matter for Giulio, so, as always, we try to support the athletes 100%. And I think everything made us think that it was the right decision for everyone."

Even though Ciccone is missing the Tour, the team got to celebrate a big win when Jonathan Milan won the Italian National Championship. Guercilena explained that Milan had a hard time at the Giro d'Italia but kept fighting, which gave the manager a perfect goodbye present before leaving his job.

"Yes, exactly. I think we started the Giro a bit with the handbrake on, then gradually we grew. We managed to win in Rome, but it's clear that the goal was to win at least two stages and be more competitive for the points jersey [maglia ciclamino]."

"But the proof that Johnny is a champion is precisely because he held tough, because he really cared about this Italian Championship, and the team did too. And then personally, since it was my last race as a manager on Italian soil, I asked the guys to try to give me a parting gift, and that's how it happened, and I hope the same happens here too."

When asked about his favorite moments from his long time leading the team, Guercilena talked about the early days of learning the job, big race wins, and building a great place for people to work.

"Oh, so many, so many. Of course, I can remember the beginning, when it was a new job position for me, how difficult it was to try to understand and learn. Then the first big Monument with Fabian [Cancellara] at Flanders, definitely an important memory. Mads Pedersen's World Championship, which we believed in from the start."

"Then I don' forget the foundation of the women's team with Lizzie Deignan's victories at Paris-Roubaix and, most recently, Elisa Longo Borghini at the Giro. So really many, many anecdotes. Above all, a beautiful, creative, pleasant working environment, where the financial aspect wasn't necessarily the fundamental thing, but the people were truly here to try to exploit their skills and emerge. I believe this is the culture that will continue even with my job change in the future."

Guercilena was asked why he decided to take a new job with RCS Sport, the company that runs the Giro d'Italia. Guercilena said that he always talked closely with the boss there, Paolo Bellino, and decided it was time to follow a childhood dream.

"Well, clearly, teams and organizers always talk to each other. Then, unfortunately, we Italians in the World Tour are few and far between now, so I've always had a very, very direct and professional relationship with the managing director. And so, talking about the various evolutions that could happen, both from my personal point of view or that of his organization, sometimes we found ourselves supporting each other quite clearly."

"Independently, I decided it was time to try to have new challenges, and especially as an Italian. It's clear that the Giro d'Italia is a dream that all of us lived as children, so the idea of being able to work alongside Bellino and all the operational staff is definitely a huge motivation. I am pleasantly satisfied to have this opportunity."

When asked what Italian cycling needs most right now to get better, Guercilena said that different groups in Italy need to stop working alone and start working together as a single team.

"To team up. It sounds like a cliché, but actually, professional cycling in general at a global level is very fragmented, and we as a nation cannot afford to be fragmented. So the main effort must be to unite, compact ourselves at an operational and institutional level, and from there create a better, pleasant, attractive cycling product, not only for sponsors but above all for fans and for the youth categories, which are the future. Without that, we are going nowhere."

"Consolidating the Italian system, and I believe RCS can abundantly be the promoter of many initiatives and perhaps the organization that can help the most. So if we manage to join forces in this perspective, I am convinced that Italian cycling can relaunch itself very shortly. Because clearly, as many say, 'we are dead'... we are not dead, we are alive and present. We must work as a system, however, and keep the culture active in the long term, plan more important strategies, and we must succeed."