"I didn't fully exploit my potential" - Giro's ageless comeback king reveals career regret despite recording best-ever numbers at 43

Domenico Pozzovivo has admitted that he never fully exploited his physical potential during the prime of his career, despite returning from retirement at 43 and recording the best training numbers of his life.

After more than two decades in the professional peloton, the Italian believes advances in nutrition and training have transformed what older riders can achieve, but warns that the mental demands of modern cycling could make careers like his increasingly difficult for the next generation to sustain.

The former Giro d'Italia stage winner made an extraordinary comeback with Team Solution Tech - NIPPO - Rali in 2026, collecting more than 500 UCI points despite only returning to competition at the end of April.

Speaking to bici.PRO, Pozzovivo, who turns 44 on 30 November, reflected on the opportunities he believes he missed earlier in his career, the changes he has witnessed in the sport and why he is now considering another season in 2027.

Pozzovivo made his professional debut in 2005 and established himself among the Giro d'Italia's most consistent climbers, winning a stage at Lago Laceno in 2012 and twice finishing fifth overall, in 2014 and 2018. Even after a devastating training accident in 2019, when he was struck by a car and suffered multiple fractures, he recovered to finish eighth at the 2022 Giro at the age of 39.

His retirement at the end of 2024 appeared to bring that career to a close. Instead, after a year away from competition, Pozzovivo returned with Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali and immediately demonstrated that he remained capable of challenging for results.

Third at the Giro dell'Appennino, second overall at the Tour of Hellas and third in the general classifications of both the Czech Tour and Grande Prémio Internacional Beiras e Serra da Estrela, the Italian accumulated more than 500 UCI points in just 35 race days. His contribution helped Solution Tech finish 26th in the UCI team rankings, preserving the possibility of a Giro d'Italia invitation in 2027.

"I'd spoken about reaching the 500-point mark, and I've just managed to surpass it," Pozzovivo told bici.PRO, having set himself that target when he joined the team. "It's a shame about the way the season ended, otherwise I could have reached an even higher total. Between the tracheitis I suffered before the Giro dell'Emilia and the crash at the Japan Cup that caused this hand injury, I still managed to achieve more than I expected."

His training figures were an even greater surprise. Pozzovivo approached his return with fewer expectations than during his earlier career, balancing the demands of professional competition with his responsibilities as a father.

"As I've often said, I also have family responsibilities, bringing up my daughter," he explained. "In my situation, you start to put everything into perspective and realise that, at my age, cycling can't be the centre of your world. Paradoxically, when you approach it that way, you're also mentally freer from the pressure of results. And physically, the numbers I'd already recorded in training were the best of my entire career."

Pozzovivo attributes much of his remarkable physical condition to advances in the scientific understanding of performance, although he also recognises that his own genetics have played a significant role.

"First and foremost, there's a genetic predisposition to maintaining a certain level of performance as you get older, which isn't something everyone possesses," Pozzovivo said. "The rest is already in your question: a nutritional approach and training methods that allow you to make the most of your physical capabilities."

Those advances have also changed his perspective on the years when he was regularly competing against the world's leading Grand Tour contenders. "Paradoxically, for someone like me who has experienced several different eras of cycling, that can leave you with a few regrets. When I was younger, when my physical capabilities were still greater, particularly before the 2019 accident, I didn't fully exploit my potential. But ultimately, the explanation is simple: we didn't have the necessary knowledge back then."

"It was a different era," he added. "Supplements, nutrition, technology, training methods: a whole range of things that I only discovered during the declining phase of my career, and which have considerably slowed that decline."

The advances that have helped Pozzovivo extend his career have coincided with an increasingly demanding professional environment, where riders are reaching the highest level younger and questions about career longevity have become particularly relevant.

Having competed through several generations, from the era of Ivan Basso and Alberto Contador to the emergence of Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel, Pozzovivo is wary of drawing sweeping conclusions from the achievements of individual riders.

"Generalising from individual cases can be a mistake, whether you're talking about exceptional longevity or trying to apply the achievements of exceptional individuals like Tadej Pogacar or Remco Evenepoel to a much wider group of riders," he explained. "In my own modest way, my longevity is something you don't see very often. But it's also true that there's room for long careers in modern cycling. The problem is that the mental and physical sides have to develop together."

His experience of maintaining a professional racing career into his forties has reinforced his belief that age alone need not determine when a rider must retire. "Physically, I have no doubts: it's possible to race for many years, even in a sport as demanding as cycling has become," Pozzovivo said. "My experience also shows that with age you're less likely to make mistakes, and in a sense that helps protect you."

The mental demands of that same environment, however, are a different matter. "Mentally, however, modern cycling wears you down much sooner. When it comes to mental fatigue and becoming sick of doing the same thing over and over again, there's only so much you can do. So it's understandable that careers are shorter. Focusing on young riders can be a strategy for making the most of their abilities while they still have the desire to compete."

Pozzovivo has continued putting in an enormous training workload even while spending a year outside the professional peloton. In his final seasons before retirement, he averaged approximately 32,000 to 33,000 kilometres annually, with around 600,000 metres of climbing. Even in the year he stepped away from racing, he covered approximately 24,000 kilometres, while his projected total for 2026 is between 28,000 and 30,000 kilometres, including around 500,000 metres of elevation gain.

Those hours in the saddle also produced an unexpected contrast between the Italian's performances in training and his subsequent results in competition. "My best performances during the season that's just finished actually came before I returned to racing," he revealed. "I was constantly testing myself and pushing myself, partly for enjoyment and partly for training. During the racing season, I really struggled to reach the peaks I'd achieved in the first part of spring."

Pozzovivo's 2026 campaign ended at the Japan Cup in October, where Attila Valter crashed in front of him and the Hungarian's bike slid underneath his own. Pozzovivo was sent off the road and suffered a hand injury that required surgery, bringing his comeback season to a premature conclusion.

Despite that setback, he remains interested in extending his career, provided he can retain the more relaxed approach that has accompanied his return. "I certainly have the desire to continue, provided I can maintain the same approach and the same ingredients," he said. "If I can do that, then yes, I could see myself getting another season out of it, without it becoming one season too many."

Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali remains his preferred destination, with Pozzovivo appreciative of the opportunity the team gave him when he was attempting to return to professional racing.

"I'd like to continue with them because, after all, they were the ones who had the courage to invest in a rider of my age, with so many years of racing behind him."

The team's 26th-place finish in the UCI rankings also leaves open the possibility of a return to the Giro d'Italia, although neither Pozzovivo's contract extension nor a wildcard invitation has been confirmed. Another appearance in 2027 would be his 18th at the Italian Grand Tour, more than two decades after his debut in 2005.

"I'm hoping to get everything sorted during November, which would actually be quite unusual compared with my last few seasons," he explained. "It would be very important for me to go into the winter already knowing my programme and having an idea of when and how I want to reach my best form."

Pozzovivo also revealed that Paul Seixas has taken a climbing KOM he previously held on a road used in Il Lombardia. Asked whether Pogacar had finally beaten his record, the Italian corrected the interviewer. "Ah, but Paul Seixas has! He was incredibly strong, putting out some monstrous numbers," he said.

For Pozzovivo, the immediate priority is resolving his own future. A contract agreed in November would allow him to begin winter preparation with a defined racing programme, something he has frequently lacked in the latter years of his career. If Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali secures a Giro invitation, he could yet line up for his 18th appearance in May, aged 44.