"I feel the urge for revenge" - Filippo Ganna wants to lead INEOS into monument victories, not second places

Filippo Ganna is a generational talent but is racing in a period that features other men who will stand for generations. This means ultimately, despite his enviable palmarès, in the past few years he's had to accept second places more often than he'd hope for. In 2026 he wants to turn the tables and get revenge for the amount of defeats he's been having.

"In recent seasons, I've had a lot of second-place finishes. Too many. From my point of view... they need to be converted into first-place finishes, into victories," Ganna told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Deep down, I feel the urge for revenge". Ganna has a good point to this, having raced to second behind Remco Evenepoel at the 2024 Olympic Games and World Championships; as well as this year's European Championships and Milano-Sanremo. He's had three wins this year, but has been close to big victories so often over the past few years that it has become an issue for him.

"Next year, I'll turn 30, but that doesn't mean I can't make a further leap forward. Also because the others are improving too. Maybe I'll race a little less. But when you go racing, you go to win." In 2026 Ganna is not setting himself with a modest calendar in which he can realistically raise these numbers, with a confirmed presence at the Volta ao Algarve, Milano-Sanremo, Paris-Roubaix, Giro d'Italia and Paris-Roubaix. He has a winning formula, but wants to adjust a few details in it.

"Rather than change, try to do the same things a little better. Especially at Sanremo, the Monument I came closest to. I've already shown I can be there. A fraction of a second can make the difference between success and defeat," he explains. "Let's say that Sanremo... I want it. It's there. As for Roubaix, I have to try every chance I can. I've never found the right moment, often arriving a bit off form. Who knows, maybe in 2026 things will change".

The European Championships' time trial event was perhaps the toughest defeat for the Italian, who was battling a Remco Evenepoel who had only come back from Rwanda about 24 hours before the race itself. Furthermore, although the wind may have benefited the Belgian, Ganna says that he has hit record numbers on the bike - but was nowhere close to the win, finishing 43 seconds behind in a mostly-flat 24-kilometer course.

"The time trial at the last European Championships in France, silver behind Evenepoel. Well, I set record numbers, which I hadn't achieved since the Valdobbiadene time trial at the 2020 Giro d'Italia, and in fact, I've made further progress compared to those. It wasn't enough to win," he admits. "But it takes more to discourage me."

With the 2028 Olympic Games in mind, Ganna is also thinking of his results on the track: "I've participated three times, won three medals, but the Olympic spirit inside me remains very strong. It's no coincidence that I want to reach the top in 2028 in Los Angeles, because my father Marco was there too during his best years".

"Continuing the dynasty, in a certain sense, motivates me. It would be a great platform to conclude (the 2032 Olympics, ed.), a bit like Fabian Cancellara did in Rio 2016. A role model. It means that to imitate him, I'll have to be at my best again."