“I was still suffering from mononucleosis and chickenpox” – Filippo Zana explains his difficult 2025 season

Italian rider Filippo Zana, currently with Team Jayco AlUla, has endured a turbulent 2025 season marked by illness, gradual recovery, and flashes of strong performances. After a difficult start to the year, Zana has shown signs of improvement during the late-season North American classics, and is looking forward the final races of the season before starting a new chapter with Soudal - Quick-Step.

Speaking to bici.pro, Zana described his performances across the North American races as positive. "At the Quebec GP we worked well, but we made a mistake in not closing the gap immediately. We should have put someone in, and in the end, those who had chosen the risky strategy arrived", he argued. "Things were better at the Montreal GP, where I always stayed in the thick of the action, at least until Pogacar and his team changed gear. All in all, though, my responses were positive, as were those in Maryland.”

The 26-year-old admitted that his 2025 campaign has been far from straightforward. Affected by illnesses in key moments of the season, he has not been able to show his best form. "It’s been a bit of a difficult year for me. I was already feeling bad before the Giro, then I did the Giro d’Italia, and I still wasn’t feeling well. Afterwards, I had all the tests, and they revealed I was still suffering from mononucleosis and chickenpox", he explained.

This was not a new situation for him, as he was already affected by the same diseases in 2024. "I’d had them before, and we thought they’d been eradicated, but instead they had resurfaced. I started a treatment that lasted two and a half months. Now it seems the worst is over, my feelings are better, and I hope to be able to achieve something good between now and the end of the season.”

Despite the setbacks, Zana remains calm and motivated, hoping to obtain good results in the late season Italian classics, as they are races in which he has traditionally excelled. Not only for him, but also to say goodbye to the team where he has spent the last three seasons in the best possible way.

“I’m definitely more relaxed, so I think it’s a good thing. But I’m not thinking about what’s next yet. My goal between now and the end of the season is to do something good, also to thank the team for these three years - at least for me, they’ve been great - where they’ve helped me grow a lot and have always had faith in me, so I’d like to be able to repay that between now and the end of the season.”

Reflecting on his time with the Australian outfit, Zana highlighted both personal growth and the challenges of recurring illness, which hindered his performance the last two years.

“When I arrived here my first year, I immediately experienced a real leap in quality. I saw that I could perform well in important races, competing against the best in international cycling. I realized that when I’m healthy, I can aspire to something important. The problem is that both last year and this year I had this mononucleosis, which haunted me a bit, so I was never at my best. But I also learned to get through difficult moments, where I think you have to always be clear-headed and have the strength to keep going. Now I just want to get back to what I know I can be.”

When asked about his best moment with the team, Zana does not hesitate. "I definitely think that stage win at the Giro d’Italia is something that will stay with me forever. Also because it was my first major victory. Things were going well, everything was going well, so it was definitely a great time."

Looking ahead, Zana is excited to join Soudal - Quick-Step for the next phase of his career. “I think it will be a new adventure, new challenges, it was just what I needed. It’s a team that fascinated me, that has a long history. Even when I was in the lower divisions, my dream was to move up to them, now I’m there and I hope to be able to contribute a lot to that team. I definitely think it’s a team that can help me grow even further, to express all I can give.”

As for his racing ambitions, that is something unknown that he will have to discuss with the team. “In the Grand Tours, I think this is what I can do best. I might still be able to have my say in the shorter stage races, but for me right now it’s all a discovery. We’ll see how the situation evolves in the new team, what goals they’ll set, what they’ll ask of me, and what I can contribute.”