“If someone told me Visma would call, I’d have slapped them” – Experienced Italian reacts to shock WorldTour step up in 2026
Cycling
When Filippo Fiorelli got the call that would change his career, he was sitting around the dinner table with his family. It wasn’t a call he’d been expecting, and it certainly wasn’t from the team he had in mind.
“Paolo [Alberati, his agent] phoned while we were eating,” Fiorelli told Bici.Pro. “I only told my mum, my grandad, my grandma, my dad and my girlfriend — because they were all there. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even have told them. Not because I wanted to keep it a secret, but because I didn’t want to be disappointed if it didn’t come off. I didn’t want anyone to know before I’d actually signed.”
The news that Fiorelli would be joining Team Visma | Lease a Bike for 2026 surprised almost everyone. After six seasons with VF Group-Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè, where he built a reputation as a combative and reliable finisher, the 30-year-old Sicilian is now set to move into the WorldTour — and with one of the peloton’s most successful and structured teams.
From Bardiani to Visma: “It’s on another level altogether”
“If someone had told me at the start of the year that Visma would contact me after the Giro d’Italia, I’d have slapped them,” Fiorelli admitted with a laugh. “I’d have thought they were having me on."
“That’s not to say Bardiani have less than others, far from it, but Visma are on another level — in logistics, structure, everything," he adds. "When you move from the amateurs to the pros, everything feels new. When you move from a ProTeam to the WorldTour, it’s the same thing all over again.”
The rider from Palermo has spent the past six years with the Reverberi family’s Bardiani setup, a team that gave him his professional start in 2020 after he’d spent several seasons in the Italian amateur scene. “This has been the only team that truly believed in me,” he said. “I’ll do everything I can to honour them right to the end and leave a good impression. I’ve come this far thanks to them believing in me since 2020.”
Fiorelli’s path to the top has been an old-fashioned one — a late bloomer who earned his first pro contract at 26. “If I look back, they always gave me everything I needed,” he reflected. “It’s been a special journey.”
Fiorelli has been a long-time servant of Bardiani
The phone call that changed everything
The Visma opportunity, he explained, came completely out of the blue. “After the Giro, Paolo and I agreed to take stock. I’d shared my TrainingPeaks data with Alpecin, who seemed interested. Then about 20 minutes later, Paolo called and said: ‘Hey, they’re taking you!’ I thought he meant Alpecin. Instead, he said: ‘No — it’s Visma.’”
From there, things moved quickly. Fiorelli was in the Netherlands for medical tests, biomechanical assessments and his first fitting on a Cervélo — a far cry from the Guerciotti, MCipollini and De Rosa bikes he’d ridden with Bardiani. “They contacted me the week after the Giro and I signed at the start of August. In between, there were all the evaluations and requirements they have when a new rider joins them.”
“Every year I see improvements”
What kind of Fiorelli will Visma be getting? A rider still on the rise, he insists. “I don’t really know how far I can go, because every year I see improvements. My numbers, my results, even the data from the climbs I do near home — it all keeps getting better. Maybe now, with this step up in quality, I can climb another rung.”
He also believes the team’s famously meticulous methods can help him progress. “I’ve seen riders with similar characteristics to mine who’ve gone there, and between their new coach, nutritionist and attention to detail, they’ve made real improvements — and those are within my reach too. When we talked, they mentioned Laporte. He was already in a big team at Cofidis, but at Visma he made another big step forward.”
“I never thought a team like that would follow me so closely”
Fiorelli remains humbled by the scale of the move. “I’ve always raced in events where they were present. Even years ago, when I was fifth at Plouay, or third in Rome in 2023 — I was always up there in the results. So yes, I hoped someone would notice sooner or later. But I never imagined that a team like that would be interested in me.”
“These teams are another category altogether — not just a normal WorldTour squad,” he added. “I never thought a team of that calibre would be following me so closely.”
The Sicilian, who remains deeply connected to his roots — restoring traditional Sicilian carts with his grandfather is one of his favourite pastimes — will meet his new coach, Espen Aareskjold, before taking a short break. “For now, it’s just been about the bike and the medicals,” he said. “I’ll see them next week before a bit of a holiday.”
A well-earned reward for perseverance
Whether Fiorelli ends up as a classics support rider for Wout van Aert and Ben Brennan or in another role altogether, his rise to the WorldTour is already a story of perseverance. “Maybe a few people were annoyed,” he joked of the reactions in the peloton, “but most said: ‘You deserve it, well done, it’s about time.’”
At 30, the Sicilian late-bloomer finally has his chance among cycling’s elite — proof that persistence, self-belief and a touch of humility can still open the biggest doors in the sport.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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