"In my opinion, today I am in a hypothetical third tier" - Luca Mozzato hoping to move up the sprint ladder with successful 2024

Having made the move to World Tour level in 2023 with Team Arkéa Samsic, Luca Mozzato is realistic about his status in the peloton but is keen to move up the ladder in the coming year.

"It is always difficult to make a ranking, especially with sprinters, where there are a thousand variables. In my opinion, today I am in a hypothetical third tier," the 25-year-old explains in conversation with CyclingPro.net. "In the first I would put a Jasper Philipsen, a Dylan Groenewegen. I am a ride who can place between fifth and tenth place in a flat sprint. In the second tier, there are those who compete for races and usually arrive between second and fifth position."

Looking back on his 2022 campaign however, Mozzato is more than happy with his progression and his burgeoning as one of Italy's leading Classics prospects. "At the moment in Italy we don't have many riders capable of finishing in front with the possibility of winning in those races," he assesses. "This leads riders like me, who finish in the second group, to be considered among the front riders. But to be one of the top ones you would have to get further than what I have been able to do up to now."

"On a general level, the first part of the season will be structured like the last ones," he concludes, previewing the upcoming year. "We will aim for the northern classics. I would like to do a one-week stage race, so either Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico, and then take advantage of the conditions up to Roubaix."