“It seemed a bit exaggerated to me” – Michael Storer discusses Tudor manager’s role in Il Lombardia podium behind Pogacar and Evenepoel

Michael Storer closed his 2025 season with one of the finest results of his career, finishing third at Il Lombardia behind only Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel. For the Tudor Pro Cycling Team rider, it was the culmination of a steady, confident rise through a demanding year that included two Grand Tours, a series of late-season podiums, and a growing belief that he belongs among the sport’s top climbers.

“It was a good experience and I knew I was fine,” Storer told bici.pro recently, after what has been a standout season for him. “This last month of racing I have collected several positive results, starting with the podium at the Giro della Toscana. Which was followed by the victory at the Pantani Trophy, the first in my career in a one-day race.”

His form at the end of the year reflected both resilience and balance. Storer completed the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, just the second time in his career he has ridden both in the same season, and discovered a new level of durability. “I saw that my body responds well and manages to prepare for two such important races close together,” he said. “The hardest part was managing the fatigue, especially at the Tour, where I went with the aim of racing day by day.”

If the Grand Tours were about endurance, Lombardia was about self-belief. Storer hadn’t set out to challenge for the podium, but encouragement from his team manager, Matteo Tosatto, changed that. “Honestly, I had in mind to reach the top 10 at Lombardia, at most the top 5,” he said. “Then my manager, Matteo Tosatto, told me to look even higher, that the podium has three steps and the last one would be up for grabs. It seemed a bit exaggerated to me, but in the end I really got on it.”

He laughed when recalling Tosatto’s relentless drive. “He sees certain things. It’s hard to have him as a manager because he is never satisfied. He pushes me to always give my best, and sometimes it helps. He says that I am too easily satisfied, and it’s true. He makes me dream bigger.”

That mindset has reshaped Storer’s ambitions for the future, as he looks ahead to 2026 now. “I always dream of winning a stage in the Giro or the Tour,” he said. “If we want to exaggerate, I can say that I would like to get a podium at the Giro, but I don’t say it out loud otherwise Tosatto will say to me: ‘Why not win it?’”

The Australian now has a clear direction heading into 2026, and a brief window for rest. After a season that started in February and ran deep into October, he plans to remain in Italy until Tudor’s December training camp before returning home for the first time in nearly a year. “I’ll be in Italy until the team camp in December,” he said. “Then I hope to go back to Australia for the national championships, which this year are in my hometown, Perth. It would be nice to do the Tour Down Under too, but I don’t know yet if the team will go. If not, I could stay in Australia through January and head straight to the UAE Tour. I haven’t been home since February 2024, so it would be great to make it work.”

Italy, though, has clearly become a second home, a place where his career has taken flight recently. “I’ve gotten used to winters in Varese,” he said with a smile. “They’re getting warmer and drier every year.”