"It was an embryo of a season" - Domenico Pozzovivo unhappy with unlucky season but looks to race Giro d'Italia in search of history

Domenico Pozzovivo has had a very unusual winter over the past seasons as he looked for last-minute contracts. Both times he succeeded, and may be on the hunt once again this winter as he looks to race the Giro d'Italia once again, to reach his 18th participation.

"At the very least, the idea is to race in the Giro d'Italia. I see it as a goal that I can set myself, also to reach Panizza's participation record (of 18 Giri, ed.)," Pozzovivo said in the Spazio Podcast. "If I continue to race it is because I notice that my level has not dropped. This year I set out to make the top 10, next year the goal will be the same. And doing it as an over 40 would be an added value."

His season in 2022, at 39 years of age, saw him put on a very strong Giro d'Italia and end his season on a high where he joined Enric Mas and Tadej Pogacar on the podium of the Giro dell'Emilia. An extremely experienced rider and veteran of the Italian peloton, he continues to be a very valuable asset and a rider who is motivated to keep showing his best. "You only have to look at the number of days I raced to understand that it wasn't a season at all. It was an embryo of a season," he said of his season which started only in March when he signed for Israel - Premier Tech, and ended with a crash in October.

"However, I managed to achieve some results despite everything, such as 7th place at Mont Ventoux and a few placings in France. Afterwards, even the timing of the accidents at the wrong times, such as the one at the end of July, did not allow us to recover. Then I came back, not having raced in Lombardy didn't help. And in Veneto [Classic] I fell and suffered a fracture."

Pozzovivo recently said the end of his career may be near, however he is not as negative now, despite the bad circumstances he finds himself in. His dream is to ultimately race the Giro once again and he would not have a problem joining one of the nation's ProTeams. "There is no certainty, but we are already oriented towards giving a chance to one of the teams that could be in the Giro by invitation and not because they already have the place. It wouldn't be necessary to wait until January to sign," he concluded.