Italian champion’s Christmas training ritual offers early hint of 2026 ambitions: “It’s a special tradition”

Christmas Day still begins on the bike for Filippo Conca. While many riders fully switch off, the Italian champion sticks to a routine he has made his own.

“At Christmas I always train, it’s a special tradition,” Conca told TuttoBiciWeb. “In the morning I go out on the bike and ride for three hours or so around the lake. It’s beautiful because there’s nobody around, there’s no traffic, and it’s also the perfect opportunity to really enjoy the place where I live.”

The quiet roads around Lake Como allow Conca to train uninterrupted before the festive day begins properly.

Once the ride is done, Conca returns home to join his family on the Lecco side of the lake, even if that means adapting his place at the table. “Then I head back home and, after just enough time to get changed, I’m already at the table,” he said. “I might skip the first part of lunch and eat a bit lighter, but I absolutely can’t give up celebrating all together.”

Looking ahead to 2026, his ambition is clear. He hopes to be competitive and to support the team, but his biggest objective is sharply defined: a stage victory at the Giro d'Italia while wearing the tricolour jersey.

It is a precise target, and one that already shapes how Conca approaches even the quietest days of the season, as he looks towards 2026 and a potentially breakthrough season at World Tour level for the Team Jayco AlUla rider.