"My way of doing things is a lot more romantic than modern cycling allows" - Veteran De Marchi looking for 2023 contract
Cycling
Alessandro De Marchi and Thomas de Gendt were two of the best breakaway specialists in the 2010's, and as new generations come up the block, they are fighting for results. De Marchi in specific, is fighting for a new contrsct.
“I’m waiting for something to move and for certain things to fall into place to try to find somewhere," De Marchi told Cyclingnews at the recent Giro del Veneto. The Italian has had several strong wins over the years, but in 2022 he only found his form now in October, with 7th and 5th in the Gravel World Championships and Giro del Veneto respectively.
“My way of doing things is a lot more romantic than modern cycling allows,” De Marchi said then. “Maybe my style isn’t the most practical. There have been races where I spent the day in the break and got caught, and I was still happier with those than races where I got a placing," he said. De Marchi has gotten most of his career's biggest results out of breakaways in hilly days, including three wins at the Vuelta a Espana.
2022 however proved to be a complicated year. “This season, I was ready to carry on from how I finished last year, because I’d shown that I’d sorted myself out after the crash and recovered from it,” the 36-year old continued. “But what happened was that COVID and two other illnesses in the spring blocked me, and I had to start again from zero right before the Giro d’Italia. There wasn’t a real, 100% recovery. That’s only come about now in this last part of the season – but obviously it’s October, and that’s a bit late.”
He has managed to show some results, which he is hoping were enough to prove he's worthy of continuing in the World Tour. Part of Israel - Premier Tech, his team is set to relegate into Pro Team level - and in this case, have only automatic wildcards to the World Tour's one-day races. Hoping for certainties and a better calendar, he is looking to find a contract.
“For me, the issue of being WorldTour doesn’t change what’s on the table. At the moment, riding here is a possibility too, but I’m waiting for it to solidify in some way," he says, revealing that staying with the Israeli team is possible. Late in the game it won't be easy to strike big, however the veteran remains hopeful.
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“It certainly wasn’t an easy thing to deal with, and we did our best," he said of the team's relegation, placed last out of all World Tour teams throughout the past three seasons. "Some seasons can be good and others less good. Unfortunately, we’ve run into in a negative season, and it’s come at a bit of a delicate moment. The team has had to face up to a very difficult and stressful situation, that’s inevitable. Nobody can deny that the second part of the season was very difficult.”
“OK, this year, in the end, I have an additional motivation, but the substance of my approach doesn’t change: when I have something to give, I try to race on the attack and play my hand no matter what. And I’m sure that if I get another contract, I’ll be able to continue doing that without problems. I have no doubts about that," De Marchi concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- 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
- 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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