No more Fellinata: Italian icon puts an end to his career

On a date that carries special meaning for him, Italian rider Fabio Felline has officially announced that he is retiring from professional cycling.

The 35-year-old from Turin shared the news on November 1, a day he used to celebrate his traditional Fellinata, a gathering to bid farewell to the season and look ahead to the next.

“November 1 was usually the day of my Fellinata, the party to say goodbye to the season and look forward to the next one. But there won’t be a 2026 season for me as a rider,” Felline said to tuttobiciweb. “As many know, I already said goodbye to racing last year. Then nostalgia, the kind only those who have lived certain emotions can understand, pushed me to return.”

Felline had initially announced at the end of 2024 that he would not race anymore, after his contract with Lidl-Trek was not renewed. However, he announced by surprise a return to racing in June 2025, under the banner of MBH Bank Ballan CSB. He just competed in seven autumn races with his new team.

Throughout a career that began with Footon Servetto in 2010, Felline amassed 14 professional victories and numerous podiums. In his debut season, he claimed two stage wins and the overall classification at the Circuit de Lorraine Professionnel.

He went on to triumph at the Memorial Pantani and Giro dell’Appennino in 2012, the GP de Fourmies and stages in the Itzulia Basque Country and Critérium International in 2015, and the Trofeo Laigueglia and a stage of the Tour de Romandie in 2017. One of his career highlights came in 2016, when he wore the green points jersey at the Vuelta a España, sharing the final podium in Madrid with Nairo Quintana, Chris Froome, and Alejandro Valverde.

Reflecting on his decision, Felline explained that while this season gave him the chance to help young talents, the project gradually evolved and led him to make peace with the idea of stepping away.

“This year, the team laid the foundations to keep growing, and being part of that project, alongside young riders full of enthusiasm and dreams, was a privilege,” he said. “I tried to pass on something of my cycling to them, and in doing so, they also taught me something precious. But along the way, something in this project changed. And so, with serenity and gratitude toward cycling, today I put the word ‘end’ to the chapter of the rider Fabio.”

Felline’s farewell post also reflected on his journey from an eager youth to an accomplished professional who competed against the same champions he once admired on television.

“I experienced cycling in its fullness, in every shade: from the boy waiting for his first team kit in a parking lot to the professional who found himself racing side by side with the champions he used to watch on TV… and even beating them, what a satisfaction!”

Looking back on his career, Felline said what he treasures the most are the people and experiences he gathered along the journey. He ended with a very emotional message:

“Over the years I won 14 times, finished on the podium around thirty times, and made the top ten a hundred times. But the real numbers I carry with me are others: the people I met, the challenges shared, the friendships born on the road. And the awareness that this sport is, indeed, a school of life. Cycling gave me so much. And even though I will no longer be a racer, I know that the cycling world will always be part of me. In other forms, with new projects, but with the same passion as always. The story continues, differently.”