"Visma is Visma" - Filippo Fiorelli could not let go chance of a lifetime to join the likes of Van Aert and Vingegaard

Filippo Fiorelli is one of Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Italian signings for the 2026 season. After a great season at Bardiani he makes a huge leap to the WorldTour against all odds at the age of 30, a transfer that surprised him at all levels and will see him team up with the likes of Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard.

In an interview with Tuttobiciweb, the Palermo-born cyclist reveals details of the Dutch team's training camp and what he expects for the upcoming campaign. At 30 years of age, Fiorelli was a late bloomer into the sport, but his versatility - a talented sprinter, puncheur and climber - makes him a very attractive kind of rider for such a 'super team'. 

"After the Giro d'Italia I was contacted by several teams. I was about to close with a good WorldTour squad, but my agent, Paolo Alberati, called me to tell me: 'Visma wants you'. And I answered: 'Devo's?' and he said: 'no, no, Vingegaard and Van Aert's'," Fiorelli recalls. After spending his last years leading the small Bardiani team, such a move, at this age, was never to be expected.

"We had a meeting and they told me they would give me an answer in seven days. It was the longest week of my life. Besides, the other squad had made me a good offer and I would have signed without thinking about it. But Visma is Visma. After meetings, tests, exams and red tape, I signed a month and a half later, and in August it became official."

The Dutch team's new rider is a bit of a gamble, but not the only rider coming from an Italian ProTeam. Davide Piganzoli of Polti VisitMalta is also coming into the team, and they will form an Italian block with resident Italian Edoardo Affini and also Pietro Mattio who is joining from the development team.

"Very much so. I come from a very humble family, who didn't even know what cycling was, I never had any kind of recommendation. And to be here, at 30 years old, is something I feel very proud of. There will be those who say: 'he's going to work for others'... so what? I'm going to work for riders who win the Giro, the Tour, Sanremo or Roubaix. I will compete, with numbers in hand, in the second strongest team in the world. And I've been told that I'll have my chances too..."

Perhaps what will make the most difference, taking into consideration the difference in approaches and financial resources within the two teams. "Exactly, that is perhaps the most motivating aspect. I'm very curious to see how far I can go and how much I can improve with the equipment, nutrition and training of the best team in the world," he admits. "Since I've been a pro I've improved every year in numbers and performance, so I know I haven't reached my physical peak yet, especially because I started late. But not only that..."

"Another aspect that motivates me a lot is Visma's way of riding: always at the front, whatever the race. In these years it was practically impossible to face the climbs or the decisive sections in the first positions of the group, and that makes you spend a lot more. I admit that I have high expectations in this regard."

"They were impressed by my ability on the bike. They mentioned the Salerno sprint in the 2023 Giro, when Cavendish fell and I managed to stay up despite crashing into fences and some spectators, or the Tirana stage this year, when in a crash involving Landa I managed to get between a wall and a lamp post at 50 km/h, with only 10 cm of clearance on the handlebars on each side," he reveals, with the ability to stay up on the bike being an important aspect.

"Concentration and bike handling skills are qualities they look for to protect their leaders, also because if you don't crash and you're healthy all year, you're an added value for the team."

But aside from being a domestique, he can get his opportunities in a wide variety of races - more so if he evolves further. "Yes, one day I wake up a sprinter and another a climber," he jokes. "The team has mentioned to me the possibility of riding Matthew Brennan, but it remains to be seen; it will depend on how he evolves in these weeks of preparation."

"At the end of the month I'm going to the Netherlands because there's a team party; I think they'll start delivering the material and do some testing. Then, from December 8 to 20, we'll do a training camp near Oliva, in Spain, and we'll start working in earnest," he shares.

"It's true, there's a lot of expectation, but I'm living it well. I went 20 days without riding a bike, and at the beginning I didn't even miss it, so much that I was worried, but now, day by day, I notice that the desire is coming back and I can't wait to start this new adventure. But I have to learn English..."