“We have the ambition to win, not to ride for 5th or 6th place" - Giulio Ciccone 'better than ever' ahead of 2025 Giro d'Italia
Cycling
Ahead of the 2025 Giro d'Italia, teams across the peloton are full of hope and ambition. With Lidl-Trek however, that ambition is certainly well placed as they back the inform duo of Mads Pedersen and Giulio Ciccone for stage wins and the general classification respectively.
Especially with Ciccone, who arrives at his home Grand Tour fresh off the back of a stage win and 4th overall at the recent Tour of the Alps, and a best ever Monument finish of 2nd at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in late April. “He’s better than ever,” Lidl-Trek team manager Luca Guercilena tells IDL Pro Cycling with confidence. “We have the ambition to win, not to ride for fifth or sixth place. That makes no sense. If he stays as strong and competitive as he is now and keeps improving, he will have our full support in that goal.”
A three time Giro d'Italia stage winner and a King of the Mountains winner at the Giro back in 2019, Ciccone is a proven force at the Corsa Rosa. With the aforementioned successes in the Alps and in Liege, plus having been best of the rest behind Tadej Pogacar at the UAE Tour earlier this year, can Ciccone improve on his best ever Grand Tour GC finish of 11th at the Tour de France in 2024?
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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