“With Giulio, we can aim for the top step of the podium” - Christian Scaroni admits World Championship regret after convincing Ciccone to join European title fight
Cycling
Christian Scaroni left Montreal convinced Italy had ridden well enough to come away with more than ninth place. A few days later, the same core of riders are already looking towards another medal shot at the European Championships.
Italy were aggressive throughout the elite men's World Championship road race and Scaroni was involved several times before later dropping back to work for Giulio Ciccone. Their biggest regret came when the dangerous move containing Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert went clear with just under 100 kilometres remaining and nobody in blue made it across.
Tom Pidcock and Giulio Ciccone in action at the 2026 Montreal World Championships
“We deserved a medal”
“I think we can be proud of our performance in Canada,” Scaroni said on Bicisport’s Una voce in fuga podcast. “We deserved a medal. The only regret we can have as a national team is that we didn’t get a rider into the group with Van der Poel and Van Aert that formed with just under 100 kilometres to go. If we’d had someone up front, it wouldn’t have been down to me and Piganzoli to pull behind.”
Ciccone stayed in contention until the final kilometres and eventually finished ninth, just 14 seconds behind new world champion Brandon McNulty. He and Tom Pidcock were among those trying to close the gap on the final climb before the chase stalled again.
Scaroni crossed the line 18th after spending much of the race working for Italy’s leader, while Davide Piganzoli finished 20th. “But overall we raced the way we had planned, and I’m satisfied with that regardless of the result,” Scaroni added.
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Scaroni and Pellizzari persuade Ciccone to race again
Italy will get another chance in Ljubljana, and Ciccone might not have been there at all without some persuasion from inside the Montreal squad. “Now we’re going to the European Championships to do well,” Scaroni said. “In Montreal, Pellizzari and I tried to convince Ciccone to take part, and in the end we managed it.”
Scaroni arrives with his own reason to believe another major championship can produce something more. At the 2025 European Championships in France, he finished fourth, 23 seconds behind bronze medallist Paul Seixas. Tadej Pogacar had already ridden away to gold and Remco Evenepoel took silver, leaving Scaroni just one place short of the podium.
Twelve months later, he returns to the Euros off another strong championship ride and with Ciccone alongside him after that Montreal persuasion campaign. “With Giulio, we can certainly aim for a medal and, why not, even the top step of the podium.”
Scaroni was one place from a European medal last year, while Ciccone left Montreal convinced Italy had been capable of more there too. Slovenia now gives both another chance to turn those near-misses into something tangible.
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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- for what?frieders311-11-2026
- Blah blah blah!frieders311-11-2026
- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
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