Italian professional Domenico Pozzovivo has heard the suggestion plenty of times: retire, enjoy the gran fondo scene and eat a second breakfast at the feed station. The Italian climber has politely declined.
Pozzovivo will turn 44 on 30 November. He retired after the 2024 season, which included a 20th-place finish at the Giro d’Italia, but returned to racing in 2026 with Solution Tech-Nippo-Rali. He scored more than 500 UCI points in just 35 race days and says his power numbers are now the best of his career, crediting modern nutrition and training.
Now he wants to continue, with hopes of returning to Grand Tour racing at the 2027 Giro d’Italia in May. He last won a stage there fourteen years ago, in 2012, and has finished in the top ten seven times.
A contract renewal and a wildcard invitation for his team are still pending, although the team’s 26th place in the UCI rankings keeps it eligible.
The ambition is not without precedent. Spanish-born, Colombia-based Oscar Sevilla announced in September that he will continue racing at 50 with Team Medellin-EPM, entering his 29th professional season. Sevilla won the Tour of Hainan in October 2023 at 47, by one second, and this year placed fifth at the Vuelta de la Independencia and seventh at the Tour de Beauce. If a 50-year-old can still finish near the top of stage races, a 44-year-old climber with career-best numbers has a fair argument.
Pozzovivo has presumably read all the literature on ageing, he holds three university degrees, and decided to ignore it.
The Italian gran fondo circuit will have to wait.
© 2026 Copyright Gran Fondo Daily News – All Rights Reserved