Alberto Bettiol: from the cobbles of Flanders to the magic of Verbania

It has become something of a common saying by now: “Alberto Bettiol doesn’t win often, but when he does, he makes it count.” And indeed, in Verbania today, the Tuscan rider delivered his second sensational personal masterpiece at the Giro d’Italia. Another remarkable feat to add to the collection of a winning rider — a true thoroughbred.

You never win a Tour of Flanders by accident. “The university of cycling” was conquered by the Tuscan in 2019, on a historic day for Italian cycling in Belgium, which saw Italy triumph in both the men’s and women’s races thanks to Marta Bastianelli. One sharp acceleration on the Oude Kwaremont, one of the most iconic and demanding climbs of the Flemish Classic, was enough to send him solo towards the finish line in Oudenaarde. “That day, I won the most beautiful race in the world,” he said after his triumph in Piedmont.

Bettiol’s two Giro d’Italia masterpieces

From that day came pressure and responsibility. There is no point hiding it: when you win a Monument Classic, you earn your place in cycling history, expectations rise, and the need to prove yourself becomes increasingly pressing. Yet in 2021, another moment of magic arrived: the attack on the Stradella stage and a solo victory. One of Bettiol’s great masterpieces, the kind that stays etched in the collective memory of cycling fans.

The tricolore jersey and a way of racing beyond the numbers

In the two years that followed, bad luck and physical setbacks came knocking once again. But 2024 marked the year of rebirth: after victory at Milano–Torino, the Tuscan rider claimed the tricolore jersey on home roads in Sesto Fiorentino. He was unable to add further victories while wearing the Italian champion’s colours, but if there is one trait that makes him a truly unique rider, it is his grit.

And it was precisely that determination that gave rise to today’s victory in Verbania, his second home, surrounded by the people closest to him. A deeply emotional and liberating win for a rider who, speaking immediately after the finish, laid bare his personal philosophy: “Cycling is not only about numbers, but above all about heart and passion. If it were only about numbers, we would all be engineers.”