Ciccone Wears Pink: Everything Comes Full Circle

Giulio Ciccone and the Giro d’Italia: a love and hate relationship.

When we think of the rider from Abruzzo at the Corsa Rosa, we think of his incredible victory in Sestola wearing the colours of VF Group Bardiani–CSF Faizanè at the tender age of just 21, but we also think of his cries of pain last year on the stage to Gorizia, when a heavy crash ruled him out of the fight for the final podium – and perhaps much more…

The Giro is the race that launched him among the sport’s elite, the competition that shaped him — but also the one that, more than any other, has hurt him and pushed him away.

Joys, but even more heartbreak

The last Corsa Rosa in which everything truly went smoothly for Giulio Ciccone dates back to 2019, when he won the Maglia Azzurra as best climber and claimed victory in the stage to Ponte di Legno, featuring the iconic Mortirolo.

But after that, fortune stopped smiling on him. In 2020, the year of COVID and the unusual October Giro, he arrived as one of the most anticipated riders after his fireworks the season before. Instead, after 14 anonymous stages, he was forced to abandon the race due to bronchitis.

The following year, however, he started brilliantly, even battling future winner Egan Bernal in the opening half of the Giro. But as the race wore on, he faded and ultimately abandoned before the start of Stage 18, after crashing on the descent from Passo di San Valentino, saying goodbye to a Top 10 overall finish that had been well within his reach.

In 2022, he caught COVID shortly before the Grande Partenza from Budapest. Despite this, he still took the start, dropped out of GC contention, and managed to strike back with a memorable victory in Cogne — even though, by his own admission, he was far from his best form.
After that, he would not return to the Giro until 2025 — not by choice, but because setbacks kept getting in the way.

The start of 2023 had given us one of the finest versions of Ciccone we had ever seen: strong, consistent, shoulder to shoulder with the best riders in the world, even in the biggest races, with the promise of a Giro where he could finally play a starring role.
And then, once again, came the looming shadow of COVID. He fell ill after Liège–Bastogne–Liège and failed to recover in time. Goodbye Giro, and focus shifted to the Tour de France, where he would go on to win a magnificent polka dot jersey in what was undoubtedly the best season of his career.

Would he finally return in 2024? In theory, yes. In practice, no. Ciccone had already announced, late in 2023, that he would target the following Giro. But during the winter, troublesome saddle-area problems emerged, forcing him to undergo surgery in February. Recovering in time for May proved impossible. He only began his season at the end of April, once again turning his focus to the Tour de France, where he finished 11th overall.

Then came the return in 2025. He was fighting among the very best — but we all know how it ended…with that crash onto the cobbles of Gorizia.

Giulio Ciccone, from Catanzaro to Cosenza to fulfil a dream

That cycle of bad luck, however, finally came to an end today, at the finish of the stage from Catanzaro to Cosenza. Thanks to the bonus seconds collected at the Red Bull KM and his 3rd place at the finish, Ciccone claimed the Maglia Rosa.

“It’s one of those days when it’s hard to find the words,” he said immediately after the finish. “Ever since I was a child, my dream as a cyclist was to wear the Maglia Rosa, even if only for one day. I’ve done it!”

During his career, Giulio Ciccone has also worn the maillot jaune at the Tour de France, but for an Italian rider raised on bread and the Giro d’Italia, this represents the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition in a career that continues to grow richer with achievements.

“I started thinking about this jersey back in 2016, during my first Giro d’Italia,” he recalled. “Today, I get it after ten years — something I dreamed about, yes, but without obsessing over it. I dedicate it to my family and to everyone who helped me along this journey. Life as a cyclist has become more difficult in recent years; there are more and more sacrifices to make, and those sacrifices also affect the people around us. That’s why I want to share this joy with all of them.”