Filippo Ganna: time trialling at its finest

Throughout his remarkable career, Filippo Ganna has always had something to lean on in both the highs and the lows: time trials. That brutal solo effort, which leaves athletes exposed to burning legs and alone with their thoughts.

He has not always won – far from it honestly – and he has suffered some painful defeats too. But in a time trial, there are few variables, few tactical games, and very few external factors that can truly influence the result — and if they do, it usually means you have been genuinely unlucky. If you win, it is because you are the strongest. If you lose, it is because someone stronger beat you. Simple as that. There is very little middle ground.

Victory for Filippo Ganna

For a few years, Ganna has been by far the strongest, and he remains among the very best in the world in the discipline — so much so that people almost take it for granted. In Italy, long deprived of a true superstar, there have been repeated attempts to place different expectations on his shoulders. A few years ago, there was even talk of turning Ganna into a Grand Tour contender, using his time trial abilities to mould him into a new Miguel Indurain, a new Bradley Wiggins, or a new Tom Dumoulin. He has always firmly rejected that idea.

The focus then shifted towards the Classics. He genuinely worked on that side of his racing and improved significantly: twice on the podium at Milano–Sanremo, third at the E3 Harelbeke, Top 10 finishes at both the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix, and this year he even won Dwars door Vlaanderen. Unfortunately for him, he happens to race in an era filled with phenomena wherever he turns — Tadej Pogačar on one side, Mathieu van der Poel on the other, and even Remco Evenepoel when it comes to time trials.

The clock never lies

While public opinion kept asking him to become this or that, Ganna simply kept hammering away in time trials. With his victory between Viareggio and Massa — the fastest time trial over 40 km ever recorded in a Grand Tour — he reached 40 professional wins, 32 of them against the clock. The first came in February 2019 at the Tour de la Provence, followed by two world titles (becoming the first Italian ever to achieve that feat), six Italian national titles, eight Giro stage wins (seven in time trials), five stages at Tirreno Adriatico, and two at the Vuelta a España. Not to mention his collection of Olympic, World Championship and European medals.

Ganna is a winner, and he will continue exploring new horizons, setting different goals and raising the bar a little higher each time. It hardly matters if he has to go up against Pogačar, Van der Poel or Evenepoel — he will always keep trying, just as he always has. Because, at worst, he will always have his beloved time trial waiting to comfort him. It never betrays. It never lies. And perhaps, Italian fans would do well to remember that they, too, have a true champion in their ranks.