Q&A Giulio Ciccone
The Italian winner of the polka dot jersey at the last Tour de France tells Cyclist about his passion for the Giro, his style of racing and his chances of a Grand Tour victory
Words Andy McGrath Photography Sean Hardy
Cyclist: How has your winter been?
Giulio Ciccone: It’s been a bit different because my off-season was a bit longer and busier than normal. I went to Japan for the Japan Cup, to Wisconsin for our first training camp, then from there I did the Tour de France criteriums in Singapore and Saitama. I’ll start racing a bit later, so winter’s been a bit easier than last year.
Cyc: Overall, were you happy with how the 2023 season went?
GC: I was a bit disappointed to miss the Giro d’Italia because I got Covid ten days before the start. It’s important because I’m Italian and my programme led up to it. That’s the only point of the year I can say something bad about; for the rest, it was really perfect.
Cyc: You won the King of the Mountains jersey at the Tour last year. Did getting married just before the race help your performance there?
GC: I think it was good motivation but honestly, that was just because my programme changed. We switched my schedule to do the Tour and I had my marriage in the middle. You can change from Giro to Tour, but you can’t change your wedding date! We’ve not had the honeymoon yet – there’s not been time. Maybe next year, I think we’ll go on safari or something special like that.
Cyc: Where is your polka dot jersey?
GC: On the wall at home.
Cyc: So you have that, alongside a Tour yellow jersey, white jersey and a Giro mountains competition blue jersey [all from 2019]. What’s missing?
GC: The most important one – the pink jersey! I’d love to have that just for one day. I’d wear it to bed. When I was young the Giro was everything and the maglia rosa is something special for me. That’s my real dream.
Cyc: Do you remember the first time the Giro passed through your hometown of Chieti?
GC: When I was five or six years old, I was with my parents in the middle of the town. It was a really bad day with the rain going full gas. The peloton arrived and everyone crashed on a corner. I started screaming, going, ‘What is this?’
Cyc: Who got you into cycling when you were younger?
GC: My father really likes cycling; he rode his bike as an amateur when I was a kid – nothing special though. In the afternoons I was always on the bike, never with my head in my books. From there my parents said, ‘Why don’t you try racing?’ I was re
