Filippo Conca Exploit: An Amateur Becomes Italian Cycling Champion

Lecco – Sensational in Gorizia. Filippo Conca from Lecco is the new Italian professional road cycling champion .

The 26-year-old former promise, who now races for an unsponsored team , Swatt Club, beat opponents of the calibre of Alessandro Covi of UAE Emirates and Thomas Pesenti of Soudal Quick-Step in a sprint, arriving at the finish line in Gorizia after 228 km of racing.

The winning arrival of Filippo Conca, in a white jersey and shorts without sponsors

"It's been a tough few months after I found myself without a contract at the end of last year," he says. "After years of sacrifices for the teams I've raced for, I've been waiting for this Italian championship since October last year. I've been dedicating myself a bit to gravel (a specialty that's halfway between road cycling and mountain biking, ed .) because it would have been difficult to get there without competing. I've had some setbacks, though, because I had to stop due to injuries and ailments , but I've continued to fight to get to where I am today. It was tough, because I wasn't the strongest: Covi was the strongest, he deserved the title, but I knew that if I got to the final stretch of cobblestones with greater speed, I would have done well."

A comeback for an athlete who had shown great things among the amateurs but then failed to make the definitive leap once he reached the professionals. Conca did not lose his way and found an opportunity in the Swatt Club , a Lombard team born with the aim of giving a second chance to those who leave the Under 23 category without a professional contract. A band of interrupted dreams that tries to climb from the bottom of the hierarchies of cycling that counts. Sometimes succeeding, like today in Gorizia with Filippo Conca from Lecco.