From Bardiani to Visma: “It’s on another level altogether”
“If someone had told me at the start of the year that Visma would contact me after the Giro d’Italia, I’d have slapped them,” Fiorelli admitted with a laugh. “I’d have thought they were having me on.”
“That’s not to say Bardiani have less than others, far from it, but Visma are on another level — in logistics, structure, everything,” he adds. “When you move from the amateurs to the pros, everything feels new. When you move from a ProTeam to the WorldTour, it’s the same thing all over again.”
The rider from Palermo has spent the past six years with the Reverberi family’s Bardiani setup, a team that gave him his professional start in 2020 after he’d spent several seasons in the Italian amateur scene. “This has been the only team that truly believed in me,” he said. “I’ll do everything I can to honour them right to the end and leave a good impression. I’ve come this far thanks to them believing in me since 2020.”
Fiorelli’s path to the top has been an old-fashioned one — a late bloomer who earned his first pro contract at 26. “If I look back, they always gave me everything I needed,” he reflected. “It’s been a special journey.”
Fiorelli has been a long-time servant of Bardiani
The phone call that changed everything
The Visma opportunity, he explained, came completely out of the blue. “After the Giro, Paolo and I agreed to take stock. I’d shared my TrainingPeaks data with Alpecin, who seemed interested. Then about 20 minutes later, Paolo called and said: ‘Hey, they’re taking you!’ I thought he meant Alpecin. Instead, he said: ‘No — it’s Visma.’”
From there, things moved quickly. Fiorelli was in the Netherlands for medical tests, biomechanical assessments and his first fitting on a Cervélo — a far cry from the Guerciotti, MCipollini and De Rosa bikes he’d ridden with Bardiani. “They contacted me the week after the Giro and I signed at the start of August. In between, there were all the evaluations and requirements they have when a new rider joins them.”
“Every year I see improvements”
What kind of Fiorelli will Visma be getting? A rider still on the rise, he insists. “I don’t really know how far I can go, because every year I see improvements. My numbers, my results, even the data from the climbs I do near home — it all keeps getting better. Maybe now, with this step up in quality, I can climb another rung.”
He also believes the team’s famously meticulous methods can help him progress. “I’ve seen riders with similar characteristics to mine who’ve gone there, and between their new coach, nutritionist and attention to detail, they’ve made real improvements — and those are within my reach too. When we talked, they mentioned Laporte. He was already in a big team at Cofidis, but at Visma he made another big step forward.”
“I never thought a team like that would follow me so closely”
Fiorelli remains humbled by the scale of the move. “I’ve always raced in events where they were present. Even years ago, when I was fifth at Plouay, or third in Rome in 2023 — I was always up there in the results. So yes, I hoped someone would notice sooner or later. But I never imagined that a team like that would be interested in me.”
“These teams are another category altogether — not just a normal WorldTour squad,” he added. “I never thought a team of that calibre would be following me so closely.”
The Sicilian, who remains deeply connected to his roots — restoring traditional Sicilian carts with his grandfather is one of his favourite pastimes — will meet his new coach, Espen Aareskjold, before taking a short break. “For now, it’s just been about the bike and the medicals,” he said. “I’ll see them next week before a bit of a holiday.”
A well-earned reward for perseverance
Whether Fiorelli ends up as a classics support rider for Wout van Aert and Ben Brennan or in another role altogether, his rise to the WorldTour is already a story of perseverance. “Maybe a few people were annoyed,” he joked of the reactions in the peloton, “but most said: ‘You deserve it, well done, it’s about time.’”
At 30, the Sicilian late-bloomer finally has his chance among cycling’s elite — proof that persistence, self-belief and a touch of humility can still open the biggest doors in the sport.