My First Elite Season: Dreams, Challenges and New Beginnings

The 2026 season started with something truly special: my Privateer athlete project and the opportunity to take on my first season in the Elite category.

Racing against athletes from different countries and from some of the most prestigious teams in the cycling world had been a dream of mine since I was a child. And here I am, thanks to the support of precious sponsors and supporters, finally able to say that I have started living that dream.

Day after day, I took on my first trips abroad: Italy, Spain and Catalonia, incredible places for gravel riding, and then Switzerland, right here in my home country.

I achieved personal milestones I never could have imagined, and I was truly happy with the progress I made, both as an athlete and as a person. Until the final race, right here in Switzerland, when my left knee gave way.

A few years ago, after a MTB crash, I tore the ACL in my left knee. That was the beginning of a long recovery journey that kept me working for more than two years. After the first surgery, I had almost completely lost the ability to fully extend my leg, but thanks to a second operation, I was able to regain it.

I eventually returned to riding, with a lot of hard work and many ups and downs, but in the end I managed to reach the Elite category I had dreamed of for so long.

Then, during that very last race, the structures of my knee could no longer cope with the demands, and my body asked me to take a break from cycling. It has now been almost two months since I had to stop, but over the past few weeks I have finally found a small, yet incredibly important sign of progress: I have started pedalling again on the indoor bike, just for a few minutes at a time.

In the meantime, plenty of physiotherapy and strength training are helping me rebuild my muscle strength, which for me is also a form of protection and prevention, essential to reduce the risk of my knee giving way again under the demands of my sport.

This journey is giving me even more motivation to get back on my bike, start again and live new adventures.

I will take all of this as a lesson. I am disappointed that I wasn't able to achieve all the goals and dreams I had for this season, but today I choose to look ahead.

My biggest wish is to get healthy again, regain the strength in my leg, and once again experience the adventures that, to me, mean freedom, passion and life.

The season did not go exactly as I had imagined, but the dream is still there. And I am ready to start again.

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