Italy’s mountain artist Giulio Ciccone is inspiring a new generation and for Monaco’s international community, where endurance sport, outdoor living and performance excellence are deeply embedded in daily life, Giulio represents the perfect example of determination, resilience and sporting elegance.
In the world of professional cycling, there are riders who race to win, and there are riders who race to inspire. Giulio Ciccone belongs firmly to the latter category. Fearless on the climbs, aggressive in his attacking style, and driven by pure passion rather than calculated conservatism, the Italian cyclist has become one of the most exciting personalities in modern road racing.
Born on 20 December 1994 in Chieti, in Italy’s mountainous Abruzzo region, Giulio Ciccone grew up surrounded by the terrain that would ultimately shape his racing identity. The steep roads of central Italy became his playground, developing the climbing ability that would later make him one of the peloton’s most feared mountain specialists.
“Abruzzo teaches you one very simple thing: nothing is handed to you. You have hard mountains, long winters, silence, wind. You grow up learning to grit your teeth without making too much noise.”
How much does Abruzzo shape the person and the rider you are today?
“Enormously. I think the rider I am today comes very much from there. Even the way I live cycling is Abruzzo - quite instinctive, very stubborn.”
Turning professional in 2016 with Bardiani-CSF, Ciccone announced himself immediately by winning a dramatic mountain stage at the Giro d’Italia at just 21 years of age. It was an unforgettable breakthrough that introduced cycling fans to a rider willing to attack when others hesitated.
When did you understand that cycling would be your life?
“There was no single precise moment. As a child I lived it as a game, and then slowly I began to understand that this game made me feel free in a way nothing else did.
When I started making sacrifices without really weighing them, perhaps that was the moment I understood it was becoming my path.”
Since joining Lidl–Trek (formerly Trek-Segafredo), Ciccone has matured into one of cycling’s premier climbers while maintaining the attacking instincts that have made him a fan favourite around the world.
Modern professional cycling increasingly relies on data, power meters and meticulous race planning. Yet Giulio Ciccone continues to race with emotion.
Rather than waiting for the final kilometres, he often launches daring attacks on legendary mountain passes, embracing risk in pursuit of victory. Whether racing in the Alps, the Dolomites or the Pyrenees, his style reminds fans why cycling remains one of the world’s most captivating sports.
This willingness to animate races has earned him widespread respect—not only among supporters, but also among fellow professionals who recognise the courage required to race so aggressively over three-week Grand Tours.
Did you have a mentor - someone who marked your formation as a rider?
“Yes, without question - Marco Pantani.
For anyone who loves climbing and is Italian, I think it is impossible not to grow up watching him. More than copying him, I think he left an emotional imprint inside many riders of my generation. That way of attacking, of igniting a race, of transforming suffering into something that went far beyond sport.
Then of course, in my concrete formation, my family, my coaches, and the people I met along the way counted enormously. But Pantani was the first to make me understand what it could really mean to love the mountains on a bicycle.”
King of the Mountains
Few achievements better illustrate Ciccone’s climbing talent than capturing the prestigious King of the Mountains classification at the 2023 Tour de France.
How would you describe your relationship with the climb?
“The climb never lies. It is the place where everything disappears - tactics, noise, images. You are left with only what you have inside.
In the mountains I feel natural. I cannot even explain exactly why. It is suffering, yes, but it is also the place where I feel most alive.”
The famous polka-dot jersey is awarded to the rider who consistently conquers the sport’s toughest ascents, rewarding endurance, tactical intelligence and exceptional climbing ability over three demanding weeks. Winning this classification places Ciccone among an elite group of cycling’s greatest climbers.
You wore the polka dot jersey at the Tour de France. What did that symbol mean to you?
“Everything. The polka dot jersey at the Tour de France carries an enormous weight, especially for an Italian rider who loves climbing. And knowing that I had brought it back to Italy after so many years is something I feel very deeply - not just as a personal result, but almost as a continuity with a certain tradition of Italian climbers who made people fall in love with cycling.
When you watch the Tour as a child, certain images seem impossibly far away. Finding yourself there, with that jersey on your back, is difficult even to put into words. For a moment you feel everything at once - the child you were, the sacrifices, the crashes, the climbs done in silence. All of it, together.”
Ciccone’s résumé also includes multiple Giro d’Italia stage victories and the Giro’s Mountains Classification, confirming his remarkable consistency in the sport’s most demanding races.
The Italian Grand Tour has delivered both his greatest triumphs and his greatest heartbreaks. Spectacular victories have been followed by injuries, crashes and missed opportunities, yet each setback has only strengthened his determination to return stronger.
Which victories have moved you most deeply in your career?
“The win at the Clásica de San Sebastián is certainly one of the most beautiful. It is a special race - hard, nervous, very well suited to a climber who also loves to race on instinct. Winning there gave me enormous emotion.
Then there are results that are not victories but which you feel just as heavily inside. Standing on the podium at two Monuments - Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Il Lombardia - meant an enormous amount to me. When you manage to be competitive in races like those, against those riders and on those courses, you feel that you truly belong at that level.
But sometimes I also remember certain days without a victory with great emotion. In cycling it happens often - there are stages or attacks that stay with you almost more than a result written in the record books.”
In 2026, one of the most emotional moments of his career finally arrived when he wore the iconic Maglia Rosa —the pink jersey awarded to the overall race leader— for the first time. After years of chasing that dream, the achievement represented a deeply personal milestone for the Italian climber. He would go on to secure the Giro’s Mountains Classification once again, reinforcing his reputation as one of the finest climbers of his generation.
Cycling is a merciless sport. How do you manage defeat and difficult moments?
“Badly, at first. I think that is normal. When you invest everything in a race and something goes wrong, it stays with you. With the years you learn not to identify yourself only with the result. But I do not believe there is an athlete who truly gets used to losing.”
Injuries - how have you lived them, physically and mentally?
“Injuries have honestly been a significant part of my career. Perhaps too significant. There were moments when I felt I was finding continuity again, and then something would break again - crashes, physical problems, illness. It is frustrating, because cycling depends so much on condition and continuity, and when you are forced to stop repeatedly you almost feel like you are always chasing something. Physically, you learn to tolerate pain. Mentally it is far more complicated.”
Because while the body slowly recovers, your mind stays there asking questions: will I really come back to what I was? How much time am I losing? Will I be able to trust my body again?
“There were hard periods - lonely ones too. Because when you are stopped while the peloton keeps racing, you feel a little outside the world. But I also believe that all those difficulties made me more aware. Today I appreciate simple things much more - feeling well, being able to train consistently, feeling competitive. And perhaps they also taught me never to take anything for granted. In cycling, very little is needed for everything to change.”
What does a typical day look like during the racing season?
“Much simpler than people imagine. Training, recovery, nutrition, transfers, rest. And then it starts again. Professional cycling has a very visible glamorous side, but behind it there is an almost monastic routine.”
What do you do to completely disconnect from the bike during the off-season?
“I look for normality. Home, friends, the sea, the mountains, simple things.
Sometimes the most beautiful thing is to wake up without looking at watts, weight, or training plans.”
Monaco: A Home for Champions
Living as a professional means constant travel. How do you maintain a sense of home?
“By carrying the right people with me. In the end, home is not just a place. It is a feeling. And I think that when you come from somewhere with a very strong identity like Abruzzo, a part of home travels with you always.”
Like many elite endurance athletes, Giulio Ciccone has chosen Monaco as his home.
The Principality has become one of the world’s leading centres for professional cyclists thanks to its exceptional climate, spectacular mountain roads, world-class infrastructure and international lifestyle. From the legendary climbs above La Turbie to the demanding roads of Col de Turini and Col d’Èze, the surrounding region provides an ideal natural training ground throughout the year.
Monaco is one of the world’s great sporting capitals. What fascinates you about this city?
“The international energy you breathe here. Athletes from different disciplines coexist here, all with a mindset very oriented towards performance. That is stimulating. And then you have the sea and the mountains close by, and the climate is mild all year round - for a cyclist it is perfect.”
Monaco also offers athletes privacy, security and easy access to international competition, making it one of Europe’s most desirable bases for high-performance sport.
Beyond cycling, Ciccone has become part of Monaco’s vibrant sporting community. He shares a close friendship with tennis superstar Jannik Sinner, with whom he has spent New Year’s celebrations alongside fellow Monaco-based Italian racing drivers Antonio Giovinazzi, Antonio Fuoco and Alessandro Pier Guidi; illustrating the unique community of world-class athletes who call the Principality home.
More Than Results
Statistics alone cannot explain Giulio Ciccone’s popularity.
Fans admire him because he races with authenticity. He celebrates victories with genuine emotion, openly shares disappointment after defeats, and consistently displays respect for competitors and supporters alike.
In an era where sporting performances are often reduced to numbers and analytics, Ciccone reminds us that cycling remains, above all, a human endeavour—one built upon courage, sacrifice and relentless perseverance.
His career continues to inspire aspiring cyclists throughout Italy and far beyond, demonstrating that success is not solely measured by victories, but also by the passion with which those victories are pursued.
Cycling is changing rapidly - technology, data, aerodynamics. How do you relate to this evolution?
“Adapting is inevitable. Today cycling is far more scientific than it was ten years ago. Data helps enormously. But I still believe that a rider’s instinct counts. And I hope it always will.”
Nutrition in elite cycling is almost a science. How do you live that aspect of the sport?
“It is part of the job. Today the level is so high that every detail counts. But I also believe it is important to maintain mental balance. If you live every meal with obsession, in the long run it wears you down.”
How much does the mental component count in your preparation?
“Enormously. At certain levels, many riders have legs. The difference is often made by the mind - managing pressure, staying lucid, the capacity to suffer. Cycling is a very mental sport, even if from the outside it appears to be only physical.”
Looking Ahead
At 31 years of age, Giulio Ciccone remains one of professional cycling’s most exciting climbers.
With Grand Tour stage victories, prestigious mountain classifications and countless memorable attacks already defining his career, his story is still being written. Every time the road begins to climb, cycling fans know there is every chance they will witness another unforgettable performance.
What are your goals for the coming season?
“To be competitive in the races I love most and to find continuity again. Then of course there are dreams that every rider carries inside, but some things I prefer to keep to myself.”
What would you want young cyclists to learn from your career?
“That you do not need to be perfect to get there.
You need to truly believe in it, even when things seem to be moving slowly. And perhaps also that you can remain yourself without building a character around you.”
Is there one climb in particular that feels truly yours - that belongs to you in a special way?
“There are many that have left something with me. But the ones that feel truly yours are often the least famous - the ones where you trained as a young rider, where you fought with the suffering when nobody was watching yet.”
When the moment comes to hang up your bike, what legacy would you like to leave?
“I would like people to remember the way I raced. With attacks, mistakes, emotions. Perhaps not always perfect - but real.”
If you had not become a cyclist, who would you be today?
“That is a beautiful question. I honestly do not know. I only know that I struggle to imagine myself far from sport. Perhaps I would have looked for something else that made me feel alive in the same way.”
For Monaco, having athletes of Giulio Ciccone’s calibre among its residents further strengthens the Principality’s reputation as a global home for sporting excellence, a place where champions train, compete and continue to inspire future generations.
EXCLUSIVE:
Purchase a photo-illustrated, downloadable PDF of this exclusive Living in Monaco magazine article featuring Giulio Ciccone, or get the complete digital edition of the Autumn 2026 issue of Living in Monaco magazine.