Domenico Pozzovivo (41 years old) still finds shelter at VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè

It has taken a very long time, but Domenico Pozzovivo has still found a new team for 2024. The 41-year-old Italian climber returns to the old nest, having signed for one year with VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè. .

Domenico Pozzovivo's cycling career has been hanging in the balance for a long time and it seemed like the Italian was ready to say goodbye at some point. In October he gave, in conversation with Cycling, that quitting smoking was a serious option. “There's not much talk. It's definitely possible for me to quit. Honestly? I still have the strength and motivation to keep going, but if it doesn't work out, I'll stop.”

Now another four months have passed, and it has become clear: Pozovivo is definitely not ready as a professional cyclist. The pocket climber still has his twentieth (!) professional season wearing the kit of the team where it all started for him: VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè. Pozzovivo rode for the Italian formation from 2005 to 2012 and achieved his first successes there.

Where it all started. Domenico Pozzovivo wearing the Panaria kit in 2005 and after 19 years in the same team structure, the VF Group.

(📷 Delcamp and VF Group) pic.twitter.com/JkeD9Xysde

– Amatepiorelli (@amattepiorelli) February 25, 2024

The circle is round
Roberto Reverberi, Team Director of VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè, is very excited about Pozzovivo's return. “Domenico will play a crucial role as a mentor and mentor to the younger riders within the team. He is an incredibly professional and still races at a high level after all these years. We are happy and proud that he can end his career with the team where he started it all. The circle is round.”

“It sounds like a movie script, but it has finally become a reality,” Pozovivo himself is thrilled. “I am returning to the team where I took my first steps as a professional cyclist nineteen years ago. This brings with it a lot of emotions, but I also feel a tremendous desire to pass on my experiences. I have to thank Bruno and Roberto Reverberi for the opportunity they have given me.”