Team Polti Kometa

Davide Piganzoli

Paul Double

Mirco Maestri

Jhonatan Restrepo

Davide Bais

Davide De Cassan

Mattia Bais

Erik Fetter

Matteo Fabbro

Giovanni Lonardi

Germán Dario Gómez

David Martin

Alex Martin

Diego Sevilla

Javier Serrano

Andrea Garosio

Manuel Peñalver

Francisco Muñoz

Fernando Tercero

Andrea Pietrobon

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Julian Alaphilippe gifts Giro d'Italia stage-winning jersey to brother-in-arms Mirco Maestri

 gifted his stage-winning jersey to his breakaway mate 

The pair of them combined for more than 100km in the stage 12 breakaway, in a two-up move that appeared doomed but saw them, against all odds, hold off a huge chasing group.

Alaphilippe dropped Maestri on the final climb and soloed to victory, but while the Italian slipped back and finished down in ninth place, he said he felt like a winner as he spent the day with one of his idols racing on heart and emotion.

‘I always stayed true to myself’ – Julian Alaphilippe bounces back to Giro d’Italia stage win

Alaphilippe’s appreciation for his companion on the day was heartfelt, with the pair sharing a warm embrace beyond the line, but the two-time world champion went one step further ahead of stage 16, paying a visit to the Polti-Kometa team bus to deliver his jersey from that stage directly to Maestri.

The jersey was delivered, in true Giro fashion, inside a pizza box bearing Alaphilippe’s name and image.

“I really like to keep my jerseys after big victories, but I’m happy if you can keep this one. It’s for you,” Alaphilippe told Maestri.

The Italian reacted with enthusiasm as he opened the box and the pair shared another embrace before posing for photos.

Alaphilippe had already paid tribute to Maestri’s efforts on stage 12, but the Italian himself subsequently gave an interview in which he emotionally explained just how special that ride was to him.

“The significance of today is something incredible, that I wish all those kids who are starting to ride a bike can feel on their skin. Alaphilippe and [Peter] Sagan have always been my idols and to have done this feat as a duo… At the beginning we were taken for fools but we knew that if we worked together we could achieve something extraordinary.

“Alaphilippe was cheering me on and I got goosebumps. We were cheering each other on. We looked like lifelong teammates. It seemed like he knew me and I knew him.

“Seeing Julian coming to me at the finish for a hug and a photo almost made the tiredness of the day disappear. In some races we have already met but having the courage to ask him for a photo was almost impossible. Today he came to take a photo with me. These are emotions that will stay with me and I will keep for the rest of my life.”

For everything you need to know about the 

Polti Kometa, Tudor Pro Cycling and Bardiani receive Giro d'Italia wildcards

After not being offered a wildcard for the 

 squad have received a highly sought-after wildcard invitation to this year's 

. They will be joined by Alberto Contador's 

, who will return to the race for a fourth successive season.

 have accepted their automatic invitation to ride the Giro, given their performance as a UCI ProTeam in 2023, but fellow ProTeam high-flyer 

 have declined the opportunity to ride in Italy. Much like last season, the Belgian team will instead prioritise gathering UCI points in smaller stage races. 

Lotto Dstny's absence has allowed the Giro's organisers, RCS Sport, to hand out three wildcard slots to this year's race. Joining Team Polti Kometa and Tudor Pro Cycling on the startlist will be the long-standing Italian outfit, 

These four sides will join the 18 UCI WorldTeams at the 

 in Turin on 4 May. Among the star-studded lineup that is expected to take to the Giro will be race debutants 

), both of whom have made their ambitions clear. 

Pogačar fulfils a childhood dream in riding the Giro d'Italia

Giro d'Italia debut awaits for Julian Alaphilippe

Both VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè and Team Polti Kometa are no strangers to the Giro d'Italia, with the former's history with the race dating back to their time as Termolan in 1982. Since their founding year, the Italian side have won many stages of the Giro through the likes of Patrizio Gamirasio (1988), Stefano Allochio (1990), Julio Alberto Pérez (2001, 2002), Brett Lancaster (2005) and most recently, 

Polti Kometa, meanwhile, won a famous stage atop Monte Zoncolan in 2021 through the young 

, in what was a Grand Tour debut for Contador's side. The name Polti, of course, is synonymous with the team that won the points and Intergiro classifications through Djamolidine Abdoujaparov in 1994. 

"Teams like ours have been talking about wild cards since the pre-season training camps," said Polti Kometa team manager and former Giro d'Italia winner, Ivan Basso. "To receive the invitation to the Giro and other prestigious events is a source of great pride, a reward for our continuity and our way of tackling the races beyond the results. 

"The Giro will be the centrepiece of the entire Polti Kometa calendar and we will ride it with the right mentality: attacking but in an organised way, to take advantage of every opportunity and reward the organisers, the fans, the sponsors… and ourselves for the trust placed in us".

It will be in Polti Kometa that Tudor Pro Cycling seeks inspiration in their first Grand Tour. The Swiss ProTeam have high ambitions and recently signed the likes of 

Matteo Trentin hopeful of Giro d’Italia wildcard for Tudor Pro Cycling 

Tuesday's announcement does, however, rule out a Giro d'Italia start for the much-beloved GW Shimano-Sidermec team of Gianni Savio. 

Startlists announced for Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo

 and Tuesday's Giro d'Italia startlist announcement, RCS Sport has also revealed the teams for its other high-profile WorldTour races in Italy, namely Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo. 

All three races will be made up of 25 teams of seven riders each, giving plenty of free slots for teams outside of the 18 UCI WorldTeams.

For Tirreno-Adriatico, this means Israel-Premier Tech, Team Polti Kometa, VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè and Tudor Pro Cycling will grace the startline, all of whom will be testing their level ahead of the Giro. Additionally, the race organisers have offered wildcard invites to 

Uno-X Mobility are riding high after being offered a wildcard spot in the Tour de France earlier this week, whilst their performances last season have also offered them an automatic spot at Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo, owing to their ranking position. 

Uno-X Mobility and TotalEnergies return to 2024 Tour de France as wildcards

Automatic qualification will also see Israel-Premier Tech line up at all RCS races and offer Lotto Dstny a berth at Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo. 

Alongside Israel-Premier Tech, both Team Polti Kometa and Tudor Pro Cycling will line up at all four major races, whilst VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè will miss Strade Bianche. In their place, Q36.5 Pro Cycling and Corratec-Vini Fantini will take to the white roads of Tuscany, with the former also to be expected at Milan-San Remo. 

For all the important information about the 2024 Giro d'Italia, be sure to check out our 

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Name	Age	UCI Career Wins	UCI Points
Davide Piganzoli	21	3	478
Paul Double	27	1	338
Mirco Maestri	32	5	261
Jhonatan Restrepo	29	12	233
Davide Bais	26	1	209

Team Polti Kometa

Team Polti Kometa

The Team

Top Team Polti Kometa Stories

Julian Alaphilippe gifts Giro d'Italia stage-winning jersey to brother-in-arms Mirco Maestri

Polti Kometa, Tudor Pro Cycling and Bardiani receive Giro d'Italia wildcards

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