Silvia Persico to focus on Giro d’Italia, Olympics over Tour de France Femmes

Italy’s Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) has confirmed that one-day races, stages in the Giro d’Italia Women, and the Paris Olympics will be her main focuses during the 2024 racing season.

Persico finished fifth overall in the inaugural edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and eighth in this year’s Giro d’Italia. She is one of Italy’s most exciting and consistent exports, but will be aiming more towards stage wins and one-day racing next year over general classification bids, though her home Grand Tour may offer a chance to go for the overall.

“I think that next year, I need more focus, not for the general classification, but more for the stages,” Persico told GCN last week from her UAE Team ADQ training camp in Spain

Read more: UAE Team ADQ Team Talk: Reaping the rewards of new development pathway

“I don’t know yet about the route for the Giro, but if I need to think about one, then of course it will be the Giro. I was at the Tour presentation, and it’s really hard. I think it’s just useless for me, with that type of route, to think about the general classification. With the last stage, riding Alpe d’Huez, but before we have two other climbs, so it will be a really hard stage. So in general if I need to think about general classification, I’d think about doing it in the Giro, not the Tour.”

Shortly after GCN spoke to Persico, the route for the 2024 Giro d’Italia Women was revealed on Wednesday and it is tough, featuring a stage 7 summit finish atop Blockhaus. Nevertheless, it is slightly gentler than the Alpine finale to the Tour de France Femmes.

Read more: Giro d’Italia Women 2024 route revealed: Blockhaus headlines 8-day race

However, despite the difficulty of the climbing in both stage races precluding riders like Persico, she does not think that the routes are too hard.

“I think we are lucky enough to have a good two, three riders in the climbs,” she said. “I hope that our other climbers, like Erica [Magnaldi] can be good, I think she can be a good girl for the general classification. Of course if I need to support her I will, but I prefer to be focused more on the stages.”

As well as stage wins in the biggest tours, Persico also has her eyes on the Classics, and the Olympic Games. Winner of Brabantse Pijl this year, Persico finished in the top-10 in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda, Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne this spring, and is hoping to turn that consistency into a big win in 2024.

“I would like to be good in Flanders, because last year I was fourth,” she said. “But of course I need to balance the Spring Classics and the second part of the season.”

The focal point of the second half of Persico’s season will be the Olympic Games in Paris, where she will hope to be part of a successful Italian team in the road race, whether that’s for herself or a teammate.

“I think it’s a dream for every rider,” she said of the Olympics. “I think I can be one of the Italians to go there, so I’d like to work hard and think about that for the season.

“I think it can be a good race for me, and also for us as Italy, so we will see, every race is different. I hope first to go, and then to try to do something good with the national team.

“I think we are one of the best national teams, so I hope we can continue in this way. When Elisa [Balsamo] won the World Championships, but also last year at Worlds and Europeans, we always show that we can be a really good team and work together.”

Part of Persico’s preparation for 2024 and her lofty goals has been dropping her cyclo-cross programme. In recent years, the Italian has impressed as one of the few non-Dutch or Belgian riders to succeed on the CX circuit, but this year she has joined the growing number of riders who are struggling to justify a full ‘cross season alongside road goals.

“I would like for one year to not think about cyclo-cross,” she said. “It’s stressful, not just for the races, but also the travel. I live in Italy, and I go up and down from Belgium, it’s a bit stressful. So we decided together to not race and be focused on the road season.”