In what was the most shocking result of the European national championships weekend, Filippo Conca of Italy’s amateur Swatt Club upset the WorldTour pros to take the prestigious tricolore jersey of national road champion.
Finishing with a hilly circuit in Gorizia, along Italy’s northeastern border with Slovenia, the 228km course saw five Swatt Club riders punch above their collective weight, landing two men in the daylong breakaway, and another two in the select group of five that went to the finish line together to sprint for the victory.
Along with Conca, teammate Mattia Gaffuri also made the final selection, ahead of established WorldTour riders such as Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Simone Velasco (XDS-Astana).
Riding a Propel Advanced SL with a CADEX 50 Ultra WheelSystem, and CADEX Aero Integrated handlebar, Conca, 26, launched his sprint first, holding off Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Thomas Pesenti (Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team), to win by a bike length.
Giovanni Aleotti (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) finished fourth, with Gaffuri, a Zwift Academy finalist and Conca’s coach and trainer, in fifth after working to help Conca.
“In the final, I knew that I could do it,” Conca said. “I knew that Covi was the quickest, but I also know that on some days I can also be fast.”
Swatt Club's elite racing team animated the day’s early racing, with Francesco Carollo and Lorenzo Ginestra powering the three-man breakaway. Crashes, attacks and counterattacks saw the composition of the lead group reform several times once the breakaway had been caught.
Inside the final 10km, on the final of three punchy circuits in Gorizia, Conca found himself distanced by Covi, Pesenti and Aleotti near the top of the 3.7km climb to San Floriano del Collio. He calmly clawed his way back into contact with the leaders, while Gaffuri, further back, had to close a 17-second gap.
Gaffuri benefited from a tactical situation within the front group, and along with some daredevil decending, he ultimately caught the group with 1.9km remaining, going straight to the front to set the pace, in turn allowing Conca to draft behind the group and recover during the tense closing moments of the race.
The finale delivered a sweeping left turn into a long straightaway, which turned to cobblestones just before the finish line. Conca took the turn in fifth position but launched his sprint first, from the back, to have maximum speed before hitting the cobblestones.
“I knew if I arrived at the beginning of the cobblestones with more speed than the others, I probably would win,” he said. “And that’s how it was.”
It was the first win of Conca's cycling career. He spent four years racing professionally in a domestique role, first with Lotto-Soudal and later with the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team. He rode one Grand Tour, the 2022 Vuelta a España, but with no victories to his name he was left without a pro contract at the end of the 2024 season.
“Even when I had great legs, I had to work for someone,” Conca told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Teams have to work for their leaders, there's nothing wrong with that, but when you spend your time fighting fires in a race and having to fill in the gaps, you risk being left high and dry [for a contract].”
Last fall, Conca contemplated turning his back on cycling, but instead opted to ride with the Swatt Club amateur program and continued training, with a focus on gravel racing as well as the Italian national road championships.
“I had two choices, either stop or continue with the Swatt Club,” he said. "I've been waiting for this race since October.”
Since leaving pro cycling he’s also taken on running a B&B in his hometown of Lecco, gotten a boating license to run boat tours, and managed to complete his university degree in economics. In May he finished third at the Traka 200 gravel race in Girona. What comes next is unknown. Conca hopes to once again field offers from top teams, so that he might wear the Italian tricolore at the sport's biggest races, but he also realizes that his days in the pro peloton may be behind him.
"I've been looking for a team for months, and there was no way forward. This was a unique opportunity and I'm happy to have taken advantage of it,” he said. "I was here for a top result, even if my chances were extremely limited. And it happened."
SCHMID DOES THE SWISS DOUBLE
Days after taking his debut time trial title aboard a Trinity Advanced SL with a CADEX Aero WheelSystem at the Swiss national championships, Mauro Schmid successfully defended his road race title to keep the red and white jersey within Team Jayco AlUla for another season.
Riding a Propel Advanced SL with CADEX 50 Ultra WheelSystem, Aero Cotton tires, and an Aero Integrated handlebar, Schmid used the day’s hot weather to his advantage, relentlessly trying to escape on the main climb of the route.
Despite multiple attempts, the 25-year-old Schmid was unable to drop main rival Marc Hirschi, and coming into the final the 2024 Swiss champion had the challenge of a four-up sprint finish. Schmid managed to find a gap and power away from his compatriots to win his second consecutive Swiss road race title.
“It is super special to keep the jersey, I was already really excited to have the jersey in the TT,” he said. “Now having both jerseys in the same year and also to defend the road race title from last year, it is pretty special. I wasn’t really expecting it but I think I didn’t really put a lot of pressure on myself today and that definitely helped to play it a little bit.”
Schmid will proudly wear his Swiss champion's jersey at the upcoming Tour de France, his first appearance at the sport's biggest event.
PODIUM FINISHES FOR ENGELHARDT, GROENEWEGEN
At the German national road championship in Linden, riding a Propel Advanced SL with a CADEX 50 Ultra WheelSystem, Team Jayco AlUla's Felix Engelhardt took the silver medal, edged out in a four-man sprint by Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty).
Two-time Dutch champion Dylan Groenewegen also just missed out on a repeat national title in Ede. On a flat course that was always going to end in a field sprint, Groenewegen had support from Dutch Team Jayco AlUla riders Jelte Krijnsen, Koen Bouwman and Elmar Reinders. Aboard a Propel Advanced SL with a CADEX 50 Ultra WheelSystem, Aero Cotton tires, and an Aero Integrated handlebar, Groenewegen was beaten to the line by Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) to take the bronze medal.
Groenewegen will join Schmid and Reinders at the Tour de France, which begins Saturday, July 5, in Lille.
Team Jayco AlUla line-up at the 2025 Tour de France:
Eddie Dunbar (IRL) 1st appearance
Luke Durbridge (AUS) 11th appearance
Dylan Groenewegen (NED) 7th appearance
Luka Mezgec (SLO) 6th appearance
Ben O’Connor (AUS) 4th appearance
Luke Plapp (AUS) 1st appearance
Elmar Reinders (NED) 3rd appearance
Mauro Schmid (SUI) 1st appearance
