Gaffuri between schedule, goals, Swatt Club and the Giro: “I’ll have to earn my place because…”

After a long and unusual journey, Mattia Gaffuri has managed to become a professional, doing so with a WorldTour team that will immediately give him the opportunity to line up at the start of the best races on the Italian calendar.

Speaking about his schedule (you can find another article on the topic here), his journey with the Swatt Club, his goals and his future, Gaffuri himself did so in a recent interview with CyclingNews. These are his words on the matter, translated by Spaziociclismo:

THE SWATT CLUB – “It’s been a crazy five-year journey, but I made it. I’m very proud of what we did at the Swatt Club and it’s great to see that they will become a Continental team in 2026. I think the system we built worked because it was a group of friends having fun, but we didn’t leave anything to chance. I hope it’s a wake-up call for Italian cycling. I’m on my personal journey to become a professional. There are guys who have ten times the talent I have, who will always be one step ahead of me.”

ON STRADE BIANCHE – “It will be nice to race Strade Bianche. But racing gravel against gravel riders is different from racing against Pogacar and the classics specialists. I think the team wants to speed up my learning of professional skills by having me take part in some tough races, hoping that I can do better in other races.”

ON THE GIRO D’ITALIA – “I’ll have to earn my place on the Giro team because there are many great talents in the squad. Max Poole is capable of doing very, very well this year, and I hope I can be there to help him.”

THE GOALS – “I’m very excited. It’s also a bit scary to think that in a few weeks I’ll be thrown in among the wolves (laughs, ed.). But I’m older than many of the riders turning professional, so it should be fine. It’s very important to gain as much experience as possible and learn quickly. I think I can do that. I know it’s important to fail, to struggle in races, to learn and improve. That’s my goal for 2026. The team believes in me. I have a two-year contract, so I’ll have time to grow in the first year and maybe show some potential in the future.”

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