Silvia Persico puts Olympic dreams to one side as she targets UAE Tour Women glory

UAE Team ADQ's Italian rider is looking to improve on her third-place finish in last year's race

Silvia Persico is aiming to improve on last year's third place at the UAE Tour Women. Victor Besa / The National

In a year when Olympic glory is dominating her thoughts, Silvia Persico's immediate priority is to maintain what has been a flying start to the 2024 season for UAE Team ADQ at their home race.

Having finished third in the general classification of 2023's inaugural UAE Tour Women, the Italian is now looking to move up the podium this time round.

It is a huge season ahead for the 26-year-old, one that will hopefully see her racing as part of a successful Italian team in the Paris Olympics road race.

Persico's performances has established her as one of cycling's most exciting riders over the past couple of years, starting with 2022's first Tour de France Femmes where she finished seven of the eight stages inside the top 10, ending up in fifth place overall.

An eighth-place finish at the 2023 Giro d’Italia followed, and she now has high hopes of representing her country at this year's Olympics. But before that, Persico's focus is firmly on the four-day race that started in Dubai on Thursday.

“If I will go, yes, of course it will be my first Olympics and I'm super excited because I think that just to be there will be really amazing,” Persico told The National.

“In case I will be there, I will try my best and try to maybe win a medal and I think that will change your life. So, we will see, and representing Italy in the Olympics is a lifetime achievement. We are really united as a team. We race all the year in different teams but when we put on the same jersey, we are really united.

“With the Olympics in mind, I did one winter easy and one without cyclocross, which was my passion.

“However, I prefer to be relaxed and of course think about the Olympics when it gets closer. For now, I want just to think about the days ahead that are important for me and for my team.

“The Olympics is in July-August and I can put those thoughts behind me for the moment as my focus now is on the UAE Tour. This is my first priority because this is a home race for us and it’s important to achieve a good result.”

UAE Team ADQ has made an impressive start to 2024 with three victories and have shown steady progress since their first participation in the World Tour last year. Eleonora Gasparrini was first up, winning the Challenge Ciclista Mallorca Femenina; Sofia Bertizzolo claimed victory in the Geelong Classic in Australia while Dominika Wlodarczyk finished second in the Deakin University Elite Women's Road Race and also took the UCI Women's World Tour leader's jersey.

Now Persico is looking to maintain the team's flying start at the UAE Tour Women. She looks back fondly on her third-place finish in last year's race when riders had to negotiate strong crosswinds, but the forecast this weekend is for heavy rain which will make conditions even more problematic.

“I'm super happy to be here for the second time,” said Persico of her return to the UAE. “Last year, I finished on the podium and, of course, I have good memories of that as it was very special because it's the home race for us.

Silvia Persico, right, alongside her UAE Team ADQ teammate Erica Magnaldi. Victor Besa / The National

“It's my goal to get a better result in this UAE Tour because the level of the other girls in the team is really high. It was really hard last year but I was looking at the forecast and of course, also this year it will be maybe worse."

The race route consists of three flat stages and the Jebel Hafeet mountain climb.

Persico finished third on the summit finish last year which was won by the eventual GC winner Elisa Longo Borghini, with her teammate Gaia Realin in second.

“Jebel Hafeet is hard but it's not the hardest,” Persico said of the steep mountain stage that usually tilts the balance of the GC.

“I'm happy to climb, and OK, I'm not a pro climber, but I have really good power in the climb, so we will see. Of course, I really like it and with Erica [Magnaldi – her UAE teammate], we will also go for the win on this stage, or do really good work for the general classification.”

The UAE Team ADQ have gone through numerous changes with only Persico and Chiara Consonni remaining from last year’s line-up in the UAE Tour.

Joining them for the first time in the home race are Magnaldi, Alena Amialiusik, Karlijn Swinkels, and Tereza Neumanova, with the team having assembled on February 4 in Al Ain for training.

“Last year was the first year together and I think this year we are stronger and more united as a team,” Persico added.

“We did a really good training camp in December and one in January and we really started the season in a good way with two victories already. So, I think it's really important for the team to come here and be ready to compete with the right mentality.

“We got just two of us from last year, me and Chiara, and the others are new, but like I said before, we really worked together for almost one month, so we know each other.

“It's a really good group this year with the other girls. I feel super good and we really work together. I think that it is important because it's important to be united.”

“We did the mountain climb [Jebel Hafeet] a couple of times and stayed together which I think was important. The weather here was a bit different than in Italy. It’s like almost 20 degrees warmer.”

Away from cycling, Persico spends her spare time running, reading, listening to music and doing photography, as well as spending time with her family.

“I try to do something different than biking, because I think that it's important for my mind,” she said. “We spend a lot of time far from the family so when I'm at home I really like to enjoy being with them and staying together.”

But her family's links with the sport are strong, so talk will inevitably lead back to cycling. “My younger brother Davide is a pro cyclist. He’s in his first year as a pro,” she explained.

“So, he has just finished second in the Tour Colombia first stage. I am really happy for him. We really support each other. We are always far but little messages every now and then keep us together.”