Heading towards what will be his 38th birthday on January 3rd, Alessandro Petacchi has said that he intends racing until he’s almost 40 years of age. The Lampre-ISD rider told La Gazzetto dello Sport on Sunday that he has no intention of retiring anytime soon, suggesting he will race for two more years.
One motivation for him is to improve on his 2011 season, which he states he was not happy with. “I came second too many times; six times,” he said, with seven runner-up slots also on his palmares for his season.
His wins this year extended to one Giro d’Italia triumph, beating Mark Cavendish, plus a stage apiece in the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour of Turkey.
It’s a sparse return for a rider who has clocked up six Tour de France stages, 22 Giro wins and 20 successes in the Vuelta a España, as well as the points classification in all three.
However he said that the way the sport has changed may influence how he approaches future seasons. “In today’s cycling, only [UCI] points count, and if I want to continue a couple of years at the top level, I have to work with that,” he explained.
“If winning a smaller race gets more points than a stage of the Giro, I can do that.”
Petacchi is already one of the oldest riders in the peloton, but continues to focus on the job and is hungry to keep winning. He’s clear on what drives him. “I think it's the passion…I do this sport with a completely seriousness, at 110%.”