Matthew Riccitello has a name that stands out, although his Italian ancestry is many, many generations ago. Since the most recent edition of the Tour of Switzerland, his racing has certainly helped him stand out too. The American finished in fifth place in a peloton full of Tour de France hopefuls.
“Maybe you can call it a breakthrough to a bigger audience,” the 22-year-old says of his Tour of Switzerland result. “Performance-wise it wasn’t a huge breakthrough for me. It wasn’t like I was doing anything I’ve never done before, but results-wise and being where I was, racing with the guys I was racing with, it was a breakthrough in a sense. I got a lot of messages of support which was really cool.”
Riccitello joined Israel-Premier Tech in 2023 after two seasons with established development team Hagens Berman-Axeon. He grew up in Tuscon, Arizona where his family still lives and did a variety of sports before falling in love with the bike.
“I grew up around the sport just because my father was a professional triathlete, and my mom was pretty active too,” he says. “The Tour de France was always on in the summer when I was young. I did a lot of sports when I was younger. Honestly, I don’t really remember what made me want to start riding but when I was 14 or 15, I started cycling with El Grupo Youth Cycling in Tucson. They made it pretty easy for newbies to start. Just like that I liked it more than everything else and just kept riding.”
Riccitello is one of the new generation of young Americans like Magnus Sheffield, Quinn Simmons, and Kevin Vermaerke. He looked up to riders just older than himself like Matteo Jorgenson, Brandon McNulty, and Adrien Costa.
“It was easier to be inspired by guys closer to my age,” he says. “You see them do well and I looked up to them. There was also a bunch of guys I saw on TV in the summer that inspired me. When I was a junior there were still races like the Tour of California, Tour of Utah, and the Tour of Colorado for the pros. I really was excited and looked forward to doing those if I turned professional.
“With all those races gone and a lot of the other races in the country gone I think it’s even harder still for juniors to get into the sport. I hear there is a good generation coming so that’s hopeful but it’s hard for Americans because you always have to travel to Europe.”
Riccitello travelled to Europe for the first time as a junior. The Belgian kermesses and UCI Nations Cups were a great way to learn the ropes.
“I remember my first kermesses when I was 16 or 17,” he says. “It was very different from what I was used to in the US. I think there were five or six of us and we did a bunch of these kermesses and then travelled back. It was hectic. I knew I couldn’t win if I stayed in the bunch [as a smaller guy] so I went off the front. I wished I was at the longer climbs in France or Italy, but these races taught me how to battle with the bigger guys which helps me with positioning now. With so many guys being so good [on the climbs], that’s becoming really important.”
In 2023 Riccitello joined Israel-Premier Tech and rode to top-20 results at the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina, at the UAE Tour, and the hilly Tour of the Alps. I first noticed him last year in the Tour de l’Avenir where he battled with Isaac Del Toro. He won the uphill time trial and eventually finished fourth on the general classification. Del Toro, of course, stormed onto the WorldTour scene earlier this year. With his ride in Switzerland, Riccitello is most definitely knocking on the door of his first pro win too.
“I hoped it would happen this soon, but I don’t know if I expected it to,” he says of his progress this season. “You know, you see what all the other young guys are doing and that gives you motivation. Last year I said I wanted to finish top 10 in some WorldTour stage races this year. It was not like it needed to happen, but it was a goal. For it to happen is exciting. It gives me quite a bit of confidence and motivation going forward.”
Riccitello now lives in Villefranche-sur-Mer, near Nice, in France, where he has the sort of hilly training roads he likes. He also has many North Americans there or in nearby Monaco to train with. Monaco-based Chris Froome is one of his teammates and the young American has learned a lot from the multiple-time Grand Tour winner.
“I haven’t raced a lot with him yet, but we spent a lot of time together on the bike at training camp or travelling,” Riccitello says. “I have always felt I can ask him a lot of questions about his experiences. It’s very valuable to have someone like him on the team. He has experienced it all: the wins but also the stress in the races and outside, the crashes and the recovery. Mentally he must be one of the strongest people out there. The mental component of racing and its tactics is what he masters, and I can learn a lot from that.”
Being away from home for long periods of time is something that never becomes easier. It’s the mental side of being a pro cyclist we don’t often talk about. The love for cycling pulls Riccitello through it. He also tries to see the silver lining in all he does.
“I like the process of training, of preparing and getting as fit as you can for the races,” he says. “I have always been a competitive person and now to be able to go out and exercise every day for a living, is great. Competition is what drew me to this sport and it’s what keeps me going.
“It’s not easy being away from family and my high school friends. That’s not unique in the peloton. I am fortunate my dad travels here quite often. I also found the process of setting up here enjoyable so I wouldn’t say it’s the biggest sacrifice living abroad but missing home and the people in Tuscon is a downside.”
Riccitello’s next big goal is the Vuelta a España which will be his second Grand Tour. He made his Grand Tour debut last year in a very wet Giro d’Italia. His best result there was an 11th place in the time trial on day 20 showing he recovered well from riding around Italy for three weeks. What are the big lessons he took from the Giro?
“I think that a Grand Tour is really long and that’s what differentiates it from all the other races we do every year,” he says. “You’re racing with and against the same guys for three weeks instead of five days or one week, or so.
“I think the biggest difference from the Giro last year and the Vuelta this year is my mindset going into it. Last year it was definitely about learning how your body responds to a three-week race, how the race is raced. Now it’s going into it wanting more to get a result, whether it be a stage or doing well on the general classification. All the things I learned last year and knowing what to expect makes me more relaxed. I know I can do it.”
Riccitello watched bike races from a young age, so I asked him about his biggest culture shock now he has actually raced a Grand Tour.
“It was how I expected it to be – it’s a hard, three-week long race,” he answers with a smile. “In the Giro I wasn’t prepared for how bad the weather was throughout the race. If you would have told me before the weather would be so bad, I would have been much more stressed.
“I learned whenever you are in it, it always seems worse than it is. Even now that if the weather looks bad for a race and you’re in the bus and it’s raining. It’s always worse the 30 minutes before the race. Once you get out there, maybe it’s bad, but it’s never as bad as you make it in your head. I’d say that’s a good lesson from the Giro last year. Just try not to stress too much about it, as everybody has to ride in the same conditions. Being from Arizona the hot temperatures in Spain might be an advantage,” he adds with a laugh.
Riccitello has ambitions of cracking the top 10 at the Vuelta but he is only 22 years young. Israel-Premier Tech sees that his physiology is one of a Grand Tour contender, but the team is giving him time to grow into it. In that sense the Vuelta is only the next step in his development. Getting a result is not pivotal although as an athlete he is ambitious and wants to do better every race.
“The dream is to be fighting for the podium in the Grand Tours,” he says. “When I started cycling, pretty much the only thing I wanted to do was to try and race with the top guys in a Grand Tour. If I can just keep getting a bit better every year, I think I’ll be in a good place. I feel no pressure to get the results from the team, but I put pressure on myself.”
In that respect he is no different to others of his generation. And just like others of his generation, Riccitello is already serving as an inspiration to those coming through the ranks behind him.
Did we do a good job with this story?