“I didn’t have anything to lose, so I was just excited to see what happened.”

Entering the penultimate stage of the 2025 Vuelta a Espana, Matthew Riccitello was 58 seconds behind the white jersey and in the top five for the general classification (GC).

Against the backdrop of Jonas Vingegaard conquering the Bola del Mundo climb, to all but seal another Grand Tour victory, the then-22-year-old produced a masterclass of his own to leapfrog Giulio Pellizzari and secure both honours by one minute and 28 seconds.

It was a statement performance from the young American.

But Riccitello was not meant to be there. Up until a week before the Spanish Grand Tour’s start, Israel-Premier Tech had decided to target stage wins, and it was only due to illness that he got the call-up.

The Vuelta was also heavily disrupted by protests – overwhelmingly targeted at Israel-Premier Tech, the pro team that Riccitello was riding for and who many called to leave the race. They rebranded and will be known as NSN Cycling Team next season.

Riccitello sat down with The Athletic to talk about breaking into the WorldTour as an American,the 2025 Vuelta and his grand Tour dreams.

“I grew up around the sport,” Riccitello says, speaking from Paris in the middle of a training camp.

“The Tour de France was always on TV in the summer and there were always bikes around the house, but I did all different sports growing up.

“I’d always run cross-contry and track in middle school and the beginning of high school – the running races that I did when I was really young were almost harder than bike races now – and I swam for a little while on a year-round swim team.

“Cycling was the last one I picked up, when I was 14 or 15, I don’t know why, but once I started road cycling for the first time, that’s all I did.”

Riccitello grew up and joined his first cycling team in Tucson, Arizona. There are no major WorldTour races in the United States – although the Maryland Cycling Classic, a second-tier race, has been expanded to three days for 2026 – while all three Grand Tours and the vast majority of the sport’s major races take place in Europe.

“Its definitely different,” Riccitello says, describing growing up on the outside of such a Eurocentric sport.

“The Europeans get into the sport quite a bit earlier – before they can walk,they’re riding a bike.

“When I came over to Europe for the first time, you were a bit behind. We’re there to try to learn how to race our bikes with the Belgian kids, who are almost teaching us in a way as they’ve been doing it for 10 years longer than we have already.

“It’s hard to learn in the United States – the way the roads are and the way the culture is, the races are just not as complex.

“There are races in the U.S.,but they’re not like anything compared to the european races.

“Knowing tactically what to do is a huge part (of the differences),and then also positioning,when there are 100 people in the race instead of 40,and the roads are narrow,twisty and turning.”

Riccitello Reflects on Vuelta a España Success

Riccitello finished ahead of well-known riders like felix Gall, Sepp kuss, Egan Bernal, and Giulio Ciccone in the general classification (GC), and he also won the white jersey.

He aimed for this result going into the Vuelta – where he was fourth in the youth classification the year before – but when did he first believe he had a real chance?

“The second stage,” Riccitello says. “It was the first uphill finish, and I finished with the front group. I remember thinking, ‘If I can stay with these riders this early, three weeks is a long time.’ I knew I was in good form.

“When you’re in a select group on the first day and see they’re struggling as much as you are,it gives you a confidence boost.”

The competition came down to the second-to-last stage, with Giulio Pellizzari of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe finishing fifth.

“I whent into it knowing I had nothing to lose, so I was excited to see what would happen,” riccitello continues. “UAE (team Emirates) set a very fast pace all day, and the peloton rode in a single line, which I like. I prefer stages to be hard throughout.

“When the whole day is hard, I can be closer to my best at the final climb. There are many riders like me who perform well when they’re tired.

“It doesn’t always go perfectly, but I notice it doesn’t go well when I’m afraid of the pain.

“but when you aren’t afraid and almost look forward to it, things go better. It helps to know that the more I suffer, the more everyone else does too. Then it becomes a battle of who can endure the most.”

Protests during the race caused the peloton to be neutralized in Madrid.

“It would have been more enjoyable without the protests,” Riccitello says.

“The race is already stressful with everything happening,but it was…