Giulio Ciccone won the first stage of the Tour of the Alps. © Sprint Cycling Agency

Sinner buddy Ciccone: “Now we are equal”

Giulio Ciccone won the first stage of the Tour of the Alps on Easter Monday. The Italian has been cycling extensively with his friend Jannik Sinner in recent weeks – and gave the Sexten native a fitting response to some teasing.

22 April 2025

From: dl/am

"Just on Sunday, I spoke with Jannik Sinner, with whom I've done some training sessions in recent weeks. He said that after Antonio Giovinazzi's victory at the 6 Hours of Imola, I was the only one of the three of us without a win this year. Today I corrected that, and now we're all on equal footing," Ciccone emphasized. after the race with a wink.

The 30-year-old from Abruzzo, South Tyrol's tennis ace and former Formula 1 driver Giovinazzi are good friends. Recently, Sinner, Giovinazzi and Ciccone have been on some bike rides together. They also gave it their all together on the go-kart track. "I know he's following me and will certainly continue to do so in the coming days as we drive through his hometown," said Ciccone. Wednesday's all-South Tyrol stage will take them through the Puster Valley.

Giulio Ciccone (2nd from right) on a bike tour a few weeks ago with his friend Jannik Sinner.

On Monday – the opening leg of the Tour of the Alps – the start and finish were in San Lorenzo Dorsino in Trentino. The race covered 143 kilometers and 2.600 meters of elevation. The deciding factor was only on the home stretch, when Ciccone prevailed ahead of East Tyrolean Felix Gall and the two Frenchmen Paul Seixas and Romain Bardet.

Ciccone ends dry spell

This ended Ciccone's dry spell that had lasted since June 11, 2023. He was finally able to throw his sunglasses into the crowd at the finish line—a celebration that became his trademark. Incidentally, Ciccone won the mountains classification at the Tour de France two years ago.

“It’s nice to have real friends like Jannik who always build you up.” Julius Ciccone

"In professional sports—no matter the discipline—it's difficult to stay at 100% consistently. Especially during altitude training camps, when you're far away from family and friends. It's all the more rewarding when you have true friends like Jannik to support you," Ciccone concluded.