Introducing Jacopo Mosca
Shall Jacopo Mosca win the 12th Tour of Hainan after he claimed the queen stage in Wuzhishan, he would not be the first Italian to do so, as Sacha Modolo took the yellow jersey to Wanning-Xinlong two years ago. But it would be meaningful for the new generation, like one year ago when Alexey Lutsenko made the record book, also at the age of 24.
Mosca is a neo pro with Wilier Triestina but he was a trainee last year with WorldTour giants Trek-Segafredo with who he rode the Tour of Utah before the Tour of Britain where he came tenth overall. “I went to Britain with the role of a helper and I found myself riding GC and finishing tenth, it was absurd!”, he said. This is pretty much what is happening at the Tour of Hainan.
As part of the group of young guns set to escort Jakub Mareczko to his numerous bunch sprints victories, he showed that he was in an exceptionally great form ahead of the queen stage. So he became the “secret weapon” of sport director Serge Parsani who sent him in the early breakaway in which he just had to sit on the wheels because of riding in support of Mareczko.
He took his chance. “Winning isn’t my forte”, he explained. “I’ve never been used to winning much. I’m more of a team player. I’m an all rounder but moreover, I’m an attacker. When I joined Trek-Segafredo as a trainee, it was clear that they wouldn’t have a spot for me as their roster was already full for 2017 [with the arrival of Alberto Contador and a few of his team-mates], but I’ve found a great team with Wilier Triestina. I’ll be with them again next year.”
Mosca hails from Savigliano in the province of Cuneo, Piedmont, close to the Alps and the French border. He started racing at the age of 10, not much in the first two years but more and more later. Since he got selected for the Italian national for the world championships as a junior in 2011 in Denmark, he dedicated his life to becoming a professional rider. He’s now one of the very neo pros to also be a winner.
