It's the beginning of the last season and Damiano Caruso sat down at the table with the intention of enjoying every last crumb, before getting up and following the thread of life elsewhere. The days at the Altea retreat follow one another in the same way, but the knowledge that this is all for the last time makes our glances less careless and our words less hasty. At least, that's what it felt like as we chatted with him, with the lightheartedness of when you've seen so much and know that there are other times when seriousness is needed.
“I’m fine,” he says, “everything’s in order. I'm also good on a bikeThis winter, everything went smoothly, just as I'd hoped. I haven't had any health issues or anything else. I thought it would be sad to be back here in December, reliving for the last time what I've done for so many years, but that's not happening. It motivates me, because I want to do it well and I'm having fun.».
Tiberi told us you'll do the Giro, but you haven't closed the door on the Tour...
The truth is this. Basically there is the Line of Business, I asked to do it because I like the ideaI have a different feeling with the Giro. But it's true that I haven't closed my eyes to going to the Tour as well, Tiberi said it wellOn paper, you know better than me, it's always easy to say certain things. I'll do the Giro, the Tour, the Vuelta, this and that. But then... we have to see how the season goes, how you are, how tired you are physically and mentallyTheoretically, the Giro and Tour could be done, because the team is putting me in the right conditions, but we'll have to see how things go.
How do you ride the final Giro? It wasn't uncommon for you to start as a domestique and end up in the general classification, right?
If these puppies fall, they get sick… They are fragile (smiles, ed.), they are fragile. No, the ambition is to try to win a stageI want to give myself this last gift and if I can do it at the Giro it would be the icing on the cake. I'm not even thinking about the general classification, even if after fifth place this year, one might think that it didn't go so badlyBut I want to focus my energy on winning a stage, supporting Santiago (Buitrago, ed.) because I imagine he'll be in the overall standings, and getting some personal satisfaction.
And does personal satisfaction therefore exclude the general classification?
If I do the classification, I know that the chances of winning a stage would be very slim, as well as those of going to the Tour, because I would be too tired. Ranking is a commitment, it's not just the race itself.It's the whole context, you always have to stay focused, you can never give up. You have to be careful about a thousand things. If I ride the stage, I'll certainly be in excellent condition. But one day I'll be in a breakaway, and the next, perhaps on a flat stage, I won't need to cut back. And in the end, we're talking about a lot of energy spent or saved over the course of three weeks.
Tell us about your spring, would you?
Unlike last year, when I was already in retreat in February, this time I asked to go for a run, precisely for the reason I was telling you before. I want to enjoy every single moment. So I start at the Valenciana, from there I go to the UAE Tour, then I think about Paris-Nice or Tirreno: they still have to tell me, but I left the team the freedom to choose based on where I am most needed. Then I do Milan-Sanremo, then the classic high altitude block, Romandie and GiroNo classics, because I'm in the retreat period.
No classics, while you were supposed to go to the world championships this year. Since next year's race will be tough too, have you thought about it?
This also depends on how the season unfolds. I imagine that if I had to fully stick to the schedule, therefore doing the Giro and the Tour, I might not find the energy to be competitive in a World Championship in September. I see it as difficult. However. I was pleased that Amadio called me a couple of weeks ago, the new technical commissioner.
What did your old boss at Liquigas tell you?
He told me: «Look Damiano, I don't care how old you are. (Caruso turned 38 on October 12, ed.). What matters to me is that if you tell me you're in the game, you'll always be on our list. I must admit that I was very pleased, not being ruled out a priori is always a great source of pride. Therefore, if the program allows for it and it's compatible, why not? Even ending this story with the blue jersey wouldn't be bad, it would be beautiful.
Caruso, like good wine, improves with age?
It's not that I expected it, let's say that I just continued to work with dedication and discipline.Maybe the fact that I didn't push myself too hard in the first part of my career also had an impact, and now this gives me the chance to still be solid. It was a different kind of cycling, the youngster who had just passed through was simply asked to grow. They taught you the trade, they left you to your own pace. And maybe it's also my fault.
What fault are we talking about?
Maybe I just sat back, believing I had already reached a good level, instead I was still far from finding my limits. I spent a few years in a comfort zone where I struggled, but I didn't make the leap in quality. At the time, I thought it was fine, convinced that with time I would mature. Instead, situations change and I managed to force myself to change the pace, which paid off in the end.From 2019-2020 to today, I have always been at more than acceptable levels.
You talked about the watershed years of Covid after which mature riders started to pay.
The truth is that if you had collected before, continuing to make the same sacrifices after that period became more difficult. I told myself that as long as I enjoyed doing this job, I would continue. In 2024 I didn't have fun, in fact I was thinking of quittingI had falls, ailments, and other setbacks, and I said enough, it wasn't fun anymore. In fact, I thought 2025 would be the last season.
Instead?
Instead, things change. I proved first of all to myself that the fact that I wasn't going fast had no physiological reasons, but it was simply the consequence of a series of circumstancesIn 2025 I proved to myself that, by doing everything right and also having a bit of luck, avoiding falls and various ailments, I'm still competitive and above all I'm having fun. And that made the difference.
Your friend De Marchi admitted that in his last season as a pro, he started looking at the team with the eyes of a sporting director. Could you consider becoming one?
I'm not saying I don't think about it, but it's not a worry. I still feel like a rider, I may have thought about what it would be like, but it's not a thought that keeps me up at night. Let's say that if everything goes a certain way, next year I might even try to be a sports directorBut I have to understand a series of things.
What things?
If it's something that suits me, if I'm suitable and if I like it. If I'm good enough, if I want to continue living this sacrificial life, because the sporting director also spends a lot of time away from home. It's not something I'm ruling out, but it could happen.
What do you think of the 2026 team?
He's very young, we have a lot of kids. It goes without saying that I win hands down in terms of age. When I'm sitting at the table, there are all 21, 22 year old kids, one is 19 (Jacob Omrzel, the winner of Giro Next Gen, editor's note). However, it is a team that wants to start again well, I immediately noticed a proactive environmentGuys who want to grow and stand out. Some are looking for validation, some want to prove their worth. Clearly, it's always difficult when you have to compete. to confront a battleship like the UAE, but that's not just a problem of the Team Bahrain, but of all the other 17 teams in the WorldTour. I like to say that we all work to the best of our ability, with ambition and seriousness, which are two aspects that can't be ignored. We'll see what we've achieved in the end.
Christmas at home?
Certainly. I've always been at home even before coming hereBecause with the kids in school, it's not easy to get around. So I preferred to take short vacations, weekends, just to be together. I didn't have time to take ten days off to go to the Maldives or somewhere else. First, because I didn't have the time, and second, honestly, I didn't even have the desire. Down here (Caruso lives just outside Ragusa, ed.) we're lucky that until October, November it's practically summer. In October we went to the seaside, because it was 26-28 degrees and it was greatSo we spend the holidays at home, then I come back here in January, I do another ten days and then we start running.
