Carlotta Cipressi has stepped up to the Women’s WorldTour, signing for the team through 2026.
“I can’t wait to get started,” says Cipressi. “When I first spoke to the team they explained everything perfectly and I was immediately super excited. The team builds year by year. This is so important for my personal growth and growing together as a team.”
The 21-year-old puncheur from Italy has developed her climbing ability over three years of racing professionally. 2025 will be a development year as she finds her feet in the top ranks of the sport.
“I like stage racing and the team immediately understood what kind of athlete I am,” Cipressi explains. “I also want to develop my time trial, as this is so important for stage racing. I want to become a well-rounded athlete.”
Cipressi is the latest in the line of young talent nurtured by the team.
“Every year we like to try out young talent and see how they develop,” says Kenny Latomme, Team Manager. “The development can go fast. Carlotta’s skills show that she has what it takes. The Spanish climbing block will be important for her and she has also shown that she is strong in time trials.”
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- In TT position.
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- Carlotta (L) with Ruth in Germany.
Signing from the UAE Development Team, in 2024 Cipressi raced for the senior UAE Team ADQ squad at the Thüringen Ladies Tour as well as competing in the formative Tour de l’Avenir Femmes, a de facto Tour de France for under-23 riders. She showed well in its four days of racing across an uphill prologue, rolling parcours, and two mountain-top finishes, with a finale atop the gravel-laden Colle delle Finestre.
“Tour de l’Avenir was a real education,” says Cipressi. “Even with the gravel on Colle delle Finestre, this race tested every skill. Racing on these courses with a high level in the under–23’s is important and showed me the skills I can develop over the next few years.”
Cipressi also highlights the importance of young athletes working on themselves off the bike and focussing on the Pillars of Performance.
“I’m looking forward to working with Human Powered Health and my teammates on all of these elements,” says Cipressi. “I have a personal mental coach and nutritionist because nowadays we can’t just work on ourselves on the bike. We need to control the things that make us better athletes.”
From the Emilia-Romagna commune in Italy, Cipressi started cycling at the age of six, having found tennis “too boring.”
“I would watch the Giro and Tour every year on TV and I was a super fan of the polka dot jersey,” she explains. “There was a team in Forli with the same jersey design. I wanted to start immediately. I haven’t looked back.”
Off the bike, Cipressi likes to paint and walk through the hills of her home region, connecting to nature in different ways.
