An Italian rider pursuing a career in professional cycling was killed in a collision while training this weekend, his team have confirmed.
Francesco Mazzoleni rode for the GoodShop Team Yoyogurt and his team announced the tragic news in an Instagram post yesterday. The 18-year-old was hit and killed while training on home roads in Italy, just three weeks before his 19th birthday.
The team said it was “a very sad Sunday for us”, with Mazzoleni killed “while doing what he loved most”.
“It is a very sad Sunday for us. Our Francesco Mazzoleni has left us far too soon. He was struck while training on his home roads, while doing what he loved most. We gather together in painful silence around Francesco’s family.
“We will always carry with us your smile and the determination that drove you to chase your dream. You are, and will always remain, one of our Orange. Goodbye, young Francesco.”
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While the circumstances surrounding the collision have not yet been disclosed, it is the latest reminder of the dangers that professional cyclists face as they train.
Last year, the president of the Italian Cycling Federation questioned attitudes towards cyclists and blamed road users’ impatience and intolerance for putting bicycle riders in danger, after a grim collision in Puglia last August that left three cyclists dead.
At the time of Cordiano Dagnoni’s comments, the number of cyclists to die on Italy’s roads in 2025 had reached 130, a “record” rate for the time of year.
“Motorists will slow down if they are behind a tractor but for some reason cannot stand to slow down for cyclists and increasingly resort to insults,” he said. “Motorists don’t want to lose a minute, but don’t understand that thanks to their driving a cyclist could lose their life.
“Italy is pushing green transport like bicycling but has forgotten to install the bike lanes you see in northern Europe, and I don’t just mean painted lines on the road.”
Last January, 19-year-old Continental-level rider Sara Piffer was training with her brother in the northern Italian region of Trentino when she was fatally struck. Her father, Lorenzo, told the press that Italy’s roads are a “Wild West”.
“I’d say we need more common sense. Unfortunately, they always realise it too late. Maybe to gain that minute they put other people’s lives at risk. I see things getting worse on the roads,” he reacted.
Memory of the deaths of high-profile pro cyclists Michele Scarponi and Davide Rebellin still remains painful for the Italian cycling community, the lorry driver responsible for Rebellin’s death having been jailed for four years in October 2024.
