In the world of cycling dominated by multinationals and states, a familiar reality persists. It succeeds thanks to heart, like the one drawn on De Rosa bikes on which they pedal around the world, wearing a white-blue jersey from Alé Cycling adorned by young promises.

2025 marks the 44th consecutive year of managerial activity for Bruno Reverberi, making the VF Group Bardiani-CSF Faizan the longest-running team among all professional teams worldwide.

The team, which would become known as an ideal launching pad for young talents, debuted in cycling in 1982 as Termolan Galli. At the time, Davide Cassani turned professional with "Uncle" Bruno's team: he was the first of a long list of Italian talents launched by the Reverberi team, a roster that includes, above all, Petacchi, Guidi, Conti, Podenzana, Guerini, Zanini and, in recent times, Colbrelli, Modolo, Pozzovivo, Brambilla, Battaglin, Canola, Ciccone, Zana and Pellizzari. Now guiding this team from a sporting and management perspective is Bruno's son, Roberto Reverberi, in his 26th year in the team car. We reached him by phone while he was on a training camp in Spain, finalizing preparations for his riders.

We're almost there, what's the atmosphere like?

"It already feels like we're always racing, practically all teams are here in Costa Blanca. For us this year, we can count on 23 athletes, of whom 20 are Italian. The team stands out as the world's youngest professional team, with an average age of 21.9 years, thanks also to the presence of 12 Under-23 athletes. This is made possible by the inclusion of 6 juniors in the 'youth project'. We'll help them grow slowly, even though it's becoming increasingly complicated in today's cycling."

Could you explain that further?

"Discovering new talents was easier before when we could pick from the Under-23 category, which no longer exists. In our history, we've launched 'second choices' who then went on to have great careers, but today talents are intercepted at a very young age by Devo formations, who entice them with the prospect of a future World Tour move. Our philosophy is to give young riders space to race and stand out. Those who directly aim for the big teams are mistaken, it's obvious that if you haven't made a name for yourself first, you'll end up pulling for team leaders: if you don't adapt, you won't last long. If you're not a phenomenon, the big jump can be detrimental. We, and other realities like Gianni Savio's teams, offer an intermediate passage. Without clipping anyone's wings, we allow those who are worth it to establish themselves and then move on, earning significant figures, with a clear role and with riders at their disposal."

Your consistency over the years proves you right.

"Especially at the beginning, you must have the motivation to train and the opportunity to play for results personally. For Ciccone, who won a Giro stage at 20, that opportunity was fuel on the fire. The same happened with Colbrelli, Zana, and most recently Pellizzari, who could be the new stage race rider that Italian cycling has been missing. In pre-race meetings, I ask each of our athletes for maximum commitment and honesty with teammates. Unity is strength, and we can't afford to waste energy. I get angry with those who try to be clever. Everyone has their opportunities, but to seize them, you must help each other. We're already weaker compared to teams with a much larger economic availability..."

Compared to the top-ranked team in the world, your budget is...?

"10 times smaller. Ours is around 5 million, while UAE has an extra zero that, as you can imagine, makes a significant difference. Year after year, it becomes increasingly difficult to compete with corporate-multinational teams, but we move forward thanks to our historic sponsors and new ones who join us along the way. We work methodically, without waste, in a frugal manner, and by doing so, we manage to repay the trust of those who support us, sometimes winning more than World Tour teams. Apart from the very top teams that dominate victories, even other teams in the top category are struggling because we're now dealing with exorbitant figures."

Could imposing a budget cap be the solution?

"In my opinion, no, because a spending cap can be easily circumvented. A more functional system might be to set a limit on points. At the last AIGCP meeting, the association that brings together professional teams worldwide, I proposed this. If each team could hire riders for a maximum total of 30,000 points, cycling would become more entertaining. Imagine if world champion Pogačar, instead of having riders like Yates and Sivakov paving the way as domestiques, had them as competitors. He would probably still win, but the races would be more exciting, whereas continuing like this eliminates competition. Distributing the best riders among various teams would increase competitiveness."

While waiting for the rules to change, what drives you to persevere?

"Passion and dedication to our work. Bringing young talents to international prominence is satisfying - winning with champions is something anyone can do. We try to keep going as long as we can, especially because regulations change so quickly that it's easy to fall apart. The Giro d'Italia is vital for a team like ours (we've always participated, except in 2009, ed.), but for the UCI, we have no right. Nowadays, all races are by invitation, even abroad. We send participation requests in advance, and thanks to good relationships with organizers, we receive many positive responses, but we can only draft a good calendar in January-February. We must navigate by sight, without certainties, which is penalizing."

What are your ambitions for this year?

"I would sign for a season like the last one with 8-10 victories (25 second places, ed.) with a particular focus on the pink race. Among many emerging young talents, something good will definitely come out. We primarily aim for a Giro where we're protagonists; winning a stage would be a dream. We also want to perform well in international Under-23 races, starting with their pink race and the Valle d'Aosta Tour. Younger riders must focus on growth, while we expect more from more mature riders. Filippo Magli and Martin Marcellusi finished 2024 strongly. When they're in good form and not hindered by bad luck, they have what it takes to battle with the best. I don't expect them to win a classic like Milan-Sanremo, but they must be in the first group. We aim to confirm our position in the Coppa Italia delle Regioni team classification, honoring every race we start, as we've always done."

This team is a family, and that's not just a saying.

"I've been working with my dad my whole life; he introduced me to this environment. My son Gabriele has been handling communication and enhancing our sponsors' image since last year. I'm proud that he's appreciated; giving visibility to the companies pedaling alongside us (with some we have contracts until 2027) is in some ways more important than victories. Ours is a 45-person structure, very different from the one I entered as a 17-year-old mechanic back in 1982. After 8 years in that role and a 7-year break where I got married and opened a shop, I returned to the team car in 1997. A sports director was missing, so I took courses and started this journey. I'm now among the 'veterans' of the environment, having seen riders become ex-riders and then colleagues. Until recently, I handled everything, including travel organization. Now, we have so many roles that I 'just' need to coordinate and delegate a lot. With nutritionists, trainers, doctors... everyone has a well-defined role, even in a family-like reality like ours."

With fewer and fewer teams in Italy, do you feel like a native in an Indian reservation or a rare, endangered species?

"A bit, yes. We're fighting to stay afloat, and often the Federation doesn't help us. Remember how we were forced to register Pellizzari abroad because a rule prevented taking junior riders? It might have been justified, but it was an anachronistic exception specific to our country. We must restart from the grassroots. Youth societies are disappearing. I cycle every day, and I would never put a young rider on the road knowing how much they would risk. We need protected structures. The priority isn't creating an Italian World Tour team, but the underlying movement. If we don't change course, we won't have good enough riders for a team. A fan gets excited when Colbrelli wins Paris-Roubaix, not caring that 'Bahrain' is written on his jersey. In Slovenia and Denmark, there's no World Tour team, but they have the best current riders. We must sow among the youngest before harvesting with the adults."