The Story of how a Cycling Club conquered Pro Racing
On May 21, 2017, four Italian riders of Team Swatt toed the line at GFNY on George Washington Bridge. Their dream of racing in New York had come true.
On June 29, 2025, Filippo Conca of Team Swatt won the coveted Italian Pro Cycling Championship.
This is the story of an unconventional team that has the potential to shake up pro cycling. This is the story of Team “Solowattaggio” (Only Wattage), in short: “Swatt”.
What is Swatt?
The cycling establishment struggles to categorize Swatt.
Is it a club of amateurs? Is it an apparel company? Is it an elite team? Is it a – gross! – blog?
It’s all of that, and their success is the result of that unique combination.
Swatt was born as a band of brothers and sisters: a growing group of riders deeply passionate about the sport. Swatt is inclusive—but not in a wishy-washy, everyone-gets-a-trophy way. You’d better bring your A-game and give it your all. Swatt calls this “Life is racing” and “A cuore aperto” (literally, “with an open heart”): passionate.
Anyone can become a club member. Swatt creates stylish cycling apparel, always cutting edge, always the first to adopt new tech. Whether it’s skinsuits or sunglasses – the more aero, the better, to save watts (sic!).
Swatt at GFNY 2022
Swatt quickly became a household name on the granfondo circuit. Their first trip to GFNY NYC became a regular tradition. Over the years, ambitions grew. Swatt took in riders who, in their early 20s, had been deemed too old to turn pro but still had the passion to live like pros.
Mattia Gaffuri, aka Gaffu, was one of them. After a stint with Swiss U23 top team Mendrisio, he didn’t make the cut to turn pro. Like many others, he stepped away from the bike, frustrated. But passion prevailed, and his fire to race led him to Swatt. Granfondo racing offered courses resembling grand tour stages and classics.
At the 2022 race, a friendly rivalry with equally passionate Colombians—”los italianos versus i colombiani”—added excitement. But in the end, Gaffu was beaten in a head-to-head sprint by compatriot and friend Luca Vergallito (Team OM.CC). Vergallito’s success earned him a pro contract with Alpecin-Deceuninck.
Gaffu takes NYC 2023
Out for revenge, Swatt returned to NYC in 2023, fully backing Gaffu. For the first time, Swatt demonstrated that team racing isn’t just for the pros. Gaffu won after a long solo attack, shielded by his teammates.
Despite finishing twice in the top ranks of Zwift Academy—where one rider earns a pro contract—Gaffu was repeatedly overlooked. At 25, he was considered “too old” for a shot at the WorldTour.
Swatt dipping toes into pro racing at GP NYC 2024
But he’s not too old for Swatt. The team picked up more talented riders who had been spat out by the system to attack the 2024 season. The goal: travel with all their riders to the open races that offer the opportunity to race the best, whether it’s road or gravel.
In New York, the Gran Premio New York City debuted as a UCI 1.2 pro race, held just 10 minutes before GFNY on the same course. The top six finishers of GFNY 2023 raced as Team GFNY..
With Gaffu sidelined by a virus, Swatt was represented by Francesco “Il Kaiser” De Candido, a former pro skier like many Swatt founders. Racing a UCI 1.2 event requires national federation approval; once granted, the rider is banned from granfondos for two years. Il Kaiser wasn’t deterred—nothing would stand in the way of racing at the highest level.
This rule is one of the anachronistic barriers between amateur and pro cycling. Fluidity between levels is discouraged, yet the reality is different. With the rise of open races, granfondos employing paid riders, and low-tier pros working side gigs, cycling resembles triathlon or marathon more than it wants to admit.
2025: Continental Pro or Club team?
For 2025, Swatt doubled down on its formula: an exciting, passionate, and stylish home for those who want to RACE—anywhere, anytime. More riders cast off by the system joined Swatt. Management, led by Carlo Beretta, began evaluating the next step: a Continental Pro team license, cycling’s third tier. It would open doors to 1.1-level pro races. Not Flanders or the Tour, but races with top teams.
The UCI fee was budgeted, but one rule clashed with Swatt’s ethos: 50% of riders must be U23. Swatt has been especially welcoming to those just beyond that age cutoff. And no, it’s not a rescue mission for geriatric pros. These are riders in their mid-20s and athletic prime.
GP NYC 2025
Swatt explored which 1.2-level pro races they might still enter and decided to remain a club team. One of those races: GP NYC. We at GFNY were thrilled to host them. Swatt embodies the team-level cycling we envision at the race level. 25 Swatt riders came to NYC to race GP NYC and GFNY.
In the video below, Carlo Beretta addresses his elite riders:
“In 2017, three guys and I were on George Washington Bridge to do this race. Today, we’re here with amateurs and elite riders – but it’s not fair to call you that. You’re all the same. There is no difference because you share three things:
1 – Passion for what you do
2 – The time you have to spend on the bike you spend “full gas”
3 – Most importantly: you don’t come here for the granfondo. They come here because they think it’s their world championship with their team.”
Fresh off a win at the 1.2 Torino-Biella race, Swatt riders were expected to be in the front. And they delivered: a third place and four finishers in the top 20. Gaffu placed 16th after setting the pace and attacking on Gate Hill.
The 2025 Italian Pro Road National Championships
Swatt remained a complete outsider without a chance heading into the Italian Pro Road National Championships. And despite a 3rd overall for Gaffu days earlier at the Upper Austria Tour, this was likely a correct assessment given the level of riders the team would have to deal with that day.
There were top World Tour stars like Filippo Ganna (Ineos), Joanthan Milan (Lidl Trek), Diego Ulissi (Astana) or Davide Formolo (Movistar). There were Pro Tour teams like VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè racing with 12 guys.
Yet, Swatt went on the offensive, sending two riders in the six man lead group. And all day, across all of the 223 race kilometers, Swatt was always in the picture. When at the end a six man lead group sprinted for the title, it was Swatt’s own and former pro Filippo Conca who beat UAE Team Emirates – XRG rider Alessandro Covi. For Team Swatt, Gaffu rounded out the extended podium in fifth, Nicolo Pettiti arrived in 13th and Lorenzo Ginestra as 22nd.
The aftermath
The headlines of the cycling establishment were as expected as they were stuck in a past that no longer exists:
“Italian cycling at its lowest level ever’’
“Team of a blog wins”
“Amateur hour at championship”
“You won’t see the national jersey for a year”
“Team without sponsor wins”
Swatt responded with humor:
“If you want to see the Italian National Champion kit, come to the next Swatt crit in Lainate.”
But the real sentiment is best summed up here:
“Crazy saying non-Pro in 2025.”
The future
What the cycling establishment sees as a crisis is actually the dawn of a modern pro cycling era. Why don’t more teams have a fan club that races on the same team?
Pro teams have long wanted to become the Manchester Uniteds, Lakers, or Giants of cycling. But it can’t be forced. A replica jersey and stickers won’t cut it. Fans need to be part of it. Let them travel and RACE with the team.
Events like GP NYC and GFNY allow all levels to race together. They are rare for now, but their number will grow—especially if teams bring more riders and demand it.
And the media? Italian TV channel RAI showed a bit of the race, then switched to other sports before the finish. So where did fans go? To social media. Specifically—you guessed it—Swatt’s.
This is just the beginning.
