Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe sees one of the last Gregari, a dying breed, retire after 15 years

2024 is approaching its end, and that means that as of the first day of 2025, we've seen many riders say goodbye in the pro peloton. A new year means new riders and newly retired riders. Cesare Benedetti is one of them, and IDLProCycling.com would like to highlight the BORA member one more time.

Benedetti was born on August 3, 1987, in Rovereto, Italy, located in the Trento region. There, he discovered a love for cycling, thanks to Mario Cipollini, among others. "As a kid, I watched the sprints on TV with great enthusiasm and always wanted to be a rider for a great sprinter." However, Benedetti's stature - 1.70 meters tall and weighing 63 kilograms - did not cooperate. "Later, however, I realised that I didn't really have the physical constitution to be a good lead-out rider. In the U23 level, I then developed more in the direction of a climber," he said about it in his farewell interview with his team.

So it happened, although the road to the pro peloton was a gradual one for Benedetti. In late 2009, he was allowed a taste of being a professional at the big Liquigas as a trainee, after finishing sixth in the Baby Giro as a 23-year-old. "As a pro, I had to reorient myself - as a solid U23 climber, you're still a long way from the top in the pro peloton, haha," he laughed. He couldn't stay with the green formation, but fortunately, Ralph Denk's continental NetApp offered a solution.

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Benedetti and Denk only ones still present from old NetApp team

Denk had big ideas back then and wanted to advance from the continental level to the world top. "I just believed in this project back then," Benedetti said. "The plan was ProTour (the WorldTour at the time) in three years. That took a little longer, but by 2011 we were already a ProContinental team. From the NetApp of 2010, only two people are left at the current Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe: Ralph, I think. "From a small camper to three big buses. From every opportunity to be in the breakaway of the day to overall victory at the Giro d'Italia. From pasta in huge quantities to sophisticated nutrition plans. During this time, I was able to meet a lot of people - looking back, this was perhaps the most enriching experience."

The little Italian was never selfish in all those years, so we may be saying goodbye to one of the last Gregari - loyal domestiques - in the pro peloton. "I must say there are still some really good helpers in the peloton. In the younger generation, however, things are perhaps a little different. Everyone wants to get their chance, everyone wants to achieve a result at some point. That's a good thing, the sport has just developed that way. I was always able to get more out of myself as a helper than when I was the leader of the team. It was extremely motivating for me to give everything for a captain and the success of the team."

In that way, Benedetti also got to ride a wonderful program. From San Juan in Argentina to Quinghai Lake in China, but certainly also the NetApp team's first Giro in 2012. "Apart from Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and Gent-Wevelgem, I've ridden every race in Europe. It's always pretty much the same: hotel, bus, race, bus, hotel. Then you come to China or Argentina and experience so much more than just cycling races," said Benedetti, who found those trips outside Europe more valuable than any grand tour.

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Benedetti takes new step with BORA-hansgrohe

In 2017, the team was renamed BORA-hansgrohe and world champion Peter Sagan was brought in as a superstar to the newly-formed WorldTour team, changing the status of the entire team as well. "I will never forget the spring of 2017. Peter Sagan was the reigning World Champion and in top form. I worked for him at Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo, and we fought for big victories. With the rainbow jersey on your rear wheel, you can suffer a little longer."

Although Benedetti - 1 Tour, 8 Giro's and 3 Vuelta's - never went for his own chances, one victory still stands out on his career. And it is not the least, because in 2019 he won a real Giro stage in Pinerolo . "My job was to work for the captains. Patxi Vila presented me with his idea the evening before that I should be in the breakaway the next day. The stage had a difficult climb, normally too difficult for me. I wasn't very convinced by his idea. But Patxi didn't care, he wanted me in the breakaway. If it didn't work out, I should just wait for our captain Rafal. But somehow I survived the climb, entered the descent only a few seconds behind the leaders, was able to close the gap there and was there in the finale. Of course, everyone in the group wanted this stage win. I just had to start at the right time - and suddenly I was a stage winner at the Giro. I was standing on the podium when my teammates rolled over the finish line in the grupetto. I jumped off the stage, we hugged each other - it was really emotional for me."

In 2021, the Italian also had himself nationalized as a Pole. "My wife is Polish, we got married in 2013. So I, already spoke Polish at the time I was asked if I wanted to represent Poland. I passed the exam, it still took some time, but in 2021 I was finally able to hold my Polish passport in my hands. The UCI then changed my citizenship during the Vuelta a Burgos. So I rode three stages as an Italian and two stages as a Pole."

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Benedetti will pass on experience to next generation

Two years later, he reached his second major highlight of his career at the Tour of Italy, contributing to Jai Hindley's Giro victory. In 2023, he also got to ride the Giro one last time. Meanwhile, however, the peloton kept going faster and faster, and BORA-hansgrohe also got bigger and bigger with the arrival of Red Bull, so Benedetti saw the end of his career gradually come to an end.

In the end, he chose this year's Tour of Poland as his final race. "The week before the race was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I found it hard to realise that it would really be over on Sunday. My wife and daughters are at the race every day, it's incredibly nice to share these emotions with them. Something wonderful is coming to an end, and a new chapter, which I'm really looking forward to, is about to begin."

Because, at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, after fifteen years they are not finished with the 37-year-old Benedetti. Starting next season, he will work for the team as team manager. "Back in 2017, former teammates told me that I might be a good Sports Director. But I never wanted to give commands, so the DS career was initially ruled out. It was only later that I understood it wasn't about giving commands. It's much more about communicating well, being able to listen, and pursuing a common goal with the whole group. Cycling has given me so much and shaped me. It just feels right to stay connected to cycling, even after my active career. Now it's up to me to pass on experience, knowledge and values to the next generation. The human aspect is very important to me here. I want to be someone the guys trust, someone they can call at any time and who is more than just a Sports Director. We spend so much time together that it's extremely important to get on well on a personal level too."

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