Tell us a bit about getting into cycling as a kid. Did you watch it first?
Yes I always watched the racing. My brother, who is four years older than me, started to race, so I followed his races. My family then became more interested in cycling, and we always followed the races on TV.
I remember in 2008 me and my family went to Varese to watch the World Championships. I have good memories from that, I was very young, maybe seven years old, and an Italian rider won. For me, it was special, to watch such an important race, and to be there.
Also my house where I grew up is at the foot of the Mortirolo. So every time the Giro d’Italia passed through my valley, me and my family went to watch. It’s a dream to do this climb in a race, it’s my home.
So you decided to start racing because of your brother?
At the beginning, yes, my brother started and four years later I followed him. I liked the sport. At the start, I did mountain biking for six years, and then I tried to do some races on the road. I love the mountain bike, but I decided to race on the road.
You raced against some other big Italian names as a young rider?
I did some races with Elisa Balsamo and Letizia Paternoster when I was 12 or 13 years old I think. I remember they were already very, very strong. I was strong too; I never won, but I was always in the top ten. So, not the strongest, but I was always there.
At that point could you imagine that you would have a future in the sport?
No, not at that point, because I was very young and I didn’t understand what I could do, how good I was for my age at that moment. Also my grandparents didn’t feel so good at that time, and I decided to stop racing. I stopped for many years. I continued to study and I started to work, and didn’t ride the bike.
After a few years, when I became older and more confident, I decided to try again. Also I think I tried again because I had people around me that helped me to do it, because alone it was difficult, but with people around me that said to me, ‘You can do it. You have to try, because you are strong enough,’ I decided to try again. At the time I was working as an optician in Livigno, and I decided to stop working, and try to race again.
Did you miss it while you were away?
Yeah, I was always thinking about how I could do it. I watched on TV and I thought I would like to be there, because it’s a passion and this passion never died.
Was it difficult when you returned to the peloton?
I thought it would be more difficult. Maybe the first race was a bit stressful for me, because it was my first time again in the peloton, but it was not so bad. And then after every race that I did,I felt more confidence and more comfortable. It was strange, because after a few races I felt like I never stopped cycling, maybe because the bike for me is like a part of me. So it was not so difficult in the end.
Did you notice any big changes since you left, in how the peloton raced, or in women’s cycling?
Yeah, for sure. But when I raced when I was young it was many years ago. So then I stopped and, for sure, everything has changed. I think now is a very good moment for women’s cycling, maybe the best moment. So I’m lucky to be here now.
It’s even more impressive that you came back and almost immediately you were up there with some of the top riders. Did you expect that?
It’s also strange for me, because two years ago I was a new one in the peloton, and I felt like I could stay there, but I didn’t think about how maybe after a few years I could do something very important. I think now I’m more confident. Also at the start I didn’t have many hours of training, and I didn’t know my body. Now I know my body very well, and how I can feel at the start of a race or in training. I’m impressed with myself too, because I didn’t think that I could make these developments. I knew that I could do more than at the start, because I never trained a lot, not like this. So I’m very happy, and I hope to improve again.
Do you think that coming back a few years older and wiser maybe gave you an advantage?
I think I’m very similar to the young riders, because in the end I had no years in my legs, no years of efforts. So yeah, I’m older, but for cycling I’m like a new rider.
How about mentally, bringing in more maturity perhaps?
I worked before cycling so I know how life is off the bike. So for me now it’s a very good life. I enjoy everything I think more than maybe a young rider who has maybe just raced and not gone to work.
You know both sides, so you can appreciate it more.
Exactly.
What’s the best bit about your job?
I like most choosing what time to wake up, when to train – I choose my time. Also I like to travel, to go to different places and to meet new people. Also, now I’m learning English, it’s an opportunity, because I can speak with different people from different countries. I like that.
So far in 2026 we’ve seen you riding strongly at the UAE Tour. Did you expect to be up at that level already?
No, honestly. I went to UAE with no specific efforts toward this race, because it was not one of the very important races for me this year. But I knew that I felt good in training, so I went there thinking, ‘okay, I don’t know how my shape is, but I feel good and we never know what can happen’. It was very low pressure, just go and see what happened. And in the end, it’s always like this when I go to races where I don’t know what I can do because maybe I haven’t prepared so much for this race, but in the end I was strong enough.
When you look at the likes of Demi Vollering, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, these major GC names, do you see yourself near that level, or reaching it in the future?
I would like to reach this level and, for sure, I will do everything to reach it. I’m sure that with no pressure and step by step, I think it’s possible, but for now I’m not at that level. Maybe for some types of efforts I can be at that level or close to it, but I need to improve in other parts or other types of efforts.
What are your biggest goals for the 2026 season?
I will race Vuelta, Giro and Tour. Every Grand Tour. Next, I will do the Italian classics – Strade Bianche, Trofeo Binda, San Remo and then the Ardennes. Before the Ardennes, we will do some altitude to prepare, especially for the Vuelta. I hope to do something on GC at the Tour de France, for sure, but we will see.
What’s your favourite race?
My favourite race is Strade Bianche. I love this race. I like gravel sectors, I like the atmosphere, the place, I really love this race. Every year after the race I’m already nostalgic. It’s strange.
Would you say that was the race you would most like to win in your career?
I would like to win Strade Bianche one time. Maybe it’s not the best race for me, for my characteristics for now, but for sure it’s a dream. Then also Tour de France is of course a dream, and the National Championship too – I would like to wear the Italian jersey.
What brings you joy off the bike?
I love sport. I love skiing, Nordic skiing or ski mountaineering, and also running. I love to go to the mountains. I live in the mountains, but I love to go to the Eiger where we have a small house, and to stay there where it’s not so busy. It’s very relaxing.
Monica Trinca Colonel bio
- Born: Grosotto, Italy, 21st May 1999
- Team: Liv-AlUla-Jayco
- Notable results:
- 2026
- 2nd Stage 4; 2nd overall, UAE Tour
- 2025
- 6th Tre Valli Varesine
- 1st Stage 6, 3rd Stages 4 and 5, Tour de l’Ardèche
- 2nd Italian National Championships Road Race; 5th Time-Trial
- 3rd Stage 1, 5th Stage 2, 4th Stage 4, 7th Stage 7; 7th overall, Vuelta Femenina
- 8th Liège-Bastogne-Liège
- 8th Trofeo Alfredo Binda
- 4th Stage 3; 4th overall, UAE Tour
- 2024:
- 7th Tre Valli Varesine
- 7th Giro dell’Emilia
- 2026