Silvia Persico puts Olympic dreams to one side as she targets UAE Tour Women glory

In a year when Olympic glory is dominating her thoughts, Silvia Persico's immediate priority is to maintain what has been a flying start to the 2024 season for UAE Team ADQ at their home race.

Having finished third in the general classification of 2023's inaugural UAE Tour Women, the Italian is now looking to move up the podium this time round.

It is a huge season ahead for the 26-year-old, one that will hopefully see her racing as part of a successful Italian team in the Paris Olympics road race.

Persico's performances has established her as one of cycling's most exciting riders over the past couple of years, starting with 2022's first Tour de France Femmes where she finished seven of the eight stages inside the top 10, ending up in fifth place overall.

An eighth-place finish at the 2023 Giro d’Italia followed, and she now has high hopes of representing her country at this year's Olympics. But before that, Persico's focus is firmly on the four-day race that started in Dubai on Thursday.

“If I will go, yes, of course it will be my first Olympics and I'm super excited because I think that just to be there will be really amazing,” Persico told The National.

“In case I will be there, I will try my best and try to maybe win a medal and I think that will change your life. So, we will see, and representing Italy in the Olympics is a lifetime achievement. We are really united as a team. We race all the year in different teams but when we put on the same jersey, we are really united.

“With the Olympics in mind, I did one winter easy and one without cyclocross, which was my passion.

“However, I prefer to be relaxed and of course think about the Olympics when it gets closer. For now, I want just to think about the days ahead that