Italian off-road rising star Valentina Corvi is an April 2025 addition to the CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto Generation team roster. The 20-year-old joins the team to broaden her cycling repertoire to include road racing.

Valentina is already part of Canyon’s elite off-road division, racing for Canyon CLLCTV MTB in both cyclo-cross and mountain bike, and has shown rapid and impressive development. She is the reigning Italian U23 National Champion in both cross-country MTB and cyclo-cross, and placed fourth in the U23 cross-country event at the 2024 UCI MTB World Championships.

Now in her second year out of the junior categories, Valentina started the 2025 season in strong form, claiming two victories at UCI Continental MTB Series events. Most recently, she achieved career-best results at the UCI MTB World Cup rounds in Araxá, Brazil, where she secured three podium finishes across the U23 short track and cross-country events. She is thrilled to now be incorporating road racing into her season.

“For me, it is a great satisfaction to be joining CANYON//SRAM Zondacrypto Generation – it is one of the most prestigious teams, and being part of it is like a dream come true. My experience on the road is very limited, and I’ve only did a few races when I was younger, but I will definitely try to learn a lot, and I will do my best. I have always been attracted to this new world, and so, this year, having had the opportunity, I decided to include it in my seasonal programme alongside mountain biking, which remains my main discipline.”

She is unsure how her CX and MTB skills will assist her transition to road racing, but doesn’t have to look far for inspiration, as an increasing number of athletes are balancing similar pursuits.

“I think they are two completely different things, but in some ways, they can help each other. Surely, the technical skills I’ve gained from MTB will help me manage the bike on the road, while road racing will benefit me and complete my athletic preparation. I think they are quite complementary. The athlete of reference for me is definitely Puck Pieterse, who excels in both MTB and on the road!”

One of the key differences between MTB/CX and road racing is the strategic approach – an area that Valentina is both curious about and eager to develop.

“What I love about road racing is the tactics and reading of the race. Everything is very unpredictable, and you need to think a lot. The teamwork, too, and sharing victories and/or defeats with your teammates is something very beautiful and new to me, since in MTB, everything is more individual.

When Valentina isn’t racing for Canyon CLLCTV MTB, or from now representing CANYON//SRAM Zondacrypto Generation, she enjoys unwinding with friends and family, embracing the moments of downtime between her intense and diverse training and racing schedule.