Matteo Trentin had no hesitation. In the honeyed light of an autumn afternoon in Vicenza, there was a wheel to chase above all else for victory in the Giro del Veneto. To win the race, there was not one step left for Alessandro de Marchi to take.

"Obviously it was de Marchi who worried me the most today. He's a player you have to attack, and normally if you get three meters away from him, you can't bring him back in buonanotte."

De Marchi has been a professional for more than a decade and is one of the most reliable and powerful players in the peloton. His peers know that all too well, as Trentin's caution on Wednesday showed, but for some reason the Friulan is finishing the season without a contract for 2023.

"We're just waiting. There's a chance we can extend our lead, but it's not open yet, so we just want to focus on the race. I'm just waiting to see what happens," de Marchi told Cycling News before the start of the Giro del Veneto.

Cycling has always been a sport with a ridiculously short memory. Last year, De Marchi donned the maglia rosa for two days at the Giro d'Italia, talking about everything from his campaign for justice for Giulio Regeni, the Friuli native kidnapped and murdered in Egypt in 2016, to his own unfettered vision of the sport.

"My way is much more romantic than modern cycling allows," De Marchi said.

"My style may not be the most practical; there have been races where I spent all day in the break and got caught, but I was still happier than in a race where I won a prize."

Still, De Marchi knew how to win last season as well. A big crash ended his Giro prematurely, but he ended his campaign with a stunning victory in the 2021 Tre Valli Varesine; his 2022 season went well, but a string of health problems put an end to his spring and his third consecutive stage race ended prematurely

.

The 36-year-old managed to struggle in the Giro, but only regained his former vigor in the Vuelta a España. Last weekend he was about 100 miles from the front at Il Lombardia.

"This season I was ready to take over last year's finish because after the crash I sorted myself out and showed that I had recovered from it. But COVID and two other illnesses blocked me in the spring and I had to start again from scratch right before the Giro d'Italia, and I never recovered 100%." It was only towards the end of the season that I finally recovered.

De Marchi has spent the past two seasons with Israel Premier Tech, and despite his impending demotion from the World Tour, he still has a chance to remain with the team. For me, it's still the World Tour. At the moment, one of the possibilities is to ride here, but I'm waiting for that to solidify somehow," de Marchi said, admitting that the team's lonely battle to earn the UCI points needed to avoid relegation has complicated the year.

"It certainly hasn't been easy. We have had some good seasons and some not so good. Unfortunately, we have had a negative season. The team had to face very difficult and stressful situations. No one can deny that the second half of the season was very difficult. "

Despite the twin pressures of racing for UCI points and riding to put himself in the store window, De Marchi cleared space in his calendar last Sunday to compete in the first UCI Gravel World Championships, The day after his long ride on Il Lombardia, he finished 7th in Cittadella. He himself enjoyed gravel as a recreational activity and could not resist the temptation of Maria Azzurra.

"It was an opportunity given to me and I knew it would be a mistake to waste it. 'It wasn't gravel racing as we know it, but it was fun. But I was happy and lucky to be part of the first edition."

De Marchi hopes his luck will turn in Sunday's Veneto Classic, the final race of the season, where he has competed each time with the same spirit that has carried him throughout his career since turning pro in Androni in 2011. After all, it is what has gotten him this far.

"OK, I'm finally motivated this year, but the essence of my approach remains the same," he said. And I'm confident that if I get another contract, I'll be able to keep doing that without any problems. I have no doubts about that."