Cristiano Salerno had big expectations for 2015 but the year ended in disappointment. The Italian failed to find consistency during his season with Bora - Argon18 and had very little racing from June to the end of the season.

"The balance is not positive," he said in an interview with Spaziociclismo. "From mid-season onwards I have hardly done any racing. There were no stimuli and next year there will be a major change . From June to the end of the season, I had ten days of racing. That made it impossible to find a good condition. I can not deny that Bora is a good team, but they had their preferences, and there was no space for me and others."

2016 will be a pivotal year for Salerno. Most likely we will not see him on the road since he wants to devote himself to mountain biking, a specialty in which he starred in the junior categories.

"I have always liked it", he said. "And now that it's time to choose, I decided to see how things are on the other side. I found a setting that I liked. This year I did a race in Sestriere. Then the team did not allow me to race and from there my season ended. It's a growing movement and marathon races are similar to road racing. On the one hand it is even more beautiful, it takes place on beautiful tracks and in addition to competition there is also a more beautiful landscape."

The 30-year-old Italian had some contacts with professional teams to continue the activities at the highest level but has now decided to focus on another discipline. It is a choice taken with serenity and the only regret is "not having taken this step last year."