Daniele Ratto is back in Italy. After a season in America with UnitedHealthcare race, he has signed a contract with Androni - Sidermec. 

Ratto recently met his teammates for the first time at the first team gathering.

“I am back in Italy after a year in America,” he told Cyclingpro.net. “I'm also here because I have so many ideas and so many reasons to do well. I want to have spacee and above all this is a team where you can always contribute when you are not doing well because there is always someone to support. This is also important to find the condition. I'm happy to be here and want to see how the season goes.”

Ratto only spent one year in America.

“As every year you learn something,” he said. “On a personal level I'm happy because I rode a lot until the end of June and I had some results. I did a great Tour of Turkey where I tried to go for GC even though I was only 12th. It was great for me but not worth much. I failed to win but had three podiums. I was always there and I was missing a little bit every time. Next year I hope to find that something that was missing.”

Riding for Androni, Ratto should do more races suited to his skills.

”This will be my seventh year in the pro ranks and I have more experience. Not as much as Pellizotti but more than I had a few years ago. There are so many races that could sout me. The trick is to make things go in the right direction with no injuries and I will try to avoid them. I hope to find that extra something that I have not found until now.

“I will most likely start in Argentina (Tour de San Luis, ed.) and if we get an invitation to the Giro, the main goal will be to be there to aim for a stage or at least to show something. I believe and I hope that all this will happen because I need a good result.”

Ratto enjoyed a highlight of his career when he won a big mountain stage in snowy conditions in the 2013 Vuelta a Espana.

“It was a day in which my victory would be something absurd but it came,” he said. “On the one hand you can say that everything is possible, at least almost everything. The memory is great because it was a such a special situation. I had very strong breakaway companions like Gilbert and [Luis Leon] Sanchez, but in that particular situation I found myself really well. I remember the people who were on the streets, the cold that was part of the victory. It is a reminder that there are always possibilites.”

Being a fast rider with solid climbing skills, Ratto has done well in stages of the Volta a Catalunya and Vuelta al Pais Vasco. He hopes to bring that experience to the Italian races.

“I have had so many results in Spain because they ride differently than they do in Italy,” he said. ”I'm pleased with those results and I'm also proud of having achieved ​​them in WorldTour races because it is the top. I am convinced that even if every sprint and every race have their own history, there are many that are similar and so I hope to use those experiences.” 

”I have decided that I will again improve my climbing because I have always been a few kilograms ligher than I am now. Surely I will have less muscle mass, but I want to get back to 70kg and try to go faster uphill. This year I was the sprinter at UnitedHealthcare and I had a role that is not mine because I have never been a sprinter. Here at Androni I cannot always do the sprints because there are people like Chicchi who are faster than me so I can focus even more. I am convinced it will be the best solution.”

Ratto is back in Italy where he spent several years with Cannondale.

“This year I only did Tre Valli Varesine, Lombardy and the National Championships but I have missed it,” he said. “We live in a beautiful country and the problem when you live in a beautiful country with the way you eat, the company of people and other aspects, you miss everything when you are away. I was fine at UnitedHealthcare and Italy is Italy and it's hard to leave.

”In the USA, they have more media. They are much more social than we are. The first thing the sponsor does is to have a selfie with the team. They have a different attitude. We had ​​some days at the training camp when it was not so important to do any training even though it was late December. Instead, we were with the sponsor. We have devoted days at the camp to be with them. The vision is partly right because the sponsor is the one that gives you a chance to ride. They have a vision of cycling and do not have the European habits. For example they eat in a certain way. Ketchup is allowed, a beer after the ride is fine while here it is slightly different.  I can tell you that as I come from Liquigas. The situations are different but the Americans have proven to be fast, sometimes even faster than Europeans.”