Emanuele Sella is one of the many Italian riders that are still searching for a new job. A professional since 2004, he has spent more than 4 years at Ceramica Panaria, one year at CSF, two at Carmiooro and since 2011 he has defended the Androni colours. After an unlucky season which was hugely affected by a broken femur sustained in a crash in the first kilometers of February’s Troeo Laigueglia, he continues to train while waiting for a call.

"I'm home at home,” he told Tuttobiciweb. “I'm pretty quiet, I continue to go riding and I'm with my family. During the last year I have been much more at home than in past seasons and I have enjoyed Mattia  who is 2 years and 5 months old. Because of the injury I was forced to a stop for a long and this has certainly affected my chances on the market. I still hope, but I know it will be very difficult to find a job since we are already in December. You never know...

"I have absolutely no regrets. Sooner or later I knew this moment would come. I wanted to ride for another year or two, but after the incident I knew it would be tough. I do not know how I am physically. I do not know if I can again be competitive like in the heydays. After such a bad year there are not many opportunities and when Gianni (Savio, Androni manager, ed.) decided not to renew my contract, I knew it would be difficult for me to continue.

"I look forward to ending the year and I'm thinking about what to do. I have many ideas but I want to think carefully about it. I am 34 years old and am neither old nor young. Cycling reflects the general economic situation. In Italy there is very little hope. We have a beautiful team but the focus is on young riders and due to what happened Androni was forced to reduce the number of riders. Then it is easy to do the calculations. Italian cycling was the most popular but now it suffers, partly because Italians don’t always have the best reputation abroad. I am sorry, but cycling is not forever and we know that from the beginning.”

Sella had a controversial career. After a fantastic 2008 Giro d'Italia where he won three stages and the mountains jersey, he tested positive for EPO CERA. After serving a suspension, he returned to the peloton but never reached similar heights.