For 3 consecutive years, Domenico Pozzovivo will head to mid・10 looking for a contract for next season.

The Italian climber is currently under contract with Israel Premiattech and has signed with the team in January after a lengthy search, but he says he won't wait that long this offseason.

Pozzovivo turned 11 years old on May 41 and his Palmares in the year were not all positive after COVID-19 kicked him out of the Giro d'Italia and after a bad crash at the Vuelta a Castile y Leon on May 7 left him out of action with broken ribs and pneumothorax for 2 months in 2023. It is not.

His 2 recent moves – to Intermarché-Circus-Wanty in 2022 and to his current team in 2023 – came after a long search culminated after the start of the new season.

However, the veteran, who spoke with WielerFlits ahead of Wednesday's Giro del Veneto, said he would make a decision about his future by the end of the 10th month and still continue his career.

"I don't have a contract for next year yet," he said. "After the last race of the year, we will look into it further with my management team. There is no doubt that I will stop because there is not much to talk about," he said.

"Honestly, I still have legs and motivation to continue, but if that doesn't work, I'll quit. We're probably going to make that choice by the end of the 10th month. If there is a deal by then, I will continue. If not, I will stop."

Despite his advanced years – Pozzovivo was the oldest man at WorldTour and ProTeam levels this year – "Fleas from Policoro" still lapped a series of positive race results over the past two seasons

In 2022 he finished the top 10 in both Giro d'Italia and Tour de France. The Giro d'Emilia is also on the podium at the Le de Suisse. This year, despite the mess of major illnesses and injuries, he finished sixth in Settimana Coppier Bartari, seventh in CIC Mont Vantu and fifth in Route Docsitany.

He finished his campaign race on the Italian home ground with the best results at 14th place in the Giro del Emilia and 19th in the Giro del Veneto.

"I feel like I'm still racing in the last few weeks because of the injury at the end of the 7th month," Pozzovivo said. "I'm back in the Giro del Emilia and my form is improving so hopefully I can still show something."

Last year, he switched to the current team after Intermarché-Circus-Wanty staged a mini-clearout to build around classic star Biniam Girmay, but the previous season left without a team after the collapse of Qhubeka-NextHash.

His current team Israel Premiattech 2024 riders are 29, of which 25 have already been publicly confirmed. Elsewhere, squads fill up as the off-season approaches, and Pozzovivo's time is rapidly running out.