For Tucson cycling standout Matthew Riccitello, the climb continues | Michael Lev

It just might be a world-class cyclist from Tucson coming off a top-25 finish in the Tour de France.

You might be able to distinguish Matthew Riccitello because of his baby face, his single AirPod (right ear only) or the fact that he isn’t laboring to ascend the climb of about 6,000 feet.

Or you might recognize him because of his extended airtime during the recently completed Tour, the pinnacle of cycling, in which the 24-year-old placed 24th despite primarily serving as support for a teammate.

Riccitello has reached the almost-famous stage of his budding career as a professional cyclist. He’s arguably already more famous than his father, Jimmy, a Pima County Sports Hall of Famer who’s won more than 50 triathlon championships. OK, maybe it’s not arguable.

“I'll be somewhere, and someone will say, ‘Oh, Riccitello?’ I’m thinking maybe they remember the triathlon I did in 1992,” Jimmy Riccitello said.

Instead, he gets this: “Are you Matthew Riccitello's dad? Are you related?”

It’s a source of pride for Jimmy that his son has in some ways surpassed him. Isn’t that what most parents want? That their kids achieve greater success or live better lives?

Pride oozed from Jimmy and wife Traci’s pores during the 19th stage of the Tour de France on July 24. Matthew paced the peloton while ascending Alpe d’Huez — the same iconic locale in the French Alps where Jimmy has conducted a cycling camp for about two decades.

“It's right up there with the top things that I've experienced in life — our kids being born, marriage,” Jimmy Riccitello said. “My athletic accomplishments don't even come close to how it felt to see him come up that hill.”

Matthew Riccitello would finish 11th in Stage 19. Paul Seixas, his Decathlon CMA CGM teammate, would place ninth.

With Riccitello often providing wind-blocking aid in the mountains, Seixas finished fourth overall. So did their team. Job well done.

Riccitello now turns his attention to the upcoming Vuelta a España, which begins on Saturday, Aug. 22. Riccitello placed fifth in last year’s Vuelta, his best finish in the three Grand Tour races. This year’s Vuelta will mark his fifth career Grand Tour start.

Eight of the Vuelta’s 21 stages — which cover 3,275 kilometers, or 2,035 miles — are considered mountainous. What better place to train than our very own Mount Lemmon?

Breakthroughs on the bike

Riccitello vaguely remembers the first time he rode a bike without training wheels on the grounds of Peter Howell Elementary School near his parents’ home. It took another 10 years or so for cycling to become his passion.

Riccitello played multiple sports as a youth, including basketball, flag football and baseball. He ran track and cross country. He swam for Tucson Ford Aquatics.

Jimmy and Traci didn’t push Matthew or younger sister Madeline in any particular direction. They instead introduced them to “as many sports as we could, let them decide what if anything they enjoy doing and hope that it's lasting,” Jimmy said.

At age 13, Matthew zeroed in on cycling. Representing El Grupo, he participated in dozens of junior and senior races. He excelled from the outset, placing first in multiple events.

Riccitello’s first big breakthrough came at the USA Cycling Road Nationals on June 29, 2017, in Louisville, Kentucky. Now 15, Riccitello finished first in the time trial among 62 competitors aged 15-16.

“When they called me from whatever state they were in and said he won Nationals,” Traci Riccitello said, “I was like, ‘What?’ ”

She shouldn’t have been surprised. It was around that time, in his mid-teens, that Matthew progressed to the point where Jimmy — a former world-class triathlete, remember — no longer could keep up with his son. It happened one time at The Shootout, the Saturday group ride from Tucson to Sahuarita and back. Then it happened while ascending Mount Lemmon.

“I remember one day early on, Jimmy came home from a ride there, and he said, ‘I couldn't keep up with Matthew.’ I thought he was joking,” Traci said. “That was one of the first times it crossed my mind where I was like, ‘Oh, maybe this is something. He must be really good.’”

What does it take to be really good at cycling? The first thing Matthew mentioned was genetics. That makes sense. His father clearly had the stuff to thrive in grueling endurance competitions.

Matthew also mentioned enjoying the process. Training for road races is difficult. It can become monotonous. If you dread it, you probably won’t stick with it.

“If it's something that excites you — going out and riding your bike every day or running or swimming or doing whatever — if you enjoy that, you can do well in the sport,” Matthew Riccitello said. “These endurance sports, they require a lot of training, and it's not quite as simple as the more you do, the better you are. But if you train a lot, you're gonna be good. And if you enjoy the training, it's easy to train a lot.”

Riccitello was still in middle school, at Doolen GATE, when he started cycling competitively. He raced as a junior while attending University High School. He attended the University of Arizona for one year, all online in the wake of COVID, before going all-in.

Seeing the world

Riccitello isn’t completely sure why he picked cycling. He’d been around the sport a lot because of his dad, and the Tour de France was always on TV in the summer.

“Maybe what drew me to it was it was different from running and swimming in that you could go a lot more places,” Riccitello said. “You can see a lot more on a bike than you can in a 30-minute run. Or swimming — you're just going back and forth in the pool.”

Oh, the places Riccitello has gone and seen.

Riccitello was 15 the first time he flew solo to Europe — first Belgium, then the Netherlands — for a four-week stint with USA Cycling. He described the experience as intimidating and nerve-wracking but also exciting.

“If it weren't for cycling,” he said, “I wouldn't have gotten those experiences.”

At 19, Riccitello moved to Europe and became a full-time pro. He lives near Nice, France, about two-thirds of the year.

What’s funny about that is Riccitello basically spoke it into existence.

While attending Jimmy’s camp, Matthew told his father: “I’m going to live here one day.”

“He said the same with cycling,” Jimmy said. “Not in a braggadocious way, but just matter-of-fact. ... ‘I'm going to be a pro cyclist.’

“I don't remember if I ever heard him say he's going to ride the Tour de France one day. But it's just cool when your friends, your kids, anybody (who has) dreams and goals, set their mind to it and are actually able to achieve that.”

Matthew Riccitello isn’t cocky. At all. When he’s here, he lives with his parents. But he has a quiet confidence.

He was, of course, elated to make the team that Decathlon CMA CGM sent to the Tour de France. But he also knew his role. He was essentially teammate Seixas’ lead blocker in the mountains.

“I wasn't there to try and ride for a really high place overall,” said Riccitello, whose specialty is climbing. “I think just as a result of being there with Paul on the really hard days, I finished 24th. So in one aspect, it's good. I'm happy with how the race went for sure.”

Not that Riccitello doesn’t have his own lofty goals. He laid them out in typically understated fashion when asked what he hopes to accomplish in cycling over the next decade.

“Keep progressing, keep getting better,” Riccitello said. “I always say this: If I keep improving, I'll keep enjoying it. And then ... I’d like to finish on the podium of one of the Grand Tours.”

Riccitello has medaled on the pro circuit. He finished first in last year’s Sibiu Cycling Tour in Romania and in this year’s Tour de la Provence and Tour du Jura in France.

Tucson’s summer heat and Mount Lemmon’s steepness will prepare him for the Vuelta a España. Other times of year, Riccitello will ride near Colossal Cave or Gates Pass or even around The Loop.

Riccitello still isn’t used to the attention he’s getting now. But he and his family appreciate it.

“I can't explain how great the Tucson community has been,” Traci said.

Her son’s climb started here. His worldwide ascent continues.