Climber
DOB 26-03-1999
AGE OF DIAGNOSIS 15
YEARS WITH TEAM 3
Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
PROFILE
Now in his third professional season with Team Novo Nordisk, Italian climber Antonio Polga has proved himself to be one of the team’s most reliable domestiques over the last two seasons. Following 44 race days in 2024 with 46 in 2025, the Vicenza natives’ never say die attitude has won many supporters both in and outside of the team.
Finally making the pro team in 2024, Polga who should maybe go by Antonio ‘Perseverance’ Polga for the great determination he has shown throughout his journey to realize his dreams, stood out as a solid domestique during his debut season.
Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 15 years old Polga was fortunate to be surrounded by a loving and supportive family and within a week he was out on a bike ride with his father.
Despite misconceptions about diet from his local medical practitioner, Polga quickly educated himself and found that with the right balance and care his diet need not change so much and a key factor to his diabetes management was exercise.
After discovering Team Novo Nordisk through coach Paolo Artuso, the teenager from Veneto became inspired and joining the team became his goal. Attending his first Talent ID camp back in 2016 and despite not being selected for the junior or development teams Polga was not deterred and returned numerous times until he was selected for Devo team at the end of 2022, and finally the pro team one year later. A true story of not giving up.
Off the bike Polga is a qualified engineer after earning his degree from the University of Padova in October 2023. He lives near Vicenza and enjoys spending time with friends, family and his two dogs.