Filippo Pozzato is showing signs of improvement in his COVID-19 illness, and the former Italian professional is calling on other players to get vaccinated to avoid making the same mistakes he did.

Pozzato, who fell ill at the end of October and tested positive, was hospitalized last Tuesday and is being treated with oxygen for pneumonia.

He was first fitted with a nasal tube and then moved to an oxygen mask, but now his deterioration seems to have stopped.

Pozzato told La Gazzetta dello Sport (open in new tab) in a brief update on Tuesday, "I feel better."

Pozzato, 40, began feeling ill on October 22.

Pozzato had the opportunity to be vaccinated earlier, but declined, partly because of the "Ride the Dreamland" series of races in October and partly because he felt "strong" enough not to need the vaccine.

He now regrets this decision: after describing himself as a "fool" over the weekend, the 2006 Milan-San Remo winner gave a television interview to "La7" from his hospital bed about his stance on vaccination.

"I wasn't worried, I didn't think I would get COVID-19. I had contact with a number of positive people over the last year and a half and I never had it. I underestimated everything and made a huge mistake.

"If I had been vaccinated, I probably would not have been hospitalized. My mother was also vaccinated, and I got it from her, and she only had a slight fever for a couple of days and then recovered."

"I realized that we are all at risk, even if we are healthy and young. I can only advise everyone to get vaccinated. It is the basis for avoiding the worst. I think we should all get vaccinated as a tribute to those who have lost their lives and to those who have worked to cure those struck by COVID-19."[17