"I’d like to expand my collection of jerseys": Lorenzo Fortunato sets his sights on more mountain glory after Giro d’Italia success

At 29 years of age, Lorenzo Fortunato has had a more traditional rise through the world of cycling and continues to improve every year. The Italian climber has reached his best ever level in 2025 and will continue to aim higher in the World Tour.

Even if he only secured one victory in 2025, it was his best season to date in his view. “It was definitely my best season since I turned professional,” he said in an interview to bici.pro. “I had the goal of winning the blue jersey at the Giro d’Italia, and I achieved that by taking the mountains classification. Then we had the objective of saving the team, and we did that too, with a good contribution from me in terms of points.”

Despite the positives, there is also negatives. “The only regret is the end of the season, where I didn’t perform as I wanted because of physical issues that cancelled out all the work and hopes I had. I wasn’t able to finish the season the way I would have liked, but overall it remains a positive year.”

Fortunato joined XDS Astana Team in 2024, which was a crucial moment for the team, as it was risking relegation from the World Tour. “We knew we were at risk as a team, so we rolled up our sleeves,” he explained. “There is a big Italian group here, and I’m not only talking about the riders, but also the staff, the coaches and the masseurs. Everyone. We make a good group, and we manage to make being away from home enjoyable, even though the days away are many. I believe this is the recipe that made our group successful.”

Asked whether he now has a clearer understanding of what kind of rider he said: “In the end, not everyone grows immediately. There are many young riders who are strong as soon as they turn professional, while others struggle a bit more. I personally took a little longer to emerge, like many from my generation (you can look at Ciccone as an example), but in the end we found our space, and it’s an important space.”

Fortunato has shown consistency in stage races, but his objective has always been fighting for stage wins. He doesn't rule out going for a GC in the future, but that will never be his main aim.

“I would say I’m more of a rider for stages,” he said. “If we talk about general classification, I do well in one-week races, but I’ve never really put myself to the test for riding a strong GC in a Grand Tour. This year the objective was stages and points, and that was my ideal dimension. I know that in the general classification I can say my piece, but I will never be competitive for the top five, so I prefer to focus on stage wins.”

Fortunato has impressed this year in one week stage races such as the Tour de Romandie (where he won the second stage and finished fourth in the overall). What would be needed to be competitive in a the GC of a Grand Tour?

“To target Grand Tours, you need to build a calendar focused only on them,” he explained. “That means fewer distractions and hoping everything goes well, without setbacks, and arriving fresh. In modern cycling you can’t say, ‘I’ll ride this race to prepare for another one.’ You always have to be ready.”

That approach has some risks, especially if things don't go as planned. “It’s clearly a double-edged sword, because you sacrifice three months of the season for one Grand Tour. And if that doesn’t go well, you’ve lost three months of the season. For us it was too important to always perform well. We couldn’t afford to make mistakes.”

Fortunato’s Giro d’Italia, crowned by the KOM jersey, has opened new possibilities for the future. Targeting either the Tour or the Vuelta KOM jerseys might be a realistic option for a rider of his caliber. “Yes, I won’t hide that I’ve thought about it, even if I’ve never said it before. One of my objectives is to continue riding strongly and growing, maybe repeating or even improving the season I just had.”

Looking further ahead, he added: “If I can start the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, I won’t hide that I’d like to test myself against the best climbers and try to expand my collection of jerseys.”

With Astana’s WorldTour status now secure, Fortunato believes the environment is calmer than it was a year ago, but he rejects the idea that motivation could drop. “The risk exists, but already at the first training camp I saw motivation and desire from everyone, just like last year when we were in danger. So I think we’ll continue as we did and we won’t sit back.”

As for his personal programme, there won't be major changes compared to his 2025 calendar. “I always enjoy racing in Italy,” he said. “We still have to evaluate the routes of the three Grand Tours and Tirreno-Adriatico, but more or less I’ll do the same calendar. I like the Giro d’Italia, so I think that will once again be one of the key points of my season,” he concluded.