🇵🇹 RACE: @lavuelta Team presentation 🖊️ ✅ The second stage of #LaVuelta starts from Cascais in less than an hour. #AstanaQazaqstanTeam
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | Lorenzo Fortunato on his goals for 2024 Vuelta a Espana: "I want to do GC... after the first few days, I'll see where I sit"
CyclingSunday, 18 August 2024 at 14:00
After an impressive Giro d'Italia earlier this year, in which Astana Qazaqstan Team's Lorenzo Fortunato just missed out on the top 10 overall, fading slightly in the final days, the 28-year-old Italian is back for a second Grand Tour of the season at the Vuelta a Espana.
With the Spanish Grand Tour also starting just across the border in Lisbon, Portugal on Saturday afternoon, it's also a chance for Fortunato to experience a new country, as he revealed in an exclusive interview with CyclingUpToDate ahead of stage 2 getting underway in Cascais.
"Yes it's my first time in Portugal. I'm very happy to start for the first in La Vuelta and for today and after today, for me it's about seeing where I am," the former Giro d'Italia stage winner tells us. "Now, we'll start the day, first proper stage, and we'll go for the win."
Whilst Fortunato did mount a serious general classification challenge at the Giro d'Italia earlier this year after the expected GC threat for Astana Qazaqstan Team, Alexey Lutsenko was forced to abandon the race, before he himself faded in the few days, this time around the Italian is hopeful he can finally secure himself a GC top 10 in a Grand Tour.
"At the Giro, in the last three days I was sick and I lost my top 10," he recalls with disappointment. "Here, I want to do GC but also to see for stages, so after the first few days, I'll see where I sit."
Well, after the stage 1 individual time trial in Lisbon, the general classification might already be a bit difficult for Fortunato. The Astana Qazaqstan Team leader clocked the 127th best time, meaning he is already 1:22 down on the early Red Jersey wearer Brandon McNulty and 1:06 behind the best of the GC riders, Primoz Roglic.
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- Interesting suggestion, fo you think testing Tadej’s (or Bolts’ or so many others’) parents would have given us a preview of his potential then or what criteria do you have to pick parents with?Mistermaumau19-12-2024
- Even amateur teams suffer this sort. But this is also largely due to the precarious sponsorship, in very few sports do you find kit with so many sponsors having to be integrated and changing so regularly.Mistermaumau19-12-2024
- I think it’s pretty obvious what was responsible for destroying interest that used to be there.Mistermaumau19-12-2024
- This has been stated repeatedly, MVDP for CX, road and if it already counts, gravel. Lavreysen for track. I expect as a cycling fan you’ve heard of them?Mistermaumau19-12-2024
- The same thing was said when Tadej announced that he would ride the Giro: "he goes to Il Giro because he knows he can't win the Tour". Always negative speculations. Maybe Primoz, near to the final of his career, simply wants to try this experience.
maria2024202419-12-2024 - If Valentino Rossi could never win during his period of dominance, and massive personality, then Pogacar not winning isn't a massive surprise. Cycling isn't a Premier League global sport......only one event reaches the mainstream every year - and that's not good enough.wipperman9519-12-2024
- I don't think it's only a British thing; the biggest talents aren't usually drawn to CX. Where are all the top Italian, French, Spanish, Slovenian CX riders? Apart from Belgium, and Netherlands, it's not really a target for up and coming cyclists - as there's no career unless you move to Belgium. Other countries can't support a proper professional series, like an international sport should be able to do. Lets not forget, since 2016, British riders have won plenty of World championships; with Pidcock, Richards, Tulett & Backstedt all winning more than one..... And, there was a time when Belgium didn't rule the roost in CX; that was Switzerland, but since the advent of XC MTB, their top off-road talents race there instead of CX - and the 2nd raters not good enough for XC MTB, race CX.wipperman9519-12-2024
- "25-34 are only 13% of USA Cyclings membership" Wow. I own a bike shop, and that number comports both with what I see in the business as well as on the road and trails, but it's somehow hugely demoralizing to see it quantified. Thirteen percent?verve82519-12-2024
- What super dutch talent are we talking about?awp18-12-2024
- Yes, 25-34 are only 13% of USA Cyclings membership.awp18-12-2024