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"
Cycling
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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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Yes, Roglic could theoretically have beaten Sepp. Jonas must have had complete confidence that he could come back and win the Vuelta another year. Visma had not allowed Roglic to ride the Tour that year, so his future did not look so bright, despite his narrow Giro win..Hills3315-11-2026
- So far, a good series about riders before my time, even if the text feels AI generated like so much on this site. About the rider, he seems like one of many who are active fan favorites but don’t survive in the stories of cycling, a few decades later - I didn’t really know anything about him and this was a good read, thank you!RidesHills15-11-2026
- A calm, honest documentary, a bit of hagiography but mostly not too much. When he talks about a coffee shop, it aligns with several things in his world - he might want calm, but he does (more than a little bit) have someone near him (his fiancee) who makes sure that things happen the way he expects. Many atheletes have retired only to find out just how much others were taking care of their lives for them. If they work out (I'm old, things happen), I am sure it will take a renegotiation, which is a good thing. I truly enjoyed watching it, seeing him, seeing her, seeing the whole system built around him.RidesHills15-11-2026
- You do? My mother grew up around Bleiburg (Pliberk), across the border in Austria . My grandparents lived close to the train station in Bleiburg, and I spent a lot of the 70s and 80s there. The "Jugo" train of my youth went to Dravograd or Maribor, exotic places (behind the wall) at the time. What a moment that was, the 10 days war of '91 - times sure have changed.RidesHills15-11-2026
- I hope he rides a bitmij15-11-2026
- Greatest athlete this world has ever produced ! LOL ... you definitely are a comdian ! Cycling is so sprecialized and you think he's the greatest athlete ever ! Still laughing !frieders315-11-2026
- b.s. headline. Jonas wasn't told anything, it is just a pundit telling him what to do. the actual article is not even close to the insinuation of the headline.mij15-11-2026
- I think Roglic could have beaten Sepp. not Jonas. I was referring to Sepp.mij15-11-2026
- I'm deeply sick of this guy and his unwillingness to race seriously for more than a month or two. I'll never respect riders who do that. Seixas will be stronger than him next season, and maybe Del Toro as well. I don't even think he'll finish on the podium at any GT where Pogi, Seixas, and Del Toro are racing.megasmacky15-11-2026
- Not a chance in hell.megasmacky15-11-2026
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🇵🇹 RACE: @lavuelta Team presentation 🖊️ ✅ The second stage of #LaVuelta starts from Cascais in less than an hour. #AstanaQazaqstanTeam
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