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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