21/08/2023

Lorenzo Fortunato signs with Astana Qazaqstan Team - "He is the rider who can make a serious step ahead in his career in our team"

Lorenzo Fortunato is joining Astana Qazaqstan Team. The two-year deal sees the Italian climber finally join the World Tour after several years of strong results and performances in the Italian field.

“I am really happy to join team Astana, the team with a great history, who won all three Grand Tours with different riders. I am looking forward to meeting my new team and I hope to keep on progressing there as I did it during the last three years," Fortunato said in a press release. "I am sure with a bigger calendar which I’ll have in Astana Qazaqstan Team I’ll have more opportunities to prove myself as a team helper and as a rider who can make results. I am really grateful for this possibility to make a step into the WorldTour and I hope to pay this trust off in the next years."

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Winne of races such as the Vuelta a Asturias and Adriatica Ionica, the 27-year old is a pure climber. His big career breakthrough was at the 2021 Giro d'Italia when he won the stage up to Monte Zoncolan, but he has since had other strong results consolidating himself as one of the main climbers at ProTour level. Besides winning Asturias, he also finished fifth at the Tour of the Alps this spring.

Fortunato joins the Kazakh team, which is bringing in a few interesting reinforcements, up until the end of the 2025 season. “With all the results Lorenzo already achieved it seems like it is a good time for him to move to the WorldTour and I believe he is the rider who can make a serious step ahead in his career in our team," team manager Alexander Vinokourov said.

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"We see in Lorenzo a rider who can fight for a good result in week-long stage races but also in one-day classics. At the same time he has an impressive experience in the Giro d’Italia where he already got an important win on Zoncolan. Well, I am looking forward to see Lorenzo in Astana Qazaqstan Team and I am sure this move could be a successful one both for the rider and the team."