"Maybe I'll aim for mountains jersey also at Vuelta" - Lorenzo Fortunato prepares to tackle a valued Giro-Vuelta double
Cycling
XDS Astana Team continued to race on a high also at the 2025 Giro d'Italia. The team's ambition, as declared before the race, was to hunt for stages and the riders of Kazakh formation never lost sight of that goal. They were ultimately rewarded for their efforts in stage 16 through Christian Scaroni, but their biggest star was undoubtedly that day's runner-up: Lorenzo Fortunato.
With an overwhelming dominance, the 29-year-old Italian was a known winner of the King of Mountains classification with few stages still left to complete, securing himself a spot on the podium in Rome in few days' advance.
"I'm very happy, that was my goal for this Giro. I won this blue jersey, the team won a stage, so I'm very happy," said Fortunato in an interview with organizer after the last stage.
Importantly for Astana, the KoM jersey comes with 180 UCI points, but Fortunato's season doesn't end here, just like the mission of whole Astana, despite moving up to 17th spot in the rankings. What does the calendar look like for Fortunato? "Later in the season, I'm also going to do La Vuelta, maybe I'll also aim for the mountains jersey, we'll see. But for now, I'm going to enjoy myself, before going to the Tour de Suisse."
The Italian looks also a bit further ahead and it's clear that he'd like to prove himself as a GC rider and finally make it into a Grand Tour top-10 (previous best result is 12th at 2024 Giro). "When I turned professional, my first ambition was to compete in the general classification, maybe that will be my goal next year," he explained.
Final Mountain classification of the 2025 Giro d'Italia:
| Position | Rider | Team | Points |
| 01 | Fortunato Lorenzo | XDS Astana Team | 355 |
| 02 | Scaroni Christian | XDS Astana Team | 201 |
| 03 | Prodhomme Nicolas | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | 107 |
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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