Lorenzo Fortunato these days he is at home, in his Bologna, but it is only the calm "before the storm". For the revelation of the Eolo-Kometa In fact, almost a month of high altitude is on the horizon. We need to prepare for the end of the season and, at the same time, start looking ahead to the next one. The streets of Livigno await him. The first part, sleeping at an altitude of 1.800 meters in the town, the second even higher, in Trepalle at 2.100 meters.
He faces it all with a desire to grow, enthusiasm, determination and a two-year contract, recently renewed. Meanwhile, on his smartphone he hasn't lost a single meter of the Burgos Tour. His teammates were in the race, starting with Vincenzo Albanese. “I followed his race on my smartphone,” says Fortunato.
So, following each other's videos is a habit. Albanese himself stopped at the foot of the toughest section of the Zoncolan to witness your victory...
Alba is my right-hand woman. We've been running together since we were juniors. And the same goes for amateurs. Then he passed and from this season we found ourselves at Eolo. We've been running together practically since 2014.e.
Lorenzo, let's start with the signing a few days ago: how did it go?
After my victories I had many teams, even WorldTour, who looked for me and made me some good offers, but it was my main idea is to stay at Eolo-Kometa. We've reached a satisfactory agreement. They've helped me grow, and if I've won, it's also thanks to them, and it was important for me to stay here.
A true grassroots growth project for your team…
Exactly. The fact that they've kept me, confirmed other riders, and a few new additions that are yet to arrive speaks volumes. In other situations, when a rider from a professional team starts winning, they immediately move to a WorldTour team.
And does this apply to you too?
I stayed with Eolo because I want to grow up in the right way. I don't want to skip any steps. Doing things right. Next year I want to focus on the stage race classifications, and here I know I'll be able to do it properly. I want to prepare for the Giro at 101 percent.
Well, in this sense you have a great teacher, Ivan Basso: you will have talked about him during the negotiations…
Ivan is a key figure for me. He's ridden many major Tours, and so has the staff: Zanatta, Sean Yates... and not only have they done it, but they're also used to winning. It will be important to go fast on the big climbs, and those are only found in the Grand Tours.
You seem very aware. Do you also feel responsible?
Definitely. Our team has invested a lot, and if I've raced without pressure this year, I know next year won't be the same. I know they'll be waiting for me. In fact, it will be the same for this second half of the season. However, I am happy to have these responsibilities and in fact I aim to take them on.
During all this, did you also talk about a different job with Ivan and the staff?
Yes, yes... So far, I have to say I haven't raced much. For example, the last race I did was the Italian championship, and then I'll be back racing in September. I've only done a few races, but they've been good. That's why I want to get there well-prepared. One of the things that has already changed is the work with the time trial bike. Ivan and I have already started talking about positions, set-up... And then I know that I will have some work aimed more at endurance... thinking about the stage races.
A nice change in preparation…
Yes, I had a time trial bike before, but for various reasons I'd always neglected it. Ultimately, I just tried to do well wherever I could. Now it won't be like this anymore. And I'll need the resistance. Then we'll see specifically.
Do you think you'll also go on a diet, that you'll have to lose a few pounds?
We haven't talked about it. I can say that nIn the last week of the Giro I was really thin and light and we didn't do any special diets. There will certainly be room for improvement in this area as well.
You said you'll be racing in September: what races will you be doing?
All one-day races, which will also require a lot of explosiveness. I will do the races on the Italian calendar. The most important is the Tour of Lombardy, then Tre Valli, Milan-Turin…And maybe even the Giro dell'Emilia (and on the latter the tone is that of someone who hopes for it since he would be running at home, ed.).
