Now that he has also gone on holiday and we will see him again in the group in September, we have Lorenzo Fortunato, inundated with questions, the Zoncolan elf. The way to get to know him a little better and understand where he wants to go.
1) What is your name and where are you from?
My name is Lorenzo Fortunato, I'm from Bologna and I was born on May 9, 1996.
2) Did you think you would win on Zoncolan?
Absolutely not, I wanted to go on the run and I was only thinking about that and so it wasThen I found myself on the run and that's where it all started.
3) When you heard that others were going to try to get you ahead, did you think it would be a lot of work?
Before the meeting, I wondered if it was really worth running away, because it wasn't certain she'd arrive. Then the meeting took place, and they told me bluntly: "Fortu, you have to run away!"At that point, I had to. I believed in it, and my teammates believed even more than I did in bringing me out into the open. And I won the stage…
4) What did you know about Zoncolan?
Which was the hardest climb of the Giro and which the last 3 kilometers would have been hellishBut I wasn't thinking about anything else but pushing and in the meantime I was waiting for the 3 kilometers to overtake Tratnik. On the radio they were telling me "Wait, wait, wait." So I waited and when the road got steep, I pedaled harder, looked under the wheel and he was gone. And I continued until the end.
5) As a junior, you were a junior, then you made the Under-23s and graduated. How important has this gradual progression been so far?
It's important because I reached 25 years old and won a stage at the Giro, coming in first in the standings. At the Adriatica Ionica I won. Maybe some young people do it before, I did it nowEveryone has their own path and growth. I've always worked even when things weren't going well. I kept thinking that sooner or later all that work would come back to me, and in the end, it happened when I least expected it. In the meantime, I graduated in Sports Science when I was an amateur.
6) This is also important.
Yes, at least you know what you're doing. You know why you train and maybe you do it more willingly or at least you understand why you're doing it.
7) Was there room for all of this in your dreams?
I fantasized, I dreamed… But I never expected to win all this in the space of 20 days. Now I'm stopping and I'll unplug for about twenty days, let's say, and then I'll start again in September, but If it were up to me I would keep running.
8) Are the two victories of Zoncolan and Monte Grappa somehow connected?
In my opinion, yes. After the Zoncolan, I got morale And in the last week of the Giro, I was going strong on the climbs, staying ahead. Then, at the Adriatica Ionica, I put the icing on the cake.
9) What does climbing mean to you?
Io I can't wait for the climb to begin so it's less tiring, because I suffer too much on the plains.
10) What is hard work for you?
It's a constant presence in cycling. We're all used to it, and you're happy to do it. In fact, without effort, it wouldn't even be cycling. Effort has its own flavor.Many times you struggle and don't get there, and then the struggle is bad. But when you struggle, you get there, and you win, you don't even feel it.
11) What did they say at home about these victories?
They didn't believe it. When they saw the Zoncolan, Castel de Britti exploded. The victory on Monte Grappa caused less of a stir, in proportion. The real boom came on Zoncolan, because I wasn't expecting it myself, and I achieved it after the Giro. But taking home the overall classification with the Monte Grappa stage... that too was important especially as a growth phase.
12) Did you realize you were about to lose everything due to a gap in the sprint?
I didn't notice anything. I was Albanese's wheel, we arrived, journalists, I celebrated, no one said anythingI went to the interviews, to the podium, to the awards ceremony. And when they were dismantling the finish line, I went to the bus and that's when I found out. But there wasn't a moment after the finish line when I was afraid I hadn't won.
13) What does it mean to race under Basso and Contador?
They teach you how to be a rider, like I never was before. Even the little things that make a difference. They motivate you, they teach you and above all they give you that extra strength that maybe you didn't have before. and that they transmit to me as when they were running. Contador talks a lotSometimes we're on the bus together, he talks to me, I listen, then, with my own legs and my own strength, I put into practice what he teaches me.
14) Did you have any doubts about accepting their offer?
Not for a second. The offer came at the end of the season, and I said yes right away. I followed Alberto when I started running, because he was on TV. Ivan, on the other hand, followed me throughout the Giro d'Italia., when I texted Alberto because he had problems with Covid. They are two great references.
15) Are you a sprinter or do you walk at a leisurely pace?
They are someone who tends to stay a little more in the relationshipI sit or stand, but I don't change pace. I'm going at my regular pace, I tend not to look at the shots and I have one in the end, but I do that one, I do it hard!
16) Is Zoncolan the hardest climb you've ever done while running?
Perhaps the hardest climbs I've done were in Asturias before the Giro. However, having a 36 and a 29, you often make the climb tough depending on how you ride it. Sometimes a slight slope in the wind is harder than the climb itself, at least for meOn the Zoncolan I had the 36×32 and I still went hard, but it's a different thing compared to the 39×25 of the past.
17) Do you ever get recognized on the street?
Since after the Zoncolan, it happens often. In Lombardy, because I live in Erba with my girlfriend, I avoid the Fountains when there are many amateurs, because otherwise I'd be stuck for half an hour. However, it is pleasant, but it becomes a little less so if I have to stop four times in a given distance.
18) Do you train alone or in a group?
In a group, I struggle on my own. Then there are the days when I go out alone, but that's the exception.
19) What are your next goals?
Definitely a good end to the season, at Emilia, at Lombardia and at the classics in Italy. To finish well and have already be one step ahead for next year.
20) How do you respond to offers from other teams?
My idea, I said it right away, is to stay at the Eolo-Kometa, because I felt good here and in the future they will grow and I will grow with them.
21) Three adjectives to describe the perfect bike?
light, we are at 6,8 kilos. Sliding and about this Ceramic Speed It can't be beaten. Then it has to be beautiful and clean.
22) What does the bike with the Zoncolan writing look like?
They gave it to me on the morning of Alpe di Motta and I told myself that I had to get into the top 10 and in fact I got ninthIt was the last mountain stage of the Giro, everyone wanted to win, and I was left there. I dropped away in the last 4-5 kilometers of the final climb. And when I was at full speed I looked down, I read the name on the bike, and I told myself that I couldn't leave in Madesimo. In short, I won on Zoncolan…
23) How much do you weigh?
Sonop 57-58. Obviously I can't keep it all year round, though. I don't mind eating salad, plain pasta and chicken breast even for a month.
24) Is the time trial an enemy?
No, the time trial was never prepared, because no one thought I'd go to the Giro like this. But I'll start doing it already at the next altitude training camp, in preparation for the next Giro d'Italia.
25) Before the Zoncolan, what was your greatest moment of glory on a bike?
Passing through San Lazzaro, my hometown. When I passed by, I greeted everyone, and it was already a victory. Being at the Giro d'Italia and passing through San Lazzaro...
