Giovanni Lonardi is at the Tour of Istanbul, a short four-day stage race that winds around the Turkish capital. From here will begin a series of events that will bring the Veronese and his companions from the Polti VisitMalta until the end of the seasonThe stated goal is to score as many points as possible to qualify for the top thirty teams in the world and earn the right to a wild card to participate in a Grand Tour in 2026. The race for points is very tight and every opportunity is good to try and increase the loot..
"We arrived in Istanbul on Tuesday," Lonardi said on the eve of the race, "on a quick and comfortable direct flight. The ride to the hotel was less comfortable and much slower. This is the eleventh time I've come to race in Türkiye since I became a professional., but the first participation in the Tour of Istanbul. Yesterday (Wednesday, ed.) we saw the route of the prologue that opens the race. For the rest we will rely on maps and VeloViewer, managing to reconnoitre the route is never easy in these parts given the traffic."
Points and victories
In search of points Lonardi he also managed to return to success, he did it at the Grand Prix de Plouay, race 1.2 which preceded the WorldTour category race, the Bretagne Classic, won by Arnaud De LieA success that brought 40 points to Polti VisitMalta, and they are giving a significant hand in the chase for the top 30 (opening photo Freddy Guérin/DirectVelo).
«We are hungry for points – continues Lonardi – like all the teams in our position, and we must seize every opportunityBetween now and October 20th, every race could reshuffle the standings; it really doesn't take much. Falling out of the top 30 would mean not being entitled to a wild card for the GiroWinning is fine, but now what matters is bringing home any result."
So it happens to run in the middle of continental and I have to team up.
At the Grand Prix de Plouay, we and Vf Group-Bardiani were the only professionals in the race (Reverberi's team, however, fielded all under-23s at the start, ed.). We had applied for the WorldTour race but it was not acceptedEach organizer decides which teams to invite. Clearly, in a French race, teams from the same nation will be preferred (the only Italian team to participate was VF Group-Bardiani, which ran with the elite—editor's note).
And are these 40 points collected at the Grand Prix Plouay a nice haul?
Now the second level races are also being run, the team was already in France, since we had just finished the Tour Poitou, and he decided to take part in this one tooOf course we would have preferred to race with the WorldTour teams, but when you're racing you don't think about it. In the end it's always a victoryIn my career I have run many top-level races.
A success that also helps morally?
Of course, it was important for both me and the team. I haven't won since April 2024, so it's a nice confidence boost.. Furthermore, this victory is also an important boost for my teammates for the next month and a half. We will all be looking for results and points.
How difficult is it for a rider to come to terms with this reality?
Not easy, because sometimes you have to "give up" the result to take home a double placing, and therefore more points. I think that with this system we are ruining cycling, or rather with this distribution of points.
In what sense?
There are stage races where if you get a victory you get 14 points (the 2.1, ed.). Or races like the Volta Valenciana where a stage victory is worth 30 pointsThen we go to the Circuit Franco Belge, a one-day race 1.Pro which offers 200 points. Like the fact that winning a general classification, for example at the Vuelta a Burgos, always gives 200 pointsA stage race and a one-day race are not the same thing.
Would a different balance be needed?
I think so, also because we professional teams can't choose the calendar. We can try to organize ourselves, but it's never easy and we have to find a compromise. between where you would like to run and where they accept our request.
