The artist Andrea Zatti has realized a sculpture to remember the victory on the Zoncolan

The stylized image of a cyclist, stretched out in his poetic effort towards victory. The idea of a mountain to climb in front of him, and of the beauty of the sea behind him. Andrea Zatti, artist and sculptor with a past as a cyclist in which he had the opportunity to race for Stefano Zanatta, imagined in this way the victory on the Zoncolan: and so he created it.

And yesterday, on the eve of the start of the Adriatica Ionica Race, he wanted to give his creation to those who triumphed on Zoncolan on an unforgettable day. “I started to create the trophy – he says – before the stage, without thinking about who would have won it. But I believe that it ended up in the hands of the right person, as it often happens to works of art: they are born, and then they find the person to go to”.

And in fact, looking at Andrea’s work, it really seems to have been created for Lorenzo Fortunato: “I imagined the sea with the cyclist who seems to be pedaling on the water, and I did it thinking of Marco Pantani, who on the Zoncolan signed his last shot before leaving forever. And I like to tie Fortunato, who comes from the same region as Pantani, to this image”.

Andrea, the day Lorenzo triumphed in the fog, was at the top of the Zoncolan: “And I was there with the trophy because I would have wanted to give it to the winner right away, but then it would have been too complicated and I wanted to leave the rider calm: it was nicer to give it to him here, together with my ex-director Stefano Zanatta”.

And here it is, the Zoncolan trophy: a piece that is the result of a unique fusion, in aluminum “Because – explains the artist – it reminds me of the energy of the riders, of living silver. And Fortunato is really the right person: he had never won in his career, and he won in the most beautiful stage. Because nothing happens by chance, in life”.