Lorenzo Fortunato

The hero of Zoncolan, the protagonist of the victory in the queen stage of the 2021 Giro d’Italia, comes from a season in which a lot of bad luck and some physical problems took away the joy of victory. After a resounding season, that of 2021, with the diamond of victory at the Giro and the beautiful statement at the Adriatica Ionica Race where Lorenzo won the stage with arrival on Monte Grappa and the general classification, Lorenzo is ready to continue his path of growth with the dream of another victory at the Giro. Originally from Castel de Britti, the town of Alberto Tomba, as a boy he played soccer in the role of striker: when he discovered the bicycle, thanks to the pedaling he did together with his father in the hills of Bologna, he has never abandoned it. Excellent results in the youth categories, Fortunato wears the blue jersey in the junior category both in the World Cup and European Championships. In 2016 he had the opportunity to race as a stagiaire with Team Tinkoff, a team that allowed him to participate in the Tour du Limousin, the Tour des Fjors (where he finished 14th), the Tre Valli Varesine, the Milan-Turin and the Tour of Piedmont. A year later, a month after suffering a crash without serious consequences with a vehicle on the descent of Passo di Foscagno, he competed in the Tour of Denmark with Bardiani. After a year with Vini Zabù, the move to Eolo-Kometa for his final breakout. In 2019 he graduated with a degree in Sports Science, loves Lake Como (by now he has moved to Erba, from his fiancée Veronica) and despite his Emilian origins, his favorite dish is tortellini. The fondest memory that binds him to the world of cycling, beyond the victories in the Eolo-Kometa jersey, are the first rides on a racing bike in the company of his father and his group of amateurs: “That spirit,” he says, “and that desire to have fun pedaling on Sunday mornings together with friends have remained with me, and I carry them with me even now that cycling has become my daily routine. Pedaling with my father and his amateur group remain the real reason why I have come this far.”