How the fight for UCI points may have permanently changed mountain king Fortunato's ambitions

The 29-year-old Italian made his breakthrough in 2021 when he stayed ahead of the GC contenders in the Giro and triumphed on the steep Monte Zoncolan. After that performance, Contador's Pro Continental team increasingly focused on GC results. In the same year, Fortunato won the Adriatica Ionica Race and, in 2023, the Tour of Asturias.

The following year, however, he joined Astana and showed his potential in a WorldTour team with a twelfth place in the Giro and sixteenth place in the Vuelta a España. However, the Kazakh team had a really rough 2024 and had to change everything for 2025. UCI points suddenly became the most important thing, with riders even changing their winter training regime to be ready to fight for victory and the podium in every race.

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The fact that the Astana riders were well aware that there was a lot to be gained in the Giro was evident from Fortunato's conversation with IDLProCycling.com. "In the past, I rode for the GC, but this year, I wanted to go for the mountain classification and stage wins for the team. We really needed the points, and I think I picked up 400 points for the team, which is a lot," he said proudly.

In addition to Christian Scaroni's stage win on day 16 (where Fortunato let him take the victory), the team won the mountain jersey and picked up a lot of podium places. In a press release from XDS Astana, Fortunato said: "This victory is also for my team, which has given me incredible support throughout the season.After I took the jersey following Stage 3, the thought came to me – why not fight for the mountain classification? Of course, this required huge support from the whole squad, and every day we had to give 100%."

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The big question is: what does the future hold for Fortunato? In 2025, the focus will remain on one-day success, but will his GC ambitions resurface if that secures a WorldTour license for the 2026-2028 period? “We'll see in the next big race. Riding for the GC isn't everything,” the cheerful climber promptly remarked. “I actually enjoyed the fight every single day."

The much-needed fight for points may have brought about a lasting change for the energetic mountain goat. "It was also important for us to ride for the top places, while I also picked up some points with my 24th place in the general classification. The whole peloton is now riding for points, so it was a great fight."

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])