Interview | Contador and protégé Fortunato with master plan in the Giro: "6.7 watts per kilogram to keep up with the best!"

Lorenzo Fortunato was number one in the article on IDLProCycling.com about the favorites for the mountain classification - and for good reason. The Italian from EOLO-Kometa looked better than ever prior to the race and so this website visited him to talk extensively about his ambitions. With Alberto Contador as his team boss and mentor, Fortunato hopes to play a prominent role in part two of the Giro.

"For me, the first goal is to win a stage," Fortunato says in his best English. The mountain goat succeeded in doing so in 2021, when, to everyone's surprise, he stayed ahead on the ultra-steep Monte Zoncolan. It earned him eternal fame. "People remember a stage win more and longer than when you finish ninth in the general classification. The general classification remains important, but since my stage win on Monte Zoncolan, in every interview and at every team presentation, it has only been about that day. I would like to win the queen stage again."

It's very telling that Fortunato says this without any cynicism or sarcasm. On paper, the Italian is one of the strongest climbers on the start list - and he believes in that himself. "I'm not afraid of the mountain stages, I prefer them over the flat stages, wind and stress. I'm not that strong and don't have a team that fully surrounds me. If I break my bike at a bad moment, I can easily lose ten minutes. I will have to get lucky and seize my moments in the mountains."

Because once the course goes uphill, there are few riders who can ride uphill faster than Fortunato. "My statistics ​​are very good. In the Tour of the Alps and Vuelta a Asturias (which Fortunato won, ed.), I rode 6.5 to 6.7 watts per kilogram - and that's what you need to keep up with the best. The numbers are there, although I won't be able to keep up with guys like Pogacar. It would be cool to stay with the best guys for once. If I can finish with Evenepoel, Roglic and for example Almeida and Vlasov, I'd be happy with that."

Yet, following the wheel of the best classification riders is not the main goal. Chasing a stage win is the priority, along with two other goals: "I love the general classification and a spot in the top ten is possible, I think. That will just depend on the third week, though. If I can gain ten minutes in a breakaway there... During the first week I will lose a lot of time with the time trials and in the flat stages I want to spare my body as much as possible, even if that means coming in half a minute behind during a sprint stage."

Clearly, it has been well thought out. "My teammates will focus on the breakaway and our sprinter Vincenzo Albanese in the flat and transition stages. I will be alone ninety percent of the time, so it's better to be in the back. It's better for me to lose thirty seconds and not take any risks, than try to stay in the front at all costs and fall or waste energy. Of course, I won't lose time on purpose, but it wouldn't be a problem if it happens."

After three stages, Fortunato nevertheless had already lost several minutes, mainly due to his time trial. It was to be expected and it could also come in handy for his third goal. "During the Giro, I will see if it is possible to go for the mountain classification. That will be a project for the second and third week, which are fundamental for that classification. Two days in the breakaway in a tough mountain stage can be enough to take the blue jersey," says Fortunato, who doesn't want to choose between a classification or the blue mountain jersey. "In any case, I don't want to finish fifteenth again," he refers to his final ranking last year.

In short, Fortunato will have to work hard once the roads start to climb more and more in the second and third weeks. Together with his team boss and mentor Contador, a master plan was devised to optimally seize the opportunities that await in the second part of the Giro. "I'm in contact with Alberto once or twice a week and he gives me advice. I often watch videos of him when he was still a rider. And when I was younger, I always followed him. For this Giro, he advised me to stay calm in the first ten days. Don't take risks, recover well and don't spend too much time on the phone. I need to chat with my girlfriend and strike in the second and third week."

Beautiful words, but when you hear Fortunato talk and see the hunger in his eyes, you also immediately know that he wants so much more. The big question is, can he achieve that with EOLO-Kometa? He has been loyal to the Italian team for years. "Only if EOLO-Kometa grows as a team or if I ride for another team, can a classification become a primary goal. In the future, that is a goal - and I hope the team can grow with me. If not, I may have to look elsewhere," he says honestly. Fortunato also wants to compete more regularly with riders like Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and other top cyclists. "Those things motivate me, but now that I ride for EOLO-Kometa, I don't see the bigger guys that often."

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg)