In the small group behind Soler, in the seventh stage of the Dauphiné towards Samoens 1600 and for the first time since the end of the Giro, Lorenzo Fortunato had positive sensations today. This is why he found himself on the run and this is why he plans to return again tomorrow. Like Tiberi, the Bolognese arrived at the French race on the long wave of the Giro d’Italia. She had it in the plans and kept her word, but not a day went by that she didn’t realize that It wasn’t a great idea. Obviously, if things were to go particularly well tomorrow, the choice of the Dauphiné would instead be a true stroke of genius.
Roglic as Pogacar
When Vlasov and Roglic behind him flanked him and caught him, “Fortu” reassembled them for a few moments and then let go. She didn’t plan on giving him any more trouble, she knew that his journey was over for today.
«When they took me – he smiles and explains – I saw that Ciccone was there alone. We’re friends, so I asked him if he needed anything. Nothing more. Then I stood there and saw that the pace didn’t belong to me, so I told myself to think about tomorrow and I went up calmly, without stress. The sooner I arrived, the sooner I got the recovery, the sooner I got to the bus, the sooner I showered. I didn’t think about holding on, when they caught me I got up. They are running like UAE Emirates.”
Is the script the same as the Giro, is only the Slovenian changing?
That’s right, he’s running the same way. Today was tough all day, there wasn’t a meter of flat terrain. All up and down, then I said: “I’m going on the run!”. After the last 2-3 days of the Giro I didn’t feel well, I didn’t have good sensations. Maybe I caught a virus and I wasn’t able to be myself anymore. From the beginning I had planned the Dauphiné and we were undecided whether to do it or not to do it.
But you decided yes.
Since I will then race the Vuelta Burgos and then the Vuelta, therefore from early August onwards, we decided to leave. I will have time to recover. I hadn’t been well until today. I struggled a lot every day, yesterday I broke away and in the time trial I went really slowly. Today however I felt good and I tried. You can see that for a while I carried what I had at the end of the Giro, today it’s all gone.
Tiberi tried to start at the Dauphiné, but failed. We’re not surprised you felt bad.
So, this is my opinion. It was once possible to do a Grand Tour and use the condition to immediately do another race. But before we didn’t train like we do now. These days we talk about it among us. Now more work is done at the altitude training camp than at the Giro. And so when you go racing, you go and reap the fruits of your labor. The Grand Tours are no longer used for training. It happened to me that I did the Giro d’Italia and then I went to Slovenia or the Adriatica Ionica Race, where the level was a little lower and I was saved. But as it goes now, the Grand Tour must be the last act of a journey that began earlier precisely for this reason.
Slovenia, but also the Tour of Switzerland start ten days after the Giro d’Italia: with the Dauphiné there isn’t even time to take a breath…
It wasn’t a great idea and if I went back, maybe I would make other choices. But it’s worth trying: until you see it with your own eyes, you struggle to form an opinion. It’s difficult because the body is used to 21 days of work, then you come here to the Dauphiné and from the first stage you find yourself suffering. I held on because Tejada was in the rankings.
How was the first Giro d’Italia in a World Tour?
Good feedback, I’m happy. In the first ten days I ran in support of Lutsenko, but in any case in Oropa I was immediately strong (4th at the finish line, ed.) and I also improved a lot in the time trial. I got along well with the team and we were also unlucky, because out of eight of us at the start, there were only four of us left.
After the Dauphiné, Burgos and Vuelta. And the Italian championships?
I hold on until there and I will run for Velasco, so that I can keep the tricolor jersey. But there are also Scaroni and Ballerini: all riders with more possibilities than me. Then I stop and recover, since in two months I will be running a lot. This year I only did WorldTour races, I’m somewhat used to it, but on the other hand it’s always difficult to get results. I’ve done Tirreno, Catalunya, Giro, Dauphiné and I’ll do the Vuelta. This is great cycling and you have to compete with the champions.
Will we see Fortunato on the attack again tomorrow?
If I feel good I’ll try, I have nothing to lose. Even today I tried to get picked up later and I sprinted in Soler’s wake. I knew they were coming so I went all out. What if they opened behind? I gave everything, but behind them they did the first 4-5 kilometers very fast and my light went out. We had been going strong all day and I reached the top together with Soler himself.
What feelings do the Tour leaders give you?
Roglic is strong. When they caught me, Vlasov was in front and was pulling hard. I’m quite used to it, since I raced with Pogacar and Primoz moves along the same lines. Remco is growing. I can’t say how he is with the weight, but he has a lot of power, he always has a lot of strength. I have confidence with him, he is calm, a good guy, very attentive to everything. And I am convinced that he will be strong at the Tour. But now he’s recovered, we’ll have a nice dinner tonight and I’ll try again tomorrow. You never know that I’ll get unstuck right at the end…
