Second podium for Team Polti Kometa at the Giro d’Italia, Lonardi 3rd in the Francavilla sprint

Even a squad dedicated to breakaways can decide to stay together to work for their reference man to chase the result. As in today’s 11th stage of the Giro d’Italia, a long transfer from Campania to Abruzzo via Apulia and Molise. After the neutralization of a small breakaway 35 kilometers from the finish line, Team Polti Kometa‘s train was present and lively in the approach operations to the a headwind sprint.

There Giovanni Lonardi, well positioned until -500 meters, managed to slip into the right space and picking the right wheel to follow: in the sprint he placed fourth, but the jury then downgrades Merlier for an infraction and for the ’96 class Veronese it’s a third place. First podium ever at the Corsa Rosa for him, second for the team in this edition after Pietrobon’s in Lucca. Behind the two main rivals for the maglia ciclamino Milan and Groves, in Francavilla al Mare there’s the number 164 from Polti Kometa!

“We always stayed in front with Mirco Maestri and my teammates – Lonardi recounts after the finish – and I situated myself on the right side of the road behind the Lidl Trek, I gained several positions and I’m very happy to have achieved the maximum I could in front of very strong opponents!”

This is the analysis of the sports director Stefano Zanatta: “This morning we decided to focus on the sprint, also because we knew that the big trains, after being fooled by the fugitives on the fifth raceday, would never have given space. So we chose to save the energy spent in this first half of the Giro and worked for Lona, who is showing good form and confirmed it fully in this finale. All excellent, from Fabbro and the Bais brothers who pulled at the start of the stage and then protected Piganzoli until Muñoz, Pietrobon and captain Maestri who supported our sprinter in the decisive phases.”

Tomorrow we expect attackers to have an opportunity on the Marche walls.