ZLM Tour, a race against the wind and for sprinters
After completing a magnificent Giro d’Italia, Team Polti Kometa faces the five days of the ZLM Tour. A race marked by the wind and in which sprinters and strong riders will enjoy every chance of victory.
The competition kicks off on Wednesday with an individual time trial of almost 15 kilometres in Westkapelle, where the overall classification will be decided. From there, four days for sprinters on fast finishes, very flat days and the wind action as the main obstacle when looking for the chance of winning. Both the second and fourth stages are close to 200 kilometres, so they will always be long-distance efforts.
The Team Polti Kometa line-up for this ZLM Tour is headed by sprinter Giovanni Lonardi, who already knows what it means to win this season after his victory at the Tour of Turkey. Manuel Peñalver and Javier Serrano will be supporting the Italian in the mass finishes. They will be in charge of guiding him to arrive in the best conditions to compete in the final metres.
Also prepared for this job, but also looking out for their options in other race situations, are the powerful Erik Fetter and Mirco Maestri, road captain for ZLM Tour. The line-up is completed by the experience of Diego Sevilla and the proven reliability of Fran Muñoz.
Giovanni Lonardi: ‘Recovering from the Giro, but ready for the ZLM Tour. We will have four sprint opportunities, I think it’s a race that suits me very well. We will try to get good results in the finishes, and I also believe that in the opening time trial we can aim for the overall with Maestri and Fetter as well’.
Giovanni Ellena, sports director: ‘It’s a typical Dutch race, where the difficulty comes from the wind and with some cobble sections. The long bridges will also mark possible splits in the peloton. Our rider for the sprints is Lonardi together with Peñalver, we know that the time trial will decide the overall and I think that both Fetter and Maestri can do a good job that day. Although the objective will be to support the sprinters to try to get a win’.
