Lonardi starts in Slovenia where he left off at the ZLM: 4th in the Ormož sprint
Giovanni Lonardi starts where he left off: after making the top-10 in all four sprints of the ZLM Tour, the Team Polti Kometa sprinter finishes 4th in the opening day of the Tour of Slovenia. It was over two hundred damp kilometers, where the peloton controlled a 5-men breakaway and a subsequent counterattack in the last 5 km, until the finish in Ormož.
On the final straight, the Veronese sprinter made his way vigorously by choosing the right wheels, his true specialty, finishing just off the podium in the sprint won by Groenewegen. Unfortunately, during the final maneuvers, designated GC rider Davide Piganzoli crashed and lost some ground.
Lonardi: “We took on a lot of rain at the beginning, then the road dried up and I was able to sprint, keeping as a reference the rider who would win. Being always with the best is good but I can’t be happy, I want to get back to winning!”
Sports Director Jesús Hernández: “Against high-level opponents, we know how well Lona fought alongside them and tomorrow he could have another chance. We are very sorry for Piganzoli! In the incident Paul Double was also slightly delayed but managed to get back to within a few seconds of the bunch, so we’ll try to go for the GC with him.”