Giovanni Lonardi’s speed will keep wearing EOLO KOMETA’s colours
The Italian sprinter, one of the team’s top names in the final part of the season, will continue to fight for victories in the mass finishes.
Every stage, every race, has only one winner. Winning is tremendously difficult. But trying, day after day, to do so, and to cherish that honour is not easy either. That’s where Giovanni Lonardi has proved his worth, a cyclist who has accumulated a total of 19 top-10s and 8 top-5s this 2023, second in Poitou Charentes or adding two podiums in Turkey.
“The only thing missing was a win”, smiles Lonardi. “I’m very happy with what I’ve achieved, with the consistency in this final part of the season, even if I didn’t raise my arms. Besides, I’ve always been a cyclist who has always achieved one victory per season. This year it wasn’t possible, so in 2024 it will be at least two victories”, he predicts with a laugh. His good attitude, the invaluable help of his team-mates and the stages in which he was able to have a chance show the quality of Giovanni Lonardi in the final metres.
Their points for the UCI classification, the presence in the front positions, the ability to achieve results in practically all the races in which they have been called… Sprinters are increasingly in demand in the current system of professional cycling, and Lonardi knows his responsibility: “It’s important to be consistent, to always be competitive, to be able to achieve the objectives that the team needs. It’s true that I would exchange 20 top-10s for 10 podiums or a victory, but I know that they are also important”, the Italian admits.
“Starting the 2024 season well, with a win, is a priority for me,” says Lonardi. The sprinters are characterised by their ability to achieve long streaks of good positions or victories, once they have found the form to be in the fight day after day. “Starting well helps the year to go well and although in 2023 we struggled to get ahead at the beginning, then the results came and I hope to maintain this dynamic”. His teammates have already shown that they are ready to pave the way, with special mention to Mirco Maestri’s work as protector, guide and launcher, which he has executed to perfection.
Jesús Hernández, sports director: “Lonardi has become a sure thing for us when it comes to getting good results in the races that come to the sprint. A solvency that makes us very happy to count on him for another season, and we hope that he continues to contribute to us in this field, as he has done especially this season with countless top-10 finishes and coming close to winning on several occasions”.
