Fortunato, fifth in the queen stage of O Gran Camiño

The snow once again reduced the stage, which lost two demanding climbs. However, Fortunato took advantage of his terrain to ride against the climbers and finish in a great fifth position. He is now on the same position in the general classification with the final time trial to go.

Very cold, snowy roads and a race that was shortened in both distance and hardness. None of these factors avoid the EOLO KOMETA riders from the goal of keeping Lorenzo Fortunato protected and placing him perfectly on the final climb to the Alto do Castelo. Earlier, in the hard-fought breakaway, Alex Martín gave the team a leading role but they did not manage more than 2 minutes and a half. A mechanical forced the Catalan rider before time and he rejoined the peloton.

With the support of his teammates, Fortunato entered the last 8 kilometres perfectly positioned, on the wheel of the overall leader Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) who won again after releasing his rivals. Always keeping his pace, confident in his ability when the road gets steeper, the Italian Fortu recovered positions and pushed on in the final metres to be fifth, now only 1 minute and 31 seconds behind the leader.

Lorenzo Fortunato: “I reached the final part better than yesterday, as the stage was shorter and also with the hardness that had been removed. It was a very explosive climb and I was able to do well. I’m still improving and I think I’ll arrive at Tirreno Adriatico in great condition. The team has worked perfectly, they have supported me to be in the best conditions and their support is fundamental”.

Jesús Hernández: “I’m happy, the team has been where it should be and everything went perfectly. The fifth place rewarded the work of all these days and we have also did a great job with the presence of Alex in the breakaway, even though he had the unfortunate breakdown. We accompanied and helped Fortu, we did what was planned, so I’m proud of all the guys today”.