Lonardi: “The best season of my career! Not just work, cycling is a total passion”
Back to competition after almost two months at the Tour of Limousin, to continue where he took a refreshing break: a streak of (currently) 7 consecutive top-10 finishes in sprints, starting with the last stage of the Giro d’Italia in Rome and continuing in June with the ZLM Tour and the Tour of Slovenia. After so much sprinting, Giovanni Lonardi took a break and then resumed training at the Bormio training camp in July to reach full fitness for his return to racing.
“Luckily I was able to prepare on my Valpolicella hills, saving myself a bit from the heat!”
Jokes the 1996-born rider from Team Polti Kometa, with a jovial tone that often leads to playful singing involving his teammates. “I’m not as good as guitarist Double and pianist Pietrobon — clarifies Lona — but listening to music together is one of our secrets.”
And the results on the road are visible: you’re always united and you personally, besides many placements, have won the points classification in Antalya and the third stage of the Tour of Turkey this year!
“I would have been happier with two or three more victories, I admit, but I can’t help but be satisfied with the trend that started in the summer of 2023. I’m almost always at the front, consistency is important and this is the best season in my career. The Giro d’Italia was the pinnacle: an exciting journey through Italy and a top-level cycling scene, where I felt great sensations and even finished on the podium in the 11th stage won by the maglia ciclamino Milan.”
In your third year with this team, how do you feel?
“Very well, we have a strong mentality. We aim to do well everywhere, depending on the level of the race: whether it’s a prestigious event like the Giro d’Italia, Milan-San Remo, Tirreno Adriatico, Il Lombardia, or other lower-category UCI races where more opportunities may arise.”
Who have you bonded with the most?
“I wouldn’t name anyone specifically. Surely guys like Pietrobon, Maestri and the Bais brothers I knew before turning professional.”
Can you describe what you feel before-during-after the sprint?
“When you pass the 10 km mark from the finish the adrenaline starts to rise, you don’t have much time to think but you try to position yourself in the best way possible without slowing down. In the sprint, you give everything and remain in that competitive trance for a few moments even after the finish. Finally, with a cool head, you start to review everything and reflect on what you did right and what you did wrong.”
What is the main peculiarity of being a sprinter?
“We play everything in moments, luck or a small detail can make all the difference. You can be in the leading positions but the situation can turn around in half a second, or conversely you might think it’s lost and then a gap opens up where you can suddenly slip through. Especially for a squad like ours, which races very well but doesn’t have a train like the strongest WorldTeams, it’s almost a lottery where it’s not just about power.”
Do you and the other sprinter, Peñalver, compete in training?
“Certainly, during the training camps it happens. During the season, we see each other little because we tend to follow different calendars.”
You come from a Veneto area renowned for its wines…
“And from my same town, Marano, come a current World Tour rider like Formolo and a former Pro like Zardini, although they have moved elsewhere while I still live here: three thousand inhabitants, three professionals. Around here they say that a good red wine, in moderation, is good for cyclists too!”
After this gallery with photos by Sprint Cycling Agency, here’s a quick series of questions to get to know Giovanni Lonardi even better:
The first time on a bicycle?
“Since I was very young because it’s a real family passion, but I started competitively relatively late: at 14 years old”
What did you study?
“I studied at the technical institute Guglielmo Marconi in Verona, where I obtained a diploma as an electronic technician”
Did you practice other sports besides cycling as a kid?
“I always did, especially skiing and football, but then I went to watch some races near home and I decisively chose cycling”
Do you follow other sports? (If yes, which athlete or team do you support?)
“I’m a AC Milan fan but I watch a lot of sports, especially winter sports and tennis”
Favorite music genre, singer, and song?
“Not a specific artist, but I listen to a lot of Latin and Spanish music”
Favorite film and/or TV series?
“Here too, I’m close to Spain in a sense: Money Heist”
Your most particular passion or hobby?
“I like to say it’s… the bike: when I’m not cycling for work, I do it to go around and enjoy nature”
When they say, making your passion your life. And with these ties to the Spanish world from an Italian cyclist, Polti Kometa was the team of his destiny!
