On the Ligurian Apennines the “second debut” of Team Polti Kometa

After recharging their batteries and revitalizing their condition, morale, and team spirit at the training camp in Bormio, Polti Kometa returns to compete in a traditional Italian event: the Giro dell’Appennino. Day after tomorrow, the riders will tackle a route identical to last year’s: nearly two hundred kilometers from Novi Ligure to Genoa, a city that is also this year’s European Capital of Sport. The passes of Castagnola and Giovi will provide the first taste of altitude, followed by a series of three ascents that will determine the race: the manageable Crocetta d’Orero, the fearsome hairpin bends of the Bocchetta and finally the grueling Madonna della Guardia, with the summit located 25 km from the wide finish on via XX Settembre.

Such a demanding route requires a squad ready to climb and endure slopes. For this reason, sports director Giovanni Ellena will lead these seven men: leader Paul Double, accompanied by Germán Gómez, Andrea Garosio, Diego Sevilla, Jhonatan Restrepo, Fernando Tercero (returning after a long illness hiatus) and Davide De Cassan, who states “Having had to withdraw from the Tour of Slovakia one day early at the end of June due to a crash, I’m eager to get back into racing and tackle the Appennino benefiting from full recovery and training in Valtellina.”

Ellena‘s analysis: “We are well aware of the challenges that await us, not only the uphill gradients but also the very demanding final descent leading to the -16 km mark from the finish. For us, it will effectively be a new season debut as it kicks off the second part of 2024. And it will be especially so for Tercero, after his health setbacks. We’ll also face WorldTeams such as UAE, Arkea and Astana, aiming to achieve a good result.”