Team Polti Kometa closes the Giro d’Italia with two podiums for Pietrobon and eigth place for Lonardi in the final sprint
On the final stage with the finish in Rome, at the close of the Giro d’Italia, a sprint decided the winner Merlier, crowned Pogacar as overall winner and placed Lonardi eigth at the finish line of the day. On the final podium, Andrea Pietrobon received the prize as the winner of intermediate sprints and as the cyclist with the most kilometres accumulated in the breakaway in this Giro d’Italia.
It was a high level closing for 3 weeks of real exhibition of Team Polti Kometa in the Giro. The final triumphal stage, through the streets of Rome on a final circuit that took in a large part of the monumental area of the Eternal City, served to crown the maglia rosa. The team worked hard to find options for Lonardi in the sprint, who was well supported until the final part, where he tried to fight for the victory. An eigth place that allows to add another top-10 to the team.
On the final podium was the young Andrea Pietrobon, the cyclist and pianist who almost won the fifth stage in Lucca. His numerous and constant breakaways, alone or accompanied by Mirco Maestri, always brave, have allowed him to score enough points to win intermediate sprint prize. Alos, he received the award as the rider with more kilometres on the breakaway during the Giro, in his debut in a grand tour, in his second season as a professional cyclist.
Italian Davide Piganzoli confirmed his 13th place in the overall classification, the best rider of Team Polti Kometa in the fight for the maglia rosa that Tadej Pogacar won in an uncontested way.
Andrea Pietrobon: ‘To be on the podium in Rome, in my first Giro d’Italia, after three weeks of racing… I can’t explain that feeling. I am very happy because we have completed a Giro always with an offensive attitude, looking for protagonism. For a team like Polti Kometa I think it’s an exceptional result’.
Giovanni Lonardi: ‘We closed this Giro d’Italia on a high mark, and we tried until the end today with the last sprint. I positioned myself well to try to get a result, I had good legs and I thought I could even get on the podium today. But it wasn’t possible, I was a bit closed and I had to slow down. The feeling was very good and we are happy with the Giro performance’.
Stefano Zanatta, sport director: ‘The final stage of the Giro showed again the high level of Team Polti Kometa, with the team riding well and aiming for the victory with Lonardi. It’s a pity that although he could have done well, he was closed and finished seventh in the sprint. We leave thus Giro very happy, being protagonists until the last day’.
