The tribute to Alfredo Martini is looking for its first champion
I Per sempre Alfredo
Florence – Sesto Fiorentino (162,1 km)
A new race always has an additional motivating point. Every winner enters the history of an event. But for a newborn, it is doubly so. He is a pioneer. Like Garin with the Tour, like Ganna with the Giro, like Deloor with the Vuelta. If the race is named after one of the biggest names in a country’s cycling history, then that triumph is worth three times as much.
Such is the case with the Per sempre Alfredo, scheduled for Sunday 21 March. A race that was created to honour the centenary of the birth of Alfredo Martini, the great Italian sports director, although the first professional cyclist, with an extensive track record. A coach with whom Italy won six world titles in the long-distance road race.
Promoted by the Gruppo Sportivo Emilia in Sesto Fiorentino, where the man who was the Italian national coach for 22 years was born on 18 February 1921, this new race is born with the firm intention of highlighting his figure. Martini was always very attached to his country. He passed away in Sesto in August 2014.
The EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team goes to the race with a seven formed by Vincenzo Albanese, Davide Bais, Alessandro Fancellu, Mattia Frapporti, Lorenzo Fortunato, Edward Ravasi and Samuele Rivi. Albanese, Bais and Rivi arrive with a good pedal stroke after their recent participation in a Tirreno Adriatico in which they have been protagonists.
This first Per sempre Alfredo starts with a 162,1-kilometre route based on a double circuit. After the start in Florence’s Piazzale Michelangelo, the riders face a first, more hilly loop around Fiesole. Then the route heads towards Sesto Fiorentino, where four laps of a street circuit between Sesto Fiorentino and Settimello will be tackled.
Mattia Frapporti: “In these weeks after the Trofeo Laigueglia I have had the opportunity to train well to prepare both for this race and the Settimana Coppi e Bartali. I’ve worked well and I’m looking forward to racing. I have a good feeling. Although I’m not at my 100%, the condition is optimal and I think I’m ready and competitive for all these days of racing. This season the level is very high, it’s the small details that make the difference. Luckily for us we are a team that works well and we are ready to compete against the strongest teams. Personally I am very happy, I think the riders are competing well so far, honouring each race and above all facing them with the desire to achieve a good result. Unfortunately we have had bad luck so far with Francesco Gavazzi, Manuel Belletti and now Luca Pacioni. I hope they recover soon, I’m sure they will come back stronger than before”.
