The Tour of Limousin, great memories for Team Polti Kometa
It’s time for the French stage races in August. These are competitions that have always been a favourite for Polti Kometa, with a broken terrain and for brave cyclists in which to aspire to the secondary classifications but also to the partial victories. The race will be Gabriele Raccagni’s debut as a stagiaire with the professional team.
Four days in the centre of France, after the Olympic Games, and a very varied route for strong riders. The Tour de Limousin is synonymous of broken terrain, with constant ups and downs in addition to the classic final circuits. With a high distance on each day, the 194 kilometres with six climbs in the final part of the third stage and the 189 kilometres with two 1st and 2nd category climbs should mark the general classification. On the first day, the puncheurs will have a better chance and on the final day the Limoges circuit should be the scene of the final battle for the race podium
The Tour de Limousin has always featured Team Polti Kometa riders, in particular last year’s super-combative Andrea Pietrobon and Giovanni Lonardi, who will be back in 2024. In the case of the sprinter, his options will come in the hard finishes that eliminate other rivals and where he can hold on to develop all his speed. To help him in that task and to look for his own opportunities, we will see Manuel Peñalver and David Martín, in top form. The road captain will be one more race for Mirco Maestri who will be able to look for his own options in the finishes for powerful riders, and even in small reduced groups. Pietrobon and Davide Bais will be there to fight for the breakaways and to fight for the leading chances in the final part of the race, without forgetting Gabriele Raccagni who will be making his professional debut as a stagiaire. His powerful and generous cyclist conditions will surely leave flashes of quality in the Tour de Limousin.
Mirco Maestri: “We are going to Limousin with a strong team, after a break after the Giro d’Italia and the National Championships. The training camp in Bormio and the training sessions are paying off and now I think that we have the guarantee of looking for good results. And we will back Davide Bais to fight for the general classification”.
Gabriele Raccagni: “I’m looking forward to experiencing first-hand the difference between the under-23 and professional categories, because it’s a level and race distances that I’ve never faced before. I have those doubts in the more physical part, but above all a lot of motivation”.
Giovanni Ellena, sports director: “Limousin is a complicated race, which gives no chance to recover and which demands the maximum every day. I have confidence in the riders who return to competition after the break after the Giro d’Italia, for example in Mirco Maestri who is always a guarantee. For the sprint finishes, we have Lonardi and Peñalver, while we will try to fight for the general classification in the queen stage with Davide Bais”.
