We first got to know Lorenzo Fortunato in 2021, when he won the stage at the Giro d'Italia with a finish on the Zoncolan, and then we saw him continue to fight in the mountains. Since last year, he has been racing with XdS Astana and at the latest Giro d'Italia he won the blue jersey for best climber.

"We brought the jersey to Rome achieving our goal" - Fortunato said at the end of the Giro - "I did it and I must say thank you to the entire team". The Kazakh team was a protagonist in the pink race, with Scaroni's stage victory and the pink jersey worn for a day by Ulissi. "This was a great Giro for the entire team, with the stage win and the pink jersey and then my blue jersey".

The Bologna rider understood that he had finally grown and made an important leap forward. "I was missing an important result like this jersey, just as I was missing racing on the attack without thinking about the general classification, but focusing more on stages and mountains. This has been a turning point for me and I will continue to race like this. The team needed this, also because the way we raced helped us score UCI points. I made myself ready when I was told to be so, and the important result arrived".

Lorenzo Fortunato is among the riders who had the opportunity to meet the Pope up close. This was an important moment for the Bologna rider who remembers with great emotion his entrance to the Vatican. "Meeting the Pope was truly a beautiful emotion, it was the greatest emotion of this Giro for me, I was able to shake his hand and I think it's a unique thing in life".

The 29-year-old XdS Astana rider has unlocked himself with this Giro and now looks ahead with the certainty that he can improve further. "Sometimes racing for the mountain classification is a bit limiting. But it's more difficult to race for the general classification, because it's stress every day and every day you have to save yourself, while when you race to be the best climber you can have more relaxed days. Now I can say with certainty that racing this way, I like it. Then of course, in one-week races I have to do the classification, but in grand tours I can have another dimension".

Lorenzo Fortunato can now enjoy his vacation moment, but then he will have to return to training, because his season is still long and we will see him racing in July in Austria and then in August, when he will be at the start of the Vuelta a España.

"Another important goal for me will be the Vuelta a España, where I will try to do well both in the general classification and in the mountain classification. Then there will be the Classics in Italy at the end of the season, but now I just want to enjoy this moment with the blue jersey on my shoulders and then I'll start thinking about the Vuelta".