
Two races this sunday for the Alberto Contador Foundation professional team, which will compete in the GP Plouay in France and the GP Kranj in Slovenia.
After completing the Tour de Poitou Charentes, the squad will split up to tackle two one-day events with the characteristic excitement and toughness of the northern classics. The GP Plouay features 16 laps of an 11.8-kilometer circuit with the climb to Cote du Lézot as the highlight, and a total of 186 kilometers of route.
Aidan Buttigieg, Davide Bais, Fran Muñoz, Manuel Peñalver, Gabriele Raccagni, and the addition of Giovanni Lonardi, who finished Poitou Charentes on the podium in the final stage, will start the French race. This squad balances power and speed, repeating much of the lineup from Poitou Charentes.
The sporting director for this event will be Orlando Maini: "In Plouay we face a lively race that demands full focus. We need strong performances that can turn into results, so we can continue together in our fight for crucial points and ranking goals."
In Slovenia, 159 kilometers of the country's longest-running race will be contested. There will be 12 laps of the 12-kilometer circuit around the town of Kranj, with a constant ups and downs that will eliminate contenders for victory.
The lineup includes Andrea Pietrobon, Davide De Cassan, Pablo Garcia, Germán Gómez, Javier Serrano, Samuele Zoccarato, and the new stagiaire Mattia Gaffuri, who will be making his professional debut.
Giovanni Ellena will be the sporting director in Slovenia: "We head to Kranj with a strong group of attackers such as Zoccarato, Gomez and debutant Gaffuri, while Serrano will be our card to play in a sprint finish".
World Gran Fondo champion and two-time finalist of the Zwift Academy, but also co-host of the Ciclismo KOMpetente podcast and a coach, 26-year-old Gaffuri from Erba (Como) placed 5th at the Italian Road Championships this year before going on to win the Pessano–Roncola and the Italian Gravel Championships. Having succeeded Zoccarato on the winners' list, the ProTeam of Ivan Basso and the Contador brothers will keep the tricolore jersey of this particular specialty in-house for the entire 2025 season.