Less than a week before the Spring Classic, the Milan-Sanremo, a coincidence as rare as it is significant for Amore e Vita's patron, Ivano Fanini, has occurred.

On the same day, indeed, two of the most prestigious stage races on the WorldTour calendar – the Tirreno-Adriatico and the Paris-Nice – saw triumph in their final stages two equally young champions united by a particular connection to the history of the Amore e Vita team: they are both sons of former riders who wore the historic jersey of Fanini's team.

The final stage of the Paris-Nice was conquered by French talent Lenny Martinez, riding for Bahrain Victorious, while at the Tirreno-Adriatico victory went to Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan, with Lidl-Trek.

«Seeing two champions like Martinez and Milan, who carry in their DNA the talent of their respective fathers, Miguel and Flavio, triumph simultaneously in the final stages of two WorldTour races as prestigious as Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico was truly something singular and unique», comments Ivano Fanini. «Both are sons of two great riders of Amore e Vita and this represents for me an enormous personal satisfaction, especially just days before Milan-Sanremo, the most emotional race in the world, which in the past was won by two of my former riders: the great champions Pierino Gavazzi and Mario Cipollini».

Fanini then dwells on the success of the young French talent: «Lenny Martinez's victory was sensational. Already the day before, you could sense that his legs were responding uphill as they do on his best days, and the performance delivered in the final stage was truly extraordinary, especially because he managed to beat a champion like Jonas Vingegaard, another one of my proteges». The Danish champion, in fact, also went on to win the overall classification of Paris-Nice, completing a memorable day. «I'm also happy for Vingegaard», adds Fanini, «because in some way he is connected to my story: he was discovered and launched into professionalism by another one of my former athletes, Brian Pedersen».

At Tirreno-Adriatico, instead, Jonathan Milan once again confirmed his extraordinary value. «Milan has proven to be probably the strongest sprinter in circulation», Fanini continues. «I congratulate him, naturally extending my congratulations to his father Flavio as well».

Right after the final stage in Nice, Fanini had the opportunity to speak with Miguel Martinez, three-time world champion and Olympic champion in mountain biking, who concluded his road career with the Amore e Vita team, also winning a race in Canada. Today Martinez holds the position of responsible for course vision and race tactics for the Bahrain Victorious team.

«Miguel confirmed to me that Lenny very much wanted this victory and that for him beating Vingegaard in that way was something incredible», Fanini recounts. «I still remember when Lenny, as a child, was taking his first pedal strokes and achieving his first victories in the youth categories with the Amore e Vita jersey, because during that period his father Miguel was racing with us. It's clear therefore that this success, compared to the other two victories by Milan and Vingegaard, has for me an even more particular flavor».

A special and exceptional day, therefore, for the Tuscan patron and for the history of his team.

«It was truly an extraordinary day for me and for the history of Amore e Vita», concludes Ivano Fanini. «I hope that at next Saturday's Milan-Sanremo we can see some athletes linked to our story as protagonists of a great performance. Certainly riders like Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel seem difficult to beat at this moment, but if the race were to conclude in a sprint, I am convinced that Jonny Milan could bring Italy a victory that has been missing since 2018, when my friend Vincenzo Nibali won».