Lorenzo Fortunato finished the Vuelta a Burgos on an upward trajectory and is ready to compete in a great Vuelta a Espana. His performances in the last 2 stages of the Vuelta a Burgos secured Lorenzo a 10th place finish in the general classification.

"I had planned a soft start to the Burgos race for myself – explains Fortunato, born in Bologna on May 9, 1996 – and a final buildup to avoid reaching peak form 15 days before the Vuelta a Espana, which would have been too early. I came out of Burgos well, I'm respecting the timeline to give my best at the Vuelta a Espana".

After finishing the Burgos race, the XDS-Astana rider immediately headed to Livigno. Fortunato will continue pedaling on the climbs of the Alta Valtellina until August 17 to refine his climbing technique ahead of the battle on the roads of Monaco, France, Andorra, and Spain at the Vuelta, which following the trend of other Grand Tours becomes increasingly multinational every year.

In Spain's premier stage race, XDS-Astana will be directed by Mario Manzoni and Alexander Shefer. For Fortunato, this will be his third participation in the Tour of Spain. He has competed in 5 Giros d'Italia instead. In his professional career, the Bologna-based climber-passer has achieved 6 victories; the most famous is clearly the Cittadella – Zoncolan stage of the 2021 Giro d'Italia. That year he also won the Monte Grappa stage and the final classification of the Adriatica Ionica Race. Lorenzo's last career victory is the La Grande Beroche stage of the 2025 Tour of Romandy. At the Vuelta, he wants to break his zero record from 1996. Spain's race will end in Granada on September 13 this year.

"Winning at least one stage and arriving at the Granada podium with the polka dot jersey of the mountains king are my objectives". The time trial in the Principality of Monaco and the following two road stages will be warm-up races. "I have the fourth stage with finish in Andorra la Vella in my sights. It's a location that brings me luck: last year in the Andorra stage I finished 3rd. This year we'll climb from a different side, but still ideal for me. Obviously I have Andorra as my first target, then in the other stages I'll evaluate the situations".

The likeable Bologna native wants the polka dot jersey as King of the Mountains in Spain to match it with the blue jersey of the Mountains Prize from the 2025 Giro d'Italia that he won. "Altimetrically – specifies Lorenzo, also winner of the Mountains Prize classification at the Tour of the Dauphiné and other stage races – I've always considered the Vuelta harder than the Giro d'Italia".

The spotlight of the 2026 Vuelta will be on Tadej Pogacar, thanks to whom the climbing pace will often be infernal. "When Tadej attacks – Lorenzo points out – I prefer to turn the other way. I turn around and wait".

Assigning the role of main favorite to Tadej is far too easy. Regarding the podium contenders, Fortunato has great respect for Felix Gall, especially because he's the winner of the Vuelta a Burgos. "Besides Gall – says Lorenzo – I consider Enric Mas and Carapaz very ready to play a leading role. Skjelmose is also to be feared. The 2026 Vuelta could be decided in the Alicante stage".

At XDS-Astana alongside Fortunato will race Victor Langellotti, Cristian Rodriguez, Darren Van Bekkum, Harold Tejada, Henok Mulubrhan, Yevgeniy Fedorov, Alessandro Romele. "It would truly be the best to win a stage and the mountains classification with Lorenzo", emphasizes Manzoni. "Also Tejada – adds the Bergamo directeur sportif – will act as a free agent, hunting for stage wins. Our man to aim for the best general classification positions will be Rodriguez. Obviously regarding the general classification we'll make appropriate evaluations after the first 10 stages to establish the strategy to adopt on the decisive days".

Fortunato's 2026 season won't end in Spain. "The Giro dell'Emilia and Lombardy are the races where I'd like to make a good showing". The Trofeo Tessile e Moda from Valdengo to Oropa, the third-to-last event of the Italian Regional Cup, is also well-suited to the Bologna native. "A beautiful race with a climbing finale, it could enter my schedule".

Next year Lorenzo will still wear the XDS-Astana jersey. "By now it's like a second family for me".