/ GRAPPA BAG
A spectacular start from the heart of Vittorio Veneto and a heart-pounding finish at the top of Monte Grappa. The Adriatica Ionica Race brought great cycling back to the roads of the Marca Trevigiana for one day, giving strong emotions to the many fans who followed the race from the side of the road; an epic stage the one that, after the official start, saw the caravan of the race conceived and promoted by the world champion Moreno Argentin, passing quickly through the Prosecco hills.
From here the day’s escape took off, starring Mattia Bais (Androni), Ricardo Tosin (General Store), Riccardo Verza (Zalf), Luca Rastelli (Colpack Ballan), Francesco Zandri (Work Service) and Andrea Debiasi ( CTF). Before aiming for the final climb, the work of Gazprom Rusvelo and Androni Sidermec brought the group back to compact ranks and lit the fuses for the decisive brawl; unleashed the men of Astana who tried to hit the double with the Kazakh Vadim Pronsky and the Eritrean Merhawi Kudus. Between the two contenders, however, the 25-year-old from Bologna Lorenzo Fortunato rejoiced, who in the last 500 meters engaged the turbo going to take the two treads and preceding them right on the finish line. For Fortunato, who now also leads the general classification, this is the second success among the professionals after the one obtained on Monte Zoncolan at the Giro d’Italia. «I knew I was fine and I waited for the last kilometer to give everything. Pronsky and Kudus were in front of me, I took them as a reference point and managed to skip them in the finale. I am happy to wear the leader’s jersey, I will do everything to defend it in the dirt road stage. It will be nice to run there among my people and try to achieve the ultimate success. My goal remains to do well in the Italian championship in Imola ».
At the end of the stage, the mayors of the municipalities of the Foothills led by Annalisa Rampin, president of IPA Terre d’Asolo and Monte Grappa, together with Elia Viviani, paid tribute to the fallen by placing a wreath on the Military Memorial of Monte Grappa. «At Cima Grappa we witnessed a great sporting show that enhanced the qualities of our beautiful territory. This stage, with the great visibility guaranteed to our territory, has actually launched the final sprint for our candidacy to include Monte Grappa as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve which is now in the home straight ». Today the grand finale with departure from Ferrara and arrival in Comacchio after 157 km and six stretches of dirt road.
Order of arrival: 1 ° Fortunato (Eolo Kometa) 3h58’38 “2 ° Kudus (Astana Premier Tech) at 1” 3 ° Pronsky (Astana Premier Tech) at 3 “4 ° Carboni (Bardiani CSF) at 7” 5 ° Zana (Bardiani CSF) at 35 “General classification: 1st Fortunato (Eolo Kometa) 8h00’30” 2nd Kudus (Astana Premier Tech) at 5 “3rd Pronsky (Astana Premier Tech) at 9” 4th Coal (Bardiani CSF ) at 17 “5th Zana (Bardiani CSF) at 45”. –