Lorenzo Rota took his first professional victory this Friday by winning the second stage of the Sazka Tour on top of Pustevny, enabling him to conquer the race lead from Rune Herregodts.
The silver medallist of the Italian championships won thanks to explosiveness on top of the 8 kilometer climb (6.6%). He accompanied the best climbers in chase behind Rein Taaramäe, who escaped with 3 kilometer to go, before taking the win in a sprint with around ten riders who caught the Estonian rider.
His teammate Domenico Pozzovivo finished third and is now second in the provisional classification, with Taaramäe crossing the line just outside the top ten. In addition to the leader’s jersey, also the jersey for best Czech rider is in hands of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux thanks to a sixteenth place of Jan Hirt.
« I've been close to the victory so many times, even in races such as the Clasica San Sebastian last year or in the Giro in May. I believed in my capabilities to win, but there was always a detail preventing me from achieving success. In the twelfth stage of the Giro I started sprinting too late. In the Italian championships I launched the sprint too early. This is why this victory is so important for me and why it makes me so happy. I'm convinced that my confidence will be at another dimension in my next finals. » « I am the winner today, but it could also have been another rider of our team. Rein Taaramäe was only caught by the peloton with 400 meter to go after his attack in the last 3 kilometer. Domenico Pozzovivo had also good legs in the sprint. This success was possible thanks to a perfectly executed plan. Barnabás Peák and Théo Delacroix set the pace from the bottom of the final climb, after which Simone Petilli accelerated and I then attacked a first time with 5 kilometer to go. Domenico are now in a good position in the general classification. » « This solid team performance gives us a lot of confidence for the upcoming days. Rein finished on the podium last year thanks to the support of local rider Jan Hirt and Simone Petilli, among others. It I definitely an advantage that my teammates exactly know what to expect. Tomorrow, the final climb will be harder than today, which is ideal for our climbers. The technical parcours on the final day should suit me better. We're not planning to defend the leader's jersey passively. We want to continue taking initiatives and making the race hard until we reach the finish line in Šternberk ! »
Photo credits: Sazka Tour
