This Wednesday, Italian rider Lorenzo Rota, lover of one day races, stood out in the Giro della Toscana (1.1, 15/09), the opening race of the Italian end of the season classics. The race of 191 kilometer brought the riders around Pontadera (Pisa) in two loops. The southern circuit was relatively flat and followed by a northern lap with the Monte Serra (8.4km at 7%), repeated twice.
It was after the first passage on the Monte Serra, where the early breakaway was caught, that Lorenzo Rota chose to anticipate by attacking with two Colombians from EF. Afterwards, the rider from Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert was among the best ones uphill and remained in a group of around twenty riders on the second passage of the Monte Serra, with the top situated 25 kilometer before the finish. After winner Valgren and chaser De Marchi, who both escaped in the final flat kilometers, Rota sprinted to 2nd place of the casing group, securing 4th place.
« I felt mentally and physically fresh after a week of rest at the end of a busy period with the Tour de France, San Sebastian and the Tour de Pologne. I trained for two weeks in Tignes, on altitude, where I focused on climbing and power. This training was fruitful as I felt ready to come back in competition and performed well today. Tactically the final was not easy today, because EF outnumbered the other teams. They attacked one by one and it wasn't possible to follow all attempts of those four riders. So with Valerio Piva we thought the best option was to focus on the sprint. In the end, I finished close to the podium. Even if it was possible to get a better result, I'm very satisfied about my performance which is promising for the next races. »
« It was nice to see how strong Lorenzo Rota was. He was third on top of the first passage of the Monte Serra and then accompanies Higuita and Uran in an attack. I was not convinced that this breakaway would be successful, so I recommended Lorenzo to stay calm. He could rely on the work of Jérémy Bellicaud on the foot of the second passage and the climb was only a little too long for Jan Hirt to stay in the first group on top of the second passage. Taking into account the long run towards the finish, we chose to focus on Lorenzo's abilities in a group sprint. His 4th place was a confirmation of his good legs! »
