First stage race in the Comunitat Valenciana
The Mediterranean coast of Spain continues to host the races that open the 2025 calendar for Team Polti VisitMalta. Starting on Wednesday, the five stages of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, a ProSeries category race with a high level of participation, will be held.
The route is always winding and demanding, but also with a start marked by a 34.5 kilometre team time trial with several uphill sections. If the overall is not defined, at least we will know the riders who will be able to fight for the final victory. The high finish in Benifató (1st category) of the second stage is a real day for climbers, as well as the finish in Alpuente with a 1st category pass less than 20km from the finish. The last two days, and especially the final one in Valencia, offer the clearest options for a sprint finish.
The Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana will be the debut for Giovanni Lonardi, the sprinter who achieved some of the best results for the team last season (including the victory in Turkey) and who will be looking to make his top speed count: ‘I am very motivated and I think that especially in the last stage we can fight for the victory. The rest of the days we will support the team and Piga to try to do well in the general classification’.
Alongside him will be the climber and general classification contender Davide Piganzoli, who has already made his debut in the Valencian classics; the captain Mirco Maestri, the powerful and brave Fran Muñoz and Davide Bais, along with the versatile Samuele Zoccarato and Fernando Tercero.
Stefano Zanatta: ‘The first stage race of the season is always a challenge, but we broke the ice last week and we will certainly see the results of the training camp in Oliva. We will try to get the best result in the team time trial on the first day, that’s why we have a strong, solid and experienced team of riders. We will then fight in the mountains with Piganzoli and Tercero, in the sprint with Lonardi and with the rest of the riders to be protagonists.
