Lonardi comes close to victory in the first stage of Région Pays de la Loire Tour

Second position of high level for Giovanni Lonardi in the opening of the Région Pays de la Loire Tour. The tought final circuit in La Baule-Escoublac did not deprive the Italian sprinter to sprint close to the victory just behind Bennett (Decathlon).

A great competitive start in France, with the longest stage of the race exceeding 200 kilometres and with temperatures exceeding 25 degrees Celsius along with the humidity of the coast. The peloton rode calmly the first part, allowing a breakaway of five riders to make its way, with a gap of over 4 minutes but with no real chance of dreaming of victory.

The Decathlon team was in charge of accelerating the pace, with Polti VisitMalta always at the front, supporting Lonardi. The speed on the final circuit, where the breakaway was neutralised, caused the peloton to stretch out, and the speed in the succession of turns caused Davide Bais to fall, bruised but not seriously injured so he can continue in the race tomorrow.

The work of the rest of his team-mates, with Zoccarato and Raccagni arriving until the last kilometres, tried to launch a Lonardi who finally followd the wheel of the winner Bennett, and made maximum progress on the inside to take second place at the finish line.

Giovanni Lonardi: “The stage was very nervous, but we managed to do a great job to be in a position to fight for the finish. The result is good, because the winner Bennett is a great champion, so we are happy and we will keep trying to win”.

Jesús Hernández, sport director: “We already knew that the first day was going to be the most complicated on the final circuit. It was a stressful day, so I give a lot of value to the team work with Zoccarato, Aidan, Tonelli and Raccagni. I’m happy to see that Lonardi was able to get the result he was looking for and was only beaten by Bennett, a rider with Tour de France victories and that gives even more value to that second place. Today everyone gave their best so we just have to keep working to try to raise our arms in the race”.

Tomorrow the Région Pays de la Loire Tour continues with the second stage of 158.5 kilometres between Cugand-la-Bernadière and Beaupréau-en-Mauges, full of steep climbs and with a final circuit with three laps. Lonardi will wear the green jersey of the points classification.