The brand of Gobik brand will be back at the Giro d'Italiafor the second consecutive year. Just like last year, UAE Team Emirates and Eolo-Kometa will be in the peloton of the corsa rosa, which this 2022 does visit Budapest as the starting point.
There are three weeks of competition, 21 days plus transfers and rest, linking the Hungarian capital with Verona, in whose Arena the race will end, in an already usual ending, as it is the third time in 12 years that ends in the city of Romeo and Juliet.
"We arrive at the Giro with the right team at the best time," says Fran Contador, general manager of the Eolo-Kometa, about an eight that gathers Vincenzo Albanese, Davide Bais, Lorenzo Fortunato, Francesco Gavazzi, Mirko Maestri, Samuele Rivi, Diego Rosa and the 22-year-old Magyar, Erik Fetter, who will be able to enjoy the start in his hometown.
"The message is clear: humility and feet on the ground. I think that's the golden rule of the Giro d'Italia. We have 21 days ahead of us to prove that we have earned this invitation," adds Ivan Basso, Sport Manager of the team and two-time winner of the Giro, the second time precisely in the very center of the Verona arena.
This Giro d'Italia is getting longer from May 6 to 29 in an itinerary that makes a first stop in Hungary, with three days, one of them in time trial, to make the leap to the Italian geography, entering through the beautiful Sicily, visiting the Etna, to climb the spine of the Italian boot, stopping in places as beautiful as decisive, such as Blockhaus, in the Apennines, and to decide the big thing in the northern zone, with the several days marked in red, such as Aprica, and a brutal end to the festival, arrival at the top of the Marmolada, one of the greatest dolomites ever, and 17 km time trial to the heart of Verona, the beautiful city on the banks of the Adiggio.
3400 kilometers full of all kinds of needs
Gobik again dresses the Eolo-Kometa in his Italian adventure with the aim of raising his arms again as Fortunato did at the very top of the Zoncolan. In the shipment of clothing and material that has been made for this and upcoming races, there is an important novelty that influences the work of the technical supplier: the fitting of a new brand.
"Visit Malta" has become part of the team's wardrobe in a move that "is not usual", says Ángel Lencina, from the production department of the team. Gobikreferring to the fact of seeing the inclusion of a new sponsor with the season already underway.
"It's a two-part job, looking for the best fit of the brand among the existing ones, with the necessary approval from the team, and then entering production with the necessary time in advance," explains Ángel.
Although the Eolo-Kometa receives, as do other structures, all the material from Gobik in different deliveries since the beginning of the year, this situation has had an influence on the material for the Giro.
First, at the beginning of the year, the first items of clothing were delivered, many of them warm and training clothes. Then, with the start of the calendar, the delivery includes much more competition material, and for the summer, the emphasis is on fine and well-refrigerated pieces.
In the case of the Eolo-In the case of Kometa, there's another peculiarity: "Some of their brands, such as Burger King, only show up at races held on Italian territory. For them, all the clothing maintains the same canons of quality and finishes, from the professional structure, to the youth, to the U23 block".
Focusing on the Giro, each of the eight riders usually has a base of four jerseys and three overalls. All together, we are talking, roughly speaking, about 64 pieces, to which we can add about five culottes per cyclist.
"This is the initial estimate, but we must bear in mind that the team carries a kind of repository in the bus, a cushion of garments ranging from 2XS to L, for tall and wide cyclists, who are not many, but there are some," they specify from production of Gobik.
"We also have to consider that The Giro d'Italia is the grand tour with the worst weather of the three, with changing weather conditions in which it is common to have rain and cold. For these days we have all the necessary warm clothing, such as Envyjackets, short-sleeved jackets or vestThe cyclists are used to competing in cold and wet weather," continues Ángel.
A possibility that arises every year is that one of the cyclists wears the jersey leader's jersey (pink for the general classification, white for the young riders, blue for the mountains and purple, also called "cyclamino", for the points). In this case, Gobik provides bib shorts with siliconized tape in the color of the jersey.
