News: Giro Wildcard for Eolo Kometa

The organisers of the Giro and many of Italy’s leading cycle races today announced the wildcards for their events and for Eolo Kometa, home to Brits Sean Yates (Performance Director), John Archibald and Mark Christian, their dream of racing the Giro was realised.

The organisers of the Giro and many of Italy’s leading cycle races today announced the wildcards for their events and for Italian team Eolo Kometa, home to Brits Sean Yates (Performance Director), John Archibald and Mark Christian, their dream of racing the Giro was realised.

The Eolo Kometa Cycling Team will be one of the twenty-three teams participating in the 2021 Giro d’Italia, which will be held between May 8 and 30. The 104th edition of the Corsa Rosa will start from Turin, probably finish in the streets of Milan and will once again offer several days of great mountainous difficulty during its three-week duration.

“We are very happy. From the very beginning of this project, we had set ourselves the objective of fighting to be in the Giro d’Italia. It wasn’t going to be easy, it was clear, because we are newcomers to the category and there was a lot of competition for the wildcard. From the very first moment, there was an opinion that took our presence in the Giro for granted because of the nationality of our licence or that of our main sponsors (Eolo), when this was not the case. On the contrary, this was a double-edged sword”, explains Fran Contador, general manager of the Eolo Kometa Cycling Team.

“For me to be in a Giro d’Italia in 2021 after having started this whole project in 2013 with a junior team is something I still find hard to believe,” continues Fran Contador. “I experienced the Giro d’Italia as Alberto’s manager and it already seemed like a powerful and unforgettable experience because of everything that revolves around it. And now we see ourselves there, with our own team. Since 2013 we have been working hard to achieve this. It’s a dream come true behind which there is a lot of effort and sacrifice”.

Ivan Basso, sporting manager of Eolo Kometa Cycling Team and double winner of the race: “Every race was important for us, but obviously now the Giro d’Italia is our big goal of the year. It is our first three-week race since we started working on this project three years ago. We want to do a great job, we want to be protagonists in the race. We can’t say that we’re going to win the Giro, we have to be realistic, but we want Eolo Kometa to be a team that leaves its mark on the race and that our participation lays the foundations for future ambitions. We have a team with a lot of quality, with riders who will surely do a great job. I can’t wait for the race to start in Turin”.