Alessandro Vanotti (Astana) finished his season at the Tour of Lombardy after he had accompanied Fabio Aru in his triumph at the Vuelta a Espana. For three years, he has been the most faithful domestique for Vincenzo Nibali whom he helped to get his first Tour de France podium (3rd in 2012), his 2013 achievements (winner of the Giro d'Italia and 2nd in the Vuelta a Espana) and his final victory in the 2014 Tour . This year he was left off the Kazakh team for the Tour due to the enormous competitiveness of the roster.
However, the veteran Italian rider, 35, did not stop his ridin in Lombardy. The Bergamo native participated in the initiative "Pedala, pedala...con Alessandro Vanotti", an idea of Don Andrea Pedretti, the Roncola pastor, who wanted to ride nearly 700km from the castle of Rocca di Soncini to the Vatican City between the 17th and the 20th of October. At the destination, they had to meet Pope Francisco.
"I quickly joined the initiative of Don Andrea because I believe in the work of the association and the utility of his project. The desire to ride to Rome has always been with me for 18 years and I wanted to meet the Pope, and even more so now. Pope Francisco excites me a lot, and this has increased my desire to go to the capital," he told Ecco di Bergamo.
The project serves to assist the EOS Onlus association which is currently working on the construction of a location near the hospital in Bergamo for parents with children in difficult situations which are forced to long periods of hospitalization.
The nights of the trip were spent in places like the school in a juvenile facility located in Pontremoli (Tuscany). "These steps are intended to give a testimony of faith and hope, perhaps giving small gifts to His Holiness. It will be a very great emotion and all this is made possible by many sponsors who believe in the goodness of the initiative. They have our full recognition ", said Vanotti, who gave the Pope an Astana jersey signed by him and the 10 people who accompanied him, among whom were his brother, some cousins and friends.
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