Renewal of two years and a project that will involve him also as a manager in the future. Damiano Cunego will be the leader of the team until the 2018 and from the 2019, a new role inside the team, to grow up young talents of the team for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
The NIPPO Vini Fantini and Damiano Cunego linked their future with a renewal of the contract of other two years (2017 and 2018), looking forward also to 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and a new role for Damiano Cunego in the team management starting from 2019, if he will decide to stop his rider career.
The growth and the new mentality of Damiano Cunego as key man of the team, as a leader and rider #OrangeBlue just began. Stopped by some fall he just delayed the return to success of the “Piccolo Principe”, loved worldwide, and that grow up in mentality.
With the new role as key man and mentor for youngest talents of the team, Italian and Japanese, Damiano Cunego has decided to link his future to the #OrangeBlue team to continue the growing process in a team with a clear project with a five years vision.
Damiano Cunego: “I want to make three great season as a rider in this team”
The first comment of Damiano Cunego is about the project, as emblem of his new mentality: “Already one year and an half ago, when I signed for this team for the first time, I decided on the base of the project, that was the most clear and with a vision of the many teams that approached to me. My role was supposed to be as a leader and as a mentor for youngest generation of talents of the team. The staff and the riders, in a single year, has grown a lot in terms of experience and with them my desire to be part of this great project, to continue to ride and make sport at high level. First of all I have this 2016 season to ride as best as I can with the goal to make great things in the 2016 Giro d’Italia. Then I will ride for sure other two years with the NIPPO Vini Fantini team, and if I will decide to stop my rider career after the 2018, I already have an agreement with the team management for a new role of key man of the team and link between sports directors, sports trainers and riders. A perfect role for me, that links my experience of rider and the studies that I’m doing in University and all the things that I’m learning from Gianni Tendola, the sports trainer of the team. It is a role that doesn’t exist usually in Professional teams, but looking forward to the future of the team, with this clear vision and concreteness of the management this team in 2019 could also be in another category.
Francesco Pelosi: “The best is yet to come.”
Francesco Pelosi, General Manager of the team describe the idea of the double role renewal, as a rider before and later a sa key man of the team: “This team is founded on a new approach to cycling, based on clear project and transparency with the public. We have chosen Damiano Cunego as first symbol and team leader and this renewal is the natural consequence looking forward to our future. The best is yet to come, Damiano is ready to give the best to this team, some fall just slow his return to the victory, but already in 2016 and in next two years we will reach together great satisfactions.
The project keep going, also thanks to the important invitations and wild card the team received thanks to the trust of the organizers, that give us the opportunity to let discover the great cycling to our Japanese partners. Our team is focused on the cultural bridge between Italy and Japan that can give to our Japanes partner, NIPPO for first, the great chance to culminate 30 years of investment in cycling taking young talents to 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Our ambitious goal is to have Italian and Japanese talents in the Olympic Games of Tokyo and our growing process is based also on an important figure as Damiano Cunego is for the young riders of the team, able to teach team a winning mentality, a serious way to approach the PRO world, the sport and a sport rider life. In the next two years we will grow up both with quality riders, young but with already some experience, and the team will become more competitive. Our renewal is first of all as riderm then from 2019, with the growth also of the team, will be necessary a role to connect in the best way as possibile sports directors, sportrts trainer and riders, and we already found the perfect person to do it, Damiano Cunego."
Valentino Sciotti: “I have the same approach and vision of Damiano about sport and cycling”.
Valentino Sciotti, president of honor of the team was there at the moment of the signature, as he was there one years and an half ago when the project takes life with the signature of Damiano Cunego: “I really appreciate Damiano Cunego style, I do also before his signature with our team because his way of make sport and cycling fits perfectly with my mentality. Tenacity, humility, professionalism and genuine transparency. I really hope that Damiano will going on as a rider also later of 2018, but in case he will decide to stop riding, with our signed agreement he will have the chance to be part of the team beginning a new career in cycling world.”