Born in 1988, winning rider with World Tour experience. The Spanish rider Juan Josè Lobato is now in the NIPPO Vini Fantini Europa Ovini team ready to ride in #OrangeBlue the 2018 season (with option for 2019). Looking forward for a great relaunch, both from an ethic and sportive point of view, the ex rider of the Lotto NL-Jumbo represents the ideal support for the team leader Marco Canola in the monuments races, and he will be a very important rider for the Italian races of the Ciclismo Cup.
La Spezia, February 22th 2018.
The roster of the NIPPO Vini Fantini Europa Ovini team is now reinforced with a strong and competitive rider, with a big determination to relaunch himself. Juan Josè Lobato, born in 1988, is a new rider of the #OrangeBlue team starting from the 2018 season, increasing the group of experienced riders such as Damiano Cunego, Marco Canola, Ivan Santaromita, Simone Ponzi and Alan Marangoni.
The perfect alter-ego of the leader Marco Canola, with 14 victories in career he represents the most winning rider of the team behind Damiano Cunego. After 5 years in the World Tour, the Spanish rider accept the a new challenge, to be back a protagonist in the international cycling.
THE ETHIC IS THE FUNDAMENT OF A NEW CHANCE.
After 3 years in team Movistar, with 9 victories with the Spanish team, Juan Josè Lobato passed in LottNL Jumbo for the 2017 season. It is a team that, as the NIPPO Vini Fantini Europa Ovini, have a strong ethic and believes in the respect of the internal rules. The recission of the contract between him and the team, in December 2017, caused by a carelessness of the rider, are the evidence of how much the internal rules have a strong value for both sides. Joan during the pre-season training camp takes a sleeping pill (not forbidden or doping) but without communicating the fact to the team doctor. Aware of his mistake and regretful for the fact, after his open excuse letter, received many offers from international teams. Juan, ready to be back in race, decided to accept the NIPPO Vini Fantini Europa Ovini proposal to launch a strong message to all his fans, about his desire of competing in respect of the strong ethic rules that the team have, accepting the second big chance given to him by the Italian-Japanese team.
THE DECLARATION.
With these words Francesco Pelosi, the General Manager of the NIPPO Vini Fantini Europa Ovini team, comments the arrival in the team of the talented Juan Josè Lobato: “I’m very proud and happy that another winning rider, with a World Tour experience decides to join our important project. Juan Josè will have very important role supporting our leader in the monuments races and in the stage races. I know very well the reason why he rescind consensually his contract with his previous team, and after I received reassurance from his previous team about the rider behavior during all the 2017, in which even if has been the hardest year of his career, Joan has been very professional during all the season, we decided to offer to him a second chance. We have verified the reason behind the rider motivation to be back in competitions, after a very difficult year from a personal point of view (in 2017 he separates from his wife just after his son was born and in the same year a close relate and mentor in cycling for him has died), we have decided to accept this challenge has a team, in line with the #OrangeBlue moral and ethic code. Our team is based on ethic values and a strong moral, very clear and well defined, but also open to the comprehension, where it is motivated. We don’t want to exclude a rider if in good faith and we want to give a second chance to whom deserve it. Juan Josè now fully understands how it works inside a team that have ethic rules as fundament and he will no more repeat similar mistakes. Now he just needs a brand new opportunity and with this jersey ha just want to be back in his great career.“
A TOP RIDER.
14 victories, from China to Australia, from Spain to Belgium and France. 11 European victories, 3 successes in Asia and Australia in World Tour and HC races. A World Tour experience full of successes in very good races such as the Tour Down Under, the Dubai Tour and the Vuelta Burgos. A complete rider, with talent, experience, very fast. The perfect support for the team leader Marco Canola, and a possible alternative to him in some kind of races. His role will be also important for the team in the Ciclismo Cup races. After an experience with the LottoNL Jumbo, he decides to accept the new challenge offered to him by the NIPPO Vini Fantini Europa Ovini team, going to complete a young roster, but very ambitious.