The General Manager of the team Francesco Pelosi, with the Sports Director Stefano Giuliani, commented the first year as a Professional team for the NIPPO Vini Fantini. 11 victories, 2 general rankings, endless emotions from Italy to Japan, from the Fair Play prize of the Giro d’Italia to the third position in UCI Asia Tour ranking and the great event in the Italian Embassy of Tokyo.
Time for considerations about 2015 season for the team and Sports Directors already looking forward to 2016 season.
Stefano Giuliani, Sports Director is satisfied: “The team has grown very much in this season, the last results and the way they came are the confirmation about it. Our leader Damiano Cunego has demonstrated perseverance during the season, he is first in point of the single rider Italian Cup, officially second behind Colbrelli just for placements reasons. It is not so much important the result, but the meaning of it. Despite injuries and a little bit of bad luck he is going to find his new dimension and he missed many success for very few seconds. He can still give to our team and to the Italian Cycling a lot. Daniele Colli and Pierpaolo De Negri have demonstrated that can give to the team the experience and the concreteness our team needs. Finally the most important thing, I have seen a big growth of many of our young riders. Riccardo Stacchiotti has grown with us in these years and in the 2015 was riding his first Giro d’Italia, won two stages in Hokkaido and one general ranking. His results arrived thanks to a great team work of his team mates, but he his one of most important surprise of this season. Different story, but same importance for Nicolas Marini, if he is going to improve a little his performance on small climbs he can have a great future, to win 4 races in the first year as a Pro is not for everyone. Our young Japanese riders have demonstrated a great attitude and team working, Manabu Ishibashi, Genki Yamamoto and Shiki Kuroeda have been an example for all the other team mates. Eduard Grosu demonstrated a great desire to win in this season, despite of the falls and the injuries. This is the same attitude I expect from all young riders to emerge in 2016 season, each one with his skills, Giacomo Berlato with his great capacity to be in the right escape, Filosi and Antonio Nibali when road start to be hard. Our riders now have a little bit of rest, but the team together with his sponsors and partners are already planning a great 2016.
Already announced for the 2016 season Gianfranco Zilioli, that Stefano Giuliani defined “a rider that will give a great help to our leader Cunego and to all the young riders of the team on rising roads, both in single stage that in one day races.”
New rider of the 2016 for the #OrangeBlue is also the national road champion Kazushige Kuboki, that will reinforce the group of young Japanese talents. Hiroshi Daimon (that with the team has the double role of DS and of Asian Team Manager) is really happy: “The rider has done very well in Asia, he is now ready for the European races where he could export the new way of riding of the Japanese cycling in the world.”
Other news will come soon about 2016 of the team. The management is working with Sports Directors on others new names for the 2016 season to improve the group and Francesco Pelosi, after 7 years in cycling world and the first as General Manager of the NIPPO Vini Fantini examine the 2015 season already looking forward to the future.
“Has been a very important year this one of the debut of the NIPPO Vini Fantini in the Professional category” declared Francesco Pelosi “first of all for all the big emotions thanks to a wonderful group, strong and out of the schemes. What all fans have seen in the Docureality Sognando il Giro, one of our great project of the year, is a little view on what we live everyday in this 2015. Sports Directors Stefano Giuliani and Mario Manzoni, together with Hiroshi Daimon have build a very strong group. But for sure we cannot live only of enthusiasm, so I’m really satisfied by the 11 victories and the 2 general rankings for Colli and Stacchiotti. To reach 11 victories in the first year for many of our young riders is a great result. At the begin of the year we could reach better results if many podium and placements of Cunego Colli and Grosu could be something more. In the Giro d’italia our two leaders has not been lucky, but the team was able to reach good placement and escapes and the Fair Play prize. The second part of the season has been full of satisfactions finally. In the 2016 I expected many of our young talents coming out with good results. What we reach in this first year is also thanks to a good mix of new professionals in cycling world and the rescue of traditional methods. The new Professional of the University of Chieti Sport Medicine department that study team riders data during the whole season and the FK team. But also the tradition of training camps, that we did for all the year not only in the beginning to build a strong group and to test during all the year the performance of our riders.”
The General Manager, as communication entrepreneur, is main activity from more than 10 years looks to more of the sports results of the team: “In the 2015 I think that, beside the unlucky sports moments, the team demonstrated to be an important reality of the Italian Cycling, that cannot base only on sports results. New sponsor has join this world as new supporters and fans, also thanks to the Docu-reality on the cycling world produced by the team and on-air on Gazzetta TV with excellent results. The project for the 2016 season of the first Italian-Japanese pro team has recently been presented in Tokyo, to the Italian Embassy, with the participation of the Secretary of the government faction and of the Japanese Cycling Federation leader together with most important commercial companies in Japan. It has been a such important event that is not usual for the cycling world and incredible for a Professional Team in his first year. To receive this consideration is the signal for us that we are working in the right direction, and an incentive to do always better.”
The 2015 of the team in numbers:
MOST IMPORTANT SPORT RESULTS:
11 victories – 4 Nicolas Marini, 3 Daniele Colli, 3 Riccardo Stacchiotti, 1 Pierpaolo De Negri.
Tour de Hokkaido – General Ranking Leader: Riccardo Stacchiotti.
Tour of China I – General Ranking Leader: Daniele Colli.
19 seasonal podium.
Fair Play Team of the Giro d’Italia 2015.
INNOVATIVE ACTIVITIES:
Sognando il Giro – The first Docusreality on the cycling world on air on Gazzetta TV: Click here to know more.
Original clarity – The first team to publish on-line all the analysis of their riders: Click here to know more.
University Sports Department with the team – The team has been followed for all the season from the Sports Medicine departement of Chieti and the rider data are subject of study of University lessons.
2015 PARTICULAR TIPS:
The NIPPO Vini Fantini Sticker Album. The NIPPO Vini Fantini team has realized and distributed in 20.000 copies the only sticker album of an Italian team of Cycling.
Social Media Attitude. The #OrangeBlue team is the first Professional Italian team for number of Facebook Fans and post engagement-interactions.