It was a fabulous summer for him on the Czech roads. In 2021 Filippo Zana first conquered the Peace Race for cyclists under 23, two months later he became the sensational winner of the Sazka Tour, today's Czech Tour. The then twenty-two-year-old Italian arrived for the stages in Moravia as a two-time participant of the Italian Giro, but he was far from being one of the biggest favourites. But he dazzled in the rough climbs and blew away the triumph of the much bigger favourites.
"The Czech environment suited me. I am a climber and I like finishing on the hill, which I proved with one triumph in the Peace Race and three second places in the Sazka Tour," Filippo Zana did not hide the fact that he enjoyed the battles on the Czech roads, given the high difficulty.
Zana, who wore the jersey of the pro-continental Bardiani-CSF-Fanziane formation during his appearances in the Czech Republic, had an awkward start to both races. After the prologue in Jeseník and the subsequent opening stage with the finish in Rýmařov, he was thirty-third and twenty-first respectively in the overall standings. During the Sazka Tour he was thirtieth after the opening stage with the finish in Uničov. But in the following days of both races the native of Thiene near Venice excelled. In the Peace Race he destroyed the starting field on the climb to Dlouhé stráně.
Among the elite, he shone first during the climb to Pustevny, where he was only seven seconds behind Nick Schulz of Australia. And then the next day, he jumped to the front of the race on the climb to the well-known Dlouhé stráně with his second place in the stage and held the top spot in the dramatic finish in Šternberk. Zana confirmed in the Czech Republic that he is heading among the stars of world cycling. A fortnight later, he took third place in the Tour de l'Avenir, where Carlos Rodríguez was second and Tobias Johannessen, whom Zana beat by fifteen seconds on the Czech roads, was triumphant.
"Winning the Sazka Tour was very important. It was an elite race. It was a reward for the determination and sacrifice that must be made for top sport," said Filippo Zana at the time. He denied that his triumph after a slower start was the work of chance. "I had studied the profile and knew I had to focus on the second and third stages. The first was always the easiest," he explained.
He returned to the Czech roads. A year later he completed the Sazka Tour again. Already as a three-time Italian Giro participant, with a three-year contract with World Tour team Jayco AlUla and, most importantly, as Italian champion!
And again he excelled in the hills. He was only three seconds behind the winner on the climb to Pustevny, and only two seconds slower than the winner on the climb to Dlouhé stráně. He was fourth in the final standings, just eight seconds behind his compatriot Lorenzo Rota!
Last season he confirmed that Czech fans saw in him a real star of the elite cycling scene. For the fourth time in his career he completed the Giro. In the race for the pink jersey he dominated the brutal eighteenth stage with the finish in Val di Zoldo.
In the Vuelta's last test, he won the stage race Around Slovenia, where he left behind stars like Matej Mohoric, Wout Poels (both Bahrain-Victorious) and Diego Ulissi (UAE Emirates), who incidentally is also the winner of the Czech Tour.
This year, Zana finished ninth in the Strade Bianche, and in the Italian Giro he was third in the race for the white jersey for the best rider under 25 behind Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) and Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers).
"To win a stage at the Giro was incredible. And in the jersey of the Italian champion. Team Jayco gives me a lot of confidence and I'm trying to repay the chance among the world's elite," said the rider, who is expected to ride the Spanish Vuelta for the second time in his career this year, probably as team leader!
Foto: Jan Brychta
