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12/05/2024 – The ninth edition of the Squali Trek was celebrated with the presence of 3200 participants, a sign of the strong connection between the organizational pool, local administrations, sponsors and two regions ideally united by the passion for cycling and hospitality.
The Tre Giorni Squali Trek 2024, kissed by the sun and unprecedented numbers, returns to the stage with its winning formula for everyone, characterized by a mix of events aimed at youth cycling, lovers of ecological cycling and agonists, among lots of entertainment , music and shows.
On Friday 10 May, at the stroke of midday, the Shark Arena, the expo area a stone’s throw from the beach of Cattolica in the green space of the Aquarium, was inaugurated, with the cutting of the ribbon and subsequent press conference, during which the speakers in order, the mayor of Cattolica Franca Foronchithe mayor of Gabicce Mare Domenico PascuzziACSI vice-president Emiliano Borgnathe digital manager of the Costa Edutainment Group Alan Bittner, Filippo Magnani and Massimo Cecchini of the Sharks Trek CO.
In the afternoon the Sharks Bike Junior, mtb gymkhana for budding champions aged 7 to 12 who competed along the route traced in the green area of the Cattolica Aquarium.
The first day ended amidst the festive shouts of the children and the awards ceremony for the winners and the largest companies on the stage of the Shark Arena.
The second day featured the participants of the Gravel Sharks, the non-competitive cycle tourism which led 150 gravellists to cycle through the Conca River Natural Oasis.
Meanwhile, the event was held in the Municipality of Gabicce Mare Spring Diveorganized by the Visit Gabicce Foundation and the Gabicce Futura Association, with the kite workshop and the trekking walk in the nature of the San Bartolo Park.
In the early afternoon it was the turn of the ride dedicated to families, the Squali Bike Family, with a snack for everyone upon return. Subsequently, the conferences were held at the central stage special awards dedicated to equally special people for the Squali Trek team. For the award in memory of his friend Giacomo Olivieri, Filippo Magnani collected the plaque on behalf of Massimo Topi. For the prize Sport and Communication Daniele Simonetti received the recognition for the accurate journalistic work carried out in recent years, while Andrea Aramini and Andrea Bettini of Mapei SpA received the Friendly award. At the end of the evening the largest teams took to the stage. On the third step of the podium were the riders of Cicli Matteoni Bianchi with 43 members, on second was the Bike Passepartout team from Terni with 59 members and, on the top step, the Captain’s team was reconfirmed with 66 members.
Sunday 12 May, the long-awaited day of the race, the village woke up at 6.30 am for the collection of the race numbers and the last registrations for Squali 46.
The grid call was set for 6.45 am, while the official start of the ninth edition of the Shark Trek was given, as usual, by the unmistakable countdown of the speaker Ivan Cecchini, promptly at 7.30 am, in the presence of the local authorities and law enforcement.
The peaceful pedal army marched along Corso Italia to tackle, with the blessing of summer weather, the three proposed routes: the long one with 128 kilometers and 2020 meters of altitude difference, the medium one with 85 kilometers and 1393 meters of altitude difference, and , the Squali 46, 46 kilometers long and approximately 700 meters in altitude.
The medium route saw the triumph of Davide Leone – ASD Team Go Fast, second place for Stefano Zeni -New MT Bike 2001 ASD, third place for Francesco Pirro, again ASD Team Go Fast. For the women’s podium, top step and second place respectively for Michela Gorini and Arianna Berti, both from the Fausto Coppi Corse team and, in third place, went to Rossella Diezzo – B. Bike Cycling Team.
For the long man, a double for Team Crainox, with Pietro Sarti in first place and Manuel Senni in second; in third position was Diego Frignani – ASD Argon 18 Hicari Team Max. For the women, Vanessa Santeliz – Fuga ASD took the victory, ahead of Giuseppina Michela Bergozza – ASD Scatenati, and Alessia Bortoli – ASD Vibrata Bike 2005.
The extraordinary sporting Sunday ended with the presentation of the category prizes at the secretariat of the Shark Arena, still in full swing for the pasta party and the exhibitor stands.
After observing a minute’s silence in memory of my colleague Dario Perilli, the awards ceremony of the 14th Italian VVF Cycling, Granfondo and Mediofondo Championship, Memorial “Agostino Del Magno” took place.
“The success of Squali Trek is the rewarding result of a great work by team – commented, satisfied, Filippo Magnani – where everyone has put their heart, soul and a lot of effort into giving participants a carefree, fulfilling and safe sporting experience. We thank all our volunteers, the administrations, the police forces, the sponsors and above all the over three thousand sharks who wanted to share the joy of this great celebration with us…we are already thinking about the next one!”
