Enrico Gnagnarella wins the Bigorda: success returns to the Borgo

La Bigorda at its best. Enrico Gnagnarella del Borgo, on Princess de Rio, wins the carousel of Gold bullion of Faenza. This is the fifth success for the Borgo in this event, a victory that had been missing since 2006. For the knight of the Borgo 7 shields out of 8 and a well-deserved victory, with only one challenge lost. Contending for the title is the very young Yellow Knight, 16 years old, Davide Ricci with 4 shields. Third place for the Red with Daniele Leri, again with 4 shields. Fourth was Green with Venturelli (3 shields) and fifth was Alberto Liverani (Black) with 2 shields.

In all a festive stadium Bruno Neri welcomed over 3,500 spectators (however an increase compared to the 2022 edition). The carousel of Gold bullion she returned to Faenza after a year’s stop due to the flood. And previous years were no better: the Bigorda went in fits and starts due to the pandemic: in short, it is a carousel that must find its own dimension. “La Bigorda is a project created to broaden participation in the historical re-enactment of Niballo in all its aspects – said the mayor Massimo Isola – Over the years it has given important signals and must give emerging riders opportunities to grow.”

The Borgo festival is not limited to the knight. The traditional historical parade opens the carousel (which, due to the elections, took place only inside the stadium and not from the square), which sees the triumph of the youth group of Borgo Durbecco.

The carousel: the challenge is between Gnagnarella and the debutant Ricci, surprise of the carousel

Kicking things off is the Black and Green challenge and the Bigorda reserve suffered a twist. Venturelli clearly arrives first, but misses the target: the first shield of the tournament goes to Black. The second round sees Daniele Leri enter the field who, unlike Venturelli, doesn’t make a mistake: shield to Red. The third challenge is the one with Gnagnarella, who maintains his cool under the Niballo: shield for the Borgo and for the first time the time drops under 13 seconds. The debutant Ricci fails to get the better of the expert Alberto Liverani. After the first series of challenges, Black is ahead with two shields, followed by Red and Borgo with one shield and finally Yellow and Green with zero.

In the second series of laps, Venturelli challenges the other riders on the left track. The race with Daniele Leri is perhaps Bigorda’s first truly exciting challenge, which is played on thousandths of a second (26 to be precise). This time Venturelli keeps his cool and makes him the first shield for Montanara’s goal. In the following round the Gnagnarella and Princess de Rio duo confirmed that they were in the match: the shield went to the Borgo. After the uncertainties of the first round, Ricci also breaks the ice by winning his first shield. In the last round Venturelli makes up for his previous mistake with Liverani and ends his series of rounds victorious. At the end of the challenges: Green, Borgo and Black 2 shields, Yellow and Red 1 shield.

So far a very balanced Bigorda, with a Gnagnarella who seemed to have a slight step ahead of the others. In the third series of challenges, however, we will be able to begin to better outline who can really win Bigorda 2024. Daniele Leri and Vanilla Cream will challenge all the other pairs. Borgo confirms that it is the opponent to beat: makes three out of three shields and take it home the best time so far (12’725). The next challenge was a good one: Ricci once again demonstrated that he had found ‘cold blood’ and in the head-to-head with Leri he won his second shield. The Red rider redeems himself in the next round by defeating Liverani, and wins the first shield from the left track, which still keeps him in the running for the title. And his ambitions grow further after the victory over Venturelli. At the end of the third series of challenges the ranking reads: Borgo and Rosso 3 shields, Yellow, Green and Black 2.

The fourth series of challenges could already be decisive: Gnagnarella hasn’t missed a beat so far and has recorded the best times. The young Ricci, however, is not going to be a sacrificial victim and is already proving to be a champion: shield for Yellow and first defeat for the Borgo. In the following match, it could be Liverani’s last chance to get back into the running, but Gnagnarella shuts him down: shield to Borgo and Nero out of the game. The Borgo immediately wins another shield against Venturelli. To then drop the hat trick against Red. Gnagarella plays his part and now only Ricci del Giallo can challenge him for the title. The ranking, before the grand final, sees Borgo 6 shields, Yellow and Red 3 shields, Green and Black 2 shields.

The fifth series of challenges takes a while: a spotlight goes out and you have to wait several minutes. To keep his dreams of victory alive, Ricci has only one chance of making a mistake (without this being with Gnagnarella). The first challenge is with Liverani e the very young Giallo player doesn’t make mistakes, in any case, securing second place in the rookie competition. Ricci’s dream is shattered by Venturelli: the shield goes to the knight of Green, and now the young man of Yellow has no more possibility of mistakes. The first match point is with the Red knight: and Leri’s victory decrees Gnagnarella’s success. Which legitimizes Bigorda’s victory by defeating her main opponent, Ricci, in the last round. A great challenge, which gave many emotions.

Bigorda 2024: the 20 rounds

Who is Enrico Gnagnarella

Enrico Gagnarella, 26 years old, a knight from Faenza, is a former drummer. In life he is a freelancer. For six years she has been training to become a carousel jockey. He is the 24th knight in the history of Borgo Durbecco. The Borgo jockey is at second apparition at Bigorda.