WOMEN | 03/28/2024 | 08:15
by Luca Galimberti
Battler competing, smiling and satisfied on the podium. We can use these few to describe the Letizia Paternoster that we saw yesterday at Dwars door Vlaanderen. The twenty-four-year-old athlete from Liv AlUla Jayco finished the 114 kilometers of the race behind Vos and Van Anrooij but ahead of world champion Lotte Kopecky.
«I am really happy with this result, it means a lot to me and I have to thank my team. Having dueled with Lotte in the sprint and being able to beat her to take third place is truly a dream for me » she said immediately after the arrival of the thirty-year-old.
Then he added: «I can’t believe I can get on the podium with these fantastic athletes, Marianne was my idol when I was a child (in the youth categories Letizia was nicknamed miniVos, ed.), I always followed her competitions on television and being with her on the podium today is something truly special.”
In the last kilometers Letizia, together with Elisa Longo Borghini, launched themselves in pursuit of the leading duo «For a moment I thought I could catch Marianne and Shirin but I’m not the type of athlete who can close on the attackers alone. I tried but then I preferred to play my cards in the sprint despite knowing that Kopecky and Pieterse are in good form. I took a risk and it went well” said Paternoster excitedly before climbing onto the third step of the podium and taking a selfie with her colleagues.
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