A success that was announced, that of the third Italian Gravel Championship which in the splendid setting of Golferenzo, in the Oltrepò Pavese, crowned Giada Borghesi and Samuele Zoccarato with the tricolor title in a race with over 300 athletes at the start.
It took Samuele Zoccarato 4 hours, 18 minutes and 20 seconds to wear the Italian Gravel Champion jersey again, the Paduan who inaugurated the roll of honor of the national event in 2022 in Argenta (FE) with the success of Golferenzo hangs up the coveted green-white-red jersey in the closet. Along the 126 km of the test, held over three laps of the tough circuit, the road racer from San Giorgio delle Pertiche took victory alone thanks to a decisive attack during the second lap. “The race was tough, the route beautiful and very technical. As a pure road racer, I suffered a bit keeping up with the wheels of those who also do MTB or Gravel, but my condition is good and I managed to attack at the right time” says the winner of the day. A luxury double for VF Group Bardiani CSF Faizanè with second place by Luca Colnaghi. Author of a great finale, the Lecco native and Zoccarato’s teammate got the better of Filippo Agostinacchio right along the last climb that preceded the finish line. Also due to a broken derailleur, the reigning Italian U23 Cyclocross champion of Beltrami TSA Tre Colli had to settle for third place, which still left him satisfied.
The women’s challenge of the 1st ‘GP Borgo dei Gatti’ saw the talent of Giada Borghesi triumph: the thirty-year-old born in 2002, fresh from a fall at the Italian Road Championship last week and from an intestinal virus on Friday, demonstrated its strength by imposing itself on its opponents. After managing the first part of the race in a trio with teammate Carlotta Borello and biker Debora Piana, Borghesi launched the decisive attack in the last kilometers which allowed her to arrive alone with arms raised at the finish line in Golferenzo . “I remained calm for almost the entire race because I didn’t feel like taking risks and leaving too early, but I did well because in the end I conserved the energy I needed to attack. I’m really happy to have reconfirmed myself, demonstrating my good condition despite the illness I had during the week” added Borghesi enthusiastically. Borello and Piana completed the women’s podium, with the mountain biker from Vicenza now transplanted to Trentino who recalled at the finish line: “Gravel is a discipline that I like and that I use as preparation for my MTB races. I’m happy to have reached the podium also because the girls who preceded me are road riders and on some sections of the route they were more favored than me”.
Also competing was a large group of Master athletes: Lorena Zocca, the Italian champion, confirmed in the women’s category with the best overall and category time (W4), while in the men’s category Nicolò Ferrazzo set the best time (M1). In the Master 8 category, it is impossible not to mention the success of Silvano Janes, who reached his 49th national title.
The curtain falls on the Italian Gravel Championship in Golferenzo to the rhythm of the pedal performances of the eclectic biker Vittorio Brumotti and toasts with Lebollé sparkling wine, for an appointment with the tricolor that was able to amaze the large group of athletes at the start.
For Emanuele Bombini’s organizing committee, which received compliments from, among others, the president of the Off-Road Commission of the Federciclismo Massimo Ghirotto and the coach of the national Cyclocross and Gravel team Daniele Pontoni, this is a great satisfaction. “This edition was a success, I felt so much enthusiasm and I can’t help but be pleased. We hope it is a starting point to develop this project and make Golferenzo a reference for Gravel at a national and even international level, perhaps with the colors of the rainbow…” recalled Bombini himself, head of the Oltrepò and Sporting Events Committee of the Il Branco cycling school who set up and organized the event.
The emotions on the pedals in Oltrepò Pavese continue tomorrow with the passage of the Tour de France, while on August 24th the new edition of the Freccia dei Vini is already eagerly awaited.
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Men’s Open
1 Zoccarato Samuele Vf Group–Bardiani Csf–Faizane’ 04:18:20; 2 Colnaghi Luca Vf Group–Bardiani Csf–Faizane’ 04:23:08; 3 Agostinacchio Filippo Beltrami Tsa Tre Colli 04:23:21; 4 De Marchi Mattia Enough Cycling Collective 04:25:11; 5 Marengo Umberto Mentecorpo Cicli Drigani Pro Team 04:25:25
Women’s Open
1 Borghesi Giada Btc City Ljubljana Zhiraf Ambedo 03:22:30; 2 Borello Carlotta Btc City Ljubljana Zhiraf Ambedo 03:23:11; 3 Piana Debora Team Cingolani 03:23:29; 4 Oberleiter Anna Team Cingolani 03:38:45; 5 Lechner Eva Army Sports Center 03:40:44
