It wasn't easy to get going, but in the end the Tour of Italy of cyclocross It started from Osoppo, a city in Friuli which, thanks to the commitment of the Jam's Bike Team guaranteed the start of the main national circuit on the grass. The 13th edition of the circuit opened its doors taking into account the coincidence with the American trip for the opening of the World Cup: if in the men's field Davide's absences Toneatti and Lorenzo Masciarelli have had little influence among women, considering that with Lechner, Brawls, Realini e Perch with most of the national team absent, there was a risk of finding ourselves facing a truncated performance.
If competitively the test had no history with Rebecca Gariboldi on the run from the very beginning, his performance nevertheless had interesting implications: «I'm used to looking more at my performance than at the comparison with my opponents. – says the Lissone native of Cingolani Team – even though I was alone, I gave everything I had inside me to test myself, on a particular route, with the first part flowing but hindered by strong winds and the second part more tied to driving skills».
Future on the road or on gravel
Gariboldi is strongly aiming to take off a new blue jersey, as it did in January for the World Cup: «Cyclocross is my first activity, even if in the summer I race MTB and this year I also did some road races.: of the open ones, not being affiliated with any team in the sector. However, I plan to also try the gravelIt's a sector that intrigues me because its contours are yet to be defined."
The Team Cingolani rider, who reached the finish line of the first Giro d'Italia with more than half a minute on Elba's Alessia Bulleri (Cycling Café) and on the rediscovered Sara Single house (DP66 Giant Smp), made the most of his condition which arose in the summer from the combination of MTB and road.
«At this stage of the season, those who come from road activity have an advantage, they have that background that allows them to emerge And I'm verifying it myself, I've practically never stopped. It also depends a lot on the still favorable climate and the routes, as the season progresses, racing on more technical and muddy tracks will make those who are more familiar with off-roading stand out.».
The Bully doesn't fail the "first"
Meanwhile, Rebecca continues to balance her many cycling activities with her studies in marketing and global markets. She already has a bachelor's degree and is now aiming for a full degree. Her goal is to capitalize on her commitment to cycling.
"I'd really like to combine the two," he says, "that would be great. In the meantime, though, I'd also like to do some more road testing. I had some offers, but for me cyclocross always comes first. Sand some teams agree to have me on part-time, I'm available…».
Let's go back to the men's race, where in the absence of his new teammate Dorigoni still busy with the mountain bike season, the tricolor Gioele Bertolini marked his arrival at the Selle Italia Guerciotti Elite. However, his was certainly not a solo, because the younger ones Ceolin e Lion (his teammate) kept him company until the last 100 meters, where the “Bully” made the difference.
«I'm not surprised by such balance – declared the Italian champion – of course the boys made my life difficult by attacking continuously».
Now we need the Green Pass…
Said the first pink jerseys among the juniors are Luca Paletti's (In favor of Asd Cycling) and Valentina Crows (Gs Sorgente Bradipozzo), tomorrow we go to Porto Sant'Elpidio, which in the last edition had closed the hostilities of the circuit and the competitors will find themselves facing not only a route rather different from that of Osoppo, more undulating, but also the new mandatory Green Pass that must be presented in order to be able to startThe Giro d'Italia cyclocross race is also adapting to the new provisions imposed by the Government to continue on the path out of the pandemic.
