The essence of the competition is all in the opening photo: Silvia Persian that pushes, Rebecca Gariboldi who grits his teeth. Everything seemed already written among the women for this Italian cyclocross championship. And in the end things went according to plan, but to get to the epilogue the path was different from the one expected.
Under the pine forest of Castel Fusano, Silvia Persico had to work much harder than expected to confirm her title as Italian champion. Rebecca Gariboldi's defense was stoic. And also Francesca Baroni, third at the finish, added to the suspense.
The film of the race
Ready and go and there is immediately a major fallAmong others, they also end up on the ground Eve Lechner e Sarah Casasola. And above all he is the athlete of the Selle Italia-Guerciotti to pay the costs: she could have a certain influence on these Italian cyclo-cross championships. Sara runs with her bike on her shoulder to the pits, basically starting her race 1'30" behind.
Meanwhile, Silvia Persico begins to push hard. A few turns later, there are three of them: her, Gariboldi, and Baroni. Behind, Arzuffi gradually overtakes all the others and leads the "second car."
Things remain this way until With just over two laps to go, first Baroni and then Gariboldi gave way. And significant gaps opened up.
The gaps explode…
The final gaps were huge, despite Persico having dropped her last opponent with a lap and a half to go. But that's what happens when... the gap There's a wide gap between the athletes. Once one gets off the wheel of the other, everything changes. And whoever's behind drops dramatically.
«I started strong – says Persico after the finish line – and when I skisprint I told myself: “I have to calm down because if I start doing this in the end I'll complicate things for myself”. So I tried to go at my own pace, focused and steady without overdoing it.
«I tried to detach them right away but there were too many curves, I couldn't make the difference. Then, I don't know why, I tried to ask for some changes but they didn't want to give them to me."
It was known that Silvia was clearly the strongest and the others played on this point. But the standard-bearer of the Fas Airporte Services it doesn't quite fit…
"In the end, I'm human too. I could have an off day too, and I don't understand this fear of switching. However, I kept at my pace until the end, pushing hard."
There was a difference, as we were saying, between Silvia Persico and Rebecca Gariboldi, but what was expected to be a triumphant ride turned out to be quite a tough ride in the end. This is also due to the surface, which in one section, precisely that of the main ribbon, was very slow.
Applause Gariboldi
A big round of applause therefore goes to Gariboldi. The athlete of the Cingolani Team with his strenuous endurance he made the race less predictable.
«I – says Rebecca – I just looked at Silvia's back wheel. I knew she was the strongest and that I had to do it that way. This perhaps pushed me to push myself even further. I gave 110%, and being able to maintain it this long is a sign of good condition. And this is what happens when you feel good."
The final podium confirms Rebecca's clear leap in quality. His season has been studded with excellent results, but above all with great consistency of performance at the highest levels. than in the past. It's no coincidence that he celebrated at the finish line.
"I've worked hard to get to this point, and I'm happy about it. I have to thank my team, which is like a second family to me. They do everything they can to put me in the best possible conditions. The blue jersey? Well, ask Pontoni!
But in the meantime Rebecca smiles… Her mind is already on the World Cup.
