Ready, go and it's straight to the podium. The first stage of World Cup he immediately saw Gaia Realini protagonist, with a third place achieved in the Under 23 classification. In the American trials (there will be two more on Wednesday – on the World Championship course – and Sunday) the youngest are called to compete directly with the Elite. For the Abruzzese, who had just moved up a category, it was immediately a baptism of fire.
The tracing of Waterloo, a citizen of Iowa, a state that is the main center of cyclocross activity in the USA, has confirmed its very stringent technical characteristics, especially considering that we are at the beginning of the season. Above all, the “Secret Bar”, the most technical section designed in the middle of the woods, which always attracts the majority of the public, was the most exciting part. It was precisely on those fast descents and hairpin bends that Gaia made her comeback. A remarkable feat, especially considering she didn't have a high enough ranking to be in the front row.
Vos, a success to "digest" the World Cup
An important technical fact that emerged from the first stage of the World Cup is that those coming from the road currently have an advantage. Probably temporary because it will certainly be necessary to take a break if we want to be protagonists also in the second part of the season, The most important and culminating in the World Championships. The road season's form certainly favored some. It's no coincidence that those who dominated—Vos and Vas, and pardon the pun…—have just finished competing on the road.
The same goes for Gaia, who, despite having already had a few weeks of specific training, used her endurance to finish 11th overall, 1'26" behind Vos. "It was a very fast but tough race at the same time," she told us directly from the States. It was a track that didn't allow you to breathe, you always had to be clear-headed and careful not to make mistakes.». The Dutchman, the bitter pill of the world championship defeat was swallowed with difficulty with Balsamo two weeks before, he had decided to skip the Paris-Roubaix to embark for the USA and the facts proved her right.
The importance of “hiding” in the group
The women's performance quickly confirmed the trend we'll see throughout the season. Which one? The Dutch were the ones making the most noise... This time, however, there were some new additions, starting with the Swiss mountain bike Olympian Jolanda. Neff. Those who had seen her tired at the end of the season, especially at the World Championships in Val di Sole, had to think again., the Swiss has rarely managed to compete at such levels on grass, certainly favored by a course judged to be very fast but not without difficulties.
It's a unique race, as many other World Cup races will be with the categories combined. Realini is keen to underline this aspect: "I don't know what would have happened if we had raced only among us Under 23s; I would certainly have had a better view of them. Racing with the elites sometimes also allows you to "hide" among them and manage to gain important positions". A first experience that gives us hope: "As a result it is very important and for this opportunity I have to thank Cittì Daniele Punctual and the national team that allowed us to compete at these levels right from the start."
Meanwhile, the Vas continues to grow…
The same goes for the first of the U23s, the Hungarian Kata Blanka You who now convinces on every bike she rides, from road to mountain bike to cyclocross. In the final part, however, the Dutch big names left a gap, with world champion Lucinda Brand together with Vos and Betsema. The world champion knew she would have no chance in the sprint, but Vos did not wait until the final metres to make her supremacy clear., beating her rival by 2" and Betsema by 3 with Neff an excellent fourth at 19". Scrolling through the rankings, good signs also from the other athlete of the national team, Alice Maria Brawls, 18th at 2'22”, 24th instead the Italian Eva Lechner, competing with Luca Bramati's new Valcar team at 3'20”.
The men's competition provided the expected scenario. In the absence of the "Three Tenors," the European champion iserbyt He confirmed that he was the fastest among all the specialists to reach the best condition. Little Eli, in a race that started like the women's race with good weather but then became a long run in the rain and mud, he stretched out on his companion of colors to the Pauwels Sauzen, the other Belgian Michael Vanthourenhout, leaving him at the end at 30". An all-Belgian podium thanks also to Quinten Hermans, third at 43”.
But how good Toneatti is!
The men's race confirmed the fears expressed by coach Daniele Pontoni on the eve: it will be really difficult to get out of the Belgium-Holland diarchy, considering that the first from another nation is the Swiss Kevin Kuhn, 13th at 3'04”. For this reason too, Davide Toneatti's 16th place should be considered extremely positive, perhaps even more surprising than Realini's result., a twenty-year-old making his debut against the big names, at 3'16", but above all 4th in the Under 23s and third among the "rest of the world" representatives. Further away is Lorenzo Masciarelli, also making his absolute debut, 28th and last among those who avoided dubbing.
For a first outing, Pontoni can be decidedly satisfied. Now we move to Fayetteville, North Carolina, where the event will take place on Wednesday and will be a crucial test., on the world championship track, to be studied with the utmost attention and then taken into account during the season.
