(PRIMASPORT) LJUBLJANA – Azzurra Ballan She is the new European champion in the Junior Women's Road Race. On the 66-kilometer course in Šenčur, the Italian rider won Italy's first gold medal at the European Road Cycling Championships, after a race she led from the outset.
Ballan joined the action, which began after the first descent from Možjanca, with a group of five riders leading the way. As the kilometers passed, the lead grew, reaching over two minutes. At the finish, after Spaniard Naxara Odriozola's gap, four remained in contention for the title: Ballan, France's Morgane Lestrade, and Germany's Klara Dworatzek and Leni Burger. The chasing pack couldn't catch up, and the title was decided in a sprint. Ballan took the right position and launched the sprint at the decisive moment, edging out Lestrade and Dworatzek. Burger finished fourth, five seconds behind. Behind them, Elisa Bianchi led the pack and finished fifth, 1'34" behind the winner. Also in the same group were Matilde Rossignoli, eleventh, and Giorgia Pellizotti, seventeenth.
Elisa Bianchi also performed well, finishing fifth, 1'34" behind the winner, while Matilde Rossignoli finished 11th. Giorgia Pellizotti finished 17th and Alessia Orsi 20th, completing the Italian team's results. Rachele Cafueri, however, did not finish.
Ballan thus earned his first European title in the Junior category, while the Italian national team won its first gold medal at the continental tournament in Slovenia. “"I wasn't expecting it; it was really tough because I was in the breakaway for most of the race. When I started, I wasn't feeling great, so I tried to get ahead of the pack along with some other girls on the first descent. In the end, it went well: we built up a big lead and managed to keep it until the finish.". (PRIMASPORT)
