(PRIMASPORT) LJUBLJANA (06/10) – From junior gold to elite silver. Italy closed the penultimate day of the European Championships in Ljubljana with two medals in the Mixed Team Relay, bringing their total tally at the continental event to five. This result also secures provisional first place in the medal table, with the Azzurri ahead of the Netherlands and France.
After winning the world title in Montreal, the Italian sextet confirmed their place on the podium in Europe as well: they took silver behind France, who took the continental title. The result came at the end of a race held on the Šenčur circuit, covering a total distance of 44 kilometers. The route was different from the one at the World Championships, featuring the Možjanca climb, two kilometers with an average gradient of 10.21 TP3T and peaks of up to 151 TP3T.
Italy deploys Mattia Cattaneo, Marco Frigo e Matthew Sobrero in the first fraction and Elisa Longo Borghini, Alessia Vigilia e Monica Trinca Colonel in the second half. France took the lead in the first half of the race, while the Azzurri held onto second place. Cattaneo, Frigo, and Sobrero finished the men's leg 24 seconds behind the French, handing the baton to the women's trio. Longo Borghini, Vigilia, and Trinca Colonel maintained their second place in the second half of the race. However, France gradually increased their lead, finishing in 1:00:19. Italy crossed the finish line 1:12 behind overall, taking the silver medal. The bronze went to Luxembourg, 3:34 behind.
“We knew it would be a very different event than the World Championships, especially because the course was completely different. We tried our best, but France was stronger, and I congratulate them. We also knew Monica Trinca Colonel wasn't feeling well since yesterday, and that certainly didn't help us. That said, I think that on a course like this, France were the favorites, especially given the team they fielded.”, the comment of Mattia Cattaneo, expected from the individual time trial.
Italy confirmed its place on the podium in the event, adding another medal to a European Championship that has so far been marked by strong results. The Italian medal table boasts five medals: Azzurra Ballan's gold in the junior road race, Giulio Ciccone's silver and Christian Scaroni's bronze in the elite road race, the gold medal in the junior Team Relay, and today's silver in the elite Team Relay. (PRIMASPORT)
