Friday, October 22, 2021

GOLDEN ENCORE IN TRACK FOR MAGNIFICENT ITALY: WHAT A STORY!

 

Two world titles in the men's team pursuit and the women's elimination. Amazing Italy went faster than a train to beat France at home in Roubaix.

The Italians made history and achieved an objective that had been absent for 24 years in this track event. What a thrill it was when the quartet, composed of Filippo Ganna, Simone Consonni, Jonathan Milan, and Liam Bertazzo, closed out the final by beating the French with a two-second advantage. This team was all strength waiting to be unleashed when it came to fighting for victory.

Simone Consonni: "This rainbow jersey, this team, are the most beautiful thing a cyclist can experience in my opinion. In the same year, the Olympics and then Worlds".

Jonathan Milan: "It's my first rainbow jersey...the most beautiful satisfaction. It was a perfect race, with every possible challenge taken into account. We knew that France was going to give us a hard time, but we also knew that they couldn't follow our plan”.

Filippo Ganna, with his seventh world title after four in the individual and two in the time trial: "You never get used to these results. This one in particular was a gold that had been missing for so long... in the same year as the Olympic title: if it's not a record, we're close".

There were tears of gold for Letizia Paternoster, who came back and was there in the mix for the podium: she sprinted to the finish and scored victory. On the podium she proudly displayed the well-deserved world champion’s gold medal for the elimination event. Paternoster pedalled with consistency on the upper part of the track to avoid getting boxed into the group. She contested the title with the Belgian, Kopecki, and beat her by a head in the sprint.

But it didn’t end there. Italy also gave us a beautiful silver medal won by Elisa Balsamo, Martina Alzini, Martina Fidanza and Chiara Consonni. This was an historic result because never before had an Italian women’s quartet finished second at Worlds.

Source: FCI Press Office

Photo credit: @bettiniphoto