She seemed to start a monologue of the second rehearsal of the day a San Zeno di Montagna, seat of the first stage of Internationals of Italy Series 2022, the one dedicated to the women's categories, Women Open (6 laps) and Junior (4 laps).
Source: press release
From the first session, in fact, Martina Bertha (SantaCruz-FSA) had managed to authoritatively take command of the operations, opening a gap of over half a minute between herself and the squad of the first pursuers, led by Giada Specia.
Lap after lap, while the athlete from Aosta continued his solitary escape, the group behind him crumbled, leaving only the Specia constantly between 30 and 40 seconds late, followed by a Giorgia Marchet (Trinx Factory Racing) finally brilliant after a difficult season. After a good start, they slid further back Greta Seiwald, Sara Cortinovis (both SantaCruz-FSA) ed Eve Lechner (Trinx Factory Racing).
Halfway through the fourth lap, the episode that changed the history of the race: Martina Berta begins to suffer from cramps, and her action loses its effectiveness, paving the way for the recovery of Giada Specia. An unexpected comeback that the young Feltrina managed to complete in the last round, taking the joy of her success (the first from the Open to the Internazionali d'Italia Series) and two leader jerseys: Open and Under 23.
“I'm surprised too, I didn't expect it,” Specia said upon arrival. “My main merit was that I didn't give up, even if the way the race was going was not easy: no matter how hard I pushed, Martina kept going strong and the margin never dropped. I believe that the fact of having studied the route a few days ago, and knowing it well, has helped me today to manage myself in the best possible way. This success is a wonderful way to start a season that I hope will be full of satisfaction. "
Martina Berta finished 22 seconds behind the winner, understandably disappointed with a fuzzy result when she already seemed very close. Third position at 1.10 for Giorgia Marchet, fourth Greta Seiwald at 2.07, fifth Sara Cortinovis at 3.13.
ORDER OF ARRIVAL
- Giada Specia (WILIER-PIRELLI FACTORY TEAM XCO)
- Martina Berta (SANTA CRUZ FSA MTB PRO TEAM)
- Giorgia Marchet (TRINX FACTORY TEAM)
- Greta Seiwald (SANTA CRUZ FSA MTB PRO TEAM)
- Sara Cortinovis (SANTA CRUZ FSA MTB PRO TEAM)
