As happened in 2022, Monferrato was the only Italian appointment of the Gravel World Series: a success that has its roots in the beauty of the Unesco heritage landscape and of the track, in the consolidated organization resulting from the collaboration between the Milanese Bike Comedy Club and Veloeventi of Casale Monferrato and in the presence of over 600 runners from 25 countries.
Source: press release
The 125 km route between the hills of Alessandria and Asti, through roads and paths that touch the municipalities of Quattordio (departure and arrival site), Masio, Felizzano, Fubine, Altavilla, Vignale, Camagna, Conzano, Lu-Cuccaro, Viarigi and Cerro Tanaro, last year it was judged by the insiders and by the UCI manager for the off-road sector (present as a participant) the best of the Series: there is therefore confidence that it can repeat itself and win the coveted recognition also in this edition .
2022 crowned Dutch Piotr Havic as the winner, with Australian Nathan Haas second (both Pro road racers). Third was the Turin cyclo-cross and road racer Luca Cibrario. In the women's field, the podium of professionals was composed respectively by the Swedish Svenja Betz, by our Barbara Guarischi and by the English Annabel Fisher. Among the masters 50/54, victory of the late champion Davide Rebellin, who would shortly thereafter die in a tragic accident.
The 2023 edition featured a parterre de rois made up of the Italian gravel national team led by CT Daniele Pontoni, Jan Bakelants (winner of the 2015 Giro del Piemonte and a stage at the 2013 Tour de France), the Dutch Niki Terpstra (to his credit Paris-Roubaix 2014 and Tour of Flanders 2018), by the Irishman Nicholas Roche and by the Italians Daniel Oss and Sacha Modolo, all highly decorated on the road. Also present were Havik, Haas and Cibrario. Among the women, in addition to Fisher and Guarischi, the Australian Tiffany Cromwell, the young Nicole D'Agostin and Giada Borghesi, plus the Argentine biker Sofia Gomez Villafane at the starting line. The amateur categories men over 60 and women over 50 instead competed on the "Veteran" course limited to 69 km.
Under a purely summer climate and a good turnout of the public on the roadside, the 2nd Monsterrato Race saw around two thirds of the entrants finish and – as expected – the Pros prevailed. In the men's category, the Czech Petr Vakoc (already road winner at the Freccia del Brabant 2016) triumphed with the Belgian Jan Bakelants second and the Austrian Sebastian Schonberger third. At the foot of the podium was our Pierpaolo Ficara, while the Irishman Roche, already winner of two stages at the Vuelta of Spain, finished in 9th position. Clear victory for Vakoc who detached a group of four pursuers by 6 minutes and 8 seconds, concluding the race in 3 hours 41 minutes and 36 seconds. The Dutch Terpstra and the Italian Oss, protagonists announced, finished respectively 13th and 29th, while the winner of the last edition Havic finished in 21st place. In the masters 65/69 mention for the former F1 driver Alain Prost, who took a good 8th place. A regular visitor to the Monferrato hills, the 68-year-old Frenchman still showed an enviable state of form.
Among the women, success for the Danish biker Annika Langvad, already world champion Cross Country and Marathon, who finished in 4 hours 14 minutes and 41 seconds. Second place for the Polish Karolina Migon and third step of the podium for the German Maria Rosa Kloser, detached respectively by 14 seconds and 1 minute and 22 seconds. Among the favorites of the eve, excellent performance also by Cromwell 4th, Borghesi 5th, Gomez Villafane 7th and Fisher 15th.
