The granfondo of Porto Azzurro, which in the third edition sees some of the great Italian athletes challenge each other with pedal strokes on a 60 km course, with 2.180 mD, between the hills and the Tyrrhenian sea, on a Sunday in October kissed by the sun and the Tyrrhenian sea still summer weather. Mensi and Ronchi conquered the men's podium, while the women stood out with the Italian champions Nisi and Tovo, who kept the audience in suspense until the end.
Source: press release
The third edition of the Conquistadores Cup started on an almost summer day, a granfondo that this year became part of the circuit of the Italian Cycling Federation. Thanks to the partnership with the Italian XCO Championship that was held this year in Valle d'Aosta, within the Pila Bike Festival, even the great Italian champions were invited to participate in the classic end of season in Porto Azzurro, at the Elba island. And this is how Marika Tovo, Italian XCO 2018 gold medalist and bronze medalist at the World Championships in Switzerland, took part in the race by competing in long distances against the former 2017 Italian champion Maria Cristina Nisi, who was back in vogue after her injury in March.
Among the men, the race immediately became interesting, with a start that saw Juri Ragnoli (Scott Racing Team) take the lead, followed closely by Daniele Mensi and Luca Ronchi (both Team Soudal-Lee Cougan), keeping this line-up for a good part of the first lap. Shortly after, an all-Elban formation was created, always headed by Matteo Spinetti and Maurizio Melis who, in addition to chasing the jersey of the Elban Champion - signed by Nino Schurter - have clearly shown that they can aspire to the podium of the “Granfondo D'Alarcon” organized by the asd Longone Bike, with the support of the Pro Loco of Porto Azzurro. At the height of the time trial of Monserrato, about a kilometer of ascent in a single track in the woods, Mensi changed the initial strategy, which involved a slower first lap and a second one in speed, to detach Ragnoli and take the lead until the end. , with an average gap of 20 ”during the first lap. Ragnoli, for his part, held out in second position until the last seconds of the race, moving away from Ronchi by about 45 ”at the arrival of the first lap, in front of the audience waiting in the splendid square overlooking the sea of Porto Azzurro.
The second lap, that is the repetition of the 30 km ring, confirmed the podium positions until the last second, only to be subverted at the last: Mensi, Ronchi and Ragnoli were in a fierce and very hard race, until the end. Mensi attacked the first step of the podium with a time perfectly in line with Marco Aurelio Fontana's forecasts (2.30.58), trailing the other athletes on the podium by two minutes. The second place was fought until the end, with a sprint that saw Ronchi prevail over Ragnoli, up until a few seconds before in reversed positions.
"I was able to play as a team with Luca at the beginning, giving us the changes in the head, then I detached Juri - declared Daniele Mensi during the interview - the path is really beautiful, I advise the organizers not to change it, but leave it like this because in several passages it is very technical ”.
The women offered a show worthy of betting: Maria Cristina Nisi (Team Bike Innovation-Focus), 2017 Italian marathon champion, returned to shine in Tuscany, demonstrating her extraordinary resistance with a time of 3.07.14 (eleventh overall ), detaching from the beginning the Italian XCO champion Marika Tovo (Team Rudy Project – XCR), the most followed among the young promises of the cross country, which on this occasion ventured into a particularly spicy granfondo. The 60 km course highlighted the technical skills of both athletes, underlining how the distance can affect the conquest of the podium. The bronze went to Simona Mazzucotelli (GS Massì Supermercati) from Bergamo, who has been in great shape since the season that has just ended, but detached from the two Italian champions throughout the course.
"A beautiful race, the last of the season and with this there are 14 victories: a good result considering the start of the season not exactly lucky - declared Maria Cristina Nisi at the women's finish line - I recommend the Conquistadores Cup to everyone, because it is a very well organized race, which takes place in a spectacular area ".
Among the athletes resident on the Island of Elba, Matteo Spinetti won fourth place overall and from today also Elbano Champion 2018, with a time of 2.46.51. "I could not ask to go further, I closed the season with satisfactory results, especially considering the panorama of athletes who are competing today: you never stop learning from them, they are true cycling champions" commented Spinetti to the I arrive.
The injury toll was decidedly contained, with some bruises and some brambles, for very few athletes competing, who tasted the technical descents of the Conquistadores Cup track with their skin!
All results are published on the Endu.net website, the competing categories were OPEN M / F (Élite - Under 23), JMT, ÉLITE SPORT, MASTER MALE (Pupil - M1 - M2 - M3 - M4 - M5 - M6 - Over), FEMALE MASTER.
