This is why the year of competitions that is about to open will really be a year of fire for the guys of the Italian team. All confirmed, the 4 standard bearers of long distances will each have their own good reasons to push even harder on their Wilier Triestina Urta SLR.
Source: press release
Last season really gave a lot of satisfaction to the long distance specialists, above all Fabian Rabensteiner who conquered a stage victory at the Cape Epic, the final victory at the Swiss Epic, the Italian XCM champion jersey and above all the European XCM champion jersey . A real season with flakes.
In 2023 Fabian will still be riding his Wilier Triestina Urta SLR with European livery, with the intention of trying to repeat what he did last year:
“After the 2022 super season I want to continue to confirm myself as one of the strongest long-distance athletes and above all pick up where I finished, from the top. I am very curious to see what the new XCM World Cup will be like as it will take place in new and unprecedented places for us, plus on some occasions we will be together with our XCO teammates, something that has never happened in other years, so I am galvanized for this news. Surely a big goal will be the world championship where I've never been able to show a good performance... so far" - Fabian Rabensteiner
A good season also for Daniel Geismayr who wore the Austrian XCM national champion's jersey, conquered the Swiss Epic and got on the stage podium at the Cape Epic.
For the Austrian, the 2023 season will once again be marked by the desire to get as much as possible, starting from the Cape Epic, Daniel's biggest goal ever.
It will certainly be difficult as a team to replicate a season like last year's, but we will try. As a team we have made great strides and this gives me the opportunity and the motivation to do my best on the pitch. Motivation is high, it will be a season of fire. – Daniel Geismayr
Samuele Porro and Wout Alleman's 2022, on the other hand, hasn't been all rosy. A series of injuries and misfortunes ruined Porro's season, while Alleman got off to a great start at the beginning of the season, only to be stopped for over 6 months by a bad lymph node infection. For them, 2023 will be the year of redemption and both are ready to light the fireworks and shine again as they know how to do, just as Samuele said:
"I look to 2023 as a season to live without compromise, to redeem a disappointing 22. Calmly and without pressure thanks to the trust that the team guarantees me".
Wout also has the right mental set-up to do well: “I'm really excited to start the 2023 season, but I admit I'm also a bit nervous because it's been 8 months since my last race. The first part of last year was really great, but there are still some unfinished business to settle on the field, and I'm ready".
The season of the Wilier Triestina Pirelli Factory Team XCM will open in February in Spain with the Mediterranean Epic, to then continue with the Andalucia Bike Race and in March with the first major objective of the season, the Cape Epic.
The new Marathon World Cup will open in May, which will take the boys to Nove Mesto (Czech Republic), Finale Ligure (Italy), Morzine (France) and Snowshoe (USA) during the season. In between, important races such as the Hero Dolomites, the Dolomiti Superbike and the Mythos Primiero Dolomiti.
Without forgetting the national championships, the European championship in Laissac and the world championship appointment in Glasgow. It will be an intense, long and fast season, just the adjectives that the boys of the Wilier Triestina Pirelli Factory Team Marathon like best.
