Source federciclismo.it
The first medal for Italy of the XCO, XCE and Team Relay World Championships in Nové Mesto is won by Martina Berta, outgoing world champion who hands over the rainbow jersey in the hands of the Swedish Ida Jansson and wears a well-deserved bronze medal around her neck.
“I am really happy with this result. The race was tough, running at a very high pace right from the start - she said at a press conference -. I tried to keep up with Ida, but during the third lap I realized that it was better to manage my forces. "
The girl from Rivarolo Canavese (but recently moved to Val d'Aosta), 18 years old who started cycling at the age of 5, has nevertheless completed a very satisfying season, sealed by this bronze medal: "I won two tests of the Junior Series and the final classification and the Italian Championships. Today this bronze is the icing on the cake. I am really satisfied, I can not expect more. Now the final exams await me (Liceo Scientifico, ed), then I can truly say that I have achieved all the objectives. "
The new world champion is the 18-year-old Swedish Ida Jansson, already winner of the Montagnetta di S. Siro at the Internazionali d'Italia, right in front of Martina. The blonde Nordic athlete took the lead immediately after the start and kept a margin of 15 ”first on our Berta, then, from the third lap, on the Austrian Lisa Pasteiner.
The chronicle of the race experienced moments of uncertainty, after the initial skirmishes, especially during the third lap, when the blue realized that he was unable to close the hole with the tread. At that point, even surpassed by the returning Pasteiner (17 years old), she preferred to continue with a step capable of assuring her the podium which, as mentioned at the beginning and in the light of an intense season, represents a result of great prestige.
For the blue this is the second medal at the world championships, after last year's gold. After the world championship (and the maturity), her attention will focus above all on the final round of the European Cup (Junior Series) in France in mid-August.
The other blue in the race, Erika Tovo, was also good and paid for a puncture during the third lap. She crossed the finish line with a sore arm after a crash in the last lap. Despite these setbacks, and the inevitable price for the excitement of a world debut (she is a junior in the first year), she finished in 11th position (in the picture Mondini the podium of the junior women).
“It is never easy to repeat ourselves - begins Hubi Pallhuber -. This year Martina lacked a bit of regularity in the performance. Having fought and defended this medal shows that we are in the presence of an athlete of great character and talent. She tried to keep up with Jansson, but the Swede was really wild today. Congratulations also to Marika Tovo who despite the puncture and the fall she never gave up and touched the entry into the top ten ... She would have deserved it. "
XCO MEN JR - Bonnet, after the European Championship, the World Championship
The season of Thomas Bonnet must certainly be framed too, who after winning the European championship now also wears the rainbow jersey. He does it at the end of a race led from the start (as happened two hours earlier with the junior women) and keeping the Swiss Vital Albin at a safe distance, who finishes 36 ”behind. Bronze medal for the Norwegian Halland Johannessen, a real surprise of the day given that in the UCI raking he sailed away from the leading positions, even though he was national champion. His third place has a double value, given the comeback of which he was the protagonist.
Not good for the blues; first of the Italians was Edoardo Xillo, who finished in 25th place; Francesco Bonetto 29th, Antonio Folcarelli 35th, Matteo Cucchi 50th, Juri Zanotti 51st.
