Junior Federico Brafa won the bronze medal in the Short Track event of the European MTB Championships, which began yesterday in Melgaco, Portugal, and which awarded medals in all four categories today. The Italian XCO champion, in a sprint finish, finished behind Austrian Anatol Friedl and Spaniard Guillermo Parrado Hortigosa. "It was a hard-fought race from the start. I was always among the leaders. I'm a little disappointed about this third place, because I could have done better in the sprint." The Azzurri were also prominent, with Pietro Cao finishing fifth. Elia Rial finished 27th.
Source: press release
Among the junior women, Slovenian Marusa Tereza Serkezi won the title, ahead of Czech Barbora Bukovska and Sweden's Elinore Nilsson. Giorgia Pellizotti finished fourth, 31 seconds behind the winner. Nicole Azzetti finished 16th.
Chiara Teocchi placed fifth in the Elite and U23 race, won by Sweden's Jenny Rissveds, ahead of Switzerland's Nicole Koller and Linda Indergand. Sara Cortinovis placed 15th, Lucia Bramati 25th, and Nicole Pesse 27th.
Among the Elite riders, Swiss rider Luca Schatti took the win, surprising almost all the favorites by breaking away and never being caught. The sprint for the podium involved a dozen riders, including our own Luca Braidot, who finished sixth. Simone Avondetto finished 10th. Fabio Bassignana and Giulio Peruzzo finished 29th and 30th, respectively.
Coach Mirko Celestino's assessment of this first day: "Overall, it was a positive day, with a medal and several placings that motivate us to do even better in the coming days. Now we're looking forward to tomorrow's relay, where we have to defend the title we won last year."
These are the athletes who will run the Team Relay tomorrow: Zanotti, Paccagnella, Fabbro, Berta, Corvi, Ferri. “Today they tested the course again,” Celestino concluded, “and we’re ready for a race that we feel particularly strongly about as a national team.”
