Great performance by the Piedmontese who took the lead on the second lap and never relinquished it despite today's prohibitive weather conditions. Fifth place for Greta Seiwald in the women's event.
Source: Federciclismo press release
Simonte Avondetto, 24 years old from Piedmont from Moncalieri, in his second year in the elite category, is the new European champion. He wins the title on a day characterized by cold and rain, which made today's races challenging and full of twists and turns.
In the final test of the event in Romania, Andreassen starts in the lead with Avondetto in the rear. On the third lap the Dane punctures and the Italian takes advantage of this to take a fifty-second lead which he maintains until the end, despite the fact that the ground conditions were prohibitive and full of pitfalls.
Great joy for coach Mirko Celestino who returns from the expedition to Romania with two European titles and two bronze medals: “It was a tough trip, due to the weather conditions, and an exciting one. It forced all the staff to do double work, but the boys were really good and gave us the greatest joy: bringing home two good victories and the awareness of having a group with great potential. I thank those who believed in this project. Now we look forward to the next events with confidence."
The elite podium sees, behind Avondetto, the Danish Andreassen, who reached the finish line with a 50" disadvantage, and the German Schelb, at 1'07".
“The weather really didn't forgive us today, it's been a while since we raced in such extreme conditions - Said Avondetto -. Andreassen started very strong and after his puncture I found myself with a small advantage. At that point I decided to keep pushing, even though the end was still a long way off. It went well and I'm very happy. I can't wait to wear this beautiful shirt again."
Simone Avondetto was born in Moncalieri and rides for the Wilier-Vittoria Factory Team Xco. This year he has already stood out by winning the Marlene Südtirol Sunshine Race. For him, this is the second continental title of this expedition, having also participated in the Team Relay as the first fractionist. On that occasion he had shown excellent condition, recording the best lap time. In 2022 he had won, in the same season, the Italian, European and World U23 titles.
“I am very happy for Simone who brought such an important jersey home to Wilier-Vittoria after those won in 2022 - said the general manager of Wilier-Vittoria, Marco Trentin -. We expected a good result after the convincing World Cup performances in Brazil and so it was. Now it's time to concentrate and work well for the next World Cup races but this victory gives us great morale."
ELITE RANKING OF THE 2024 EUROPEAN MTB CHAMPIONSHIPS
| 1 | AVONDETTO Simone | ITA | 01:14:57 |
| 2 | ANDREASSEN Simon | THE | 00:49 |
| 3 | SCHELB Julian | GER | 01:06 |
| 4 | GRIOT Thomas | FRA | 01:13 |
| 5 | BRANDL Maximilian | GER | 01:45 |
| 6 | LIST David | GER | 01:52 |
| 7 | AZZARO Mathis | FRA | 02:04 |
| 8 | COLUMBUS Philip | SUI | 02:10 |
| 9 | ALDRIDGE Charlie | GBR | 02:12 |
| 10 | KAISER Leon Reinhard | GER | 02:21 |
