CASTELFRANCO
In the post-Giro comments, which ended without treble, it was highlighted that the Zalf 2021, the year of the Continental debut, lacked weighty success. The reply was not long in coming: first came the tricolor title with Gabriele Benedetti, yesterday the prestigious Capodarco International with Simone Raccani. The 20-year-old from Vicenza from the Ormelle school, protagonist of a maxi-escape with his mate Alex Tolio and Andrea Piccolo, confirmed his qualities as a climber on the hard Marche route, prevailing in the sprint on the Milanese Piccolo, who returned to compete in the Vigevano jersey after a parenthesis between the pros’ with Astana. Tolio completed the podium, who two months ago had to give up the Giro del Veneto, after being hit by in training. “We wanted to have a tough race right from the start, so we went on the attack when there were still 150 km left”, the words of Raccani, who makes the Zalf triumph at Capodarco 11 years after Enrico Battaglin’s sharpness, “In the end, I understood to have a great opportunity: I still don’t realize it ». For Zalf it is the 18th seal of an increasingly exciting season. But exhilarating, thinking about current events, it was the whole weekend in August. The castellana formation had reached 17 on Sunday at the Assunta Circuit in Ceneda, celebrating the first seal of the Arezzo Alessio Acco, capable of a prodigious solo. The former Juniores tricolor, benefiting from the Piedmontese Damiano Valerio (Aries), had even managed to round the entire group in the traditional circuit of Ceneda, before setting off alone and giving Zalf the coveted rendez-vous by Cicloturistica Vittorio Veneto. Acco, who arrived from Kometa in June, finished 1’38 ”to Valerio, while Pietro Aimonetto (Team Friuli) took third place. But the cycling weekend also said something else: the second step of Luca Colnaghi (Trevigiani) stands out in the second stage of the Tour de l’Avenir, the most important U23 stage race. While the Zalf had also asserted itself in the City of Castelfidardo, placing second and third place with the same Tolio and Riccardo Verza.
Professionals. A new challenge for Davide Cimolai, a pro from Friuli who has been transplanted to Villa di Villa for a couple of years, who from 2022 will race for two seasons with the French Cofidis, thus archiving the Israel experience.
Women. Nadia Quagliotto meets again at Périgord Ladies, in France. The Bepink rider finds the podium again after more than two years (second behind Letizia Borghesi in the Carate Brianza stage of the Giro 2019), finishing third behind Bastianelli and Magnaldi. –
Mattia Toffoletto