The Illa das Esculturas in Pontevedra today saw the junior, under-23 and elite rounds of the European Cyclo-cross Championships. A success of attendance and participation that crowned Thibau Nys (Belgium) and Fem Van Empel (Netherlands) as new continental champions in the highest category. Felipe Orts from Alicante won the silver medal after a race to remember in Pontevedra.
More than 9000 spectators attended the different competitions this Sunday at the Illa das Esculturas in Pontevedra. The European Cyclo-cross Championships brought together the entire Galician, Spanish and international cycling family to support the national teams, with the presence of the authorities. Miguel Anxo Fernández Lores, mayor of Pontevedra; Xosé Ramón Lete, general secretary of sports of the Xunta de Galicia; Enrico della Casa, president of the UEC; José Luis López Cerrón, president of the managing commission of the RFEC; Daniel Benavides, head of the sports service of the Xunta de Galicia; Delmino Pereira; president of the Portuguese Cycling Federation; Juan Carlos Muñiz, president of the Galician Cycling Federation. Before the last of the competitions got underway, a respectful minute’s silence was observed in homage to the victims of the DANA in the Comunitat Valenciana.
The men’s race did not disappoint anyone, with Felipe Orts leading from the first lap and able to stay in the leading positions from the beginning, until he took responsibility with 4 laps to go and broke the race with a hard attack that only the Belgians Thibau Nys and Eli Iserbyt could answer. With three laps to go, Lars Van der Haar and Niels Vandeputte managed to link up with the lead, but a bike change by Iserbyt would dislodge the leading group, leaving Nys and Orts alone for good. On the last lap, fatigue set in and Nys took advantage of this moment to break away and take the gold medal as the new European Champion. The ovation of the public was for a stellar Felipe Orts, who made the whole Pontevedra audience dream and received the affection also on the podium. Eli Iserbyt completed a great race for the Belgian team with his bronze medal. Spain’s Kevin Suárez was 13th.
The elite women’s race was in bright sunshine, with the Dutch riders taking the lead from the start. Italy’s Sara Casasola was in the lead, but neither Van Empel, Alvarado nor Brand wanted to leave the weight of the race in the hands of any rider without an orange jersey. As soon as they had the chance, Van Empel and Alvarado began to take the lead and behind them Lucinda Brand broke away on her own, and she linked up in the final two laps when the pace slowed slightly. Brand took the lead on the final lap to try to surprise her compatriots, but it was not possible as in the final metres Ceylin Alvarado attacked, to enter the final straight ahead, without being able to prevent the reigning champion Fem Van Empel from revalidating her title. Spanish champion Lucia Gonzalez managed to finish in tenth place, where she rode throughout the race.
Under-23 and junior races
The junior women’s race was the opening race of Sunday’s competition. Despite the great start of Ana Lopez, who quickly took the first position, it was the Czech riders Barbora Bokuvská and Amálie Gottwaldová who took the lead of the race. For several moments there were up to 10 riders in the lead, with Swiss rider Anja Grossmann and the Czechs in control. It was in the last two laps when the race broke up, with Grossmann and Bukovska in the lead together with the Italian Giorgia Pellizotti and the Dutch rider Mae Cabaca, who suffered a fall that left her out of the fight for the medals. In the final lap, the Swiss rider gave her all to slightly distance her rivals and win the European championship in her first year in the category. Bukovaska would take the silver and Pellizotti the bronze, while behind, the Galician Lorena Patiño would culminate a great comeback to finish in tenth position.
In the junior men’s race, Benjamín Noval made the entire Spanish delegation dream of a medal, but in the end he had to settle for a creditable fourth place. The race was dominated by the Belgian riders from the start, with the Italian Mattia Agostinacchio and the Austrian Valentin Hofer always in the first positions. The transalpine rider suffered a fall on the boards that seemed to rule him out of the fight for the championship, but nothing could have been further from the truth, because just as it happened to Benjamín Noval on two occasions, he suffered a breakdown but he came back and got back into the fight for the championship. With a lap and a half to go, Agostinacchio dropped all his rivals and would not stop until he was proclaimed continental champion. For his part, Hofer took advantage of the last ramp to gain a slight advantage that would serve him to secure the silver, while in the fight for the bronze, the Belgian Vanden Eynde left Benjamin Noval, fourth, who was the best first year rider, with the honey on his lips.
The women’s under-23 race was the calmest of the day, as from the first lap Frenchwoman Célia Gery, Luxembourger Marie Schreiber and Dutchwoman Leonie Bentveld stood out and left the rest of the participants with no options. Little by little they increased their advantage and it was not until the final lap that Bentveld was not able to keep up the pace and left the fight for the gold between the Frenchwoman and the Luxembourger. On the finishing straight, Gery showed that she had one more point to win in her first year as an under-23 rider. Among the Spaniards, the best classified Aroa Otero finished 16th.
Dutch rider David Haverdings quickly stood out in the men’s under-23 race, gaining a slight advantage in the first lap, but soon Jente Michels and Samuele Scappini joined him in the lead. The Italian didn’t hold on for long and handed over to his compatriot Filippo Agostinacchio. Without much movement until the last lap, Haverdings suffered a breakdown that left him out of the fight, and Jente Michels took advantage of it to gain a slight advantage over the Italian, enough to retain the continental under-23 title. The bronze went to Frenchman Aubin Sparfel, while Spaniards Miguel Rodríguez and Raúl Mira completed a great performance, seventh and ninth respectively.
The public enjoyed not only the competition throughout the day, but also the Expo Zone with more than 15 brands and exhibitors, as well as the food and beverage area where the Gastro Wristbands were used. Refunds with the remaining balance can be processed from tomorrow.
The Federación de Ciclismo Galego was the organiser of this European Cyclo-cross Championship in the Illa das Esculturas, with the support of the City Council of Pontevedra, the Diputación de Pontevedra and the Xunta de Galicia. More than 150 volunteers made possible an event that has served to promote the city thanks to live television coverage throughout Europe.