The Para-cycling World Cup started with encouraging signals and four medals in Ostend, the first major international event of the new Paralympic cycle. The inaugural day on May 1st, dedicated to time trial events for handbike categories, saw Italy climb the podium four times: an overall tally of one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.

The most important medal came from Roberta Amadeo, who won the top step of the podium in the WH2 category. Bronze for Ana Maria Vitelaru in the WH5 category, behind the Dutch Chantal Aenen and German Andrea Eskau. An excellent third place also for Luca Mazzone in the MH2, despite a mechanical issue that affected his performance.

The silver came from Giorgio Farroni in the T1 tricycle category, beaten only by South Korean Junyoung Park. Good performances also from other Azzurri in the MH3 category, where Martino Pini finished seventh, followed by Davide Cortini (13th), Mirko Testa (16th) and Federico Mestroni (23rd).

National Coach Pierpaolo Addesi: "The results were in line with expectations. We knew we are fewer in number this year, so some almost certain medals are missing. Vitelaru's third place is still positive, but we aim for something better in Sunday's road race. Amadeo confirmed her value, even if her category is narrow. Mazzone had a chain problem, lost time but managed to get back and secure a podium spot: his consistency is a strength. The MH3 course didn't favor us, but we can do better on the road. Pini remains our time trial man, as he proved last year. Farroni's performance was excellent, although it still hurts to see his rival, already reclassified after Tokyo, return to the lower category just through an appeal, taking away his Paralympic medal opportunity. I'm satisfied with the team's attitude, both on and off the track: we're at the start of the season, but we'll be ready when it really counts."

Yesterday was the turn of cyclists and tandems, in a day of breaking in and debuts, useful above all to test condition and gain experience ahead of Saturday and Sunday's road races. Among the new additions were the debuts of Ilenia Colanero (WC2), Riccardo Stacchiotti (MC5), Giacomo Salvalaggio (MC5) and Danilo Giorgio (MC4). "For them, it was mainly about understanding what it means to compete at this level. The time trial was not our main objective, we'll focus on the road," Addesi explained.

Notable was the 12th place of Riccardo Cadei (MC4), the 6th of Andrea Tarlao (MC5), the 8th place of Ilenia Colanero (WC2) and especially the brilliant 4th place of Claudia Cretti (WC5), a Fiamme Azzurre athlete, in constant growth. "She's working hard, and I'm sure she'll give us great satisfaction," the coach added.

Among the tandems, the best performance was from the Bernard-Totò pair, seventh and protagonists of a solid performance on a nearly 30 km course, improving on last year's result. Slightly behind but still improving were Andreoli–Di Felice, 14th, with Andreoli returning after a long injury. Chiara Colombo and Elena Bissolati finished 11th in the WB event. "Today we were mainly interested in collecting data, gaining experience and breaking the ice. The signals from the tandems are good, particularly Bernard-Totò are settling in well as a pair. Sunday's road race will be fun," Addesi concluded.

Now the focus shifts to the road races, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, which will complete the weekend program and offer further opportunities for the Azzurri to shine on the international stage.

ALL RESULTS