Italy's track cycling team closes a day as protagonists in the third World Cup event at Nilai, Malaysia, securing a historic victory in the men's team sprint and adding two more podiums with the men's team pursuit and Matteo Fiorin in the elimination race.

The most significant result comes from the speed events, where for the first time in history the Italian trio composed of Stefano Minuta, Daniele Napolitano and Mattia Predomo conquers a World Cup event. Italy sends important signals in qualifying, closing in fourth place with a time of 43”314, behind the Netherlands, France and China. In the first round the Italians raise the bar even higher, defeating Canada and stopping the clock at 43”111, a time that secures a place in the gold medal final against China. In the final race comes the victory that confirms the growth of Italy's speed sector, which has long been at the center of the federation's project with the Olympics in mind, as also recalled by president Cordiano Dagnoni: "The Team Sprint had come close to prestigious results on several occasions and today it has finally reached the top of the podium at a major international event. We have invested in the speed sector for some time with conviction, aware of its importance also with the Olympics in mind. Italian cycling is reaping the fruits today of a planning effort that the Federation has been carrying out for years together with athletes, coaches and teams. Congratulations to all of them from the entire Italian cycling movement."

"A great satisfaction - commented Ivan Quaranta, sector coach - on a very slow track and achieved with two Under23 athletes."

Also from the endurance sector comes the third place in the men's team pursuit. The quartet made up of Davide Boscaro, Renato Favero, Etienne Grimod and Francesco Lamon achieves the third best time in qualifying. In the decisive medal race the Italians reach the bronze medal final, where they finish in 3’51”965, against the 3’55”940 of the Swiss. China takes gold ahead of France.

Third place also for Matteo Fiorin in the men's elimination race. After the victory achieved in the second World Cup event, the Italian confirms his excellent form. Fiorin was only beaten by Ilya Savekin, the race winner, and by Spanish rider Alvaro Navas Marchal.

In the other events of the day, Italy finished in ninth place in the women's team pursuit with Anita Baima, Martina Fidanza, Sara Fiorin and Vittoria Grassi. The Italian team recorded a time of 4’25”669 in qualifying, missing out on the first round reserved for the top eight. In the women's team sprint Siria Trevisan, Miriam Vece and Matilde Cenci also finished in ninth place with a time of 48”994, missing by one position the access to the subsequent rounds.

Sixth place finally for Anita Baima in the women's elimination race, in a race won by Norwegian Anita Yvonne Stenberg ahead of Mexican Yareli Acevedo Mendoza and Irish rider Lara Gillespie.