The curtain has fallen in Petritoli on the 19th Balocco Paponi Trophy, held on the roads of Valdaso for the junior category. Celebrating was Sidermec Slp thanks to Matteo Magnoni, a new name in the roll of honor of the event, on a podium that saw the presence of his teammate Giacomo Campedelli and Edoardo Lillo of Team Belvedere, the latter denied victory right at the finish line when he seemed already launched towards winning.

The organization of the race was optimal and carefully managed in all aspects under the supervision of Emanuele Senzacqua, Mauro Paponi, Attilio Marinucci and the New Limits Monturanese cycling society, in memory of those who made cycling glorious in Petritoli: Fausto Balacco, Gabriele Paponi, Zaccaria Senzacqua, Domenico Romanelli, Giovanni Leoni, Vico Massucci and Gino De Carolis.

THE RACE. Despite the small number of riders at the start, 53 including athletes from Tunisia, Russia, Chile, Belarus and Romania, the race was very animated over the 113 kilometers of the course. The initial phase saw the breakaway of Mattia Chinellato, Gioele Di Giacomo, Leonardo Micanti, Thomas Minestrini, Samuele Moretti and Filippo Tomassini of Tris Stampi Fior di Grano, Davide Bettelli, Matteo Pagani and Elia Quadalti of Omnia Imola Angelo Gomme, Domenico Lo Piccolo of Salus Ciclistica Seregno De Rosa, Matteo Magnoni and Alessandro Ruffilli of Sidermec - SLP, Francesco Pace of Vini Fantini – Tralfo, Fabio Colaprico and Camillo D'Emilio of Team Belvedere, Giordano Altavilla and Riccardo Farsetti of Team Fact Academy, without going beyond one minute of advantage.

After six initial laps on the Valdaso with reference to the Valmir locality, with the road climbing between Petritoli and Monte Vidon Combatte, several attacks followed that further selected the best riders in the race. Chinellato claimed the mountain prize on offer, symbolically wearing the blue jersey of best climber of the Giro d'Italia at the awards ceremony, ahead of Lillo and Eros Zoppas (Omnia Imola Angelo Gomme). Calm was restored, but it lasted little as the fight reignited on the final climb towards Petritoli with Team Belvedere setting the pace with Gabriel Andronache. 500 meters from the finish, Lillo made a decisive attack, which seemed he could hold until the line, but a technical error in judgment, mistaking the mountain prize line for the finish line, led him to raise his arms too early while still about fifty meters remained. The two Sidermec Slp riders Matteo Magnoni and Giacomo Campedelli took advantage, passing him in the final meters with Lillo relegated to third place and then the other riders following with various gaps.

The awards ceremony took place in the presence of Luca Pezzani and Marco Vesprini, mayor and councilman of the municipality of Petritoli, Massimo Passamonti and Rosario Mannocchi, mayor and councilman of the municipality of Monte Vidon Combatte, Lino Secchi and Marco Marinuk, honorary president and vice regional president of FCI Marche.

At the start of the race, greetings were brought by Paolo Calcinaro, health assessor of the Marche Region, and Alberto Scarfini, mayor of Fermo. The race was narrated with the voices of speaker Mirko D'Amato to the public and Simone Gazzoli of Team Capodarco as race radio in support of the race direction, entrusted to Andrea Micheli and Michele Bravi, technical support and the race commissaries board chaired by Ilaria Baldassarri, a true Petritoli native.

Thus Matteo Magnoni, from Cagli in the Marche region: "I entered the main breakaway right away and in the final I managed my energy best. The climbs and the heat made the course extremely tough. When I saw Lillo drop in the final twenty meters I took advantage of it by pushing straight to the finish line. I finally managed to break through this season, now I'll try to close it out well".

Giacomo Campedelli: "This second place behind my teammate is worth almost as much as a victory to me. Being a rider more suited to flat terrain, the final part was really hard with all the climbs in succession in the last 30 kilometers".

Edoardo Lillo, from Alberobello, current FCI Puglia regional champion: "It was an extremely tough and exhausting test, but demanding races in the mountains are my ideal terrain. Even though victory slipped away today, the goal is to always stay up front and claim success. I'll learn from this bitter mistake to make up for it in the next races, aim for the best possible placement and be in form for the Giro della Lunigiana".

Marco Marinuk: "All the efforts made were repaid by the spectacle, the welcome and the quality level of the race. Hats off to Emanuele Senzacqua and all his collaborators for the great work done in Petritoli, increasingly aiming at consolidating the event in our calendar".

Emanuele Senzacqua: "In Petritoli cycling is increasingly at home and this race boasts a prestigious roll of honor, from Giulio Ciccone through Martin Marcellusi and Alessandro Verre, active professionals. We are delighted with the success of the event and the great teamwork done on the territory together with sponsors and the municipal administration".

FINISHING ORDER

1st Matteo Magnoni (Sidermec - Slp) 113 km in 2h 47' 27" average 40.490 km/h

2nd Giacomo Campedelli (Sidermec - Slp) at 1"

3rd Edoardo Lillo (Team Belvedere) at 3"

4th Eros Zoppas (Omnia Imola Angelo Gomme)

5th Francesco Carnevali (Vini Fantini - Tralfo) at 7"

6th Gioele Tentoni (Sidermec - Slp) at 10"

7th Domenico Lo Piccolo (Salus Ciclistica Seregno De Rosa)

8th Gabriel Andronache (Rou, Team Belvedere) at 20"

9th Giordano Altavilla (Team Fact Academy) at 28"

10th Mattia Chinellato (Tris Stampi Fior di Grano) at 34"