“The sterrato was a beautiful and enriching experience”

Twenty-six riders fought for victory in a 2023 edition of the Memorial Polese in which a triple passage through a section of sterrato midway through the race provided a great selection. Danish rider Anders Foldager (Biesse Carrera) won against Alberto Bruttomesso (CTF) a victory that this time did not have a solid contender from the U23 structure of the Contador Foundation.

Luca Bagnara, in his personal discovery of the unpaved sectors in competition, was one of the protagonists of Saturday with an offensive move that led him to ride sandwiched between a head of the race then formed by three riders and the peloton in the company of the Italian Gabriel Greguoldo (Lan Service). It was a passage of the race in which the leading trio rode with a margin of more than five minutes over the peloton.

“The three at the front already had more than a minute when Luca started, we were aware of the difficulty of catching the race leader. But it was interesting and there was a good chance that he would manage to enter the dirt section ahead of the group”, explained Gorka Beloki, director of the Polese Memorial.

After the last pass through the sterrato, a group of about forty riders headed for the last third of the race, with a final circuit around the finish line. On this route the group would be selected and Bagnara could not be in the front group, after a great previous work.

Gabriele Raccagni: “It was not a good day especially for me. I spent a lot of energy to be well positioned before the climb and the sterrato section. There the group was very selected, about twenty riders stayed in front and the group I was riding in ended up lifting its foot”.

Luca Bagnara: “Today was my first time on dirt roads and I have to say that it was a very nice and enriching experience. I came to the Memorial Polese thinking that I was a bit out of shape, but I’m very happy because the feeling was very good all day”.

[? Giorgio Berasi (1, 3)]