First trip to Italy of the year for the Under-23 team

After competing all over Spain, the U23 team will travel to Italy to take part in two prestigious ‘classics’ of the international calendar. The Giro del Belvedere and the G.P. Palio del Recioto will be the two demanding competitions to face.

5 riders from the Polti Kometa squad, with a majority of riders from the transalpine country, will take the start alongside the best riders in the world in this category. They will face continental teams and even the under-23 riders of the Bardiani squad, a professional team. 35 teams will make up the peloton.

Both races will be extremely demanding. The first of them, the Giro del Belvedere, will have more than 2,000 metres of elevation gain on its circuit of short but steep climbs. In addition, in the last two laps they will have to face the climb to Montaner (3.8km – 12%) before reaching the finish line.

The G.P. Palio del Recioto will follow the line of the previous day’s race with a first part that will take place on a circuit before tackling the final pass before the finish. During the 144 kilometres of the race, the cyclists will climb up to 7 peaks to accumulate a total of 2927 metres of positive difference in altitude.

“In recent years we have tried to make the best possible calendar and this year this is the first international trip. The participation is among the best in the world. They are two tough races in terms of distance and route”, explains Rafael Diaz Justo, team director before the trip to Italy. “We are going to the races with a very young team, but we are very motivated. We have riders in very good shape like Antonio, Gabriele and Luca and Archetti and Novak who have to know these races for the future,” he adds. “I think we have more chances in the first race than in the second. They are two races that will tell us a lot for the present and for the future”, Diaz Justo concludes.

Gabriele Raccagni has started the year in great form, becoming the leader of the U23 Copa de España, he explained before the races on Monday and Tuesday his feelings: “They are going to be two hard races because of the course and the level. I am in good shape and the first day I think I can do well, but being so hard and having two climbers like Antonio and Luca we will work for them”.

In the Italian races the team will line-up Riccardo Archetti, Luca Bagnara, Antonio Gonzalez, Samuel Novak and Gabriele Raccagni.

01/04 Giro del Belvedere (169km)

02/04 G.P. Palio del Recioto (146km)