Mirco Maestri wears the Italy jersey for the first time… and wins the European gold in the team relay!

There can hardly be a better way to debut in the jersey of your National squad: Mirco Maestri won the mixed Team Relay at the European Championships in the Limburg region, teaming up with Edoardo Affini, Mattia Cattaneo and female colleagues Vittoria Guazzini, Gaia Masetti and Elena Cecchini. The azzurri completed the 52.3-kilometer course with a total time of 1 hour, 1 minute and 43 seconds, 17 seconds ahead of Germany and 1’33” ahead of the home team Belgium.

While awaiting the individual road race on Sunday, at nearly 33 years old Maestri can already enjoy the well-deserved joy of a continental jersey, a medal of the most precious metal, and the notes of the Italian national anthem still ringing in his mind and heart. “What an incredible emotion, I’m over the moon” exclaimed Polti Kometa’s captain after the victory. “I want to thank so many people who were fundamental in reaching this moment. First of all, Italy’s head coaches Marco Velo (time trial) and Daniele Bennati (road) who believed in me, Affini and Cattaneo who have supported me so much these days, and the female trio for going so strong in their part of the race, keeping the advantage we had when we handed them the baton. Then, of course, Ivan Basso, Fran and Alberto Contador, the sports director Stefano Zanatta, and the trainer Samuel Marangoni: if I’ve improved in time trials to the point of celebrating a European gold, I owe it to the entire team, the staff, and the sponsors who allow us to keep performing at our best!”