Tommasso Bessega close to the victory in Zamora

The first of the weekend’s races for the under-23 team in Zamora was to be action-packed despite its short distance. After being protagonists in a breakaway with Dario Giuliano and Tommaso Bessega, the Italian rider himself managed to take second place in the sprint.

The first race in Zamora started with a big headwind that prevented the different breakaway riders from opening big distance. Halfway through the race, which was only 83 kilometres long, Tommasso Bessega attacked and managed to open a gap with four other riders. As the road became steeper and the steepest climbs began, Dario Giuliano also managed to open up a gap along with three other riders, thus giving the team double representation at the head of the race.

Shortly after, the breakaway broke and despite the attempts of Bessega, who was second on two of the three mountain passes of the day, the bunhc caught them with 20 kilometres to go. Only one rider survived until the last 7 kilometres.

In the final sprint, which seemed almost a foregone conclusion from the start, Tommasso himself took second. His brother Gabriele was seventh, completing the team’s representation in the top 10.

“The riders raced very well. We were unlucky to have a puncture with Sanroma (Manuel) with 10 kilometres to go, but otherwise it was a very good race”, explained Miguel Gómez, sports director of the under-23 team.