The Italian Championships over the Olympic distance took place at the weekend in Alba Aldriatica.
While several of the country’s standout athletes were engaged elsewhere, with Costanza Arpinelli impressing on her WTCS debut in Montreal and Michele Sarzilla in Poland to lead the national team at the European Games, strong fields lined up in both the men’s and women’s races.
Fresh off his win at the European Cup in Kitzbühel, Samuele Angelini torched the field to claim the Italian crown.
In the swim Edoardo Petroni, Nicolò Ragazzo and Pietro Giovannini pushed the pace however Angelini remained tucked in safely with the leaders. With the pace high over the 1500m, several cracks appeared throughout the field and a seven man group ripped through T1. Just off the feet of the lead group was Marco Lorenzon. A quick T1 saw him make it into the front pack, though, and the eight man train set about building their lead.
With the likes of Angelini and Ragazzo pushing the pace, the leaders established a solid lead over the first half of the 40km. Despite the best efforts of Federico Murero behind, the gap grew to over a minute.
Once the leaders arrived in T2, though, the cooperation of the group vanished as Angelini hared out of transition. Michele Bortolamedi and Ragazzo tried to go with him but their efforts proved to be in vain as Angelini disappeared over the horizon. Instead, Bortolamedi and Ragazzo had to contend with Giovannini to settle the silver and bronze medals.
At the front of the race, Angelini made his win look easy. With a 10km split of 30:58, he won by over a minute and a half and could afford to enjoy the finish. Next up for him will be the Tiszaujvaros World Cup which will represent his debut at that level.
With no real experience at the world level in triathlon (beyond a foray at the World University Championships), it is hard to guess how Angelini will get on. Based on his recent showings, the new Italian champion will be confident of coming away with a high finish.
While Angelini celebrated, the race for the medals continued behind. With a late kick, Bortolamedi won the silver. The bronze, however, did not go to Ragazzo or Giovannini. Davide Ingrillì managed to recover from losing time early in the run to come storming back into 3rd place.
The women’s race was won in similarly dominant fashion as Luisa Iogna-Prat crossed the line first.
In many ways, Iogna-Prat’s victory was redemptive. At last year’s Italian Championships, heatstroke had cost her the win in the final kilometres when leading, allowing Asia Mercatelli to snatch the title. This year, she made sure to seal the deal.
Alessia Orla led the swim in a time of 22:14. Iogna-Prat exited the water only five seconds back. Giada Stegani had enjoyed a good swim, however Orla, Iogna-Prat and Silvia Vissagi soon powered away on the bike. Together, the lead trio built a commanding lead of over a minute.
When the run arrived, Iogna-Prat knew what she had to do and set about executing the 10km. By the time the finish line arrived, she was 75 seconds ahead and no challengers were left in sight.
Later this week, the newly-crowned Italian champion will be taking on the European Cup in Holten. After finishing 9th at the European Cup in Quarteira back in March, another top-10 result could be on the cards.
At the same time, it should be noted that Iogna-Prat did not log the quickest run of the day. That honour went to Chiara Lobba as she flew throught the field into 2nd place. Lobba ultimately hit a time of 35:51 over the 10km, 21 seconds better than the race winner.
Meanwhile, after her huge effort in the swim and on the bike, Orla held on for a thoroughly deserved bronze medal.
