Filippo Ganna not enough, Fabio Jakobsen in triumph

Gold for Fabio Jakobsen

Daniele Bennati’s first National Team does not win the European championship (it would have been the fifth consecutive time) but it shows that character and attachment to the jersey that has distinguished it since the days of Alfredo Martini and Franco Ballerini.

The European title goes to one of the favorites, Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen, after a race that went off as predicted with virtually no emotions. The final sprint rewards the Dutchman, ahead of France’s Demare and Belgium’s Merlier. Elia Viviani, who was not supposed to race and replaced the injured Nizzolo, was our best man, seventh. Eleventh was Alberto Dainese, the man Daniele Bennati had pointed out for the sprint: “In the last kilometer we were well set up, then the cards got messed up, at the 400 meters a train of Belgians flanked us and we lacked the readiness to take the wheel….”

However, the lineup put together by Daniele Bennati gave a tangible sign of trying to win this time as well, with no qualms about the favorites. When there is one kilometer left Filippo Ganna, with a pull of his own, disrupts the plans of the French and German train. The Azzurri held the lead until the 400-meter mark, then the Belgian formation materialized on the left. A moment of hesitation for the Azzurri. Elia Viviani, from the height of his experience, is the quickest to catch the wheel of the leaders and play for a place in a sprint that takes up the entire roadway.