Filippo Ganna and teammates get off to a slow start

Cycling, results

At the World Championships in Glasgow, in the morning session of the track tournament, Italy’s trio stopped tenth in the qualifying round, just a tenth short of the eighth that would have meant entry into the final. He consoled himself with a new Italian record, 43″749, which lowered the previous record (44″071) from not even a month ago at the U23 European Championships in Portugal by more than two tenths. Daniele Napolitano, Matteo Bianchi and Mattia Predomo took to the track today. Ivan Quaranta, Italian speed coach: “It’s a high-level tournament and we knew it would be tough. We continue to lower the Italian record (in a year tweaked at every international event) this shows that we still have wide margins for growth.”

Visibly tired from the effort Mattia Predomo, third fractionalist, who set the best time in the last lap (12″815): “We improve every time, but now that we are getting closer to the first ones it becomes more and more difficult….” Recall that this trio consists of all Under 23s. The veteran is Matteo Bianchi, who is not yet 23 years old. Today’s lineup has changed from that of a month ago, with Napolitano joining in place of Tugnolo, demonstrating a group of sprinters that is also growing in numbers and not only in results.

Filippo Ganna, Simone Consonni, Francesco Lamon and Jonathan Milan cover the distance in 3’50″408, in third place. Dominating the qualifiers was the quartet of Denmark, with a time of 3’46″816. Second is New Zealand (3’49″113), against whom Italy will race in the first round tomorrow. Clamorous elimination of world champions and hosts Great Britain, who finished the event in two (thus disqualified) due to the fall of the third when there were 50 meters to go.

“Only yesterday we tested the track,” Simone Consonni said at the end, “and today we can say we broke the ice. I think we can only improve. It was important to get in the top four, and we did it. Tomorrow is another race….”