Nadia Battocletti beacon of Italy at European XC Championships
The flight to Faro’s airport, less than an hour from Lagoa, the home of the European cross on Sunday. And it is indeed ‘lighthouse’ the word chosen by technical director Antonio La Torre to describe Nadia Battocletti, five-time queen of the event: “She’s a light for the whole team, the hope is that her energy and charisma will contaminate the whole environment’environment”. Friday’s landing in Algarve for the 42 Azzurri, Saturday the course test and the ritual of the eve meeting, Sunday the intense day of the continental review, edition No. 31, the fourth in history in Portugal. Italy presents itself with a sparkling Battocletti: “In the two tests of the past weeks in Spain, Nadia has shown what solidity of condition she has – comments the DT -. In Alcobendas, although she came second, she ran thirty seconds stronger than last year’s and that says a lot. We are confident but in any case we must always be alert to the pitfalls, life teaches us that the others will give it their all, as Nadia herself did with the very strong African athletes at the World Championships in Tokyo. All will try to make life difficult for her”.
The momentum of the Trentino star, reigning cross-country champion, world and Olympic silver medalist in the 10,000, and world bronze medalist in the 5,000, will be able to drag the entire collective. “If Gemetto and Palmero, along with the tough Majori and teammates Reina and Zanne, will be able to run a race up to their potential, the women’s team will be able to give us a top test. Let”s not forget that we start as defending champions”. The other most concrete blue card, itself a reigning gold medalist twelve months after Antalya, is the mixed relay: “We will have to interpret well the course that is described as rather nervous, narrow, with undulations and frequent changes of direction, between dirt and sand – continues La Torre – I think it is very suitable for the characteristics of Gaia Sabbatini and Pietro Arese, and we can count on the grit of Marta Zenoni and Sebastiano Parolini to sell their skins dearly”.
To the men, it is Yohanes Chiappinelli the reference of Team Italy: “For him it is a stage of passage that confirms his attachment to the blue jersey, although in a circuit far from the characteristics of marathon runners. With Iliass Aouani, who was initially pre-selected, there’s been a total sharing of the technical path –emphasizes La Torre -. After winning the world bronze in Tokyo, he has very strong ambitions for the marathon that he will also run in the Japanese capital on March 1, 2026, and he is focusing on preparing for that event, with the blue horizon of the European Championships in Birmingham in the 10,000 meters in August””
From the youth front, no pressure, but curiosity to see some of the most promising newcomers at work: “I am thinking of the under-23 Maggi, however returning from injury, the other U23s Arnoldo and Munaretto. And it will be important to see how the U20 athletes, from Santangelo and Borromini to the two Ferraris, Licia and Sofia, will cope in the international context, considering that we will take into account a top ten placement for a possible participation in the World Cross Championships in Tallahassee (USA) on January 10 as provided for by our participation criteria”.
