The most anticipated challenge of Capoliveri Legend XCO was won by the Brazilian in a sprint. Kate Courtney wins as favorite over a surprising Chiara Teocchi
It was 1994 when John Tomac and Ned Overend gave life to one of the most memorable duels of the MTB World Cup on Elba Island. Today, in 2021, Capoliveri Legend XCO brought back to the island a great duel between champions who are characterizing an era of offroad mountain biking. Henrique Avancini and Nino Schurter have lit the fire of the World Cup well before its start in Nove Mesto in a month, giving another very high-profile stage to Internazionali d’Italia Series.
On Monday 5 April, the first edition of the event organized by ASD Capoliveri Bike Park hit all the targets, thanks to a track that convinced and enthused the athletes and the unmistakable views of the Elba Island enhanced by a climate-perfect weekend.
The second seasonal outing of Internazionali d’Italia Series followed in the name of top riders: in addition to Avancini’s success ahead of the European Champion, former World Champion Kate Courtney clinched her seasonal debut with a beautiful and convincing victory, topping a podium that also featured Chiara Teocchi, back to strength after a troubled year.
OPEN MEN: AVANCINI WINS THE FIRST ROUND AGAINST SCHURTER
World Cup, Olympics and World Championships: the great goals of the season for Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) and Henrique Avancini (Cannondale Factory Racing) are very much alike. The confrontation between those two top riders and their very different characters is sure to continue throughout the whole season, with Capoliveri marking only the first, yet, significant, round.
The Brazilian won it, stepping on Internazionali d’Italia Series’ podium three years after the 2018 grand finale in Chies d’Alpago, after a head-to-head until the final meters of the seven laps (plus launch) on the menu.
Schurter forced the pace at the start, putting everyone in line, with Avancini constantly in his wake. During lap one, a group of six also featuring Mirko Tabacchi (KTM-Protek), Vlad Dascalu (Trek-Pirelli), Luca Braidot and Maxime Marotte (Santa Cruz-FSA) got clear.
On the third-to-last lap, a new acceleration from Schurter shuffled the cards, with only Avancini and Marotte resisting him in the downhill acceleration. Avancini had the top hand in a three-man sprint in the short lead-in to the finish, preceding Schurter and new Internazionali d’Italia Series overall leader Marotte. Fourth place for Luca Braidot (+ 0.19), fifth for Dascalu (+ 0.32).
“It was a beautiful and very hard day,” said Avancini, “fighting with Nino is always an extra motivation, facing him is an opportunity and if there is a chance to win, you have to take it. I needed so much to get back into the race, testing myself against high caliber opponents: winning this first outing was certainly important.”
For the most successful athlete in history, it is never easy to swallow a defeat, but Nino Schurter found positive signs in his seasonal debut: “I tried to go full-gas from the beginning, trying to distance the rest. On the last lap, Avancini was a little more explosive, but I’m happy with my seasonal debut, on the beautiful Elba Island. Next week in Nals we will have the rematch, on a very different path and with an even stronger field of rivals.”
Among Under 23, Simone Avondetto (Trek-Pirelli) kept the leader’s jersey with today’s 12th place.
OPEN WOMEN: COURTNEY PREVAILS ON A STRONG TEOCCHI. CORTINOVIS QUEEN AMONG JUNIORS
In the women’s field, the expectations were high for Kate Courtney (Scott-SRAM), the 2018 World Champion competing for the first time at Internazionali d’Italia Series. The 25-year-old Californian did not disappoint those who looked for her to star in the first edition of Capoliveri Legend XCO.
On her seasonal debut, however, Courtney had to fight perhaps more than expected to get the better of a surprising Chiara Teocchi (Trinity Racing), who confirmed a brilliant start to the season with a second place that is worth gold.
The Courtney-Teocchi duel was staged right from the launch lap when the American lined up the group and the Italian immediately slipped into her wake. The two opened an advantage over the rest, with Dane Caroline Bohe (Ghost Factory Racing) the only athlete able to stay at striking distance. Further behind the other Italians, with Lechner (Trinx Factory Racing), Berta and Seiwald (Santa Cruz-FSA) soon out of the discussion for the big target.
In the first three laps, Courtney slowly managed to add small seconds between herself and the athlete from Bergamo, who, however, reacted in the fourth lap to get back in the wake of the American, while Bohe’s disadvantage grew to nearly a minute. Courtney’s decisive action came uphill on the penultimate lap, an attack that allowed her to gain about twenty seconds on the Italian, then managed to the finish line with 24 seconds on Teocchi. Third place for Caroline Bohe (+0.46), who conquered the leader jerseys of both the Open and Under 23 Women’s categories in the process.
“It was the perfect start to the season: first win in a beautiful place,” commented Courtney. “I am also happy with my conduct in the race: I had a great desire to get back in the action, but it is always difficult to predict the sensations of the first outing. I managed myself well on a demanding track, I was always in control, and I am very happy for that”.
Great emotion also for Teocchi, whose participation was in doubt after a crash yesterday that required stitches on his left arm: “I’m really happy with this race, especially after all the problems of last year. Until the last moment, I thought about not starting, but in the end, I decided to give it a try: being able to keep up with Kate Courtney on such a course is a great sign in an important season.”
Among Junior Women, Andora’s winner Sara Cortinovis (Four Es Racing Team) reiterated her dominance, taking the first position and holding it throughout the race. Cortinovis won by over 2 minutes on the Trinx Factory Racing pair formed by Noemi Planckesteiner and Lucia Bramati, and further extended her lead in the Internazionali d’Italia Series general classification.
JUNIOR MEN: MULTIDISCIPLINARY TALENT AEBERSOLD WINS
Swiss success in the first race of the day, that of the Junior Men. After an outburst from Filippo Agostinacchio (Scott-Libarna) on the launch lap, then joined by Marco Betteo (Racing Team Rive Rosse) and Matteo Siffredi (Scott-Libarna), Swiss Nils Aebersold (Roland / Trek Bike) managed to recover a gap of 30 seconds to take the lead at the start of the second lap.
Class 2004, the son of Niki Aebersold, a solid road professional at the turn of the new millennium, imposed his own pace without looking back, outdistancing his opponents one by one – Agostinacchio being the last to give in – until he won the first edition of Capoliveri Legend XCO after almost three laps in solo fashion. Agostinacchio (+ 0:32) could be content with second place and the category Internazionali d’Italia Series leader’s jersey, while Betteo came in third (+ 1:03).
Aebersold is a multidisciplinary talent like many of those breaking out on the world scene: Nils is Swiss national junior champion in cyclocross, winner of the EKZ Cross category circuit in 2021, and in 2020 he was Swiss national champion in his category both on the road and on the track, in the omnium specialty.
NEXT STAGE: NALS
Internazionali d’Italia Series is now ready to leave for South Tyrol, where the traditional appointment with the Marlene Südtirol Sunshine Race will take place in Nals on Saturday 10 April.
A World Cup parterre is expected once again for the only HC race in Italy: Schurter, Avancini and Courtney will be back, this time with even fiercer competition.
2021 INTERNAZIONALI D’ITALIA SERIES’ CALENDAR
Stage 1 – Andora Race Cup – March 7th
Stage 2 – Capoliveri Legend XCO – April 5th
Stage 3 – Marlene Sudtirol Sunshine Race – April 10th-11th
Stage 4 – Valle di Casies – June 2nd
Stage 5 – La Thuile MTB Race – June 26th-27th
Capoliveri, Elba Island (Italy), April 5th, 2021
