Team Bianchi Countervail’s athlete won the Women’s Under 23 Italian CX crown in Rome. Fontana bronze medallist, Colledani 5th in the Men’s Elite race
After securing her second European Cyclocross title earlier in the year, Team Bianchi Countervail’s Chiara Teocchi succeeded in repeating also on her home soil, securing her second straight Women’s Under 23 Italian Cyclocross title in a row on Saturday January 6th in Rome’s Capannelle Hippodrome. 
Equipped with Zolder disc, Teocchi came first in 42:16 ahead of Francesca Baroni (+2), Silvia Persico (+4) and Rebecca Gariboldi (+6). Team Bianchi Countervail’s Marco Aurelio Fontana was bronze medallist in Men’s Elite race, finishing in 59:03 behind the Braidot brothers, Luca and Daniele. Fontana’s teammate Nadir Colledani, two-time Under 23 Italian champion, performed with personality in his first Elite “tricolore” event, placing fifth.
Teocchi clinched her eighth Italian champion’s individual title in Rome: four in cyclocross (2012, 2014, 2017 and 2018), three in cross country (2014, 2016 and 2017) and one in the Eliminator (2014). Seeing off her rivals was not easy though: “Mentally it was a difficult race. I had hoped to solo from the opening lap, but my rivals were able to keep my pace. I noticed I could gain ground in the technical stretch and I managed to do it in the final lap” Teocchi commented.
In the 2017-2018 CX season Teocchi managed to replicate success both at European and Italian Championships: “My secret? I always give everything in the training, I believe in my skills and I manage to reach the great events in my best shape. This year I changed my training in view of the CX Italian Championships, but thanks to team manager Massimo Ghirotto and trainer Enrico Martello I always find the proper motivations”. Chiara dedicates Rome’s success to her mother Franca: “We discuss a lot about everything, because we have similar characters, but I would be lost without her” Chiara explains.
