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GP Braganza - Italia – 125k
We travelled towards the North of Italy on
Saturday afternoon as we had to endure a 5.5 hour drive which
was fun in the heat that Italy is pumping out at the moment!
The views from our apartment where stunning and the hills looked
awesome. It was no surprise to see a lot of people out riding
with such beautiful countryside to explore.
Our race was a 2.15 on the Sunday afternoon
after the Junior girls race which the Junior National Champion
won. It was going to be a hot one but the wind was not up so
it looked like a break could be difficult in the first
sections. We had to do 7 laps of a flat circuit then 3 laps of
a bigger circuit with a 2.7k climb in totalling about 125k. On
the first lap Safi-Pasta put in a attack straight away which got
5 girls away for 3 laps including Chiara one of our girls.
Fanini team had no riders in the break so they put the hammer
down with Menikini riders to pull the break back. On lap 5 the
race came back together then Safi put in another attack which I
followed but I could see the bunch pulling us back so we pulled
aside and then the attacks came fast and hard!! Thankfully I was
in a good position to get into the break but I had to work my
butt off!! We got a break of about 14 riders which was a good
combination. Monia and D'ettore where also in the break with me
including Fabiana Luperini, Bronzini and Parietti from FRW.
With the team controlling the bunch we settled into steady pace
before hitting the climb. First time up the climb D'Ettore
controlled the pace then the second time up Menikini put in an
attack which blew me out the back but I chased back on with a
Menikini rider just in time for the last time up the climb! This
time Luperini accelerated which put quite a few of us in trouble
then I lost contact with the group but chased hard to finish in
12th place just behind the leaders. It was won by
Luisa Tamanini and Monia and Alessandra D'Etorre were just
behind (although I've not seen an official result yet!!)
I was pleased with today's race as I have
not done anything hard since France as I was so tired but it
looks like my rest has done me good thankfully.
Next stop is Marsciano (Home) before we
head the Giro Del Toscana which starts on Tuesday in the evening
with a short team Prologue running alongside the sea. This race
is for 6 days with 8 stages and this years course profile looks
a little tougher than last year.
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