TRENTO. TONIOLLI AND IACOMONI STARS OF THE CYCLING FESTIVAL IN MEMORY OF MATTEO LORENZI. GALLERY

AWARDS | 01/12/2024 | 13:03
A moment of celebration, but also of deep reflection. The Trentino Committee of the Italian Cycling Federation called together clubs and athletes at the sports hall in Andalo, where the excellence of a movement that, even in 2024, has achieved great satisfaction in terms of results, titles, and victories, confirmed itself as an ideal training ground for the true values of sport. A long round of applause accompanied the parade of the protagonists of the year just ended, marked - and it pains the heart to remember - by the sad passing of Matteo Lorenzi, snatched from life at just 17 years old in a training accident. His memory, combined with the testimony of two athletes who managed to get back up after a very serious accident (Federico Iacomoni and Alice Toniolli), represented an opportunity to once again draw attention to the issue of safety, to launch yet another appeal, primarily to request the protected circuit in the city of Trento that clubs and the Cycling Federation have been calling for for over twenty years.
"Safety is one of the fundamental issues, we must safeguard the kids who practice the sport of cycling on the roads," said provincial sports assessor Francesca Gerosa, backed by the provincial council president Claudio Soini. "The life of every child is our primary concern, we must work for this." A protected circuit for young cyclists would be an important step in this direction. At the Trentino cycling festival, which also had a moment dedicated to entertainment thanks to the show offered by the two BMX specialists from the Ride For Fun team Sebastiano Pancheri and Michele Bertolini, Cordiano Dagnoni was also present.
The president of the national Cycling Federation, flanked by federal councilor Fabrizio Cazzola, did not fail to emphasize his appreciation for a territory always capable of expressing excellent athletes, as well as distinguishing itself for organizational skills, while the mayor and sports assessor of Andalo Alberto Perli and Mirko Bottamedi made the house calls, with the welcome presence of the number 1 of the Trentino CONI Paola Mora, the president of the South Tyrol Committee of the Fci Paolo Appoloni and the president of the regional CIP committee (Italian Paralympic Committee) Massimo Bernardoni. Among the guests of honor was also the professional Giulio Pellizzari, one of the most crystalline talents of Italian cycling, recently landed in the World Tour with Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe. The stars of the day, however, were Federico Iacomoni and Alice Toniolli, two examples of stubbornness and tenacity. Iacomoni and Toniolli: The Most Applauded Stars From the fear of never being able to walk again to raising arms under the finish line of the Coppa Ciuffenna in Loro (Arezzo). This is the story of Federico Iacomoni, who in Andalo was awarded the prize in memory of journalist Rolly Marchi, established in 2013. In November 2023, Iacomoni was hit by a car on the roads of Val di Cembra during a training ride. "I was miraculous," declared the 2002 class from Gardolo, who after a long period of hospitalization and rehabilitation returned to pedaling. And to winning, a feat he accomplished in early September in Tuscany. An icon of tenacity and stubbornness, just like Alice Toniolli, who instead risked having to say "enough", and not just with cycling, due to a race fall in the Treviso area last summer. The nineteen-year-old from Mezzocorona, who in terms of grit and spirit of self-denial is second to few, managed to get back up, to return to life, in every sense. Alice still sees cycling in her future: the entire cycling world, the Trentino one primarily, is happy to have been able to embrace her again. Magagnotti's World Title, Stenico's European Gold, and Many National Highlights The cycling festival presenters Angelo Zambotti and Fabia Sartori marked the long series of awards, testifying to Trentino's ability to excel, both nationally and internationally. The recently concluded season brought great satisfaction to the 2007 class from Avio, Alessio Magagnotti, world and European team pursuit champion and world bronze in individual pursuit in the junior category. In Andalo, they also celebrated the eighteen-year-old from Meano, Mattia Stenico, European champion of the mountain bike team relay and now ready for the new adventure in professional cycling with Vf Group Bardiani Csf Faizanè, the downhill specialist Eleonora Farina, who in 2024 won her first career World Cup victory, an ideal example for the emerging talent in the "gravity" sector Riccardo Vender, Italian champion of downhill and enduro among the Beginners. Applause was not lacking for the student Agata Campana, Italian omnium champion and winner of the Coppa Rosa in Borgo Valsugana, also remembering the national bronze of the beginner Nicolò Trainotti, the national pink titles of Andrea Casagranda in the women's team time trial and in gravel of the local Giada Borghesi, a versatile athlete who has made an important quality leap also in road cycling. Together with them, in Andalo, all international and national medalists were celebrated, as well as provincial champions in all disciplines. The list is long, confirming a healthy movement, primarily thanks to the work of the clubs and the many technicians and managers who dedicate themselves with great professionalism and passion to the growth of young people. Silver Merit to Giovannina Collanega In Andalo, it was the "last dance" for the board of the Trentino Committee of the Cycling Federation chaired by Giovannina Collanega, who on this occasion was awarded the silver medal of cycling merit by the national Fci president Cordiano Dagnoni for what she has done in favor of the two-wheel movement, primarily in the last four years. "I want to share this welcome recognition with my entire team," said Collanega, flanked by her vice presidents Walter Zanardi and Antonio Benevenuti and councilors Paolo Castelli and Roberto Corradini. "Our mandate began with Covid, then in 2021 there was the recovery and during the four-year period we managed to bring many great events to Trentino and achieve excellent results with our kids. My experience as Committee president ends here, but I certainly won't close the doors to cycling, my world for forty years now. I'll be ready to lend a hand to whoever succeeds me." Timothy Porcelli Award to Montecorona During the cycling festival, there was a moment of heartfelt emotion, which accompanied the delivery of the prize in memory of Timothy Porcelli, a young cyclist who passed away prematurely, victim of a training accident in 2014, at just 17 years old. A fate tragically touched this year by another seventeen-year-old, Matteo Lorenzi. The Timothy Porcelli prize went to his club of belonging, Montecorona, which ran the entire season with mourning on its arm. And death in its heart. In the hope of not having to relive moments like this and that something concrete and important can be done in terms of safety. The Emotional Farewell to Silvano Janes 2024 was marked by another painful loss in the Trentino two-wheel world. In Andalo, the icon of amateur cycling Silvano Janes was supposed to take the stage, who would have been celebrated for yet another national jersey of his career, won at the Italian gravel championships last July. In October, the "badger" (as he was nicknamed) was forced to leave the group, struck down by a health crisis while participating in the European gravel championships in Asiago. He was remembered by his thousand-pedal companion Martino Fruet, who, together with the president of the Trentino Committee of the Cycling Federation Giovannina Collanega, handed the diploma intended for Silvano to his son Daniele, amid the applause of the audience. Challenge "Io Ci Provo": Gs Lagorai Bike Wins Gs Lagorai Bike succeeds Società Ciclistica Avio in the golden book. After the happy experiences of 2022 and 2023, the multidisciplinary challenge "Io Ci Provo", reserved for youth categories, was proposed again this year. Gs Lagorai Bike topped the special ranking, totaling 142 points, followed in the standings by the outgoing champions of Società Ciclistica Avio (125) and Polisportiva Oltrefersina, with Uc Valle di Cembra and Veloce Club Borgo closing the top 5. Trentino Bike Cup and Trentino Mtb Kids: Bike Movement and Oltrefersina in the Spotlight The Bike Movement team leading in the Beginners and Juniors categories, Polisportiva Oltrefersina among the Youngest. The clubs chaired respectively by Ivan Degasperi and Paolo Alverà shared the spoils in the two off-road circuits promoted by the Trento Committee of the Cycling Federation. Bike Movement dominated the scene in the Trentino Bike Cup for Beginners and Juniors, totaling 887 points in the six races on the calendar, against the 276 of Polisportiva Oltrefersina and the 119 of Gs Lagorai Bike, which occupied the other two steps of the podium. In Andalo, all category winners were also awarded, namely Tobia Vanzetta (Litegosa) and Matteo Zanardi (Bike Movement) among the 1st and 2nd year Beginners, Federica Quaglia (Bike Club 2000) and Lisa Fumanelli (Bike Movement) among the Women Beginners class 2011 and 2010, then Marco Valcanover (Polisportiva Oltrefersina) and Gioele Cobelli (Bike Movement) among the 1st and 2nd year Juniors, emulated in the female category by their peers Julia Kostner (Dynamic Bike Team Appiano) and Nicole Azzetti (Four Es Racing), the latter also applauded for the prestigious success achieved in Gorizia in the summer at the Italian cross-country championships. Leading the ranking of the circuit for the Youngest (7-12 years) Trentino Mtb Kids, which included eight stages with race points and a "presence bonus", was Polisportiva Oltrefersina, rising to the top of the standings (913 points). Second place for Centro Bike Val di Sole (732), which hosted the final test in Daolasa, with Gs Lagorai Bike third at 718 points. Trofeo Coni and Bicimparo: Praise for Young Talents Young cyclists and bikers are growing. During the awards ceremony, the athletes - accompanied by their chaperones - who represented the Trento Committee of the Cycling Federation at the national finals of the Trofeo Coni and Bicimparo, held respectively in Catania and Tarvisio (Udine), deservedly paraded on stage. Matteo D'Aquilio led the expedition to Sicily, where Samuele Ferrante, Jacopo D'Aquilio (Lagorai Bike), Noel Endrizzi (Gc Zambana) and Martina Bampi (Lagorai Bike) achieved an honorable sixth place. At the Bicimparo Trophy, the team led by coaches Lorenzo Donanzan and Christian Finotelli climbed to the top step of the podium: bringing the colors of Trentino to triumph on this occasion were Margherita Donanzan (Veloce Club Borgo), Gabriele Gerardo Salvati (Veloce Club Borgo), Pietro Revolti (Cc Forti e Veloci) and Giovanni Bernardi (Uc Valle di Cembra). Organizational Activity: Sc Storo, Borgo, and Montecorona Stand Out During the cycling festival, a special recognition was reserved for the ten clubs that organized the most races and events during the season. The primacy, on this occasion, goes to the Società Ciclistica Storo, which also in 2024 reproposed the Tre Giorni Giudicarie Dolomiti, a three-day event in pink tones for Women Beginners, Juniors, and Junior Women. Following is the Veloce Club Borgo, protagonist especially in September with the weekends of the Coppetta d'Oro, Coppa d'Oro, Coppa Rosa, and Coppa di Sera, while on the third step of the podium is the Montecorona of Palù di Giovo, followed by Ciclistica Dro, Gs Lagorai Bike, Gc Zambana, Polisportiva Oltrefersina, Cc Forti e Veloci, Cc Gardolo, and Uc Valle di Cembra.