The third round of the world’s top circuit, canceled last year due to bad weather, was held in Terralba-Marceddì, south of Oristano. Successes for the Belgian Vanthourenhout (8th Agostinacchio) and the Dutch Brand (Casasola fifth)
This time we did it. Last year, a terrible day of bad weather, with winds of 70 km per hour, caused the cyclocross World Cup event in Sardinia to be cancelled, among the dunes of Is Arutas, one of the most beautiful beaches on the island; now the new headquarters in Terralba–Marceddì, south of Oristano, hosted the third stage of the Cup, which has thus returned to Italy after the three consecutive editions in Vermiglio in Val di Sole, Trentino. A 3400 meter route designed by Luca Massa and his staff from the Crazy Wheels Cycling Academy in the evocative scenery of Marceddì, between sea, pine forest and sandy areas, a natural context that makes this stage unique in the world panorama: sand, very fast grassy stretches, dirt road and technical passages with regulatory obstacles, and in addition the suggestive start in the fishing village of Marceddì.
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Among the men, three-way sprint and success for the Belgian Michael Vanthourenhout over the Dutch Joris Nieuwenhuis and the other Belgian Laurens Sweeck; eighth was the Italian Filippo Agostinacchio in his first season as an elite. An Italian cross-country skier hasn’t finished in the top 10 of the World Cup since 2021. Filippo did it in his first Cup race of the season, with a few run-in races. In the women’s field, another success for the Dutch Lucinda Brand, ahead of her compatriots Van Alphen and Van Anrooij; fifth Sara Casasola, eighth Rebecca Gariboldi and ninth Lucia Bramati. Worth highlighting is junior Giorgia Pellizotti, daughter of former pro Franco and sporting director of the Bahrain team, who finished in 16th place. But beyond the results, Italy has demonstrated that it can once again propose new and interesting cycling realities.
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The splendid sunny day, the enthusiastic public and the quality of the athletes present made this stage an event destined to mark a turning point for the island and for the entire Italian cyclocross movement. Thus Luca Massa, organizer of Crazy Wheels Cycling Academy: “It was a great emotion to see our territory on TV. After what had happened last year, we were finally able to show the world how beautiful Sardinia is and how much this territory can offer to off-road cycling. The athletes were enthusiastic about the route and the public also responded greatly: for our island it was a truly participatory event. I thank all my staff for the incredible work done: from the outside you can only see two races, but behind there is a commitment that lasts an entire year.” Yes, we can say that today world cyclocross has embraced Sardinia.
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