Hulst (Netherlands). Filippo Fontana finished fifth in the Elite World Championships: more than anyone could reasonably have expected in the ultimate showdown with the giants of cyclocross. The ace of C.S. Carabinieri Olympia, the only Italian rider on the start line, built his masterpiece with composure and determination, overturning a starting grid that heavily penalized him.
The Italian champion started around 25th position in a field dominated by Dutch and Belgian colors and, as the battle raged on in the treacherous mud of Hulst, he delivered an almost prodigious comeback: before halfway through the race he had already moved up into fourth place. Ahead of him were only the sublime Mathieu Van der Poel, charging toward his eighth world title in the discipline, and Del Grosso and Nys, locked in a fierce fight for the silver medal.
In the second half of the race, made even tougher by the rain, Filippo stayed alert within a group of seven chasers, ready for the inevitable attacks of the final lap. It was Fontana himself who opened the throttle and stretched the group, and it was his Olympia Challenge that burst first onto the final straight, just behind the top three. Filippo was running fourth until the very last meters, when Nieuwenhuis came up on his right and edged past him with a final lunge.
It changes little: the World Championships in Hulst provided the Carabinieri rider from Fregona with undeniable proof that he can compete without any inferiority complex against the giants of cyclocross—except, of course, for an otherworldly Van der Poel, untouchable for anyone in this era. Also worth remembering are Fontana’s recent ninth place at the Hoogerheide World Cup round and the silver medal at the World Championships in the Team Relay.
Filippo returns home from Hulst with a significant achievement: finishing in the top ten at both the XCO World Championships (8th place last September in Switzerland) and the Cyclocross World Championships. Now it’s time for some rest, before restarting with high morale and new ambitions for the cross-country season.
A Filippo Fontana like this—who knows how far he can go. We can’t wait to find out.
Results
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VAN DER POEL Mathieu
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DEL GROSSO Tibor
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NYS Thibau
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NIEUWENHUIS Joris
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FONTANA Filippo +55”
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KUYPERS Gerben
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ORTS LLORET Felipe
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AERTS Toon
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MICHELS Jente
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VANTHOURENHOUT Michael
