The Italian from KTM-Protek-Elettrosystem claimed the Internazionali d’Italia Series opener among junior men, soloing to the finish line in spite of a puncture. Fellow Italians Paccagnella and Donati were second and third
The 2023 season of Internazionali d’Italia Series kicked off in the sun: clear sky and chilly temperature in San Zeno di Montagna for series opening Pineta Sperane XCO on Saturday March 18th.
The top-class MTB season in Italy was inaugurated by the Junior Men, who took on the challenge over 4 laps (plus launch) of the challenging course designed by CM Outdoor Events. Winning the opening act was Italian Gabriel Borre (KTM-Protek-Elettrosystem), who broke the resistance of fellow countryman Elian Paccagnella (Junior Team Südtirol ASV), with whom he had led the race from the early on.
Already in solid shape early in this season, Borre had to stop due to a puncture in a downhill stretch, and eventually unleashed the decisive acceleration, finishing with a 55 seconds gap on Paccagnella and 58 on Giulio Donati (Ciclistica Trevigliese). It was Borre’s first success in an Internazionali d’Italia Series event.
“It was a beautiful and fun race, albeit very challenging both uphill and downhill,” Borre told afterwards. “In a descent I made a mistake that resulted in a puncture, and I did my best to speed up and distance Paccagnella before the pit stop. I came out from it in his wake, and just gave everything I had left until the finish. I am happy of this first joy at Internazionali, I will look to defend my leader’s jersey in the next races.”
