Press release 23/10/2014

Merida Italia Team frames his year 2014

The XCO season of Merida Italia Team's riders has just ended, and it's time to take stock. Due to the reliability of the partners, the desire to do of all the staff members and especially thanks to the determination of the young athletes, the results obtained during the racing season 2014 were really good.

The victory of the Italian Championship in the Juniores category by Alessandro Naspi is certainly the icing on the cake. The season of the youth athlete, in fact, was a triumphant ride began with the landslide victory at Maser (Treviso - Italy), during the first round of the Internazionali d'Italia Series, and ended with a superb performance at the World Championships in Norway, marred only by a puncture that penalized him while He was halfway through the race in seventh place. For him it is easy to predict that next year the passage between the Under23 category will not be a problem.

There are also many other photographs that have been collected in the album of memories of this season. Consider that at the end of the Internazionali d’Italia Series the boys of the historic team of the city of Piacenza have collected three wictories: best team, best Juniores (always Alessandro Naspi, who won three races out of six) and, to the Under23 category have won all three the final place of the podium, respectively, with 1st Gioele Bertolini, 2nd Stefano Valdrighi and 3rd Lorenzo Samparisi (winning also in this category three races out of six).

Not least the performance of all the Under23 during the Italian Championships, whom have fought until the last meter for the victory. Even if the triumph was took from the opponent Andrea Righettini, they still managed to grab the second, third, fourth and fifth place of the podium, respectively occupied by Stefano Valdrighi, Gioele Bertolini, Lorenzo Samparisi and Mattia Setti. For all of them the next year there will be another chance to win the coveted tricolor jersey.

In Estonia Martin Loo was reconfirmed again the National Champion. The twenty six year old rider from Tallinn has started the season very well finishing in second place in a sprint arrival between the Elite the first round of the Internazionali d'Italia Series.

Unfortunately soon after, during the following race, He was victim of a nasty fall that has cost him his left collarbone break, that forced him to stop for a few months and consequentially compromising the entire season. Martin's contract expired at the end of September, and even if reluctantly the Team Manager Marco Boccellari could not propose any renewal, so next season the Italian Merida Team will be comprised solely of Italian athletes.

So, as said, a season to remember, but also undoubtedly challenging for Merida Italia Team, that with its athletes participated in about 40 races overall, traveling the length and breadth of Italy, and also reaching Switzerland, France , Germany, Czech Republic, Norway, Estonia, Canada and the United States, reaching twenty times the first, ten times the second and six times the third place of the podium in their respective categories.

Already a few weeks ago Gioele Bertolini and Lorenzo Samparisi were rented respectively to Team Guerciotti and Team CX Smp, to practice high-level wintry cyclocross activity. The rest of the athletes lives the winter season less intensely, but may happen to see them also venturing into cyclocross at the national level, while the staff is working a lot to organize the team for the 2015.

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