The 22nd Ciutat de Barcelona International Trophy once again showcases the best track cycling
He Velòdrom d’Horta This Friday, September 18 and Saturday, September 19, hosted the 22nd Ciutat de Barcelona International Trophy – XIII Miquel Poblet Memorialthe most important track cycling competition organized annually in Catalonia.
Organized by the Catalan Cycling Federation and integrated into the VI Catalan Sports Week with the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona City Council and the Union of Sports Federations of Catalonia (UFEC).), the event brought together world and continental champions for two days and left a high-level competition.
Alvaro Navaswith a double in the omnium and in the madison; Anita Stenbergwho has dominated for the fifth year in Barcelona, and the Catalan Helena Casas, who once again won the speed test, were some of the big names of the weekend, which also crowned the German Pete Flemmingto the Italians Stefano Moro and Miriam VeceSpanish-style Eva Angueae with the Australian Maeve Plouffe and the Valencian Sebastian Mora.
The action on the track started on Friday with the first speed heats and the madison, the only pairs event on the program and the main highlight of the opening day. The couple formed by the Australian Maeve Plouffe and Eva Anguela from Madrid She dominated the women’s race from start to finish and claimed victory. In men’s terms, the double world champion Sebastian Mora and the brand new European champion under 23 Alvaro Navas They made good predictions and were the winners of a test that they also dominated to their heart’s content.
FAREWELL DAY
The TICB – Memorial Miquel Poblet has also been a scene of farewell, with three cyclists saying goodbye to the competition: the Catalan Laura Rodríguez, who this week announced her retirement and was competing for the last time at home; the Basque Eukene Larrarte, who despite having left cycling in December last year, wanted to say goodbye to Barcelona one last time, and the Swiss Cybèle Schneider, who will hang up her bike on October 1. The three have received a heartfelt tribute from all the participants in the test, including the hallway.
Saturday’s day concentrated the bulk of the competition, with the omnium dispute and the speed tests. In the queen of the fund test, the Norwegian’s name stood out Anita Stenberg in the female category. The four-time European champion has been the winner of the omnium, a test that she won for the fifth time in Barcelona -the last four consecutively-. Among the men, equality reigned throughout the day and the man from Madrid Alvaro Navas He ended up surpassing the favorite Sebastián Mora thanks to the score of the last step across the finish line to claim victory in the omnium.
The rapid tests left the best result for Catalan cycling, with the victory of Helena Casas in speed. The town-secana, an absolute reference for Catalan track cycling, showed a great level since Friday and beat the Italian champion in the final Miriam Vece. The same duel was repeated hours later in the keirin test, this time with victory for Vece and second place for Helena Casaswho signed a high-level double wearing the colors of the Catalan team. In the men’s category, the young German champion Pete Flemming was the winner of the speed and the Italian Stefano Moro won the keirin, which closed the competition.
