In the shadow of a snow-capped Mont Blanc, Lucia Bramati and Under 23 Laura Squarise delivered giant-caliber performances, achieving impressive results at the Courmayeur MTB Event.

In the final stage of the Italia Bike Cup Chaoyang circuit, which also featured top-level foreign athletes, twenty-three-year-old Bramati (pictured by Alessio Pederiva) finished fifth in the Women's Open race, the best Italian competitor at the start.

Unlike what we usually see her do, this time the Trinx Factory Team rider grew over the distance, overtaking the local favourite Nicole Pesse in the last lap and going on to threaten the fourth place of the French Tatiana Tournut.

All things considered, Lucia's overall standings are also improving. Thanks to the points she earned today, she confirmed her third-place finish overall, completing a top-notch podium finish at the Italia Bike Cup. The italian biker was preceded only by Denmark's Sofie Pedersen and Austria's Laura Stigger: not bad for a first-year Elite athlete.

«Considering the pre-race expectations, I'm quite satisfied with the result», said Lucia, who has been battling a mild flu for a week. «In the first few laps, I couldn't find my pace, but then the feeling improved, and in the last lap, I found the right rhythm. I managed to finish fifth, the best of the Italians, a result that also allows me to defend my third place in the overall standings of the Italia Bike Cup: being the only circuit left in Italy, and being a first-year Elite, it's a result I'm proud of. Now my attention turns to the Czech Republic and Nove Mesto, where next weekend we'll be competing in the second stage of the World Cup, the first in Europe after the debut in South Korea».

If Lucia took the bronze medal, Laura Squarise won the leader's jersey among the U23s, finishing eighth today, third among the athletes in her category. Despite a minor physical ailment that hampered her during the competition, the athlete from Alessandria (pictured at the bottom of the page by Alessio Pederiva) managed to secure another top 10 international finish, defending a circuit record that, thanks to her victory in Verona and Stevenà di Caneva's second place, was already secure.

She won't have much time to savor her success either, as her trip to the Czech Republic begins on Tuesday.

Also competing in Courmayeur were Marco Bramati, who finished 33rd in the Open race, eighteenth among the Under-23 athletes, and young Alice Pascucci, who was forced to withdraw..

Tomorrow, four athletes directed by sporting director Luca Bramati will be pinning the numbers in Slovenia, taking part in the Xco Kamnik, a C1 class race: the Under 23s Antonia Grangl and Pietro Cao, the U19 Thobias Del Ponte and his younger sister Zoe, who will compete in the Under 17 race.