The third edition of Challenge Cesenatico returned to Italy’s Adriatic Coast with a sold-out field of over 1400 athletes racing this weekend under cloudy skies and mild conditions. It was Valdemar Solok (DEN) and Bridget Theunissen (RSA) who claimed victory, finishing in 3:35:44 and 4:10:51, respectively.
As air and water temperatures both measured 18°C, wetsuits were permitted for the 1.9km swim, which started from the beach in front of Colonia AGIP. The men’s race began with Michele Sarzilla (ITA) leading the swim in 23:41 alongside a front group of 11 athletes that included Valdemar Solok. The lead group remained closely matched during the early stages of the bike course before Solok established control on the hilly sections. Riding consistently throughout the 90km course, Solok entered T2 first with a bike split of 1:57:28, averaging 45.4 km/h. Behind him, Louis Woodgate (GRE) and Jannik Stoll (GER) arrived together in transition, trailing by 3:14.
Further back, Sarzilla started the run in tenth position and steadily moved through the field over the four-lap course. By the later stages of the run, he had overtaken Woodgate to move into second place.
At the finish line, Valdemar Solok secured victory in 3:35:44. Sarzilla completed his comeback through the field to take second place in 3:39:01, backed by a run split of 1:08:27. Following the disqualification of German athlete Alexander Richter, Louis Woodgate rounded out the podium in third with a finishing time of 3:41:14.
The women’s race saw Denise Cavallini (ITA) lead the swim in 27:01, narrowly ahead of Bridget Theunissen (RSA) in 27:09 and Marta Bernardi (ITA) in 27:13. The leading athletes remained closely grouped throughout the bike course, with Theunissen and Bernardi entering T2 almost together in 2:18:50 and 2:18:51, respectively.
Onto the run, the battle for the podium remained open as the front positions continued to change throughout the four laps. Sara Sandrini (ITA), who had been running in fourth place at the halfway point, gradually closed the gap ahead and reached third position around kilometre 16 after a strong second half of the run. Theunissen maintained her pace throughout the final stages to take the women’s title in 4:10:51. Marta Bernardi finished second in 4:14:39, while Sara Sandrini completed the podium in 4:15:28 following her late charge through the field.
The middle-distance course featured a 1.9 km swim off Cesenatico’s beach. The 90km bike course began with a flat 10km section towards Cesena before athletes tackled two laps of a demanding 35km hilly circuit through the Romagna countryside. The final 10km returned athletes to T2 through Gambettola and Gatteo. The race concluded with a flat four-lap 21.1km run course.
Challenge Cesenatico once again attracted a competitive international field and delivered close racing across both professional events on the Italian middle-distance calendar.
Full results available at https://www.nextrace.net/timing/schedaclassifica.php?idgara=3450&lan=en
More information can be found at www.challenge-cesenatico.com