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A fourfold victory for the athletes of Active Team La Leonessa sponsored by MAK with five tricolour jerseys won! Mirko Testa Italian Champion!
With each passing year, Active Team La Leonessa continues to set new records. The umpteenth demonstration came from Codogno, in the province of Lodi, last weekend’s venue for the 2023 edition of the Italian Para-cycling Championships, in which the Brescia-based company won a beauty of five tricolour jerseys. Those of Simona Canipari, who has been dominating the world scene for over two years in the WH1 category, are hardly news anymore, but she is never satiated and has shown herself in top form in view of the world championships coming up in August in Glasgow, where the athlete from Villanuova sul Clisi will be hunting for her third consecutive world title. On Saturday Simona won the time trial, while on the following day she also won the road race, becoming one of the five athletes to complete the double in the handbike event. Also on Saturday for the Active team came the splendid and very welcome success of Christian Giagnoni, back in the MH4. In the ‘time trial’, the athlete from Prato kept an unsustainable pace for everyone, covering the 25 kilometres of the course in 27 minutes and 56 seconds, at an average speed of over 53 km/h, and beating Giovanni Achenza by about ten seconds. In the time trial also came the national success of Mirko Pini, who left everyone behind in the MC3 ‘standing’ discipline (traditional bicycles used by athletes with amputations or lower limb injuries), winning the tricolour jersey as he did in 2022. Second place in the MH2, however, for Omar Rizzato, beaten only by Luca Mazzone.

In addition to Simona Canipari, the big star on Sunday was Mirko Testa, who redeemed Saturday’s bitter sixth place with a splendid victory in the inline race in the MH3 category. The rider from Bergamo took first place in a sprint in a super intense race, which saw the first six finish within just over a second. But Testa proved to be the strongest again, repeating his 2022 success. Also on the podium on Sunday were Christian Giagnoni and Mirko Pini, both finishing second in their respective categories. “They were two exciting days,” commented captain Sergio Balduchelli, “in which the boys performed another miracle. They always give us enormous satisfaction. What a pity for Rizzato and De Cortes, who could have achieved a great result in the road race and instead were forced to retire due to two very unfortunate episodes. I know I keep repeating myself, but I really couldn’t be happier with this team’. The five victories at the Italian Championships came the weekend after Active Team La Leonessa took part in the fourth stage of the Giro d’Italia handbike race, in Vicenza. In Veneto came the successes of Simona Canipari (WH1), the second places of Giuseppe Uberti (MH1), Franco Tonoli (MH4) and Mirko De Cortes (MH5), as well as the third of Roberto Zanetti (MHO1). Results that allowed the Brescian company to keep the red jersey of ‘Fast team’ as the best team in the pink race. On 10 September, after the summer break, the fifth of eight stages will take place in Pioltello (Milan).

Para-cycling absolute Italian championships – Codogno (Lodi)
All results for the athletes of Active Team La Leonessa
Time trial on Saturday 24 June
Cat. WH1 – 1st Simona Canipari
Cat. MH2 – 2nd Omar Rizzato
Cat. MH3 – 6th Mirko Testa
Cat. MH4 – 1st Christian Giagnoni, 13th Mattia Guerini
Cat. MH5 – 9th Claudio Pietroboni
Cat. MC3 – 1st Mirko Pini
Road race on Sunday 25 June
Cat. WH1 – 1st Simona Canipari
Cat. MH1 – 4th Giuseppe Uberti
Cat. MH2 – retired Omar Rizzato (fall)
Cat. MH3 – 1st Mirko Testa
Cat. MH4 – 2nd Christian Giagnoni, 10th Franco Tonoli, 12th Mattia Guerini
Cat. MH5 – 7th Claudio Pietroboni, withdrawn Mirko De Cortes (respiratory problems)
Cat. MC3 – 2nd Mirko Pini