In pictures: The debut edition of Challenge Cesenatico
The debut edition of Challenge Cesenatico, Italy, from behind the lens of José Luis Hourcade. See the race day action - and the stunning Italian scenery - as it unfolded.
The newest edition to the Challenge Family portfolio of events took place this past Sunday in Italy – Challenge Cesenatico.
Situated on the Adriatic Coast, the port town of Cesenatico sits in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. The area itself is not completely fresh to the Challenge organisation, with past events based in Rimini and Riccione taking advantage of the stunning local roads, providing great cycling, as well as easy transport access from almost anywhere in Europe.
Cesenatico is no stranger to holding large scale sporting events either, including the Nove Colli sportive, which will take place this coming Sunday with more than 6,000 riders. It’s also a town I have visited regularly in years past, a fine location for triathlon or cycling training camps with plenty of quiet, scenic roads to enjoy.
With sprint, relay and swim/bike options as well as the headline middle distance race, the event proved to be popular, with 1,400 athletes represented by 22 nations first time out, which represents impressive figures for a debut edition.
A regular on these pages, photographer José Luis Hourcade (www.joseluishourcade.com) was on hand to capture the race in pictures, as well as some of the amazing scenery that this region has to offer.
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Challenge Cesenatico Gallery 2024
Two-time Olympian, Alessandro Fabian gets ready to race on home turfThe Men’s Pro race gets startedThe Pro Women followed just three minutes laterOne of several age-group starts head into the AdriaticThe route into T1Six men were in close order exiting the 1.9km opening disciplineGreat Britain’s Abigail Bedwell was well clear before her chasers – pictured above – reached the beach almost 90 seconds laterHome favourite Fabian riding strongly in the early milesPlenty of small towns and villages here to keep things interestingEarly stages on the bike for the men’s Pro raceSven Thalman (SUI) was one of those pushing the pace for mush of the rideNo shortage of history hereSwim leader, Abi Bedwell (GBR), lead the race through the first 30km of the bikeCharlotte Faivre (FRA) was the first to catch the British swim pace-setterSuperb racing conditionsOgnjen Stojanovic (SRB) in the small chase group on two wheelsAurelia Boulanger (FRA) would catch her compatriot around 60km in – and build a T2 advantage of three minutesThe perfect cycling roads of this region provide a great backdrop for racingIf you’d rather watch than race, the port of Cesenatico provides plenty of bars and restaurants to cheer fromFirst off the bike, Arne Reiss (GER) would not be able to hold of the run pace of Alessandro FabianOgnjen Stojanovic would eventually run through to second placeBoulanger added the fastest run split to extend her lead and secure a clear victory marginCharlotte Faivre made it a French one-twoAustria’s Gabriele Obmann running to complete the podium, less than a minute clear of BedwellHome victory for Alessandro FabianAurelia Boulanger takes the tape for her first Pro victory
TRI247's Chief Correspondent, John has been involved in triathlon for well over 30 years, 15 of those writing on these pages, whilst he can also be found commentating for events across the UK.
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