04 Mar Results in the Andalucia Bike Race from the Metallurgica Veneta MTB Pro Team, ambassadors of ISB Sport
Despite the difficult start, because of the way the Andalucia Bike Race developed, it was important to end the first trip of the season with three top ten and good feelings.
March 4, 2024, Jaèn (ESP) – With a very high starting field, the Andalucia Bike Race is considered one of the first important international races of the season, for Metallurgica Veneta MTB Professional Team it was the ideal competition to determine their position and the first race stimulus for the new season.
Although the team’s riders did not achieve a major result in the overall standings of the Andalusian event, they showed solidity and ambition, as well as putting up very good performances in the partials. After an uphill start, Massimo Rosa and Jacopo Billi showed up in the top group in the second half of the week, playing a big role in the last three stages of a race that brought together the world’s best XCM specialists.
Ole Hem and Nicola Taffarel finished in 17th position, ready to prove their worth in the second stage, which instead was a shock to the team.
The first two days were very bitter and as suspected, Hem’s injuries were significant and he was unable to recover for the following stages. Although sore Ole completed as training the race, finished in 26th position in the overall.
The third day was also quite bitter, Jacopo Billi and Massimo Rosa tried to make rankings, but when they were in front they punctured, another cold shower for Metallurgica Veneta MTB Pro Team that also found no reward in the third stage that greeted the capital Jaén with a short but intense 40-kilometer stage.
Jacopo Billi and Mssimo Rosa things started to go much better just in time for the fourth stage where the favorites rode in a group compact for the entire duration. The final sprint for second place on the finish line in Villafranca de Cordoba, saw among the protagonists the two riders from Piedmont of Metallurgica Veneta MTB Pro Team, fourth just a whisker away from the podium.
The longest stage, the fifth, with 88.6 kilometers and 1,828 meters of elevation gain also played in favor of Jacopo Billi and Massimo Rosa, who kept up with the best who were competing for the top positions in the overall. As expected, the pace of the race was frantic, and in the end it meant fifth place with a small gap, another positive development after the performances of the first days. On the final day that crowned the new Andalucia Bike Race 2024 champions the Billi and Rosa pair also performed wonderfully in the time trial where the Metallurgica Veneta MTB Pro Team riders finished in seventh place and recovered more positions in the overall.