MilanoTRI, the great triathlon season kicks off at Idroscalo

The women's race of the MilanoTRI triathlon over a sprint distance saw Paola Sacchi dominate with a time of 1h00'16". The 707 Team Minini athlete was able to take the lead in the final part of the race where, thanks to her pace in the running fraction, she managed to distance Denise Cavallini (DDS) and Giada Stegani (Leosport), who then finished in that order at the finish line, stopping the clock at 1h00'29" and 1h00'41" respectively. The last two and a half kilometres of the walking fraction were decisive after the trio had taken the lead at the end of the 750-metre swim and managed to increase the gap on their pursuers by making regular changes over the 20 kilometres on the bike.

"Right from the start in the swim I saw that there were three of us left. In the bike I thought I would push hard in the first lap to take that lead which would then be harder to close. In the running fraction I set my own pace, we went together in the first two and a half kilometres, then I felt I was doing well and then I tried to make a difference," said Paola Sacchi. "I had already tried to stretch earlier on the bike to try to take a bit of an advantage before the changeover but, between bends and lapped athletes along the way, I couldn't do it and this led me to start the running fraction rather fatigued. As the metres passed, however, I calmed down and felt good. It was the first race with the new leotard, with the new team (an ideal training to grow) and I am very happy to have started it this way. I hope it will be a great season, the conditions are good'.

In the men's field, reaffirming the excellent day experienced by the entire 707 Team Minini, the winner was, Nicolò Astori. Like Sacchi among the women, the 2022 Junior World Champion in the sprint duathlon got rid of the other contenders for victory in the very last part of the final fraction where neither teammate Kiril Polikarpenko nor Thomas Previtali of the Valdigne Triathlon nor Giovanni Aruffo of Leosport (all three with him in the lead in the bike fraction after the slight margin acquired by the four coming out of the Idroscalo waters) were able to keep up with him. In this way Astori triumphed with a time of 55'05", while Polikarpenko (2nd) and Previtali (3rd) had to be content with accompanying him on the podium, finishing in 55'14" and 55'52". Fourth place, however, for Aruffo (56'32").

"After having swum well, I made a mistake at the first change as I failed to take off my wetsuit and in fact started off again alone," was Astori's comment after the finish. "After 3 km, however, I managed to close the gap on the leading trio and at that point we collaborated, so in the final I was able to run well. I'm very happy, it was a very good race in view of the next goals. I have high expectations for this season, I want to try to follow as much as possible in the footsteps of my former team-mate Gianluca Pozzati of the 707 Team, who has been supporting me since this year. The team? Like a good family for me. I'd also like to congratulate the organisers of the event: it's the second year I've taken part in MilanoTRI and I really like it both in terms of the routes, which always allow you to push well and set good times, and the way it's run".

MilanoTRI Olympic Games, the race and the words of the winners

After the competitions over the sprint distance, it was the turn of the Olympic protagonists to take the proscenium. Opening the dances were once again the women in a race that admired the sumptuous performance of Anita Ghelardoni. The Firenze Tri representative literally dominated the race, escaping already in the swimming fraction and increasing her margin in the following cycling kilometres. Managing a lead of over three minutes at the bike-run changeover, Ghelardoni thus went on to win in ease, finishing her race in 2:03'54". Behind her, second place in 2:06'57" for Erica Maculan (Valdigne Triathlon), who did well to break away in the walking section from the group of rivals with whom she had made the last change, and third in 2:11'20" for Iris Reif (Millenium Triathlon), author of an excellent performance in the ten kilometre walk.

"MilanoTRI was an important test bench. These are the first races of the season, useful to take stock of the situation after the work done in the winter and from this point of view I am very satisfied, I can say that I worked well," said Anita Ghelardoni after the race. "Today, as swimming is my strong point, I knew I could have a head race. On the bike, since I had such a large lead, I took advantage of the circumstances to test myself, as covering 40km alone was not too little. The effort took its toll on my legs a little at the end but I still managed it well. The course? We knew it was fast and great for swimming as it has no waves and is perfectly marked. Overall, even though it was hot and at times almost muggy considering the time of year, it was a fantastic day.

Among the men, the Olympic race was much more tightly contested with Davide Menichelli managing to get the better of it only thanks to a victorious comeback in the walking fraction. After finishing 1'09" behind Andrea Vergani (Invictus Team ASD) in the swimming section and 1'53" behind Federico Murero (Tri Team Brianza) in the cycling section, the K3 Cremona exponent shifted into high gear in the third and decisive part of the race, first catching and then distancing all those ahead of him. For him, first with a time of 1:46'54", the possibility of raising his arms to the sky on the finish line at Idroscalo became a reality, where he won ahead of Murero, second in 1:47'40", and Nicola Duchi (Doloteam) who, despite seeing the chance to become the first ever to triumph in all four stages of the Triathlon Series by FollowYourPassion evaporate, consoled himself with third place in 59'31".

"I am not very happy with how I swam. I expected something better, also because I had come here with the idea of testing my condition in the water after the good duathlon season. In the end, I won by making up for it in the walking fraction so I can be satisfied. In a race everyone aims for first place and when you are the one to get it, you can only be happy," were the words of Davide Menichelli once he had finished his effort. "The course was fast, perfect for this discipline, with some technical passages but above all many straights and perfect conditions for swimming, with no waves and no current: I like it a lot. You have to be careful because there are a lot of crossings on the track but it's part of the game and I'm fine with it: if it was a straight and desolate track, without, for example, passages like the ones today in the middle of the park, the race hours would stop".

Milano10K, the race at sunset

Closing the day of sport at the Idroscalo was the turn of the more than 1,200 runners of the Milano10K, a race that in its competitive version saw Daniel David (Atletica Pro Canosa) triumph in the men's and former Tokyo 2020 Olympian Elena Loyo triumph in the women's. The former, imposing himself with a time of 32'40", closed the trial ahead of Atletica Lecco-Colombo's Mattia Sottocornola, second thanks to his good 32'50", and Radovan Tomecek who, closing with a time of 33'06", placed third.

Among the women, the 42-year-old Loyo, Spanish 10-kilometre road champion in 2016 and a season record of 1h16'20" on the half marathon, triumphed in the 10-kilometre race, reaching the finish line in 35'31", which was enough for her to put behind her both Francesca Durante (Atletica Casone Noceto), second in 36'33", and the Spaniard Marta Tomé, third in 36'54".

"I really enjoyed today's race," said the Iberian runner, who has a personal best of 2:28'25" in the marathon and 1:12'22" in the half marathon. "The course went through a natural area that reminded me of the places where I train, I found very nice competitors who went at my pace and then, of course, the fact that I managed to do such a performance can only make me very happy. Now, with Team Oysho, we will go to Madrid next week and then I will probably take part in the half marathon in Formentera the following weekend".

Madunina Trophy

Winning the third edition of the Trofeo Madunina, reserved for triathlon teams from Milan and its province present at the start of the Olympic distance with at least 10 entries, was the Rho Triathlon, which recorded the lowest average time of all those in contention.

Triathlon Series by FollowYourPassion

MilanoTRI was the second stage of the Triathlon Series by FollowYourPassion, the circuit sponsored by Hardskin that offers a total prize money of almost 7,000 euros for the first three teams that bring the highest number of athletes to the start of the four events on the calendar. After the one in Milan, there are two stages still to be contested: LovereTRI and PeschieraTRI. MG Sport, under the brand FollowYourPassion, is a leading organiser of endurance events in Italy. Every year, it offers running, triathlon, road cycling, mountain biking and open water swimming competitions for athletes of all levels. In 2025, the calendar includes 13 events throughout Italy.

1 February - Bergamo Urban Night Trail

2 February - Bergamo21

10 April - Roma Appia Run

25 April ChiaSWIM (Chia Sport Week)

26 April - ChiaTRI (Chia Sport Week) event suspended

27 April - Chia21 (Chia Sport Week)

3 May - MilanTRI

3 May - Milan10K

4 May - Olbia21

11 May - BeSane! RUN

29 June - LovereTRI

26 July - Alta Valtellna Bike Marathon

27 September - F1RE

28 September - Monza21

4-5 October - PeschieraTRI

23 November - Milan21