From the Instagram posts of the last few days, you could get the impression that most of the competitors at the IFCA European Championships in Torbole travelled to Lake Garda quite spontaneously. Jordy Vonk was even at the start with brand new equipment that he had never ridden before: "It's a strange feeling to go into the competition with brand new, untuned equipment, but I think it's a great challenge!"
After registration and opening, the first races were held yesterday afternoon. At first there were doubts as to whether the conditions would be good enough, but a reliable wind set in during the afternoon, which was enough for six eliminations for the women and two for the men. A total of 70 riders from 14 nations are taking part, including many World Cup stars who are using the event between the World Cups on Sylt and in Japan to hope for a title.
Lemeteyer and Søe confidently in front
In the women's event, Justine Lemeteyer proved to be hard to beat. The reigning foil world champion won five out of six heats, putting her well ahead of Lina Erzen and Blanca Alabau - exactly the same order as in the world championship rankings after just one event in Guadeloupe so far.
There was also a dominant rider in the men's race: Johan Søe rode in a class of his own and is way out in front. Also because there was a lot of shuffling behind him: Alexis Mathis only finished fifth after second place at the start. On the other hand, Nico Prien, who did not start in the first elimination, took a strong second place in the second run! And Fabi Wolf added a third place after ninth place at the start - it promises to be exciting!
All results are available at ifcaclass.com
