BePink-Bongioanni in El Salvador and at the Trofeo Ponente in Rosa

BePink-Bongioanni‘s start to the season continues without interruption. After the Tuscan weekend at Strade Bianche and Trofeo Oro in Euro, the Lombard team “splits into two”, with one selection that will compete overseas in El Salvador and another that, instead, will continue to test themselves on Italian asphalts.

In Central America, the roster led by DS Sigrid Corneo and composed of Samantha Arnaudo, Andrea Casagranda, Beatrice Pozzobon, Angela Oro, Prisca Savi and Vittoria Grassi, will begin competing from today evening (Italian time) at the Grand Prix Suf City El Salvador (1.1).

The trip will then continue with the Grand Prix El Salvador (1.1) on March 5th, the Grand Prix Presidente (1.1) on the 6th, the Vuelta a El Salvador (2.1) scheduled from the 8th to the 12th and, finally, the Grand Prix INDES (1.1) on the 13th.

The 5th edition of the Vuelta a El Salvador will start with the initial prologue in the historic center of San Salvador and will end in Santa Ana at the end of five days in the saddle in which the athletes will compete on both flat and more challenging routes from the point of view of altimetric view.

TROFEO PONENTE IN ROSA – From 5 to 8 March BePink-Bongioanni will also compete in their homeland, at the Trofeo Ponente in Rosa.

The Ligurian race will open in Loano (SV) with an introductory time trial of 2600 meters and will end at the farewell finish line in Diano Marina (IM). In the various hamlets in line, iconic asperities such as Capo Berta, Testico, Capo Mele, Capo Cervo and Monte Pagliassa will be faced.

In Liguria, Nora Jenčušová, Ana Vitória Magalhães, Elisa Valtulini, Monica Trinca Colonel, Martina Testa and the new entry Selene Colombi will line up at the starting line.

Selene Colombi, born in 1990, is from Trescore Balneario (BG) and has aptitude as a climber. She is the mother of two children, after dedicating herself to skiing and volleyball she approached cycling following an injury and, for five years, she has been practicing it with great passion. In the amateur field you have achieved notable results, such as the victory in the Gran Fondo Città di Loano in February and, in 2023, the success at the UEC European Climbing Championship (time trial) in the Master Women category (19-34 years).

“It will be an adventure, a challenge!” Colombi said about this new experience. “Opportunities only knock on the door once, so why not try. It’s always better to try, rather than live with regrets. My partner Daniele is a former cyclist and told me that the real competition isn’t in the gran Fondos. , but in professionalism. According to him I had the ability to make an attempt and he encouraged me a lot. My debut at the Trofeo Ponente in Rosa? On the one hand I’m nervous, anxious. There’s the uncertainty of not knowing if you’ll be at the height and the fear of getting there and collapsing in the first kilometres. On the other hand, I am very excited and determined to give it my all. I want to show my children that, with hard work, results come and dreams come true!”

“We are more than happy to welcome Selene,” said Team Manager Walter Zini, who will lead the team in Liguria. “We immediately liked her a lot; not only in terms of her sporting potential – which is considerable – but, above all, for her attitude and mentality. She too is part of our project to enhance girls who, for various reasons, do not have faced a ‘classic’ path to access professionalism. We believe a lot in this choice and we can’t wait to work together with her too. As far as racing is concerned,” continued Zini, “both in El Salvador and at the Trofeo Ponente in Rosa, we aim to achieve good results. There are tracks suited to the characteristics of our athletes and, therefore, we hope to be able to reap some great satisfaction!”

Line up Grand Prix Suf City El Salvador (ESA, 4 marzo, 1.1), Grand Prix el Salvador ( ESA, 5 marzo, 1.1), Grand Prix Presidente (ESA, 6 marzo, 1.1), Vuelta a El Salvador (ESA, 08/12 marzo, 2.1) and Grand Prix INDES (ESA,13 marzo, 1.1):
Samantha Arnaudo, Italia, 22/05/1993
Andrea Casagranda, Italia, 22/09/2004
Vittoria Grassi, Italia, 14/07/2005
Angela Oro, Italia, 27/05/2002
Beatrice Pozzobon, Italia, 23/05/2001
Prisca Savi, Italia, 21/03/2002

The stages of Vuelta a El Salvador:
08 March – Prologue: San Salvador – San Salvador 2,5 km (ITT)
09 March – 1^ tappa: Surf City – Nahuizalco 106 km
10 March – 2^ tappa: San Salvador – San Salvador 69,8 km
11 March – 3^ tappa: Ilopango – San Luis Talpa 102 km
12 March – 4^ tappa: Santa Ana – Santa Ana 99 km

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Line up Trofeo Ponente in Rosa (ITA, 05/08 marzo, 2.2):
Selene Colombi, Italia, 30/06/1990
Nora Jenčušová, Slovacchia, 14/04/2002
Ana Vitória Magalhães, Brasile, 24/10/2000
Martina Testa, Italia, 17/07/2005
Monica Trinca Colonel, Italia, 21/05/1999
Elisa Valtulini, Italia, 28/12/2004

The stages of Trofeo Ponente in Rosa:
05 March – Prologue: Marina di Loano (SV) – Marina di Loano (SV) 2,6 km (ITT)
06 March – 1^ tappa: Bordighera (IM) – Pietra Ligure (SV) 112,2 km
07 March – 2^ tappa: Diano Marina (IM) – Diano Marina (IM) 71,5 km
08 March – 3^ tappa: Marina di Aregai (IM) – Diano Marina (IM) 88,3 km