Italy conquers gold in the Team Relay at the 2025 European Championship

The second day of the European Mountain Bike Championship in Melgaço has crowned the Italian team as the new continental champion of the Team Relay (XCR). In an exciting and changing relay race, the Italian team managed their efforts and emerged victorious in the final lap to take the gold with a final time of 1:02:18, ahead of Switzerland and Germany.

Italy conquers gold in the Team Relay at the 2025 European Championship

Italy lined up Juri Zanotti, Elian Paccagnella, Martina Berta, Elisa Ferri, Valentina Corvi, and Ettore Fabbro in that order, and although some big Italian names were missing, their combination of elite experience with young talents in the junior and U23 categories proved to be very effective.

Italy started at a disadvantage, but they climbed positions lap after lap until they took the lead in the fifth relay. In the final lap, junior cyclist Fabbro sealed the victory against a strong Switzerland with Nino Schurter riding in the last position.

The Swiss team, led by Nino Schurter, had some ups and downs despite having a solid lineup that included Finn Treudler, Lewin Iten, Ramona Forchini, Fiona Schibler, and Anja Grossmann. They made a great comeback in the final part of the race, but the Italian offensive was too strong and Switzerland had to settle for the silver medal, 39 seconds behind the winner.

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Germany completed the podium with a great performance by Leon Kaiser, Max Ebrecht, Nina Graf, Carla Hahn, Paulina Lange, and Benjamin Krüger. Austria finished fourth and Spain ended fifth with a good collective effort from David Valero, Estibaliz Sagardoy, Lorena Patiño, Raúl López, Marta Cano, and Alejandro García, who managed to climb up to fourth place before conceding in the final relay.

Despite a very promising start, Denmark, which led after the third relay, sank in the last two laps and finished eighth.

The race, as is usual in the Team Relay, was marked by constant changes in positions and offered a great spectacle as a prelude to the XCO weekend. Here you can check the schedules and favorites for the highlight of this European Championship.