Rachele Barbieri combined the track and road disciplines on the European championships in Munich. The Italian Liv Racing Xstra rider was in good shape and was on the podium four times.
On the track Barbieri started with a silver medal with the Italian team in the team pursuit. Monday she added a gold medal to her collection on the omnium. One day later she raced the madison with Silvia Zanardi. After an exciting race the Italian team took home the victory in front of France and Denmark.
Sunday Barbieri started in the road race over 128,3 kilometres. She saw five other Liv Racing Xstra riders in the peloton. Jeanne Korevaar and Thalita de Jong were racing for The Netherlands, Valerie Demey for Belgium, Tereza Neumanova for Czech Replublic and Marta Jaskulska for Poland. As expected the race ended in a bunch sprint, which was won by Lorena Wiebes. Barbieri finished third and took her fourth medal in this championships.
“I was already really happy with my performances on the track. My condition was very good and I gained a lot of confidence on the track. Today the goal was to go for a sprint with Elisa Balsamo, the world champion. My task was to do a lead-out for her. That went well, though we are a little disappointed Elisa couldn`t take the win. After my lead-out I kept sprinting and took the third place. So now I go home with two golden, one silver and one bronze medal. This something I will not forget and makes me really proud. Now I will take some rest and then focus on the Simac Ladies Tour, where I want to continue my good shape”, Barbieri commented after the race.