Erica Magnaldi is the new Gravel Euroepan Champion. The Italian rider claimed victory today at the 2025 UEC Gravel European Championships held in Avezzano, Italy, on an 88.8-kilometer course.
With a touch of luck – always welcome in sport – the rider from Cuneo, racing for UAE Team ADQ and wearing the ‘azzurra’ jersey of the Italian National Team, took advantage of a puncture that struck Germany’s Rosa Kloser in the final kilometers. Kloser had been firmly in the lead for several kilometers, but Magnaldi managed to overtake her just 400 meters from the finish and went on to win the sprint for victory ahead of Britain’s Sophie Wright.
It was gold medal and European champion’s jersey for Erica Magnaldi, who remarkably has now won both of her first two career gravel races.
“A victory that really cost me sweat and blood,” smiled Erica Magnaldi, reflecting on her day. “I’m overjoyed and still a bit incredulous because honestly, I didn’t expect this. At first, I was unlucky because I crashed on the descent. I tried to stay on the wheel of the rider ahead, but she was going too fast, and in a corner I lost grip and went down. But I got back up quickly, managed to keep the gap from growing too much, and in the end fortune helped me. Until 500 meters from the finish, I thought I would be fighting for silver or bronze, but fate had it that the German rider leading the race suffered a puncture, which reshuffled everything. In the finale, I found myself contesting the sprint for victory and I’m really happy about this win. It was only my second race in this discipline, so everything still feels like a surprise. But today’s race taught me once again that you should never give up until the very end.”
