Federica Venturelli continued her outstanding campaign at the 2026 UEC Track Juniors & Under 23 European Championships, claiming her second gold medal of the event.
After winning the Individual Pursuit title, the UAE Team ADQ rider, representing Italy, yesterday was crowned European Champion in the Women’s Under 23 Points Race.
Following an intense 80-lap (26 km) contest at the velodrome in Cottbus, Germany, Venturelli finished ahead of the Netherlands’ Nienke Veenhoven and Polina Danshina to secure another continental title.
Federica Venturelli said: “As this was already my fourth consecutive day of racing, I had a few doubts about how I would feel. At the same time, I knew the Points Race is one of my favourite events and probably the one where I felt I had the best chance of achieving a great result. I knew I was up against very strong rivals, so I had to race smartly, balancing the intermediate sprints with following the right attacks. I managed my effort well all the way to the final sprint, won that as well, and with it the race. I’m really happy.
I would like to dedicate this gold medal to my teammates from the team pursuit squad. Yesterday, a mechanical issue in the semi-final prevented us from fighting for a medal, but I truly believe every one of them deserved to stand on the podium, if not wear the European champion’s jersey. This victory is for them.”
(ph. @uec_cycling)
