Mattia Agostinacchio claimed the junior men's title for Italy at the 2025 Cyclo-cross World Championships in Liévin after a gripping battle with France's Soren Bruyère Joumard, which lasted until the final lap.
Agostinacchio recovered from several crashes, including one into the fences and another, which broke his shoe midway through the race but ultimately proved the strongest after 45 minutes of all-out racing.
Bruyère Joumard had gone solo after a small mistake from the Italian on lap four; however, a big push from Agostinacchio at the beginning of lap six, which coincided with a bike change for the Frenchman, meant it was a two-horse race going into the finale.
From there, Agostinacchio put the pressure back on and dropped Bruyère Joumard as he produced a flawless final lap, crossing the line with a wheelie and the emotions pouring out 12 seconds ahead of the Frenchman.
Italy made a 1-3 finish in the junior men's race, with Filippo Grigolini working his way back through the field to make it onto the podium with his compatriot.
"There are no words to describe this emotion," said a choked-up Agostinacchio realising the magnitude of what he'd achieved.
Constantly changing conditions meant for a race that evolved lap on lap, with the Italian unsure of how he managed after hitting the deck a number of times.
"I know that when we started, it was like frozen, and then you get the mud in the race," recalled Agostinacchio.
"I crashed, and I broke my shoes, but I didn't have the time to adjust it, so I just went all out in the last lap. I don't know how I did it."
How it unfolded
Freezing cold temperatures and frost on the ground welcomed the 68 starters of the junior men's race in northern France, with Austria's Valentin Hofer getting the best start and shooting into the early lead.
Hofer built a lead and looked to be going well until he crashed heavily on a right-hand corner, conceding first position to Agostinacchio. He seemed to have recovered until one of the big stair sections showed him walking and feeling the pain from hitting the deck.
The end of lap one highlighted many of the day's key contenders, with Great Britain's Oscar Amey swapping the lead with Agostinacchio and Belgium's Giel Lejeune following closely in third.
Amey and the Italian began to move away until they both slipped on the stairs, just one of many small errors that allowed several different riders to come back into the race.
The next came from Bruyère Joumard after he tried to jump up the inside of Amey on a steep mud bank, only for the two to get tangled and allow Spain's Benjamin Noval Suarez into second behind Agostinacchio.
Quickly, however, the Spaniard found himself in the lead as the Italian rider overshot a corner and headed into the fences, almost flipping over them, and then got caught with Amey after trying to remount.
Racing came back together for the big names on lap four when Suarez failed to leave his opponents behind. Bruyère Joumard and Agostinacchio, the two top-ranked juniors in 'cross this year, looked the strongest and soon moved into first and second again.
The home French crowd then got what they wanted and roared as Agostinacchio made another mistake on one of the descending sections, slipping out and allowing Bruyère Joumard to go solo.
It looked as though France were going to sweep both the men's and women's junior races in Liévin, after Lise Revol's success yesterday, when Bruyère Joumard extended what was a seven-second lead at the beginning of lap five to a 12-second advantage at the start of the final lap of six.
But Agostinacchio was winding up a big move behind and pushing hard on the pedals, with a broken shoe, in one final push to re-take the lead. A trip into the pits and bike change by the Frenchman allowed the Italian to make contact and it didn't take him long to dispatch Bruyère Joumard.
Three seconds, five seconds and soon ten seconds went the Italian's advantage, who put together his best lap when it mattered most. A mistake-free round would see him arrive at the finish straight well ahead of a beaten Bruyère Joumard, allowing him to celebrate and let the emotions sink in as he crossed the line and claimed the rainbow jersey.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
