New entries in the cast of the Opitergium Trophy European Road Race Under 20, which will take place in the Oderzo’s historic centre in exactly one month, on September 16.

With just over a month to go until the event, 12 youth National teams have already confirmed their attendance at the prestigious road race competition: Italy, France, Spain, England, Sweden, Macedonia, Malta, Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

The latter’s participation, for obvious reasons, is particularly significiant: a group of young Ukrainian athletes arrived in Oderzo in March 2022, during the war, and for several months they have lived and trained in town. From that moment a bond of friendship was born that lasts to this day and the Ukrainian Federation enthusiastically accepted the race organisers’ invitation.

Instead, the Hellenic Federation had to change its plans because of the fires that ravaged the Country during the Summer and will not compete in Oderzo next month.

“We are very pleased with the interest that the Opitergium Trophy European Road Race Under 20 is getting among the European Federations” – comments Dino Brunello, president of the Local Organizing Committee – “The group of 12 participating Nations is set to grow further during the coming weeks. The conditions are in place for a memorable edition of this event, which has grown steadily over the years becoming an opportunity for competitive comparison and cultural interchange between young European athletes”.

The event’s new website is up and running at europeanroadrace.com; in addition, the tecnical sponsor is official: the Opitergium Trophy European Road Race U20 will be branded Joma, Spanish company that produces and commercilizes sports equipment in more than 120 Countries and which is also a technical partner of the Italian Athletics Federation.

The 2023 edition of the Opitergium Trophy European Road Race Under 20 – 5 km for women, 10 km for men, with the finish line placed in the Piazza Grande, has received the prestigious Road Race Label assigned by World Athletic, the World Federation of Athletics. This international promotion of the event will see as its next key stage the World Athletics Championship in Budapest (19-27 August), where a delegation of the Local Organizing Committee will be present. Athletics’ future is ready to race in Oderzo.