Michele Insalata wins Gallipoli triathlon in 1h56’36”
Gallipoli opened the Puglia triathlon season on 3 May with 174 athletes on the start list, and Michele Insalata turned the men’s race into a 1h56’36” win. The Gallipoli Olympic Triwave Caroli Edition also served as the only Puglia stage in the Trofeo Magna Grecia, which brought five regions into the same circuit.
Insalata and La Fronza lead Gallipoli
Insalata of Otrè Triathlon Team finished ahead of Marcello Roncone of Freedogs Castellana, who took second in 1h58’03”, and Daniel Nicola De Benedetto of Terra dello Sport, who was third in 1h58’05”. Vanessa La Fronza of Aura Triathlon Team won the women’s race in 2h13’56”, with Cristina Venuto of Aquatica Torino ASD second in 2h20’37” and Carmen Albani of Freedogs Castellana third in 2h36’04”.
The spread at the front was tight on the men’s side. Insalata’s margin over Roncone was 1 minute 27 seconds, while De Benedetto was only two seconds behind Roncone. On the women’s podium, La Fronza built a larger gap, finishing 6 minutes 41 seconds ahead of Venuto.
Ecoresort Le Sirene to Lungomare G. Galilei
The race used the Olympic triathlon format of 1.5 km of swimming, 40 km of cycling and 10 km of running. The swim started from the beach of Ecoresort Le Sirene, the bike leg ran on a loop circuit along provincial roads and part of the Serre Salentine, and the run finished on the Lungomare G. Galilei in the pedestrian area of the beach clubs.
Asd Salento Triathlon Enjoy organized the event with Caroli Hotels, and the turnout pulled athletes from across Italy into Gallipoli. That mix of a regional opener and a wider field is what gave the race its edge: it was not just a local start to the season, but the second stage of the Trofeo Magna Grecia, with five races spread across five regions.
Trofeo Magna Grecia in Puglia
Gallipoli’s place on the calendar was singular. It was the only Puglia stop in the Trofeo Magna Grecia, so the result carried extra weight for athletes targeting the circuit while also marking the opening of the Puglia triathlon racing season.
For the field that gathered on 3 May, the result sheet now shows the opening benchmark for the region: Insalata in 1h56’36”, La Fronza in 2h13’56”, and a race that concentrated five regions, one Puglia venue and 174 athletes into a single day on the Gallipoli course.
