BMW News

BMW Brand Ambassador Alessandro Zanardi, 49, could not have started the 2016 para-cycling season any better. He did not just win the Rome Marathon; he smashed the race record that he set four years ago by two and a half minutes.

Zanardi is a BMW factory driver but this year, he has no motor races on his schedule so he can devote himself entirely to his para-cycling. It’s almost scary to think of how much more he can accomplish with no distractions, since he has already won eight world championships and two Paralympic gold medals.

Alex has now won the Rome marathon five times in its 21-year history. Over 13,000 competitors participated in the 26.1-mile race through Italy’s capital, finishing in front of the Colosseum. Using his handcycle, Zanardi finished in first place by more than six and a half minutes.

“It was a great day. The weather was nice and sunny, it is one of the best marathons in the world and I went there knowing that I could do well, as I knew how much I had prepared up to this point,” Zanardi said. “It was interesting for me to see how my performance would be in comparison to my previous starts here in Rome. I was two and a half minutes faster than in 2012, when I set my previous record and was in full swing preparing for the Paralympics in London. So I am really happy because I performed very, very well.”

He continued, “The time of 1:09:15 hours is pretty good regarding how difficult the course is. The route goes through the center of the city. A third of the course consists of cobblestone streets; overall it is very bumpy and you have a lot of tight turns. So it is not a circuit that you could call smooth and fast.”

 Alex will get little rest. Next week he will handcycle a time trial and road race at Marina di Massa in Tuscany.—Scott Blazey

[Photos courtesy of BMW AG.]