LAUSANNE, Italy 28th February – Another land, the same emotions: the ISMF world Championship moved across the borders and over the mountains ridge, left Veneto and Tambre and landed in Piancavallo, Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of the most eastern spot of Italy to keep on celebrating friendship and skimo.
The situation was as challenging as ever for the Loc organizing Committee of Diego Svalduz and Vittorio Romor as the most longed for snow arrived generously a couple of weeks ago, but high temperatures started to melt it and then heavy showers of rain completed the picture. “The location could, anyway – they say from the Loc – , count on a great know how and tradition”, so the track of the three races scheduled there – a Sprint today, and then Vertical and Relay – were confirmed.
The Sprint was mostly on the same area of last year world cup stage. An unordered cocktail of rain and clouds did not prevent the show from going on with the youngster – 31 Cadet and 40 Junior athletes – to take the stage, from the early morning.
In the Junior men race Nicolò Canclini, Italy, grabbed the victory on Swiss Arno Lietha and Belgian Maximilien Drion. In the Junior ladies race gold medal for Ekaterina Osichkina, Russia, over Italian Giulia Murada. Bronze to Spain with Julia Casanovas Cuairan.
In the Cadet challenge Switzerland and Italy got four “heavy” medals in men and ladies races: Aurelien Gay is the new world champion over Alessandro Rossi and ahead of Usa with its first podium, signed by Quinn Simmons. In the ladies Cadet Justine Tonso played as the young French queen, again over Italian Samantha Bertolina and Swiss Caroline Ulrich, who celebrates her 15th birthday today with a second medal, after the Individual podium a couple of days ago in Tambre.
The early hours of the afternoon were the playground for 102 brave senior and espoir champions from 25 countries who competed for their share of glory and, again, rain showers.
The track was pretty technical, off and on piste with a very steep and breathtaking chicane among the key points of the whole competition.
From the grey of sky to the gold of the medal it was Swiss Iwan Arnold to celebrate on the finish line, soon followed by German Anton Palzer and Spanish Oriol Cardona Coll who brings to Spain a bronze medal and a double joy, when, in the ladies race, it was the team mate Claudia Galicia Cotrina to grab the gold and the victory ahead of Swedish Emelie Forsberg and another swiss, Marianne Fatton, third, in one of the toughest rush of the season so far.
The Sprint race received the visit of IOC International Olympic committeewinter sports manager Kristin Brynildsens: “We took a tour around the different spots of the track”, said Roberto Cavallo, ISMF general secretary, with the aim of better studying and assessing the race format and its specific features.
From Italy to Russia, today it was also the closing moment of the rd edition of CISM Sochi 2017, the world winter Games. And ISMF would like to highlight the importance of such competitions and the fundamental role of the military sports centre in supporting the skimo family and sports in general. Ski mountaineering never rests and rocks around the clock, time zones and countries: “While we celebrate the new Sprint world medalists in Piancavallo – said Zuzana Rychlikova, ISMF judge – some guys have been fighting hard also in Russia, in the Games hosted in Sochi – Rosa Khutor , on the 2014 olympic slopes”. Seven days, 8 countries and the Top 30 of the ranking in 7 disciplines. For the skimo world they organized Individual and Team races. Thumbs up on the Individual for Alexis Sevennec, France, Manfred Reichegger, Italy and Miguel Caballero, Spain. On the ladies podium are French Adele Milloz, Italian Gloriana Pellissier and France again with Nathalie Mieuzet . In the Team competitions a lot of Italy, France, Spain and Russia. To get full results, www.cismsochi2017.com
Back to Piancavallo, the Champs proceed their way with two more races, a Vertical scheduled tomorrow, before the Relay race on Thursday.
Full results on ISMF website www.ismf.ski.org LEFT HAND SIDE area
http://ismf-ski.org/www/content/races-result?id=169
http://ismf-ski.org/www/content/tambrepiancavallo-2017-italy-ismf-world-championships-24-february-2-march-2017
http://ismf-ski.org/www/content/rankings-podiums
For pics https://drive.google.com/open? id=0Bxbuxds- oXM6ZEN1bTlrV1VnV2c
Follow us on FB @ismf.ski and TW @ISMFSkimo
Lucia Galli