The 3Tre thrills 10,000 people gathered along the Canalone Miramonti in Madonna di Campiglio: joy in the first run with three Italians within reach of the podium, joy for the Austrians over a superlative Marcel Hirscher, and more joy for Neureuther and Japan’s Yuasa, who was right in contention for the win until the very end. But the 3Tre also brought disappointment as all hopes for the Italians went up in smoke in the second run, and sadness over an unbelievable tragedy that occurred during the first run.
Following a sudden medical emergency and subsequent cardiac arrest, Lanfranco Bertocci, a ski instructor from Madonna di Campiglio who was on duty as a gate judge along the course, passed away. Suffering from a heart condition, Bertocci was immediately assisted by the two race doctors stationed on the slope just above the scene of the incident and underwent prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation for about an hour, treated with the appropriate medical equipment. Mountain rescue also intervened immediately, collaborating with the doctors and rescue personnel present on the slope.
A decidedly sad moment. The race was suspended while the two race doctors were attending to the emergency, and then resumed with the run of American Ted Ligety.
Marcel Hirscher (AUT), after his third place in Val d’Isère, made no mistakes and, after finishing the first run ahead of everyone (in 52”07), kept his cool to conquer not only the 3Tre (1’42”50) but also first place in the discipline World Cup standings with 240 points.
Right behind him was Germany’s Felix Neureuther: second in the first run at 6/100 behind the Austrian, he repeated his performance in the second run with a combined time of 1’44”17.
And here, for third place, it was the Italians who could and should-have fought it out. After a triumphant first run with the three musketeers of the narrow gates—Cristian Deville third (52”63), and Manfred Moelgg (52”75) and Giuliano Razzoli (52”75) tied for fourth—the Campiglio slalom stadium was ready to “explode” for a podium that many were expecting.
The only one to make it to the finish was Manny Moelgg, who lost one spot and placed fifth: “a well-earned fifth place. I’m happy with how I’m skiing, I have good confidence. I need to take a few more risks in January, in the sense of attacking even more”.
Disappointment for Razzoli and Deville, who skied out—the former at the final gates, the latter on the upper section of the course. “I was having a tremendous run – said Razzoli –, I was really close to a great podium. I skied well, after catching an edge near the top I recovered and frankly I don’t know what happened. I attacked, I wanted the podium at all costs, but I have to look at the bright side and say that I enjoyed skiing down. The good feelings are back; I would have liked to give myself a nice present for my birthday today, it’ll be for next time”. Deville believed in it right until the end: “You make a good impression when you reach the finish and step onto the podium. I can say I started out for that. I didn’t even make a mistake because I can’t say I did anything wrong. I went “flying” and ended up on the ground. I’m very sorry, disappointed. It even takes away my motivation, to tell the truth, because if there are technical mistakes at the root and results don’t come, I understand there’s something to work on, whereas I’m skiing fast and collecting zero, so it really takes away my desire”.
But the real star of the night in Campiglio was him, the star from the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan’s Naoki Yuasa: bib no. 21, in 25th place after the first run, and a sensational second run that catapulted him onto the podium and into the Olympus of top skiers. He simply said: “this is how I know how to ski and today I proved I can stand on the podium”.
Out of the second run was the much-anticipated Stefano Gross, who failed to take advantage of bib no. 1 and finished 33rd, while Roberto Nani—the enfant terrible of the team, the one who dares—had his say, starting with bib no. 41 to finish thirtieth in the first run and then kicking off the second run in sparkling fashion: “I’m happy with the second run, a bit less with the first. I’m taking home important points and I hope to move up in the start list”. He found the first run difficult on a course (set by Kostelic) where he failed to find his rhythm right from the opening gates.
Great disappointment for Patrick Thaler, who skied out: “I straddled coming out of the double gate; what a shame because I would have loved to make it all the way down, it’s wonderful here, but that’s how it is, there’s nothing you can do”.
Thus the curtain falls on the 3Tre, on a stage that set the Campiglio evening alight with grandstands, slopeside, and finish area packed with people.
Returning to the big stage after seven years was not easy; the 3Tre remains a race of high technical caliber that people love. Now the next appointment is for 2014, while in the meantime the European Cup returns in 2013.
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