Just as happened four editions ago, Francesco Veluscek and Giusy Rottonara once again etched their names onto the roll of honor of the Lussarissimo, the world’s longest parallel giant slalom, which yesterday, as per tradition, took center stage on the “Di Prampero” slope. A race capable of delivering plenty of thrills and—thanks to live commentary and music from Radio Punto Zero, which covered the entire two-day event—lots of fun for all the athletes who took on a four-kilometer course set with a full 92 gates on snow that, despite spring-like temperatures, allowed for excellent performances even among those starting with higher bib numbers. Around 200 Austrian, Slovenian, and Italian athletes—including many from outside the region—battled it out, confirming the success of an event that has become a permanent fixture on the Tarvisio winter calendar and will celebrate its tenth edition next year.
In the men’s race, victory went to hometown athlete Francesco “Paco” Veluscek, who with a near-perfect run managed to put an end to the reign of Pietro Dalmasso, winner of the last two editions. The young Sci Cai Monte Lussari racer triumphed with a time of 2’47″49, clocking the second-fastest overall time across the nine editions held so far. The duel with Dalmasso was fierce, however, and the coach and standout athlete of Ski College Veneto had to settle for second place, 1″89 back, while still winning category A4. Rounding out the podium in third place was Jacopo Di Ronco, more than 2″70 behind the leader. In the men’s field, no fewer than thirteen athletes broke the three-minute barrier—a clear testament to how the work carried out by Promotur’s technicians enabled everyone to put in a great run even as the course wore down with each pass.
As mentioned, it was a return to the top in the women’s race too, with Alto Adige’s Giusy Rottonara repeating her 2010 triumph. Giusy managed to improve her performance by shaving roughly six seconds off her personal best, stopping the clock at 3’06″72—four and a half seconds ahead of local favorite Laura Scherling and more than seven seconds ahead of Barbara Da Ros (Giocallena).
The other category winners were: Michael Martisching (A1), Stefan Lussnig (A2), Samuel Borovinsek (A3), Thomas Lesjak (A5), Rudolf Kronhofer (B6), Edoardo Severi (B7), Michael Mittermayr (B8), Alois Rausch (B9), Igino Cattarossi (B10), and Simone Sgnaolin (Youth). Among the women, category wins also went to Marta Alomar (C1), Barbara Da Ros (C3), Marina Visintin (C4), Boza Torkar (C6), and Ester Cella (Youth). Special prizes also went to fiftieth overall finisher Marco Sinigoi and hundredth finisher Maurizio Fuda.
There was a changing of the guard in both the men’s and women’s fields for the eighth edition of the “down-up” ski mountaineering race held on Friday evening.
Among the men, the absence of multi-titled Camporosso athlete Tadei Pivk—busy dominating the Sellaronda, which this year took place simultaneously with Lussarissimo by Night—made the battle for first place even more open and thrilling, with a leading trio trading blows right from the opening meters. Conquering the six-kilometer climb with roughly a thousand meters of vertical gain was Austria’s Niklas Kroehn, who won in 46’47”, managing to pull away from his closest rivals only on the final stretch of the course.
Second place went to local athlete Paolo Maizinger, racing for Aldo Moro Paluzza, who edged out Marco Del Missier in a photo finish, both finishing just 18 seconds behind the winner. In the women’s race, a solo victory went to Slovenia’s Karmen Klancnik (TSK Olimpik), who finished in 1h00’50”. Behind her came a trio of athletes from Aldo Moro Paluzza, placing in order Anna Finizio, Ester Valle, and Lucia Boschetti. Marita Krohn, winner of every previous edition, was not in peak health but still finished fifth.
In the Over 50 standings, Siegfried Hochenwarter, thirteenth overall, won the men’s category while Ulrike Striednig claimed victory in the women’s field.
Winning the combined classification—calculated by adding the ski mountaineering race time to ten times the giant slalom time—was Austria’s Silvio Wieltschnig (Froggy Line) in 1h20’09”, ahead of Robert Stark (Salomon Running Team) and Simone Pinzani (Sci Cai Monte Lussari). In the women’s combined, victory went to Lucia Boschetti (Aldo Moro Paluzza), who with a time of 1h56’43” finished ahead of Austria’s Brigitte Robin.
Impressive times were also recorded in the second edition of the snowshoe “down-up” race, which set a new participation record with around thirty athletes competing along the same course as the ski mountaineers. Taking the win and setting a new overall course record was Denis Nodale of Aldo Moro Paluzza, who triumphed in 57’57”, beating David Bianchini (Timaucleulis) and Nicola Pasquili (Fun Bike) by 1’48” and 2’06” respectively. A record-breaking victory was also achieved in the women’s field by Arianna Quadrini, who stopped the clock at 1h14’34”. Far behind her came Maura Sergon (S. Giacomo Trieste) in second place, nearly seven minutes back, and Elena Zorzetto (XXX Ottobre) in third, just over thirteen minutes behind the winner.
more info on the official website: www.lussarissimo.com
No comments yet