Source: GRAVITALIA press release
Photo: Carlo Marchisio
The Italian Championship has just ended in Champoluc (AO). Downhill 2014. The splendid location in Val d'Ayas hosted a very demanding edition of the top national DH event, thanks to a selective track and unfavorable weather conditions, which brought rain alternating with some brief clearing, for the entire duration of the final round. These assumptions ignited an intense challenge in each category, in which all the riders battled it out to conquer the tricolor jersey.
With an impeccable run Johannes Von Klebelsberg (ASC Tiroler Radler Bozen) is crowned Italian Champion Downhill 2014. Thanks to the amazing time of 2:57.76, the young South Tyrolean talent is the only one to break the 3 minute barrier. In second place in the absolute classification he is placed Alan Beggin (360Degrees), 5.54 seconds behind the best time, while Francesco Petrucci (Team Cingolani) climbs third. Unfortunately Marco Milivinti was excluded from the title race due to a slowdown during his final heat, due to an unofficial report, as it did not come from a marshall. After a long evaluation, the judges did not allow Marco to repeat the test.
Alan Beggin's time, in addition to second place in the overall standings, also earned him the title of Italian Champion in the Elite Category, ahead of Francesco Petrucci and Andrea Gamenara (Ancillotti Doganaccia).
Johannes also conquers the title of Under23 Italian Champion, trailing the pursuer Gianluca Vernassa (Devinci Global Racing) by almost 10 seconds and the third classified Francesco Colombo (Team Airoh-Axo-SantaCruz) by almost 18 seconds. The Italian Junior Champion is Loris Revelli (Argentina Bike), with a time that earned him the sixth position in the overall standings. Among the young students, the Italian Champion is Federico Monzoni (Smile Bike), who is only 24 hundredths of a second behind Andrea Bianciotto (Sestriere Bike Club), both with an absolute top ten time, despite his young age. The winner in the Beginners category is Giacomo Masiero (3 Stars).
In the Women's Open it is the domain of Alia Marcellini (Lee Cougan Dirty Factory), who confirms herself as the Italian Champion for the fourth time. The very young Lelia Tasso (Bikers Petosino) wins the title in the Youth Female category, while in the Amatori Women Sara Mologni (Team Scout NukeProof) wears the tricolor jersey.
The final heats of the Men's Amateurs categories were hard fought, proving particularly exciting for the audience. The winner of the overall classification, as well as the Italian Champion of the Master 1 category, is Manuel Dal Pozzo (Team Scout NukeProof). In the Elite Sport category the best time is for Enrico Fucci (Tartana Bike), while in the Master 2 category Paolo Alleva (Team Scout NukeProof) is confirmed as Italian Champion. The long line of Italian titles won by the Scout NukeProof team continues in the Master 3 category with Oscar Colombo and in the Master 5 with Gian Paolo Mazzoni, while the title of Italian Master 4 Champion goes to Danilo Piergiovanni (Bike Center Cimone) and the title of Master 6 to Giovanni Bresciano (Team Il Ciclista OffRoad).
A big greeting from all the Italian DH movement goes to Lorenzo Suding, outgoing Italian Champion, who, due to a bad road accident, was unable to participate in the Italian Championships in Champoluc to defend the title. The other favorite, Simone Medici, was also unable to take part in the race due to the injury he suffered in Val di Sole, which will keep him away from competitions for some time. We are waiting for you guys, see you soon!
Final Categories Ranking - Italian DH Championship 2014 - Champoluc
The next inevitable appointment with the national DH is July 26-27 in Fai della Paganella (TN) for the fourth round of the Gravitalia National Circuit.
