Wilier Force double at the 16th edition of the Vittoria Etna Marathon. The Bergamo-born Johnny Cattaneo in fact precedes his teammate Marco Rebagliati, who at the end of the race off the Bagherese Giuseppe Di Salvo. A sunny morning welcomes the over 800 participants of the Marathon, Gran Fondo, Hiking and E-bike routes. Eyes naturally focused on the Marathon, which as always presents the best of the mtb circuit on the grid.
The Elite start immediately and at the entrance of Magazzeni a leading group is formed with Mirko Tabacchi, Di Salvo, Cattaneo and Rebagliati. At Km 12 Di Salvo and Rebagliati try to stretch, managing to create a gap of 30 ″ on Cattaneo and Mirko Tabacchi, behind them, at 1'10 ", Emanuele Spica (RACE MOUNTAIN), Emanuele Crisi (RDR) and Miguel Martinez, which at that moment is in the top 10 of the overall ranking. On the Black Desert, certainly among the most evocative passages of the route, Rebagliati tries to distance Di Salvo but his advantage does not go beyond 3 ″, while Tabacchi and Cattaneo lose ground, which are over 40 ″.
At km 28, the first Feedzone located in the Clan dei Ragazzi, the leading positions remain almost unchanged with Marco Rebagliati leading with a 40 "advantage over his teammate Jhonny Cattaneo, with Mirko Tabacchi taking advantage of a slip by Di Salvo for move to third position. The disadvantage of the Bagherese is about 2 minutes, but he still maintains a decent advantage over Spica and Emanuele Crisi. Among the women Naima Diesner leads with 38 ″ on the Maltese Aquilina. At Km 52, inside the Ragabo Pinewood the turnaround takes place: Cattaneo jumps in the lead with more than 40 "on his teammate Rebagliati, while Di Salvo recovers and moves to 1'30" from the momentary leader. Positions that will remain for the rest of the race, giving Wilier's first victory over Etna.
Johnny Cattaneo, who took away the satisfaction of winning the Etna Marathon at the height of his last season as an Elite, radiant for the victory: “I am happy for this victory. I was very keen to do well because as I announced at the end of this season I will end the competitive activity among the professionals. I started with determination, but Marco (Rebagliati) is in a moment of extraordinary form and immediately got ahead with Di Salvo, then in the last part of the race I managed to recover on the downhill sections and win the final victory. I am happy for myself but above all for the Team who managed to bring home an important result in a prestigious race like the Etna Marathon ”.
Miguel Martinez closes in 8th position, among women the victory goes to Maltese Marie Claire Aquilina of Team Greens, second Naima Diesner of Tuspo Weende, Erika Pinna of Team MTB Club Arkitano completes the podium.
MEN'S ETNA MARATHON RANKING
1 | CATTANEO Johnny | WILIER 7C FORCE | 03:46:25.06 |
2 | REBALS Marco | WILIER 7C FORCE | 03:51:10.28 |
3 | By Salvo Giuseppe | ASD GDS TEAM COMPETITION | 03:55:13.25 |
4 | Roberto crisis | RDR Italy Leynicese Racing Team | 03:58:40.98 |
5 | Linetti Simone | RDR Italy Leynicese Racing Team | 03:58:42.22 |
6 | Mirko tobaccos | RDR Italy Leynicese Racing Team | 03:58:42.23 |
7 | Matthew Piacentini | ASD TEAM BIKE PALOMBARA SABINA | 04:02:54.20 |
8 | Martinez Miguel | PRO TEAM SPORTS | 04:03:06.95 |
9 | Privitera Andrew | Special Bikers Elios Team | 04:03:25.45 |
10 | SPICA Emmanuel | TEAM RACE MOUNTAIN | 04:03:31.55 |
WOMEN'S ETNA MARATHON RANKING
1 | Aquiline Marie Claire | Team Greens | 05:20:31.15 |
2 | DIESNER Naima Madlein | TUSPO WEENDE | 05:24:28.63 |
3 | FIN Erika | ARKITANO MTB CLUB | 05:37:40.00 |
