Prediction open among women, with Fasolis, Mairhofer and defending champion Peretti in the front row
Rabensteiner.
Source: press release
The long approach has finally come to an end, and after a lot of work by the organizing team, made more onerous by the extreme weather phenomena of the last few weeks, Valsugana and GS Lagorai Bike are ready to meet the new Italian MTB Marathon Champions for the 2023 season .
The big day is tomorrow, Saturday 29 July, when the second edition of Valsugana Wild Ride will assign the new tricolor jerseys: the athletes of the Elite and Master categories are preparing to battle it out in a 70,3 km long race characterized by 3393 meters of overall difference in altitude that will wind through the municipalities of Telve (starting and finishing point), Telve di Sopra, Torcegno, Carzano and Borgo Valsugana. The departure will be given at 8:30, with the arrival of the first athletes on the maximum distance foreseen around 12:15.
For the GS Lagorai Bike, which before the Valsugana Wild Ride successfully carried on the long experience of the 3T Bike, it is a return to tricolor colors after the organization of the Tricolor Week on the road in 2012 (in cohabitation with the Veloce Club Borgo) and the Youth MTB Championships in 2013 (Team Relay) and 2014 (Absolute).
In addition to the tricolor test on the Marathon distance, the race on the "Classic" distance of 37,9 km and 1.280 meters in altitude will also take place tomorrow: in all, about 700 athletes are expected at the start, for a figure of presences in the area for the event exceeding 1100 units.
ELITE MEN: RABENSTEINER AGAINST EVERYONE
Fabian Rabensteiner (Wilier-Pirelli) is also the big favorite for the 2023 edition of the Italian Marathon Championship, thanks to the excellent results achieved in this first half of the year. The number one in the UCI ranking, who will have another great Italian Marathon specialist at his side, Samuele Porro, will have to beware of the assaults of Juri Ragnoli, Diego Rosa and Nicolas Samparisi, who, unlike the South Tyrolean biker, have already had the opportunity to view the tricolor course, the last two during the recent meeting of the Italian National Marathon in Telve.
ELITE WOMEN: FASOLIS CHALLENGES PERETTI, BUT WATCH OUT FOR MAIRHOFER
The 2022 champion Claudia Peretti against the more regular athlete of 2023, Costanza Fasolis, but not only: the forecast is really open in the women's event of Valsugana Wild Ride. After an unforgettable 2022, Claudia Peretti experienced a 2023 strongly conditioned by an injury, while Costanza Fasolis comes from the second place conquered in the Südtirol Dolomiti Superbike behind the German Morath. Behind them, attention to Sandra Mairhofer from South Tyrol, also in excellent condition and potentially favored by a route for climbers.
A DEMANDING CHALLENGE IN VIEW OF THE WORLD CUP
The path that awaits the pretenders to the Italian Marathon title is really challenging. After the start from Piazza Maggiore in Telve and a short walkway in the heart of the town, the athletes will climb towards the provincial road of Passo Manghen with gradients of 20%. From there on you will continue up to Malga Pozza, to then enter the woods that divide the Val Calamento with the Altopiano di Musiera. After 18 km, the Classic and Marathon routes will split, with the latter proceeding with a single track through high-altitude woods and tree-lined pastures, passing under the top of Monte Ciste.
After various technical passages at high altitude, the first real descent will begin towards Ponte del Cogno, between mule tracks and forest roads, before an 8 km climb up to Forcella Mendana, the highest point of the race with its 2.100 m asl, between mountain huts and streams at high altitudes.
From the highest point you will return to Malga Pozza with a 9 km descent on a dirt road, to then tackle the 7 km descent towards Telve, a descent introduced for the first time in the last edition. Here will arrive the novelty of the "Toboggan of Mexico", an excavated gully of about 900 meters with slopes up to 33% and a high rate of technicality. The difficulties will continue with the last ascent of Monte S. Pietro and the descent of the Auseri which will bring the runners to the finish line in Telve.
In the recent meeting with the Italian national team, the coach Mirko Celestino highlighted the demanding side of the tricolor course: excellent news, given that right after the Italian Championships the coach will make his choices for the category World Championship in Glasgow, scheduled next week, Sunday 6 August.
TRAFFIC PROVISIONS
During the Valsugana Wild Ride event on Saturday 29th July some temporary restrictions on vehicular traffic were placed. In particular:
The Telve belt will be closed for the whole day of July 29th;
The Passo Manghen provincial road (SP31) will be closed from 8:30 to 10:30 in the section between Telve and Calamento;
The SP 65 will be interrupted from 10:30 to 14:30 on the stretch corresponding to the bridge between the towns of Telve di Sopra and Torcegno.
For more information: www.valsuganawildride.it
