On the occasion of its 23rd edition, the Marlene Südtirol Sunshine Race is renewed and presents a welcome innovation: from this year the Short Track test is added to the race program, for the only weekend of the UCI Junior Series season in Italian territory which will be classified as Hors Categories.
Source: press release
MTB XCC: this is the 2024 novelty for the beloved South Tyrolean race in Nalles, which will open the dance on Friday 5 April with the “latest arrival” among the competitions that count in the MTB panorama. Short Track is in fact a branch of fat wheels that has been included in the programs of the World Cup races only since 2018 and the World Championships only since 2021. However, a few years have been enough for this discipline to make an impact in the hearts of bikers and enthusiasts, and now MTB XCC is ready to make its debut also among the rose gardens, apple orchards and vineyards of Nalles. At the “Sunshine” the XCC trials for the female and male elite categories are scheduled, with the start of the female athletes' race scheduled for 17.30:18.00 pm and that of the male athletes for XNUMX:XNUMX pm. “Only” half an hour between one and the other because the Short Track is “short” in name and in fact: about twenty minutes is enough to make the bikers go wild on tracks that usually do not go beyond a kilometer and a half. Pure adrenaline in short, and the need for the cyclists to have an excellent starting point in addition to the ability to work outside the threshold.
Saturday and Sunday (April 6 and 7) will continue with the Olympic Cross Country trials involving the female and male categories of Elite, Under23 and Junior and the youth categories of 1st and 2nd year Students and Beginners. It is important to remember that the Sunshine Race is part of the Italia Bike Cup and UCI Junior Series circuits as well as being a valid trial for the Italian Youth Club Championship.
This edition of the Marlene Südtirol Sunshine Race will also be special because the South Tyrolean race will be the only Italian one to have the "HC" classification, an acronym that symbolizes the "Hors Categories" qualification. With this acronym the UCI, the International Cycling Union, recognizes the highest level of events outside the World Cup and for a successful race like the Sunshine it will be yet another source of pride.
As we know, all the great MTB champions pass through Nalles: it is on this track that the protagonists of the fat wheels of tomorrow grow, so who knows whether whoever we will see excel this year will then take the place of the various Samuel Gaze, Pauline Ferrand Prevot, Thomas Pidcock, Samara Maxwell, Charlie Aldridge, Isabella Holmgren and Albert Philipsen, in short... nothing less than the current world champions!
The curiosity to find out who will prevail in Nals grows more and more and the 23rd will undoubtedly be an edition to remember. The "Sunshine Racers" organizing committee is at work and, under the guidance of president Florian Pallweber, ensures as always an event with attention to detail.
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