Swiss supremacy in the Vertical race in Andorra (Pyrenees): double victory for Werner Marti and Victoria Kreuzer.
Among Juniors the Swiss Aurélien Gay and the Russian Ekaterina Osichkina won the race.
The 2019 ISMF World Cup has reached the fourth act. Just long enough to recover the energy after the hard-fought Individual race of yesterday and the worldwide élite of skimo has returned to wear the bib for a new competition.
The people of the “skins” in Andorra has moved from the location of Arcalís to the ski area Arinsal for one of the most beautiful and followed Vertical race of the 2018/2019 season. By now the kermesse of Ordino entered the Andorran social fabric and this year has attracted hundreds of fans who, with their enthusiasm, have incited the competitors from the first to the last metre.
The usual track proposed by Carlo Ferrari’s staff envisaged a difference in height of 730 metres for the athletes of the Senior category and for the Junior Men. The Junior Women, on the other hand, faced a shorter route with 465 metres of difference in altitude. After the Open race with many local ski mountaineers, the spotlights were turned on the big names of this sport coming from 14 different countries.
Ready, set, go and the rhythms have been very high from the beginning. Michele Boscacci (ITA) and Robert Antonioli (ITA) tried to force the pace with Werner Marti (SUI) and Rémi Bonnet (SUI) immediately on his heels. About half way Werner Marti stopped the delay and with arrogance took the first position. Behind him the two Italians outdistanced, while the winner’s compatriot Rémi Bonnet tried to get back on the teammate. When the two athletes saw in the distance the arrival arches were by now shoulder to shoulder and sometimes they turned to check the advance of Robert Antonioli. Despite the incessant gusts of wind, Werner Marti (SUI) jerked forward in the last 100 metres, leaving the teammate Rémi Bonnet on the spot and crossing the finish line with a time of 27’39”. At the end the Swiss Rémi Bonnet confirmed the second position with only 4 seconds of delay. Instead the Italian Robert Antonioli arrived third with a time of 28’07”.
Concerning the Senior Women, the predictions of the eve were widely respected with the winner Victoria Kreuzer (SUI) who asserted her skills as a “verticalist” and her athleticism. She got some important points for the final success of the specialty with a time of 34’24”. The second place has been for the Spanish Claudia Galicia Cotrina, while the Italian Alba De Silvestro closed in third position.
Lastly, as regards the Junior category, Aurélien Gay (SUI) and Ekaterina Osichkina (RUS) reached the top step of the podium. Among Juniors, the Italian Sebastien Guichardaz and the Swiss Patrick Perreten took respectively the second and the third position. In the Junior Women’s ranking the second place has been for Samantha Bertolina (ITA) and the third for Malaurie Mattana (FRA).
Among Espoirs, the Italian Giulia Murada and the Belgian Maximilien Drion Du Chapois were the winners.
The Andorran leg ended, but the ISMF World Cup circuit does not stop here. The next event is scheduled for the next weekend on the snows of Le Dévoluy (France) where the skimo athletes will have to face two races: Individual and Sprint race.
See also Andorra ski
See also Andorra travel guide
