Doppio podio azzurro nell'Xterra di Toscolano Maderno con Eleonora Peroncini (CUS Parma)e Filippo Rinaldi (CUS Parma)che centrano il gradino più basso del podio. Nella gara femminile Eleonora Peroncini chiude terza alle spalle della vincitrice Morgane Riou (FRA) e di Helena Karaskova Erbenova (CZE), nella gara maschile Rinaldi vede salire sui due gradini del podio più alti i due francesi Arthur Forissier e Arthur Serrieres.
Le gare junior sono state vinte da Marta Menditto (SAI Frecce Bianche) su Lyson Dumont (FRA) e Nicole Rao nella gara femminile e da Francesco Podda (Fuel Triathlon) su Lorenzo Spagnolo (T41) e Manuel Streiter (Ksv Triathlon+).
TRIONFO DEI FRANCESI FORISSIER E RIOU. Un finale spettacolare a Toscolano Maderno, Arthur Forissier è il nuovo padrone di XTERRA Italy Lake Garda.
L’atleta francese ha conquistato la prova di Toscolano Maderno del circuito mondiale cross triathlon, chiudendo con un tempo di 2:41’23’’ il percorso Full (1.500 km Nuoto – 31 km Bike – 11 km Trail Run) con oltre due minuti di vantaggio sul connazionale Arthur Serrieres.
Il finale spettacolare di una splendida giornata di sport, con 600 triathleti provenienti da tutta Europa e dalla Nuova Zelanda protagonisti dello show sul lago di Garda.
Al vertice della gara si è verificato un autentico passaggio di testimone: Serrieres aveva infatti trionfato sul lago di Garda nell’edizione 2018 di XTERRA e ora lascia spazio a Forissier. Terzo posto per il parmense Filippo Rinaldi.
Decisiva per il trionfo di Forissier la durissima frazione centrale in Mtb sugli spettacolari saliscendi della Valle della Cartiere: proprio qui il triathleta transalpino ha fatto la differenza, dopo che l’italiano Bozzato era uscito al comando dalla frazione di nuoto.
Anche tra le donne si è imposta una francese, Morgane Riou, grazie ad una splendida rimonta nella terza e ultima frazione podistica sulla ceka Helena Karaskova Herbenova, che aveva trionfato a XTERRA Italy Lake Garda nell’edizione passato. Terza l’italiana Eleonora Peroncini.
Prima di XTERRA Full è andata in scena anche la prova su distanze Sprint (750 m Nuoto – 12 km Bike – 4,8 km Trail Run), vinta in ambito maschile da Francesco Podda e in ambito femminile da Marta Menditto.
CLASSIFICA FINALE XTERRA FULL (377 STARTERS)
TOP 10 MEN
1. Arthur Forissier - FRA (2:41’23’’)
2. Arthur Serrieres - FRA (2:43’38’’)
3. Filippo Rinaldi - ITA (2:46’06’’)
4. Rui Dolores - POR (2:46’30’’)
5. Filippo Barazzuol – ITA (2:48’19’’)
6. Xavier Dafflon – SUI (2:48’43’’)
7. Riccardo Ridolfi – ITA (2:49’01’’)
8. Francesco Figini – ITA (2:49’33’’)
9. Lorenzo Ciuti – ITA (2:50’21’’)
10. Geert Lauryssen – BEL (2:50’38’’)
TOP 10 WOMEN
1. Morgane Riou – FRA (3:10’03’’)
2. Helena Karaskova Erbenova – CZE (3:11’06’’)
3. Eleonora Peroncini – ITA (3:15’07’’)
4. Sandra Maihrofer – ITA (3:17’09’’)
5. Paties Alizée – FRA (3:21’19’’)
6. Sabrina Harapinter – GER (3:27’15’’)
7. Anna Tomica – POL (3:29’30’’)
8. Jindriska Zemanova – CZE (3:29’32’’)
9. Ségolène Leberon – FRA (3:30’21’’)
10. Camille Defer – FRA (3:31’21’’)
CLASSIFICA FINALE XTERRA SPRINT (192 STARTERS)
TOP 10 MEN
1. Francesco Podda ITA – Fuel Triathlon (1:09’08’’)
2. Lorenzo Spagnolo ITA - T41 (1:11’09’’)
3. Manuel Streiter ITA – Ksv Triathlon+ (1:12’36’’)
4. Stefano Davite ITA – Sai Frecce Bianche (1:13’04’’)
5. Alessio Selleri ITA – Asd Nest (1:13’06’’)
6. Matteo Violi ITA – Granbike Triathlon (1:13’22’’)
7. Carlo Gattavecchia ITA – Pool Cantù 1999 (1:14’19’’)
8. Ruslan Farci ITA – Villacidro Triathlon (1:14’46’’)
9. Gianfranco Cucco ITA – Sai Frecce Bianche (1:15’18’’)
10. Samuele Bernò ITA – Sport Management (1:16’21’’)
TOP 10 WOMEN
1. Marta Menditto ITA – Sai Frecce Bianche (1:21’36’’)
2. Lyson Dumont FRA (1:31’02’’)
3. Nicole Rao ITA – Sport Management (1:34’22’’)
4. Martina Stanchi ITA – Sai Frecce Bianche (1:36’26’’)
5. Emma Festa ITA – Gp Triathlon (1:42’47’’)
6. Natalie Karl GER (1:45’12’’)
7. Alzbeta Stunova CZE (1:45’54’’)
8. Francesca Zenti ITA - 707 (1:48’02’’)
9. Danielle Bergs NZL (1:48’03’’)
10. Roberta Scarso ITA – Padova Triathlon (1:49’19’’)
(fonte comunicato società organizzatrice)
Forissier, Riou win XTERRA Italy-Lake Garda
French athletes Arthur Forissier and Morgane Riou captured the XTERRA Italy-Lake Garda off-road triathlon elite titles with winning times of 2:41:22 and 3:10:02, respectively, on Sunday, May 26, 2019, in Toscolano-Maderno.
For Forissier, it's his first XTERRA win this season but his second big victory after winning the 2019 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championship last month. For Riou, it was her first victory of the season following a fourth-place at XTERRA New Zealand and a sixth-place at the XTERRA Asia-Pacific Championship.
In the men’s race, Italian Matteo Bozzato was first out of the water together with Mathurin Boutte and Floriano Nicollardi. Thirty-seconds behind were fast swimmers Doug Hall and Tiago Maia, and another 30-seconds behind were the favorites; Forissier and last years Garda Champ, Arthur Serrieres.
The first loop of the bike found Forissier and Boutte together in the lead with Italians Filippo Rinaldi and Bozzato working together just 15-seconds behind the leaders. Last week's XTERRA Malta Champion Rui Dolores was in fifth place proving that this year he has made big improvements.
After a crash by Rinaldi, Forissier made his move on the second loop and entered transition in first place with 60-seconds to Rinaldi. Bozzato was in third place but Serrieres was coming strong from behind in fourth and Dolores in fifth.
Forissier was on fire from the start of the run and opened the gap to three-minutes over Serrieres, who moved into second place by the end of the first run split. Rinaldi held strong in third place just 30-seconds behind him and Dolores moved to fourth after overtaking a cramping Bozzato.
Nothing changed during the second half of the run and Forissier crossed the finish line first, with last year’s winner Serrieres in second, and Rinaldi the top Italian and third overall.
"I had a good swim even if the start was a bit tricky to understand where I was and with who," said Forissier. "Once on the bike I very quickly took the lead with Rinaldi and Bozzato and stayed as relaxed as possible. I felt great and was never going all out. On the middle of the second loop, Rinaldi made a mistake on a technical downhill, I took the lead and never looked back. Starting the run in the front I felt great, I always tried to focus on my own sensations and not worry about the others. Of course, it’s always easy when you are leading. I’m happy to show I can win in a completely different race to the ITU World Champs. The next race for me is Switzerland where I will try to win again".
Dolores had another great day among a strong field of athletes and finished fourth. Filippo Barazzuol was the second Italian of the day to complete the top five. A great performance of note from Xavier Dafflon from Switzerland, who started the run in 12th place but managed to finish sixth.
"I started the bike in a good position to quickly move to the front of the race," said Rinaldi. "I rode the first lap with Forissier before I had a small crash which meant I lost some time and started the run in second place. As soon as I started running, I felt really really tired and my legs were done! I had to walk the really steep uphill and struggled with cramps, so I’m happy to finish third. I know I can still improve so it gives me good confidence going into the rest of the season. I’m now looking forward to racing Belgium in two weeks."
Top 15 Elite Men's Results
Pl - Name, NAT - Time - Points
1 Arthur Forissier, FRA - 2:41:23 - 75
2 Arthur Serrieres , FRA - 2:43:38 - 67
3 Filippo Rinaldi, ITA - 2:46:06 - 61
4 Rui Dolores, POR - 2:46:30 - 56
5 Filippo Barazzuol, ITA - 2:48:19 - 51
6 Xavier Dafflon, SUI - 2:48:43 - 47
7 Riccardo Ridolfi, ITA - 2:49:01 - 43
8 Francesco Figini, ITA - 2:49:33 - 39
9 Lorenzo Ciuti, ITA - 2:50:21 - 36
10 Geert Lauryssen, BEL - 2:50:38 - 33
11 Karel Dusek, CZE - 2:50:47 - 30
12 Samuel Jud, CHE - 2:51:45 - 27
13 Matteo Bozzato, ITA - 2:54:01 - 25
14 Aleix Sierra Oliver, ESP - 2:54:33 - 23
15 Doug Hall, GBR - 2:55:40 - 21
Full Results / Photos
In the women’s race, super-fast swimmer Nicole Walters was first out of the water with a three-minute lead over Sabrina Harpaintner. Another twenty seconds later, the 2019 ITU Cross Tri World Champion Eleonora Peroncini, together with fellow Italian athlete Sandra Maihrofer, exited ahead of Anna Tomica from Poland.
After the first half of the bike Peroncini had taken the lead from Walters and had a one-minute gap over Helena Karaskova. Riou was working together with Karaskova to close the gap.
"The race was quite long for me today, I’m not yet used to such long and hard races," said Peroncini. "It was very difficult and quite technical. I’m more used to ITU Cross races and sprint races. But I really want to work on it and be able to fight on longer races like this. But I’m happy with my performance today, Helena and Morgane were stronger than me and to be on the podium at home in Italy, is very nice. Next week I will be in Portugal to keep improving and get more experience in XTERRA racing. I will be also be in Czech for the XTERRA European Championship"
Karaskova pushed on the second loop and took the lead reaching transition with a small gap to Riou and Peroncini just behind in third. Maihrofer was in fourth place three-minutes back, and Alizee Paties was in fifth.
Riou made her move and took the lead at half way through the run on the steepest section of the course. Karaskova was not done and would re-take the lead on a technical downhill. Peroncini was not able to keep pace with the front duo and was already two minutes and 30-seconds behind them.
In the end, Riou broke away from Karaskova and opened up a 60-second gap at the end to finish first. Karaskova came in second and Peroncini third, four minutes later. Fourth place went to Maihrofer and fifth to Paties.
"I’m so happy and surprised too! I never thought I could win today in front of Helena or Eleonora. I broke my collarbone this winter and it took a long time to recover," said Riou. "Today I had an okay swim, I was fifth out of the water, but quickly moved into third on the bike. Once Helena passed me on first loop I was able to stay with her which was a good sign. I suffered a little bit on the second bike lap, but I only lost 60-seconds to Helena and passed Eleonora, so my motivation stayed high. Starting the run, I felt quite good, as I hadn’t done any hard training sessions yet, so when I saw Helena just in front of me my heart rate went higher, thinking I could win! I tried to relax and stay focused thinking that second place was already very good! That helped me to pass her on the hard uphill. But she re-overtook me on the technical downhill, she was flying! Thankfully I was not too far away and was able pass in the last uphill and stay in front. This is by far my best victory, with such an amazing race organization and to finish in front of a legend of XTERRA!”
Elite Women's Results
Pl - Name, NAT - Time - Points
1 Morgane Riou, FRA - 3:10:03 - 75
2 Helena Karaskova, CZE - 3:11:06 - 67
3 Eleonora Peroncini, ITA - 3:15:07 - 61
4 Sandra Mairhofer, ITA - 3:17:09 - 56
5 Alizee Paties, FRA - 3:21:19 - 51
6 Sabrina Harpaintner, DEU - 3:27:15 - 47
7 Anna Tomica, POL - 3:29:30 - 43
8 Camille Defer, FRA - 3:31:21 - 39
9 Nicole Walters, GBR - 3:42:31 - 36
All-Time XTERRA Italy-Lake Garda Elite Champions
Year Men / Women
2018 Arthur Serrieres / Helena Karaskova
2019 Arthur Forissier / Morgane Riou
MAIELLO, ZEMANOVA WIN AMATEUR RACES
For the men In the early age group wave, Jonas Held led almost the entire race, with Jacques Martinez in second for a while before Mathieux Desserprit would overtake Martinez to enter T2 in second behind Held. On the run, Martinez ran through everyone, passing Desserpri first and then Held just 500-meters before the finish line. However, all these athletes would be beaten by Giovanni Maiello. Starting in the last wave the 50-year-old ex-professional cyclist lost time on the swim but rode 60-seconds faster than any other age grouper. He then ran four minutes faster than Martinez to record the best total race time.
For the women a very quick bike leg from Segolene Leberon put her in front, however, Jindriska Zemanova, a strong Czech athlete, overtook her on the run to win the overall amateur race. Zemanova was the fastest female at XTERRA Worlds last year, and shows the effort by Leberon was notable. The third overall amateur was Martina Donner, winning the 40-44 category at the same time.
XTERRA Italy – Lake Garda was the fourth of 14 races on the 2019 XTERRA European Tour, offering up $7,500 USD and 75-point scale scoring towards elite and amateur Tour standings, plus 26 qualifying spots for age groupers vying to race at XTERRA Worlds. Elites count their best eight scores to determine Tour champs.
Find complete details at xterraplanet.com.
(Comunicato XTERRA Family)