Juri Ragnoli wins the HERO South Tyrol Dolomites - VIDEO

The 8th edition of the HERO South Tyrol Dolomites ended today with an Italian double victory, which this year was also the dress rehearsal for the World Championships taking place in Singen in a week. It is the first victory in Wolkenstein for both Juri Ragnoli and Elena Gaddoni. “A victory at HERO is the crowning achievement of a career,” said a visibly emotional Gaddoni. Ragnoli also had to fight back tears at the finish: “After a race like that, strong feelings come up, it’s like a dream.”

This morning, Ragnoli revealed what he had planned to do on the 86-kilometer route with 4500 meters of altitude. On the first climb to Dantercepies, the 29-year-old and Belgian veteran Roel Paulissen were able to break away from the field, and after the second climb to the Campolongo pass, both had a lead of almost three minutes. “I noticed straight away that I have good legs,” explained Ragnoli after the race. “And I managed my energies very well.

“On the section between Campolongo Pass and Pordoijoch, where the hardest climb up to Sourasass has to be overcome, Paulissen had to pull away and let the furiously attacking HERO record winner Paez pass. The Colombian, four-time winner in Wolkenstein, got off to a very bad start today. “I wasn't feeling well before the start, I had to throw up and got lost,” said Paez. Because of this poor starting position, he was extremely satisfied with second place in his favorite race. While Ragnoli circled alone at the top, last year's winner Paez was able to keep third-placed Daniele Mensi at bay.

While for men the 86-kilometer ultimate distance is counted for the UCI Marathon World Cup, for women it is the “short” version over 60 kilometers and 3200 meters in altitude. Nobody had this under control today like Elena Gaddoni, who was able to win the race in the first few kilometers. On Dantercepies, Gaddoni - accompanied there by Maria Cristina Nisi - had already left the field behind her, on the Pordoi Pass she was already five minutes ahead. At the finish, there were four minutes behind the second-placed Austrian Christine Kollmann and almost eight minutes behind her compatriot Carmen Buchacher in third place.

In the men's short distance, Klaus Fontana from Olanger won just ahead of Marco Rebagliati and Efrem Bonelli. Franz Hofer from Sarner took 5th place.

Results HERO South Tyrol Dolomites 2017 86km men 1. Juri Ragnoli (Italy) 4:29.30 hours 2. Leonardo Paez (Colombia) 4:36.23 3. Daniele Mensi (Italy) 4:41.00 4. Uwe Hochenwarter (Austria) 4:42.20 5. Tony Longo (Italy) 4:42.48 6. Markus Kaufmann (Germany)4:43.59 7. Christian Cominelli (Italy)4:46.01 8. Urs Huber (Switzerland) 4:51.34 9. Luca Ronchi (Italy) 4:52.10 10. Cristiano Salerno (Italy) 4:53.20 60km women 1. Elena Gaddoni (Italy) 4:03.21 hours 2. Christina Kollmann (Austria) 4:07.24 3. Carmen Buchacher (Austria) 4:11.29 4. Maria Nisi (Italy) 4:14.00 5. Costanza Fasolis (Italy)4:14.19 60km men 1. Klaus Fontana (Italy/Olang) 3:28.11 hours 2. Marco Rebagliati (Italy) 3:28.18 3. Efrem Bonelli (Italy) 3:29.02 4. Dmitrii Medvedev (Russia) 3:33.05 5. Franz Hofer (Italy/Sarntal) 3:41.31 Here the complete results.

The highlights from HERO 2017:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/K8swj23IR68

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Juri Ragnoli wins the HERO South Tyrol Dolomites - VIDEO

The mountain biker from Brescia dominated the eighth edition of the HERO Südtirol Dolomites with a start-to-finish victory. The Italian Elena Gaddoni, however, was chosen as the new HERO Queen.

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