Dolomiti Superbike: Porro and Mairhofer are the winners

More than 2200 enthusiastic participants from 39 different nations gathered in the center of Niederdorf early on Saturday morning to tackle the 29th edition of the South Tyrol Dolomiti Superbike. The weather gods were kind to them: there was no rain or thunderstorms, but it was slightly cloudy, which ensured ideal temperatures. The mood in the 3 Zinnen Dolomites region was therefore in keeping with the starting gun fired by the head of the organizing committee, Kurt Ploner, and it got even better when it was clear that two Azzurri would win the king's distances. The last time this happened was in 2007 at the 13th edition, when Klaus Fontana from Olang and Anna Ferrari triumphed on the then 119-kilometer marathon distance.

The marathon distance for the men's elite is now 123 kilometers long, and this year two bikers from Italy would have deserved to win. Samuele Porro and Fabian Rabensteiner from Villandro crossed the finish line hand in hand. In true gentlemanly style, Rabensteiner left the win to his teammate (Wilier Vittoria). With a time of 4:43.06,5 hours, Porro won the Dolomiti Superbike for the second time after 2018, while Rabensteiner came second for the second time in a row, just three tenths of a second behind. In the end, there was even a full green-white-red podium, as the Italian Gioiele De Cosmo completed the top three with a time of 3:4 hours.

This trio was in the top positions throughout the race, but it was only at the Plätzwiesen that they secured their triple Italian triumph. There they shook off Leonardo Paez, of all people. The Colombian has won the last three races and is also the record winner of the Südtirol Dolomiti Superbike with five victories. This time, however, Paez had to settle for fourth place (4:46.50,5 hours). The Greek Ilias Periklis, winner of the 20th race in 2014, came in fifth.

Mairhofer puts Niederdorf in a celebratory mood Almost an hour earlier, the finish area on the Von-Kurz-Platz in Niederdorf had become loud as Sandra Mairhofer cycled across the finish line with her arms outstretched. The 32-year-old comes from Taisten, just ten kilometers away, and is a well-known face in the Pustertal as the world's best cross and winter triathlete. She has already proven that she can also run marathons, including with several top-5 places at the Dolomiti Superbike - at the 29th edition, this should be enough for victory. The Taisten woman crossed the finish line after 3:51.33 hours on the 85-kilometer distance, leaving second-placed Mara Fumagalli more than 40 seconds behind (3:52.14 hours). The duo had a thrilling head-to-head race with several changes in the lead, but from the Plätzwiesen Mairhofer proved to have the stamina and was able to celebrate her first victory.

<a data-caption="Das Podest der Frauen hatte wahre Pusterer-Power: Sowohl die Siegerin Sandra Mairhofer (Mitte) als auch die Drittplatzierte Agnes Tschurtschenthaler (Zweite von rechts) kommen aus dem Pustertal." data-fancybox="inline-218001" target="_image" href="https://s3-images.sportnews.bz/_images/scale/1280x1280/img/2024/07/das-podest-der-frauen-hatte-wahre-pusterer-power-sowohl-die-siegerin-sandra-mairhofer-mitte-als-auch-die-drittplatzierte-agnes-tschurtschenthaler.jpg"> The women's podium had true Pustertal power: Both the winner Sandra Mairhofer (centre) and the third-placed Agnes Tschurtschenthaler (second from right) come from the Pustertal.

Another Pustertaler, Agnes Tschurtschenthaler (3:56.14 hours), was on the podium in third place: The top runner from Sexten confirmed her second place from the previous year. Just as Paez missed the podium in fourth place, so did last year's women's winner, Adelheid Morath. The European Marathon Champion from Germany had to settle for fourth place. Fifth place went to the Italian Maria Zarantonello.

All winners from Italy The Italian Nicolas Samparisi celebrated victory in the men's 85-kilometer race. He was constantly followed by the Russian Aleksei Medvedev, but was unable to catch him and was 25 seconds behind Samparisi at the finish. Third place went to the Italian Pierpaolo Ficara. Klaus Fontana from Olang won the men's race and the Italian Chiara Ciuffini won the women's race on the shortest distance of the South Tyrol Dolomiti Superbike.

29th Dolomiti Superbike, the results Elite men (123 km) 1. Samuele Porro ITA/Team Wilier Vittoria 4:43.06 2. Fabian Rabeinsteiner ITA/Team Wilier Vittoria 4:43.06 3. Gioiele De Cosmo ITA/Scott Racing Team 4:43.42 4. Hector Leonardo Paez Leon COL/Soudal Leecougan International Team 4:46.50 5. Periklis Ilias GRE/Tabros Racing Team 4:49.49

Elite women (85 km) 1. Sandra Mairhofer ITA/Soudal Leecougan International Team 3:51.33 2. Mara Fumagalli ITA/KTM Alchemist Powered Brenta Brakes 3:52.14 3. Agnes Tschurtschenthaler ITA/RH Racing Kronplatzking 3:56.43 4. Adelheid Morath GER/Soudal Leecougan International Team 4:01.28 5. Maria Zaranotello ITA/Metallurgica Veneta MTB Pro Team 4:05.07

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Dolomiti Superbike: Porro and Mairhofer are the winners

The 29th Südtirol Dolomiti Superbike is history. And it will go down in history too: for the first time in what feels like an eternity, an Azzurro and an Azzurra stood at the top of the podium in both the men's and women's elite races.

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