Kerschbaumer returns to Italy's throne

Before the race in Gsiesertal the motto was: Everyone against Luca Braidot. The 31-year-old had recently shown outstanding form when he won two World Cup victories in a row in Lenzerheide (Switzerland) and Vallnord (Andorra). However, Kerschbaumer suffered a setback in Andorra - after showing a strong ninth place in Lenzerheide - and only finished 18th. The roles were clearly distributed.

In the race, a leading group consisting of Luca Braidot, Daniele Braidot, Juri Zanotti and Kerschbaumer quickly formed. Two laps before the end, the heavy favorite picked up the pace, but the Verdinger remained close on his heels. Even more: After Kerschbaumer had destroyed Braidot's attack, he put his competition under pressure - and distanced them on the last lap. Nobody could follow the pace of the 31-year-old, who celebrated his fourth Italian championship title. Behind him, Zanotti took second place, eight seconds behind, while Braidot had to settle for third place (+ 51 seconds). The juniors are convincing Meanwhile, South Tyrol's mountain bike riders had big plans in the elite category - especially Greta Seiwald from Casies, for whom it was a real home race. Ultimately, however, the local athletes experienced disappointment.

Eva Lechner won the Italian championship title in Bielmonte last year and wanted to defend it on Saturday. However, the favorite was someone else: Martina Berta, who had always finished in the top 10 at the World Cup in Lenzerheide and Vallnord. Seiwald, who is rated somewhat higher in short track, wanted to prove that she is also good for a top placement in cross-country.

However, the two South Tyroleans were unable to put their good intentions into practice. Seiwald was forced to retire after the second lap, while Lechner opened up a gap of almost eight minutes but still finished fourth. At the front, 24-year-old Berta confidently took the title in a time of 1:14.37 hours. Chiara Teocchi was happy with second place (+ 5.31 minutes), Giorgia Marchet completed the podium (+ 6.52).

Sophie Auer, however, had reason to be happy with the juniors. The 18-year-old even led the race at one point, but ultimately came in a strong third. She only had to admit defeat to Valentina Corvi and Lucrezia Braida. Alexandra Hanni was happy with fifth place as the second best South Tyrolean. Noemi Plankensteiner also showed an excellent race in the U23 category. Like Auer, she took third place. Giada Specia was crowned the new Italian champion, Sara Cortinovis came second. Julia Graf also came out of the affair well with seventh place.

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Kerschbaumer returns to Italy's throne

Gerhard Kerschbaumer sensationally defeated the big favorite Luca Braidot in Casies on Saturday and won the fourth Italian championship title of his career.

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