Nals will once again become an MTB mecca: “Marlene Sunshine Race” on April 14th

“The Marlene Sunshine Race is once again one of the best-attended mountain bike races in Italy,” explains organizing committee boss Florian Pallweber. The star in Nals is above all defending champion Marco Aurelio Fontana, who won bronze at the Olympic Games in London. The fiercest opponents of the reigning Italian champion include the two-time winner of the “Marlene Sunshine Race” Ivan Alvarez Gutierrez from Spain and the young South Tyrolean talent Gerhard Kerschbaumer.

In his season debut in Tregnano, the Verdinger finished in second place. “The first race is always important because it shows how good you are in shape. Second place fits,” said Kerschbaumer, “In the winter I mainly kept fit by ski touring. For the first time, I completely stored the bike in the basement and went to the gym instead. We then carried out some of the preparations in Gran Canaria and Tuscany.” Things have never gone so well for the Eisacktaler in Nalles. “Nals is actually a race that should suit me. But so far things have never gone as planned. I have problems with hay fever. But with the current weather, it might still be winter in three weeks. Then I could be lucky this year,” jokes Kerschbaumer.

Sabine Spitz there for the first time

For the women, the OK team is particularly pleased about Sabine Spitz's participation: “The confirmation from three-time Olympic medalist Sabine Spitz came as a very surprise to us. Since many races overlap, the top athletes usually have to start the races in their home countries. That’s why we’re even more pleased that the 42-year-old Germans are taking part,” said Pallweber.

Eva Lechnr from Eppan is also one of the favorites. The South Tyrolean Olympic participant has already won three times in Nals and was able to draw level with the Norwegian Olympic champion Gunn-Rita Dahle in the best list. This winter she competed in several cyclocross races, even winning some of them. Also expected are Elisabeth Osl from Austria (overall World Cup winner in 2010 and runner-up last year), Tanja Zakelj (winner in 2011) from Slovenia and her compatriot, Blaza Klemencic. Judith Pollinger and Julia Innerhofer are also registered.

The organizing committee can also come up with innovations this year: Together with the events in Bad Säckingen (Germany), Haiming (Austria) and Graz/Stategg (Austria), the international cross-country race is part of the UEC Mountain Bike European Cup for juniors and U23s. Driver. In addition, as in the past seven years, it is part of the “Internazionali d'Italia” racing series and, for the second time, is the only Italian station to be part of the Austrian mountain bike league.

The schedule

“The event starts on Saturday with the sprint race (17 p.m.). In this elimination race, four athletes are sent into the race at the same time, with only the fastest two making it to the next round. This mode is exciting but also dangerous,” Pallweber begins by introducing the program. This is followed by the official start number draw. On Sunday, school students, youth and juniors will compete in their competitions before the elite riders will start the race at 11.45:XNUMX a.m. The award ceremony takes place immediately after the race.

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Nals will once again become an MTB mecca: “Marlene Sunshine Race” on April 14th

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