Gsiesertallauf: Bertolina snatches the victory away from Di Centa

“The bigger the hurdle, the greater the honor of overcoming it.” This saying comes from the French playwright Molière and is one of the favorite sayings of Mirco Bertolina, the winner of the skating marathon at the Gsiesertal Run. The Bertolina hurdle is named after the two-time Olympic champion Giorgio Di Centa (1:43.13). Bertolina (1:42.20) and his club colleague Paolo Fanton (1:43.18) really took Di Centa to task today.

Nevertheless, time still doesn't seem to have stood still for the 43-year-old Olympic champion Di Centa, nor does his love for cross-country skiing. Di Centa is 19 years older than Bertolina. The winner was so happy that he walked across the finish area in a handstand with his skis still on his feet. Bertolina will remember this day for a long time.

Valentina Shevchenko unbeatable

The result of the women's 42km skating race was very special. And not even so much because the victory went to five-time World Cup winner Valentina Shevchenko from Ukraine. Rather, Shevchenko won with exactly the same time as the Russian Natalia Zernova last year: 1:57.25. Jessica Müller followed in second place, 13 seconds behind. Müller had won the 30 km diagonal race the day before.

The skating races were hotly contested from the start. However, the race was slower than the day before because up to 10 centimeters of snow had fallen overnight. Around 1.000 cross-country skiers were able to enjoy a picturesque landscape. At the halfway point of the race, the favorites were still all close together before a group of five was able to break away on the climb to St. Magdalena. On the last climb, Paolo Fanton tried to break away from Di Centa, who had been leading until then. The skis were crucial in this phase, as Di Centa later confirmed at the finish. The service people from the forest guard did a great job. On the descent to the finish in St. Magdalena, Bertolina was able to clearly pull away from Di Centa. "This is a fantastic victory. Beating Di Centa is something very special. Of course I had good skis, but they don't run on their own. And who should emerge from the forest first if not us athletes from the forest guard," said the victorious Bertolina.

Di Centa has nevertheless proven that, even at the age of 43, he is still one of the strongest cross-country skiers in Italy. And the Olympic champion is still hungry for success: "I'm sorry I didn't win. Second place hurts more than being in the back of the pack. I was in the lead at the end of the climb, but the forest guard athletes had super-fast skis today ."

For Di Centa, the skis were the deciding factor today, but Bertolina's victory also reflected good fitness and the right strategy. Dietmar Nöckler reached the finish line in ninth place. The winner of the classic race was visibly marked by the exertion over a total of 84 km. Unlike his father. He reached the finish line in 12th place just 30 minutes after his World Cup-proven son - and that at the age of 61!

Rocarek and Roncari win 30 km race

On the short distance over 30 km, the Czech Jiri Rocarek (1:11.19) won ahead of Clemens Blaßnig (1:11.26) and the winner of yesterday's 30 km classic race, Miroslav Rypl (1:11.34). In the women's category there was an Italian triple victory. Debora Roncari from Verona (1:15.12) clearly came out ahead of Sara Pellegrini (1:17.03) and Erica Antoniol (1:19.22).

Latvia's Valdis Kokoriss crossed the finish line as the 60.000th "finisher" in the history of the event. He was received like a victor and toasted this “triumph” with OK President Walter Felderer. At the end of the race there was also a moving moment when Paul Oberhofer, who died in an accident on Friday, was remembered during a minute's silence. Oberhofer, a multiple participant in the Paralympics and the Gsiesertal Run, was the father of the biathlete Karin Oberhofer.

The results of the skating races at the Gsiesertallauf:

42km, men 1. Mirco Bertolina (ITA) 1:42,40,9 2. Giorgio Di Centa (ITA) 1:43,13,8 3. Paolo Fanton (ITA) 1:43,18,6

42km, women 1. Valentina Shevchenko (UKR) 1:54,25,5 2. Jessica Müller (GER) 1:57,38,9 3. Natalia Zernova (RUS) 2:02,44,7

32km, men 1. Jiri Rocarek (CZE) 1:11,19,2 2. Clemens Blaßnig (AUT) 1:11,26,8 3. Miroslav Rypl (CZE) 1:11,34,3

32km, women 1. Debora Roncari (ITA) 1:15,12,5 2. Sara Pellegrini (ITA) 1:17,03,2 3. Erica Antoniol (ITA) 1:19,22,5

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Gsiesertallauf: Bertolina snatches the victory away from Di Centa

Mirco Bertolina and Valentina Shevchenko won the skating competitions at the end of the 33rd edition of the cross-country skiing in the Gsiesertal.

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