Competing with the Martello sun: the top three of the relay race.

Italian celebrations at the Marmotta Trophy in Martell

The Ski Mountaineering World Cup in Martell continued on Saturday with the Mixed Relay. World-class sporting performances were offered in wonderful winter conditions.

24. February 2024

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In a thrilling finale, the Azzurri Alba De Silvestro and Michele Boscacci prevailed in bright sunshine on the circuit in the Grogg biathlon center, which was perfectly visible to the public. Johanna Hiemer/Paul Verbnjak (Austria) and the French Axelle Gachet Mollaret/Xavier Gachet completed the podium.

Alba De Silvestro and Michele Boscacci were already among the top favorites to win the day in Martell before the starting signal for the A-final of the mixed relay. The Italian duo, who are also privately married, had already triumphed at the Spanish stage in Boi Taull and wanted to get back to winning ways after a disappointing 9th place in the B final at the World Cup in Villars, Switzerland. A plan that the two Azzurri implemented meticulously under ideal conditions and essentially celebrated a start-to-finish victory.

Starting runner Alba De Silvestro passed the Austrian Johanna Hiemer on the first loop in the second descent and handed over the lead to her husband Michele Boscacci. He defended the top position on his first lap from the attacks of Paul Verbnjak and Xavier Gachet and sent De Silvestro first on their second lap. The 28-year-old, who comes from the province of Belluno but now lives with her husband in the province of Sondrio, extended her lead over Hiemer and the remaining competitors and sent Boscacci off with a secure cushion. It was the 34-year-old who crossed the finish line first after 38.17,46:XNUMX minutes and secured victory in the home World Cup.

Johanna Hiemer and Paul Verbnjak from Austria took second place, 22,62 seconds behind. Hiemer took third place in the individual competition on Thursday and celebrated her first World Cup podium. Third place went to Axelle Gachet Mollaret/Xavier Gachet, 34,43 seconds behind. The two Frenchmen, who are also married, won the two individual competitions on Thursday. In fourth place were Tatjana Paller/Finn Hösch from Germany, who lost 1.15,22:XNUMX minutes to De Silvestro/Boscacci, while the Spanish duo Marta Garcia Farres/Inigo Martinez De Albornoz Marques took fifth place.

Snow makes the organizers sweat

There were also numerous compliments from officials on Saturday for the organizing committee. The Martellers cleared the stadium and track of the heavy amounts of fresh snow in record time. On Friday, between 40 and 50 centimeters of the white splendor fell from the sky. “The interaction between OK, the Martell Alpine Club South Tyrol Section, the various mountain rescue services, as well as the Martell amateur sports club and the many other organizations worked perfectly. The reward was that we were able to watch an exciting competition today in bright sunshine in a deep wintry landscape,” said race director Egon Eberhöfer enthusiastically.

The Würht Modyf ISMF World Cup in ski mountaineering in Martell ends on Sunday with the sprint competitions. The women's qualification begins at 9.40:10.03 a.m., the men's qualification at XNUMX:XNUMX a.m.

That's what the winning duo of the mixed relay said

Alba De Silvestro: “We are of course very happy that we managed to win because it is always difficult to win. After our success in Boi Taull, we knew that we could be at the forefront. But the competition is so strong that you can end up outside the podium or the top 5. That’s why we’re very happy about this great result here in Martell.”

Michele Boscacci: “The standard of today’s race was really very high. All teams want to win. We played our cards very well and achieved great success in the end. After a win like ours in Boi Taull, it's difficult to be confirmed. But we managed to do that today (Saturday, editor's note) and we hope that a few more will come along, of course.”

Result World Cup Ski Mountaineering, Mixed Relay:

1. Alba De Silvestro/Michele Boscacci ITA 38.17,46
2. Johanna Hiemer/Paul Verbnjak AUT 38.40,08
3. Axelle Gachet Mollaret/Xavier Gachet FRA 38.51,89
4. Tatjana Paller/Finn Hösch GER 39.32,68
5. Marta Garcia Farres/ Inigo Martinez De Albornoz Marques 39.44,30