In the women's race it was time for the grand return of local champion Elisa Desco after the injury she sustained in March 2016. The 2014 Skyrunning Series champion immediately showed her dominance as she led from the front across the narrow ridges, steep slopes, deep valleys and rugged gullies that made up the course, finishing in front of a home crowd in 4.48.53. The Basque country athlete Ibarbia Aitziber finished in second in 5.04.57, nudging ahead of America's Megan Kimmel (5.05.39). Fourth place went to Sheila Castano Aviles, while fifth was claimed by Marta Molist Codina.
With the series rankings now updated, it can be confirmed that Tadei Pivk and Megan Kimmel are now in pole position.
LIVIGNO TRAIL:
Not exclusively for intrepid sky runners and those partaking in the World Series, the Alta Valtellina Skyrunning Experience always had the objective of inclusivity, offering an alternative to the two nail-biting sky races by creating the Livigno Trail in the same breathtaking location. At just 17.9 km with 1,000 metres of climbing, it was set to be another impressive event, seeing top athletes such as the British-born Emmie Collinge and Spain's Laura Orguè taking to the start line. Collinge had chosen the race as the final training session before next Saturday's European Mountain Running Championships in Arco, Trento, and opted to retire at the highest part of the route, Carosello 3000. Orgué, on the other hand, was enchanted by the route and finished second female on the day behind a strong Ivana Iozzia. In the men's race the Czech Tomas Lichy had a commanding lead from the gun, tracing the route through Alpine meadows and cascading rivers to finish in 1.38.44. Second place went to Bruno Bedogné from Bormio in 1.49.29, and third to Spain's Juan Bonifacio Llacua in 1.49.53.
Given Collinge's explicit withdrawal at Carosello 3000, the top step of the women's podium went to Italian national mountain runner Iozzia in 1.55.26, followed by Orguè in 2.00.04 and local talent Elisa Compagnoni in 2.08.37.
Post-race comments:
Tadei Pivk: "A hard race, really hard, but incredibly beautiful. I'm just starting to get back in good shape and hadn't expected to win. The route was really technical and spectacular, a true skymarathon."
Elisa Desco: "I'm really happy. If you'd asked me before the start than I'd never have put money on me. I knew it was going to be tough and it didn't disappoint."
Marco De Gasperi, head organiser: "It's been three intense days with a lot of doubts and worries about the uncertain weather and a lot of work too. I need to catch my breath and let the dust settle before I can really reflect and analyze how it all went. At the moment all I can do is take pleasure from the satisfied expressions on all of the finishers' faces and thank everyone who believed in us: local authorities and private sponsors, but of course all of the volunteers who put their heart and soul into running this event and making sure it went well. In terms of the organization, we're still really young and have a lot of room for growth. Those who have run our races are always impressed by the beauty of these mountains and they've been captivated by the same passion as us. It's this passion that has helped us to throw our hearts into the project, which was essentially a gamble – last year it was just a dream to host a round of the Skyrunner World Series but now we've done two great events as part of it."
Luca Moretti, president of APT Livigno: "Everyone in Livigno has run with skyrunners today, both with the professionals who honoured Livigno with their presence from all over the world, and with the amateurs who got the chance to discover the rich wealth of dedicated trail running trails. In terms of logistics and sporting merit, it has been incredibly high, but I've been most impressed by the way in which the town and its guests have welcomed these two events, which represent an occasion to explore and appreciate our territory from a unique perspective – namely from above."
SUCHEN UNTERKUNFT