PELLEGRINO THE STAR OF LIVIGNO, LAURENT TOO. AN EXCITING 1K SHOT WITH VITTOZZI AND RODIGARI

Innovative and flamboyant, spectacular and exciting. 1K Shot, the very first competition of the cross-country skiing season was staged in the middle of summer in Livigno, a huge open air gym and theatre for training at altitude. A perfectly snowy slope was created in the very centre of town attracting thousands of people to cheer on skiing and biathlon champions first, followed by the five hundred people from Livigno who took part in the Palio delle Contrade.

1K Shot finished with victories for Federico Pellegrino and Greta Laurent in the cross-country skiing race and Paolo Rodigari and Lisa Vittozzi in the biathlon, during this extraordinary competition in the centre of Livigno held in concurrence with the traditional Palio delle Contrade. The narrow ski specialists and those of the biathlon put on a show, delighting the festive crowd that lined the snowy cloak laid out in the centre of the town over a kilometre in Via Ostaria and Via Plàn. A snowcat distributed and compacted the snow along the race course, snow which had been jealously and wisely stored since last winter under a special cover within the sphere of the snow farming project. It will consequently be possible to prepare the first ring at the cross-country stadium in mid-October, too, something which has now become a custom in Little Tibet.

For the men’s cross-country race, the winner was Olympic silver medalist and multi-winner in the World Cup Federico “Chicco” Pellegrino from the Aosta Valley, the Italian team member specialised in sprinting. Federico repeated last year’s result by winning once again. Russian Sergey Ustiugov withdrew from the race owing to a sprain. During the initial qualifying rounds, there was the sprint race with a staggered departure. Besides seeded Pellegrino, another member of the Italian team entered the decisive stage, namely Maicol Rastelli as well as Brits James Clugnet and Andrew Musgrave. Russians Gleb Retivykh and Andrei Krasnov left the scene as did Slovenian Janez Lampic, Andrew Young from England and Italians Dietmar Noeckler, Mirco Bertolina and Mattia Armellini. There was a double Italian-British contention in the semifinals. The Italian champion stood his ground during the race of two against the clock, with a staggered departure of 1’ one from the other over Brit Andrew Musgrave, third time in the qualifications, finishing with 1’09”535, against the Englishman’s 1’16”832. During the second semifinal, Anglo-Frenchman James Clugnet, second in the qualification, got the better of Italian Maicol Rastelli, the best time. 1’12”349 was Clugnet’s time against the Italian’s 1’12”853, who was beaten by a breath. Rastelli (1’13”443) beat Musgrave (1’16”868), too. In the final, Clugnet started first, finishing with 1’15”324, Pellegrino showed true style and class and closed with 1’11”031. Slightly earlier, Greta Laurent, Chicco Pellegrino’s fiancée, won the women’s trials, beating Elisa Brocard in the final. 1’25”989 was the time recorded by the first classified, 1’26”161 that of the second. In the final for the first step on the podium was Ilaria Debertolis (defeated by Laurent in the semifinal) closing with 1’28”824 against Lucia Scardoni's 1’30”185, who was beaten in the semi-finals by Elisa Brocard. Slovenian Anamarija Lampic, Russians Yulia Belorukova and Natalia Matveeva and home favourite Marianna Longa didn’t qualify. For many years a leading figure at the very heights, Marianna Longa, slipped on a pair of narrow skis after seven years savouring the competition and testing herself in the Palio delle Contrade, too, coming absolute third amongst the women with a time of 1’43”530, on a par with a huge number of people from Livigno.

The biathlon was adapted to the situation and logistics: 50 metres of pushing, the polygon with rifles in place, lasers, as in training, five targets to hit before setting off on for the last part on skis. The colour bearer of the Army Sports Centre and Livigno Team Paolo Rodigari won the men’s race. It was a spectacular victory, with a photo finish and Rodigari coming in just before policeman Pietro Dutto. The final sprint kept those watching holding their breath. The two came out of the polygon almost at the same time, competing to win in a head to head challenge on skis. In the women’s race there was a duel to win between the two team mates of the Olympic relay race with medals: Lisa Vittozzi and Dorothea Wierer, who will both face the upcoming season wearing the colours of the Livigno Team.

They came out of the polygon together, then Vittozzi took the lead and Wierer followed. The girl from Sappada won the cross-country skiing challenge, coming before the South Tyrolean, who came first last year. On the third step of the podium there was the young Marianna Bradanini, who held her ground in the head to head with Francesca Viviani coming out first and defending her position twenty or so metres ahead right to the finish line. Youngsters Linda Zingerle, following in the family’s footsteps, and Magdalena Wierer, Dorothea’s younger sister, also competed.

Former Italian slalomist Giorgio Rocca intervened during the awards ceremony. Antonio Rossi, born and bred in Livigno and a former Olympic canoeing athlete, is now undersecretary with the delegation of the Grandi Eventi Sportivi (great sporting events) of the region of Lombardy also intervened, as did sporting figures from Livigno: Giulio Molinari, who will shortly be competing in the triathlon in Kona, Sara Dossena, who’s training in Livigno for the New York marathon, as well as former hammer thrower Silvia Salis, a member of CONI and the FIDAL junta. Members of the organising committee Deborah Rainolter, Gelsomino Cusini and Gottardo Bormolini were also present.

After the champions, those taking part in the Palio delle Contrade, an event that’s really important to the people of Livigno, hit the slopes. Five hundred ventured out on narrow skis, some of which quite old, wearing period clothing in order to defend the colours of their respective districts, namely, Centro, Comunin-Pemont, Forcola, Ostarìa, Plan da Sora, Saroch, Teola and Trepalle. The highly complex ranking will only be announced in October, but we can confirm that the two best times were registered by Valentina Cusini (1’41”748) in the women’s race and Simone Urbani (1’16”499) in the men’s.

At the end of the race, all the snow in Livigno was cleared away, waiting to be used for a three kilometre cross-country skiing ring in mid-October, which will extend day after day due to the weather conditions.

Livigno announces a winter full of events starting with three days with cross-country skiing champions and amateurs from 30th November to 2nd December with the Visma Ski Classics, and “La Sgambeda” number 29 on Saturday 1st December which reopens to skating (for further information and registration go to www.lasgambeda.it).

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1K SHOT – men’s cross-country ranking

1 Federico Pellegrino ITA 1:11.031; 2 James Clugnet GBR 1:15.324; 3 Maicol Rastelli ITA 1:13.443; 4 Andrew Musgrave GBR 1:16.868

1K SHOT – women’s cross-country ranking

1 Greta Laurent ITA 1:25.989; 2 Elisa Brocard ITA 1:26.161; 3 Ilaria Debertolis ITA 1:28.824; 4 Lucia Scardoni ITA 1:30.185

1K SHOT – men’s biathlon ranking

1 Paolo Rodigari ITA 1:49.599; 2 Pietro Dutto ITA 1:49.779; 3 Thomas Bormolini ITA 1:44.209; 4 Saverio Zini ITA 1:50.895

1K SHOT – women’s biathlon ranking

1 Lisa Vittozzi ITA 2:21.048; 2 Dorothea Wierer ITA 2:21.481; 3 Marianna Bradanini ITA 2:50.483; 4 Francesca Viviani ITA 2:55.120

Palio delle Contrade – men’s ranking

1 Simone Urbani - Centro 1:16.499; 2 Thomas Bormolini - Forcola 1:18.917; 3 Paolo Rodigari - Ostaria 1:20.886; 4 Nicolas Bormolini - Forcola 1:20.917; 5 Nicolo' Cusini - Comunin Pemont 1:21.755

Palio delle Contrade – women’s ranking

1 Valentina Cusini - Teola 1:41.748; 2 Emma Sensoli - Ostaria 1:42.988; 3 Marianna Longa - Teola 1:43.530; 4 Veronica Silvestri - Comunin Pemont 1:45.887; 5 Lucrezia Galli - Teola 1:50.010