In Livigno, the Olympic penta-medalist solo, confirmed for the third year in a row, while a sprint was needed to decide the men's race. Large international presence.
Livigno, 15/12/2024: it was the usual adrenalin rush at the beginning of the season, this edition of the BWT Sgambeda, the traditional cross-country skiing appointment, which opens the winter in Little Tibet. A historical event, but one capable of constantly renewing itself, thanks to the imposing collective effort of the entire organisation, always able to offer athletes a competitive, spectacular and fascinating race course in terms of landscape. An impressive and painstaking work, throughout the week, which allowed the starters to enjoy today a track of rare beauty.
A beauty to which the numerous protagonists, almost 400 skiers at the start, responded clearly and enthusiastically, giving the public scattered around the village and at the finish line an exciting challenge. Two races with excellent technical and athletic content, and enhanced, especially in the men's field, by a finish decided only in the last few metres, after a long group breakaway. The ideal conclusion to a perfect day, which began under 15 centimetres of fresh snow and continued with the participation of an entire community.
Particularly noteworthy was the performance of Justyna Kowalczyk Tekieli from Poland, an athlete of the highest level, as her five Olympic podiums in her career also testify, who won the race for the third year running, crushing the competition with a time of 01.09.25. On the strength of her excellent form and profound knowledge of the course, the Polish woman, who competes for Team Robinson Trentino, beat German Sigrid Mutscheller, second at a distance of about one minute, and Frenchwoman Maya Even, third. Best Italian Sara Hutter, of A.S.V. Prad Raiffeisen Werbering, finished sixth.
BWT Sgambeda was hardest fought in the men's field, where a small group of athletes, led by the Italian Paolo Fanton, in force at the Team Futura A.S.D. White Fox, animated the day with a long breakaway, decisive already in the middle of the race. The group gradually thinned out as the finish line approached, leaving Fanton himself and Kazakhstan's Denis Volotka to compete for the final victory. A narrow victory in the end for Volotka, who with a time of 01.03.31 was only a couple of seconds ahead of Fanton. While, not far away, the German Jakob Walther, of the Ski-Willy Marathon Team, beat the French Gaspard Meyer for the third step of the podium, testifying to the great internationality of this event.
A weekend made even more exciting by the successful MiniSgambeda and the Pasta Party at the end of the race, framing an always important moment in the calendar of Livigno, because it is able to combine to perfection the souls of the locality, between high-level sport, tradition, cultural enhancement of the territory and participation.