04 May 2013 - 18:59 The army unexpectedly won the 19th Trofeo Mezzalama Of the women, the outsiders Besseghini, Nicolini and Rossi were the first to cross the finish line
SKI MOUNTAINEERING. The Mezzalama Trophy Foundation’s decision to move the date of the start of the 19th edition proved to be a good one. In fact, this morning the three hundred teams gathered on what could be defined as a perfect day, making for an unforgettable edition.
The start, anticipated by thirty minutes to take advantage of the good weather, was from Breuil-Cervinia (2050 m) at 5 am. With the first red light of dawn the stars left the scene in the shade of Cervino announcing a splendid day. The team composed of Manfred Reichegger, Matteo Eydallin and Damiano Lenzi of the Army Sports Centre in Courmayeur took the lead immediately followed by the Michele Boscacci, Pietro Lanfranchi and Lorenzo Holzknecht team. Behind them the favourites, the Franco-Spanish team Kilian Jornet Burgada, William Bon Mardion and Matheo Jacquemoud followed. But the Spanish champion was not up to his usual standard.
The situation of the leading teams stayed the same until the summit of Castore (4226 m) reached in the record time of 2:30’30’’, a good four minutes less than the record established in 2009. In the climb towards the Naso of Lyskamm (4100 m) the Franco-Spanish team, led by the very young Jacquemoud, overtook the Boscacci, Lanfranchi and Holzknecht team. In the long descent towards Gressoney, they also managed to undermine the pacemakers Reichegger, Eydallin and Lenzi. But the latter, after the technical change over at Canalino dell’Aquila, increased the distance until crossing the finish line at Gressoney-La-Trinité (1650 m) with a one-minute advantage in the extraordinary time of 4:16’37’’. It cannot be compared to the record time in 2009 of 4:0’22’ because this time the second part of the route was considerably longer from the check point at the Rifugio Sella and from the variation on the Naso. Completing the podium, with a gap of 12 minutes, was the Boscacci, Lanfranchi, Holzknecht team.
The winners team - Centro Sportivo Esercito - Manfred Reichegger (IT) - Damiano Lenzi (IT) - Matteo Eydallin (IT)
Of the women, the favourites Gloriana Pellissier, Mireia Mirò and Laetitia Roux were left behind on the climb to Plateau Rosa by problems experienced by the leader of the team and Mezzalama champion Pellissier. Laura Besseghini, Raffaella Rossi from the Valtelina Valley and the young Elena Nicolini from Trentino took advantage of the situation and took the lead of the race, keeping it until the finish line.
The first and only Bulgarian ski mountaneer participated in Mezzalama Trophy - Ivona Mihaylova (center) tweeted this photo and commented: "So happy to finish the mythic Mezzalama! And have lots of fun with my great friends Karolina and Emilie! We called it the 'roped party' :-)". Ivona and her team-mates Karolína Grohová (left) and Emilie Favre (right) finished 12th among ladies and at 220 place in the general classification.
This nineteenth edition, postponed by a week because of bad weather, had a most unexpected sunny day. The conditions of the route were also favoured by recent snow falls which covered the crevasses and the surface ice, but also really put Adriano Favre’s staff of alpine guides to the test. With respect to the past, the technical manager of the Mezzalama improved the flow of the implementation of the event, doubling the tracks under the summit of the Castore and adopting a direct variant on the Naso of Lysakmn. All the participants, half of the teams were foreign, admired the excellent work of the organisers confirming that the “marathon of the glaciers” of Monte Rosa is the best show case of the Valle d’Aosta mountains.
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