The individual race is by Gachet-Mollaret and Bonnet

A few days before Christmas, the Skialp World Cup returned to one of the cradles of this sport, the Pontedilegno - Tonale area and its Presena glacier. The classic discipline par excellence is on stage, the individual with two tracks over two laps and a difference in altitude of 1,440 meters for the men's category, in which the Swiss Rèmi Bonnet excelled, and 1,180 meters with the victory of the winner of the past edition Axelle Gachet -Mollaret. Departure at Passo Paradiso (altitude 2,590 metres) and arrival at Capanna Presena (2,730 metres) with 110 athletes from 18 nations competing.

It was a day full of satisfactions also for the Italian team, thanks to the three podiums obtained by the home athlete Davide Magnini, who dueled to the last with the Swiss, then for the Valtellina from Albosaggia Giulia Murada and for the Bellunese of Comelico Superiore Alba De Silvestro, respectively second and third on the finish line of Capanna Presena.
On a picture-perfect day, with extraordinary snow conditions and a nervous route, which included 12 set-up changes, 6 sections with skins, 2 sections on foot and 4 descents, the men's challenge lit up right from the start. In the long ascent from the lakes up to the 3,000 meters of Passo Presena, the winner of the last edition Thinault Anselmet, his compatriot William Bon Mardion, the Swiss Rémì Bonnet and the two Azzurri Michele Boscacci and Davide Magnini took care of setting the pace and marking each other tightly .

In the second part of the race we then witnessed the endless head-to-head between the Swiss and Vermiglio from Trentino, who with their skirmishes, increasing the pace, gradually shrugged off their fellow breakaways, except Anselmet, who he was the first to pass over the Presena lakes, also giving way to the two possessed opponents. At the second lap at 3,000 meters Magnini was the first to pass, with a couple of seconds on Bonnet and 15 on Anselmet, then more distant came Bon Mardion, Boscacci and Antonioli. The two leaders continued to swap positions until the skins change under the edge of Lago Scuro, where the Swiss was the fastest, gaining about ten seconds on the Italian, who he managed to hold on to the finish line. Rémi Bonnet covered the 12 km of the course with a time of 1h31'52", beating Davide Magnini by 10 seconds, then Thibault Anselmet at 32 seconds, William Bon Mardion at 1 minute, Valfurva's Sondrino Robert at 2'09" Antonioli and at 3'13” Michele Boscacci. The other blues: Nicolò Ernesto Canclini is 8th, Nadir Maguet 9th, Alex Oberbacher 14th, Matteo Sostizzo 17th, Andrea Prandi 19th, Matteo Eydallin 24th, Sebastien Guichardaz 25th, Luca Tomasoni 33rd and William Boffelli 39th .

The women's challenge, which included the same content as the men's in terms of uphills and downhills, but with a mileage of 10km and a lower altitude difference, was a monologue by Axelle Gachet-Mollaret, who confirms herself as the strongest ever in long races. Second in the first climb was the winner of the sprint Celia Perillat Pessey, who then had to step aside at the passage of the Presena to let Giulia Murada pass, with a desire for redemption after the fall and goodbye to dreams of victory in the sprint of Friday, and then Alba De Silvestro, more determined than ever to hit the podium. The gaps between the first three remained similar also on the second lap, then they managed their energies and placement up to the finish line, where Mollaret arrived after 1h28'24”, beating Giulia Murada by 2'36” and Giulia Murada by 3'45 ” an exhausted Alba De Silvestro. Behind the two French Celia Perillat Pessey and Emily Harrop, then the Swiss Caroline Ulrrich and the Valtellinese Giulia Compagnoni. As for the placements of the other blue Mara Martini is 11th, Ilaria Veronese 12th, Lisa Moreschini 17th and second under 23 overall, Katia Mascherona 20th, Samantha Bertolina 26th, Silvia Berra 27th.

Photographs by Maurizio Torri