CROSS COUNTRY SKI, TOUR DE SKI. On Ramp together with the Champions is the literal translation of the ‘Rampa con i Campioni’ promotional event which has taken place this morning a couple of hours before Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski eventual stage in Val di Fiemme (Italy). And along that terrific ramp, the same Final Climb to be faced by World Cup athletes later in the day, former champions gathered up and battled it up until the very end.

‘It was my first time here and I enjoyed it a lot’, said multiple Olympic gold medallist Thomas Alsgaard of Norway, winner of the day, ‘it’s been a real challenge but also great fun. I trained in the past days and this morning too and I’m certainly happy.’

Alsgaard kept the leading position for more than half of the 9k track, and in the last 2 kilometres he managed to leave back Rikard Andreasson of Sweden and Italy’s Luca Bortot, who closed second and third respectively. ‘I’m a long-distance skier, I’ll be back here in Val di Fiemme for this year’s Marcialonga at the end of the month, so this sort of race was totally new for me. I couldn’t say no though when was asked to participate’, admitted Andreasson, while Jurg Capol and Vegard Ulvang, the two Tour de Ski creators, were crossing the finish line. ‘I took part in this race three years ago and it’s so much fun to spend one day together with other big champions from the past and promote cross country skiing, most of all’, said Ulvang and added that ‘thanks to events like this Rampa, our discipline grows in popularity all around the world. When Capol and I suggested the Final Climb as the eventual step of the Tour, the majority thought we were almost crazy. Today, as you see, even former skiers and regular athletes ask to participate in this Rampa event. We hit the spot, and cross country is growing’.

As for women, Clara Bettega of Italy won the race after last year’s second place. ‘It was tough, especially cause I couldn’t train much in the last two weeks’, said the Italian, ‘but I’m so happy I eventually made it’. Czech multi-Olympic and World Championships medallist Katerina Neumannova also joined today’s Rampa con i Campioni, as well as Italian roller skiing World Champion Alfio Di Gregorio and Russian Ivan Alypov.

Info: www.fiemme2013.com

Rampa con I Campioni 9 km FT

Men

1. THOMAS Alsgaard NOR 33:54.8; 2. ANDREASSON Rikard SWE 34:37.1; 3. BORTOT Luca ITA 34:41.5; 4 ALYPOV Ivan RUS 35:49.7 ; 5 DI GREGORIO Alfio ITA 35:55.5

Ladies

1. BETTEGA Clara ITA 42.03.1; 2. WAGENFUEHR Sandra SUI 42.18.4; 3. NEUMANNOVA Katerina CZE 45.16.3; 4. ZAGO Lysanne ITA 48.56.9; 5. UZICK Liudmila RUS 49.38.3

FIScrosscountry.com
Sunday 6 January 2013

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