THE ITALIAN NATIONAL MTB TEAM IN VAL GARDENA

IN PREPARATION FOR THE HERO THE ITALIAN NATIONAL MTB TEAM CHALLENGE EACH OTHER IN THE WINTER GAMES ON THE SNOWY SLOPES OF VAL GARDENA

From December 17th to the 21st the Italian national mountain bike team is in a training camp in the snow-covered Dolomites, an experience following on from the successful time spent here last year. To mark the occasion for the first time in Val Gardena there will be a Winter Games organised! It will be a fun type triathlon with a downhill on mountain bike (on the snow!), a snowshoeing route, and an Alpine skiing element. On Wednesday 19th the organisers of the Südtirol Sellaronda HERO together with the Federazione Ciclistica Italiana will formally present the UCI Marathon World Championships 2015 and the International Italian Series of 2013.

Val Gardena (BZ) 19.12.2012 – It is said that certain places bring luck to the interested parties. In December 2011 Val Gardena hosted a stage “on the snow” for the Italian national mountain bike team and we all know how things turned out (to be precise, with a fantastic Olympic bronze for Marco Aurelio Fontana). A year on and the organisers of the HERO together with Selva Val Gardena Tourism Association will again host a training clinic for the Italian national mountain bike team, it comprising of a series of aerobic training exercises (but not all sat on the bike!) and of course there will be space for a bit of enjoyment on the snow. From December 17th to the 21st the group made up of Gerhard Kerschbaumer, Michele Casagrande, Martino Fruet, Tony Longo and the brothers Luca and Daniele Braidot will be under the supervision of the technical staff led by Hubert Pallhuber on the slopes of Val Gardena for a series of ski outings. On the 18th and 20th December they will be joined by Marco Aurelio Fontana, Eva Lechner, and Julia Innerhofer.

There will be two key moments during the stay in Val Gardena. The first is fixed for 17.00 on Wednesday 19th December with the presentation of the next edition of the Südtirol Sellaronda HERO which in 2013 will be part of the UCI World Series, and in 2015 will host the World Marathon Championships, both events under the control of the UCI. Also the directors of the Federation will present the Internazionali d’Italia 2013. At the end of the evening all those invited to participate will be welcomed for dinner up high in the mountains at ‘rifugio Salei’. The second appointment not to miss is the first ever Val Gardena Winter Games The bikers will compete in a sort of triathlon with a series of competitor eliminations which will combine a downhill on mountain bike in the snowpark of Plan de Gralba, a snowshoeing route, and an Alpine skiing element up to Rifugio Emilio Comici.

«We are extremely pleased to host for the second year running the Italian team – says Ellis Kasslatter – because the bond between Val Gardena and the mountain bike can further grow closer together even in the winter season and many of the bikers are keen fans of many of the´winter sports».

The stage, which will also be witnessed by FCI officials Renato Riedmüller, Paolo Garniga, Mauro Centenaro and Antonio Lazzarotto. The days will be followed in the form of a photo service and a video to be produced by GoPro, one of the companies part of the HERO sponsor pool.

The presence of the off-road bikers provides another opportunity to present an additional event which enriches the summer programme in Val Gardena. Infact on Sunday the 3rd August the organisers of the Südtirol Sellaronda will organise the XCE Italian National Championship 2013, the new Eliminator discipline much wanted by the UCI, and this will take place in the centre of Ortisei. An exciting competition is assured. The formula provides for 4 bikers competing at a time and only 2 of these will pass to the next round.