ZORZI AND MOELGG ON THE MEDIOFONDO TRACK

Marcialonga and bicycle are two words that fit together. The event is definitely going to grow successfully in the coming years. Today, the 12th edition of Marcialonga Craft took place in Predazzo (ITA), a unique challenge, defined by the athletes as "one of the most significant events of the year", thanks to the scenery that the Fiemme and Fassa Valleys offer, the Dolomite passes that test even the most professional sportsmen, and thanks to an exemplary organization that has always been a trademark of this event in Trentino. The Tuscan Stefano Cecchini has won the Marcialonga Craft for the second time in a row, on the track of 135 km and 3279 meters of difference in height. Second place for Domenico Romano, good at overtaking Luigi Salimbeni, penalized by a small problem in an attempt to reach the leader. Among the women Monica Bonfanti won ahead of Deborah Rosa and Arianna Marchesini, for whom photofinish was necessary. As far as the men's middle track is concerned – 80 km and 1894 metres of difference in height – Riccardo Zanrossi from Verona won ahead of another athlete from Verona, Andrea Pontalto, while Alessio Pareschi closed in third place. In the ladies’ middle track race Jessica Leonardi from Trentino won ahead of Barbara Zambotti and Marisa Coato. The slalom skier Manfred Moelgg has also taken part among the bike lovers in the middle track race: "I really like cycling, and I wanted to take part in Marcialonga Craft because I had never done it before. I enjoyed it, but it was a pity to have a puncture, it made me lose fifteen minutes. Cycling is a good preparation for skiing, also mentally as a competition. I did the 80 km race to push hard although normally I take part in longer races. A beautiful track, we were lucky even with the weather". The former ski champion Cristian Zorzi took also part in the race on the short track. He is a great champion who always knows how to make fun (that’s why he is still very loved): "I enjoy cycling, you are in a group, there is solidarity, and you can see fantastic landscapes that I never noticed when I was a professional athlete. I always said that on the day a woman beats me I retire... But not riding a bicycle! In the middle of the group they recognized me, probably for "my bottom"!”. The race started with a splendid sun, but on the Dolomite passes it begun to rain, making the contest more difficult. However, there were no problems and the amateur cyclists said that the road surface was almost perfect. The granfondo’s tamer Stefano Cecchini has once again been the best, keeping Salimbeni behind him.
The two tracks, also valid for the ACSI National Championship, started from Predazzo to discover the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The race has celebrated its 12th anniversary with a track passing through the challenging climbs of Monte San Pietro and Lavazé, San Pellegrino and Valles Passes.
In the men’s middle track race there was pathos – it was a race marked by unpredictability. Andrea Zamboni was clearly ahead of the chasing group but – as often happens in Trentino – he paid for his final slope and he wasn't even able to get on the podium. Instead, there was a crazy sprint between the two athletes from Verona, Riccardo Zanrossi and Andrea Pontalto.
Jessica Leonardi, on the other hand, won also this “mediofondo”, thus crowning an excellent start of the bike-season: "First success for me at Marcialonga. I am from Val di Non and for me Marcialonga is the best". A day to be remembered also for the new general manager of Marcialonga, Davide Stoffie, whose thanks go as always to the many volunteers of the event: "With Marcialonga we always talk about volunteers but that's exactly how it is: without them we would be nothing. I'd like to involve a few more young people. We have to understand how to make them love Marcialonga just as I fell in love with it”.
Next year the event is scheduled for June 30th.
For further information: www.marcialonga.it, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

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Mediofondo results man
1 ZANROSSI Riccardo TEAM HIGHROAD A.S.D. 02:15:29; 2 PONTALTO Andrea ALE' CIPOLLINI GALASSIA 02:15:29; 3 PARESCHI Alessio ASD GIANLUCA FAENZA TEAM 02:15:30; 4 SPADA Marco ASD GIANLUCA FAENZA TEAM 02:15:34; 5 ZAMBONI Andrea CARINA BRAO CAFFE 02:16:17; 6 FERRETTI Cristian FREE BIKE TEAM 02:18:14; 7 SPIAZZI Davide ASD TOTAL SPEED 02:18:14; 8 CORUZZI Andrea SCOTT TEAM GRANFONDO 02:18:15; 9 NICOLINI Federico U.C. VALLE DI NON 02:19:12; 10 BERGAMO Daniele A.S.D. BRAO CAFFE' - UNTERTHURNER 02:19:14

Mediofondo results ladies
1 LEONARDI Jessica TEAM LAPIERRE TRENTINO ALE' 02:34:57; 2 ZAMBOTTI Barbara SONEC - NG.K VIS - LGL 02:43:50; 3 COATO Marisa HAPPY BIKERS 02:45:08; 4 CAMINADA Chiara S.C. MARCIALONGA A.S.D. 02:45:08; 5 TASSER Andrea A.S.C.SARNTAL RAIFFEISEN/RAD 02:47:51; 6 FAORO Liviana S.C. MARCIALONGA A.S.D. 02:52:25; 7 BENDA Laura ALE' CIPOLLINI GALASSIA 02:57:31; 8 CONFORTOLA Monica SPORTING CLUB LIVIGNO 02:58:21; 9 GNESETTI Alice ISOLPI RACING TEAM 02:58:37; 10 MARANI Michela TEAM LODA MILLENIUM 03:02:48 

Granfondo results men
1 CECCHINI Stefano SCOTT TEAM GRANFONDO 04:03:17; 2 ROMANO Domenico BIEMME GARDA SPORT S.S.D.R.L. 04:07:21; 3 SALIMBENI Luigi ASD TRZ ZENATO FAMILA 04:07:52; 4 ELETTRICO Tommaso TEAM CPS 04:10:11; 5 MURARO Carlo STEMAX TEAM 04:10:12; 6 CERAGIOLI Giuseppe CICLOTEAM SAN GINESE 04:10:13; 7 CALLIARI Filippo BIEMME GARDA SPORT S.S.D.R.L. 04:14:31; 8 ZANICHELLI Stefano TEAM ISOLMANT ASD 04:15:04; 9 DECARLI Paolo A.S.D. BRAO CAFFE' - UNTERTHURNER 04:15:23; 10 MAZZUCCO Andrea BIEMME GARDA SPORT S.S.D.R.L. 04:15:24

Granfondo results ladies 
1 BONFANTI Monica A.S.D. RODMAN AZIMUT SQUADRA CORSE 04:55:32; 2 ROSA Deborah TEAM DE ROSA SANTINI 04:59:55; 3 MARCHESINI Arianna SOMEC-MG.K VIS-LGL 04:59:56; 4 BILLI Barbara KTM ASD SCATENATI 05:06:09; 5 CINEL Tania G.S. SPORTISSIMO 05:14:22; 6 TOSADORI Orietta BIEMME GARDA SPORT S.S.D.R.L. 05:23:50; 7 FUMAROLA Vincenza A.S.D. COOPERATORI 05:24:29; 8 COLETTI Cristina TEAM HORS CATEGORIE ASD 05:28:24; 9 TONELLI Angelica A.S.D. SKATENATEAM BIKE 05:33:24; 10 BUKHANSKA Iryna BURACIA TEAM MILANO 05:42:10