A press conference in Morbegno Town Hall on October 16th kicked off the 67th Trofeo Vanoni in style and it was attended by numerous authorities representing the organisations that have supported the Trofeo Vanoni for many years. An inspiring film (by SpeedTimeProduction) was shown, with athletes including Julien Rancon, Alex Baldaccini, Alice Gaggi, Elisa Sortini and Paolo Germanetto talking about what Vanoni means to them.
And what does Vanoni mean to the runners, the supporters and the local people? It’s not just a sporting event, but a gem that Morbegno and the entire Province of Sondrio are proud of, encouraging tourism and local networking, and crucially putting young people at the forefront of it. All of these characteristics have made TrofeoVanoni the longest-running sports event in Valtellina and Valchiavenna.
THE FAVOURITE TEAMS
Many overseas athletes will be at the start this year: from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, Slovenia, Mexico, the Republic of San Marino and Poland, as well as many Italians. The total number of athletes competing in the three competitions (Minivanoni, Women’s Vanoni and Trofeo Vanoni) will be around 1000.
Some big news this year, of which the GS CSI Morbegno organisers are particularly proud, is the presence of the Mexican national team and that of England with no less than three female and two male relays. Especially across the Channel, the Trofeo Vanoni is known and appreciated as an event that is not to be missed.
Francesco Bongio said of the favourite men’s teams: “To present the favourite teams, we start from last year’s ranking. France will be there, with a trio of high-level athletes (European bronze medallist Thèodore Klein, young Alric Petit, previous year’s winner, and 2022 European champion Sylvain Cachard), the Great Britain team (second in 2023), led again this year by Ross Gollan together with Ewan Brown and Finlay Grant, and SA Valchiese, with the trio of wonders Vender, Filosi, and Merli, who came close to achieving the feat two years ago and will try again this year. Eyes are also on the Italian championships of the Recastello Radici Group; with Isacco Costa absent, president Luciano Merla has lined up the tricolour vertical Andrea Elia, the expert Fabio Ruga, and the Italian Luciano Rota in the first team. Also competitive was the Snowdon Race Team (fourth in 2023), which fielded Grant Cunliffe (3rd at the Snowdon Race) with Matthew Elkington and Kieran Cooper. For the first time, the England national team, with two relays including one under-23, Matthew Knowles (in his third Vanoni), will relieve George Foster and Finn Lydon. The US Aldo Moro di Paluzza team(fifth in 2024), with the strong Galassi and Bratina, will participate in the race. Not missing the appointment with the Trofeo Vanoni will be record-breakers Alex Baldaccini with GS Orobie and Emanuele Manzi with US Malonno. Also at the start, with an English masters team, the downhill record holder Ian Holmes (at his 20th Trofeo Vanoni). Also from the top ten were the national teams of Scotland, Wales and Poland, as well as Gemonatletica with Tiziano Moia and GSA Cometa with strong uphill runner Alessandro Crippa.”
Councillor Annalisa Perlini outlined the favourite women’s teams: “the Recastello Radici Group (second last year) will certainly start with the favour of prediction, with Beatrice Bianchi, the relay mountain running champion and home favourite Alice Gaggi. Last year’s winner, Atletica Alta Valtellina, has yet to decide who will flank Italy’s Elisa Sortini. Ireland, third in 2023, with record holder Sarah McCormack absent this year, relies on Aoife Cleary and Dee Collins. Scotland (4th in 2023) is again fielding Catriona MacDonald with Isla Paterson, Slovenia (5th in 2023) has entered Maja Laznik and Klara Ljubi, and the Snowdon Race Team (6th last year) could do well with strong Eve Pannone (2nd at the Snowdon Race) and Antonia Fan. England – accompanied by Sara Tunstall, European silver and bronze medallist at the 2017 World Championships in Premana – will field no less than three relays, with national under-23 champion Alice Crane and national under-20 XC champion Emilia Platt. Poland and Wales are definitely in the top ten. At the same time, Mexico, for the first time at the Trofeo Vanoni, with national champion Mariel Salazar Tapia (11th at the World Championships in Thailand in 2022 in the junior category) and Arian Yveth Chia Hernandez, is to be discovered.”
A mention must also be made of the Minivanoni, which is important to the GS CSI Morbegno, mainly because young people are the future of athletics. President Giovanni Ruffoni explained that in the final round of the Coppa Lombardia mountain running competition, 450 mini-athletes are expected. Atletica Valle Brembana will undoubtedly be in force, and Premana, currently in first and second place in the circuit, Polisportiva Albosaggia, as well as GS CSI Morbegno. “We’ll be calling 60 “red devils”. I don’t know if we’ll be able to grab the podium in the Lombardy Cup, but we’ll do everything we can to win the Minivanoni. Should Polisportiva Albosaggia win, it would win the Targa Mons. Danieli – Battaglion Morbegno offered by the Alpini”.
We will bring you all the action from the races on 27th October in Morbegno. Find more information here: www.trofeovanoni.it
Photos by Davide Vaninetti/PhotoRunValtellina