THE RAMPA OF NOROY (NOR) AND KOWALCZYK (POL)

At the “Rampa con i Campioni” solo by the super champion Kowalczyk
The young Magnus Noroy first at Doss dei Larici
Many the athletes at the start, but how strong are the amateurs?
The Rampa proves a success, Serra: “It is tough, but beautiful”

The Rampa con i Campioni proves to be one of the most beautiful and spectacular cross-country skiing open races of all times. Magnus Noroy is first at the finish line after a great finale and Justyna Kowalczyk confirmed herself as the great champion we remember from the days when she won the Tour de Ski four times in her career: she is the female winner of this Rampa.

At the start from the cross-country skiing stadium at Lago di Tesero, a large group of amateurs and former champions set out to conquer the Alpe Cermis under a light snowfall that made the race even more interesting.

Having quickly and smoothly dealt with the transfer section to the entrance of Cermis, the first athletes began to feel the steep slopes of the Olimpia III course. The Norwegian Sondre Bollum, the Italians Daniele Serra and Julian Brunner, and the German Daniel Debertin stood out during the ascent. With them in the top positions was also Magnus Noroy from Norway, with the 1998 born pulling away from everyone in the last few hairpin bends of the Cermis: "I had never faced a race like this before, but I had a lot of fun. During the ascent I felt good and managed to have a nice progression that proved decisive and eventually allowed me to reach the finish line first," says the young Noroy. "What a tough race! Having never managed to qualify for the Tour de Ski I had never climbed Cermis, but this Rampa was the right opportunity to try. It was a unique emotion, and I am also satisfied with the result," said a delighted Daniele Serra, the second classified who defends the colours of Team Robinson Trentino. With Noroy and Serra, Daniel Debertin (GER) closes the men's podium of the Rampa.

With a start list in which Justyna Kowalczyk’s name appears, predicting the epilogue of the women Rampa was easy: the Polish champion triumphed this morning on the Cermis. First among the women and 14th overall, the spearhead of the local Robinson Trentino Team climbed with her unmistakable skiing up the Olimpia III and at the finish line she declared smiling: “It is a great sensation. I love Val di Fiemme, I’m tied to this place by wonderful memories. I came back on this track after many years: the fatigue is the same but also the adrenaline I feel on the skis.” Accompanying Kowalczyk on the podium are the Swedish Anna-Karin Stromstedt and the German Sigrid Mutscheller.

A Ramp with Champions that secured yet another successful edition and confirmed the geniality behind an invention that reversed the state of things: from an alpine ski slope, Cermis' Olimpia III was transformed into a cross-country ski slope and what seemed unthinkable years ago is now the norm. Today, the amateurs gave another great test of their preparation and passion for narrow skis, confronting the toughest race of the World Cup.

© Newspower