The favorites from Italy and Russia met the highest expectations at the FIS Roller Skiing World Championships in Piglio (ITA) last week. Beginning with the opening sprint events, the two teams kept all others under control and claimed the most medals: in the end home advantage paid off and Italy topped the medals table with nine medals, including four golden ones, while Russia too collected nine medals, three of each. Altogether five nations won medals.
Both new 2009 Roller Skiing sprint champions come from Italy as Mateja Bogatec and Alessio Berlanda took the titles. In the team sprints, which were rescheduled shortly ahead of the event from Fiuggi to Ceccano to an inner city course, the favored Russians took the ladies’ title ahead of Team Italy while the men’s team gold went to the Italians in a narrow decision against Norway and Sweden.
The individual start race on the third competition day was initially planned as a steep uphill race in classical technique but had to be rescheduled onto another, much flatter course due to dangerously fast downhill portions on the initial route. The victories went to Lada Nesterenko of Ukraine, better known as a Cross-Country skier, and Eduard Kovyashov of Russia.
In the final competition, the ladies mass start race in free technique, the gold went to Tatjana Jambaeva (RUS), also known from many successes at various Worldloppet ski marathons.
In the men’s 15 kilometer fresstyle vent, Simone Paredi of Italy managed to beat his more famous teammate Valerio Checchi in the last meters of the sprint for the title.