News GALLERY

Bonnet and Gachet-Mollaret conquer the first Individual of the season

 

 

Press Release

 

Bonnet and Gachet-Mollaret conquer the first Individual of the season

 

Glacier Presena hosted the opening Individual race of the WÜRTH MODYF ISMF World Cup 2022/23. 

 

Ponte di Legno, 18 December 2022 – The second event of the World Cup stop in Ponte di Legno-Tonale was an Individual race in the area of Presena glacier. Fresh snow, lots of climbs and descents. Even before the start, it was clear that efficiency in the transitions would also be important in addition to performance.

Unlike Friday’s sprints, the weather on Sunday was perfect. Clear skies, no wind and temperature slightly below zero. The starting field was packed. In total, 108 competitors from 18 countries and three continents in both categories took part in Sunday’s race. 

 

A dominant performance by Gachet-Mollaret

The queen of the Individual races and one of the best athletes of all time, Axelle Gachet-Mollaret, delivered again. She went for the glory from the start and left the whole field behind her.

Today was the 9th individual win on a row for Gachet-Mollaret, and again in clear fashion:

“I am satisfied with my race today. From the front, I had an excellent position to manage the race. Although I’m disappointed with the course because of the amount of handling, it’s a very good start to the winter. Hopefully, it will only get better,” said the French woman, reigning World and European Champion in the Individual race.

Behind her, there were two exciting fights between friends. One was for second place between the Italians Giulia Murada and Alba de Silvestro. The younger of the two, Murada, eventually took second place and was happy with the race at the finish. She said she likes races with shorter climbs and descents. De Silvestro crossed the finish line in third place.

The second duel was between Frenchwomen Emily Harrop and Célia Perillat-Pessey. The winner of Friday’s sprint, Perillat-Pessey, managed to beat her compatriot and notched her career-best result in the Individual, in 4th, followed by Harrop in 5th place.

The women’s race met all the expectations, with athletes from five different countries in the Top 10.

 

The big battle ended in Bonnet’s favour

The last race of the weekend started at 11:45, with a tricky course that left the field of favourites wide open. 

Rémi Bonnet of Switzerland set the pace in the first climb. Then things changed, and it seemed that Thibault Anselmet of France was slowly leaving his rivals behind. Bonnet, Anselmet and Davide Magnini formed a leading group in the second lap of the course, the rest of the field unable to follow them. 

The latter picked up the pace, and only Bonnet was left with him. In the last part of the race, the Swiss athlete had more left in the tank to win his second-ever World Cup Individual.

“In the first uphill, I pushed to show the others that I am here in good shape. After this mental game, the real battle started. In the end, it was only about Davide and me. I made the key difference in the last climb, and it was enough,” said Bonnet just after the finish, whose main goal for this season is to win a double at the World Championships in Spain.

Magnini claimed the silver medal, while Thibault Anselmet finished 3rd to take the Overall World Cup lead. He replaced specialist sprinter Arno Lietha at the front, with Italian Nicolo Ernesto Canclini third overall.

The next stop of the WÜRTH MODYF ISMF World Cup is scheduled for 11-14 January in Switzerland. There will be three disciplines: Vertical, Sprint and Individual.

Click here for the full results.

For the photo gallery, click here.

Photo Gallery