These are just two of the many messages received by the organization in the hours immediately following the sports weekend that has just ended. They testify to the energy and passion of a territory, one of its most beautiful postcards: this is the 100 MIGLIA DEL MONVISO.

Of the foot race, an entire weekend of tourism promotion through sport, will remain the beauty of the routes, the technical features, the professionalism of the 4 Running Associations involved, the numbers of the race and the record times or “belly of the group” scored by the judges. ,

but above all the names of the villages, of the refreshment points, of the refuges, of the volunteers, of the bodies capable of uniting, beyond any color and political orientation, will remain engraved to tell and promote territory, sport, production sector.

The effort was great, but the result surpasses it. This is the spirit of the communities of the MONVISO TERRES, a project that for years has left the individual in the background to tell the whole, or rather, which promotes the “best” of each in order to describe the beauty of the whole.

The Terre del Monviso are 6 alpine valleys and a plain that borders them. Our athletes from Piedmont, Lombardy, Abruzzo, Liguria, Veneto or Argentina will have all this in mind: the party at the Refuge, the village lit up in the night, the lights, similar to ancient bonfires, which indicate the next stage.

The race itself was a mixture of competitive spirit, adventure and even transcendence that left indelible memories in the minds of the 157 protagonists (178 entrants): the exploit of Paolo Bert and the striking 5th absolute position of the Spanish champion Trigueros Garrote are certainly the most relevant technical data in the queen test of the Terres Monviso sports weekend.

The 160.934 km route, to remain faithful to 100 miles, with departure and arrival in Piazza Cavour in Saluzzo, was characterized by the fastest initial part (about 70 km) and then assumed more accentuated technical characteristics with the climb to an altitude of 2700 meters. The final stretch returned to milder slopes but put a strain on the stamina of the protagonists in the race.

Paolo Bert, takes the lead from the start and maintains the first position up beyond the 70th km; the high mountains, which are usually his friends, put him in difficulty and he is forced to take rest breaks. Fabio Di Giacomo is found on him, a strong athlete from Varese who specializes in the very long efforts model Tor des Geants who takes the lead and accumulates up to 40 minutes ahead. At the San Chiaffredo pass materializes the “awakening” of the champion who in the downhill stretch to Casteldelfino recovers 20 minutes to hang up the tread at Colle del Prete about 30 km from the finish. In the final stretch, the resistance of the champion from Valle Infernotto emerges, who finishes alone in 23.46.47 ”. The Varese athlete Fabio di Giacomo (Runners Valbossa Eolo Kratos Team) firmly holds the second position closing in 24.35.41.

Piero Bello (Pod. Valle Varaita 25.55.28 “), Roberto Camperi (Pam Mondovì 26.41.26”) and Massimo Vanzetti (Atl. Racconigi 26.52.22 “) complete the” top five “

Worth noting is the much anticipated exploit of Silvia Trigueros Garrote (Team Land Scarpa), already winner of two editions of the Tor des Geants. The Basque athlete achieved the first position in the women’s race (26.46.54 “) after a race always led in the lead but, above all, with her 5th place overall, she demonstrated how the female category is now lining up with the best male performance! The female “top five” includes the second position of Angrognina Daniela Bonnet (33.31.56 “) and followed by Isabella Vidili (Atl. Valpellice 35.51.37”), Maddalena Lanzilotti (Pod. Turin 37.56.58 “) and Michela Ruzza ( Interforze Torino 37.56.59 “).

The Monviso Trail Tour had as its new location the town of Pontechianale, in the upper Varaita Valley. The track measured about 41 km in length and was equipped with 2600 meters of positive altitude obviously in the presence of the Monviso. Bernard Dematteis (Sportifications) was the absolute protagonist finishing arms to the sky in 4.18.59 ”.

The inevitable twin Martin, who shared the effort paired for the entire course to finish just 6 seconds after the winner, supported him in the enterprise. The splendid performance of Marco Bergo (Pod. Valle Infernotto) earned him a prestigious third position less than 5 minutes from the pair of phenomenal champions of the Varaita Valley.

The dominance of Elisa Desco (Alta Valltellina – Scarpa – 5.04.47 “) characterized the female race. The local athlete (Paesana) residing in Bormio confirmed his immense athletic qualities at home for the first time after having achieved prestigious victories in the national and international fields.

To complete the podium Marina Cugnetto (Atl. Saluzzo 5.17.48 “) and Laura Barale (Team Ultrataaac 5.50.32”).

The test for fans of short but intense efforts took place in Crissolo: the Monviso Vertical Race.

Excellent quality in both the male and female category. Among the women, the multiple world champion in Mountain Running Lucy Wanbui Murigi (46’05 “), Kenyan athlete of Atletica Saluzzo, prevailed. The ski mountaineering specialist Ilaria Veronese (Giò 22 Rivera – Team Scarpa 47’24 “) climbed to the second step of the podium. To close the Olympic podium Elisabetta Piacenza (Atl. Cafasse) climbed to the finish line in Ghincia Pastur in 52’19 “.

The men’s competition centered on the performance of three extreme climbing specialists. The “national” Andrea Rostan (Atl. Saluzzo) prevailed with a stratospheric time of 36’20 “. Gianluca Ghiano (Tornado Team Brooks), the youngest of the three, reached 40’07 “while the more experienced Davide Preve (Roata Chiusani 41’45”) collected a prestigious third place.

500 total protagonists of the Saluzzo adventure. There will be space and time to grow for an event destined to become the Piedmontese proposal for lovers of long distances. Monviso awaits the next editions.

Now, here are the rankings and the due thanks to all those who made the event possible.