The international weekend of Challenge Sanremo 2023 opened in style. In the competition area set up in Piazzale Carlo Dapporto, two moments of sport were celebrated which provided endless emotions and served as a prelude to Sunday’s races.
The morning and early afternoon were animated by over 100 young athletes from all youth categories who faced the respective race distances with grit, determination and lots of fun. A true sporting spectacle with the triathletes of the future as protagonists which anticipated the Sanremo Swimrun – Memorial Alessio Bianchi Challenge. In the women’s field, the 1992 Riviera Triathlon athlete Vittoria Bergamini prevailed, making her debut in this specialty, giving even the best men a hard time and keeping the colors of the event’s organizing company high. Monica Fierile and Laura Protto also took the podium. Among the men, Matteo Testa prevailed, arriving on parade with Hugues Plessis, third place for Samuele Lisdero.
In the morning, Challenge Sanremo celebrated the “blue flag” received from the Municipality of Riva Ligure, the banner awarded every year to those municipalities that stand out for their commitment to promoting the practice of running and walking and health more generally, as tools of well-being and quality of life. The triathlon champion Bart Aernouts (Belgium), vice world champion who will be at the start of the Challenge Sanremo tomorrow, also participated in the presentation of the 2 km route worthy of the flag and certified by Fidal.
At 8 o’clock, the middle distance Challenge Sanremo will start (1.9 km of swimming, 90 km of cycling, 21 km of running) with over 300 athletes from all over the globe, followed by, at 9:00, the Sprint triathlon (0.75 km swimming, 20 km cycling, 5 km running) with 200 athletes competing. We remind you that the race organized by Riviera Triathlon 1992 will assign the qualification slots for TheChampionship, the world final of the Challenge Family circuit.
Very high level for medium distance racing. Spotlight on Bart Aernouts, vice Ironman world champion in Kona in 2018, winner of the Challenge Roth in 2017, Duathlon world champion in 2010, this season first at the Challenge Frejus and second at Ironman Nice and Ironman 70.3 Pays of Aix. The expert Belgian triathlete will try to repel the attacks of the French William Mennesson and Simon Viain, both on the podium of the 2022 edition, and the Australian Caleb Noble, who has been getting familiar with the roads of the province of Imperia for several days. Also noteworthy in the notebook are the names of Andreas Dreitz (Ger), Giel Meesen (Ned), Jordi Montraveta (Esp) and the Italian Emanuele Faraco. Among the women, it is worth keeping an eye on the British champion Jodie Stimpson, who before turning towards long distances was world triathlon champion (2010) and two-time gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games. South African Magda Nieuwoudt will certainly not be intimidated, having scored in the Davos, Gunsan and Frejus Challenges, and Justine Guerard (Fra), third last year, Sarah Schoenfelder (Ger), Lisa Maria Dornauer and Gabriele Maria Obmann (Aut), Megan McDonald (Gbr), Charlene Clavel (Fra) and the Italian Lilli Gelmini.
In the sprint triathlon, in addition to Kiril Polikarpenko who will want to improve on last year’s second place, the home athlete of the Riviera Triathlon 1992 Vittorio Russo and several other emerging youngsters should be followed.
On starting line, there will be also Masterchef Italia finalist Gilberto Neirotti, a triathlon enthusiast who chose Sanremo for his Italian debut in multisport.
A few minutes before the start of the race, there will be a performance by the Sanremo Symphonic Orchestra which will perform Il Canto degli Italiani, better known as the Inno di Mameli or the Italian national anthem.
The mix of music and triathlon will continue towards the end of the day: at the Casino theatre, which will host the awards ceremony for the Challenge athletes and the final of the RPM competition, the Symphonic Orchestra will precede the call to the stage of the winners of the triathlon competitions with the performance of the Ode to Joy, the ode by Friedrich Schiller used by Ludwig van Beethoven in his Ninth Symphony.
YOUTH RACES https://www.nextrace.net/timing/schedaclassifica.php?idgara=2938&lan=it
SWIMRUN https://www.nextrace.net/timing/schedaclassifica.php?idgara=2937&lan=it
LIVE STREAMING: https://www.youtube.com/live/7btIytOsHJ4?si=lgkirMXoJfuolYgP
