Goal accomplished for Gioele Bertolini who, after the 26th place in the short track on Friday, confirmed himself among the best 30 in the world also in the Olympic cross country on Sunday. On Albstadt’s uphills, the rider (in Maxime Schimd photo) crossed the finish line in 26th position, at the end of a comeback race that had seen him ended the first lap in 39th position.

«The first two laps were tough», Gioele confirms. «It is very difficult to overtake on the Albstadt track. It requires some upward efforts that an athlete could suffer in the second part of the race. Being so many athletes enclosed in a few seconds, I preferred to keep something for the finale; so I was able to climb back to 26th position».

This result will most likely allow him to line up at the start of the Nove Mesto short track, scheduled for Friday 13th.

«The level is so high that you have to fight for every position. This is why short track is becoming decisive, like qualifying in F1. If I manage to gain a few positions on the starting grid, I could aim for a better position in Sunday's xco, on a more technical track that allows you to make a difference even in the downhill sectors».

In the women's field, after the victories in Italy Giorgia Marchet and Eva Lechner ran into an unlucky day, which saw them relegated to 32nd and 34th places. Giorgia Marchet was penalized by a puncture on the penultimate lap. A problem that cost her a probably top 20, which would have been a good result for the next World Cup weekend in Nove Mesto; the Italian champion, on the other hand, after an excellent short track didn’t find the right leg speed to stay with the best athletes.

Good performance for Under 23 Noemi Plankensteiner: in her World Cup debut, the 19-year-old (in Maxime Schimd’s photo) took a solid 16th place.

Among the U23's, however, the 79th position of Filippo Agostinacchio ended in 79th position and Andrea Colombo in 127th.

In addition to the World Cup races, on Saturday there were also the Uci Junior Series’ competitions, in which Valentina Corvi and Fabio Bassignana competed. Excellent performance by Fabio, able to finish in twelfth position, confirming himself among the best Italian specialists in the category. Hard day in the office for Valentina Corvi, who was unable to express her potential, having to settle for 14th place.

Archived the german races, Trinx Factory Team is moving to the Nove Mesto (Czech Republic), where the third act of the World Cup will be held next weekend.