Plusieurs centaines de féminines étaient également au départ de cette superbe classique Italienne.
Un rendez-vous devenu incontournable au calendrier mondial et un niveau qui s'améliore chaque année. Pour cette édition 2014, Seraina Boner recueillait les faveurs du pronostic au départ de Moena ce matin.
Mais la Suissesse, malade cette semaine, a trouvé aujourd'hui plus forte qu'elle avec Julia Tikhonova. La Russe, qui souhaite se spécialiser sur les longues distances, a réussi son coup.
Au terme des 70km de la course, Tikhonova passe la ligne en solitaire avec un chrono de 3'27"54. Seraina Boner parvient à sauver sa deuxième place avec un retard de 1min07.
Surprise au troisième rang avec l'avènement de la Suédoise Annika Löfström qui arrive à 3min28 de Tikhonova. La Norvégienne Kveli se classe 4e suivie par la seconde Suédoise Nyströme et la deuxième Norvégienne Staver.
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Les réactions :
1st Julia Tikhonova (RUS):
"I am so happy! It's an incredible thing to win Marcialonga! I haven't expected that! I knew that the race would be decided at the last uphill. I especially prepared for that and I am really satisfied and happy that this special preparation worked out! I hope to race many more races this winter and of course to be on the podium again!"
2nd Seraina Boner (SUI):
"Surely it would have been great to win again, but honestly I am really satisfied with my second place. I was in bed, dinking tea the last two days and didn't feel very well. This morning it was better and I tought to give it a go. Julia pushed really hard and when she had a gap after about the half of the race, I couldn't close it again. So I kept going, pushing hard nevertheless as I knew that the others were coming, too. It's good that there are more girls now racing in the long distance competitions, but there is still place for more! I hope that others will follow even if that means that it will be harder to win. Next stop will be the Olympics for me – I am so excited that it worked out for me in the end. The Games just fit perfectly in my calendar so I do not have to change much."
3rd Annika Löfström (SWE):
"That's so amazing! I never ever imagined that I could make it to the podium today!!! I am still speachless! I had a really good race. It was slow at the start with the new snow which made it also a very tough race, especially at the start where everbody pushed really hard and then suddenly the track gets pretty narrow. However, I really enjoyed it and am more than satisfied with my third place!"
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Le top 6 dames :
1. Julia Tikhonova, Russian Marathon Team 3:27:54.1
2. Seraina Boner, Team Coop 3:29:03.1
3. Annika Löfström, Team SkiProAm 3:30:18.70
4. Laila Kveli, Team Centric 3:32:12.30
5. Susanne Nyström, Team Centric 3:36:04.90
6. Tuva Toftdahl Staver, Team Coop 3:37:33.10
Photo : Nordic Focus