Perillat-Pessey gets her first career win
On a rainy night in Ponte di Legno, Arno Lietha won his second sprint race in a row. Célia Perillat-Pessey won the women’s race.
Ponte di Legno, 16 December 2022 – Low clouds, rain in the air and night racing made the second Sprint race of the season a spectacular one. A race that saw some technical challenges for a few athletes and crashes in almost every elimination run. The wet snow was a problem for the skins, but a jump just before the finish followed by a sharp turn had shuffled the cards plenty of times since the start of the qualification rounds.
The race was changing from second to second, and because of that, Emily Harrop didn’t make it to the final and Giulia Murada lost her triumph a few meters before the finish.
In short, the sprints in Ponte di Legno once again delivered quite a spectacle.
Perillat-Pessey: “I don’t believe it!”
Marianna Jagerčíková of Slovakia set the pace of the women’s final run and led the race to the foot part. Then the Italian athlete Giulia Murada overtook her and handled the last part of the uphill perfectly. She had a good gap for the downhill but fell in the last metres and lost the triumph.
Célia Perillat-Pessey was the first to cross the finish line and was immediately in tears. It was the first-ever World Cup victory for the 25-year-old French woman.
“I don’t believe it, it’s a dream come true for me! I was in the second position in the downhill, but then I saw Giulia Murada’s fall, which was incredible. I crossed the finish line as a winner, that’s something special. I’m so happy…” said Perillat-Pessey, who shared the podium with her compatriot Léna Bonnel (third) and Marianna Jagerčíková (silver).
After the two races, Perillat-Pessey is the overall leader, and she will want to confirm her top shape in Sunday’s Individual race.
Two out of two for Lietha
The men’s final also brought an exciting battle. In the second part of the uphill, Thibault Anselmet pulled back Arno Lieth’s lead, but then he had a problem with his skins and ended up off the podium. Nicolo Ernesto Canclini (Italy) had a similar problem, but he managed to control the situation to finish in third place in front of the delighted Italian crowd.
Arno Lietha led all the way from start to finish. In the end, he won with a huge gap, and he confirmed that he would be one to beat in the sprint races this season.
“I didn’t feel really well, not like in Val Thorens. So I’m more than satisfied with this win,” said Lietha, who had no problems with the skins during today’s race.
Last but not least, today’s race was not only about the winners. One of the Chinese athletes that were making their debut on the circuit today had a fall on the jump during the recognition of the track before the start. As a result, he broke his ski, and if the Spanish team hadn’t helped him, he probably wouldn’t have been able to start. This showed that, above all, there is fair play, even between different countries.
Click here for the full results.
For the photo gallery, click here.
