Media Information
France and Italy show their dominance of the Individual format at Meribel
Second day of competition of the Youth World Cup, with 4 medals for Italy, three for China, two for France and one for Switzerland, Spain and Andorra
Meribel, 10 December 2023 – The second day of competition of the ISMF Youth World Cup in Meribel, France, saw a magnificent display of the younger generation of French athletes, with Louise Trincaz and Jules Raybaud claiming gold on the U20 Individual races. On the younger category, Yuzhen Cidan (CHN) dominated the field to cross the line in first with over three minutes on the rest of the field, while on the Men’s U18 it was Switzerland’s Malik Uldry who produced the first win of his career. In total, it would be 4 medals for Italy, three for China, two for France and one for Switzerland, Spain and Andorra.
U18 Women
The younger girls had to face 880m+ on pristine conditions, with a bit of fresh snow in the French Alpine resort, combining four ascends, three descends and two segments on foot. And it was the triple gold medallist at the EYOF and Sprint current World Champion Laia Selles who pushed the pace from the gun, only followed by two Chinese athletes, Yuzhen Cidan and Ani Pumu. Half way through the race, Cidan, who won every race she started last year except the Sprint World Championships, and current World Champion U18 on Individual and Vertical, proved that she will be the one to beat this season as well.
With a formidable form despite having started in the sport only last year, she continued to push until the end, to cross the finish line in first place, to then wait for over three minutes to see the next girl on the finish line. And it was Selles (ESP) who captured the silver, with Pumu (CHN), who won the Sprint race in Meribel just yesterday, finished in third place.
Behind the leading trio, it would be Martina Scola (ITA) producing a great effort at the end of the race to grab the chocolate medal, 4th place, followed by Lynn Pollinger (SUI), Elena Beatrice Boboc (ROU), Vanessa Marca (ITA) and Erola Rocias (ESP) closing the top eight.
U18 Men
The Men’s U18 category saw 40 boys lining up for a similar route as the girls, and Enrico Pellegrini (ITA) leading the race during the first climb, followed by a small group that would be battling for the medals during the whole day, including Gonzalo Casares (ESP), Malik Uldry (SUI), Luca Corioni (ITA) and Elias Peer (AUT).
The second climb proved to be decisive, with Casares fading down in the second half of the race and Uldry pushing hard to get on the lead, which he wouldn’t leave until he crossed the finish line, all smiles, to ger the best result of his career so far. Just 23 seconds behind him, Enrico Pellegrini earned the silver medal with a sprint over his teammate Luca Curioni, who completed the podium.
The disappointment of the day was for Elias Peer (AUT), who had an extraordinary race and crossed the finish line in second place right after Uldry, but was later penalized with one minute for not having all the mandatory equipment, therefore being relegated to the fourth place. Theo Voutaz (FRA) was fifth, followed by Arno Mooser (SUI), Gonzalo Casares (ESP) and Langija Gongsong (CHN) closed the top eight.
U20 Women
After the disappointment of her fourth place at the Sprint race yesterday, Louise Trincaz had just one goal on mind when she toed the start line today: win a race at home. And the young Frenchwoman did deliver.
The race was broken almost from the start as Zuzhenlamu (CHN) -winner of the Sprint yesterday- pushed incredibly hard on the first climb, no one able to follow her, but with Shengmai Mao (CHN), Trincaz and Loanne Roussillon behind. It would be on the downhill and the second climb where Trincaz would make her move, to put herself in first place and never look back.
Yuzhenlamu managed to stay in the second place despite the formidable performance of Lea Ancion Havet (AND), who was on a chase mood and climbed to the third place despite a one minute penalty, claiming the second medal for her in this weekend in Meribel.
Trincaz, current world champion on Individual, proved that she won’t be easy to bet also this year, and adds another gold medal to her already impressive collection.
The fourth place was for Shengmei Mai (CHN), followed by Margaux Mendes de Leon (SUI), Loanne Roussillon (FRA), Anna Majerczyk (POL) and Clizia Vallet (ITA), who rounded the top eight.
U20 Men
Jules Raybaud (FRA) knew that he was the one to beat today and had all eyes on him, but the young Frenchman proved that he knows how to handle the pressure of racing almost at home and wearing the number 1. He was willing to show how his form has improved in the pre-season months, and started the race at a pace that was just non feasible for the rest of the field.
With 1450m+ planned for the U20 Men’s race, he started dropping athletes one after the other one, and by the time they all were in the middle point, he had a long queue of boys behind them.
He never looked back, and crossed the finish line in first place, half a minute ahead of Hermann Debertolis (ITA), who also stayed in second place for most of the race. The bronze medal was finally for another Italian, Simone Compagnoni, who managed to pass Eliott Robin-Saje (FRA) before the line.
The fifth place was for Vicenzo Leonardo Taufer (ITA) and Erik Canovi (ITA) claimed the sixth place, but fourth Italian on the day, showing how strong the Italian team is on this type of races. Silvano Wolf (AUT) was seventh and Mathieu Pharisa (SUI) rounded the top 8.