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Selles, Pujol, Waldal and Raybaud crowned European Champions of Sprint in the Youth categories
Flaine, 10 January 2024 –The new generations of skimo athletes are coming strong! Laia Selles (U18 Women, Spain), Jules Raybaud (U20 Men, France) and Ida Waldal (U20 Woman, Norway) added another gold medal to their tally of the ISMF European Championships on the Sprint race hosted this Wednesday morning, while on the U18 Men category it was another Spaniard, Julia Pujol, who claimed the European crown.
On a cold but stunning morning in Flaine, France, the U18 Women were the first to kick off the qualification round, with all the Youth categories (U18 and U20, men and women) in the top 12 in the qualifying round going straight to the semifinals.
The winner of the Individual race on Monday, Laia Selles, had all eyes on her, and it was clear that she would be hard to beat in the Sprint race, a format that she has mastered multiple times before. She made her way easily to the semifinal with the second-best time, to then win her semifinal easily, finishing almost 12 seconds ahead of the next athlete. Melissa Bertolina (ITA), on the other side of the brackets, also won her semifinal, but with less margin. Both of them would be joined in the final by Emma Albrecht (AUT) and Lynn Pollinger (SUI), while the two lucky losers were Enya Summermatter (SUI) and Erola Rocias (ESP).
In the final, Selles went full gas from the gun, and even before the steps she was already leading by a few meters and she made it to the last transition clearly alone to cross the finish line 15 seconds ahead of the silver medallists Lynn Pollinger (SUI), while Emma Albrecht (AUT) outsprinted in the last meters Melissa Bertolina (ITA). Erola Rocias and Enya Summermatter closed the top six.
Selles adds another gold medal to her already impressive collection: three gold medals at the 2023 European Youth Olympic Festival, one gold (Sprint) and two silver medals at last year’s World Championships.
The U18 Men’s race was the most disputed of the Youth categories, with 25 young athletes toeing the start line, and it was Norway’s Aron Rodal Haugen who pushed hard from the qualification and then won his semifinal, while on the other side of the brackets it was Julia Pujol leading the table and winning the second semifinal.
Both of them were joined in the final by Theo Voutaz (SUI) and Enrico Pellegrini (ITA), while the two spots reserved for the lucky losers were for Inigo Velazquez Moya and Lucca Curioni (ITA9.
Once in the final, Haugen dominated the race from the start, followed closely by Velazquez, while Voutaz and Pujol were fighting for the third place. Some small issues with the second change for Inigo Velazquez had him losing some positions. It was Haugen who crossed the finish line in first place, followed by Pujol and Voutaz, who outsprinted Velazquez just before crossing the finish line. But a penalty was applied to Haugen, who was moved to sixth place, with Biel Pujol then claiming the European title, Voutaz silver, and Valezquez in third position.
The U20 female category had another Norwegian dominating the race: Ida Waldal. After winning a gold medal also yesterday, the young skier from Norway showcased incredible strength on the segments uphill to claim the European title ahead of Lea Ancion Havet (AND) -who grabbed a bronze medal in the individual race two days ago- while Eva Matejovikova grabbed bronze. Behind them, Louise Trincaz (FRA), Clizia Vallet (ITA) and Louise Rigaud (FRA) closed the top six.
The fastest of the Youth categories was the U20 Men, who had another Spaniard, Biel Pujol, dominating the qualification and his semifinal but struggling with his skin in the first meters after the start of the final, losing all hopes of a medal. It was Jules Raybaud (FRA), who had dominated his category all season long and winner of the gold medal at the individual race, who claimed the victory, to much delight of the local spectators. Behind him, Mael Brun rounded the day for Team France with a silver medal, while Max Palmitjavilla (AND) finished in third place, a second medal today for Andorra. Hermann Debertolis (ITA), Erik Canovi (ITA) and Biel Pujol (ESP) closed the top six.