The Italian ultra-runner from Vicenza won the 2021 race on the longest distance (170 km) with a 27:13:27 time. Walter Manser and Eva Sperger earned glory in the Pontedilegno-Tonale area on the 90 km distance.
Italy’s Roberto Mastrotto won the 2021 Adamello Ultra Trail on Saturday September 25th, 2021. The ultrarunner from Vicenza ran a smart race over the event’s longest distance – 170 km– to dominate on the finish line in Vezza d’Oglio (Brescia, Italy) after 27 hours, 13 minutes and 27 secondsof effort through the Paths of the Great War in the Pontedilegno-Tonale area. Between theAlta Val Camonica and the Alta Val di Sole, across the Adamello and the Stelvio Nature Park, Mastrotto finished 1:26:15 ahead of Andrea Macchi and Jimmy Pellegrini, who ran almost the entire race together.
Early in the race, started on Friday September 24th at 9 am CET, the trio had already come to the fore along with more highly regarded names such as Andrea Mattiato and Alexander Rabensteiner. 30 km into the race, Jimmy Pellegrini and Andrea Macchitook the leadof the race and within twenty kilometres they gained up to 20 minutes on the chasers.
It could have already been the decisive breakaway, but behind them Mastrotto began to speed up and start his comeback.
The chase came to an end overnight in Piana dei Morei, at km 115, when Mastrotto reached the leaders. After a short stretch ran together, at the Rifugio alla Cascata the rider from Vicenza decided to make a quick pit-stop leaving the fellow athletes behind. Mastrotto continued at a steady pace, and still managed to gradually build up a significant lead, reaching a margin of one hour and ten minutes by the Lake Mortirolo.
Finishing ahead of athletes such as Pellegrini, who won the Adamello Ultra Trail twice, and Macchi, already on the podium at the Tor des Geants in 2017, made the success even more prestigious for the rider from Vicenza. After his second place at the Ultrabericus Trail in May, Mastrotto performed well at the Lavaredo Ultra Trail in July, finishing in ninth place overall in the international race. The success in Vezza d’Oglio, however, is the icing on the cake of a season to remember.
Managing his energies wisely was a key factor to Roberto Mastrotto’s victory. “I tried to manage myself in the first part of the race, without forcing the pace to stay with Pellegrini and Macchi – said the winner after the finish -. I gradually started to gain time and terrain, getting closer to the leading duo. When we arrived at the Rifugio alla Cascata I saw their tired faces and I decided to keep up running: I thought they would catch me, but in the end it worked out well. For me the Adamello Ultra Trail was a surprise from start to finish, I had never been in these places, and I discovered some fantastic trails to run on”.
WALTER MANSER TRIUMPHS ON THE 90 KM DISTANCE
Before Mastrotto, the very first winner of 2021 Adamello Ultra Trail wasWalter Manser, who won the 90 km distance in 11:50:57 on Friday, September 24th. The athlete from Wartau, Switzerland,controlled the pace in the early part of the race, before escaping in a solo action and leaving all the opponents behind.
After the start in Vezza d’Oglio at 7 AM, a 5-man group got clear, including Manser, 2019 champion Luca Carrara, Georg Piazza, Mauro Rasom and Dino Melzani. Around the 20km checkpoint, Piazza tried to escape and only Manser was able to keep the pace. The Suisse runner took the solo lead after 6 hours in the race at the Graole time check: from there, the gap kept increasing until the finish line in Vezza d’Oglio. Manser won with a 20:47 advantage on Mauro Rasom and 1:01:35 on Andrea Sorteni.
Behind the Swiss, Italian Rasom chased Piazza – who started fast but could not keep the pace until the end – and finished second. Behind him, home athlete Andrea Sorteni was a protagonist of a remarkable comeback as well, to finish third overall.
Thanks to this success, Manser got his first win in 2021, after the prestigious triumph in the 90 km SwissPeaks last year. “This is one of the best races I have ever run, and I am pleased to be here – said Manser after the finish line -. I never felt under pressure and around km 40 I took the initiative and raised the pace. Now I just feel like resting, on Saturday I will be on the route supporting Denise Zimmerman in the 170 km race and then I will think about the remainder of the season“.
EVA SPERGER TAMES THE WOMEN’S 90 KM
German Eva Spergerlit up the night of Friday, September 24th, winning the 90 km Women’s category race. The athlete from Munichwon in 14:38:51, dominating the race and showing her supremacy on all opponents.
Halfway through the race, Sperger was already 19 minutes ahead of Chiara Galli and over one hour on Patrizia Passeri: this trio was also confirmed on the final podium, even though Galli had moved closer to the leader at km 65, cutting her gap to 13 minutes.
On the finish line, Sperger won with an advantage of 38:42on Chiara Galli and of 2:55:27on third-placed Patrizia Passeri. For the German runner, this is another remarkable achievement following the second place at the Trail Verbier St. Bernard X-Alpine:
“I’m happy to have takenpart in the Adamello Ultra Trail, this area has wonderful landscapes and very beautiful paths,– commented Sperger at the end – and the sunset on the Adamello was breath-taking. This result gives me extra confidence towards my next goal, the Madeira Island Ultra Trail: hopefully it can also bring me good luck”.
ZIMMERMANN LEADING THE 170KM WOMEN
The arrival of the first women of the 170 km distance is expected for the evening of Saturday, September 25th. Around 3 pm CET on Saturday, Denise Zimmermann was leading the race after the withdrawals of big names such as, Cristiana Follador and Giulia Saggin, ahead of Kim Dania Schierhorn and Scilla Tonetti.
At 2 pm CET, the 35 km also took off from Monno, as closing event of Adamello Ultra Trail 2021. The first finishes are also expected on Saturday evening, while the awarding ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, September 26th, at 2 pm CET.
