Recap: ICON Livigno Xtreme Triathlon 2022
VIDEO: ICON Livigno Xtreme Triathlon
This year in Livigno the temperature was not so cold as the previous editions and ICON athletes found 3 degrees Celsius on the shores of Lago Gallo with clear weather. The starting line was moved several hundreds of meters down because of the low water level. However, the distance in water remained unchanged and the athletes faced 3,8 km in pitch black water in the swimming fraction.
Giulio Molinari, pillar of Livigno athletes and winner of ICON 2021, clearly is among the favourites.
However, this year he is not alone. Saverio Zini, national biathlon athlete born and raised in Livigno, is challenging himself on an event that has become one of the most desirable challenges in the extreme world.
This year there is another athlete in the spotlight: Matteo Fontana, ICON winner and one of the greatest cyclists of ICON 2018.
In the male race, the swimming fraction is the stage where Giulio Molinari can perform at his best. He is the first to get out of the water, leaving a big gap between him and his chaser: Christian Melucci, powerful swimmer. The third athlete to get to T1 is Mateo Fontana.
However, right from the first moments of the bike course it is clear that nothing has already been decided. In fact, after 20km Matteo Fontana bridges the gap between him and Giulio Molinari, he than reaches him and takes his place as the leader of the race.
Fontana immediately imposes a rhythm that does not seem sustainable for other athletes. Behind him, Molinari keeps a large margin between him and Steve Mazzucco, overtaken by Matteo Andreini in the first half of the bike course.
The provisional ranking suddenly changes when Giulio Molinari is forced to withdraw from the race because of a mechanical issue.
Matteo Fontana reaches T2 with more than an hour of advantage on Matteo Andreini, followed by Mazzucco with a gap of 15′. During the running course Fontana is in full control of the situation and he reaches T3 in Plaza Placheda completely alone.
In the last vertical km Matteo Fontana cuts the finish line, reaching Carosello 3000 with a two-hour-advantage on his chaser, replicating his 2018 success.
Behind Fontana the hunt for the medals is getting exciting. In the second half of the running fraction Matthias Knossalla reaches and then overtakes the second position of Matteo Andreini, leaving him 2km behind.
The last vertical kilometer is crucial: Lorenzo Facelli reaches the third position and Andreini goes in the fourth position.
In the female race, Michela Menegon successfully completes the swimming fraction, replicating her 2021 performance. When getting out of the water, Natalie Franken reaches T1 5′ after Michela Menegon, and the same was for Cristiana Pallucca, who reached T1 about 5′ after Natalie Franken.
In the cycling fraction the Swiss athlete Nina Zoller entered the provisional ranking, getting to the head of the female race in less than 30km. Michela Menegon succeeded in keeping the second place until T2, leaving Natalie Franken more than 10 minutes behind.
In the final fraction the running order remains unchanged with the first three athletes 7km away from each other.
Nina Zoller is the first woman to get to Carosello 3000, followed by Michela Menegon with a gap of more than one hour.
As in the male race, the vertical kilometer was crucial. Giorgia Zanetta, in the fourth position until that moment, succeeded in reaching the third place at Carosello 3000.