Oxyburn is the official sponsor of the Valsabbia race. Alex Baldaccini retained his overall title following his record-breaking victory in 2015, while Monica Seraghiti was crowned women’s champion.

(Pompegnino di Vobarno, BS) – 46’17”: that was the time with which Alex Baldaccini, an athlete from the Gruppo Sportivo Orobie and the pre-race favorite, crossed the finish line as the winner of the 2016 Pompegnino Vertical Trail, an international trail running race featuring a 10.8k course and 700 meters of elevation gain. Finishing behind him, with a time of 46’44”, was Andrea Bottarelli of the Gruppo Podistico Pellegrinelli—who placed sixth last year—followed by his teammate Davide Danesi, who came in third with a time of 47’11”. In the women’s race, however, the victory went to Free-Zone athlete Monica Seraghiti, who, with a time of 56’44” finished 52 seconds ahead of her teammate Angela Serena—who repeated her second-place finish from 2015—and 1 minute and 15 seconds ahead of Maria Cocchetti of Atletica Paratico.

Despite the widespread bad weather, which marred most of the local running events this weekend in mid-June, the weather in Pompegnino di Vobarno was mild, and despite the leaden sky, the rain spared the 500 athletes who had gathered at the starting line at 9:30 a.m. The only thing affected was the ground, which was particularly heavy and muddy, negatively impacting the athletes’ final times.

“The course was much tougher than last year , ” confirmed Alex Baldaccini at the finish line —the 2015 winner and race record holder with a time of 42’46” —“but we were lucky with the weather. As for me, I felt good on the climbs, while on the descents I mostly tried to manage my lead, even though, at the end of one of them, I had to start pushing hard again all the way to the finish line because my rivals had closed in significantly. What can I say… I’m very happy,” Alex concluded, “to have added my name to the roll of honor for this wonderful race for the second time!”

As for the other race statistics, a total of 500 trail runners lined up at the start—an all-time record for the event—and 467 athletes crossed the finish line of what has now become one of the most beloved classic races not only in the Valle Sabbia region but throughout all of Lombardy: What makes the Pompegnino Vertical Trail one of the most beloved and well-attended races—in addition to the beauty of the area and the appeal of a technical, up-and-down course that’s also accessible to less experienced runners— the impeccable organization of the event—recognized by all athletes once again this year and highlighted by Alex—masterfully orchestrated by Paolo Salvadori (President of ASD Atletica Libertas Vallesabbia), who is also the creator and mentor of the Tre Campanili Half Marathon, which will take place in Vestone on Sunday, July 3.