Not just training: in Val Martello, Italy’s biathletes will also compete in the Summer Italian Championships

After Sunday in Dresden, where the City Biathlon featuring the Italian duo lived up to expectations, with Lisa Vittozzi finishing third in the women’s Mass Start and Lukas Hofer doing likewise in the men’s event, the Italian athletes will soon be back in action.

Training at the same Grogg biathlon centre, the national-team athletes will remain in Val Martello, which already hosted the Italian Absolute Championships at the end of March, for the Summer Italian Championships scheduled for 26-27 August.

The South Tyrolean venue has an approximately two-and-a-half-kilometre paved course and volunteered to organise this edition of the Italian Championships; for the occasion, the races will be held on a 1.5 km loop, with the entire elite of Italian biathlon present, except for Tommaso Giacomel, who is still recovering from his shoulder injury.

Lukas Hofer, Patrick Braunhofer, Christoph Pircher, Lisa Vittozzi, Hannah Auchentaller, Rebecca Passler, Samuela Comola and Martina Trabucchi will therefore be among those at the start, along with the B team and the movement’s best young talents. The Italian event will feature two women’s and two men’s races at senior level, with the Sprints scheduled for Wednesday (the men will open the programme at 9:30 a.m.) and the Pursuits on the following day.

“We must be extremely meticulous, especially when putting up the signage, because the athletes will cross paths at certain points. With the right indications, we will ensure the safety of all the women and men competing; this is our absolute priority,” says the Biathlon Martello organising committee. “We are prepared and, together with our many volunteers, cannot wait for the races to begin.”

Admission to all the races will be free, and anyone interested will be able to watch the Summer Italian Championships without difficulty amid the splendid scenery of Stelvio National Park.