Matteo Tanel nursing knocks, but the defending champion will be there for the Fiemme finals: “I’ll give everything”

Everything is ready for the weekend that, from Friday 18 to Sunday 20 September, will see Val di Fiemme host the final and decisive round of the Skiroll World Cup.

The spotlight is once again on the Trentino valley, an Olympic venue, which will provide the setting for a grand finale that will determine the winners of the overall and discipline standings in the premier roller-skiing circuit. After the first two rounds, everything is still wide open, with the Italian athletes firmly in contention for the most prestigious placings and ready to put on a show between Alpe Cermis and Ziano di Fiemme. The programme gets off to a spectacular start: on Friday, the 10 km Mass Start on Cermis will open the weekend, a race that on paper should suit the Italian roller skiers.

On Saturday 19, the spotlight will instead turn to the adrenaline-fuelled Sprints, scheduled on the 200-metre straight on Via Nazionale in Ziano. The grand finale comes on Sunday with the Team Sprint TL, a relay race in which pairs from the national teams will compete over a 2.24 km circuit. There is great anticipation for Maria Eugenia Boccardi and Anna Maria Ghiddi after the world silver medal they won at the last round in Latvia. Emanuele Becchis is also coming off an outstanding World Championships: after winning his 5^th world Sprint title, he currently occupies 2^nd place in the discipline standings behind his great rival Raimo Vigants.

Another duel with the Latvian is therefore expected, while Trentino’s Michele Valerio, the world silver medallist, is ready to join the fight for the podium. Alba Mortagna and Anna Maria Ghiddi occupy third and fourth place respectively in the Sprint standings, behind Norway’s Aarekol Ragnhild, the reigning overall and discipline champion, and Sweden’s Ebba Stenman.

As for the overall standings, Maria Eugenia Boccardi still has a realistic chance of claiming the podium place she already reached two years ago. Tommaso Dellagiacoma, currently fifth, will instead have to overcome competition from Sweden’s Erik Fransson and Simon Karlsson, as well as Thomas Bing, second in the standings, and the ever-present Raimo Vigants, currently in the lead.

Last year, Val di Fiemme brought good fortune to defending champion Matteo Tanel, but this year the three-time World Cup winner was forced to miss the previous rounds due to some physical problems. Although he has not yet fully recovered, the 1993-born athlete has nevertheless chosen to be there for the grand finale and face the challenge with all his heart: “I’ll be in Val di Fiemme and I’ll also do Cermis. I missed the previous rounds because of back problems that I haven’t completely resolved yet, but I’ll climb it with all my heart, give everything I have and try to do my best, as I always have.”

The event at Alpe Cermis is undoubtedly one of the most prestigious and iconic rounds on the calendar, a challenge against the opponents but also against oneself, where strategy will make the difference, as Tanel explains: “The climb isn’t very long, but it’s definitely steep. It needs to be managed well, without getting carried away and by riding your own race. Before that, though, it’s advisable to expend as little energy as possible on the flat, staying sheltered in the group, and then impose your own pace as soon as the climb begins. In the final section, you have to switch off your inhibitions and give everything—definitely easier said than done.”

After the intense work of recent weeks, the Nordic Ski Val di Fiemme committee is now only waiting for the start. But the committee is also looking ahead, with a packed calendar of events that will include the Nordic Combined World Cup from 11 to 13 December, the FIS Continental Cup in Ski Jumping scheduled for 19 and 20 December, and the 21^st Tour de Ski from 8 to 10 January 2027.

Meanwhile, FISI has officially confirmed the Italian team for the home World Cup finals: Emanuele Becchis, Davide Piccinini, Stefano Epis, Federico Sartori, Raul Castagna, Alessandro Tazzioli, Maria Invernizzi, Nicole Falanelli, Noemi Parisi, Anna Maria Ghiddi, Alba Mortagna, Maria Eugenia Boccardi, Elisabetta Bernardi, Matteo Tanel, Riccardo Masiero, Riccardo Munari, Tommaso Dellagiacoma, Francesco Chiaradia, Alessio Berlanda, Michele Valerio and Alessandro Corradi.