Selva Gardena (BZ) 20.06.12 -The dream has come true. You heard Julia Innerhofer, the South-Tyrolean biker, saying it during a press conference: “ I will be happy to wear race number 2012 should a
company decide to “sponsor” the highest bid during the auction, an auction thought of to assign the last possible race number”. And so it is: Marlene, the famous apple brand from South Tyrol was awarded race number number 2012 for Südtirol Sellaronda HERO and on Saturday 23rd June the coveted number will be worn by the young Italian biker. Marlene‘s bid was of 2,600 Euro, and the total amount will be devolved to Assisport Alto Adige, the association which supports young sporting talent in the province of Bolzano.
The elite
And by finding the rightful owner of the last race number, we have entered the last week before the start of Südtirol Sellaronda HERO when, next Saturday, more than 2000 bikers – representing 25 countries – will compete on two routes of 82 and 52 kilometres which surround the Sella group, at the heart of the Dolomites. As the third edition of HERO is getting nearer and nearer, the outline of those wishing for a place on the podium is getting clearer and clearer. Last year‘s winners are going to be competing, Mirko Celestino, Italian mtb marathon athlete and the German athlete Katrin Schwing: both of them clearly outclassed all others in last year‘s 82 km route. This year Celestino, captain of the Avion Axevo MTB Pro Team will be facing tough rivals, for example the Russian biker Alexey Medvedev (Elettroveneta Corratec), who finished third last year, and the two German bikers Steffen Thum and Simon Gegenheimer, both members of Ultra Sports Rose Racing Team. On the Italian front he will be facing the country‘s rising promise, Johann Pallhuber (Silmax Cannondale Racing Team) and the former World Marathon Champion Massimo Debertolis, member of team Autopolar Volvo Cannondale, who will try to win after last year‘s triple tyre puncture forced him to step out of the race. Among the women we will have Anna Ferrari (Elettroveneta Corratec) who came third in last year‘s edition, behind the German biker Barbara Kaltenhauser, who will also be competing in this third edition of Südtirol Sellaronda HERO.
The programme
The programme for this year‘s Südtirol Sellaronda HERO 2012 has been confirmed: take off on Thursday, 21 June with the Bike & Tech Expo and the chance to retrieve a race pack through until Friday. The first group will begin on Saturday, 23rd June at 7.30 a.m. while the remaining three will gradually leave until 8.30. The first participants should arrive after 3 hours on the 52 km route, while the crowd will have to patient until midday to see who the winner of the 82 km route shall be. The small bikers of HERO KIDS will start their mini non-competitive marathon at 9.30: 3 km winding along the roads of Selva Gardena. Don‘t forget to watch the live web streaming on www.sellarondahero.com , www.gazzetta.it showing you the last part of the 82 km race, from 11.15 to 12.15.