(by Gustavo Vitali - FIVL Press Office) For the tenth time, the last six consecutive, Italy wins the title of hang-gliding world champion.
Also the gold and silver medals in the individual with Alessandro Ploner, pilot of San Cassiano (Bolzano), and Christian Ciech from Trentino transplanted to Varese. For Ploner it is his third world title while Ciech had won it in the 2015. Adding the five European titles and the many individual medals, one does not remember a sporting discipline in which a tricolor representation has won more.
The Azzurri have been leading the games right from the start, keeping the head of the charts during all nine disputed tasks, one a day. Cancel two more due to bad weather. Only the German Primoz Gricar managed to stem the Italian superpower, finishing the championship with a deserved third place ahead of the Swiss Peter Neuenschwander and the French Mario Alonzi. Italy, Brazil, Austria, Germany and Japan are in the team rankings.
Theater of Triumph the skies of Friuli and those of neighboring Slovenia and Austria where sometimes the routes assigned to the 120 pilots representing 29 nations are boundless, 75 km the shortest, 200 the longest, distances covered using currents as an “engine” rising air and the efficiency of the wings. Luigi Seravalli from Friuli was the race director; assigned to weather forecasting the Vicenza instructor Damiano Zanocco.
The other blues in the race: Filippo Oppici from Sala Baganza (Parma) ninth classified, Marco Laurenzi from Veroli (Frosinone) eleventh, Davide Guiducci from Villa Minozzo (Reggio Emilia), Tullio Gervasoni from Brescia, Suan Selenati from Enemonzo (Udine) and Manuel Revelli of Cervasca (Cuneo). To the stars Flavio Tebaldi from Varese from Castiglione Olona, historical coach of the team, assisted by Elia Piccinini from Castellarano (Reggio Emilia).
Operating center in Tolmezzo (Udine) which hosted numerous side events as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. Evaluate daily attendances on average in 7000. Numerous the crowd of field workers, a real locomotive without which no free flight contest could exist, besides 40 people coordinated by Bernardo Gasparni, by the safety manager Giovanni Rupil and by Aero Club Lega Piloti who have collected yet another medal if ever so they could reward their efficient and unanimously appreciated organization. The support of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, of Promo Turismo FVG, of the Municipality of Tolmezzo and of the local authorities is fundamental.