By André Santos

Today some Italian and French Pro teams attended the 40km classic race, Marcia Gran Paradiso, in Cogne, Italy. 
Alexis Jeannerod, Team Décathlon Expérience, won the race.

Cogne, in the region of Aosta Valley, is located at an altitude of 1534 meters above sea level.

On the men’s side, Alexis Jeannerod, Team Décathlon Expérience, was the first to cross the finish line, completing the course in 1 hour, 43 minutes, and 52 seconds and showing that he recovered after the frostbites he got in Engadin La Diagonela three weeks ago.
“I’m happy to be back competing again. I was not in my best shape after two weeks out of the tracks, but it feels good to taste victory,” says Jeannerod, feeling optimistic about his comeback.

Christian Lorenzi, from the Italian Pro team SottoZero Trentino Team Zorzi Max finished 7th, 4 minutes and 10 seconds behind Jeannerod. Another Italian Pro team, Team Futura Trentino Alta Quota, also had some athletes in the race. Stefano Mich finishing 10th, 2 seconds behind Lorenzi. Antoine Tarantola, Team Feclaz Formation Longue Distance, and Lorenzo Busin, Team Robinson Trentino, finished 14th and 15th, respectively.

On the women’s side, Celine Chopard Lallier, Team Feclaz Formation Longue Distance, finished 3rd, in 1 hour 59 minutes and 34 seconds. 4 minutes and 58 seconds behind the winner, Italian Elisa Brocard.
“It was a tough day for me. I didn’t have a lot of energy today, but luckily I had amazing skis. My coach did an excellent job. It was the best glide I have ever had”, says Celine.
Also, Chiara Caminada, Team Robinson Trentino, participated in the race and finished 6th.

You find results from Marcia Gran Paradiso here.