The 44th Gross-Gerau Kriterium and the 22nd Sprint Cup both took place last weekend in Germany and a new face finished on top of the senior men’s category.
Text : Jackob Savard
Photo : Thomas Wendt (@freddyrace)
Skaters of all ages from 28 different countries gathered in Gross-Gerau last weekend for the legendary Gross-Gerau Criterium. The senior skaters all raced a 500m, an elimination race and a points race to collect points for the general classification. Simultaneously, a Sprint Cup was also held for the short distance specialists. This portion of the competition included a 300m TT and a 500m.
Powerslide leads its rookie to victory
While we have been used to seeing Bart Swings and Felix Rijhnen stand out in this competition for Powerslide in the past, the 2022 edition instead saw Colombian Jacobo Mantilla claim top honors for the team. After experiencing an Olympic season on the ice, both veterans supported the team's new acquisition to victory this year. Mantilla finished 3rd in the 500m, 2nd in the 5000m points and 7th in the 10,000m elimination to secure the overall win. The young Colombian is already known for his four Junior World champion title and his three Panamericain champion titles. It will be interesting to see what he accomplishes as the season progresses.
Switzerland's Livio Wenger of Arena Geisingen finished second while Belgium's Jason Suttels, also representing Powerslide, completed the overall podium. Other notable performances in the men's race included the victory of Frenchman Doucelin Pedicone in the points race and Italian Daniele di Stefano’s win in the elimination race. The two event winners did not show enough consistency to reach the top of the general classification.
Vargas and Rueda fought hard for the women's title
The women's criterium featured a heated battle between Ecuador's Gabriela Vargas and Colombia's Gabriela Rueda. At the end of the three distances, it was Vargas, representing NL Custom, who rose to the top of the overall standings with a victory in the 5000m points race, a second place in the 5000m elimination race and an 11th place in the 500m. Young Gabriela Rueda, representing Powerslide, took second place, including a strong win in the 5000m elimination. American Corinne Stoddard, also known for her success in short track, took third place overall wearing Arena Geisingen's colors.
Verdugo and Pedronno, best sprinters of the weekend
Chilean Ricardo Verdugo and French Mathilde Pedronno won the overall classifications for the senior men and ladies. Verdugo won the 500m and finished 4th in the 300m while Pedronno won the 300m and finished 3rd in the 500m. Verdugo was accompanied by Elton de Souza and Jhoan Guzman on the men's cumulative podium while Maria Luisa Gonzalez and Leonie Imhof joined Pedronno on the women's cumulative podium.
The next European Cup will be held at the Arena Geisingen next weekend.
Read our recap of the Trophée des 3 pistes
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