The 40th edition of the Biella-Piedicavallo will start this morning at 10 from Piazza Vittorio Veneto. 390 people enrolled in the 18.7 km uphill foot race, to which 141 must be added to the 4th Balma-Piedicavallo of 7 kilometers. Two top-level athletes joined the last hour. These are the Burundian Clementine Mukandanga, registered for Atletica Virtus Lucca and the Rwandan Jean Baptiste Simukeka, from Orecchiella Garfagnana. They have both lived in Siena for some time. Simukeka born in 1983 is an athlete with a great international past, also seen in the race in the Biella area: he was third in the 2010 marathon and in the top 10 at the Giro di Pettinengo in 2016. Last year he was third overall in the Reggio Emilia marathon and two weeks ago he finished second in the Brugnera marathon. We will see how he fares on the demanding climbs from Biella to Piedicavallo and if he manages to put specialists such as Italo Quazzola and Xavier Chevrier in difficulty.
Mukandanga, class of ’85, on the other hand, is a candidate number 1 for the victory in the women’s field: we already remember her as the winner in 2019 at Biella-Oropa with a time of 56’56 ”, ninth time ever. The blue Gloria Giudici, born in 1987, is trying to block her way. For several years he has been involved in the national mountain and trail running team, so much so that he wore the blue jersey at the 2015, ’17 and ’19 World Championships. An athlete to whom the difference in height of the Biella-Piedicavallo could be congenial. Other hot names are those of Valentina Dameno, Nadia Re, Chiara Giovando, Lisa Borzani, the Triverese Ilaria Zaccagni and the Italian multi-champion countryman Elena Romagnolo, who has decided to restart for the third time after the births of Carlotta in 2016 and Margherita the Last year. «I am not in optimal conditions yet, but I have been training again for three months – says the 38-year-old from Cus Pro Patria -. I want to compete, savor the taste of competition. This is a classic test for the Biellese and I am happy to go back to confront myself and see where I am. In the next months I think I will try some half marathons, but a lot will depend on the situation ».