The 42nd edition of the Granfondo Val Casies cross-country skiing event took place in Val Casies, South Tyrol, with races on Saturday and Sunday. Olympic biathlon silver medallist Lukas Hofer competed in the 42km free technique race, finishing fifth. Italian athletes secured multiple victories across the categories.
The Granfondo Val Casies, held in sunny conditions, featured classic technique races on Saturday and free technique races on Sunday. In the men's 42km classic race, Francesco Ferrari of Italy won with a time of 1:43:47.2, edging out Christian Lorenzi by 10.8 seconds, while Johannes Kuchl of Germany took third at 1:44:15.6. Thomas Rinner claimed victory in the men's 30km classic, finishing in 1:12:13.9 after a close sprint against Paolo Fanton, with Ivo Noeckler in third.
Among the women, Austria's Anna Schmidhofer dominated the 42km classic race, completing it in 1:55:17.4, more than seven minutes ahead of Italy's Anna Giordan. Germany's Franziska Müller won the women's 30km classic in 1:21:40.8.
Sunday's free technique races saw tight finishes. In the men's 30km, Edoardo Forneris and Giacomo Gabrielli of Italy tied for first in a photo finish at 1:04:01.1 and 1:04:01.4, respectively, with Alessio Romano third at 1:04:01.6. Giovanni Ticcò won the men's 42km free technique in 1:30:40.0, just ahead of Lorenzo Romano. Ticcò, who also secured the Italian Cup stage, said, "I felt really good, the atmosphere was great. Lorenzo and I got together in the sprint and I managed to make the difference. I’m very happy."
Lukas Hofer, the Olympic biathlon runner-up, finished fifth in the 42km free technique at 1:30:52.5, 12 seconds behind the winner, showcasing his versatility before joining the World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland. In the women's races, Martina Di Centa won the 42km free technique in 1:41:59.9, and Emma Schwitzer took the 30km in 1:11:26.7 after another photo finish.
Samuel Costa, an Olympic Nordic combined athlete, placed 15th overall.
