All the photos of the teams that took part to the XVIII Mezzalama Trophy on the web site www.pantacolor.com

The Trofeo Mezzalama is running sunday 1th may. The weather forecast reports a better situation so the organizing committee decided to postpone the race.
For the atlhets: the program is put off for a day. On saturday 30th april bibs drawing and briefing. The team's accomodation will be charged to the organizing committe only for the night before the race (saturday night).

The Fondazione Trofeo Mezzalama, after checking the weather forecast, decided to postpone the race for a day.
"The weather forecast for sunday is good - said Adriano Favre director of the race - on the contrary for saturday the report is doubtfull. In few hours we analysed all the aspects of this putting off. I spoke to my staff just to verify that everybody could be on the mountains also on sunday. The availability of all the team let me postpone the race for sunday. We are sure that we will have a great event the first of may."

Free ski facilities, a new route up the Naso del Lyskamm, special prizes and live webcast. Adriano Favre: “Rope up! Safety first”.

Wednesday evening, guest of sponsors Noene and Accapi in the exclusive Gancia space, the Mezzalama Trophy Foundation and the Region of Valle d’Aosta illustrated their latest innovations planned for the 30th April.
The Mezzalama Trophy is approaching that magical moment which will give the go-ahead to the four hundred teams signed up, 1200 people who will be going on a forty-two kilometre adventure, touching the sky above the Monte Rosa massif.

For all fans who won’t be able to experience first hand the “great white marathon”, the website www.alpchannel.it will feature live streaming of the most important legs of the competition with five videocameras. This innovation was lavishly illustrated during the evening in Milan.

Adriano Favre, technical director of Mezzalama, described the present state of the route and the new track which will climb the Nose of Lyskamm. “In recent days the snow conditions have been perfect,” Favre says, “we don’t have a great deal of snow at altitude, but the course is 90% ready. The conditions of the glacier this year will favour experienced mountaineers: both on Castor and the Naso del Lyskamm there is a lot of ice, also the new section of the Colle della Fronte, to climb up onto the crest of the Naso, is very steep and will require crampons and fixed ropes. In recent weeks rope parties have been visiting the glacier for altitude training, once again I urge the athletes and everyone who wants to follow the race to advance onto the glacier roped up and in maximum security, the risk of falling into a crevasse is real.”
“We’ve talked about it many times,” continued Favre, “to try to make the procession as long as possible towards Gressoney and thus minimise the risk of dangerous delays in the technical sections, we’re thinking of having two different starting times. We haven’t decided how to do it technically yet, we’ll see what the weather conditions forecast for the day of the race are”.
Favre announced, in collaboration with sponsors Noene and Accapi, some special prizes. “For the 30th April we have decided to put up as prizes some items offered by Noene and Accapi for the first male and female teams to cross Castor and the Naso del Lyskamm. The last male and female teams to cross the finishing line at Gressoney will also get prizes.”

“This will be a tough Mezzalama,” predicts technical director Adriano Favre. “The route is in perfect condition, and the hot weather we have been having has not affected the glacier, but the climbs at the Castore and the new variant of the Naso del Lyskamm will require crampons. The walls are completely covered with ice. All the teams must show that they are made up of true mountain-climbers: on April 30 it will not just be a matter of athletics; ability to get around in the mountain environment will make all the difference. I’m asking the teams to arrive prepared, to make sure they don’t experience technical problems with grip and with moving forward in roped groups with crampons on their feet”.

This Mezzalama Trophy is sure to be a spectacular, challenging one due to the icy conditions along the route and the new variant of the Naso del Lyskamm. The high temperatures of the last few days do not worry the technical staff of the Mezzalama Trophy Foundation. The forecasts say that temperatures will drop sharply and there may even be precipitation in the mountains. For the time being, it is still possible to get to Gressoney – La Trinité with your skis on, though we will of course have to wait and see how the weather conditions evolve over the next few weeks.

The teams in the competition have not yet been fully defined. Kilian Jornet Burgada of Spain and Didier Blanc of France will run with William Bon Mardion. They talked of adding Guido Giacomelli to the team, but after his excellent performance with Lorenzo Holzknecht, the pair did not want to split up, but preferred to establish an all-Italian team. They are considering teaming up with Pietro Lanfranchi or Daniele Pedrini, while the French and Spanish duo will probably join forces with William Bon Mardion.
In the women’s competition, the team formed by Mireia Miro Varela of Spain, Laetitia Roux of France and Natalie Etzensperger of Switzerland was confirmed some time ago. The Italian team formed by Gloriana Pellissier, Francesca Martinelli and Roberta Pedranzini has also confirmed its participation; the other two Italians, Martina Valmassoie and Corinne Clos, will compete with Mireille Richard of Switzerland.

Second press conference presenting the competition.

After the official presentation of the Trophy in Gressoney, the Foundation has scheduled another appointment with the press ten days before the event. At 6 PM on April 20 Milan’s Gancia space will host a press conference explaining the latest new developments in the eighteenth competition, two of which are sure to be of special interest to the participating teams. The press conference will be held in collaboration with two of the Mezzalama Trophy’s sponsors, Noene and Accapi, who will present their innovative products at the event.

Accapi produces a line of underwear made using exclusive Nexus fabric, a special textile fibre which uses platinum, titanium and aluminium powders intimately incorporated into the fibre blend to produce natural, constant infrared emissions. The predominant effect of distant infrared emissions is to improve the circulation, especially the micro-circulation in peripheral areas, promoting oxygenation of the muscles and all the body tissues.

NOENE® is a vibration absorbing elastomer with special qualities which differentiate it from standard elastomers.
It stands out in particular for two properties which act simultaneously: its elasticity, making it possible to absorb energy and shock absorption, allowing it to be dispersed. In this way NOENE® can eliminate about 98% of the negative energy from shocks. These elements are used to create insoles and grips which stop vibrations that would otherwise be propagated towards key points in the human motor apparatus, generating the micro-traumas that cause numerous bone and muscle problems with time.

On Friday evening the 18th Mezzalama Trophy was presented in Gressoney Saint Jean. This year’s competition has attracted a lot of athletes, with almost 400 teams registered, and the challenge is made even more difficult this year with more technical challenges due to the condition of the glacier. The event is getting bigger and bigger every year, introducing the whole world to images of a unique part of Italy.

Councillor Aurelio Marguerettaz launched the challenge of getting the entire territory involved. The hope is that a unique event such as Mezzalama will get the audience it deserves. This is the councillor’s appeal: "Come to Valle d'Aosta and see the Mezzalama Trophy. It’s a unique, extraordinary event. We’re the only ones who have something like this."
Regional President Augusto Rollandin also emphasised the unique nature of the Mezzalama Trophy and the area where the competition is held. "It’s a unique project,” repeated the President, “based on the trio of our mountains, our institutions and our athletes. We know our mountains, but we want other people to get to know and love them as well. And then, our institutions have been the first to invest in the event, because they believe in the message conveyed by the Mezzalama Trophy. Finally, the athletes, who convey their sense of hard work, their love of this tough event. This helps us bring the beauty of Valle d'Aosta out beyond the boundaries of the region."
The presentation concluded with an awards ceremony for the new Trophy that will be raised to the sky by the winner on April 30. Local sculptor Giuseppe Binel represented the perfect rope-party in a Trophy sculpted in wood and designed to be held up with pride

A month and a half to go before the Trofeo Mezzalama begins. About four hundred teams will be participating. The great white marathon will be presented in Gressoney – Saint-Jean on March 25 with an award for the new Trophy.
The Breuil Cervinia-Gressoney crossing will be the last leg in the Grande Course in 2011.
It took the administrative office several days to examine and confirm all the teams, but now that everything has been sorted out, it is clear that there will be more than four hundred teams at the starting line in Cervinia at dawn on April 30. Amazing numbers, because they mean that more than one thousand two hundred people, roped together in groups of three, will climb to the Breithorn, then over the Castore and up beyond four thousand metres to the Nose of the Lyskamm. These marathon mountain-climbers will pass the finish line in Gressoney, after more than fory-two kilometres of fatigue, ice, snow and unforgettable emotions.
Mezzalama technical director Adriano Favre is assessing all the aspects involved in ensuring that all the teams can run the route in perfect safety. “These are incredible numbers,” says Favre; “we have examined the application forms of more than four hundred teams. As usual, we have reserved some spots for the elite Italian and foreign teams that turn up at the last minute. One thousand two hundred people will be moving over the heart of the glacier, and that’s a lot! We’re currently considering how to organise the start at Cervinia so as to avoid a bottleneck under the Castore”.
The technical director has already conducted a number of inspections along the route, and announces: “We have an important new development regarding the route, which I’m sure the teams will be very happy with. The competition will become more technical and add a touch of modernity all along the route. I can’t say any more; we will explain it all at the official presentation in Gressoney on March 25”.
The Alpini, who already won twice in the ’70s and won again in 2009 with Manfred Reichegger, Denis Trento and Matteo Eydallin, took the Trophy – an artistic bronze figure of a skier in '30s style – back to their barracks in Courmayeur.
For the next competition, the Mezzalama Trophy Foundation, chaired by Giorgio Pession, has announced a competition to decide on the sculpture that will be the event’s new symbol.
The best sculpture will be chosen by a panel of judges in a competition that has attracted twelve of the best artists in the Valley.
The judges will announce their verdict on Friday, March 25. The new award will be presented to the new Trophy during the official presentation of the Trofeo Mezzalama.