Second in 2018, Martin Anthamatten, Werner Marti and Rémi Bonnet won the 2022 edition of the Patrouille des Glaciers.
The Valaisan, the Bernese and the Friborg thus took their revenge on the defending champions, the Italians of CS Esercito.
Swiss Team I won in 6:35:56, with a margin of nearly nine minutes over the transalpine trio. Winners of the two previous editions – in 2014 with Damiano Lenzi, in 2018 alongside Robert Antonioli – and associated this time with Davide Magnani, Michele Boscacci and Matteo Eydallin might not therefore sign a hat-trick.
‘A dream’
“We had a good last climb, and we helped each other from start to finish,” analyzed Rémi Bonnet at the microphone of the Blue channel. “We were disappointed in 2018, so we really wanted to win,” continued the youngest (27) member of the winning trio.
‘It’s great to be able to offer this to Martin, who was probably playing his last Patrol in the top flight. It’s a dream, ‘said the Fribourgeois. ‘It’s a dream to win with Rémi and Werner’, continued Martin Anthamatten (37), who had already triumphed in 2010 with Florent Troillet and Yannick Ecoeur.
More freshness
The Swiss trio made the difference in the last quarter of a 57.5 km long course between Zermatt and Verbier. Fresher than their Italian rivals, Anthamatten/Marti/Bonnet widened the gap in the Rosablanche and the Col de la Chaux to tackle the descent towards Verbier with a margin of around six minutes.
Among the ladies, the CS Esercito patrol, made up of Italians Giulia Murada, Alba De Silvestro and Ilaria Veronese, honored their status as favorites by dominating the debates. The Léo Besson/Thomas Bussard/Robin Bussard trio (Team Gruyère) won the ‘little’ Patrouille (Arolla-Verbier, 29.6 km).
The start of the elite races had been postponed for 24 hours due to bad weather, which might have prevented any medical evacuation by air. The patrols arrived in the sun on Sunday morning, having had to carry their skis for some 15 of the 57.5 km due to lack of snow.
/ATS
