WORLD CUP PREVIEW 2022 PART 6: Giir di Mont and Giir di Mont Uphill
Three years since the last edition, the Premana classic is back. And it's better than ever!
On Sunday 31st of July the athletes return to take on the 28th edition of this classic 32 km race across the mountains around Premana, in Lombardy, northern Italy.
Having its first 5 editions in the early 1960s and a brief revival in the late 1980s, the race was resurrected for good in 1999. Initially dominated Mario Poletti, Fabio Meraldi and Daniela Gilardi, the best mountain runners from around the world were soon lining up to go toe to toe with the strongest Italian athletes.
Ricardo Mejía, Kilian Jornet and Marc Lauenstein, Kasie Enman, Laetitia Roux and Ruth Croft have all been winners at Giir di Mont.
But when the race hosted the World Mountain Running Long Distance Championship in 2017, il tricolore was once again hoisted highest as Francesco Puppi and Silvia Rampazzo took home the individual golds and Italy won both team competitions.
Will it be the visitors or the locals who prevail when the World Cup comes to town?
From the start in the village’s main square, the route takes runners on a circuit through the twelve meadows in the mountains around Premana (the name, Giir di Mont means tour of the pastures in the Lombard dialect) alternating hard climbs and even harder downhills. Featuring 2,400m+, the race is a real bruiser, with the most climbing and descending of any race on the World Cup circuit this year.
But the classic Giir di Mont is not the only race A.S. Premana is hosting in 2022. This year they are going big and have introduced a new format: Giir di Mont Uphill. A 9Km, 1,040m+ race will take place on Saturday 30th of July and will be not only part of the World Cup, but also the Italian Mountain Running Championship.
After lulling the runners into a false sense of security with a relatively gentle start, the course turns into something for the real uphill specialists, climbing 400m in 1.2 kilometres to the finish at the Alpe Solino huts.
Other than fresh, pure air and the prealpine landscape, Premana has another thing to offer: the sense of community of its people. Over 500 local volunteers help to provide the runners with a wonderful experience and it's this support and the warmth of the audience that keeps runners coming back year after year.
Ask the athletes: how it is to have over 5000 people that, no matter who you are, keep rooting for you, no matter what?
We expect a great weekend full of amazing performances. The World Cup's two days in Premana will be a highlight of the season.
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