2017 Gran Fondo Stelvio Santini: Kings and Queens of the Mountain Crowned

A total of 2,600 cyclists jostled for position this morning in Bormio as they waited for the start of the Gran Fondo Stelvio Santini, an amateur road race that tackles some cycling’s great classic climbs

The sixth edition of the Valtellina event saw six Gran Fondo Stelvio Santini Kings of the Mountain and Queens of the Mountain crowned for clocking the best times on the event’s three challenging climbs Enrico Zen and Emily Collinge for the Teglio, Enrico Zen and Emma Delbono for the Mortirolo, Emma Delbono and Cristian Pinton for the Stelvio. The prize-giving was also extended to include 36 polka dot jerseys for the category winners with the fastest time overall for the three climbs.

Monica Santini: “We introduced a new format for the classifications with the very specific goal of retaining the competitive element in the event whilst improving safety and also boosting the significance of the historic climbs in the race.”

The Gran Fondo Stelvio Santini also confirmed its strong international appeal with 1,233 of the total 2,600-strong field at this morning’s Bormio start-line hailing from abroad.

A total of 2,600 cyclists jostled for position this morning in Bormio as they waited for the start of the Gran Fondo Stelvio Santini, an amateur road race that tackles some cycling’s great classic climbs. The exhilarating event attracted no less than 1,233 foreign riders from 45 nations who did battle on the three distances on offer: the 151.3-kilometre long route which packed a 4,058-metre elevation change thanks to a gruelling combination of the Teglio, Mortirolo and Stelvio climbs, the 137.9-kilometre medium route, and, for riders only interested in pitting themselves against the Stelvio, the 60-kilometre short route.

This edition also featured two separate classifications as the organisers sought to enhance the “grimpeur” aspect of the event for all competitors with new Gran Fondo Stelvio Santini Kings of the Mountain standings for men and Gran Fondo Stelvio Santini Queens of the Mountain rankings for women.

The title of King of the Mountain for the fastest time on the first Teglio climb went to Enrico Zen of the team ASD Terenzi Green Paper who covered the near-five kilometres in 00:15’18”. The top step on the women’s podium for the same achievement was occupied by Emily Collinge of the team AC Postalesio ASD who stopped the clock in 00:16’59”. The duo was presented with the King and Queen of the Mountains jerseys sponsored by CST.

The top grimpeur on the Mortirolo climb was Enrico Zen of the team ASD Terenzi Green Paper who finished the 11-kilometre climb and tackled the 1,200-metre elevation change in a time of 00:47’50”, to take home the Trek-sponsored jersey. Queen of that particular Mountain was Emma Delbono of the Team Tamburini Group in 00:52’52’’.

Last but not least, the Gran Fondo Stelvio Santini King of the Mountain for the 21.5-kilometre Stelvio Pass climb which delivers a 1,533-metre elevation change was Cristian Pinton of the team ASD Team New Green who did the business in a time of 01:11’46, while the Gran Fondo Stelvio Santini Queen of the Mountain Stelvio title went Emma Delbono of the Team Tamburini Group who finished in 01:19’38”. Both riders were awarded the special jersey sponsored by Santini.

The top three cyclist in each category (both men’s and women’s) in the classification decided by totalling the times from all the climbs on all three routes were also honoured. The 36 winners in each category received the special and iconic grimpeur polka dot jersey.

Lastly and significantly, the Gran Fondo Stelvio Santini organisers acknowledged the team spirit of the event by awarding a prize for the three teams with the highest number of entrants: first was the Optur Team with 37 competitors with the team De Rosa Santini team second (20 competitors) followed by the Jo.Er Marine Project team with 18 entrants.

"In agreement with US Bormiese, we introduced a new format for the classifications with the very specific goal of retaining the competitive element in the event. We tried to reduce the risk of accidents as much as possible on the descents where cyclists tend to go flat out with sometimes dangerous results. To do so, we asked the riders to really pull out the stops on cycling’s main terrain, the climbs,” commented Monica Santini, CEO of Santini Cycling Wear. “We also introduced the polka dot jerseys for the category winners and the King and Queen of the Mountain titles to boost the significance of historic climbs such as the Mortirolo and the Stelvio.”

The overall classification, based on times elapsed from start to finish, available in alphabetical order, saw a total of 2,200 competitors ranked at the finish-line at the Stelvio Pass.

The overall and category classifications will be available on the results website very shortly at: www.sms-sport.it