Thursday (15) was golden for Brazilian skier Cristian Ribera who won the first race in the cross-country skiing World Cup stage, in Finsterau (Germany). On the second day of the competition, he was champion in the 10 kilometers of mass start in the LW11 class (athletes who compete sitting in sit-ski, using poles), with a time of 29min15s4. In second place, with silver, was Chinese Zhongwu Mao (29min17s9), followed by Russian Ivan Golubkov (29min27s2), who took bronze. In the mass start race, athletes are separated by functional class.
“The race was very good. I felt good and confident that today I would have better chances. The track was in excellent condition, the skis responded very well and the work of the staff was fundamental. I controlled the pace in the first laps and managed to increase the intensity at the end to maintain the difference. It was difficult, but I managed to overcome myself and secure this gold”, celebrated the Rondônia native, world champion last year in Trondheim (Norway)
At the opening of the Paralympic snow sports season, in November, in Beitostolen (Norway), Ribera had already stood out with two gold medals: one in the 800m sprint/speed event and the other in the 5km event.
Also this Thursday (15), in the women’s 10 km race, Aline Rocha from Paraná came close to the podium. She completed the course in fourth place, with a time of 32min52s6, almost eight seconds behind German Anja Wicker (32min45s8), who took bronze. The champion was South Yunji Kim (31min47s7) and North American Oksana Masters (32min20s3) secured silver.
The Brazilian delegation in Finsterau also includes athletes Elena Sena, Guilherme Rocha, Wesley dos Santos, Wellington Silva and Robelson Lula. They are looking to gain points to secure a place on the call-up list for the Paralympic Winter Games in Cortina and Milan (Italy), from March 6th to 15th.
The competition returns on Saturday and Sunday, with the 1km sprint/speed and relay events, respectively.
