Spectacular race at the Premiere Challenge San Remo

Tackling brutal climbs and being fearless on the steep descents on the stunning but technical bike course of Challenge Sanremo proved the winning formula for Gregory Barnaby (ITA) and Emma Bilham (SUI) who clinched the titles in the inaugural race on 25/09/22 on the Italian Riviera.

A fierce battle for victory

The day started with a single lap 1.9km swim in the Mediterranean, with Sven Thalmann (SWE) emerging first from the water in 21:21, closely followed by Pabalo Dapena, fresh off the plane from his race in the PTO US Open in Dallas. Pabalo Dapena's dreams of winning Sanremo were sadly ended by a mechanical bike problem. They were being pursued and soon caught up by a group that mostly stayed together on the smaller climbs up to the big 17km to the Ghimbegna Pass. Barnaby was also in the chasing group. The bike certainly lived up to expectations with its long climbs and fast descents, but it was the Ghimbegna Pass climb that proved to be the turning point of the race. With a fierce battle between Mennesson and Viain uphill and a battle of wits at the bottom of the descent as both reached speeds in excess of 85km/h. Mennesson got off the bike first, with Viain just seconds behind and Barnaby another three minutes. And so the fight began on the three-lap run. Unlike the bike, the track was absolutely flat with the unique feature of a 1.8km tunnel which provided a welcome respite from the heat. Viain dominated the run within the first kilometer and while Mennesson was just seconds behind, it seemed like Viain's lead was never in jeopardy. Behind them, however, Barnaby was slowly closing and found his legs again in the last kilometer, sailing past Menesson and Viain to claim the win in 4:11:59. Mennesson was second in 4:12:15, with Viain rounding out the podium in 4:12:43.

"It was incredible to win, I can't believe it," said Barnaby. "I was behind on the bike for a few minutes and even on the first lap of the run I couldn't win anything, but then I saw that I was catching them on the second and third laps and I really started to believe that I could do this race could win and I caught them in the last kilometer."

The women's race

In the women's, it was no surprise that Lucy Byram came out of the water first and took the early lead on the bike, followed by Justine Guerard and Alanis Siffert. At the beginning of the first climb the chasing group led by Bilham closed the gap with Bilham going straight to the front of the race. As the women tackled the steep climbs and descents, the lead switched between Bilham, Guerard and Siffert, with Byram slipping off the pace. But again, it was the Ghimbegna Pass that set Bilham apart from her competitors, not only for her fierce climbs, but her brave descents that left even the media bikers in awe. She entered T2 with a four-minute lead over Berlinger and Guerard. On the run, Bilham maintained a consistent cadence that led her to the win in 4:50:10. Behind her, Guerard was second in 4:54:26 and another late climb, this time by Jeanne Collonge, put her in last place on the podium in 4:57:13.

"I loved it!" said Bilham. "Obviously that was exactly the time I love - it's up and down and it's so technical - you have to be there from start to finish. I knew the technical sections would be to my advantage, especially as it was still wet I know a lot of girls on time trial bikes, they're not used to riding hills like that, I live in the mountains so I do it every day and that was my only chance I think as there were some super strong bikers and swimmers and big runners, I surprised myself while running when I was pushing so hard on the bike I didn't know what was left when I ran.