Andorran Skiers Show Promise in World Cup and CIT Races
Gina del Rio finishes 44th in Oberhof freestyle sprint; Cande Moreno eyes top-30 in Tarvisio downhill.
Key Points
- Gina del Rio 44th in Oberhof WC sprint (2:57.91), 19s behind Sweden's Sundling, missing top-30 finals.
- Cande Moreno 26th fastest in Tarvisio downhill training (1:47.51), races downhill and super-G this weekend.
- Jordina Caminal 50th in training, skipped Saturday downhill after recent fall.
- FAE juniors claim 4 CIT podiums in Font Romeu: Estruga wins slalom, others medal in GS and girls' events.
Andorran cross-country skier Gina del Rio placed 44th in Saturday's World Cup freestyle sprint in Oberhof, Germany, failing to reach the finals reserved for the top 30 competitors.
Del Rio recorded a time of 2:57.91, finishing 19.06 seconds behind winner Jonna Sundling of Sweden (2:38.85). Poland's Monika Skinder took 30th place at 12.85 seconds off the pace, leaving Del Rio just over six seconds outside the cutoff among 51 starters. She started well but trailed by 13.5 seconds at the 0.7km checkpoint, with the gap growing to the line. Del Rio felt strong on the snow, and her technical team analyzed ski performance afterward to inform preparations for future races. The event continues Sunday with the women's 10km individual classic at 12:55, her second outing of the weekend after arriving from training in Livigno and completing an official session Friday. The next World Cup stop follows the week after in Goms, Switzerland, ahead of the Winter Olympics.
Teammate Irineu Esteve continues recovery in Andorra, focusing on readiness for upcoming events including the Olympics.
In alpine skiing, Cande Moreno posted the 26th-fastest time of 1:47.51 during Friday's second downhill training ahead of the World Cup in Tarvisio, Italy—2.19 seconds behind leader Nicol Delago. Following her sixth place the previous day with bib 47 of 50, Moreno competed in Saturday's downhill from 10:45, aiming to repeat her St Moritz points finish with a top-30 result. She is also scheduled for Sunday's super-G.
Jordina Caminal clocked the 50th-best time Friday, 6.26 seconds off Delago, building experience after a recent Europa Cup fall where she lost a ski. She sat out Saturday's downhill.
Meanwhile, young FAE alpine skiers claimed four podiums at CIT races in Font Romeu, France. Pirmin Estruga won Thursday's night slalom ahead of teammate Àlvar Calvo in second, with Ainhoa Piccino fourth among women. Marc Fernández took second in Friday's giant slalom, and Isabella Pérez earned third in the girls' category, with several FIS point improvements.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources:
- Diari d'Andorra•
Gina del Rio acaba 44a i no passa a les finals en esprint a Oberhof
- Altaveu•
Gina del Rio acaba 44a a l'esprint de la Copa del Món d'Oberhof
- Diari d'Andorra•
Cande Moreno entra al Top-30 al segon entrenament a Tarvisio
- El Periòdic•
La fondista tricolor, Gina del Rio torna a la Copa del Món amb la doble cita aquest cap de setmana a Oberhof