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Marco Melandri tames the Black Snake: “Riding in Val di Sole is a blast”

27 agosto 2020 - 12:32

In the final days before the seasonal closure of the BikePark Val di Sole, the Superbike rider and TV Commentator came back to seize the emotions of MTB in the land where he fell in love with e-Bikes last year

Val di Sole

Rider in the Superbike World Championship with Team Barni, TV commentator for the MotoGP: Marco Melandri’s agenda could hardly be more packed. Even so, in the life of the Italian motorsport star there’s space for two wheels of another species: the bike, that rapidly grew from leisure to a legitimate passion, and Marco’s favorite escape when he is away from the circuits.

Melandri took advantage of the final days of opening of the Val di Sole BikePark in Commezzadura to live a full day of speed and adrenaline over the four available courses: Golden Eagle and White Wolf of medium difficulty, the highly-challenging Wild Grizzly and the Black Snake, the most loved and feared track of the UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup.

Val di Sole

Right in Commezzadura, just over a year ago, an occasional opportunity suddenly turned into something more. “In 2019 I took part in the Electric Snake, the first e-MTB race within the Val di Sole World Cup’s programme. I had received my e-Bike just few hours before the race, I just had the time to test the track with Marco Aurelio Fontana before getting in the mix for real. I had no real ambition of winning, but certainly trying to be fast – as usual. I had so much fun that the e-MTB has been integral part of my routine ever since.

Even this time, Melandri rode his Thok bike on the slopes of the Electric Snake course, that was charted over part of the 4Cross course. Also this discipline is somewhat familiar to Melandri, whose first two wheels as a child were those of a BMX.

Anyway, the most emotional time of Melandri’s day came as he faced the most cherished and feared course in Val di Sole BikePark (and beyond): the Black Snake, that next year will get back to crowning the Downhill World Champions during the UCI MTB World Championships in Val di Sole from August 25th to 29th, 2021.

Val di Sole

Joined on the occasion by the trailbuilder who “invented” the Black Snake, Pippo Marani, even Melandri couldn’t hide some nervousness before the test: “I will tackle it slow…” the rider has said. A hard promise to honour for somebody whose whole life has been about speed. At the foot of the slope, his response was all in his exhausted face and open smile: “Hard, damn hard. To face the Black Snake you need a big… heart. And taking it slow won’t help at all! But it feels great to have now conquered it.

Ever since he chose to live in Carisolo, Val Rendena, Trentino, with his wife Manuela and his daughter Martina, Val di Sole has a place in the heart of the 38-year-old from Romagna, now a Visit Trentino Ambassador. “Val di Sole is a special place to ride. Unforgettable pages of Mountain Bike history have been made here, it’s a World-famous destination for anybody who loves MTB, but with plenty of itineraries to discover with any kind of bike – road, MTB and obviously eBike. It’s not by chance that I wanted to display Val di Sole in the illustration of my new helmet for the Superbike World Championship, along with other amazing places of my Trentino, both in summer and winter.

Since I have moved to Trentino, the bicycle has become part of my life. It’s a real passion, to be enjoyed in a completely different way from the other two wheels of my life. On a bike you can challenge yourself, keep healthy and in good shape, and above all, discovering new places – and the eBike was a complete game changer for me in that sense. Nevertheless, when it’s racing time I never back down: count me in for the next Electric Snake!

Malé (Italy), August 27th, 2020

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