Ichtya Wins Lake Garda Rowing Race Ahead of Garda and Bardolino

Full en plein by the Verona rowing crews in the waters of Lake Garda, Brescia. However, this time it was Ichtya, the boat champion from Peschiera, to win the race for the evening’s prize. With a powerful final rush, the Venetian quartet consisting of Paolo Tacconi, Massimo Raimondi, Osvaldo, and Stefano Mazzurega managed to cross the finish line with a one-meter lead over Garda and just under three meters ahead of Bardolino, the boat that won two weeks ago in Salò during the opening race of the 34th edition of the Palio delle Bisse.

Completing the sextet that animated the short-distance race for the evening’s prize, fourth was Portesina, followed by Lazise’s Birba and the Clusanina from Lake Iseo. The success of the Arili residents’ rowers, winners of the last two editions of the trophy La Bandiera del Lago, sends a clear message to all competitors, confirming that they have what it takes to hold onto the Bandiera tightly and aim for a possible third consecutive win.

This warning was particularly directed at the «cousins» from Bardolino, who had managed, during the race that launched the rowing season, to outsmart the Arili crew after they slowed down at the turnaround. But at Gardone, the rowers of Ichtya resisted even the last desperate assault of Garda, which had become tremendously exhausted after placing its bow ahead of Bardolino.

There was a two-second difference between the two crews, with the Garda quartet now composed of Ferdinando Sala, Matteo Pincini, Michele Bertoncelli, and Alberto Malfer contemplating delivering the right blow in the next race scheduled for Saturday the 30th in the waters of the Gulf of Garda. The heats to qualify for the final, contested over double the distance with three turns around the buoys, were won by the three teams from Scaliger.

In the first heat, the Bardolino quartet (Silvano Dall’Agnola, Mauro Faraoni, and Pierfrancesco Maffezzoli), not pushing to the maximum, finished ahead of Lazise’s Birba at the finish line, followed by Salò’s Serenissima, Foscarina (the local boat crew composed of Maurizio Erculiani, Marco Bargellesi, Franco Baruffaldi, and Marco Righettini), and Ca’ da Mosto from Sirmione. Instead, Ichtya dominated the second race, recording the best time overall, and finished ahead of Portesina, Villanella, Bardolino’s Preonda, and Cassone’s Torricella.

In the final heat, Garda came out on top, leading after Clusanina of Lake Iseo, Garda Regina Adelaide (William Bonometti, Massimo Favetta, Cristian Marchesini, and Christian Faraoni), Sebina from Lake Iseo Benacense of Toscolano Maderno, and Lacisium, which also included Claudia Todesco at the oars.

Overall, there were three female rowers, including Cristiana Merigo and Giulia Bentivoglio, who also trained on S. Ercolano to build strength. The next race will be on Saturday the 30th at Garda, under the stars.