Full Italian Roster Assembles in Val Martello
The 2026 Italian Summer Biathlon Championships opened Wednesday morning at the Biathlonzentrum Grogg in Martell-Val Martello, with the men's 10-kilometre sprint starting at 9:30 and the women's 7.5-kilometre race following at 10:15. Pursuit races are scheduled for Thursday from 9:30 onwards, rounding off two days of national competition set against the backdrop of Stelvio National Park.
Nearly every member of Italy's senior biathlon squad is present. Among the women, Olympic champion Lisa Vittozzi headlines a strong field that includes Hannah Auchentaller, Rebecca Passler, Samuela Comola, and Martina Trabucchi. On the men's side, veteran Lukas Hofer lines up alongside Patrick Braunhofer, Christoph Pircher, Didier Bionaz, and Elia Zeni, as well as several younger national team members. Nicola Romanin drew bib number one, with Thomas Daziano and Cesare Lozza among the early starters.
Giacomel's Shoulder Keeps Him Sidelined
The most prominent absence is Tommaso Giacomel. Italy's most consistently high-finishing World Cup athlete over the past two seasons, Giacomel has not competed all summer due to a shoulder injury that also forced him to skip the national indoor championships held at Martell in March. The Trentino-born athlete is widely expected to be central to Italy's World Cup ambitions once the winter calendar opens, but his readiness for the November campaign remains an open question for the Italian technical staff.
His absence here in Martell gives his team-mates an opportunity to strengthen their case for selection ahead of the season. Bionaz and Braunhofer, both of whom delivered strong World Cup results last winter, will be among those looking to claim the sprint title and carry momentum into the final preparation block.
South Tyrol's Depth on Display
The autonomous province of South Tyrol provides a striking share of Italy's biathlon depth. Auchentaller, Passler, Braunhofer, Pircher, and Bionaz all train out of the Antholz-Anterselva centre, one of the sport's most productive development hubs and a venue that has hosted multiple World Championships and World Cup events. Their collective presence in Martell this week underlines how central the region remains to the Italian programme's competitive core at every level.
Vittozzi, who is from Tarvisio in Friuli, leads the charge from outside the South Tyrolean pipeline. Her individual gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina cemented her status as one of the world's premier biathletes. At Martell she arrives as the clear women's sprint favourite, combining elite shooting accuracy with roller-ski pace that gives her a significant advantage over the domestic field.
Results Will Shape Autumn Planning
The Italian Summer Championships at Martell are the FISI biathlon programme's main domestic summer competition and carry genuine weight in squad planning for the World Cup opener. The sprint-and-pursuit format mirrors the race programme athletes will encounter throughout the winter season, making the performance data from Martell directly useful for coaching decisions in the weeks ahead.
The Biathlonzentrum Grogg sits at altitude within Stelvio National Park, creating conditions that test both physical endurance and composure on the shooting range in equal measure. Wednesday's and Thursday's results will provide the clearest indication yet of where the Italian squad stands as the final preparation phase before the winter season begins.