Anyone who had seen her at the World Championships and in the World Cup stage in Lenzerheide had no doubts: despite the gearbox problems in Valais and the bad luck in Switzerland, Lucia Bramati was showing off an enviable shape.

The confirmation came today in Lake Placid, home of the penultimate round of the World Series, where the 22-year-old from the Trinx Factory Team achieved a brilliant eighth place among the Under 23s in the short track specialty.

In the hard-fought race won by South African Tyler Jacobs, the Italian decided to lead the group, staying out of traffic and potential obstacles. But the masterpiece came in the final three laps, where the Italian (in the photo by Maxime Schmid) put in a burst of speed, clocking three very fast laps: 2:28, 2:26, and finally 2:23. This progression allowed her to score her second top 10 in the World Cup after the one she achieved in Araxa, Brazil, also in the short track discipline.

«I'm really happy; after three years of XCC, it's a race where everything went right», the Italian athlete enthusiastically confirms. «I started well, managing to stay ahead and out of trouble. This proved decisive, obviously along with a physical and mental shape that supported me for the entire 22 minutes of the race. The sprint was brutal: it was launched at the beginning of the last lap and lasted over 2 minutes: my legs were burning, but in the end I managed to defend myself and take an important eighth place».

This performance allows Lucia not only to climb to twelfth place in the World Cup specialty rankings, but also to earn a front-row spot for the Olympic cross-country race, scheduled for Sunday.

«It was one of my big goals of the season», conferms Lucia. «Before moving up to the Elite category next year, I wanted to start from the front row at least once this season, side by side with the best in the world. It will be a great feeling and, I hope, it will be bode well for the race». The Sunday race is scheduled to start at 9:00 am (3:00 pm in Italy).

It's worth noting that today's result allows the Trinx Factory Team athlete to climb to 75th in the international ranking (which includes both the Elite and Under 23 categories). Her goal of remaining in the top 100, a crucial factor for the 2026 season, is now a certainty.