MARCIALONGA: ONE MONTH TO GO

The 39^th Marcialonga is about to kick off on January 29

The 70k track looks pretty much ready  

60,000 cubic metersof snow produced until today…while waiting for natural snowfall

Marcialonga once again a Worldloppet and FIS Marathon Cup ‘classica’

 

 

In exactly 30 days, on January 29, 2012, Italy’s most popular ski marathon will be at the start for the 39^th time. Over 7.000 athletes and ski lovers will gather up at the foot of the universally celebrated Dolomites, in Trentino region, ready to ride the 70k course from Moena (Val di Fassa) to Cavalese (Val di Fiemme). Regarding the track, the OC keeps waiting some good snowfall from the sky, and in the meantime snow cannons keep doing their job night and day.

A substantial part of the track is already covered in white, especially on the way from Val di Fassa to Val di Fiemme. From Canazei to Soraga, from Moena to the tinyvillageofForno, from Predazzo to Ziano di Fiemme and from the XC stadium in Lago di Tesero to Molina, the course looks substantially ready, thanks to the60,000 cubic metersof snow artificially produced until today and placed on the track. In the hope of having some considerable snowfall during the next month, the Marcialonga team keeps shooting…at the 2012 Marcialonga track.

Among the thousands of registrations received for the 2012 event (entries closed at the end of June!), almost five thousand people come from abroad, and many big names have collected their bib, such as Norway’s Northug jr., Aukland, Alsgaard and Svendsen, Swedes Ahrlin, Svärd, Tynell and Hansson, Martin Koukal of Czech Republic, Slovenian Petra Majdic, Valentina Shevchenko of Ukraine or Swiss Seraina Boner, who jumped on the first step of the podium last January.

As well as in the past years, Marcialonga is part of the FIS Marathon Cup, other than being included in the Worldloppet calendar together withSweden’s Vasaloppet andSwitzerland’s Engadin Skimarathon, among the others.

In 2011, the FIS Marathon Cup series welcomed 60,000 participants in 10 races (both in free and classic technique) and was won by Swedes Jerry Ahrlin and Sandra Hansson. The 2012 series will kick off in Czech Republic next January 8^th and the number one favourites are last years’ winners and medallists, such as Swedes Ahrlin, Svärd, Hansson, Nyström and Linzen, Rezac of Czech Republic or Italy’s Fabio Santus (2010 winner and silver last season), Marco Cattaneo and Sabina Valbusa.

For further details about the Cup and all the Worldloppet events, do check www.worldloppet.com and the Facebook and Twitter pages. On www.marcialonga.it please find any update on the Italian skimarathon.