MARCIALONGA 2012: THE WAIT IS OVER

Petter Northug jr. vs. Jerry Ahrlin, Stanislav Rezac and the Aukland brothers

Shevchenko, Svendsen, Hansson and Boner are the favourite among women

Over 7,000 participants ready for tomorrow’s start at8.15am

12 TV channels will broadcast the race live or highlights

 

 

Only a few hours left to Marcialonga, the wait is over. Italy’s Val di Fiemme and Val di Fassa are about to celebrate the 39^th chapter of the 70k ski marathon in classic technique, and the Nordic party will welcome 7.200 skiers from more than 30 countries that tomorrow at 8.15am will gathering up in Moena.

Norwegian Petter Northug jr. is undoubtedly one of the most favourites for the 2012 gold, but the names in this year’s starting list are simply…big. ‘Our team is super strong in this moment’, Team Xtra Personell team manager Nils Marius Ottestad said today during the press conference. ‘We mostly fear Czech Stanislav Rezac than Petter Northug. Rezac is in incredible shape right now, however our team has won seven times this race in the past ten years’.Sweden’s Jerry Ahrlin is part of the Team Xtra Personell, together with Anders and Jörgen Aukland, Ski Classics leader Sara Svendsen, Laila Kvelj and Simen Østensen, who will –in Ottestad’s words - ‘guard Northug from very close’.

Ahrlin won the Italian ski-marathon three times (2007, 2009, 2011) and, Ottestad said, he suffered some neck pain this morning, but opponent Northug offered him his personal physiotherapist to help with a treatment.

Martin Koukal, Stanislav Rezac, Mathias Fredriksson, Jörgen Brink, Espen Bjervig, Seraina Boner, Jenny and Sandra Hansson and the Italian national long distance team are among those who could surely climb the eventual podium.

The Cross Country stadium in Lago di Tesero has hosted today the Minimarcialonga (for kids), Marcialonga Stars (in support of the Italian Association against Cancer - Lega contro i Tumori), and Marcialonga Young (for young categories) events.

Tomorrow’s Marcialonga will be broadcast live on Italy’s RAI Sport 2 and on 8 further international channels (SVT Sweden, TV2 Norway, TV2 Sport Denmark, MTV3 Finland, DigiSport Hungary, Nova Greece, SPTV Croatia,  Czech TV), and delayed on KZ Sport 1 Kazakhstan, PCTV Mexico and Rogers Sports Net Canada.

Marcialonga is part of the FIS Marathon Cup and Ski Classics series, and the provisional leaders Santus, Shevchenko, Rezac and Svendsen will all be at tomorrow’s start.

Oskar Svärd, Thomas Alsgaard and Toni Livers won’t be at the start tomorrow morning at 8.15. The fastest is expected at around11amin Cavalese.

Info: www.marcialonga.it