MARCIALONGA MOVES CLOSER AND CLOSER

Less than two weeks to 2015 Marcialonga in Italy
Simen Østensen plus Aukland brothers confirmed their presence
Seraina Boner vs. Smutna, Confortola and Kveli
Snow cannons at full power to prepare the track


Italy’s most popular ski-marathon moves closer and in less than two weeks time – Sunday 25 January 2015 – almost 8.000 XC skiing lovers and long-distance superstars will be gathering in Val di Fiemme and Val di Fassa, at the foot of monumental Dolomites.
Last January’s winner Simen Østensen will be at the start all…skis blazing, and so will Anders and Jørgen Aukland and John Kristian Dahl who finished second last year right behind Østensen. The Swedes will certainly attempt to go over the eight place reached by Joergen Brink last January and climb the podium once again after missing it in the past three years. Svaerd, Ahrlin, Brink, Soedergren and Tynell are among the big names already registered, it is going to be a spectacular battle between them and the Norwegian neighbours. Lukas Bauer, Tord Asle Gjerdalen and Giorgio Di Centa are three further XC superstars who confirmed their presence and so did Czech Rezac, Norway’s Kjølstad, Berdal, Dammen, Pettersen, Callesen and Thomas Alsgaard, Finn Jauhojaervi plus the gold and silver medallists at last weekend’s Jizerska Padesatka in Czech Republic, Morten Pedersen and Petter Eliassen.
Katerina Smutna of Czech Republic won the Jizerska yesterday among women keeping back her biggest rival Seraina Boner. They will face each other in Italy too next 25 January together with Annika Lofstroem, Laila Kveli and Italy’s Antonella Confortola and Sara Pellegrini.
During the past weekend, Val di Fiemme hosted the FIS Tour de Ski eventual legs and part of the Marcialonga track was involved in the event. ‘We are all very confident the track will be properly set in a couple of weeks time – Marcialonga OC President Angelo Corradini claimed yesterday – the Tour de Ski was an important test for us and we successfully passed it. The 2015 Marcialonga is definitely not in danger and if the weather won’t change and we won’t have any snowfalls before the race we might shorten a little the 70k track.’ According to Corradini words, several fragments of the track throughout Fiemme and Fassa valleys are skiable and some sort of an ‘emergency plan B’ is ready as well.
The 42nd Marcialonga di Fiemme e Fassa will go on TV live or delayed in many countries such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Czech Republic and Greece, thanks to Eurosport. RAI will cover it almost entirely live in Italy.