MARCIALONGA ON TRACK IN 10 DAYS...

Italy's Marcialonga packed with cross country skiing superstars
Gjerdalen, the Auklands, Cologna, Ahrlin, Smutna and Kowalczyk among them
Around 8.000 skiers to gather in Val di Fiemme and Val di Fassa on Sunday 31 January
Several side events during the entire weekend


The final countdown has begun, less and less time remains to the 43rd Marcialonga in Italy's Val di Fiemme and Val di Fassa (Trentino region). In exactly 10 days, on Sunday 31stJanuary, about 8.000 skiers of almost any age and nation around the globe will be gathering at the feet of stunning Dolomites to enjoy one of the most renowned ski-marathon events in the world.
The 2016 running is part of the Worldloppet, FIS Worldloppet Cup and Visma Ski Classics series and, as it happens every year, it is literally packed with cross-country skiing superstars who will battle it up on a perfectly groomed and prepared 70k-long track that runs from Moena to Cavalese, as tradition goes.
Some of the world's strongest athletes are joining the 43rd Marcialonga, including both reigning champions  Tord Asle Gjerdalen and Katerina Smutna. On the men's side, the six time winners Anders Aukland and Jorgen Aukland will be at the start together with fellow countryman Oystein Pettersen, but also with Jörgen Brink, Oskar Svärd and Jerry Ahrlin of Sweden, Czech skiers Lukas Bauer and Stanislav Rezac, Russia's Evgenij Dementiev and Italian Bruno Debertolis and Sergio Bonaldi. Dario Cologna should show up as well, though he's still recovering from an injury occurred during the past FIS Tour de Ski.
Other than Smutna, the women's table reads the two times winner Seraina Boner, the Polish Justyna Kowalczyk, the Swedish Lina Korsgren, Britta Johansson Norgren and Sara Lindborg, Valentina Shevchenko of Ukraine and Japan's Masako Ishida.
Several side events are scheduled on the last weekend of January starting on Friday 29th at 4pm with the Marcialonga Baby race for kids up to 6 years in Predazzo town centre. The XC skiing arena in Lago di Tesero will house the Marcialonga Story vintage event on Saturday at 9.30am, while in the afternoon the Marcialonga Stars for charity will get on at 1pm followed by the Minimarcialonga and the Marcialonga Young events afterwards. The elder categories of the Marcialonga Young race will be competing on Sunday morning while the main event will start off in Moena at 8am.
On Friday evening, the town of Ziano di Fiemme will host a multimedia show named 'Scivolando sul Novecento' (literally 'Gliding on the XX century').
On the race day, watch out for the 11 Marcialonga senators, all wearing a special yellow bib, and make some good noise for them, they read over 40 years of Marcialonga on their CV. Congratulations gentlemen, enjoy Marcialonga once again!