The Marcialonga is undoubtedly the most important cross-country skiing competition in all of Italy and is the flagship of the sport of the Fiemme and Fassa valleys.
WHEN IT TAKES PLACE
The competition, particularly appreciated by the whole national ski environment, takes place on the last Sunday of January.
This year, the 42nd edition took place on Sunday 25 January 2014
While next year it will take place on January 31st 2016
THE ROUTE (70km), Moena – Cavalese 70km CLASSIC TECHNIQUE
Its starting point is in the plain of Moena, to then develop uphill along the Val di Fassa on the right bank of the Avisio river until you reach Canazei; from here, the route descends along the left bank of the river and descends the valley to Molina di Fiemme, and then ends in the town square of Cavalese.
In total 70 km to be done in classic technique.
THE LIGHT COURSE (45km) Predazzo – Cavalese CLASSIC TECHNIQUE
There is also a “lighter” version of the competition, which includes a route of only 45 km, from the city of Predazzo.
ITS ORIGINS
The competition has an origin that is as curious as it is fascinating. In 1970, four friends had the idea of organizing a cross-country ski race which was inspired by the Vasaloppet, the famous Swedish race, among the Trentino landscapes of the Val di Fiemme.
The first edition of the Marcialonga thus saw the light on 7 February 1971and was characterized by a great surprise on the part of the four organizers; if, due to the commitment and dedication they had dedicated to it, they expected a hundred participants, there were actually more than a thousand to register for the competition.
The Marcialonga thus had an ever increasing success and famous sportsmen participated such as Franco Nones, winner of a gold medal at the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics, as well as Andres and Jorgen Aukland; the holder of the highest number of men’s titles is however Maurillo de Zolt, who collected four golds (amount of medals reached, in 2013, by Jorgen Aukland himself), while the athlete Maria Canins dominated the editions of the race from 1979 to 1988 .
The growing success of Marcialonga led to its inclusion in the Cross-Country Skiing World Cup starting from 2004. If, after the first editions reserved exclusively for the classic technique, the competition opened up to other cross-country skiing techniques,in 2003 the return to the traditional mode was imposed because it allows athletes to manage the width of the track in the best possible way.
Starting from the quota of 1000 participants in 1971, the Marcialonga currently has a minimum of 5000 competitors per edition.
More updates on the official website: http://www.marcialonga.it/