MARCIALONGA: ONE MONTH TO GO

Italy's Marcialonga ski-marathon back on track next 31 January
Last two winners Tord Asle Gjerdalen and Simen Østensen ready for the challenge
Aukland brothers, Dementiev, Di Centa, Smutna, Steira, Kowalczyk among the favourites
Marcialonga is part of the Worldloppet, FIS Worldloppet Cup and Visma Ski Classics series

The Vikings are coming! Some of the World's best cross country skiing specialists will be gathering in Northern Italy in exactly one month, on 31 January, when the 43rd Marcialonga ski-marathon will be at the start in Val di Fiemme and Val di Fassa (Trentino region).
Olympic and World champions such as Tord Asle Gjerdalen, Øystein Pettersen, Eldar Rønning, Anders and Jørgen Aukland and Simen Østensen surely represent some sort of 'men-to-beat team' also due to the fact that some of them did win Marcialonga last January (Gjerdalen), in 2014 (Østensen) and several times in the past (the Auklands). Their Swedish counterpart takes the names of the three times Marcialonga winner Jerry Ahrlin, the multi-medallist Johan Olsson plus Vasaloppet heroes Jörgen Brink and Oskar Svärd.
Flipping through the updated Marcialonga starting list there are also Czech Lukáš Bauer and Stanislav Rezác, Russian Evgenij Dementiev and Italy's Giorgio Di Centa, Loris Frasnelli and Thomas Bormolini who won the past Combinata Punto3 Craft special award that sums up the ski-marathon, the road race (Marcialonga Cycling Craft) and the running event (Marcialonga Running Coop). The latter two events are scheduled next 12 June and 4 September 2016 respectively.
On the women's side, last January's queen of Marcialonga Katerina Smutna will certainly attempt to cross first the finish line in Cavalese on 31 January 2016, but Swiss Seraina Boner (2011 and 2013 winner) will be fighting tooth and claw to grab her third personal Marcialonga trophy. And so will Masako Ishida of Japan, Scandinavian Kristin Størmer Steira, Britta Johansson Norgren and Sara Lindborg plus Polish superstar Justyna Kowalczyk.
Next January's Marcialonga will once again be part of Worldloppet, FIS Worldloppet Cup and Visma Ski Classics series, and once again will be crowded with thousands of snow passionates all so longing to enjoy one of the most amazing XC skiing events in the world, once again or for the very first time in their lives.
Info: www.marcialonga.it