Press Release 13th November 2009

MARCIALONGA AND TOUR DE SKI: A BIG HURRAH TO CROSS COUNTRY SKIING

-2010 Cross Country Skiing events in Valle di Fiemme presented in Milan
-FIS World Cup Nordic Combined and Tour de Ski scheduled for January 9th & 10th
-Marcialonga is “sold out”: famous Italian gymnast Jury Chechi also booked his bib
-Davide Cassani fascinated by the XC Skiing. Kristian Ghedina: Marcialonga, here I come!

The first snowflakes started to fall in the Italian Valle di Fiemme and Valle di Fassa, and while the temperatures keep dropping, snow lovers and tourists get ready to invade the ski resorts and cross-country ski areas on the beautiful Dolomites. 
During this winter season several big events will take place in the two valleys in northern Italy, and they were all presented to the public at the official press conference in Milan last Wednesday.
Excitement and great anticipation were tangible, while the official programs of the FIS Tour de Ski final race (January 9th-10th) and the star event Marcialonga (scheduled for January 31st) were illustrated, in a meeting that seemed more like a “talk-show” than a proper press conference. 
Italian former alpine skier Kristian Ghedina and cross-country ski champ Cristian Zorzi joked a little about the very last part of the Tour de Ski race, the final climb on the Alpe Cermis slope that skiers normally ski downwards, but in this case they face it upwards. The Tour de Ski resembles a cycling tour with its 8 races in 10 days, in three different European countries. Last season’s race in Valle di Fiemme was watched by 50 million people around the world, and followed “live” beside the tracks by 20.000 fans and tourists, who cheered the two winners, the Swiss Dario Cologna and the Finn Virpi Kuitunen. 
Next January, along with the FIS Tour de Ski final races, two FIS World Cup Nordic Combined competitions will be held on the same days.
Concerning the 2010 Marcialonga, the long distance cross-country race through the Fiemme and Fassa valleys (70 km, start in Moena and finish in Cavalese), entries have been closed three months before the scheduled date. 6.500 athletes managed to book their numbers and “only” one third of them are Italians, the rest of the participants come from abroad, and 2.224 are from Norway! 
Former road cyclist and now cycling commentator on Italian television Davide Cassani, along with 1988 World Road racing champion Maurizio Fondriest, told anecdotes during the talk-show and expressed their “love” to the cross-country ski race that they both raced last season and hope to join in 2010 once again. The famous Italian gymnast, the still rings champion Jury Chechi will also take part in the Marcialonga 2010.
Along with the 2010 FIS Tour de Ski final race and Marcialonga, the 2013 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Valle di Fiemme were also presented, pointing out now this will be an almost 100-per-cent low-emission and eco-friendly event. The other two Marcialonga races, namely the 4th Marcialonga Cycling in May 2010 and the 8th Marcialonga Running in September 2010, were also announced, together with the entertaining activities during the Tour de Ski days in January, such as “Fiemme Arena” and “Tour del Gusto”.
Info: www.fiemme2013.com
Info: www.marcialonga.it