FIEMME: A SPECTACULAR UPHILL ‘TOUR’ SATURDAY'S SPRINT IN OLYMPIC STYLE
Val di Fiemme is preparing to host the last two days of the Tour de Ski Lago di Tesero will stage a pre-Olympic test with the Sprint in classic and the Final Climb The final ranking will be decided in Val di Fiemme, after the four days in Toblach Unmissable opportunities for the public. Klæbo and Diggins are aiming for overall victory
©Newspower.it
The Tour de Ski has always been and will certainly continue to be this season, Olympic Games aside, the leitmotif of cross-country skiing, and a good deal of the ‘responsibility’ lies with Val di Fiemme, which, with its final stages, has always designated the protagonists of the competitive season, in particular with the Final Climb, an absolute icon for 20 years, since the Tour de Ski was born. There has never been a race like this before, an uphill challenge - and what an uphill challenge - that revolutionised what cross-country skiing was and is now.
Today and tomorrow, there will be races in Toblach, and then the cross-country skiers' caravan will move on to Val di Fiemme, a long column of lorries that nowadays serve as the travelling homes of the skimen. On Saturday, January 3, there will be a sprint in classic technique, and on Sunday, January 4, the conclusion with the mass start skating, which culminates on the Alpe del Cermis after the climb of the Olimpia III.
Saturday will be a real pre-Olympic test for some facilities, but especially for the tracks involved in the Tour de Ski races. The Nordic Ski Val di Fiemme committee, led by Pietro De Godenz, have been granted a special concession from the IOC, FIS and FISI for the Tour de Ski, as the regulations state that no races can be held at Olympic venues during the Olympic season. FIS officials have always stated that there is no Tour de Ski without Val di Fiemme, which is definitely a special recognition. However, the Fiemme committee has announced that there will obviously be some inconvenience. The permanent facilities for the Olympics have been completed, with some still awaiting the required testing (such as the public grandstand), but some temporary works are also being completed, meaning that certain areas will be off limits. The standing zones are accessible to the public, and the sprint race can be enjoyed in its entirety and all its spectacular glory. There have been a few problems with the Cermis track, there is no point in hiding it. The temperature inversion of recent weeks has not allowed the various hairpin bends of the track from the valley floor to the intermediate stage to be properly covered with snow, but the problem has been remedied in the last few hours. At the Lago di Tesero stadium, the tracks are OK, but snow is being produced to improve the situation for the Olympics and Paralympics.
The Final Climb is always a spectacle of rare intensity, with the various steps of a prestigious ranking being decided along the steep slope. For the public, the “posts” of the Tour del Gusto will be set up at key points, providing an opportunity to pass the time between the two races, men's and women's.
These are two races not to be missed. The classic sprint is a tough test for many, and no one will want to hold back because they can study trajectories and, above all, strategies. Sunday's challenge will decide the Tour and, as always, probably the World Cup, because the Tour points are worth their weight in gold...
Saturday's schedule shows 12.15 pm for the qualifiers and 2.45 pm for the finals, while on Sunday the men's race will start at 11.30 am and the women's at 3.30 pm, and on the Cermis the new winners will be able to raise the prestigious trophy to the sky. Klæbo and Diggins? For the Norwegian, it would be his fifth time, and therefore a special pedestal, while for Diggins it would be her third, a nice achievement in the year she decided to retire!
© Newspower
The Tour de Ski has always been and will certainly continue to be this season, Olympic Games aside, the leitmotif of cross-country skiing, and a good deal of the ‘responsibility’ lies with Val di Fiemme, which, with its final stages, has always designated the protagonists of the competitive season, in particular with the Final Climb, an absolute icon for 20 years, since the Tour de Ski was born. There has never been a race like this before, an uphill challenge - and what an uphill challenge - that revolutionised what cross-country skiing was and is now.
Today and tomorrow, there will be races in Toblach, and then the cross-country skiers' caravan will move on to Val di Fiemme, a long column of lorries that nowadays serve as the travelling homes of the skimen. On Saturday, January 3, there will be a sprint in classic technique, and on Sunday, January 4, the conclusion with the mass start skating, which culminates on the Alpe del Cermis after the climb of the Olimpia III.
Saturday will be a real pre-Olympic test for some facilities, but especially for the tracks involved in the Tour de Ski races. The Nordic Ski Val di Fiemme committee, led by Pietro De Godenz, have been granted a special concession from the IOC, FIS and FISI for the Tour de Ski, as the regulations state that no races can be held at Olympic venues during the Olympic season. FIS officials have always stated that there is no Tour de Ski without Val di Fiemme, which is definitely a special recognition. However, the Fiemme committee has announced that there will obviously be some inconvenience. The permanent facilities for the Olympics have been completed, with some still awaiting the required testing (such as the public grandstand), but some temporary works are also being completed, meaning that certain areas will be off limits. The standing zones are accessible to the public, and the sprint race can be enjoyed in its entirety and all its spectacular glory. There have been a few problems with the Cermis track, there is no point in hiding it. The temperature inversion of recent weeks has not allowed the various hairpin bends of the track from the valley floor to the intermediate stage to be properly covered with snow, but the problem has been remedied in the last few hours. At the Lago di Tesero stadium, the tracks are OK, but snow is being produced to improve the situation for the Olympics and Paralympics.
The Final Climb is always a spectacle of rare intensity, with the various steps of a prestigious ranking being decided along the steep slope. For the public, the “posts” of the Tour del Gusto will be set up at key points, providing an opportunity to pass the time between the two races, men's and women's.
These are two races not to be missed. The classic sprint is a tough test for many, and no one will want to hold back because they can study trajectories and, above all, strategies. Sunday's challenge will decide the Tour and, as always, probably the World Cup, because the Tour points are worth their weight in gold...
Saturday's schedule shows 12.15 pm for the qualifiers and 2.45 pm for the finals, while on Sunday the men's race will start at 11.30 am and the women's at 3.30 pm, and on the Cermis the new winners will be able to raise the prestigious trophy to the sky. Klæbo and Diggins? For the Norwegian, it would be his fifth time, and therefore a special pedestal, while for Diggins it would be her third, a nice achievement in the year she decided to retire!
©Newspower.it
