WORLD CUP IN VAL DI FIEMME BECCHIS, THE ROLLERSKI SPRINT PROF

Roller skis speed across the asphalt, the poles set the pace and the adrenaline is back in the spotlight, as another roller-skiing season is set to get into full swing. In a few days’ time, the World Cup will begin, with its final and decisive stage once again taking place in Val di Fiemme, in Trentino, scheduled for September 18 to 20.

In the meantime, the Italian NextPro Cup has put on a spectacular show with its first races, awarding, among others, Italian champions Alba Mortagna and Riccardo Lorenzo Masiero, as well as Emanuele Becchis, who managed to achieve a perfect sweep in the five Sprint races held so far. He also claimed the title of Italian Sprint Champion at the event in Castel di Sangro, L’Aquila, confirming the 33-year-old as the undisputed leader in speed. In a month’s time, Italian and international roller skiers will gather in Val di Fiemme, between Ziano di Fiemme and Alpe Cermis, for an event eagerly anticipated by the “professor of speed” Emanuele Becchis, sprint world champion in his “spare time” and physical education and sports science teacher by profession. He is ready to return to the Olympic valley after winning his fourth World Cup title in the discipline there last September, edging out Michele Valerio by a hair’s breadth.

All eyes are inevitably on the first stage of the biggest international competition, scheduled to take place in a few days, on August 28th, in Trollhättan (SWE) – a free technique sprint that promises to be anything but easy for the Italian champion: “I’ll try to prepare as best as I can for a sprint that doesn’t suit my style. The race course is very long and tough; it starts with 800 meters on flat ground before turning uphill. I’ll do my best to bring home a few points, and then I’ll focus on the World Championships and the Fiemme stage.” The second stage, scheduled for September 3 to 5 in Madona, Latvia, the venue for the World Championships, will be highly anticipated. After that, the Trentino valley will welcome the Junior and Senior “summer cross-country skiing” circuit.

The program will kick off on the morning of Friday, September 18, with the 10km Mass Start in classic technique on the iconic climb of the Alpe Cermis. It will, then continue on Saturday, September 19, at 14:00 with the 200 m Sprint in free technique on Nazionale street, in the centre of Ziano di Fiemme, and on Sunday 20, at 10:00, with the Team Sprint in free technique.

“If roller-skiing is now a well-established sport in Italy, much of the credit must also go to Val di Fiemme,” added Becchis. “For years it has been a driving force behind the discipline, and the growth of the entire movement is tangible. I believe the sprints, in particular, offer a format that is truly engaging for the public and can be adapted to any venue. Moreover, I noticed a growing interest from cross-country skiers, who are taking up roller-skiing not only during summer training but also in the winter.”

For Becchis, balancing work with competitions and roller ski trainings has now become a well-established routine, as he explains: “My job as a teacher keeps me busy from September through June, so I’m lucky enough to be able to devote myself to competitions throughout the summer, a time when I can increase my training load. During the rest of the year, despite some busier days, I still manage to carve out the time I need to train at my best.”

After playing a leading role, with 21 medals awarded at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games - where Becchis worked as the coach for the cross-country skiing teams of Mexico and Lebanon - and 38 at the Paralympic Games, Val di Fiemme and the Nordic Ski Val di Fiemme Organizing Committee are ready to host the next major events, starting with the Rollerski World Cup, followed by the Nordic Combined World Cup from December 11 to 13, the FIS Ski Jumping Continental Cup on December 19 and 20, and the 21st Tour de Ski, scheduled for January 8 to 10, 2027.