NEWS
TOUR DE SKI
It will be a tour for everyone. A tour de force for the organizers, a “Tour del Gusto” for the spectators who enjoy food, a show tour for fans and the curious, both at the Olympic stadium in Lago di Tesero and on the steep slope of the Alpe Cermis, and a pyrotechnic finale for the athletes with the closing of the 18th Tour de Ski.
Val di Fiemme will be, as per tradition, the apotheosis of the spectacular challenge within the World Cup, a championship in the championship, interesting for the many points it gives and for the prize money that attract the interest of the strongest athletes. In addition, this year, with flu and Covid “crippling” many top athletes, the fight is even livelier and for who will be on the trackside Saturday in Lago di Tesero for the tactic 15 km mass start in classic technique and Sunday for the Final Climb on the Cermis, there will be no room for boredom. Is the great Klaebo, who was hoping to score a victory in his fourth 'Tour' and bring himself on a par with the greats Dario Cologna and Justyna Kowalczyk, missing? There is no problem, Norway has plenty of great athletes and after the first days of Toblach there are three Norwegians in the lead. Amundsen is 1st and Valnes follows behind with 32’’. Behind there is a pack of chasers led by Jenssen on the hunt for the two foxes, 9 athletes with a maximum gap of 39’’ from the podium, but for the third place there are several who can count the seconds on the fingers of one hand, including Federico Pellegrino who today will try to hit the jackpot in the Davos sprint. Out of 12 races in the Swiss venue, the Italian athlete has taken 2 second places and 4 victories, and “Chicco” is on a par with Klaebo and his majesty Bjorn Daehlie in terms of the number of victories in Davos. Needless to say. The Italian sportsmen are expecting a newfound Pellegrino in Val di Fiemme, to improve perhaps last year fourth place overall. A few years ago, it was unthinkable, since he is a sprinter, to see him climb the Cermis. Pellegrino is the Italian national team captain, deservedly so, and if everything goes smoothly, he could really present us with a podium that Italy male team has been missing since 2008, when the Olympics champion Giorgio Di Centa centred the third place behind Lukas Bauer (CZE) and Renè Sommerfeldt (GER). On the women’s side, there are three Italian podium in the roll of honour, with Arianna Follis (2008 and 2010) and Marianna Longa (2011).
As for the women's Tour de Ski, after the first three races of Toblach there is a timeless Jessie Diggins (USA) able to excite the public with her heart-stopping performances. She is leading the ranking, but just 47” behind her there is a dangerous Victoria Carl (GER) and in a handkerchief of just 9” there are 4 Swedes, 2 Norwegians and a Finn hungry for the podium. In Val di Fiemme, the women's races are expected to be fiery.
Saturday’s races, at 11.30 am the women’s 15 km and at 3.25 pm the men’s one, are spread on 6 tough laps of the 2.5 km course. Sunday, instead, the start is at the cross-country skiing stadium in Lago di Tesero and then there is a fast but tactical stretch, on the Marcialonga track until Masi, and the extremely steep climb of the Cermis, for a total of 10 km mass start in classic technique. But the pivot of the challenge is the last section, 3.9 km with points ranging from 26,5% km of Jump of Skiri” to 28% of “The Deer’s Den”.
On Sunday there will also be something else, the Rampa con i Campioni on the same climb of the world stars, total distance shortened to 9 km. For many amateurs there will be the occasion and satisfaction to race with Olympics and world champions. For now, among the many confirmed are Justyna Kowalczyk, who has been racing under the colours of the Robinson Trentino Team for a few years now and who knows her way around the Tour de Ski, has triumphed four times and holds the record as the athlete with the most victories. At the start, there is even Antonella Confortola, former cross-country skier who can boast participation and medals at the Olympics and World Championships, and Swiss Paralympic athlete Luca Tavasci. Germany's Peter Schlickenrieder, Olympic silver medallist, is also in the match, and there are other big names awaiting confirmation. Along the Cermis climb, there is another Tour, the Tour del Gusto for spectators. On the deadly hairpin turns drawn on the Olimpia III slope, little houses are set up, offering good local food and drinks, because the day on the snow is long. And speaking of snow, there is nothing to hide. This year, the beginning of winter has been short on snowfall, the slope and the stadium are nevertheless covered in snow and on the way from Friday, there is a storm that should make Val di Fiemme even more beautiful with three days of snowfall. The forecast says so, everyone is crossing their fingers.
©Newspower.it
