NEWS
TOUR DE SKI
An essential piece in the DNA of the Tour de Ski is without a doubt Val di Fiemme, the flagship venue for the famous cross-country World Cup event, which over the years has become the ultimate benchmark for cross-country skiing. Even in the 2024/2025 season, it will be the protagonist of the ‘Tour’ with three days of races, from January 3 to 5, which will determine the new winners of the coveted tournament in a rich programme that includes the Sprint in classic technique, the 20 km Skiathlon (CT+FT) and the iconic Final Climb.
The objective of the FIS executives is to make the Tour de Ski an even more spectacular and attractive product. First and foremost, the starting times of the races will see cross-country skiers women and men alternating cyclically, in order to favour wide media coverage for both categories competing for the trophy. In order to favour thrilling and dynamic competitions, the athletes on the starting grid will no longer take into account their performances during the rest of the Cup season but will be the results of the ongoing Tour de Ski that will decide the starting order.
Exposure, prestige and rich prizes at stake will be the keywords of the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme with no less than three revised and reintroduced bib numbers starting this season. Other than the classical ‘Overall’ that identifies the leader of the overall ranking who wins the trophy at the end of the races, the ‘Sprint’ and ‘Climb’ bibs will also be on the front row. The first takes the place of the now former point ranking and will end up on the shoulders of the fastest skiers: for the Sprint ranking, bonuses in seconds will be awarded in the Sprint races and valuable points at the intermediate points in six out of seven stages of the event. The second is one of the most interesting novelties of this edition and will go to the best climbers who will compete for the leadership of the Climb ranking in the King of the Mountain, scheduled in four out of seven stages. Needless to say, the most prestigious stage of the entire Tour, and of the Climb ranking in particular, is the Cermis Final Climb, which at the finish near the Doss dei Laresi cable car will reward the winner with no less than 45 points. The 10 km skating at Alpe Cermis with an average gradient of 12% and peaks touching 30% cannot but be the most desired by the cross-country skiers and mountaineers who will fight until the last metre to win the first Climb bib in the history of the Tour de Ski.
Among those who will give their all on the iconic ramps of the Alpe Cermis, there will be undoubtedly Jules Lapierre, the French who no later than last edition ‘tamed’ her Majesty the Final Climb, dominating the competition, and who is aiming to repeat himself in the new year: ‘My priority for this season is undoubtedly the Tour de Ski. It is one of the major goals of my year, and after the victory in Val di Fiemme in 2024 I would really like to repeat myself even in 2025 in the final Climb’ declares the transalpine, who adds, ’over the summer I worked hard to improve my strength points, in particular the free technique, to confirm myself among the best in the world.’
For the world's cross-country elite, the Tour de Ski is once again an appointment of absolute value and in Val di Fiemme, the organising committee Nordic Ski Val di Fiemme, under the leadership of President Pietro De Godenz and with the support of a large group of volunteers, is preparing for an unforgettable 19th edition. The Sprint and Skiathlon races will be valid as a test event in view of the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games of Milano Cortina, which will make Val di Fiemme the only location in the world to host all the major competitions on the international scene for the Nordic skiing disciplines.
©Newspower.it
