SkiClassics

Marcialonga - Ski Classics is a winning couple

“Ski Classics” Cup is a long-distance cross-country skiing competition which engages the biggest European stages. The challenge is born in 2011 with six events on the schedule, while on the current 2022/2023 season it sees 14 races in 6 different countries.

Marcialonga is part to this prestigious circuit from its debut with many experts in the field considering it a “special” race. In order to understand how much big champions love this competition, you just need to read the words of the 2015, 2016 and 2017 winner Tord Asle Gjerdalen, who also won a gold and bronze Medal at the World Championships in Val di Fiemme: “Marcialonga is all I think of during the whole year”. His team member and Olympic Gold medallist Anders Auckland adds that: “Marcialonga is with no doubt the most important race of the year, I hope our team will be always competitive”.

Being part of “Visma Ski Classic” is a big honor for Marcialonga, which has also been elected “Event of the Year” in 2018 and 2019.

The Grand Classics Events

In occasion of Season XI, Visma Ski Classics launched the “Grand Classics Events”: it is a new challenge where the athlete winning the four prestigeous events completes a “Grand Slam”. Marcialonga is one of the four events to conquer, together with Jizerska Padesatka, Vasaloppet and Birkebeinerrennet.

It is curios how, even in the past, nobody ever managed to win the four events in the same season and so completing a Grand Slam. The question is, who will be the first one completing the prestigeous Grand Slam?
The athletes that came closer to it so far are the Swede Aake Lundback in 1981 and the local athlete from Val di Fiemme Cristina Paluselli in 2005 and 2006, winning three events out of four during the same season. In 2013, the Aukland brothers came close to it, winning the four races in two, but that doesn't count...