The countdown to the start of the SellaRonda Skimarathon race has begun.
Even the winners of the Pierra Menta Matteo Eydallin and Michele Boscacci will step on the starting line in Corvara on Friday 25th March.
The weather forecast is for a few clouds but warm temperatures.
Tension is in the air now in Corvara, Alta Badia, from Friday morning over one thousand Sellaronda athletes will reach the village to collect their bibs and get ready for the start which by tradition, will start at 6pm. As usual the athletes will skin round the four passes: Campolongo, Pordoi, Sella and Gardena, 42 kilometres and 2700 metres of vertical height gain.
After the Pierra Menta, legendary race which was tackled on the snow of Arêches-Beaufort in Haute Savoie, France and during the Wolrd Cup in Val Martello there was the off chance that Matteo Eydallin and Michele Boscacci (current leader of the overall World Cup) could take part in the Sellaronda, but the decision to actually race in it only came last minute.
«We chose to take part in the Sellaronda – said Michele Boscacci – only at the end of the World Cup race in Val Martello. Matteo after the Pierra Menta race was not sure whether he should take part or not, instead on Monday we spoke and sent the registration form. It will be a very difficult race at an extremely fast pace, I have already raced in the Skimarathon a couple of times, but for Eydallin it will be the first time».
As well as the two Italians who race for the Centro Sportivo Esercito, the following athletes will also take part in the race: Alex Oberbacher (silver medal at the European Vertical race) with Davide Magnini (winner of the Individual Race in Val Martello), Jakob Herrmann and Christian Hoffmann, Federico Nicolini and Patrick Facchini. During these last days confirmation also came from Philipp Götsch with Andreas Reiterer and François D’Haene together with Gedeon Poca Cottilloux. Worthy of mention is the unrelenting Filippo Beccari who will race with Martin Stofner
It is important to mention that Alba De Silvestro with Alessandra Schmid and Elena Nicolini with Katia Tomatis will take part in the female race.
The Dolomiti Superski slopes are in perfect condition and thanks to the weather forecast there is a good possibility that the records broken in 2019 can be lowered even further.
The male record currently stands at 2:56’59’’ (Filippo Barazzuol-William Boffelli) while in the female race the record time to break is 3:32’37’’ established by Laetitia Roux and Martina Valmassoi.
