Marcialonga: the cross-country skiing marathon in the Fiemme and Fassa Valleys
The Marcialonga is the most important cross-country skiing competition in Italy
The Marcialonga is the most important competition of cross-country skiing in Italy. It takes place in the Fiemme and Fassa Valleys, usually the last Sunday of January. After the start in Moena, participants reach Canazei by coasting the right bank of the Avisio river, then go back till Molina di Fiemme on its left side. Here, you find the most challenging part of the whole itinerary (70 km): a long climb before the arrival in the square of Cavalese. There is also a “light” version of the Marcialonga (45 km), with the arrival in Predazzo.
The first edition of the Marcialonga was in 1991, on February 7th: the four people who had organized it only expected 100 participants, not 1.000! In the first six editions, only men could take part, then, in 1978, also women could join the competition. The first editions only featured the classical technique, then the free technique was adopted as well. Nevertheless, in 2003 rules changed againd in favour of the classical technique, as it permits to better exploit the width of the racetrack. Nowadays, the participants are at least 5.000.
