Folie wins 31km Skating. Race and combined goes to Lauri Lepistö

The curtain falls on the 48th edition of the Ski Classics Challengers event. Folie (ITA) and Lepistö (FIN) win the 31 km in free technique. Great satisfaction for volunteers and the Toblach-Cortina ski-marathon OC. Sunshine at the finish in Fiames and the usual cheerfulness to greet another successful edition

At the Toblach-Cortina Ski-marathon, the course of the 31 km free technique race, much like the one that had provided a long, balanced and uncertain opening race yesterday in classic technique, was speeded up thanks to the sun, which had returned to peep through and illuminate the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites. Around 10 am, starting time at the Nordic Arena in Toblach, yesterday’s thick snow seemed to be just a distant and happy memory. It will certainly be so for Ylvie Folie (ITA) and Lauri Lepistö (FIN), who were first across the finish line in Fiames and did well to inscribe their names in the already rich roll of honour.

The course after the start in the Nordic Arena ‘crossed’ Lake Toblach, the War Cemetery and Lake Landro covered by a light blanket of fog, where quite a bit of selection had already been made in the men’s race. At the transit through the Three Peaks National Park in front there were only seven left. Once they had reached Valfonda and Cimabanche, the sun was already shining again! The breakaway group then sped down the descent, with the characteristic passage through tunnels carved into the rock. By this time, the Italian Paolo Fanton, Lepistö, the Swedish Ekloef and Estonian Alev had left. The finish line in Fiames, a stone’s throw from Cortina, once again added that pinch of spice to the challenge, and again provided a spectacle. Lepistö and Alev, particularly the former, had more to offer than Fanton and Ekloef, who battled it out for third place. However, the best in the sprint was Lepistö, already third yesterday in the 31 km CT.

The women’s race smiled on Italy, especially South Tyrol, which celebrated the success of Ylvie Folie and gave a colourful one-two with Julia Kuen. The two, about a minute apart at the finish, exploded with joy for each other. In the women’s race the selection was made very early, around 3 km there were already five left: together with the two Italian women were Bepoix (3rd), Hutter and Koenig. When Folie decided to pick up the pace, namely in the section from the Three Peaks National Park to Cimabanche, no one was able to keep up with her, thanks also to the help of a male athlete, and she built up a 35’ gap at the downhill attack.

The combined classification of the weekend awards today’s winner Lauri Lepistö (FIN) ahead of Eklöf (SWE) and Rinner (ITA). In the women’s event, Hilda Löf (SWE) won over Anna Happ (GER) and Nicole Donzallaz (SUI).

The Toblach-Cortina Ski-marathon Organising committee, thanks to the work of the many volunteers led by president Herbert Santer and the vice president Igor Gombac, closed another successful edition: the forty-eighth. Almost 200 people put their heart and spirit into ensuring supplies, clothing transport and the perfect preparation of the track. All that remains is to renew the appointment for 2026!

Nygaard & Börjesjö: and who else?

The Ski Classics Challengers circuit event started from Toblach, Nygaard (NOR) and Börjesjö (SWE) won the 31 km in classic technique.

OC Toblach-Cortina Ski-marathon celebrates the opening under the snow, big party at the finish of Fiames-Cortina d’Ampezzo, tomorrow the 31 km FT.

An old-fashioned spectacle! Perhaps this is how one can describe what was seen on the opening day of the 48th Toblach-Cortina Ski-marathon. The 31-kilometre course, with the start in the Nordic Arena in Toblach, passed through the most fascinating places in Hochpustertal and Ampezzo, as well as through the tunnels of the former Dolomite railway: a spectacle made even more impressive by the snowfall. The snowfall had been falling since the hours before the 10 o’clock start and had whitened the trees and surroundings, but also made the course very hard, which in the end crowned Andreas Nygaard (NOR) and Malin Börjesjö (SWE) as winners.

A slow pace characterised the men’s race, given the heavy snowfall in Hochpustertal and especially in the Ampezzo region. When the snow is slow and sloppy, the ideal habitat of the cross-country skier is… the wake of another cross-country skier. The only Swede Ekloef (6th) tried to make a difference on the hard, near the Three Peaks National Park, but failed to get away. A group of 19 athletes then formed with all the best skiers. At the pass at Passo Cimabanche 13 of them managed to dig a small gap of 12” on the pursuers. They then faced the downhill stretch towards the finish line in Fiames, where some athletes managed to pull back, thanks to the very slow snow found by the outriders. The final solution could only be the sprint, where Andreas Nygaard again showed all his strength. The fresh Marcialonga champion crossed the finish ahead of everyone, winning the sprint over Francesco Ferrari and the Finnish Lauri Lepistö, who preceded the Italian favourite Dietmar Noeckler at the photo finish.

A lot of selection was made in the women’s race, which saw, after the first 3 km section, already six athletes taking the lead. The Swedish Börjesjö made things clear on the slightly uphill sections, thanks also to her excellent equipment, as she admitted at the end of the race. Arriving at the Cimabanche Pass (21st km), Börjesjö had a 34-second margin over the closest pursuer Oda Nerdrum (NOR). At that point, with only 10 km downhill to go and in the company of male athletes, it was done for the Swede. The defending champion Heli Heiskanen (FIN), in the company of Anna Schmidhofer (AUT), narrowly missed out on the Norwegian Nerdrum, who nevertheless defended her place of honour.

Awaiting all ‘finishers’, those who made their way along the Lake of Toblach, the War Cemetery, Landro, Valfonda and Cimabanche and then into the galleries towards Fiames, were the metal medals with personalised high-relief.

The organising committee led by Herbert Santer said to be delighted with the setting, which was made even more beautiful by the snow. A big applause also goes to the many volunteers from Toblach and Cortina, who have been working for weeks to ensure the success of one of the most popular races of the circuit.

Tomorrow, however, it will still be track time with another 31 km to run, this time in free technique. The course is the same as today: appointment at 10:00 a.m. with the start from the Nordic Arena.