La Sgambeda will mark the start of the FIS Marathon Cup season this coming Sunday, December 14th in Livigno, Italy. La Sgambeda will also launch the cross-country ski marathon season in Central Europe as some 1000 competitors will test their early-season fitness on the 42 km free technique course. The high altitude (1800m over sea level) will pose one of the biggest challenges of a course that winds through the beautiful surroundings around Lago di Livigno and along the so-called Small Tibet valley on the Italian side of the Swiss-Italian border.
Excellent conditions with three feet of snow are awaiting the skiers in Livigno. Among the more or less ambitious recreational skiers, a number of World Cup stars will also be at the start. They include Kristin Steira (NOR) who won last weekend’s mass start race in La Clusaz along with Lada Nesterenko (UKR), Anders Aukland (NOR), Andrus Veerpalu and Jaak Mae (EST), among others.
La Sgambeda is the first of the ten ski marathons that belong to the 2008/2009 FIS Marathon Cup. The second race in this year’s Cup is the Jizerská padesátka, scheduled for 11th January 11, 2009.
For more information on La Sgambeda visit the race website at http://www.lasgambeda.it/eng/index.php
The FIS Marathon Cup is a series of ten marathons with an overall Men's and Women's winner. For the full schedule, visit http://www.worldloppet.com/fmcprogramme.php
