The third of ten races in the FIS Marathon Cup took place at the foothills of the Dolomite Mountains in Obertilliach, Austria. Now in its 36th year, the Dolomitenlauf is touted as one of the first Worldloppet races and it is the largest nordic ski event to be held in Austria. Over 2000 participants from more than 20 nations took part in the races.
On Friday the Dolomitensprint, which is advertised as the oldest cross country sprint race in the world, provided a show for the spectators as it raced down main street in Lienz. The 42km Dolomiten Classic race held place on Saturday and ran from Obertilliach to Lienz. Stanislav Rezac of the Czech Republic won the overall race and Martina Stursova , also of the Czech Republic, was the first female finisher.
The titled event, the Dolomitenlauf Worldloppet race, was held Sunday on the same 42 kilometer track, but in the skate technique. Jenny Hansson of Sweden topped the women’s field in 1:56:15 to hold onto her overall lead in the loppet series. Natascia Leonardi from Switzerland finished second, more than two and a half minutes behind, while Tatjana Mannima from Estonia finished another 4 minutes behind, for third place.
The men’s race was much more competitive, as the top 16 men finished within 26 seconds of each other. Another boost to the excitement was the fact that some of the German National Team members who were at a training camp nearby decided to enter the race.
Fabio Santus of Italy outsprinted the field for the win in a time of 1:43:17, and the rest of the lead pack raced across the line within seconds. Tobias Angerer of the German National Team edged Thomas Friemuth of Germany for second place. Also racing at the top of the field from the German National Team were Axel Teichmann and Jens Filbrich who finished 15th and 16th, respectively.
The first U.S. finisher was Joshua Smith of the Vail Ski Club, who took 36th place in a time of 1:52:53.
With 7 races left in the FIS Marathon series, Jenny Hansson is well ahead on the overall list with 225 points. There is a three-way tie for second place between Valentina Shevchenko of Ukraine, Susanne Nystrom of Sweden and Sandra Hansson of Sweden, who all have 100 points.
On the men’s overall list it is Italy’s Fabio Santus in first place with 194 points. Oskar Svaerd is in second with 126 points.
Overall points list
