Cross-country skiing: the start of the FESA Cup in Italy… via a Swiss organisation
On 6, 7 and 8 December, the FESA Cup cross-country skiing competition 2024/2025 gets underway. Comprising six stages in total, with the final scheduled for 14-16 March in Prémanon (Jura), the competition will kick off in Schlinig, Italy. However… it will be organised by Swiss-Ski.
A skate sprint, an individual classic and a free mass-start will be on the programme for this first weekend in South Tyrol. Rarely used at this level of competition, the Watles ski area, with its Schlinig Nordic ski centre, is situated at an altitude of 1,726 metres.
For the record, it was on these Italian slopes in February 2008 that Norway’s Therese Johaug became triple world junior champion, winning the individual classic, the mass-start skate (ahead of a certain Laure Barthélémy) and the mixed relay. Among the stars of this competition were other cross-country skiers who would go on to become great champions: Dario Cologna, Calle Halfvarsson and Hans Christer Holund.
The races scheduled in Schlinig, moreover, will play a very special role: they will be useful for the top-level athletes not called up for the World Cup in Ruka (Finland) and they will allow the juniors and U23s to test themselves and show what they can do before the World Championships scheduled for February in Schilpario (Italy).
A total of around 400 cross-country skiers are expected to take part in the opening event of the FESA Cup 2024/2025, co-organised by Swiss-Ski, ASC Sesvenna and the Alta Val Venosta Tourism Association.
