Month: October 2021

25 October 2021

FIVE HUNDRED, CINQ CENTS, FÜNFHUNDERT! A MAXIMUM OF 500 PEOPLE AT LIVIGNO’S SGAMBEDA

More and more people are signing up for the first cross-country skiing competition of the yearLivigno’s organizer set a limit of 500 people. From Saturday 23, participants can train on the snow farming ring.
The superstar Klaebo is back in Livigno to prepare his Olympic season on high ground.

From Pauli Siitonen – the Finnish with the intuition – to Bill Kock – the American who developed the new technique in the 1970s. Skating is a very loved, bubbly and explosive discipline.The Sgambeda is the first chance of the season to put on your narrow skis and race against the clock with a free technique; it will raise the curtain on its 31st edition on December 4. This year, the organizers of the Livigno competition set some boundaries, because the pandemic – although currently contained – is still to be feared. Therefore, they set a limit of 500 participants, and, as always, the imperative is crossing the finish line. Many international athletes have already booked a race-bib: five hundred, cinq cents, fünfhundert, with a maximum of 500 participants.

Although there is still time before December 4, you should start polishing your skis, because from Saturday (23 October) onward, you can start training on the first ring section obtained in Livigno with the snow farming technique. Amateurs who want to challenge their passion on narrow skis will have the ring at their disposal between noon and 6:30 pm, after getting a ticket at the cross-country ski centre.

Livigno’s “plateau” is favourite place for altitude training for many athletes, and for cross-country national teams in particular, at this time of the year; with the opening of the training track, the members of the Finnish national team – guided by superstar Johannes Høsflot Klæbo – and of the German biathlon team – familiar faces in Little Tibet – have already been announced.

Training and spending a few nice days in Livigno is an enticing idea, without though losing sight of the Sgambeda’s 500 participant limit, which is quickly reaching its target.

Until 31 October, the participation fee will be €50,00 and on December 1 it will increase to €60,00.

Although it is true that the tendency is to wait the last second to enter a competition, the saying “There is no time like the present” rings very true in Livigno; so, in order not to be out of the group of 500 lucky skating participants, you better hurry.

The race track is the traditional 35 km one, with start and arrival at Livigno’s cross-country ski centre, the climb toward the Forcola pass in the shadow of the Vago Alps, and then downhill toward Livigno’s centre. As always, the Sgambeda starter package will be top quality, and it will be revealed soon; the true “prize” is the chance to ski at the beginning of December in a place where usually snow holds sway, and where elsewhere it is very hard to find any centres open.

In Livigno, altitude skiing is a pleasure and a qualifying way to open the cross-country ski race season, which will continue in January in Italy. At the beginning of December, Livigno sparkles with lights and colours, the Christmas atmosphere is everywhere and the time of giving is anticipated – like the skiing season.

Info: www.lasgambeda.it

4 October 2021

TWO MONTHS TO SGAMBEDA, HAVE YOU ALREADY REGISTERED?

The training of top athletes and amateur in the mountains is keep going.
On October 23rd will be ready the first cross-country ring thanks to snowfarming.
On December 4th the appointment is with the Sgambeda, 35 km in skating.
17 nations are already represented, with a maximum of 500 subscribed.

Livigno is still all “green” in the mere meaning of the word. Green because the colour of woods and meadows reigns over the Piccolo Tibet, “green” because there is a great attention to nature and environmental protection. 

The last snowfall of the year was on 19 April, a sprinkling of two centimetres, but now the peaks around Livigno have started to turn white, a sign that we are slowly approaching the ski season. Waiting for the abundant natural snow, in order to complete the long track that distinguishes the “Nordic” Livigno, as usual a ring for cross-country skiing will be set up soon. In fact, in Livigno, thanks to snowfarming, it is possible to anticipate the natural flakes with the use of about 80,000 cubic metres of snow stored in spring under a special geothermal sheet, protected by sawdust insulation. The ring will be accessible on October 23rd.

Livigno is also a training ground in the pre season for many champions and amateurs, because the preparation in high altitude improves the physical condition in view of the performances on the narrow skis. At the end of August, for example, the Norwegian national cross-country team led by Klaebo and Johaug trained in Livigno, using the cycle path and the trails of the resort. Last week also the women’s national team went on a training camp under the “orders” of coach Renato Pasini, with intense sessions with rollerskis and at the Aquagranda sports centre.

Talking about events, the date to mark in the calendar is December 4th with the first Italian cross-country skiing event, the 31st edition of the Sgambeda, which in fact opens the fourth decade of its history, years that have also written the history of Italian cross-country skiing.

Registrations for the race have just opened and already reached 200 subscriptions, with foreign cross-country skiers in particular eager to grab one of the 500 race-bibs available. For this edition, considering that the anti-Covid rules for ski events are not yet clear and definitive, the organising committee wanted to set a ceiling of 500 participants. Along with the Italians on the entry list are athletes from Holland, Norway, Switzerland, Poland, Canada, Germany, the Czech Republic, the United States, France, Russia, Slovakia, Finland, Hungary, Sweden, Austria and Belgium.
The race is scheduled over the distance of 35 km in free technique, with the traditional track starting from the cross-country centre that runs past Livigno.

With the pandemic that forced many cross-country skiers to inactivity last season, the date of 4 December promises to be the first event of the season not to be missed. The opportunity to train well in advance, taking advantage of Livigno’s potential, is also an opportunity to spend a few relaxing days in the centre of Valtellina.

For the Sgambeda there is no time to waste. The ceiling of the 500 subscribers remains binding and until 31 October the adhesion fee is fixed at 50 euro, while from the first of November to the first of December the fee rises to 60 euro. If the race is cancelled, which is important, the organisers will refund the entire amount paid. As if to say: “Those who have time don’t wait for time!”

Info: www.lasgambeda.it

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