Gran Fondo Val Casies confirmed and races maintained: the races will take place over 30 and 42 km

On February 20 and 21 the South Tyrolean event and the slopes are practically ready with the heavy snowfalls of the past weeks.

Wednesday 20 January 2021 6 minutes reading time

There is a month left until the start of the Gran Fondo Val Casies on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 February, and the organizers have kept their promise made for months: the definitive confirmation that the race will take place, with some rules to be respected regarding the containment of the virus, the two distances of 30 and 42 km, in classic on Saturday and in free technique on Sunday. The activities of Just for Fun and Mini Val Casies are also confirmed. Natural snow falling in abundance in the South Tyrolean valley offers scenarios that have not been seen for a long time, a Val Casies ready to welcome cross-country skiers. It will be a closed-door race, unfortunately, but this too is a sacrifice to be able to play the competition, thus avoiding the gatherings that are deleterious for the contagion. The Gran Fondo Val Casies is an event of national and international interest as it is registered in the FIS and FISI calendar and therefore can be regularly performed; FISI members can participate if registered because the rules say so, even traveling to and from regions where travel restrictions would not allow it. In addition, there is the hope that on February 15, at the expiry of the decree in place, the situation will improve and some bans will lapse. The documents with details related to the pandemic are published on the official website of the event; Walter Felderer, president of the committee, is aware that number 38 will be a particular edition, but it will continue in the logic that an edition has never been canceled due to lack of snow or for other reasons. “We are well aware that this year the number of participants will be lower than in the past due to Covid. Foreigners will be small in number: lockdown is common in almost all of Europe, finding flights is a challenge. Even among the Italian cross-country skiers there are those who feel compelled to give up. The Gran Fondo Val Casies is also an opportunity to spend some beautiful days of relaxation with the family, but this year no companions ”. It is clear that the focal point of the organizers is the health safety of the competitors, therefore the protocol studied and approved by the authorities provides for limitations. In the meantime, no registration on site, in order not to create gatherings. Memberships can only be done online by February 17th. In recent years the registrations arrived only in the last two days came to exceed 600. The race secretary does not rattle off numbers this year, because in truth the numbers are higher than last year on the same date, but certainly several cross-country skiers will ask to move its registration to 2022 if the epidemiological situation does not improve. The departure will also undergo changes. As in the last two years, the race will start in the center of San Martino in the direction of Santa Maddalena, this time in front there will be the first group with the elite and Coppa Italia athletes, then behind all the others, in groups of 100. There will be "real time", so even those who start behind will not have penalties. In this way the groups will be more fluid and the distances guaranteed by tracks and lanes and by the skis themselves. For everyone, except for the competitors during the competition, a mask and body temperature control will be a must. No pasta party, but a hot “packet lunch” cooked by the chefs of Val Casies. The track is completed, in truly perfect conditions, the fascinating scenarios: the Gran Fondo Val Casies is calling.

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