The weekend’s events in the Italian Dolomites promise to be as hot as the recent weather across the Italian Alps. One of the most popular events on the Skyrunner® World Series will roll out the red carpet this weekend to welcome a world-class line-up in the deepest fields to date.
Friday kicks off with the Dolomites Vertical Kilometer® which, since 2010 has represented a hub for the top specialists and site of the first Vertical World Championships.
A gruelling 1,000m ascent with an average 50% incline over 2.4 kilometres from Alba di Canazei (1,465m) to the summit of the Crepa Neigra (2,465m) makes it one of the world’s toughest VK’s.
Celebrating 19 years, Sunday’s Dolomites SkyRace® will yet again open the doors to the world’s top runners who come back year after year for the strong competition and the technical challenge.
The 22 km course starts and finishes in the centre of Canazei and climbs very steeply to the summit of the Piz Boè, at 3,152m, often snow-covered, it dominates the entire landscape. The equally steep descent back in a loop, passes through a gorge, with scrambling sections for 12 km.
Nearly 1,000 competitors from 26 countries will line up for the two events.
With such stacked fields, the standing records could fall. Here are the top runners:
Vertical Kilometer®
Men
Ferran Teixido (AND) – current ranking leader
Rémi Bonnet (SUI) – 2015 VK Champion
Philip Goetsch (ITA) – race record 32’28” currently ranked 8th
Jan Margarit (ESP) – ranked 5th
Marco Moletto (ITA) – ranked 6th
Ondrej Fejfar (CZE) – ranked 7th
Saul Antonio Padua (COL) – ranked 8th
Hannes Perkmann (ITA) – ranked 10th
Urban Zemmer (ITA) – 4 times race winner, ranked 14th
Nejc Kuhar (SLO) – 4th in 2015 race, 2015 ranking 2nd
François Gonon (FRA) – 2015 European VK Champion
Martin Anthamatten (SUI) – 2015 3rd 2015 Sky and 11th VK ranking
Women
Laura Orgué (ESP) – 2015 VK & SKY Champion, race record 38’14”
Francesca Rossi (ITA) – ranked 8th
Ekaterina Mityaeva (RUS) – ranked 17th
Maite Maiora (ESP) – ranked 13th Sky Series
Yngvild Kaspersen (NOR) – ranked 4th Sky Series
Dolomites SkyRace®
Men
Tadei Pivk (ITA) – 2015 Sky Champion, race winner and current ranking leader
Marc Casal Mir (AND) – ranked 2nd
André Jonsson (SWE) – ranked 3rd
Oscar Casal Mir (AND) – ranked 5th
Jan Margarit (ESP) – ranked 8th
Manuel Merillas (ESP) – ranked 13th (tie)
Alexis Sevennec (FRA)- ranked 13th (tie)
Martin Anthamatten (SUI) – ranked 3rd 2015
Rémi Bonnet (SUI) – ranked 4th 2015
Aritz Egea (ESP) – ranked 5th 2015
Saul Antonio Padua (COL) – 4th 2015 race finisher
Women
Laura Orgué (ESP) – 2015 VK & Sky Champion, race record 2h25’57
Marta Molist (ESP) – ranked 2nd
Elisa Desco (ITA) – ranked 4th (tie). Standing 2014 Sky World Champion
Yngvild Kaspersen (NOR) – ranked 4th (tie)
Aitziber Ibarbia (ESP ) – ranked 6th
Ragna Debats (NED) – ranked 8th
Maite Maiora (ESP) – ranked 13th
Ida Nilsson (SWE) – ranked 7th Ultra (Transvulcania winner)
Azara Garcia (ESP) – 2015 European Sky Champion
Rumanian Ionut Zinca, 2nd in the 2015 SkyRace® and Swiss athlete Egli Pascal, 3rd, are injured.
Skyrunner® World Series rankings
