The World Cup returns to make a stop in Ponte di Legno
Ski mountaineering in Pontedilegno-Tonale is at home. On the slopes of the Adamello, an enchanting mountain group to which profound historical, human, sporting and tourist meanings are linked, the discipline of ski touring with seal skins developed in pioneering times, also thanks to an extraordinary environmental context.
Inevitably, sports challenges have also taken shape, between competitors and with themselves, given that the list of competitions organized in the various disciplines is now very long, especially in recent years with two events of maximum international validity, which will also be repeated in winter 2022. / 2023.
On Friday 16 and Sunday 18 December, in fact, for the third time the ISMF Ski World Cup will land in this location, a discipline that has recently been included in the Olympic program of the Milan - Cortina 2026 Games. Two races will be held, the sprint which is part of the five-circle calendar, in the evening version in the snow-covered stadium that will be set up for the occasion right in the center of Ponte di Legno, so on Sunday the individual test will be staged, with the track that will develop on the Presena glacier.
It is an event that will see at the start all the strongest athletes in the world specializing in both short and long distance races and in particular the Italian athletes who have always been protagonists in this specialty such as the new world champion Michele Boscacci, like Robert Antonioli, Matteo Eydallin and also the home athlete Davide Magnini.
At the end of the season, the eighth edition of the Adamello Ski Raid will return, a historic challenge for ski mountaineering enthusiasts in the team formula with two athletes, who help each other, stimulate each other and make themselves the authors of extraordinary performances. The date to be circled in red is Saturday 25 March for a challenge that will start at sunrise (5.30 am) and which will also be valid as a test of the prestigious international La Grande Course circuit, which includes the most famous classics in the world.
The novelty of the 2023 edition concerns the fact that the Adamello Ski Raid this year will be valid as the Ismf long distance team World Championship. An extreme challenge, which is spread over 43 km and has a positive difference in height of 4,000 meters and a negative one of 4,380 starting in Tonalina and arriving in Ponte di Legno, while the women's categories will start from Passo Paradiso, facing 39 km with 3,100 meters of altitude difference uphill and 4,380 downhill; the arrival will be set up again this time in Ponte di Legno.
The route
Transits are planned in enchanting and meaningful places such as Passo Paradiso (2,585 meters), Passo Presena (2,996 meters), Lake Mandrone (2,403 meters), the Canalino Ski Raid (3,250 meters), the Lobbie with passage on the terrace of the refuge. “To the fallen of the Adamello”. Then begins the ascent towards Cresta Croce and the cannon at an altitude of 3,300 meters, then the immense expanse of Pian di Neve, which will then be able to tackle Cima Adamello, the highest point of the race with its 3,539 meters. Descent towards the 3,390 meters of the Passo degli Italiani, then the descent towards the north side of the Corno Bianco, Passo Venezia, Pisgana, Bocchetta di Bedole, Pisganino and the long descent towards the finish line of Ponte di Legno.
The organizers of the Adamello Ski Team, supported by the Pontedilegno Tonale ski consortium, then make it possible to climb to the top to follow the deeds of the athletes to the many enthusiasts who come from all over the world.
Both the World Cup and the Adamello Ski Raid will be visible in live streaming, with special highlights on some of the most prestigious televisions.