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ItalianoUpdated 04.01.2023
On 21 and 22 January 2023, the time has come again: after two years of forced break, the Dolomitenlauf, Austria's largest cross-country skiing event, can finally take place again. More than 2,000 athletes from all over the world now take part in the international cross-country race, which can look back on 53 years of racing history. Under the motto "Everybody a winner above themselves", Olympic champions, world champions, professionals and amateurs take up the sporting challenge over 20 or 42 kilomet res in free style and over 25 or 60 kilometres in classic style. The legendary winter sports event is held in Lienz and the romantic mountain village of Obertilliach, the highest village in the East Tyrolean Lesach Valley at 1,450 metres above sea level. The organisers are particularly proud of the annual opening race. The so-called Dolomite Sprint was a Lienz invention in 1980 and has now even become an Olympic discipline. Nevertheless, the short-distance competition is one of the most spectacular and exciting cross-country sprints in the world, when 30 of the world's best sprinters battle for glory in the specially constructed floodlit arena. Registration for the legendary Dolomite Run 2023 is already underway, online registration deadline is 18 January 2023 at 5pm. The entry fee for early registrants is 75 euros (20/25 km) and 90 euros (42/60 km). Late registrations are still possible on site until before the start. Information on the race at www.osttirol.com
As the largest cross-country event in Austria and one of the most important in the world, the Dolomitenlauf looks back on 53 years of eventful racing history. The event, which started and finished in Lienz and passed through the villages of Lavant, Pirkach, Nikolsdorf, Dölsach and Tristach, had to be cancelled three times due to a lack of snow. The relocation to the snow-sure mountain village of Obertilliach, which has a cross-country skiing and biathlon centre, secured the future of the traditional event. Dolomitenlauf pioneer and "spiritual father" of the slogan "Everyone a winner over themselves" was Robert Steiner. Now 91 years old, he established what constitutes the spirit of popular racing and the significance of the legendary winter sports event: whether young or old, amateur or professional, every participant finds what he or she is striving for - whether the personal best performance, the mastered distance or simply the experience in the nature of the Dolomites.
The international sports association for cross-country marathons Worldloppet Ski Association, or "Worldloppet" for short, originated in June 1978 in Uppsala/Sweden. The goal: to promote and establish the sport of cross-country skiing worldwide through its members. Only the best race of a country is included. Since then, the East Tyrolean Dolomite Race, founded by the Lienz Cross-Country Skiing and Cycling Club, has been united with the largest and most important popular cross-country races worldwide. Currently, 20 races from Europe to America and Asia to Australia belong to the federation. Participation in one of these cross-country competitions is considered a remarkable achievement and can be registered, recorded and stamped in the personal Worldloppet passport. The document is intended to motivate people to practise cross-country skiing in as many different places as possible and to get to know new countries, cultures and people. Anyone who has taken part in at least ten competitions with at least one outside their own continent can call themselves a Worldloppet Master.