South Tyrol offers another cross-country skiing marathon: the “La Venosta” in mid-December in the Vallelunga valley.
Image gallery: La Venosta cross-country skiing marathon
Since mid-December 2019, South Tyrol has been enriched by an additional international winter sports event: the La Venosta cross-country skiing marathon (Volkslanglauf La Venosta in German, Gran Fondo La Venosta in Italian) in Melago in the Vallelunga valley, which is located in the upper part of the Val Venosta valley. It is part of the Visma Ski Classics, a series of cross-country skiing marathons including also the famous Marcialonga in the Val di Fassa valley and the Dobbiaco-Cortina cross-country skiing marathon in the Upper Val Pusteria.
The 40 km in classical style take place on Saturday, the 30 km in free style on Sunday. The 10 km long circuit leads through a stone pine forest and along the Rio Carlino brook (in the picture) to the Malga Melago mountain hut at 1,975 m a.s.l. and has to be completed 4 times by pros and 3 times by amateur athletes. Start and finish is in Melago at the head of the Vallelunga valley.