Dario Cologna and other top athletes to race at the Engadin Skimarathon
A star-studded Swiss team and several strong contenders from France will try to frustrate Dario Cologna’s attempt for a fifth victory at the Engadin Skimarathon. Together with them 11.200 participants will join tomorrow’s race.
Less than a week ago, at the race in Oslo, Dario Cologna ended his World Cup career with a bang. A record victory at Sunday’s Engadin Skimarathon would top off his impressive career. The 42 kilometres from Maloja to S-chanf have always held a special place in his heart. He crossed the finishing line ahead of everyone else four times already, most recently in 2019 at the last edition of the famed ski marathon. With a fifth victory, Dario Cologna would tie with the unforgotten Albert Giger, who stacked up five wins in the 1970s.
However, pulling off a victory will not be a walk in the park for Cologna. As ever, the competition at the Engadin Skimarathon is stiff. Jonas Baumann, the Swiss athlete with the most consistent performance over the past two seasons, is throwing in his hat and Toni Livers, who is showing his best form for the season finale and may yet surprise with a superb run.
The French athletes may yet have the final say on the medal ranking: Adrien Backscheider stood out in the Olympic team, Jean Marc Gaillard, an old hand at the Engadin Skimarathon also knows how to finish in S-Chanf.
Strong Ladie’s competition
The fight for the win among the female racers is not set to be an entirely Swiss affair either. Silje Øyre Slind is arguably one of Norway’s foremost long-distance cross-country skiers and among Sunday’s top medal hopefuls. She impressively demonstrated that the Engadine terrain is to her liking at January’s classic-style La Diagonela, where she came in fourth. Having finished second at this year’s Transjurassienne, Elisa Brocard from Italy undoubtedly figures among her most serious contenders. The strongest Swiss challenger is expected to be Seraina Boner from Davos.
New starting format and a new course
On Sunday, aside from the athletes, all eyes will be on the new starting format, which will see 29 waves of no more than 500 participants set off in Maloja. Changes have also been made between Pontresina and Samedan: exiting Pontresina, the track crosses a new bridge over to the left bank of the river Flaz. Further down, racers will cross the railway line through an underpass that has been made wider, leading into an extra loop around the picturesque San Gian church near Celerina. Yet another enlarged underpass will lead racers across the Engadine valley’s main road onto the flatlands around Samedan airport.
Engadin Skimarathon Live Broadcast
The Engadin Skimarathon will broadcast live as of 8:10 am on the event’s websites. The program begins with images of the starting area and will then show the entire race. Updates on the race can also be found on both the Facebook and Instagram channels of the Engadin Skimarathon.
Online Livestream 2022 from 08.10 am www.srf.ch/sport (German commentary)
