Every year in February, the Upper Val Pusteria serves as a backdrop for one of the most traditional cross-country ski races in Italy
Image gallery: Dobbiaco-Cortina cross-country ski race
42 km in classical style or 32 km in skating style - every year during the first weekend of February, the Dobbiaco-Cortina cross-country skiing marathon is held. It was in April 1977, when the former Olympic skier Alfredo "Fredy" Dibona proposed to do a cross-country race after a heavy snowfall. The rest is history - a history of nearly half a century.
Together with the Marcialonga in the Val di Fassa valley and the Val Casies cross-country ski race in South Tyrol, the one of Dobbiaco-Cortina is the one of the most traditional and most important cross-country ski races in Italy. The 42 km in classical style follow the former railway line of the "Ferrovia delle Dolomiti", which was built during WWI and abandoned in 1962.
It leads from the military airport of Dobbiaco towards San Candido, back to Dobbiaco, to Lake Dobbiaco and Lake Landro and after the Three Peaks View into the Valle di Landro. The 1,529 m high Passo Cimabanche is the highest point of the race. Afterwards, the cross-country skiers reach Ospitale and Cortina d'Ampezzo in the Province of Belluno. The skating competition, which was added in 2007, follows the same route, but renounces to the first stage towards San Candido.
