<< September 2010 >>
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
    1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26
27 28 29 30      






Your name *
Friend e-mail *
Comments
 
 

Run the Vallnord 2009 Mountain Festival with the foremost world Skyrunning athletes! (19-06-2009)

 
The Vallnord 2009  MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL will take place the final weekend of June in Ordino, Vallnord. The two days of competitions will start on Saturday morning 27 June, with the inaugural race in the SALOMON XM Duathlon Series by BUFF . It’s a competition that has garnered an enormous following, run through some of the rarest, most beautiful alpine landscape participants have seen.

 

 

 

On Sunday 28 June, it will be time for the Andorra SkyRace , the mountain-racing trial that forms part of the Mountain Racing World Cup, the Skyrunner World Series. Alongside the 36km SkyRace, a Mini-SkyRace will also be run on Sunday, a shortened mountain race of just 14km for all those who would like to test their fitness on one section of the SkyRace route.

 

The fourth Mountain Festival

 

This is the fourth Mountain Festival, a not-to-be-missed event that all alpine athletes have marked in their agendas, both duathlon participants and those who are solely runners. Clear proof of this is that this year’s Ordino SkyRace is attracting athletes from among the international elite to this corner of Andorra: names of the calibre of Italian Emmanuela Brizzio, 2nd in the World Series; British athlete Ricky Lightfoot, recent winner of the legendary, ultra-tough Zegama Aizkorri, the race before Andorra which also scores towards the World Series; also Kilian Jornet, youngest winner of a World Cup, a title he achieved last year with an extraordinary performance; three-times World Champion and 2005 Salomon XM Duathlon Series champion, Agustí Roc; current Italian champion and current, classified third-placer in the World Series Paolo Larger; the Spaniard Miguel Heras, 4th in the World Series and Andorran Stephanie Jiménez, current World Series female leader.
 
Agustí Roc and Kilian Jornet
 

So it’s guaranteed to be a fantastic race in which the lead positions will be hotly contested. The features of the route and stunning landscapes attract a huge number of athletes, including a good number of international number-ones. They are raring to test themselves on this route which year after year Carlo Ferrari, the race’s Technical Director, prepares at the Federació Andorrana de Muntanya (FAM).

 

Innovations to the route

As Carlo Ferrari explained, the 2009 route once again crosses the Pic del Coma Pedrosa, which at 2942m high, is Andorra’s highest peak. This is a new and demanding, 36km route with 2738m of uphill gradient, designed on the basis of experience from the four preceding races, with its start and finish in Ordino village. Anyone interested in running the SkyRace should know that the first three kilometres are flat up to the Cortinada at 1350m, where they’ll face the first climb up to Coma Aubosa at 2150m. Then a second flat section leads you to Pla de l’Estany at 2020m. From there you’ll face a second climb with 80% gradients and the final section of the ridge leading to the summit of Coma Pedrosa at 2942m. From the summit, a long 1400m descent takes you to Arinsal at 1540m. The third and final upslope leads once more up to Coma Aubosa at 2150m where the route continues along the ridge, with small descents and ascents till you reach Roc de la Cauba at1800m. The final descent to Sornas takes advantage of a small trail that links to the final kilometre of the race, nearly flat, which takes you to the finish at Ordino village.

The Mini-SkyRace is 14.2km with gradient differences of 886m. It runs along one section of the SkyRace route – the first part – up to Coll de les Cases, where it turns to the left, climbing the Pic de les Cases and following the ridge in the direction of Roc de la Cauba, from where it returns to Ordino.

 
 
Registration and freebees
Everybody who participates in either of the races offered at the Mountain Festival has access to the showers at the Centre Esportiu d’Ordino, very close to the competition start/finish, which will be at Tenada parking lot, right next to Hotel Coma, in the centre of Ordino. Registration in either race includes lunch in the Hotel Coma marquee, a commemorative tee-shirt of the event…

 …and a commemorative Buff(R) tube of the event.

 

     REGISTRATION

 

SkyRace: www.ticketsport.com

 

SkyRace registration, federated athlete

SkyRace registration, non-federated athlete

Mini-SkyRace registration, federated athlete

Mini-SkyRace registration, non-federated athlete

You have until Friday 26 June to register, as long as places remain.

 

Duathlon: www.triatlo.org  

 

Registration SALOMON XM DUATHLON SERIES BY BUFF

You have until Thursday 25 June to register, as long as places remain.

 

 

 

 

VALLNORD 2009 MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL PROGRAMME

 

Friday 26 June:

20:00. Briefing SALOMON DUATHLON SERIES BY BUFF

From 19:00 to 21:00. Distribution of Bibs

At the Hotel Coma marquee.

 

Saturday 27 June:

07:00 to 08:30. Distribution of Bibs

09:00. Start of the Ordino Alpine Duathlon

13:00. Prize-giving.

13:30 to 15:30. Lunch in the Hotel Coma marquee.

 

19:00. Briefing SkyRace and Mini-SkyRace.

18:00 to 20:00. Distribution of bibs.

 

Sunday 28 June:

07:00 to 08:00. Collection of bibs

08:00. Women’s start to SkyRace.

8:30. Men’s start and Mini-SkyRace

13:00. Prize-giving.

13:30 to 16:30. Lunch in the Hotel Coma marquee.

 

The Mountain Festival is an event promoted by Vallnord and organised by Ocisport together with the Federació Andorrana de Muntanya, with the support of the Comuns d’Ordino i La Massana and their entities, associations and businesses.

The Mountain Festival competitions acknowledge Salomon and Buff as main sponsors while being extremely grateful for the sponsorship of Gore-Tex and Nutrisport.