Press Release 14 May 2012

MARCIALONGA CYCLING CRAFT SUPER CROWDED
ITALIAN RACE WELCOMES OVER 2.000 PARTICIPANTS

Over 2.000 cyclists at the start of 2012 Marcialonga Cycling Craft on May 27th
Cristian Zorzi, Pietro Piller Cottrer and Jörgen Aukland among the participants
Two different routes (80k and 135k) and three alpine passes to climb
Entries still open on www.marcialonga.it

Italy’s Marcialonga Cycling Craft road race is about to jump on the saddle for the sixth year, next May 27th.
The cycling event in Trentino region has always been very beloved. Its very first edition in 2007 saw around 1.400 athletes at the start, and managed to improve its figures year after year. Up until today, the 2012 race has already registered over 2.000 cyclists and a new record has been established.
Among the hundreds of participants from 18 nations are also a few world famous cross country skiers, such as 2006 Olympic Gold medallists Cristian Zorzi and Pietro Piller Cottrer, and Norway’s Jörgen Aukland, who won the Marcialonga winter race last January, right ahead of his brother Anders. Born in 1975, the Scandinavian athlete will be making his debut in the Marcialonga road cycling race, attempting to reach the podium as he already did eight times in the XC skiing competition through the years.
The two routes for next Marcialonga Cycling Craft event have been confirmed and both will start and finish in Predazzo town center. The ‘short’ race (80 km total length, 1.894 meters total climb with maximum gradient 18,2%) will only cycle the Lavazé Pass, while the ‘long’ course (135,4 km total length, 3.279 meters total climb – max. height 2.038 meters on Valles Pass – with maximum gradient 19,2%) will go through the three alpine passes of Lavazè, San Pellegrino and Valles.
The GPM (the Italian for King of the Mountains (KOM)) sponsored by Craft at the Lavazè Pass, not only will award the best man and lady climber, but also the 100th, 200th and so on: this means that all riders could win a prize offered by Craft. Two days before the Marcialonga Cycling Craft race, the Lavazé Pass will be also welcoming the third last leg of the Giro d’Italia race.
Along with last January’s Marcialonga XC ski race and the Marcialonga Running race scheduled on September 2th, Marcialonga Cycling Craft forms the Combined Event ‘Punto3 Craft’.
Entries to the 6th Marcialonga Cycling Craft event are still open. Online entry forms, course details and times, and race rules are available on the Marcialonga official website: www.marcialonga.it