Press Release 7th January 2011

TOUR DE SKI AT ITS BEST IN ITALY’S VAL DI FIEMME
JÜRG CAPOL ASSURES

2011 FIS Tour de Ski. The last two legs in Italy tomorrow and Sunday
FIS Cross-Country Race Director Jürg Capol congratulates the event in Trentino region
Thousands of people expected on the side of the tracks 
Capol ready for the ‘Rampa con i Campioni’ event on Sunday morning

Italy’s Val di Fiemme is ready for the 2011 FIS Tour de Ski final chapter. Tomorrow and Sunday the alpine valley located in the North Eastern part of the country, will be hosting the last four races of the European challenge, Men’s 20 km and women’s 10 km CT races, and the two 9 km FT Final Climb competitions on the Alpe Cermis. 
In order to welcome in the best way world’s best XC skiers and thousands of fans in Val di Fiemme, the Nordic Ski Fiemme 2013 OC is fixing today the very last details. “The Final Climb races are the most viewed races of the entire Tour”, said this morning FIS Cross-Country Race Director and Tour de Ski creator Jürg Capol, on the eve of the Italian closing legs of the serie. “Since Tour de Ski was born five years ago, these events have always been the closing races of the Tour. Generally speaking, Alpe Cermis has become a spectacular brand for us and for the Tour itself.”
As said, the races in Val di Fiemme are followed every year live by thousands of people on the side of the tracks, while millions of spectators around the world can enjoy the events on tv. “What makes Val di Fiemme unique for Tour de Ski”, added the Swiss Capol, “is first of all the sensational Final Climb with all those spectators cheering and shouting along the track. Secondly, I always praise the enthusiasm and professionality the organizing team has been showing ever since. There is a great spirit of cooperation between the guys in Val di Fiemme and our Tour de Ski team, and this is not something taken for granted.”
Jürg Capol has been part of the International Federation for almost ten years, and together with Norway’s Vegard Ulvang, he gave birth to the Tour de Ski in 2007. “When Tour de Ski was conceived”, Capol continued, “we mainly aimed to have a marked growth of interest around the discipline from then on. The first goal we set was to create something new, a new story to tell about XC skiing that could amaze and fascinate as many people as possible. And for the last stage we wanted something unpredictable, outstanding and popular at the same time. We honestly didn’t think about Cermis straight away, but as soon as we saw this track, we just said to ourselves ‘We got it’”.
What Jürg Capol has been ‘dreaming’ in the winter sports universe during the last decade, has become true. What’s in the future of Tour de Ski is the last question to the Swiss. “Over the last years we all did a fantastic job. What we could add to Tour de Ski now, is some other country where to organize new events. Countries like Poland for example, where the minimum number of people watching a XC ski race on tv is about 3 million. Or Switzerland where the amount of XC ski lovers is growing more and more every year. This happens also thanks to national athletes like Cologna or Kowalczyk who make the enthusiasm grow day after day in their countries.”
Jürg Capol will be tomorrow watching the races at the cross country ski stadium in Lago di Tesero, while on Sanday he will be at the start of the ‘Rampa con i Campioni’ race, the promotional event in which other ski legends will be taking part, such as Katerina Neumannova, Torgny Mogren, Vegard Ulvang, and Italy’s ski legends Cristian Zorzi and Fulvio Valbusa.
Info: www.fiemme2013.com