Three Olympic champions and nine world champions are starting at the World Marathon Championships in Val Gardena

A spectacular battle for the medals is on the horizon, as the top athletes include several Olympic champions, world, European and national champions as well as five previous hero winners. They all need a lot of strength, fitness and mountaineering skills to overcome the 87km/4.700 hm (men) and 60 km/3.400 hm (women) with the many grueling climbs around the four Ladin valleys of the Sella as quickly as possible. “The hardest race in the world,” as many top athletes have said. So the challenge to become world champion is enormous.

Kulhavý wants to defend his title

In the men's category, the reigning Olympic champion, world and European champion Jaroslav Kulhavý from the Czech Republic is one of the favorites. “I want to defend my world title that I won in South Africa last year,” says the 30-year-old, “but the course cannot be compared to the one in Pietermaritzburg. That's why I'm very excited about the event in Val Gardena.” His Specialized teammate, Christoph Sauser from Switzerland, is considered one of the favorites. “I have the endurance for the XCM races in my blood,” says the four-time MTB world champion and bronze Olympic medalist, who will compete in his last big professional race in Val Gardena.

“The Sellaronda Hero is a big goal for me this year,” says Alban Lakata, the 2010 world champion. The East Tyrolean has already taken part in the Hero once, but missed the podium due to a puncture. The Swiss Urs Huber also wants to be at the forefront. In 2008 he won the World Championships bronze medal and last year he was second in the Hero: “Last autumn I spent a few days in Val Gardena to take a closer look at the route. So I particularly studied the difficult climbs, especially Dantercepies, Sourasass and Duron, so that I had in mind how steep and how long they were.”

Leonardo Paez is perfect for this route. The Colombian won the endurance race in the Dolomites three times in a row between 2012 and 2014: “In my opinion the route is hard and very selective. And always nice to drive. I can hardly wait.” Paez is currently leading the Marathon World Series rankings ahead of France’s Thomas Dietsch and Portugal’s Tiago Ferreira. The best Italian is Italian champion Samuele Porro, who won the short distance in 2013, in fourth place. Paez's teammate and Alpine Trophy winner Tony Longo is currently seventh. Other favorites include marathon specialist Kristian Hynek from the Czech Republic, former world champion Periklis Ilias from Greece, the Germans Stefan Sahm, Hannes Genze and Robert Mennen and the two-time Belgian world champion Roel Paulissen.

Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjå: “Climbs are my strength” For the women, all eyes are on the two Olympic champions Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjå (Athens 2004) and Sabine Spitz (Beijing 2008). The Norwegian has won a total of 18 medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships and European Championships, five of them in World Cup marathons alone. Last week the 42-year-old inspected the Sellaronda Hero track. “Climbs are my strength,” she says, “that's the fun part of the challenge.” Sabine Spitz, the reigning European champion from Germany, will visit the course for the first time this week. When asked about the difficult climbs, she said: “I’m afraid of them too… But I can’t bulldoze the mountains, can I?”

The Danish Annika Langvad comes to Val Gardena as the reigning world champion. What she expects: “A victory,” she says briefly and succinctly. Sally Bigham is also toying with this. In contrast to her fellow favorites, the Englishwoman, who has not yet won a world title, knows the track where she triumphed in 2013 very well. “My ultimate goal at the 2015 World Cup - if everything goes well - is to win a medal, no matter what color it is. The route is similar to that of the 2013 World Cup, which could be a good omen for precious metal.” Other candidates for a podium place are Esther Süss, the Swiss world champion from 2010, and Italian champion Daniela Veronesi.

The world champion is scheduled to arrive at Nivesplatz in Wolkenstein at 11 a.m. and the new world champion is scheduled to cross the finish line at 11.50:XNUMX a.m.

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Three Olympic champions and nine world champions are starting at the World Marathon Championships in Val Gardena

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