Two thousand trail runners expected in Cortina at the end of June
The US champion Rory Bosio will be at the eighth edition of The North Face® Lavaredo Ultra Trail

It took only a few days to reach "sold out" for the bibs of the North Face® Lavaredo Ultra Trail, a 119 km mountain race with 5,850 metres of altitude gain that will take place from 27 to 29 June in the Dolomites of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Belluno. A thousand athletes will set off on the long route and a thousand others will take part in the 47 km, 2,650-metre altitude gain Cortina Trail.
The entrance of the event into the prestigious international Ultra-Trail World Tour circuit, which includes the 10 most prestigious races in the world, has led to a significant increase in international athletes partaking, from 33% in 2013 to 50% this year, with 56 nations represented.
Among them are some real champions; the name of the American Rory Bosio (Team The North Face) stands out, the only woman who has managed to make it to the top ten of the absolute ranking of the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc: her seventh place overall last year in Chamonix shot her to the top of the ranking for the strongest female trail runners in the world. In addition to her fellow countrywoman and teammate Ashley Arnold, winner of the Leadville 2013, she will face competition from the Spanish woman Nerea Martinez (Team Salomon) and Francesca Canepa (Team Montura) of Val d'Aosta, who will be back in Cortina after winning the 2012 edition. The other best Italian athletes of the moment will also be present: Lisa Borzani, Katia Fori, and Simona Morbelli.
Of the men, an array of top runners will arrive en masse from France, including the brothers Sébastien and Sylvain Camus (Team Garmin), Emmanuel Gault (Team Asics), Vincent Delebarre, Antoine Guillon, Christophe Le Saux and Cyril Cointre (Waa Team). From the United States Mike Foote (Team The North Face), Dave Mackey (Team Hoka) and John Tidd will fly into Cortina. The Spaniard Yeray Duran, the New Zealander Scott Hawker (Team Hoka) and the German Matthias Dippacher will also run for victory. There are good expectations for the performance of the representative from the Island of Réunion Freddy Thevenin, second in the Diagonale des Fous 2013, and the Nepalese Upendra Sunuwar, a specialist in high mountain races. Some of the best Italian athletes will also run on the trails in the Dolomites: Ivan Geronazzo and Stefano Trisconi (third and fourth respectively at the finish line of Cortina last year), Fulvio Dapit, Matteo Pigoni, Filippo Canetta, Marco Zanchi and the home athlete Ivano Molin, second in the Ultra Trail Atlas Toubkal in Morocco last October.
The director of the race Simone Brogioni hopes that the weather will not play up: "Last year we had to completely change the route due to a heavy out-of-season snowfall; this year we hope to be able to use the original route, despite the huge amounts of snow that fell over the winter". To assist the organization there will be, as always, numerous volunteers, the Auronzo and Cortina sections of CAI (the Italian Alpine Club), the Mountain Rescue Service and the Civil Protection.
The news of the last few days of the renewal of the biennial partnership with the title sponsor The North Face®, will ensure support for the event.
Also the collaboration with Jeep® continues, that again this year is the main sponsor of the race, together with other relevant brands such as Forst, Petzl, Smith Optics and Buff.
In addition to these large companies, important support for the event comes from the Council of Cortina. "A global event," said the Councillor for Sport Marco Ghedina, "that will bring to our country and neighbouring countries about 4,000 people, including athletes and their supports, with an average stay of 3 days. After a high-level winter season, with the ski World Cup and other relevant events, Cortina presents itself as the queen of outdoor sport even in summer, thanks to The North Face® Lavaredo Ultra Trail".
The appointment is at 11 pm on Friday, June 27 in Corso Italia, Cortina d'Ampezzo for the spectacular nighttime departure of the long race, while the Cortina Trail will start at 8 am of Saturday, June 28.
Information at www.ultratrail.it

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