Ski Classics World Championship Season XVIII heads to Italy on Sunday, January 31, 2027, for Marcialonga, a 70km classic race and the first of the season’s four Grand Classics events.

After the opening blocks in Austria and Switzerland, the season reaches one of the sport’s greatest monuments. The 70km course is a pilgrimage for long-distance skiers, demanding strength and flawless tactical execution as it passes through colorful villages where thousands of spectators line the streets.

First held in 1971, Marcialonga has written its own legend for more than half a century. On the last Sunday of January, the Fassa and Fiemme Valleys are connected by a single cross-country ski track, turning 70 kilometers of villages, forests and communities into one extraordinary journey from Moena to Cavalese. The event has been awarded Ski Classics “Event of the Year” four times, most recently last season.

Also Read: Marcialonga wins Event of the Season award!

Marcialonga marks the beginning of the Grand Classics events. Any athlete winning all four in the same season – Marcialonga, Jizerská50, Vasaloppet, and Birkebeinerrennet – achieves the Grand Slam, one of the most coveted achievements in Ski Classics history. No skier has ever completed it in the same season.

The race also features the season’s first Iconic Climb, the legendary Cascata, the steep final test before the finish in Cavalese, worth a higher points value than a standard climb, and often the decisive moment in the race.

“Marcialonga is one of a kind, much more than just a competition, and this is because the whole community of our territory is involved: volunteers, athletes, spectators… we all feel part of a big family. The last Sunday of January, the world stops for me, because Marcialonga is there, with all the excitement and the emotions that are involved. Everything happens in a day, but the work behind the scenes is really huge and starts already the day after, when we already think about the next edition!” says Enzo Macor, Chief of Competition.

“Marcialonga is the first of our four Grand Classics, and this is where the battle for the Grand Slam begins. Long tradition meets an excellent atmosphere here, with the race passing through so many towns and villages along the way. But there’s one more challenge before the finish: the Cascata, a climb segment with its own start and finish, where whoever posts the fastest time takes the climb points, not necessarily whoever crosses the line first,” says Lukas Bauer, Ski Classics Race Director.

Also Read: Ski Classics World Championship Season XVIII

Marcialonga — Ski Classics World Championship Season XVIII – Event 7

• Date: Sunday, January 31, 2027
• Location: Moena–Cavalese, Italy
• Distance: 70km classic technique
• Highest point: 1,449 meters above sea level
• Elevation gain: 870 meters
• Format: A to B race
• Starting procedure: Mass start
• Start times: Men 08:00 CET / Women 08:05 CET
• Points: Pro Event 500p, Grand Classics – See exact point distribution
• Sprint: Sprint Canazei, Sprint Predazzo
• Climb: Cascata (season’s first Iconic Climb, a climb segment)
• Last edition winners: Emilie Fleten (3:41:35.6), Kasper Stadaas (3:30:03.6)
• Grand Classics: Marcialonga is the first of four Grand Classics events this season
• Participation: open for recreational skiers; 54th edition of Marcialonga; entries limited to approximately 7,000 to 7,500 skiers since the 2016 record of 7,951
• Registration: Register here
• Link to SC Play: Watch here

Map and Profile

Photo: Nordnes/NordicFocus

More information about Marcialonga can be found HERE

Ski Classics World Championship Season XVIII (2026/2027)

• Event 1: December 11, 2026 – Bad Gastein Prologue – Austria – 1km
• Event 2: December 13, 2026 – Sportgastein Criterium – Austria – 30km
• Event 3: December 19, 2026 – Bad Gastein ITT – Austria – 7km
• Event 4: December 20, 2026 – Bad Gastein Criterium – Austria – 36km
Bad Gastein Tour (Events 1–4 of Ski Classics World Championship Season XVIII)
• Event 5: January 16, 2027 – Engadin La Diagonela – Switzerland – 55km
• Event 6: January 17, 2027 – Zuoz–St. Moritz Sprint – Switzerland – 30km
• Event 7: January 31, 2027 – Marcialonga – Italy – 70km
• Event 8: February 12, 2027 – Bedřichov Heat Sprint – Czech Republic – 1.5km
• Event 9: February 14, 2027 – Jizerská50 – Czech Republic – 50km
• Event 10: February 27, 2027 – Oxberg–Mora Sprint Women – Sweden – 30km
• Event 11: February 28, 2027 – Oxberg–Mora Sprint Men – Sweden – 30km
• Event 12: March 7, 2027 – Vasaloppet – Sweden – 90km
• Event 13: March 20, 2027 – Birkebeinerrennet – Norway – 53km
• Event 14: April 3, 2027 – Reistadløpet – Norway – 35km
• Event 15: April 4, 2027 – Grand Finale Summit 2 Senja – Norway – 60km

For more updates and detailed information about the Ski Classics World Championship, visit skiclassics.com.

Author: Leandro Lutz
Photos: Ski Classics and Nordnes/NordicFocus (profile photo)