A new location welcomes Pro Teams and their athletes, as the Ski Classics Season XIV starts this weekend in Bad Gastein, Austria, with the Bad Gastein Pro Team Tempo and Bad Gastein Criterium.
The Ski Classics Season XIV starts with the Pro Team Tempo and a Criterium in Bad Gastein, Austria. This is a brand-new location for the kick-off weekend.
On Saturday, December 10, Season XIV will get a great kick-off to a thrilling season with the Bad Gastein Pro Team Tempo of 15km. The Pro Teams and their Pro Tour skiers will have a chance to present their new race suits, sponsors and introduce their recruits.
The Pro Team Tempo is organized as an interval start competition with block starts. One Pro Team is starting at a time in reversed order according to the Pro Team ranking of the previous season, with the top 5 ranked teams spread out in the starting field. The gap between the blocks is 4 minutes, and the female athletes start 30 seconds after their male Pro Team athletes. The finishing time of the team’s 2nd ranked male and the 2nd ranked female will count for the classification.
Bad Gastein Pro Team Tempo – Ski Classics Pro Tour Event 1
- Date: December 10, 2022
- Distance: 15km Classic Technique
- Place: Bad Gastein, Austria
- Start Time: 9:30 CET
On Sunday, December 11, the event weekend continues with the second event in Season XIV, the Bad Gastein Criterium, a 35km long-distance race offering stunning scenery in the vicinity of the Tauern Alps. The Bad Gastein Criterium is a mass-start race with several laps and a challenging course.
Bad Gastein Criterium – Ski Classics Pro Tour Event 2
- Date: December 11, 2022
- Distance: 35km Classic Technique
- Place: Bad Gastein, Austria
- Start Time: Women 9:15 CET/Men 11:00 CET
Gastein Classics – Ski Classics Challengers
The prologue weekend also offers the Gastein Classics, a 30-kilometer-long classic race, part of the Ski Classics Challengers circuit.
Gastein Classics will take place in Bad Gastein on Saturday afternoon, and it’s open for professional and recreational skiers as well.
Gastein Classics
- Date: December 10, 2022
- Distance: 30km Classic Technique
- Place: Bad Gastein, Austria
- Start Time: 13:00 CET
Contrasts and extremes characterize Bad Gastein: tradition meets modernity, untouched nature and natural healing resources meet urban dynamics, art, and culture.
In addition, the spatial location is unique: a waterfall in the middle of the village center, which is reminiscent of earlier times with magnificent buildings in the Belle Époque style, has made Bad Gastein the “Monte Carlo of the Alps.”
But the southernmost town in the Gastein Valley has much more to offer. With peaks that exceed 3000 meters and its connection to the Hohe Tauern National Park, it is a paradise for nature and sports lovers.
Sportgastein, situated at 1600 meters above sea level, is particularly popular and unique in winter, with snow guaranteed from mid-November to the end of April due to its location.
Long-distance and traditional cross-country skiers will enjoy a network of perfectly prepared tracks – both for classic and skating – and can appreciate the winter landscape surrounded by the Hohe Tauern National Park.
“We are proud to welcome Bad Gastein to the Ski Classics family. Bad Gastein is the ideal location to start the Ski Classics Season XIV in the Alps and gives an exciting new flavor to the Pro Tour,” says David Nilsson, CEO Ski Classics.
Lisa Loferer, CEO of the Kur- und Tourismusverband Bad Gastein and organizer of the “Gastein Classics,” is aligned with the same thoughts:
“We are very pleased to be part of the Ski Classics series from the coming season and to be able to host the prologue here. For us, this is an ideal opportunity to present our unique cross-country skiing to the international cross-country skiing scene. In addition to the Pro Teams, we also cordially invite amateur skiers to participate in one of the competitions and enjoy the high valley of Sportgastein.”
The prologue weekend in Bad Gastein, Austria, is an excellent kick-off for the Ski Classics Season XIV, with two thrilling events in the Alps.
Ski Classics Pro Tour Season XIV (2022/2023)
- Event 1: December 10, 2022 – Bad Gastein PTT, Bad Gastein, Austria, 15km
- Event 2: December 11, 2022 – Bad Gastein Criterium, Bad Gastein, Austria, 35km
- Event 3: December 17, 2022 – La Venosta Criterium, Val Venosta, Italy, 40km
- Event 4: January 14, 2023 – Pustertaler Ski Marathon, Sexten, Italy, 62km
- Event 5: January 15, 2023 – Prato Piazza Mountain Challenge, Niederdorf, Italy, 30km
- Event 6: January 21, 2023 – Engadin La Diagonela, Engadin Valley, Switzerland, 55km
- Event 7: January 29, 2023 – Marcialonga, Trentino, Italy, 70km
- Event 8: February 12, 2023 – Jizerská50, Bedrichov, Czech Republic, 50km
- Event 9: February 18, 2023 – Grönklitt Criterium, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 50km
- Event 10: February 19, 2023 – Grönklitt ITT, Orsa Grönklitt, Sweden, 15km
- Event 11: March 5, 2023 – Vasaloppet, Sälen-Mora, Sweden, 90km
- Event 12: March 18, 2023 – Birkebeinerrennet, Rena-Lillehammer, Norway, 54km
- Event 13: April 1, 2023 – Reistadløpet, Setermoen-Bardufoss, Norway, 40km
- Event 14: April 2, 2023 – Summit 2 Senja, Bardufoss- Finnsnes, Norway, 67km
More info about the Ski Classics Pro Tour you can find at skiclassics.com.
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Top Photo: Gasteinertal Tourismus GmbH
