Perfect snow conditions, set off by headwinds, and a tactical race marked the 48th Engadin Ski Marathon. For the first 40 kilometres, a group of some 50 men, among them all of the favourites, lead the race. The French team, above all, were persistently at the head of the group; the Swiss favourites, on the other hand, held back until Zuoz, where they took heart, two kilometres before the finish.
Roman Furger from Uri, Switzerland took the victory in the final spurt against Toni Livers and Jöri Kindschi, both from Davos, Switzerland. 13 cross-country skiers made it across the finishing line within the first 10 seconds. With sixth-placed Candide Pralong, a fourth Swiss skier made it into the top ten finishers. Winner Roman Furger blamed the wind for coming in at a higher than expected finishing time—1:48.08.
Dario Cologna, most-mentioned favourite, raced intelligently; he kept to the first twenty racers all along the race. At the end, though, he had bad luck: he had worked his way to third place coming into the finishing stadium but broke a pole in the second-to-last bend. «I could hear a breaking pole, followed by a few not very fine words from Dario,» said winner Roman Furger at the finish, disappointed about his competitor’s mishap. «It would have been nice to run the final sprint against Dario. It would have made for a close race right up to the finishing line.» Dario was forced to give up his ambition for a third win at the Engadin Ski Marathon; he came in in 25th place.
Anouk Faivre Picon’s second repeat
Anouk Faivre Picon did bring home her third victory. «It was my toughest Engadin Ski Marathon so far,» says the French athlete at the finish. «The northerly winds were tough on everyone, and you had to make sure to stay in the lee of a group of racers.» Picon beat Seraina Boner from Davos, Switzerland by 14 seconds. Boner had lead the race for most of the time, but then, like Dario Cologna, had bad luck: following a collision with a male racer, she fell over on the descent before the finishing stadium.
Faivre Picon and Boner had been the clear leaders from the start: third-placed Klara Moravcova from the Czech Republic came in 2:19 behind the winner. Another three Swiss racers—Heidi Widmer, Rahel Imoberdorf and Bettina Gruber, winner of last Sunday’s Ladies Race—made it into the top ten.
16-year-old Yanik Pauchard from Madulain in the Engadin won the men’s Half Marathon in 55:20, ahead of Alex Stirnemann from Aargau, Switzerland and Tobias Alraun from Germany. The win of the women’s race to Pontresina went to Anita Moen from Norway, who came in at 1.01:12. Runner-up and third place were Anja Lozza from Zuoz and Selina Schnider from Davos respectively.
Apart from the northerly winds, the weather and snow conditions were close to perfect. Thanks to slightly overcast skies and temperatures just below freezing, the surface stayed in good condition for the lower categories too. For the third time in a row, more than 13’000 participants signed up for the Engadine Ski Marathon—this year, they totalled 13’093. Ivo Damaso, president of the organising committee, is pleased with its import: «It has been a difficult winter for the entire Alpine region with very little snow. Being able to keep the number of participants at this high level is a big compliment to everyone involved, above all to the hundreds of volunteers.»