GranFondo Val Casies, live.

Two days of ski marathon in Val Casies

The GranFondo Val Casies, the GsieserTal Lauf in German, is a cross country ski marathon in Val Casies in the north east of South Tyrol, held since 1984.

The 43rd edition is on the third weekend of February: Saturday 20 February 2027 is the classic technique race and Sunday 21 February the skating race. On both days skiers choose between 42 km and 30 km, and the wave start is at 9:30. There is also a Just for Fun group on the same course without timing.

The 42 km course links the main villages of the valley. From San Martino it heads out of the valley towards Colle and Tesido, returns to San Martino, climbs to the end of the valley near Santa Maddalena and comes back to the start. It is mostly flat, and the one climb, towards Santa Maddalena, is under 200 m of height gain. That is usually where the race is decided. There are seven feed stations along the course.

The race suits skiers of every level, from those chasing a time to those who just want to enjoy the valley. Over 2,300 skiers take part every year, and the organiser says that since 1984 the race has never been cancelled because of the weather, with 2021 the only year lost, to Covid. In 2027 the organiser expects the 80,000th finisher in the race's history.

The finish area is in San Martino, where the festival tent serves lunch from 11:00 to 15:00 for skiers and visitors. On Saturday afternoon the MiniValCasies is held for children.

On Livebib you can follow a skier who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. This is not the organiser's timing, and the official results come from the organiser.