A tough Marcialonga also put the Czech eD system RSJ Team to the test. What were the athletes’ feelings and experiences from the legendary Italian race?

According to Pro Team Director Marek Pazderský, “the first two weekends of January went very well for us, so we wanted to build on that success in Italy at the famous 70km Marcialonga. The first two days were easy-going, a frozen, firm-like track that ran fast on its own, sunshine, pizza, simply Italy at its best. Then it started. From Friday to Saturday, new snow fell, then rain on top of it, then sunshine again, and in the evening, everything froze. And then at 4 a.m., it started snowing and raining, then just snowing, and it didn’t stop. A service technician’s and racer’s dream.”

“Our traditional service partner is Skiservis Mára, together with a large group of volunteers. For the service team, it was anything but easy, as many new skis and many new waxes had to be tested. Once again, we were lucky, and the waxing turned out brilliantly. Special thanks to all the service staff, especially Rosťa, Pilcik, Vojta, Štěpán, and Hanička, for their dedicated and extremely long hours of work in the truck, during testing, and along the course. I forced the poor guys to test 32 different variants in the end. You can find the waxing report here: Skiservis Mára.”

“In the women’s race, Kája Grohová confirmed her excellent form, achieving her best-ever Marcialonga. After a slower start, she increased the pace significantly and, in a race that eventually matched the duration of Vasaloppet despite being 20km shorter, she secured a fine 19th place. Eliška Šibravová had tested her first-ever 50km just a week earlier and now faced her 70km debut. She could not have chosen better conditions. She handled it well and finished 34th, which keeps her fifth among the young athletes. Just behind her, in 37th place, was Anička Marie Hejná, and in 52nd place was Swedish skier Emmi Nyberg, who is fourth among the youth. Magda Rydlová finished 355th.”

“In the men’s race, we did particularly well at the start, with our race suits often visible on television. The best result was achieved by Vašek Sedláček, who finished 40th and is now just three points away from moving up to second place among the veterans. Thomas Bing finished 49th; he won the sprint in Canazei, but unfortunately had his pole broken under the Cascata while racing from around 15th place. Second race, second time stopped by a broken pole. Petr Kolaja also had a strong race, staying in the main pack for a long time and eventually finishing 64th. He also added a second-place finish on Thursday at the Lavazeloppet. Milan Kohout also delivered a great performance, finishing 142nd despite not starting from the elite group, and was clearly the fastest Czech among performance-level skiers. Other results: 331st Filip Koudelka, 394th Vojtěch Kačena, 404th Jarda Kulich, 565th Jan Majer, 835th Tadeáš Synek, 838th Tomáš Zahrádka, 856th Josef Maděra, 1022nd Lukáš Musil, 1274th Jiří Rýdl, 1263rd Jarda Krejčí, 1459th Petr Lukeš, 1766th Martin Schuster, 2026th Jiří Skalný.”

“As part of the event, the Marcialonga Light over 45km was also held, following the same route but finishing in Predazzo. And we did exceptionally well there. Jáchym Poul, our young 18-year-old hope, won convincingly, and in the women’s race, Tínka Miranová finished fourth. We hope to see similar performances from them in senior competition as well.”

“We are more than satisfied with the results of another weekend. Our very young team continues to perform extremely well, but a lot of hard work still lies ahead, and we must not rest on our laurels. The races where especially the young athletes will have to dig really deep are still to come. But we have a solid foundation to build on. Their determination and the fact that they started focusing on long-distance skiing at a young age give them a big advantage and a real chance to succeed.”

Anička Marie Hejná:

“A properly demanding Marcialonga. I don’t even know how to sum it up. Sunny Italy played another trick on us, delivering very harsh conditions. I didn’t see much through the rain and snow in my eyes, but I fought on. What I liked: the girls and I rode exceptionally well in a big group, and I had great skis in the first third of the course, which made me feel good in the hillier opening part of the race. And the Cascata was really hard-earned this year.”

Václav Sedláček:

“This year’s Marcialonga was exactly that once-in-a-lifetime experience you dream of and want to live through. That’s why I’ve been without money for three months and have been saving for a year to cover household costs and pay the mortgage and insurance. I don’t go to work; my family supports me, and I sacrificed everything for this final season. I love these conditions, and at the start, I had tears in my eyes again from excitement about what would happen during the race. I know that 40th place in the end is nothing spectacular, but for me, it was important to repay the team and sponsors for their effort after the service guys once again did an absolutely amazing job, and to go all in from the start. For the first 20km, I tried to be as active as possible and attacked about ten times, or covered moves so Thomas could save energy. I didn’t manage to get away, but Thomas won the prime in Canazei, our sponsors were visible, which counts, along with three kisses to my wife and kids, Vítek and Kačka, into the camera, and a heart for everyone else, especially Plizi, Pavel, Ondra, and Viky and their families. Then it was hell in the pack, with positions changing second by second. The last 20km were very tough, the skis didn’t want to run in the slush, and under the Cascata I barely hung on to the main group. Gaining any further positions was superhuman, but I still managed to pass a few people and finished, as my beloved wife says, in the symbolic 40th place. It’s just a shame that Thomas had his pole broken under the Cascata and dropped behind me, because he would definitely have been in the top 20. As a team, we’re still 10 points behind Ragde Charge, and now look forward to J50, because at home, we’ll really show what we can do. Above all, we need to stay healthy and, after a sleepless night driving from Italy back to the Czech Republic in disastrous conditions, not fall ill. Some service staff and athletes didn’t sleep for 24 hours and then went straight to work in the morning.”

Karolína Grohová:

“After several years, I finally managed to break the Marcialonga curse. This year, I’m taking home only joy and positives. I skied really well, even though the conditions were very demanding, and the great skis supported me. Thanks to the excellent work of the service team, and especially to you, Mára.”

Petr Kolaja:

“A great weekend in Italy. On Thursday, I finished second in a beautiful race at Passo Lavazze. On Sunday, I then completed the hardest race of my life so far. Thanks to excellent skis, I managed to get to the front of the race early and fought hard to stay in the lead group all the way to Cascata, where I left absolutely everything. 64th place in such a tough race has to be considered a success. Thanks to everyone for the great service during the race, and now we’re all focusing on Jizerská50.”

Emmi Nyberg:

“I think the days in Italy have been good. Marcialonga offered challenges and new experiences. I had a good section between Moena and Cavalese with good skis and a body that wants to start cooperating. I had never raced 70km before, so I had some respect for the distance and was perhaps a little too cautious at the start. But after the weekend, I know I can do it. I got a lot of energy along the way, with incredible service from the team along the course.”

Thomas Bing:

“Heavy snowfall made the race longer but not harder—most of the time I had to chill in the group. Attacking was not possible, so the only goal, after fighting for the sprint prize, was a good position in the group. I was able to enter the last climb in around 20th place. Then I broke a pole and lost 30 places. So, I’m happy to win the sprint and sad that all the work and the good skis were for nothing because of the broken pole.”

Also Read: Strong performances set the tone in snowy Marcialonga