Announcement from the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) and written by Ally Beaven. ATRA founder Nancy Hobbs is the WMRA general secretary.
WMRA World Cup to feature World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited tests at fourteen global races including Broken Arrow
Featuring 17 races at 11 events in 8 countries, we have exciting new locations, returning favourites and some very old friends coming together to form a stellar program of racing across 4 months from June to October.
As well as collaborating with some of the best mountain races in the world, our continued partnership with Valsir has allowed a number of upgrades to the World Cup for the coming season. We continue the fight for clean sport with WADA accredited anti-doping at all Gold Label races, and make further commitments to athlete opportunities with an increase in travel support and another increase in the overall prize fund, with the Valsir World Cup champions taking home €5,000 in 2023.
Photo: Ruben Fueyo.
It all kicks off in June, just a week on from the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships (WMTRC) in Austria. A great opportunity for athletes to extend their travels plans! The Valsir World Cup gets underway in the United States as we head back to Lake Tahoe, California for the Broken Arrow Skyraces!
It’s a frantic opening weekend with 2 Gold Label races in 3 days; the Vertical Kilometre (VK) raises the curtain on the season on Friday 16th, before the Classic 23km on Sunday 18th. We’ve seen World Champions and World Cup winners bring their best to these races in recent years; it will be a spectacular start!
Sunday 2nd of June sees us touch down in Castro-Daire, Portugal for the 3rd edition of Montemuro Vertical Run, last year’s season opener. Joyce Njeru and Patrick Kipngeno signalled their intent with convincing wins here in 2022, will they feature again next year?
We then go to the madness of Malonno, for Piz Tri Vertical and Fletta Trail on the 15th and 16th of July. Year after year the intense atmosphere brings the best runners back to these races, with the quad-burning Uphill and the free-wheeling Classic making for a riotous 2 days. Frantic fans and furious racing; it’s a weekend that never disappoints!
La Montée du Nid d’Aigle appeared on the World Cup circuit for the first time in 2021 and it hasn’t gone away since. This 20km, 1850m+ Classic from Saint Gervais to Refuge du Nid d’Aigle is one of the most spectacular races on the calendar as athletes work their way upwards against the stunning backdrop of the Glacier du Bionnassay. Saturday 22nd July will be one of the most hotly anticipated dates of the summer!
Photo: Marco Gulberti.
And then on Sunday 13th August it’s time for Sierre-Zinal. Every year The Race of the Five 4000s draws the deepest fields and serves up the most scintillating action. These Swiss mountain trails are mountain running’s colloseum, where the sport’s most dramatic stories are written over 31km beneath the most iconic peaks of the Alps.
The first weekend of September sees the World Cup arrive in Casto, Italy, the home of Valsir, for Vertical and Trofeo Nasego, another Uphill and Classic double. Once again this tiny town in the Brescia Prealps will become the playground of the sports biggest names, all looking to add their names to the prestigious Nasego honour roll. It will be another a battle of the giants!
Broken Arrow Skyrace VK champions Allie McLaughlin and Darren Thomas. Photo: Peter Maksimow.
Just 5 days later it’s the first of 2 Gold Label races in Canfranc, Spain. Friday’s 4.4km Vertical race kicks off a weekend-long festival of mountain running in the heart of the Aragon Pyrenees. Sunday’s 15.9km Classic brings the curtain down in style on what will be a beautiful, bruising weekend of racing. Joyce Njeru sealed her overall title here this year; will it prove decisive again in 2023?
There follow 2 Silver Label Classic races. We’re in Trentino in the iconic landscapes of the Dolomites for Primiero Dolomiti Trail’s first World Cup appearance on 30th September, before the Šmarna gora Race, a favourite of athletes and fans alike and a World Cup fixture for decades, on the 7th October.
And then all that remains is the Final!
And what a final it will be! From 13th to 15th October, Sky Gran Canaria serves up 3 Gold Label races across 3 days, one Uphill, one Classic, one Long. It’s the first time we see this multi-race format at the Valsir World Cup Final and we can think of no better setting for what will surely be a stunning climax to the season! The coastal town of Agaete will play host to the best athletes that mountain running has to offer as they battle to cement their place in the standings. An amazing new venue for the Valsir World Cup and an amazing way to decide the final podiums!
2023 Valsir Mountain Running World Cup
16/06 Broken Arrow VK – USA UPHILL Gold Label
18/06 Broken Arrow Skyrace – USA LONG Gold Label
25/06 Tatra Race Run – POL CLASSIC Silver Label
02/07 Montemuro Vertical Run – POR CLASSIC Gold Label
15/07 Piz Tri Vertical – ITA UPHILL Gold Label
16/07 Fletta Trail – ITA CLASSIC Gold Label
22/07 Montée du Nid d’Aigle – FRA CLASSIC Gold Label
12/08 Sierre-Zinal – SUI LONG Gold Label
02/09 Vertical Nasego – ITA UPHILL Gold Label
03/09 Trofeo Nasego – ITA CLASSIC Gold Label
08/09 Canfranc Vertical – ESP UPHILL Gold Label
10/09 Canfranc Skyrace – ESP CLASSIC Gold Label
30/09 Primiero Dolimiti Trail – ITA CLASSIC Silver Label
07/10 Šmarna gora Race – SLO CLASSIC Silver Label
13/10 Sky Gran Canaria – ESP UPHILL Gold Label
14/10 Sky Gran Canaria – ESP CLASSIC Gold Label
15/10 Sky Gran Canaria – ESP LONG Gold Label
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