On the fourth weekend of July, Banská Bystrica will host the FIS Rollerski world cup. The event is organized by the Slovak Ski Association in cooperation with the International Ski Association FIS and the City of Banská Bystrica. Within Slovakia, this is the premiere event in this relatively young, but very attractive sport.
Roller skiing is a relatively young discipline, which is gaining fans not only in the environment of professional sports, but also penetrates among recreational athletes. It has gained popularity along with the boom of cross-country skiing as its summer alternative. All enthusiasts of this sport will have the opportunity to see the world’s highest built races in cross-country skiing for the first time in Slovakia. On days from July 23 until July 25 the world’s elite in this sport will be presented in Banská Bystrica.
The race is one of the world series and hosts top domestic competitors and also representatives from countries such as Russia, Sweden, Norway, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. Big expectations are placed on Slovak racer Alena Procházková, a native of Banská Bystrica, who in recent seasons has also won the championship and the crystal globe in a series of rollerski races. Alena is also a multiple winner in some disciplines, so we believe that she will be just as successful at home.
The program of the event is full of attractive disciplines. Competitors will start in four categories: men, women, junior men and junior women. On Friday at 4 pm, the event will start on the main square of Banská Bystrica with a 200 meters long sprint with a KO elimination system. The ceremonial opening of the event will take place at 19:30 on the main square as well On Saturday, the program will move to Radvaň district, where the 12 and 18 kilometres skating discipline will start. The event will culminate on Sunday when a competition in a classic is planned. There is a challenging 10 kilometres route prepared for racers, starting from Hotel Dixon in Banská Bystrica and finishing in a village Kordíky.
All information and news can be found at www.rollerski.sk. We believe that the world-class race in Banská Bystrica will meet with a positive response from both spectators and participating athletes.