Back by popular demand and a decade since its first visit to Limone, the Skyrunner® World Series has today announced that it will return to the shores of Lake Garda, this time for the 2023 Limone Xtreme SkyMasters.
The 2023 SkyMasters event will be part of the 12th edition of Limone Xtreme, taking place on the weekend of the 28th - 29th of October. Only the season’s best skyrunners, who have qualified throughout the year, will be at the starting line.
Eti Rodriguez, managing director of the Skyrunner® World Series, today unveiled Limone as this year’s SkyMasters at the Calamorro Skyrace opening ceremony in Benalmadena, Spain.
“We are pleased to announce Limone Xtreme as the 2023 SkyMasters”, said Rodriguez, “Limone Xtreme ticks all the boxes - a great course, stunning location, world-famous afterparty and an event that is popular with the elite athletes. For this reason, we are confident the SkyMasters will be provide a great conclusion to the season, as in 2019. We are excited to welcome the best athletes of the season, as well as fans, spectators, and media from around the world back to Limone this October.”
Limone will also host the final of the VK Open Championships. Marino Giacommeti, president of the International Skyrunning Federation comments:
“Limone Xtreme is a great location for the SkyMasters and it was here in 2019 that the SkyMasters was launched. The excellent organisation and passion of the organisers make this race special. The steep ascents and descents of the course make it a skyrunning favourite. The course is true skyrunning with the advantage of incredible scenery – whether looking up at the mountains or from the mountains, down to Lake Garda below.
The first time the circuit visited Limone was 2013, it’s been 8 times on the SWS with the best of the best competing here, including Kilian Jornet, Marco De Gasperi, Maite Maiora, Remí Bonnet, Laura Orgué, Alexis Sévennec, Megan Kimmel, Tove Alexandersson, Davide Magnini, Ruy Ueda, Nadir Maguet and Denisa Dragomir…”
The Limone Xtreme SkyMasters course with 22 km and 20520 meters of elevation gain will surely be a huge source of motivation for this year’s athletes who will compete throughout the season to qualify for the SkyMasters. The qualification criteria are as follows:
Finish top 10 of a SWS race
Complete a minimum of 3 races of the 2023 SWS circuit
Finish top three overall in a Skyrunner® National Series
Finish top three in a Continental Championship
Be a wildcard, selected by the SWS
Maximum points will be awarded to the top 20 athletes of the SkyMasters, therefore a good performance in the final race is substantial to placing well in the overall ranking. As well as maximum points, €10,000 prize money will also be awarded to the top 10 male and females of Limone Xtreme SkyMasters.
As in previous years, the SkyMasters is more than just a race, it is also a celebration of the season. Not only are the winners of the race crowned at the SkyMasters but also the champions of the entire season. The male and female champions walk away from Limone with €20,000 of the €100,000 overall season bonus prize-money-pool. To be eligible for their share of the €100,000 overall ranking bonus prize-money-pool athletes must start the 2023 SkyMasters.
