Wolfgang had his first encounter with sleddog sport in the 80s, as an industrial sponsor of a sleddog team participating in the Alpirod Race. He was twice present at the Alpirod Race and learned how to deal with the sponsors Benetton, Sisley, Royal Canin and many others, as well as the participating musers Joe Runyan, Kathy Swenson, Roxy Wright Champaine and Jacques Philip, just to name a few.

These impressions inspired him in such a way that he acquired a complete Anadyr team, at the time leading in Europe, in 1988.

With the offspring of this team, he started his first European Championship in 1989/90 in Zwiesel / Bayrischer Wald and his current life companion Iris Mauderer has beaten him, the rookie, at the finish line to a third place.

In the following years, his 6-dog team was almost unbeatable and obtained among other things the german championship, the vice-european and the world championship for the FISTC.

During his successful career as a musher, he felt that the treatment of the mushers by the associations, organizers of sled dog events could be highly improved.
One year after his team became world champion, he obtained from Pedigree Pal, in cooperation with the DSSV, the marketing rights with worldwide TV transmission of the legendary world championship held in Todtmoos in 1994.

In the following years, he and his media team marketed for various organisations numerous World Cups and European Championships.

In 2005, after the Italian sled dog club failed the organisation of the event, he took over the organizing rights for the WSA European Championship in Nauders.

As an organizer and marketeer of sponsoring and media rights, he created the ALPIRACE brand and has made it one of the most popular event names in the world of sleddog sport.

Based on his successful completion, Wolfgang has developed a worldwide network with the sleddog sport, international industrial sponsors and the media sector.

This network and his skills are now available for the COLOGNE MEDIA CUP 2017 and the ALPIRACE 2018.

For almost 25 years, Dr. Daniela Janusch functions as a project manager, producer, and author, with Wolfgang Petz - in TV productions, in the marketing and PR sector. She developed and produced communication strategies for international media or industrial partners.

From the beginning, one of the common interests has been the marketing of various international sleddog events, including numerous European and World Championships for World Federations like IFSS, WSA, FISTC. Daniela, in coordination with event organizer Wolfgang, will take over the overall management of the media production and coordination with foreign correspondents for the upcoming sleddog events - the WORLD PRESS OPENING as part of the COLOGNE MEDIA CUP and the ALPIRACE, the World Sleddog Trophy.

Since his eighth year, José was active in basketball. At a young age, the sport provided him with endurance, discipline, and goal-oriented success.

In the sled dog sport, he is fascinated by obtaining the right physical condition and the mental training with the dogs in order to form a team. The fine tuning of all dogs in the team to the same mental and physical performance level and to be able to tap into the potential exactly on the day of the race is important to him ..

By visiting a sled dog show in Völklingen José became active in the sport. In 2003 he got his first hounds and shortly thereafter started his own breeding line, which immediately brought him success. The Frankonia Open in Schönberg / Lauf in autumn 2004 was his first start ever in a race.

His successes:
- several times vice-german champion in the 8 dog class Sprint
- several times Bavarian champion in the Open and 8 dog sprint classes
- Participation at the Alpirace 2006 in the 6 dog class
- 6th place EM-Rastede 2008 in the 8 dog class
- 7th place EM-France 2014 (2nd best German team) in the 8 dog class
- 6th place at EM 2016 in England in the 8 dog class
- 1st place at different national races in the Open and 8 dog class

His statement:
"The planned Alpirace 2018 is again THE EVENT in the sled dog scene. Not only through the media accessibility and presence thereof, but also for the athletes themselves, as they can enjoy the participatione in one of the most professional organized races in Europe.

I call the Cologne Media Cup the door opener to the Alpirace 2018 and absolutely a MUST to get the media, sponsors and athletes as well as the audience
focussed on the upcoming event. "

Pieter Buss is part of the ALPIRACE team of international correspondents and is responsible for media and press communications for the Benelux countries, in particular for the Netherlands.

Pieter, born in Holland on 06.06.82, is a young dynamic full-blood journalist who completed his education at the School of Higher General Secondary Education from 1995-1999 and at the School of Journalism from 1999-2005 at the University of Zwolle.

Pieter is an extremely successful journalist and works as a freelancer. Contributing to Holland's leading daily newspaper De Telegraaf, het Noordhollands Dagblad as well as for the most important TV stations in the Netherlands.

Pieter found his way to the ALPIRACE team by recommendation of our adviser Stefan Donker (son-in-law of Arie Verschoor) and has already produced several high-quality and interesting TV reports about our beloved sleddog sport and aired them on Dutch television.

He has already reported on the Open Norwegian Championships Dog Sledding in March 2016 and the European Championship Canicross in Scotland in October 2015.

Pieter brings us optimal conditions for the distribution and communication of the ALPIRACE and is thus a bonus for the sleddog sport as a whole.

The Netherlands being a partner country of the ALPIRACE at the upcoming events, at the WORLD PRESS OPENING in conjunction with the COLOGNE MEDIA CUP on 02/03/03/2017, and at the ALPIRACE from 2 to 11 February 2018, Pieter has become a particularly valuable and interesting partner. We are sure that he will receive the best support from his Dutch sportsfriends. Pieter reports to our press and media manager, Dr. Dr. Daniela Janusch.