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Tag: World Cup mini tour

  • Top Norwegian Sprinters Leaving WC Mini Tour

    Kuusamo, FINLAND – Among the Norwegians, sprinters Ola Vigen Hattestad and Friday’s sprint winner John Kristian Dahl have return tickets already Saturday. Dahl dislikes the mini tour.

    “We get more points for regular WC sprint races than we do here, there is a packed schedule with a lot of races before the end of the year, and we have important races in Düsseldorf (GER) already next weekend. To do three races here will take an incredible toll, and it seems a little misplaced,” Dahl said to the Norwegian TV station NRK.

    The mini tour in Kuusamo (FIN) consists of three competitions. Sprint Friday, individual start classic on Saturday and pursuit start skate on Sunday. Only the overall winners will be listed as World Cup winners for the event.

    “It’s no secret that the mini tour robs some of the status from the sprinters. For me as a sprint specialist, this is not great,” said Ola Vigen Hattestad.

    The past two seasons, Ola Vigen Hattestad has won 100 world Cup points for each of the sprint victories here in Kuusamo. The Friday sprint winner only gets 50 points for that race.  “I just have to do as well as I can,” Vigen Hattestad said.

    On the women’s side, Norway fields nine racers, and none of them are considering leaving before the mini tour is over on Sunday. However, national team coach Egil Kristiansen is open to pull racers if they look like they need it.

    Norway’s sprint team men will leave Saturday, regardless in order to save their energy for the Düsseldorf sprint the first weekend in December.

    From NRK.no, November 25, 2010. Translation by Inge Scheve

  • Randall: Mixed Feelings About the Mini-Tour

    According to Vegard Ulvang, the Cross-Country Committee Chairman, this year’s the mini-tour in Kuusamo (FIN) is a test-event and it will be evaluated in the spring as to whether to make the Kuusamo mini-tour a permanent part of the World Cup calendar.

    “I will be speaking a lot with the athletes during and after the event to get a clear rating from their perspective,” Randall said to FasterSkier. “I am personally on the fence about this mini-tour concept.”

    Much needed attention

    On one hand, Randall likes the idea of cross-country capitalizing on the increased TV-viewership that comes with these tour-type events. As the Kuusamo events serve as the World Cup season opener for Nordic Combined and ski jumping, the weekend attracts more media attention than a regular cross-country World Cup double-header.

    “Especially with all the journalists here for the Nordic Opening, these races should get good attention,” she said, noting that for her personally, the mini tour might be a great addition.

    “I am very curious to see how I can do at this 3-stage back-to-back-to-back format of racing.  With my increasing distance ability, I think it could be a good event for me,” Randall said.

    Too much too early

    On the flip side, Randall is concerned that by adding the overall time component, and with each individual stage only worth half World Cup points, the sprint race is being devalued. She is also skeptical of adding a longer event weekend to the early season World Cup schedule.

    “I also feel that with an already packed Period I racing schedule, it is better to have two races instead of three this early in the year to allow for a little more training during the week, and thus better longevity through the season,” Randall said.