The BLINK Skifestival is back in full strength this year after last two  editions hampered but not broken by COVID

The BLINK Skifestival is back in full strength this year after last two editions hampered but not broken by COVID

Leaders, Newsfeed
The BLINK at the beginning of August is one of those rare stories worth talking about, year after year. Why do we at The Daily Skier pay so much attention to it? Because the competition is evolving, growing in strength, getting more spectators, better sponsorship and more media attention. Because it's the world's first real fusion of xcskiig and biathlon (others are trying to imitate now) Because of its festive, celebratory atmosphere that is difficult to convey unless you are on the ground ( and if you haven't made up your mind about vacations yet, BLINK is on August 3-6 thus year!). In short, BLINK is bluntly showing what a successful cross-country skiing competition should be like, narrow skis or those wheeled. We talked to Arne Idlamd, the guy created…
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Biathlon is about to launch Summer World Cup, that xcskiing could only envy

Biathlon is about to launch Summer World Cup, that xcskiing could only envy

Money & Finance, Newsfeed
We are a cross country skiing media resource but when we spot something worth noting in biathlon - we report on that too. In this case not just worth reporting - outright enviable! Because from what we understand, the good folks of biathlon are about to launch what, effectively, amount to a Summer World Cup, featuring the world's best athletes. The IBU already has annual an Summer biathlon world championships but , for variety of reasons , it is not always attended by the leaders. [caption id="attachment_18671" align="alignnone" width="1530"] Arne Idland, sports director of Blink, is satisfied with the way things are developing in Summer biathlon [/caption] The Blink Skifesvalen, the Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival and the City Biathlon Wiesbaden are different. Creme de la creme of the planet's biathlon…
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Innovations in xcskiing worth considering? Learn from Blink!

Innovations in xcskiing worth considering? Learn from Blink!

Leaders, Newsfeed
In 2021 Blink Skifestival cemented its reputation for being innovator and trendsetter. Since 2019, the last "traditional", pre-pandemic Blink, the organizers reworked the program quite a bit and here are the novelties we found to be worth reviewing and actively recommending: - Individual prologue + distance race with time handicap. We reviewed it here, Just to reiterate: that's the best format we've seen so far when it comes to pitching sprinters vs distance runners & keeping the suspense going throughout the сompetition ( at least in women's race). [caption id="attachment_18472" align="alignnone" width="1176"] Distance runner vs sprinter. Who's better in two different races on the same day?[/caption] - Mixed-gender long distance relay, another unique format. Since we could afford to be subjective, we'll spell it out: great idea - for Norway.…
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Blink Skifestival introduces new promising race format

Blink Skifestival introduces new promising race format

Leaders, Newsfeed
Blink skifesfival is not just a unique amalgamation of xcskiing, biathlon and open-air pop-music concerts. It blazes the trail in introducing new race formats that show great potential. On Friday Blink rolled out a new idea: a combo race: individual prologues ( 2.6k women, 4.2k men) followed two hours later by pursuit races of 10/ 14k. The Sandness Arena is a primarily training grounds so slopes' difficulty is not on par with what the top international stars assembled are accustomed to - but we are talking rollerskis , no snow skier wants to risk an injury on treacherous asphalt downhill, so there were no complaints among the starters. That's to say that sprinters felt right at home in their relatively long prologue while a distance runner found her/ himself a…
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Arne Idland: athletes from 13 nations will compete at Blink Skifestival this year

Arne Idland: athletes from 13 nations will compete at Blink Skifestival this year

Leaders, Newsfeed
Arne Idland is a man who created Blink Skifestival in western Norway and built it into a premiere international summer event in both xcskiing and biathlon. The Covid-19 pandemics affected the event a lot - last year's races were held without international athletes and with no spectators. In 2021 both the internationals and the public will be back. The end of hard times? We talked to Arne as he was surveying the last preparations at the Sandnes Arena where most races will be held this year: "...Organizing the event of the size of Blink Festivalen was of challenging under circumstances, things were and are often unpredictable. Norway has the strictest Covid rules in Europe, it makes it hard to plan - you don't know what would be actually allowed by…
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