Xcskiing 2022 – a list of woes goes long

Xcskiing 2022 – a list of woes goes long

Leaders, Newsfeed
Do you like understatements? Here's one: The times ain't easy for the international cross country skiing. If you read this, you most likely have your own reasons to think so. Nonetheless, let us list them: The bosses of the most powerful national ski associations are in open revolt against the FIS boss Johan Eliasch and his radical reforms. The World Cup 22/ 23 schedule is a very illustration of the word " lopsided": 4 out of 15 competition venues are located in Norway - while one of the most important markets , Germany, hosts only one. There are zero races in the Central Europe ( Poland, Czechia, Austria, East Germany etc.) and there are zero races outside of Europe in general. Neither are the things shiny when it comes to…
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Was there ever such a sad FIS World Cup season as this one?

Was there ever such a sad FIS World Cup season as this one?

Leaders, Newsfeed
Was there ever such a screwed up FIS World Cup season as this one? Two WC stages scrapped- ostensibly - because of Covid, while every other snow sport was happily competing at the same time, even in the same countries. The World Cup final cancelled because of the politics - and what's most telling, not a single serious candidate sprung up to fill the void despite a three week notice. “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" That's not us here saying - that's murmurs we increasingly hear among stakeholders of all hues. And it might get worse. It almost certainly will get worse. We are not privy to exact statistics, but one does not have to be a genius to see that a loss of the market of…
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Ustiugov deserves Olympic medal more than anybody else in cross-country skiing  – as a compensation for the  2018 Olympics that never happened in his career – Markus Cramer

Ustiugov deserves Olympic medal more than anybody else in cross-country skiing – as a compensation for the 2018 Olympics that never happened in his career – Markus Cramer

Leaders, Newsfeed
There will be an Olympic debut like no other in the Olympic Sprint competitions on Tuesday. Well, technically Sergey Ustiugov had his first Olympic race 8 years ago in Sochi where then-21 year old was one of the hot Sprint favorites. But the chaos in the Sprint finals with many a fall led to Ustiugov tripping over a Swedish skier, breaking his pole and finishing - if you could call it that - a minute behind the winner, Ola Vigen Hattestad of Norway. Ustiugov hasn't started in any other race in Sochi. In the years between Sochi'14 and Pyeongchang'18 the Russian "Moose", as his domestic fans call him ,established himself as a dominant force in the international cross country skiing, winning anything from sprints to 50k and was gearing up…
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Meet Dinigeer Yilamujiang, future star of xcskiing. She lit the flame of the Olympics today – and she will light up your hearts with her track performances very, very  soon.

Meet Dinigeer Yilamujiang, future star of xcskiing. She lit the flame of the Olympics today – and she will light up your hearts with her track performances very, very soon.

Leaders, Newsfeed
Dinigeer Yilamujiang made history today - and hit world headlines - by being the one of the two athletes to light the flame of the Beijing Olympics A ton of virtual ink already was and is going to be spent highlighting the fact that a 20 year old cross-country skier has Uyghur roots ( both Uyghur and Kazakh to the best of our knowledge - but it's not something we want to dwell on). The Olympics always were and will remain a political show where one side is on offense and the other is trying to find a fault with an opponent. We just want to bring up the fact that Dini as she is affectionately known on the world circuit is one of the most talented xcskiers of her…
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How much does it actually cost to prepare an Olympic champion? We talk to the man in the know

How much does it actually cost to prepare an Olympic champion? We talk to the man in the know

Money & Finance, Newsfeed
Markus Cramer needs no introduction. A "doyen du corps" of the international cross country skiing coaches " guild", the German specialist had a great career spanning decades with different national teams, Olympic gold medals under his belt and is currently at his 6th Winter Olympic Games. Who would be better placed to talk about the simple yet complicated for many question: How much does it cost to prepare an athlete who has a chance to win medal at the Olympics? "... Ah, it depends on many, many factors, of course, smiles Marcus, - but if you want to be serious and count everything - a minimum 150.000 euros needs to be budgeted. Per person, per season. To win, to have a realistic chance at the Olympic gold, an athlete absolutely…
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