The strong wind on Beitostølen has created major problems for the organizer.
On Friday morning, the jury at Beitostølen made the decision to cancel the sprint competition, which was to take place the same day, due to strong winds.
The wind will blow on Saturday, but several trees have blown over the end of the trail, and there is a lot of clearing work to be done before the ski run can be started on Saturday.
– Right now, the cross-country stadium is a battlefield, says event manager Terje Lund when he meets Nettavisen and the rest of the Norwegian press corps after a jury meeting on Friday afternoon.
– Now it is quite demanding down at the stadium. There is not much stadium left. It has been over 30 meters per second in the throws today. Even though we have fastened everything, ten centimeters of snow has disappeared, so everything loosens again and again. Now we have a great job, says Lund.
In a press release, the organizer states that a final decision will not be made until Saturday morning.
– The wind has caused great damage throughout the day, and we do everything we can throughout the evening to prepare the arena for the race tomorrow. The weather forecast for tomorrow is positive, even if there will be some wind, but we can not be sure until tomorrow morning, it is said in a press release from the organizer.
On Friday at 16.00, a charity event will be started, with the hope of being able to arrange a ski race on Saturday. At 20:00, when the wind has hopefully lied, an attempt will be made to rig the stadium again.
– The jury will make continuous assessments of the weather situation tomorrow morning. The ski association has considered the possibilities for changes in the weekend’s program, but has come to the conclusion that the original program will be maintained on Saturday and Sunday. It is a close program with cross-country, combined and para-exercises and our focus is to be able to carry out races as planned under the prevailing conditions in a safe and secure manner. Should the weather prevent implementation tomorrow, we will make new assessments, it says in the press release.
According to the plan, 10 kilometers will be arranged for women and 15 kilometers for men.
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