The most prestigious form of cross-country skiing is dying before our eyes. Only the return of Russia will save us!

The organizers of the World Cup in cross-country skiing found themselves in an unenviable position already at the second stage of the series. Even ten teams could not gather for the relay race in Gällivare, Sweden.

And clumsy attempts to save a disastrous situation only cause a smile.

“We may close soon”

The World Cup is now taking place without Russian skiers for the second season. At the same time, officials of the International Ski Federation (FIS) stubbornly continue to go against world trends and do not allow our athletes to participate in international competitions in any status.

Skiing is now reaping the bitter fruits of this decision at the World Cup. Only six countries managed to field a full-fledged team for the women’s relay race of the second stage in Swedish Gällivare. Sweden and Germany entered two quartets each, the USA, Kazakhstan, Finland and Norway entered one each.

To increase the number of teams, even a FIS team was assembled, consisting of three Italians and one Polish. In the end, even with this trick, there were only nine teams. The French could well have competed in the relay, but they chose not to start, citing a busy calendar. The Swiss did not go to the second stage at all.

Reducing the number of participants entails only disadvantages. If the sport is not popular in a large number of countries, then the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will quickly think about the rationale for its presence at the main winter start of the four-year period.

It is unlikely that a large audience will watch the get-together of 5-6 countries. People from the ski world understand the complexity of the situation very well. The coach of the German national team, Axel Teichmann, compared the current state of affairs with the realities of biathlon, where women’s teams from 18 countries took part in the relay at the Ostersund stage.

“I think it’s a huge shame for FIS.” We have catastrophically few teams at the start, compared to biathlon. This is what we need to strive for. Officials should ask national teams and athletes what they need to participate in such competitions. Because we need the best athletes not only in individual races, but also in team races,” Teichmann told Viaplay.

“Only six countries fielded full teams—it’s just borderline,” expert Fredrik Aukland said indignantly on NRK.

The titled Swede Kalle Halfvarsson also gives disappointing forecasts for the prospects of relay races at the World Cup.

— Do we need a relay race at the World Cup? Certainly. All national teams must perform, otherwise we could close down soon,” Expressen quotes Halfvarsson as saying.

The presence of two teams from Russia and one from Belarus would definitely brighten up this sad situation. Our country will easily have eight female skiers who will be competitive at the World Cup level.

Kalle Halfvarsson / Photo: © Mathilda Ahlberg / Keystone Press Agency / Global Look Press

Norwegian fiasco

Despite the modest composition of the participants, the Norwegian skiers did not please the fans. For the first time in 17 years, the women’s quartet did not make it onto the podium in the World Cup races, finishing only in fourth place. The last time this happened was in March 2007. The loss to first place was more than one and a half minutes.

For Norway, this result is comparable to a national tragedy. Skiing is idolized there, and any race without medals is a failure. Because of this, television ratings may suffer, because viewer interest without good results is doomed to decline.

But the Swedish skiers finally celebrated their victory. Their bad streak at the World Cup lasted 14 years, and their last victory was won in 2009. Second place went to skiers from Germany (+13.5 seconds). The top three were completed by athletes from the USA (+27.5 sec).

The third stage of the World Cup will take place in Östersund on December 9–10. Watch live broadcasts on TV channels of the Match holding company, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.