PHOTO: Bildbyrån
Acute lack of snow has forced changes in the Tour de Ski.
But from the Swedish side, you don’t buy the international association’s explanation at all.
– It’s strange, you start questioning them, says William Poromaa.
On New Year’s Eve, the Tour de Ski begins in the Swiss Val Müstair with a freestyle sprint, which on New Year’s Day would be followed by a pursuit start in classic style. But it won’t be like that. Due to an acute lack of snow, the international federation was forced to change the course from 3.3 kilometers to 2.5 kilometers.
Swedish criticism
The change means that the hunting start is instead converted into a mass start.
– We changed to a mass start because we didn’t want a lot of riders who were lapped this early in the tour. So that is the explanation behind the change, says the association’s head of competitions Michal Lamplot to Expressen.
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Which also comments on the status of the competition track.
– It looks white, of course. But when you get closer, you see that the snow depth is not so good. It is not that simple to just take snow from the recreational tracks and put them on the competition tracks. The organizing committee brought snow from the valley, they had snow cannons and have done everything in their power to make a loop of 2.5 kilometers as good as possible. I think they have done everything they can, he says.
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However, the explanation is not accepted from the Swedish side.
– I don’t understand this. It looks like there is enough snow when you drive around here. When you look out over all the snow here, you wonder why it doesn’t work, says the Swedish national team manager Anders Byström to the newspaper.
“A bit strange”
Byström also gets approval from the Swedish star William Poromaa.
– I think it’s sad. It feels like they have snow. You kind of question how the thinking goes when they shorten so much. I think it could have been resolved. Many times you’ve gone to competitions in Sweden and wondered how the hell they got it together so… It’s a bit strange, you start questioning them, says Poromaa and adds:
– I get a slight feeling that they want to get the TV part together and that it should look good in the picture. Sometimes I feel that the competitions come second. We don’t want to go down that road. I hope they realize that it’s the competitions that matter.
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