Perhaps the most classic competition in the entire World Cup is removed.
Then Anders Blomquist rages.
– I really don’t understand how you think, says the SVT expert.
This year, all skiers have gone through a season without any major championships. For many, the Tour de Ski was the big highlight, but many are already thinking about what will happen next year, when the WC in Trondheim awaits.
The big change
But the championship also means that there will be big changes to the regular World Cup season. Perhaps the most classic race throughout the season is always Holmenkollen’s five-mile race. It was there that Frida Karlsson defeated Therese Johaug herself, which all Swedish ski lovers will soon forget.
But the last time it was the championship season, participation in the classic competition was low. In total, only 32 ladies and 36 men took part in the prestigious race, as it was too close to the championship, and perhaps not quite as many had had time to recharge both physically and mentally. And for next season, Fis, the international skiing federation, has chosen to completely scrap the five-mile in Holmenkollen.
The flower rages
And that makes Anders Blomquist, long-time expert at SVT, see red.
– I think that the ski association is shooting itself in the foot again. They have limited the program, they have made everything more equal. They have isolated the parts of skiing that are so fascinating to many, and which are one’s strength as a skier. I think you make a bad decision, and I think you make skiing more boring for us to follow as TV viewers, he says.
The problem of getting practitioners to stand up could have been solved in another way, according to Blomquist. He believes, for example, that more World Cup points could have been awarded in the competition.
– It’s at the end of a season and it’s a tough race, it could happen that some don’t show up. But that can be solved by more points being at stake, for example. To cancel is to give up, limit and make skiing more boring, he says, and continues:
– Now it is almost the same skater who skates well in all disciplines. A five-mile absolutely fulfills a function.
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