Planica World Cup skiing on channels 22.2.–5.3.2023. See the program and broadcast information of the World Ski Championships at this link.
The World Championships in Nordic skiing start in earnest on Thursday, when the women’s and men’s cross-country sprint competitions and the women’s normal hill competition are on the program.
Planica is a valley in the northwestern part of Slovenia, where accommodation is very limited. In winter sports, it is especially known for hill jumping. Two-time Olympic champion Toni Nieminen in 1994, from Planica’s flying hill, he made the first standing 200-meter crossing in hill history.
The closest village to Planica, which offers slightly more accommodation capacity, is Kranjska Gora, known for the World Cup of alpine skiing.
Low accommodation capacity has led to a rare situation. National teams are accommodated in at least three different countries.
Finland’s combined and ski jumping teams, as well as the maintenance of cross-country skiing, are based in Kranjska Gora, but the home of the Finnish cross-country team during the World Championships is the small Italian village of Tarvisio. Norwegian skiers also stay in Tarvisio.
The Swedish national skiing team, on the other hand, is staying in Austria, in the village of Unterferlach, near Villach.
Former head coach of the Finnish national skiing team Reijo Jylhä comment For Iltalehti (you switch to another service) the situation as exceptional. It did not occur to him that he would have been accommodated in different countries during prestigious skiing competitions.
According to Google’s map service, Finns have a distance of about 18 kilometers and about 25 minutes to the race venues. Swedes have a longer journey from their “home village” to Planica, about 33 kilometers and 40 minutes on rather difficult roads.
Finland had also been offered accommodation in Villach, but according to Jylhä, Tarvisio is a better option, for example because the route from the Austrian side is challenging for people other than private cars, and in Tarvisio Finland can stay right next to the ski stadium, which is of course easy for training.
Already in the fall, the leader of the Swedish national skiing team Anders Byström stated For Expressen (you switch to another service), that the team ended up in Unterferlach, where they had an entire hotel at their disposal. At that time, Byström also pointed out the difficult route to Planica and regretted that the accommodation solution is not “optimal in terms of safety”.
Both Byström and the Norwegian team manager Espen Bjervig criticized the fact that the best accommodation places on the Slovenian side were reserved for FIS staff and other stakeholders, but not for the teams.
– We quickly realized that it is difficult to find accommodation in Slovenia with direct access to the ski slopes. It is more important for us to live closer to good training areas than to the competition stadium, Bjervig said.
There is also a “house of horrors” near the accommodation of the Swedish national skiing team, he says Aftonbladet (you switch to another service). It’s a house no one wants to be in, confirmed the national team star Maja Dahlqvist.
The Swedish team has also rented a separate house in the vicinity of its actual accommodation building, in which skiers who may be ill are isolated.
– Nobody wants to go there. If you end up there, it would probably be the same to go home, he said Calle Halfvarsson for Aftonbladet.
Swedish skiers have found other things to marvel at in their accommodation. Dahlqvist stated For Expressen (you switch to another service)suspecting that the house is haunted.
– Very mysterious things happen. Small obscure things, Dahlqvist stated.
– When the team was jogging yesterday, they found a voodoo doll, team manager Byström testified.
Marcus Grate wondered, among other things, the numerous wanted posters seen along the street.
– This is the perfect place for us right now, but I can’t understand who can live in a place like this all year round, Grate growled.
And that’s not all. When Sweden’s 20-year-old ski promise Edvin Anger was giving an interview to the Norwegian magazine VG, mating donkeys ended up in the background. VG’s photographer showed (you switch to another service) an interview clip for Anger, who burst into laughter.
– It was just fun. All attention is good attention… or I don’t know. At least it was a little comical.
Anger stated For Expressen (you switch to another service)that he grew up in the country, so the accommodation surrounded by horses, cows and donkeys and the atmosphere of the accommodation suit him perfectly.
Below you can listen to Urheilu’s podcast, where the setups for the World Ski Championships were reviewed.