April 9, 2009 – “After the season is before the season” was the motto for more than 20 representatives of the four organizing committees and partners from Infront Sports and Media and the Italian Ski Association who conducted a debrief on the third edition of the Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski performance by Craft Sportswear in Val di Fiemme on April 3-4.

A detailed review including results from surveys with different stakeholder groups and discussions in separate working groups focused on topics such as Marketing & Promotion; Logistics and The Ideal Tour Plan to make sure that improvements will be effected so that the next edition of the Tour will be even more successful than the last one.

“The Tour de Ski is going in the right direction. We can be proud of the TV ratings and the growing number of public on site but we also realize that we still have space to develop further. The Tour de Ski must become a strong brand in its own right, with a high value, and to that effect we will work together with the National Ski Associations on joint marketing packages for our premium product. At the same time, our FIS Cross-Country Committee and the Sub-Committees have the task to develop the Tour rules further and make a logistically easy and interesting Tour calendar,” explained Jürg Capol, one of the TdS fathers and FIS Race Director Cross-Country.