November 10, 2011 (Sjusjoen, Norway) – An unusually warm autumn has forced the Norwegian Ski Federation to move the Viessmann FIS World Cup XC kick off from Beitostoelen to Sjusjoen which is located about 20km north-east of Lillehammer on a high plateau.

Sjusjoen has successfully carried out a couple of FIS Nordic Combined World Cups together with Lillehammer and provides good training conditions for international cross-country athletes with their wide range of tracks.

“It was not an easy decision,” said Jürg Capol, FIS Race Director Cross-Country. “Compared to Beitostoelen, the weather is a bit colder in Sjusjoen and they will be able to produce snow during the next few nights. The preparations will be a bit easier and less snow is needed as the base is paved. We truly appreciate the huge efforts put in by the Operating Committee (OC) of the World Cup weekend in Sjusoen and the team led by Erik Oestli in Beitostoelen as well as the Norwegian Ski Federation to find a good solution to carry out the World Cup opening in Norway despite the mild weather.“

“We are ready to tackle the challenge of organizing the World Cup cross-country competition in just a few days,” said Terje Lund, head of the OC. “It will be the first cross-country World Cup event in Sjusjoen but with support and spirit from many of us – the members of the OC, the venue management of Sjusjoen, the team of Beitostoelen, the cross-country Sports Family in Norway, the athletes, coaches and industry partners, TV and Media, as well as the Federation – we will be able to host the World Cup opening in Norway from November 19-20. Cold weather and 10 snow canons will help us to produce the snow for a course of 3.75km in the next few days.

In addition Lund expressed: “We highly value the effort put together by the experienced OC in Beitostoelen. In the past days they tried their best to find a suitable solution but at the end we had to come to the conclusion that a World Cup event in Beitostoelen is not possible this year.”

The World Cup program stays the same with an interval start on Saturday and the relay competition on Sunday. The starting times remain the same as well.

Starting Times (local time):

Saturday, November 19
– Distance free technique 10 km ladies 11.30h
– Distance free technique 15 km men 13.15h

Sunday, November 20
– Relay 4 x 5 km ladies 11.30h
– Relay 4 x 10 km men 13.15h