December 30, 2009 – Vegard Ulvang is the Chairman of the FIS Cross-Country Committee and an Olympic and World Champion in cross-country skiing. Here are his latest comments on the state of the sport and the Tour de Ski which begins on Jan. 1, 2010 – more blogs and news at FIS XC here.

Reading newspapers and speaking to cross-country fans, athletes and coaches from different nations can sometimes be an interesting task. Here are some of the strongest quotes from the last months:

“Everything was better before. All the mass starts and bonus points and ski exchange have destroyed our sport,” say the Swedes.

“We must have more mass starts in the beginning of the season, else we lose interest and viewers in Germany”, says Jochen Behle.

“The many different distances, events and techniques have brought CC in wrong direction”, says biathlon star Ole Einar Bjørndalen.

“We want more action, more sprints and more city sprints”, say the Norwegian sprinters while others claim that this year’s calendar has too many sprints and too few relays.

Over the last 20 years cross-country has developed from a sport where every racer skied the same race weekend after weekend through the whole winter into a sport with two techniques and distance and sprint races. Therefore we have to expect discussions and various opinions. And not to forget that 22 different nations have taken World Cup points so far this season, and that we all come from different nations with a different ski history and cultural backgrounds. All the different opinions and discussion is after all positive for the development, and to be preferred over silence.

Development of a sport is not always a result of a decision in a FIS Committee. The skating technique developed because of better grooming machines and racers that looked for the fastest way to the finish line, and the sprint events developed because skiers born with the quickest muscle fibres also wanted to compete. Only one thing is sure: We cannot turn the clock backwards and dream about the good old days. In the FIS Cross-Country Committee there is no one asking for a removal of any of our events. Only time and interest will show if and when there is time to take away something.

I am not worried on behalf of our sport. We have more racers and more viewers and spectators than ever before. A quick look at the results on the FIS website shows that 174!! men competed in the sprint events in Krasnogorsk, Russia two weeks ago, and almost 100 men and 50 ? ladies raced at Sovereign Lake. Five different men and six different ladies have been seen on top of the podium in the World Cup races so far this season which secures attention and interest from many nations. It can be discussed whether that is better or worse than having a Gunde Svan or a Bjørn Dæhlie winning weekend after weekend.

I think Cross-Country has become more attractive to a wider range of athletes. Our specialists have their chance in single stages, Championships and Olympic Games while next week’s Tour de Ski and the overall World Cup is giving extra points, prize money and attention to the few that manage all the events. Our so called multistage events, the Tour de Ski and the World Cup Final in Falun, have in a few years become the most seen TV events beside the Championships. The interest increases race by race. The most seen Cross-Country races in the World Cup last year were the Final Climb in the Tour de Ski and the World Cup Final in Falun. More than 50 million people watched the fight up to Alpe Cermis live last year.

That’s why one of the most important proposals on the agenda at the Cross-Country Committee meetings in May will be the introduction of a new multi-stage event over three days in the beginning of the season (November). The first racers to cross the finish line on Sunday will be the winners of the first weekend and immediately bring the focus to the fight for the overall World Cup.

Let me wish all athletes and Cross-Country fans good luck on the Tour de Ski and all the best for 2010.

Yours
Vegard Ulvang