Sweden and Norway prepare to cancel the cross-country ski world cup

The Covid-19 epidemic is starting to cause damage beyond even the next summer.

Norway and Sweden are preparing for the cancellation of next winter's cross-country ski world cup.

The directors of the country ski teams fear that due to the spread of the coronavirus (koronavirus, in Finnish) pandemic and the imposed travel restrictions may even prevent the World Cup next winter.

The Norwegian national team intends to choose the third level, which means, if the World Cup or the Scandinavian Cup cannot be organized, then the national team skiers would gather to compete in the Norwegian Cup.

Daniel Fåhraeus, director of the Swedish cross-country team, said in an interview with Expressen that he is proposing a similar plan for Sweden.

“There are many kinds of uncertainties associated with the World Cup, so it is important to prepare for the future. We need to ensure that skiers have access to the highest quality competitions possible,” said Fåhraeus.

Pierre Mignerey, the competition director of the International Ski Federation (FIS), said two weeks ago that the federation has made several alternative plans for next season due to the coronavirus.

Competitions may be held without public, various tours are planned for men and women to reduce the size of teams, and a Tour de Ski may be held in one country.

During the interrupted season last winter, the venues for the Finnish Cup were Vuokatti, Rovaniemi, Vantaa, Vöyri, Pyhäjärvi and Ristijärvi.