Early start for Ski Orienteering World Cup
Posted on | December 1, 2013 | Category: News
The first round of the 2013-2014 Ski Orienteering World Cup, consisting of four races at the ski resort Ylläs in the Kolari region of Finland, starts on Wednesday 4th December.
Ninety competitors – 51 men and 39 women – from 16 nations have entered for this first round. The competition areas are described as gentle fell terrain with varied forest and a network of permanent ski tracks, and the snow depth there is already 30 cm.
There will be three individual races: a Middle Distance with mass start, a Long Distance also with mass start, and a Sprint. The fourth race is a Mixed Sprint Relay for teams of one man and one woman, and 29 teams have been entered for this.
It will be interesting to see how well prepared some of the competitors are for this early start to the top-level international season. No doubt Tove Alexandersson, Sweden will have become accustomed to racing on skis again after her fine footO season, and will be challenging athletes such as the best home competitor Mervi Pesu and the Russian Tatiana Rvacheva (née Kozlova). Peter Arnesson, Sweden had an exceptional World Championships near the end of the last season, but will be strongly challenged by the Norwegian Hans Jørgen Kvåle and several of the strong Russian team.
Round 2 will be in Norway and Sweden in mid-January, and Round 3 in Russia in the first half of March. There are 16 World Cup events in all in the programme, 12 of them individual races together with 2 standard Relays and 2 Mixed Sprint Relays.
Round 1 programme
Wed 4th December Middle Distance, mass start
Thurs 5th December Mixed Sprint Relay
Fri 6th December Long Distance, mass start
Sun 8th December Sprint
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