FANTASTIC ATMOSPHERE AND FANTASTIC CONDITIONS

The Goms presented itself as a true cross-country skiing paradise today: sunshine, pleasant temperatures and a hard-pressed cross-country trail lined with enthusiastic fans turned the World Cup sprint into a veritable festival.

There was a brilliant atmosphere in the Nordic Village and on the edge of the piste: that's what the SRF commentator said during today's skating sprint of the Coop FIS Cross-Country World Cup in the Goms Nordic Centre. And how right he was: Carnival marching bands and fan clubs created a great atmosphere and made the cross-country stadium shake. So much so that the top athletes could hardly hear their own breathing on the climbs.

They were indeed really out of breath. After all, the sprint led over a 1.5 kilometre long and extremely demanding course, which contained practically no relaxing flat sections. Five Swiss women and three Swiss men made it into the final thirty. Nadine Fähndrich and Valerio Grond made it to the final six. While Fähndrich had to admit defeat to a Swedish superiority (five Swedes finished ahead of her, with Linn Svahn as the winner), Grond finished in fourth place. The men's race was won by Johannes Høsflot Klæbo.

85 children emulate the grown-ups

The Coop Mini World Cup took place in the morning before the elite competitions. 85 children under the age of 16 took part. The courses between 600 metres and 1000 metres in length were fun to master: they were peppered with a giant slalom, a forest of poles, hills and tunnel gates.

The fantastic weather, the sprint as a thrilling competition format and the varied supporting programme contributed to the fact that 5000 tickets were sold on Saturday alone. As children up to the age of 16 and the numerous volunteers were allowed into the stadium free of charge, the number of spectators was even higher.

Tomorrow, Sunday, the last World Cup competition day will take place in Goms. The programme includes a mass start with 20 tough kilometres, run in skating style. In other words, an attractive race with great weather again that nobody should miss.

Information on the other competition times, the supporting programme, tickets and much more can be found here:
www.weltcup-goms.ch

Photo: Nordic Focus