Season preparation: Interview with Race Director Michal Lamplot

With the new season on the horizon, Cross Country Race Director Michal Lamplot offers insights and answers some questions:

• The FIS Zürich meetings are over and Tomorrow (30.10) we are counting 30 days until the season starts. What will you say have been the main points that has been discussed and decided this year?

Big decisions are usually made at the FIS Spring meeting. We try to avoid making big changes in the autumn. Only some minor rules precisions have been done, World Cup and WSC fluor testing protocols have been updated.

Very important discussion was about FIS Tour de Ski, its future, concept and format. We are very happy to announce some changes, which as we hope, will make the Tour de Ski even more exciting and at the same time more understandable for Cross-Country Skiing fans.

FIS Tour de Ski is about the overall standing in first place. However, we want to offer success opportunities also to athletes who cannot fight for the Overall Tour de Ski Standing. In addition to the existing Tour de Ski Sprint standing, new Tour de Ski Climber standing will be introduced. Top 6 sprinters in the Tour de Ski Sprint ranking and top 3 in the Tour de Ski Climber ranking will receive the prize money.

We have simplified the start list, leaders of the three standings will have the starting spot in the first row. We also removed bonus seconds in mass start competitions in the Tour de Ski.  

• We had an amazing season last year, with several new World Cup places where the hype for Cross Country was huge. What is your thoughts now before a new season kicks off?

Last season reminded us about the huge potential and strength of Cross-Country Skiing. We had several fantastic events with thrilling atmosphere, fans along the courses, flags, flares, chainsaws. We could see that Cross-Country Skiing brings people together and that FIS Cross-Country World Cup can be a great event. I hope that World Cups during the upcoming season will affirm this positive trend.

• What highlights can fans particularly look forward to this upcoming winter?

I am sure that fans can look forward to the whole season. There is a story or something new almost at each of the World Cup venues, so it is difficult to pick one event. However, 19^th edition of Tour de Ski will certainly be the World Cup highlight. First time solely in Italy but with compact logistics and smart travelling, the Tour de Ski will offer great courses and exciting stages.

• How will the Nordic World Ski Championships in Trondheim look like?

The goal of organizers is to surpass the event and atmosphere of the Championships in 1997. Everybody, including us, have huge expectations. We are hoping for a great skiing festival, with a lot of spectators and electrifying atmosphere from day one. We hope that we will be able to create unforgettable memories for fans on site, following us on TV or online. Cross-Country Skiing is at home in Norway, and I am sure WSC Trondheim 2025 will be one of the best Nordic championships ever.