Kuusamo, FINLAND – Among the Norwegians, sprinters Ola Vigen Hattestad and Friday’s sprint winner John Kristian Dahl have return tickets already Saturday. Dahl dislikes the mini tour.
“We get more points for regular WC sprint races than we do here, there is a packed schedule with a lot of races before the end of the year, and we have important races in Düsseldorf (GER) already next weekend. To do three races here will take an incredible toll, and it seems a little misplaced,” Dahl said to the Norwegian TV station NRK.
The mini tour in Kuusamo (FIN) consists of three competitions. Sprint Friday, individual start classic on Saturday and pursuit start skate on Sunday. Only the overall winners will be listed as World Cup winners for the event.
“It’s no secret that the mini tour robs some of the status from the sprinters. For me as a sprint specialist, this is not great,” said Ola Vigen Hattestad.