All World Cup sprint races will not count in the overall World Cup next season. The International ski Federation (FIS) also wants to test out a modification of the sprint heat format next season.
All sprint World Cup races counted in the overall World Cup last season, but FIS is reducing the number of sprints that counts for this upcoming season.
– Cross-Country skiing is still an endurance sport. There has been a significant increase in the number of World Cup sprint races since sprint was introduced, and it has become possible to win the overall World Cup without even participating in regular races, says FIS Cross-Country Race Director Jurg Capol.
This development was put on a break on at the FIS congress in Miami last week. This involves a decision saying that the number of sprint races that count for overall season points can be half of the number of regular races. There are 12 regular World Cup races this season, so the sprinter’s six best sprint races (out of the scheduled 8 sprint races) will count in the overall World Cup. FasterSkier.com posted an article in March regarding FIS plans for possible future changes: www.fasterskier.com/racing.php?id=1025
The biggest change is that 30 skiers will advance to the quarterfinals. There will be five quarterfinals with six skiers in each heat (two best from each heat advance), two semi-finals with five skiers (two best from each heat advance) and one final with four skiers.
This format will be tried in two World Cup races next season, classic in Asiago and skating in Praha. This will also be the format at junior Worlds in Rovaniemi, Finland this season.
– This format will make the quarterfinals more attractive and make everyone that scores World Cup points (top 30) ski at least one quarterfinal, says Jurg Capol
