There are many fans of winter sports, their number is growing by leaps and bounds. World Championship cross-country skiing- this is a spectacle for real "gourmets". The strongest and titled skiers annually compete for the title of the fastest on the planet in each discipline, the abundance of which makes it possible to choose your favorite distance and feel comfortable on it. It is no secret that the representatives of the Scandinavian countries are "mastodons" in skiing, because both the nature and the climate of the countries contribute to this, every year the range of participants expands and we see many new faces on the track. Obviously, no one from the elite agrees to give up positions, but these are races, and it happens in different ways, and the heat of passion on the track until the very finish line is guaranteed to us at the upcoming forum. What sensations can we expect and important point where to wait for them, we will try to analyze in more detail.

History of the World Championships in cross-country skiing

The debut competition of skiers took place in Norway in 1767. The Swedish and Finnish neighbors took the “fashion” from the Norwegians, then cross-country skiing spread to the countries of Central Europe. Starting from the end of the 19th century, national ski clubs began to open. This was followed by the creation of the International Federation skiing what happened in 1924. At the time of the year 2000, the organization consisted of 98 federations.

The World Championship in cross-country skiing is included in the program of the general championship in ski disciplines. In addition to racing, ski jumping and Nordic combined are held at the championship. The forum is held in odd years for the first time since 1985, since the championship coincided with the Olympics. The competitions of 2016 were anniversary - fiftieth. The most titled countries according to the results of the championships are:

• Norway;
• Finland;
• Russia;
• Sweden;
• Germany;
• Austria;
• Italy;
• Czech Republic;
• Japan;
• Poland.

"Classic Skiing"

Disciplines of the World Cup in cross-country skiing

There are two styles of passing the distance on the track: "classic" and "free" (skating) styles.

The “classic” style is the movement of a skier along a pre-prepared road, which consists of two parallel tracks. An alternating and simultaneous move is used, at which the skier pushes off the snow with sticks.

“Free” style is called a move, when the skier has the right to choose the way of movement along the track, by similarity it is called skating. Finn Pauli Siitonen used it for the first time and won a distance of fifty-five kilometers.

There are six disciplines in cross-country skiing:

• separate start;
• mass start;
• pursuit or skiathlon;
• Relay race;
• individual sprint;
• team sprint.

In races, when skiers start separately at a certain interval and sequence. The interval is thirty seconds, and who under what number will go to the start decides the lot or the position of the skier in the rating. The strongest, as a rule, go to the ski track last. The athlete who overcomes the track the fastest wins.

In the mass start, everyone starts the race at the same time, the skiers with the highest rank start at the front. The first skier to finish is the winner.

The pursuit race is divided into two parts. In the first stage, skiers go through a separate start, then the start protocol of the second stage is formed based on the results. How much the skier lost to the leader, with such a lag he enters the track. The winner of the first stage has a handicap over all, which is equal to his time gain in the first race. Skiers run the first race in the "classic" style, the second - in the "free" style. Previously, the discipline was called a duathlon, now it is a skiathlon. According to the new rules, after the first part of the distance, skiers in a specially equipped area replace skis and run the second half in a different style. The first racer to reach the finish line wins.

There will be a relay race at the World Championships in cross-country skiing. Four skiers run in each team, who, at the end of their distance, pass the baton by touching their partner with the palm of their hand. All teams start together with the best teams for the rating in the forefront. The relay race can take place both in the “free” and “classic” style (all skiers run at a comfortable pace, or the first and second numbers are “classic”, and the third and fourth numbers are “free”).

Individual sprint starts from the prologue separate start, whose field for its results formed a sprint final with four skiers. More than thirty runners cannot qualify for the decisive races. The system consists of quarter-finals, semi-finals and the main final. The best runner of final A wins.

The team sprint is carried out in the same way as the Relay, but the fundamental difference is that two skiers take turns changing in two or three to six laps along the track. If there are many participants, then two semi-final races are created, the best from which will "pave" the way to the final. They start according to the principle of mass start, the team that comes to the finish line first wins.

The duration of the distance is different, from eight hundred meters to fifty kilometers. Each type has its own distance size:

• separate start - 3, 5, 7.5, 10, 15, 30 and 50 kilometers;
• mass start - ten, fifteen, thirty, fifty, seventy;
• pursuit - five, seven and a half, ten and fifteen kilometers;
• Relay (one stage) - two and a half, five, seven and a half and ten km;
• individual sprint - 1-1.4 for men and 0.8-1.2 for women;
• team sprint - two (three-six) 1-1.6 km for men, 0.8-1.4 km for women.

Ski slope in Lahti

Schedule of the 2017 World Cup in cross-country skiing

For the seventh time the World Ski Championship will be held in Lahti, Finland. Last time the city hosted the forum sixteen years ago. Lahti was ahead of Planica (Slovenia), Obersdorf (Germany) and Zakopane (Poland). The championship will start on February 22 and end on March 5. Twenty-one sets of awards will be played, taking into account two more disciplines.

Lahti has a luxurious winter resort base and modern infrastructure for large-scale competitions. Interestingly, the city tried three times to hold Winter Olympics and all attempts were in vain. One hundred and two thousand people live in Lahti.

On the this moment known for cross-country skiing. It will look like this:

• February 23 - female and male sprints"free" style;
• February 25 - skiathlon 7.5 plus 7.5 km. for women and 15+15 kilometers for men;
• February 26 - women's and men's team sprints in the "classic" style;
• February 28 -10 kilometers for women "classic";
• March 1 - 15 km. "classic" style for men;
• March 2 - Women's Relay 4 to 5 kilometers;
• March 3 - Men's Relay 4 x 10 km;
• March 4 - mass start "free" style, 30 km. among women;
• March 5 - men's mass start 50 kilometers "free" style.

Favorites of the World Cup in cross-country skiing 2017

Most attention will be riveted to the Norwegian skiers. The main contender for the awards will be the absolute winner of last year's World Cup Martin Sundby. Martin won fourteen races, which was out of reach for the rest. He will compete with compatriot Peter Nortug, who won only once last season, which is not typical for him. As always, the Russian Sergey Ustyugov, who won three times last season, will be dangerous. Italian Federico Pellegrini can become a surprise, he is in second place in terms of victories for the season, although in addition to five victories, he was no longer on the podium.

Frenchman Maurice Manifika had a great year and could make a comeback in Lahti. A number of Norwegians: Emil Iversen, Hagen Krof, Niklas Durhaff and Thorvall Sondre Fossli claim to awards. It is impossible to write off the Kazakh Alexei Poltoranin, the French Baptist Gros and the Finn Matti Heikinen, who will certainly try to please the public on the home track. Russian skiers Maxim Vylegzhanin and Nikita Kryukov are also contenders for the podium.

The undisputed leader in all quotations in the Relay is the Norwegian team. The Russians and the hosts are able to give a “battle” to the Norwegians, the Germans and the Swedes can “hook” for a medal.

Women's battles have a smaller circle of favorites, but the sharpness on the track promises to go off scale. Last season's leader Teresa Yohaug will aim to repeat all the achievements, namely seventeen victories in a season. And again, her rivals will be the representatives of Norway Kaspersen Falla, Heidi Veg and Flugstad Ingvild Ostberg. "Dilute" the company with the Swedish flavor of Stina Nilsson. Americans Jessica Diggins and Sophie Caldwell will go to Finland with great ambitions. At home, all hope will be on the Finns Krista Parmakoski, Anee Kulonen and Kerta Niskanen.

In this online section of the site you will find the most full results, with the latest skiing events. Detailed calendar of all stages of the World Cup this season. Online ranking of top skiers KM 2019-2020 (FIS Cross Country World Cup). detailed protocols and results of all World Cup competitions in cross-country skiing 2019-20 season for men and women. In addition to the results, our sports portal always has the latest news in full, the schedule of broadcasts and live broadcasts for all channels, photos and videos from the largest international competitions, fan reports from trips to the Olympic Games, World Cup and World Championships, interesting readers' blogs and much more. We strive to cover the full spectrum of Olympic skiing: cross-country skiing, skiing, ski jumping, biathlon, freestyle and snowboarding for which we have created a separate section. Our project is social network, here readers can independently post news and articles of interest to them, write blogs, publish the results of domestic and international competitions, qualifying starts for the World Cup and the World Championship, make reviews, upload your videos and photos, share links to online broadcasts and most importantly, here you can find friends and have a nice chat on any topic.

Cross-country skiing as a sport originated in the 18th century in Norway and quickly began to gain popularity, first in the Scandinavian countries, and later throughout Europe, while the 20th century became the heyday of popularity in the world. Today International Federation skiing FIS (Federation Internationale de Ski) has more than a hundred national associations from many countries of the world. In Russia Olympic disciplines cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping, alpine skiing, snowboarding and freestyle are developed by the Ski Sports Association (RSA). Russian skiing has a rich history spanning over a century, and our fans can rightfully be proud of their heroes. Despite the fact that Russian skiers missed 6 Olympics and 19 World Championships during the Iron Curtain, later the Russian team not only significantly surpassed all competitors, including Norway, Finland, Sweden, but also became the world leader in ski cross country). Russian skiers have outstanding achievements, including many bright victories in major world competitions: the Olympics, World and European Championships, World Cups, and other international competitions. The most famous of them: Lyubov Egorova (6 gold medals of the Olympics, 3-time world champion), Larisa Lazutina (5 gold Olympic medals and 11 World Cup titles), Elena Vyalbe (3-time Olympic champion and 14 World Cup victories). Elena Vyalba holds the world record in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest number of world titles won by a woman. Many times won the gold of the World Championship and four times became the champions of the Winter Olympic Games our famous athletes: Galina Kulakova, Raisa Smetanina, Nikolai Zimyatov.

To these most popular ski competitions, which has a century-old history, riveted the attention of millions of fans, including professionals, amateurs and fans of skiing around the world! Considering that our team traditionally performs strongly in winter activities sports, triumphantly performed at the Olympics in Sochi, then rooting for ours is a pleasure! We discuss the results of skiers at KM, read ski sport news, write blogs, watch live broadcasts together, communicate in our online chat and cheer for our athletes with all our hearts! Go Russia!

In the Finnish city of Lahti will be held world championship ski activities sports 2017, which starts on February 22. Note that world championship will last two weeks and end on March 5th. During the 2017 World Cup in skiing, 21 sets of medals will be awarded in three sports - cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and Nordic combined.

Cross-country skiing world championship 2017: schedule

Now more about the schedule of the 2017 World Ski Championships in Lahti. Finnish time is currently behind Moscow by one hour, but for your convenience we will give the timetable in Moscow time.

So, on February 23, 2017, a solemn opening ceremony will take place, and at 16:00 Moscow time the ski sprint will begin - men's, 1.5 km classic, and then women's, 1.2 km free style.

The next day, February 24, Nordic combined and ski jumpers will enter the battle. At 11:30 a.m., the Nordic combined competition starts with jumps from a small springboard (HS100), which then, at 2:30 p.m., will run a 10-kilometer distance. Well, at 18:30 on the same small springboard, ski jumpers will compete for medals.

On February 25, two ski races will be held. At 13:00, women will run a 15-kilometer skiathlon, and at 15:30 a men's skiathlon of 30 km will take place. Both races include both classic and free style. On the same day at 18:30, male jumpers will compete on the small springboard.

On February 26, at 12:30 Moscow time, the team sprint in skiing will begin. Distance - 6 by 1.2 km classic, both men and women participate in the race. At 13:00 the ski jump will start team competition Nordic combined, and at 16:30 km the same Nordics will run a 4 by 5 km relay. In addition, on the same day at 18:30, mixed (men and women) team competitions in diving on a small springboard will begin.

On February 28 at 14:45, the women's individual classic race for 10 km will take place, and on March 1, a similar race, only for 15 km, will be held by men (14:45). On the same first day of spring at 13:00 on the big hill (HS130) the Nordic competition starts, which then continues at 17:15 with a 10 km cross-country skiing race.

On March 2, skiers will run the 4 x 5 km relay (K + S), and in the evening, at 19:30, men's competitions will take place on a large springboard.

On March 3, at 14:30, the men's ski relay race 4 x 10 km (K + S) will take place, and at 17:00 (large springboard) and 19:15 (2 x 7.5 km) the Nordic program will end with a team sprint.

On March 4, at 15:30, the women's 30 km race with a freestyle mass start will start, and a little later, at 18:15, the ski jumpers will compete for the last award - in the men's team competition on a large springboard.

Finally, on March 5 at 15:30, the men's 50-kilometer free style ski marathon from the mass start will take place.

Watch cross country skiing - world championship 2017

The Match TV channel plans to broadcast the 2017 World Ski Championships from Lahti in large volumes. In addition, the Eurosport and Eurosport 2 channels will actively show the Nordic and Ski Jumping competitions.

Russian team at the 2017 World Ski Championships

In conclusion, here is the full composition of the Russian national team for the 2017 World Ski Championships in Lahti.

Composition of the Russian national team in ski jumping: Evgeny Klimov and Irina Avvakumova.

Composition of the Russian national team in Nordic combined: Ernest Yakhin, Niyaz Nabeev, Vyacheslav Barkov, Timofey Borisov and Samir Mastiev.

The composition of the Russian national cross-country skiing team: Denis Kornilov, Mikhail Maksimochkin, Alexei Romashov, Alexander Bazhenov, Anastasia Barannikova, Sofia Tikhonova, Alexandra Kustova and Ksenia Kablukova.