29/01/2021
Bolshunov disqualified for physical altercation as Norway maintain Cross-Country World Cup domination in Lahti
Norway’s domination of the International Ski Federation (FIS) Cross-Country World Cup in Lahti continued as they won both the men’s and women’s relay races on a day when the top Russian men’s team was disqualified following unsporting behaviour by the overall World Cup leader Alexander Bolshunov.
Norway’s respective gold, silver and bronze medallists in the previous day’s 30 kilometres skiathlon - Emil Iversen, Sjur Røthe and Pål Golberg - were joined by fourth-placed Simen Hegstad Krüger and finished 40.9sec clear in the 4x7.5km relay in 1 hour 07min 56.8sec.
The main drama, however, occurred as the last-leg skiers for Finland I and Russia I contested the silver medal on the run-in - respectively Joni Mäki and Bolshunov, who had finished fifth in the previous day’s individual race.
A battle to choose their lines to the finish resulted in "unsportsmanlike behaviour" from Bolshunov, whose actions disqualified his team.
The Russian appeared to strike Mäki with a ski pole, and after the Finn had crossed the line, Bolshunov shoulder-charged him as if the pair were playing ice hockey.
The FIS may yet choose to take further action against Bolshunov, with the Nordic World Ski Championships now less than a month away.
Finland I, 40.9sec adrift of Norway I, took silver, with Mäki being joined by Perttu Hyvärinen, Ristomatti Hakola and Iivo Niskanen.
29/01/2021
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For the most recent Tour de Ski, see 2021 Tour de Ski.
Tour de SkiTour de ski logo.svg
Race details
Date late December – early January
Venue(s) Central Europe
Italy
Competition FIS Cross-Country World Cup
Organiser International Ski Federation
History
First edition 31 December 2006; 14 years ago
Editions 15 (as of 2021)
Men
First winner Tobias Angerer (GER)
Most wins Dario Cologna (SUI)
(4 wins)
Most recent Alexander Bolshunov (RUS)
Ladies
First winner Virpi Kuitunen (FIN)
Most wins Justyna Kowalczyk (POL)
(4 wins)
Most recent Jessie Diggins (USA)
The Tour de Ski (TdS) is a cross-country skiing event held annually since the 2006–07 season in Central Europe, modeled on the Tour de France of cycling. The Tour de Ski is a Stage World Cup event in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup. Each Tour de Ski has consisted of six to nine stages, held during late December and early January in the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. As of 2021, the prize money for the event amount to 672,000 Swiss francs (625,000 euros),[1] shared out on both men and women. Men's and women's events are held together on the same days, with the only difference being the distance skied.
The stage hosts changes every year, but some of the format stays the same with the diversity of competitions; sprints, mass starts, races with individual starts and pursuits. The Tour de Ski has every year concluded with two or three stages in Val di Fiemme, with the final stage where the skiers race up the alpine skiing course on Alpe Cermis in Cavalese.
There are usually between 20 and 30 nations participating, with the numbers of skiers from each nation based on quotas with a maximum of 10 skiers.[2] All of the stages are timed to the finish; the skiers' times are compounded with their previous stage times. The skier with the lowest cumulative finishing times is the overall leader of the race and wears the yellow leader bib. While the overall standings garners the most attention, there are two other contests held within the Tour: the point standings (previously called "sprint standings") for the sprinters and the team standings for the fastest teams.
