01Feb 2021 by DS News Team
Finnish Wonderland Gears Up For World Juniors/ U23

Finnish Wonderland Gears Up For World Juniors/ U23

Leaders, Newsfeed
The FIS Nordic Junior and U23 World Ski Championships was a bit of an orphant this tough year - but, as in any good fairytale, it looks like it found a perfect home at last. " Vuokatti is the place where the JWC will hit the road running" smiles Vuokatti Sport spokesman Topi Kuorelahti, himself a national-level skier. And indeed it impresses pretty much on the first sight, whichever is your personal preference. [caption id="attachment_17687" align="alignnone" width="1689"] Vuokatti ski trails should more properly be called " ski highways"[/caption] 150 kilometers of wide perfectly groomed, carefully maintained ski trails you could access from your hotel or rental house? Check. Including those modern crazy-tough and thus FIS homologated where the actual races of the Championships shall be held. Speaking of hotels: 650…
Read More
23Jan 2021 by DS News Team
One Day, One Way & Emil Iversen

One Day, One Way & Emil Iversen

Gear News, Newsfeed
[caption id="attachment_17656" align="alignnone" width="1646"] Everyone knows who Emil Iversen is. He doesn't really need personal race bib - his 100k+ followers on Instagram well aware of how he looks. So when Emil switched to One Way poles, the company got an exposure every company wants. Guess, that was the point ...[/caption] [caption id="attachment_17652" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 10 minutes before the start of Skiathlon in Lahti. Emil goes for a quick course recce or whatever you wanna call it...[/caption] [caption id="attachment_17653" align="alignnone" width="1578"] ...but hey, what are those bright red or orangy sticks he's using? Got to be the newest One Way poles hitherto unseen on the World Cup but now, clearly, ready to help Emil to kick some ass!...[/caption] [caption id="attachment_17654" align="alignnone" width="1516"] ...Skiathlon kicks off but Emil runs with ole…
Read More
22Jan 2021 by DS News Team
Lahti, Skiing, COVID

Lahti, Skiing, COVID

Leaders, Newsfeed
The Lahti Ski Games, one of the most storied stages of the FIS World Cup, feels massively different this year. COVID re-writes the rules in this year of 2021. The organizers do what they can - all arriving athletes, officials and media are subjected to compulsory antigen throat swab with test facility open through the night. [caption id="attachment_17637" align="alignnone" width="1731"] ...the precautions are justified: at least one ahthlete tested positive on arrival to Lahti: first with antigen test, than more precise PCR one. Absolutely asymptomatic, apparently...[/caption] [caption id="attachment_17643" align="alignnone" width="1920"] ...Eirik Nossum, Norwegian head coach has a different story to tell. Or several. For reasons not entirely clear, he keeps on getting false-positive antigen test results. First time it happened the whole team was isolated - but by now the…
Read More
19Jan 2021 by DS News Team
No Fans At Oberstdorf 2021 After All

No Fans At Oberstdorf 2021 After All

Newsfeed
They've tried valiantly - look at the picture we illustrate this story with: see how wide apart the seats are arranged at the Oberstdorf Reid Ski Stadium? Should say " were" : the decision was announced on Tuesday afternoon and the Nordic World Ski Championships 2021 will take place without spectators present. Covid won't loose its grip on Germany, the country politicians discuss even more severe tightening of already tough lockdown. In this situation it was, probably, the only outcome - even if the championships is still 5 weeks to go.
Read More
14Jan 2021 by DS News Team
Sergey Ustiugov & Last Chance Saloon For Oberstdorf

Sergey Ustiugov & Last Chance Saloon For Oberstdorf

Leaders, Newsfeed
It was Sergey Ustiugov 's last chance to jump on a wagon, departing for Oberstdorf 2021 - and he used it with his customary flair. The world's best skier of 2016/17 had an exceptionally rough season thus far: bad case of Covid hit him in October in altitude camp in Italy and, unlike many other skiers, the Russian Bear wasn't lucky enough to recover quickly. As the result, zero international races this season while the competition within Team Russia grew tremendously. Ustiugov left the Sbornya and was preparing at home, participating in local races where stunned viewers (yes, limited amount of fans is still allowed at most ski in Russia as it is an outdoor activity) had a chance to see Ustiugov run. On Thursday the 28 year old convincingly…
Read More