In the recent days, there have been many articles about the future of Tour De Ski on Swedish and Norwegian sport sites. Kalla and Ebba Anderson have already announced they will not start in this year’s TDS. In Norway, Johaug is also quitting this year’s edition to focus on the WCH in Seefeld.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby has been quite vocal about the many top skiers who choose not to participate in TDS. He means that it heards the integrity of the Cross-Country World Cup, if so many top skiers choose not to participate in one of the biggest events of the World Cup.
All of this has made me think of solutions that could make Tour De Ski more relevant for the top skiers in the Cross-Country World Cup.
My first suggestion would be to place TDS in the end of the season (in March). TDS will be held every year, maybe with the exception in an Olympic year, after a WCH where many skiers are most focused on this event. The Nordic Ski World Championship could be held in the beginning of February, which would give the skiers some rest before TDS in March. The structure of the TDS will remain the same (7 stages over 8/9 days). The idea of putting TDS in the end of the World Cup season is to have an incentive for most skiers in the WC to participate because the points are so many that it is still possible to win the Overall WC, if a skier wins TDS.
My second suggestion is more radical. TDS will only be held every fourth year, all non-Olympic and non-WCH years, which thereby will create more focus on TDS. In my suggestion, I would reconstruct TDS. TDS will be held over 15-16 days, with 10-11 stages.
How a Tour De Ski could be constructed:
5 or 6 destinations
4 Sprint stages
2 freestyle and 2 classic for each gender.
3 Individual stages
Women: 10km F, 5km F, 5km C
Men: 15km F, 10km F, 10km C
2/3 “Mass start” stages
1 Skiathlon
Men: 30km (15km F/15km C)
Women: 15km (7.5km F/7.5km C)
Mass start/s
Women: 15km C, (10km F)
Men: 30km C, (20km F)
1 Pursuit stage
The alpine stage in freestyle for both men and women.
This makes a total of 10-11 stages over 15-16 days.
The style of the individual stages and mass starts can be switched every fourth year. Skiathlon can also be switched, where they start in freestyle in one year and classic in another year.
The TDS can be held outside of Europe.
I haven't giving the point system much thought. I would keep the same overall point distribution. More bonus points could be put into more stages.
At the moment TDS have more pursuit stages, personally I'm not a big fan. Pursuit is a great format for viewers when a competition is going to be decided because it's clear who is the winner. In the middle of a stage tour I feel it doesn't add any more excitement, but this is of course my own personal opinion.