Cross-country skiing: polar cold forecast
Sweden is due to launch its cross-country skiing season this Friday in Gällivare (Sweden), but the opening could be thwarted by a particularly severe cold snap. The mercury could plunge between -16°C and -23°C, flirting dangerously with the -17°C limit below which all competitions must be cancelled.
“If it’s colder than -17 degrees, we have to cancel,” event manager Mats Eklund toldExpressen. The organisers will decide on Friday morning, after taking the temperature at the low point, the high point and in the stadium, choosing the coldest of the three.
This is a potential blow as the entire Swedish national team is committed to a packed programme, including classic sprints on Friday, individual classics on Saturday and individual skateboarding on Sunday. “ It’s a real Swedish winter, freezing cold,” says Jonna Sundling, who is still hoping for a slight easing: “It would be a real shame to cancel.
Race director Leif Johansson is also cautious: “We can’t race if it’s too cold. Friday is clearly a risky day. Everything will be decided at sunrise on Friday morning, when the thermometers will tell whether or not Gällivare can launch the Swedish ski winter.
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