As many as 50 athletes will receive points in the World Cup in the 2022–23 season. The benefit of the points obtained from the win will decrease, but the prize money will increase.
There will be a radical change in the Skiing World Cup in the 2022–23 season, when no fewer than 50 best in a single competition will receive points. In the past, the 30 fastest have reached the points.
– The nature of the competitions will change substantially. You have to go around a lot of competitions, and you don’t necessarily have to win. It can happen that the overall World Cup competition is won by an athlete who has not won a single competition, says Iltalehti’s skiing expert Reijo Jylhä.
The importance of the victory (100 World Cup points) in relation to the other top places decreases considerably, as the points drop very gently. For example, an athlete gets only five points less (95) for second place, 10 points less (90) for third place and only 20 points less (80) for fifth place than for winning the competition.
– At times we have seen a boring World Cup, when after the Tour de Ski it was possible to say that this will win the World Cup, if at all it can be done during the rest of the season. 400 World Cup points were previously awarded for winning the Tour, this season there will be 300 points, Jylhä, who has a positive attitude to the reform, estimates.
– It may very well be that the World Cup won’t be decided before the last race, he continues.
The excitement will last longer, but on the other hand, winning will suffer from inflation.
– You have to remember that you get more prize money for a single win. In the past, the winner received 10,000 Swiss francs, but this season it will be 15,000 francs. Now the runner-up gets that ten ton, Jylhä reminds.
One Swiss franc is roughly equal to one euro.
Neck numb
Iivo Niskanen does not like the change in points in the World Cup. A picture of the Olos cannon competition from the middle of November. PDO
Iivo Niskanen I don’t like the reform.
– In practice, the differences are very small if you are first or fourth. The change leads to the fact that you should ski all the time in competition, Niskanen said in October at the press conference of the Finnish Ski Association in Helsinki.
Previously, for example, the five best were awarded points as follows: 1.) 100, 2.) 80, 3.) 60, 4.) 50 and 5.) 45 points.
– Of course, this change motivates to go around the games, but it’s kind of a big punishment if you miss one weekend, Niskanen stated.
The new rule may, for example, cause corny situations at the Tour de Ski, because sometimes the women’s closing stages have had as few as 30 athletes.
– Finland’s best skiers, who have clicked quite well in individual rankings, are against change. But there are many Finns who are usually ranked 30–35, so this is a good thing for them. There is a different kind of variation in the middle caste, when practically everyone gets points for the World Cup, Jylhä commented.
Different line
The meaning of victory experiences inflation in the World Cup of Skiing. In the photo, the top trio of Falun’s World Cup sprint from last season: Joni Mäki (left), Lucas Chanavat and Richard Jouve. EPA / AOP
In the Biathlon World Cup, the point system goes in a completely different direction than in cross-country skiing.
For example, the top six in a single race receive points as follows: 90, 75, 60, 50, 45 and 40. Last season, points were awarded to the top six: 60, 54, 48, 43, 40 and 38.