World association puzzles
The national team is suddenly missing from the starting line
01/03/2025 – 12:03 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
The Ukrainian national cross-country skiing team caused a stir at the Tour de Ski by simply not competing in Toblach. The athletes disappeared without a trace.
The 19th edition of the Tour de Ski continued on New Year’s Day with a 15-kilometer pursuit start for women and men in South Tyrol. But there was a surprise at the event: the entire Ukrainian national team, consisting of one man and three women, was missing from the starting line in Toblach. The cross-country skiers had disappeared without a trace. The Swedish newspaper “Expressen” reported on this.
The race director of the International Ski Federation (FIS), Michael Lamplot, was astonished: “I have no idea where they went. They just never showed up at the start,” he told the newspaper. “Sometimes some teams forget to notify us. I don’t know what the reason was this time.” There is no rule that requires notification, says Lamplot. Nevertheless, according to him, it would have been good on such a day with a special starting order.
The Ukrainians had a difficult time in the first three stages. “It was a tough race for all of us. Here in Dobbiaco I have big problems at altitude,” one of the Ukrainian athletes, Viktoriia Olekh, told “Expressen” after the second stage. The two women (Olekh, Anastasia Nikon and Sofiia Shkatula) were in last place in the overall standings after the third stage on New Year’s Eve, around 17 minutes behind the leaders. Andriy Dotsenko, the only man on the team, finished second to last.
From January 3rd, the final races of the Tour de Ski will be held in Val di Fiemme, including on the Olympic courses of the 2026 Winter Games. In the women’s category, Olympic champion Victoria Carl leads the German team, while Friedrich Moch leads the men’s team difficult task: the 23-year-old sensationally took second place overall last year. However, a repeat of this success will be difficult given the strong competition.