Guessing the Tour de Ski: The two pursuit races were on the program in Toblach on New Year’s Day. These took place without the athletes from the Ukrainian team, who simply did not show up at the start. The world association knows nothing.
No cancellation, no explanation, no answers: The Ukrainian cross-country skiing team skipped the two pursuit races of the Tour de Ski on Wednesday and did not take part in the start. Nobody knows what exactly happened.
“To be honest, I have no idea where they are,” World Cup coordinator Doris Kallen admitted to the Swedish newspaper Expressen when asked about the Ukrainian team’s decision not to start. And FIS press spokeswoman Synne Dyrhaug also admitted: “I don’t know what happened.”
“They never showed up for the start”
Four members of the Ukrainian team were supposed to start in the two chasers on New Year’s Day, but no one showed up. All of them are listed in the result lists with a “DNS” (Did Not Start). “I don’t know where they are. They never showed up at the start,” explained tour jury boss Michal Lamplot.
This does happen sometimes, the official added. The teams usually officially announce that they are not starting. Not so this time. “There’s no rule that says you have to tell us. But on a day like this with the pursuit, it would have been good for us if the starting order was special,” said Lamplot.
It is unclear whether the hopeless sporting situation led to the Ukrainian team not starting. Before the two pursuit races, Viktoriya Olekh, Anastasiia Nikon and Sofiia Shkatula were at the bottom of the standings, more than 17 minutes behind. For men, Andriy Dotsenko and Denys Muhotinov had a similar experience. After skipping the pursuit, the Tour de Ski is now officially over for them.
Update: On Thursday evening, the Ukrainian association commented on the tour withdrawal. Coach Oleksandr Putsko explained in response to an “Expressen” request: “There was a miscommunication with the organizers. We apologize for that.” According to Putsko, the athletes were deregistered via the FIS digital registration system. However, this cancellation did not reach the tour organization.
According to Putsko, the reason for the withdrawal is the short-term change in the company’s own competition program. “We will now devote ourselves to preparing for the Junior World Championships and the remaining World Cup weekends,” he said.