Nordic Ski World Cup in Trondheim: Even the school holidays are laid

If you arrive at Trondheim at the airport, you quickly notice that it is now in the land of cross -country skiers. Two white, parallel lines show the guests on the floor towards the exit, the “cross -country ski” is for many meters long, “ski cocks” dabbed white color blobs on the left and right. The cross -country ski run only ends with the “Angkomst Service” shortly before the output, on a purple line on which there is in capital letters.

Welcome to the home of Björn Dählie, Marit Björgen, by Petter Northug, Johannes Hösflot Kläbo and Therese Johaug. And in a city that has not only been the venue for the Nordic Ski World Championships since this Thursday, but also has a very passable mayor. In any case, Kent Ranum gave the “Mayors Anthem” on stage at the atmospheric opening ceremony at the atmospheric opening ceremony at the atmospheric opening ceremony at Trondheim’s central square Torvet, the mayor’s hymn. And even Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit clapped in the front row: “Hurray Hurray for the Sportsmanship/Hurray for the Championship/In The Middle of Norway.”

The sports spirit is conjured up at this World Cup in the middle of Norway, which at Ranum much authentic sound than before at the Ski World Association President Johan Eliasch, who cumbersome to read out of DIN-A4 sheets, how much the athletes could now shine. But in one, even the controversial official should be right: “There is no better place than a trondheim for this World Cup.”

During the opening competition, you got a little foretaste of what will come in the next one and a half weeks on Thursday. Then, when the cross -country boards are pending, with the eternal, heat Norway against Sweden. Or the 10, the 30 and especially the 50 kilometers. The cross -country sprint in men and women was now that the stands were, of course: full. In the end, the Swede Jonna Sundling won in front of the eyes of Sweden’s Monarch Carl Gustaf Gold in the women’s sprint. Crown Prince Haakon and the other 22,000 spectators in the sold-out arena drove the five-time Olympic champion Kläbo to the tenth World Cup victory of his career.

And the Germans? They all divorced in the prologue, in the quarter and semi-finals. Coletta Rydzek delivered the best competition as a eighth. And she also found in amazement: “The mood is blatant, the stadium trembles. You run here against a screaming wall. ” Others, such as Victoria Carl, who landed in 15th place, said that it was as if you were running into a football stadium, into a cauldron.

The cheer also comes with the success: in the overall World Cup of men, Kläbo is in first place, his compatriot Erik Valnes in third place, five Norwegians are in the top ten. They dominate the nation cup at will. The superiority of women is not quite as serious, but there are also three Norwegians among the top ten. And so people in their homeland expect nothing more than one for Norway in the medal mirror. But not just that.

“This will be the largest folk festival of the decade in Norway. People will talk about this for 30 years, ”said organizing committee chief Aage Skinstad before the World Cup started. They are still talking about 1997, when the Nordic Ski World Cup was held in Trondheim for the first and so far, almost 30 years ago. There were 15 competitions instead today – and the women only started cross -country skiing at the time. Other times: For the Nordic combination or even ski jumping, which are at least one level under the cross -country skiing in Norway, there was still no space for them. What did not notice any further at the time, Dählie alone won three times cross -country gold in the Norwegian flag sea.

Because of the World Cup, the school holidays are even postponed

The school holidays in Trondheim and in the province of Tröndelag were now moved back for a week because of the current World Cup in order to also let children and families participate in the competitions. Cross -country skiing is national sport, in Norway they say that the babies are born on skis. Almost every child has skis, there is skiing days at school, the sport is particularly promoted there. At the age of five or six, children have the first competitions, on Easter all of Norway is on the trail. And there is an immense number of volunteers and volunteers who are organized in clubs and help to put people of all ages on the ski. 2300 volunteers keep the World Cup running.

At the beginning of 2023, DSV head coach Peter Schlickenrieder claimed because the Norwegians ran everything in the ground again and two thirds of the prize money, a starting place limitation for them in the World Cup-which was rejected somewhat in horror in the land of fjords and polar lights. Schlickenrieder himself started in 1997, over the 30 kilometers the man from Tegernsee 47. Dählie and Thomas Alsgaard only won silver and bronze in the race for Norway because the Russian Alexei Prokourorov snapped gold. But the Russians are blocked this time.

When the German cross-country team boss Schlickenrieder talked about Trondheim shortly before this World Cup, he raved about: “For us it will be a mini Olympia. When the Norwegians camp in the forest, make campfires, play the children in the snow – then it is comparable to winter games. ”

There is a lot of forest in the hills around the granases ski center, where the Norwegian fans then simply strike in, camping, grilling, to cheer on. Even if the winter withdraws even here – rain and other thaw is predicted at the weekend: a country where the trail begins in the airport does not stop from following his longing.