The Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski 2011/2012 performance by Craft Sportswear is over. The sixth edition of this unique and spectacular Cross-Country event for which the idea was born in a Norwegian sauna nine years ago.
For the first time, the Tour included 11 days of travelling, nine days of competition and two rest days. From heavy snowfall to stormy weather, a day with heavy rainy and at last sunshine in Italy, 20 nations and a total of 173 athletes embarked on the challenge in Oberhof while 18 nations and 101 finished on Alpe Cermis. These are just a few key facts from the Tour 2011/2012. But what else do we remember from the last two weeks?
1542 kilometers, or the approximate number of kilometers each team drove during the two last weeks. 17 hours in a car. Or in a bus, if you are Canadian that is. The Canadian team rented a bus with nine beds, two TVs, a massage bench, kitchen and their own “rock star” driver. Complete luxury on the road which seems to have paid off in terms of results with two Canadian athletes, Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw, amongst the top 12 in the men’s overall Tour de Ski ranking. A great result considering there were a total of three athletes participating and one of them, Ivan Babikov, was injured since Oberstdorf yet finished the race. Tough guy! They’ve sure deserved their holidays on the Canary Islands now!
The Tour de Ski 2011/2012 will be remembered as a highly exciting event. Although two athletes, Dario Cologna and Justyna Kowalcyzk, again proved to be ‘unbeatable’, great athletic performances were seen. In the 18 events that were held during the nine days, a total of seven different women were on the podium and 12 men. An interesting fact is that Marit Bjoergen and Justyna Kowalczyk were on the ladies’ podium in each stage!
The Tour de Ski has become a highly interesting sports event, for the athletes, spectators, media and sponsors alike. The overall prize money handed out during the event amounted to CHF 720'070, whilst the winners were awarded 400 World Cup points for the overall victory. Amazing numbers of spectators were reached again this year. The last stage in Val di Fiemme witnessed a new record of 30,000 visitors enjoying the day on the uphill cheering for the racers. In Norway, the country where Cross-Country Skiing was born, over 1.135 million persons (Norway has approximately 4.7 million inhabitants) watched the men’s Final Climb. This translates to a market share of 83,8%, meaning that of 100% watching TV at that time, 83,8% of them chose to watch Cross-Country Skiing. Also in Germany, the viewer figures were excellent, as the men’s final was watched by 4.32 million Germans.
All in all, the sixth edition of Tour de Ski was a great success. The future goal now is to continue to grow public interest in it. For the second time, the amateurs had the chance to race the same final stage as the athletes, just two and a half hours before the Final Climb started. “Rampa con i Campioni” was well appreciated, and had a total of 200 participants. Who won the race? Nobody else than the former world champion Odd-Bjoern Hjelmeset from Norway and the former racer Lada Nesterenko from the Ukraine.
“The Tour de Ski is becoming a real brand. I am really satisfied with its development,” stated Jürg Capol, FIS Race Director. “Cross-Country is no longer just about going into the woods and coming out to finish. We have different formats and attract thousands of fans on site or in front of TV. The Tour de Ski is our premium product and with all the facts and figures from this year’s event, I believe we are on the right way.”
