World Cup season opener at Ruka Nordic
Nov 25, 2019·Cross-Country
The traditional FIS Cross-Country World Cup season start in Ruka, Kuusamo (FIN) is around the corner. Ruka Nordic awaits with crispy winter conditions and a long approved positive snow control due to an early snow fall.
On the upcoming weekend, a grand total of 11 Nordic World Cup events will take place up north as the weekend also includes competitions in Noridc Combined and Ski Jumping. No other event this season will cover more World Cup events. So a busy start awaits. We have prepared an overview of the team selections, interesting World Cup season facts and a link where to watch the live stream of Ruka Nordic in order to get you ready for a thrilling season start!
FIS Cross-Country World Cup season 2019/20 facts
Women
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg won the overall World Cup last season to claim her first career crystal globe. The 29-year-old finished in the overall top-three in each of the last four World Cup seasons, the longest active podium streak in the overall World Cup.
Østberg can become the first athlete to reach the overall World Cup podium in five consecutive seasons since Therese Johaug between 2011/12 and 2015/16.
Østberg is hoping to hand Norway its 16th overall World Cup title and the seventh in a row. No other country has won more than seven overall crystal globes (Finland) or more than three in a row (Finland, Poland, Soviet Union).
Therese Johaug
Therese Johaug won the distance World Cup last season to claim her fifth crystal globe. The 31-year-old also won the overall and distance World Cup in both 2013/14 and 2015/16.
With five globes, Johaug is in joint-fifth place all-time alongside Virpi Kuitunen. She needs one more win to join Elena Välbe (6) in fourth place.
Only Justyna Kowalczyk (4) has won the distance World Cup more often than Johaug (3). Johaug has reached the distance World Cup podium seven times, joint-most all-time alongside Marit Bjørgen.
Natalia Nepryaeva
Natalia Nepryaeva finished second in the overall World Cup last season, 223 points behind winner Ingvild Flugstad Østberg. The 24-year-old is hoping to become the first non-Norwegian winner of the overall crystal globe since Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk in 2012/13.
Nepryaeva can become the first skier from Russia to win the overall crystal globe since Julija Tchepalova in 2000/01.
Nepryaeva was the only athlete to finish in the top five of all three individual World Cup standings last season - overall (2nd), distance (3rd) and sprint (5th).
More from our female FIS Cross-Country athletes:
Stina Nilsson won the sprint World Cup title last season to become the first non-Norwegian winner of a crystal globe since USA's Kikkan Randall in 2013/14 (sprint globe).
Last season, only Therese Johaug (13) won more World Cup events (incl. Tour stages and overall Tour wins) than Nilsson (9).
Nilsson has won 26 career World Cup events (incl. Tour stages and overall Tour wins). She needs seven more victories to join Virpi Kuitunen (33) in sixth place in the all-time list.
Krista Pärmäkoski, third in the distance World Cup and second in the overall in 2016/17, is hoping to become the first athlete from Finland to win a crystal globe since Virpi Kuitunen in 2007/08 (overall and distance).
Jessica Diggins can become the second non-European athlete to win a crystal globe, after fellow American Kikkan Randall (3 between 2012 and 2014, all in the sprint).
Diggins is the only non-European skier to have won at least one World Cup event (incl. Tour stages and overall Tour wins) in each of the last four seasons.
Diggins can become the first athlete from outside of Europe to win a World Cup event (incl. Tour stages and overall Tour wins) in five consecutive campaigns. She currently shares the record of four in a row with Randall (2010/11-2013/14).
Men
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo..
..can become the third athlete to win three successive overall crystal globes after compatriot Bjørn Dæhlie (1995-1997) and Gunde Svan (1984-1986).
Only Dæhlie (6), Svan (5), Dario Cologna (4) and Martin Johnsrud Sundby (3) have won at least three overall World Cup titles.
Klæbo (23) can become the youngest athlete to claim three overall crystal globes. Svan currently holds the record as the Swede won his third overall World Cup title in 1986 at age 24.
With a total of five World Cup titles (2 overall and 3 sprint), Klæbo is in joint-fourth place all-time alongside Svaen. Only Cologna (8), Dæhlie (8) and Sundby (6) won more.
Klæbo won 14 World Cup events last season (incl. Tour stages and overall Tour wins), at least nine more than any other athlete. Alexander Bolshunov claimed five wins.
Alexander Bolshunov..
.. won the distance World Cup last season to become the second athlete from Russia to claim the distance globe, after Alexander Legkov in 2012/13.
Bolshunov finished second in the overall World Cup, 100 points behind winner Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. He could become the first skier representing Russia (since 1991) to win the overall crystal globe. Vladimir Smirnov (1990/91) and Aleksander Zavjalov (1982/83) won the overall globe representing Soviet Union.
Bolshunov was the only athlete to finish in the top five of all three individual World Cup standings last season - overall (2nd), distance (1st) and sprint (5th).
More from our FIS Cross-Country athletes:
Martin Johnsrud Sundby finished third in the distance World Cup last season. The 35-year-old has won the distance globe three times (2013/14, 2015/16, 2016/17), just one short of Dario Cologna's (4) all-time record.
Sundby and Cologna have both reached the distance World Cup podium on a record six occasions. Sundby claimed a top-three finish in each of the last six seasons, the longest running podium streak in one of the three individual World Cups.
Sundby can become the first skier to win a World Cup event (incl. Tour stages and overall Tour wins) in 12 different seasons. He currently shares the record of 11 with Northug, Tor Arne Hetland and Vladimir Smirnov.
Last season, 26 of the 32 individual World Cup events (incl. Tour stages and overall Tour wins) were won by athletes from either Norway (19) or Russia (7). The only other country to claim multiple wins was Italy (2).
Pellegrino reached the sprint World Cup podium in each of the last five seasons, the longest active podium streak in the sprint World Cup. He won the sprint globe in 2015/16.
Sergey Ustiugov has won 14 World Cup events (incl. Tour stages and overall Tour wins). The 27-year-old claimed seven of his 14 wins in the 2016/17 season. He won only two more events since, in the 2017/18 (sprint free) and 2018/19 (15km free) Tour de Ski.
Pleas find the announcements of team selections by other Ski Federations on the following links:
After the National opener competitions from 22nd to 24th November in Gällivare, the Swedish Ski Association sends a strong selection of athletes to Ruka. The entire overview can be found here.
Within the Norwegian National team, shifts have been taken place by well known athletes. However, of course in the origin country of Cross-Country skiing a long line-up of young athletes await. Those young athletes from the recruitment and junior national team wait for their chance to glance on the World Cup stage.
Find an overview of all the team selections here.
The Czech Cross-Country skiers are ready for the season start. “The vision of our Cross-Country ski team is to move one step ahead in the new season, stabilize our results and have more racers regularly coming in the top 30 places in the World Cup,” says the Sports director of Cross-Country skiers Lukáš Sacher. “Michal Novák and Kateřina Razýmová look well prepared before the season, and we hope to see them come in the top 15 places in the World Cup,” he adds.
Within the final preparations, the national team took part in the FIS race, where they placed on the top. “We have a lot to consider from this experience for the new season and I know that every racer comes to the race in the different training phase, with different materials and overall with a different approach. But the World Cup will be completely something different,” says Razýmová.
Both coaches are very pleased with the preparations of the national team. “The Boys have worked very hard when it comes to the technique but also the physical condition has improved and they are doing better than last year and that makes me happy. But only the winter season will show,” says the coach of the male national team Vasil Husák. “I am satisfied with the work and effort girls put into the training. I believe we will be able to at least connect to the last season. But like every coach I hope, this season we will have better results than in the last one” says the coach of the female national team Jan Franc.
Find the line up of the Czech National team here.
The Swiss team has announced their national team selections mid November. Nadine Fähndrich and Dario Cologna meanwhile successfully participated in the Swedish National opener in Gällivare and both stood on top of the podium. After Nathalie von Siebenthals retirement, Laurien van der Graaff and Fähndrich remain the only female athletes in the national team. However, on the mens side, a motivated young team follows the footsteps of Swiss Cross-Country icon Dario Cologna.
