Cross Country Skiing
Anders Blomquist backs Norwegian call for closer ties: “Ebba Andersson is a trailblazer”
November 12, 2025 / SVT Sport
SVT expert Anders Blomquist supports Team Engcon boss Jörgen Ulvang’s view that relations between long-distance (Ski Classics) teams and World Cup cross‑country skiers have become “frosty” and should be closer. He highlights Ebba Andersson—who trained with Team Engcon instead of Sweden’s altitude camp in Lavazé—as a pioneer who can improve her classic distance skiing by adopting long‑distance training, especially upper‑body strength and double‑poling. Ulvang also predicts Ski Classics could switch from classic to skate technique, while the traditional circuit’s main target this season is the Milan–Cortina 2026 Olympics.
Cross-country: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo opens up about the ruthless choices he made
November 12, 2025 / NRK Sport
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo reflects on the hard, ‘cynical’ decisions he took in the run-up to the Trondheim 2025 World Championships, including isolating from family to avoid illness and skipping the Norwegian Championships at Gåsbu. He responds to sharp criticism from the NM organizer, while revealing a shoulder issue picked up during the Tour de Ski as another reason for his absence. Despite the backlash, Klæbo says the sacrifices paid off with six golds at the home Worlds, though they came with a personal cost.
Vasaloppet course to be rerouted for 2026 to reduce water hazards: “A better experience”
November 11, 2025 / SVT Sport
Organisers will slightly reroute Sweden’s Vasaloppet for next year to avoid sections prone to pooling water in mild weather, without changing the total distance. Adjustments include the area before the first checkpoint at Smågan, preventive measures at the start in Sälen, and a straighter approach into Mora ski stadium to improve the spectator experience. Interest is surging, with over 43,000 already registered—a 14% increase year-on-year—and many first‑timers inspired by SVT’s “Mot alla odds” project.
Norwegian team boss on cooperation with national XC team: “Frosty”
November 11, 2025 / SVT Sport
Team Engcon manager Jørgen Ulvang says relations between long-distance Ski Classics teams and traditional cross-country national teams have become frosty and should improve. He applauds Swedish star Ebba Andersson training with Team Engcon in Mallorca and argues more athletes like Frida Karlsson and William Poromaa could race long-distance events if the disciplines were better aligned, especially on classic double-poling. The Ski Classics season starts on December 13 and will be broadcast by SVT.
Cross-country skiing: Veronika Stepanova backs Putin – trains alongside Norwegian skiers in Livigno
November 10, 2025 / SVT Sport
Russian cross-country skier Veronika Stepanova has publicly expressed support for Vladimir Putin and criticized former rivals, while training on the same tracks as Norwegian stars in Livigno. Norway’s Emil Iversen says it feels unusual to share tracks with Russians and supports FIS’s continued ban, contrasting it with Ukrainians’ suffering. Russian coach Yegor Sorin defends athletes’ right to praise their president and credits Putin for sports development, while Olympic champion Yulia Stupak avoids confrontation and focuses on her own training.
Cross-country skier Victoria Carl: “There are days when I want to give up”
November 10, 2025 / Sportschau (ARD)
Germany’s Olympic cross-country champion Victoria Carl has spoken publicly for the first time since her positive doping test from late June, describing the mental strain of the still-pending case. Clenbuterol was found in a sample taken at the Military World Championships in March; Carl and the German Ski Association say it came from a cough syrup administered on the team doctor’s advice. With no verdict yet and a provisional exclusion from team training and competitions, Carl fears missing the Milan–Cortina 2026 Olympics; head coach Peter Schlickenrieder criticizes the slow process.
Cross-country: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo opens up about his father's cancer: “Brutal”
November 10, 2025 / SVT Sport
Norway’s cross-country superstar Johannes Høsflot Klæbo reveals for the first time that his father, Haakon, battled serious leukemia when Johannes was a child, calling the experience “brutal.” He explains how long hospital stays brought the family closer and how his grandfather, Kåre Høsflot, became central to his early skiing, often driving him to training. The piece contextualizes the revelation with Klæbo’s dominance on snow and the looming Milano–Cortina 2026 Olympics.
Cross-country skier Savelii Korostelyov wants to compete under a neutral flag: “I have at least three Olympics ahead of me”
November 09, 2025 / SVT Sport
SVT Sport interviews Russian cross-country prospect Savelii Korostelyov, who says he would like to compete at the Olympics under neutral status but believes the chances for 2026 are very small. After FIS extended the suspension of Russian athletes, Russia’s federation appealed to CAS and listed six athletes across winter disciplines for potential neutral participation, including Korostelyov. The 21‑year‑old, a junior world champion in 2022, has trained in Europe with sponsor support, avoids political statements, and says he is motivated by future Olympic and World Championship goals.
Russian coach blasts Nordics over FIS ban: claims decision-makers were “pressured”
November 08, 2025 / Yle
At a training camp in Livigno, Italian Alps, Norwegian skier Emil Iversen crossed paths with Russian cross‑country athletes and defended the FIS decision to keep Russians banned while the war in Ukraine continues. Russian national team coach Yegor Sorin accused Norwegian and Swedish stars of politically pressuring FIS, singling out Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, while athletes Savely Korostelev and Olympic champion Julia Stupak decried ‘politicization’ and alleged Russophobia. Encounters on European training trails have been mostly polite but cool; Iversen says human rights outweigh sport and hopes peace would allow Russians to return to the World Cup.
Bert Sundström: “Then it’s hard to be an athlete in Russia”
November 08, 2025 / SVT Sport
SVT foreign correspondent Bert Sundström reacts to Russian national cross-country coach Yegor Sorin calling Russia’s Olympic exclusion “Russophobia.” Sundström says such criticism is not new and argues that athletes opposing the Kremlin would find it very hard to function in Russia. The segment frames the wider debate around FIS/IOC decisions ahead of Milano–Cortina 2026 and the pressures on Russian winter sports athletes.
Cross-country: Russian coach slams FIS ruling as “smelling of Russophobia”
November 08, 2025 / SVT Sport
Russian national team head coach Yegor Sorin criticizes the International Ski Federation’s decision to keep Russian cross‑country skiers out of the 2025–26 World Cup, which also prevents them from qualifying for the 2026 Olympics. In an interview from Livigno, he accuses Nordic athletes of pressuring FIS and calls reactions from figures like Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Linn Svahn unfair, while SVT’s foreign correspondent notes that claims of “Russophobia” are a common state narrative in Russia. Russia has appealed the FIS ban to CAS as some Russian athletes in other sports are allowed to compete neutrally at Milan–Cortina 2026.
Russia appeals Olympic exclusion to sports court CAS
November 07, 2025 / SVT Sport
The Russian Ski Association has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against FIS’s decision not to facilitate Russian and Belarusian athletes’ participation as neutral athletes at the Milano–Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. CAS confirmed receipt of the appeal, noting a recent luge case where the blanket exclusion of Russian athletes was deemed disproportionate, though international participation remains restricted on safety grounds. FIS recently resolved to bar Russian and Belarusian competitors from its Olympic disciplines due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.