2009-10-18

On Saturday December 26^th, skiers set out from Europe for competitions in Tour de Ski China. They will be on a 9 days trip with 3 days of varied cross country races where they will not only compete with each other, but also with the ever improving skiers in Chinas National Ski Team.

All in all there will be some 100 athletes, coaches, waxing staff, leaders and referees on the tour which starts with a sprint on the Inner Mongolian grass plains of Xiwuqi. The day after the sprint there will be a distance race of 4km for the men and 3km for the women. The days in Xiwuqi finishes with a dinner for the skiers hosted by the local government.

After a night in Beijing, the skiers go on to Changchun for two days of training, relaxing and New years celebrations in Changchun before taking on the last stage of classic 50km -  Vasaloppet China.

After award ceremonies and closing banquet at Shangri-la Hotel, the European skiers leave for one more day in Beijing, probably with shopping and sightseeing on the schedule before going home again.

Host for Tour de Ski China is FIS and CSA - the Chinese Ski Association. Organizers is Nordic Ways together with Xiwuqi and Changchun Municipal Government

Click HERE to see the full TDS 09-10 Program