Cancellation of the Cross-country Skiing World Cup in the Jura

Cross-country skiing enthusiasts will have to do without competition in the Jura. The World Cup scheduled for January 14 to 16 in the resort of Les Rousses is indeed canceled because of Covid-19, the International Ski Federation (FIS) announced on Tuesday. France will therefore have to wait a little longer, although it has not organized such an event for more than five years (Les Saisies in December 2016).

“Due to growing concerns about the organization of international events during the pandemic and the virulence of the Omicron variant, the organizing committee, the French ski federation and the national authorities have decided to cancel” the World Cup, writes the FIS in a press release. The competition was to be one of the last rehearsals for cross country skiers ahead of the Beijing Olympics (February 4-20) which must take place with very strict health restrictions.

Too much expense

“The presence of spectators, although not called into question, would entail the implementation of substantial technical and human resources to ensure the health security of each”, specify the organizers who evoke the new gauge of 5,000 people maximum for events in full air. “In addition to the concern for the health of the teams on the eve of an event not to be missed, Jura Ski Events also fears the financial consequences”, between increased expenses and lower revenues.

The Jura competition is only the third event canceled on the world circuit of all snow sports this season due to the Covid-19, after the ski jumping competitions initially scheduled for January in Sapporo and Zao in Japan. . It is also the second consecutive season that the organizers have thrown in the towel because of the pandemic. As early as May 2020, they canceled a first event scheduled for January 2021 at the “Jason Lamy-Chappuis” stadium in Tuffes, inaugurated in October 2019.