Sandra Näslund, who won bronze at the Olympics and has since racked up world cup victories, is now the dominant skier at Dundret, officials said. During Friday's time trials, she had the best time, 19 hundredths ahead of German Daniela Maier, and can secure the overall world cup victory as early as Saturday, with another chance on Sunday if needed, officials noted. The ski cross competition on Dundret is a premiere, officials confirmed, though the alpine world cup circus has been to Dundret before, with Ingemar Stenmark dominating the slopes at Dundret in March 1983.
This weekend's competitions were originally supposed to be held in Idre fjäll, which has organized world cup competitions in ski cross and moguls repeatedly during the 2000s, reports indicate. Idre fjäll withdrew in October, with the Swedish Ski Association saying the decision came suddenly, while Idre fjäll says they had previously flagged that there were no economic preconditions, according to reports. Several towns were asked to host; Gällivare was selected two days before Christmas Eve, and the organizers have worked hard for three months to carry out the competition, reports state.
Markus Tjikkom, the event manager at Dundret and one of the organizers, said the organizers in Gällivare managed to arrange a world cup competition in ski cross in just three months, officials reported. Abundant snowfall earlier in the week posed an extra challenge for the organizers, officials noted. At the finish line, skiers are met by purple advertising pillars for Azerbaijan, reports indicate.
Similar signs are visible around Dundret, and advertising for Azerbaijan is also made in promotional mailings and on the official website, according to reports. The International Ski Federation (FIS) signed a five-year sponsorship agreement with Azerbaijan's state tourism agency in the summer, reports state. The Swedish Ski Association has publicly distanced itself from the sponsor, reports indicate, and according to the Swedish Ski Association, the response from the international federation has been that they do not see it the same way.
The International Ski Federation has also brought in Azerbaijan's tourism agency as a sponsor for the Ski World Championships in Falun next year, reports state.