The conservative world of skiing, and here I think of Scandinavians mostly, has been reluctant about the changes with sprints, mass-starts and "Tours". I wasn't to keen myself when TDS was introduced but now I almost see it as the highlight of the season because of the many elements in it. You have to be a very allround skier to win it and if you are a good "Grimpeur" (as the French would call it) you can do a lot the last day.
FIS are trying to create something that ressembels a stage race in cycling and there's no doubt they want to borrow some cred from the massively popular TDF.
Comparing these two events is therefore interesting but doing so one has to remember that there are some huge differencies between the sports. Yes they share the fact that the athletes in the two sports are some of the toughest and most well trained you can find in the world of sports, but cycling is a team sport and cx skiing is not.
In here lies a fundamental difference in terms of mentality of the athletes. In cycling a team consists of people who's only job is to help the star to win. These guys know their place and take great pride in their task. A traditional skier is an individual with his or her agenda and that is to get a good placement for themselves first and foremost. The thing is I (and many others it seems) believe you could use a lot more tactics in competitions like TDS. Some (Northug and Cologna) are smart when it comes to tactics on an individual level whereas a guy like Hellner, who is an extremely strong skier, can learn a lot. Sweden have a lot of strong skiers and could potentially use this with team tactics. But this will of course mean that they will have to put some of the ego aside and try to support more in mass-start races.
The best example of individual thinking before team thinking I can come up with at the moment is from last years TDS where Charlotte Kalla and Anna Haag came to the finish side by side in a good lead. Charlotte was second overall and had the best chances of winning yet Anna outsprinted her and took the stage and bonus seconds.
It was understandable on an individual level and the were both shining with happiness afterwards but it was at the same time the perfect example of how little team tactics exist in this sport. But. as everything changes and who knows, next year we might see more team thinking in the future. It would be fun to watch and it would definitely piss off some of the most conservative spectators!
