1.
International Ski Federation
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International Ski Federation is the worlds highest governing body for international winter sports. Founded in 1924, it is responsible for the Olympic disciplines of Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined, the FIS is also responsible for setting the international competition rules. The organization now has a membership of 118 national ski associations and is based in Oberhofen am Thunersee, list of all hosts, FIS official website FIS Google Plus FIS Official YouTube
2.
Cross-country skiing (sport)
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Ski and Snowboard Association and Cross Country Ski Canada. International competitions include the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, the FIS Cross-Country World Cup, such races occur over homologated, groomed courses designed to support classic and freestyle events, where the skiers may employ skate skiing. Norwegian army units were skiing for sport in the 18th century, athletes train to achieve endurance, strength, speed, skill and flexibility at different levels of intensity. Offseason training often occurs on dry land, sometimes on roller skis, the organization of cross-country ski competitions aims to make those events accessible both to spectators and television audiences. As with other sports that require endurance, strength and speed, hurling themselves while racing downhill among trees without falling or breaking skis. Downhill racing on large slopes without riding or resting on their stick or falling, long racing with full military kit and a gun on the shoulder over ca.2.5 km of flat ground within 15 minutes. An early record of a ski competition was for an 1843 event in Tromsø. The announcement called the event a wagering race on skis, a distinct alpine technique emerged around 1900 from how skiing was practiced up until then when Mathias Zdarsky advocated the Lilienfelder Ski Method as an alternative to the Norwegian technique. In Norwegian, langrenn refers to competitive skiing where the goal is to complete a distance in pre-set tracks in the shortest possible time. Alpine skiing competitions existed in Norway during the 18th and 19th centuries, the alpine disciplines reemerged in Central Europe around 1920. Ski touring competitions are long-distance cross-country competitions open to the public, in the 1800s racers used a single, wooden pole, which was longer and stronger than modern poles, and could be used for braking downhill, as well. In Norway, racing with two poles met with resistance, starting in the 1880s, when some race rules forbade them, skate skiing was introduced to competition in the 20th Century. Johan Grøttumsbråten used the technique at the 1931 World Championship in Oberhof. This technique was used in ski orienteering in the 1960s on roads. Bill Koch further developed the marathon skate technique in the late 1970s, skate-skiing became widespread during the 1980s after Kochs success with it in the 1982 Cross-country Skiing Championships drew more attention to the technique. Norwegian skier, Ove Aunli, started using the technique in 1984, the Winter Olympic Games are a major international sporting event that occurs once every four years. The first Winter Olympics, the 1924 Winter Olympics, was held in Chamonix, France, Cross-country events have evolved in the Winter Olympics since 1924, as seen in the following timeline,1924 Winter Olympics, Cross-country skiing debuts. Womens Nordic skiing debuts 1956 Winter Olympics, mens 30 km,1964 Winter Olympics, Womens 5 km added
3.
Tour de France
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The Tour de France is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. The race was first organized in 1903 to increase sales for the newspaper LAuto, the race has been held annually since its first edition in 1903 except when it was stopped for the two World Wars. As the Tour gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, participation expanded from a primarily French field, as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year. The Tour is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams. Traditionally, the race is primarily in the month of July. The modern editions of the Tour de France consist of 21 day-long segments over a 23-day period, the race alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits of France. The number of teams usually varies between 20 and 22, with nine riders in each, all of the stages are timed to the finish, the riders times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race, gaining a stage win is also a hotly contested competition, fought for by a specialist cycling sprinter on each team. The Tour de France was created in 1903, the roots of the Tour de France trace back to the emergence of two rival sports newspapers in the country. On the one hand was Le Vélo, the first and the largest daily newspaper in France which sold 80,000 copies a day. On the other was LAuto, which had been set-up by journalists and business-people including Comte Jules-Albert de Dion, Adolphe Clément, the new newspaper appointed Henri Desgrange as the editor. He was a prominent cyclist and owner with Victor Goddet of the velodrome at the Parc des Princes, De Dion knew him through his cycling reputation, through the books and cycling articles that he had written, and through press articles he had written for the Clément tyre company. LAuto was not the success its backers wanted, stagnating sales lower than the rival it was intended to surpass led to a crisis meeting on 20 November 1902 on the middle floor of LAutos office at 10 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, Paris. The last to speak was the most junior there, the chief cycling journalist, Desgrange had poached him from Giffards paper. Lefèvre suggested a six-day race of the sort popular on the track, long-distance cycle races were a popular means to sell more newspapers, but nothing of the length that Lefèvre suggested had been attempted. If it succeeded, it would help LAuto match its rival and it could, as Desgrange said, nail Giffards beak shut. Desgrange and Lefèvre discussed it after lunch, Desgrange was doubtful but the papers financial director, Victor Goddet, was enthusiastic. He handed Desgrange the keys to the safe and said
4.
Czech Republic
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The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
5.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
6.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
7.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
8.
Swiss franc
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The franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein, it is also legal tender in the Italian exclave Campione dItalia. The Swiss National Bank issues banknotes and the federal mint Swissmint issues coins, the smaller denomination, a hundredth of a franc, is a Rappen in German, centime in French, centesimo in Italian, and rap in Romansh. The ISO code of the used by banks and financial institutions is CHF, although Fr. is used by most businesses and advertisers. Given the different languages used in Switzerland, Latin is used for inscriptions on the coins. In 1798, the Helvetic Republic introduced a currency based on the Berne thaler, the Swiss franc was equal to 6 3⁄4 grams of pure silver or 1 1⁄2 French francs. This franc was issued until the end of the Helvetic Republic in 1803, in order to solve this problem, the new Swiss Federal Constitution of 1848 specified that the federal government would be the only entity allowed to make money in Switzerland. This was followed two years later by the first Federal Coinage Act, passed by the Federal Assembly on 7 May 1850, the franc was introduced at par with the French franc. It replaced the different currencies of the Swiss cantons, some of which had been using a franc which was worth 1 1⁄2 French francs. In 1865, France, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland formed the Latin Monetary Union, the currency was devalued by 30% following the devaluations of the British pound, U. S. dollar and French franc. In 1945, Switzerland joined the Bretton Woods system and pegged the franc to the U. S. dollar at a rate of $1 =4.30521 francs and this was changed to $1 =4.375 francs in 1949. The Swiss franc has historically considered a safe-haven currency with virtually zero inflation. However, this link to gold, which dates from the 1920s, was terminated on 1 May 2000 following a referendum. By March 2005, following a gold selling program, the Swiss National Bank held 1,290 tonnes of gold in reserves which equated to 20% of its assets. In November 2014, the referendum on the Swiss Gold Initiative which proposed a restoration of 20% gold backing for the Swiss franc was voted down, in March 2011 the franc climbed past the US$1.10 mark. In June 2011 the franc climbed past US$1.20 as investors sought safety amidst the continuation of the Greek sovereign-debt crisis, demand for francs and franc-denominated assets was so strong that nominal short-term Swiss interest rates became negative. In response to the announcement the franc fell against the euro, to 1.22 francs from 1.12 francs, the intervention stunned currency traders since the franc had long been regarded as a safe haven. The franc fell 8. 8% against the euro,9. 5% against the dollar and it was the largest plunge of the franc ever against the euro. The SNB had previously set an exchange rate target in 1978 against the Deutsche mark and maintained it, although at the cost of high inflation
9.
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
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The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships have been held in various numbers and types of events since 1925 for men and since 1954 for women. Championship events include nordic skiings three disciplines, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and nordic combined, from 1924 to 1939, the World Championships were held every year, including the Winter Olympics. After World War II, the World Championships were held four years from 1950 to 1982. Since 1985, the World Championships have been held in odd-numbered years, in the years 1925–1927, the FIS referred to these events as Rendezvous races. During the periods of 1929–1931 and 1933–1935, the FIS referred to these events as FIS races and this event has been officially referred to as the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships since 1937. The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1941 were declared a non-event by the FIS at their 1946 meeting, the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1980 consisted of a womens 20 km cross-country event because it was not included in the program of the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid
10.
Barents Region
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Among the projects is the Barents Road from Bodø in Norway through Haparanda in Sweden and Finland to Murmansk in Russia. One concrete sign of the communication within the region is the establishment in 2006 of an IKEA store in Haparanda, targeting customers 500 km away in Murmansk. The region has six million inhabitants on 1.75 million km2, the regional cooperation was formally opened on January 11,1993, initiated by Norway under foreign minister Thorvald Stoltenberg. The four countries take turns at chairing the cooperation, norways participation is coordinated from the Norwegian Barents Secretariat in Kirkenes. Swedens and Finlands participation is administrated from the county administrations in Umeå and this Secretariat is located in Kirkenes in the same building as the Norwegian Barents Secretariat. The Barents cooperation area is 1. 75mn km2 in total, the Regional Committee is responsible for preparing the meetings of the Regional Council and for implementing the decisions taken by the Regional Council. The Barents Regional Council consists of 13 member counties/regions/indigenous peoples in Finland, Norway, Russia, Finland, Oulu Region, Lapland and Kainuu, North Karelia region has an observer status. Russia, Arkhangelsk, Karelia, Komi, Murmansk and Nenets, Sweden, Norrbotten and Västerbotten The indigenous peoples of the Sami, Nenets and Veps also have their own representatives at the regional cooperation. The Chairmanship of the Regional Committee is held by the county as that of the Regional Council. The chairmanships 2015 –2017 are in the Kainuu region, Finland, the previous three chairmanships were as follows, Arkhangelsk region of Russia 2013-2015 Norrbotten of Sweden in 2011-2013 Troms Kainuu region in Finland between the years of 2015-2017. BRC has formulated a vision of the seven principles and goals in the regional cooperation, first principle is that the well-being of the regions inhabitants should be the basis for all the actions that are carried through the Barents regional cooperation. Second principle calls out for the improvement of the cooperation between the people involved and this should not be depended on the hierarchy or the level of the person in neither his / her own organisation nor in the BRC cooperation. Third principle notes that the capable and able actor’s on the regional and national spheres should cooperate towards common goals and this enables the betterment of the procedures at the border crossing in both on the individual and imported / exported goods level. Fourth principle demands the preservation of the culture, unique customs. Helping to create connections and commitments amongst the people is of great importance. Fifth principle acknowledges the political capital that the Barents Regional Council has, the BRC also calls out for these actors to emphasize the sustainability in these development actions. The basis of the prioritized areas Barents Programme of 2014 –2018 can be found from the principles of the BRC. The themes for the 2014 –2018 are economy, environment, education and research, mobility, Economic growth and the essentiality of it are the key factors for the regional development in the region of Barents
11.
Kirkenes
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Kirkenes is a town in Sør-Varanger Municipality in Finnmark county, in the far northeastern part of Norway. The town lies on a peninsula along the Bøkfjorden, an arm of the large Varangerfjorden, the main church for Kirkenes is Kirkenes Church, located in the Haganes area of the town. The 2. 15-square-kilometre town has a population of 3,498, when the neighbouring suburban villages of Hesseng, Sandnes, and Bjørnevatn are all included with Kirkenes, the urban area reaches a total population of almost 8,000 people. The area around Kirkenes was a common Norwegian–Russian district until 1826, the original name of the peninsula was Piselvnes, but this was changed to Kirkenes after the Kirkenes Church was built here in 1862. Reportedly, Kirkenes is second after Malta on a list of European towns experiencing air-raid alarms and attacks, the town was taken over by the Red Army on 25 October 1944 when the German Wehrmacht was pushed out and fled the area after having destroyed most of the remaining infrastructure. Only 13 houses survived the war, close to the town there is a memorial to 11 freedom fighters who helped the partisans collect information about the German occupation. In the summer of 1943, their activities were discovered and many of them were sent to a camp near Kirkenes. Following a court-martial the 11 were sentenced to death and were killed near the spot on 18 August 1943. When the common grave was opened in 1946 it was found that the men had beaten to death. Following the post mortem and memorial service, the bodies were returned to their homesteads, the majority of the inhabitants of Kirkenes are of a Norwegian background, and a minority is Sami. Others are originally from Finland, either members of the Kven population or of an influx of more or less recent Finnish immigrants. Also, about 500 people are relatively recent Russian immigrants, the town has also become a major border crossing point for Syrian refugees, with hundreds per week crossing the border on bikes. Kirkenes is located in the northeastern part of Norway on the Bøkfjorden, a branch of the Varangerfjorden. The town is situated about 400 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, Kirkenes is located just east of the 30th meridian east. As a result, it is further east than Istanbul, which one of the European borders with Asia. The easternmost point of Norway and the municipality is also at a point further east than Saint Petersburg, unlike the vast majority of Norway, Kirkenes is located east of the neighbouring country of Finland. Because of this, travelling directly west from Kirkenes actually changes the time zone forward instead of backward, travelling directly east from Kirkenes changes the time zone forward by an hour in summer, but by two in winter. It also shares time zones with Galicia in Spain, in spite of a time difference of 2½ hours
12.
Finnmark
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Finnmark is a county in the extreme northeastern part of Norway. By land, it borders Troms county to the west, Finland to the south, and Russia to the east, and by water, the Norwegian Sea to the northwest, the county was formerly known as Finmarkens amt or Vardøhus amt. Since 2002, it has had two names, Finnmark and Finnmárku. It is part of the Sápmi region, which spans four countries, as well as the Barents Region, Vardø, the easternmost municipality in Norway, is located farther east than the cities of St. Petersburg and Istanbul. The Old Norse form of the name was Finnmǫrk, the first element is finn, the Norse name for the Sámi people. The last element is mǫrk which means woodland or borderland, in Norse times the name referred to any places where Sámi people were living. The coat of arms are black with a castle tower, technically described as Sable. The design is from 1967 and shows the old Vardøhus Fortress on the border with Russia. Finnmark is the northernmost and easternmost county in Norway, by area, Finnmark is Norways largest county, even larger than the neighboring country of Denmark. However, with a population of about 75,000, it is also the least populated of all Norwegian counties, Finnmark has a total coastline of 6,844 kilometres, including 3,155 kilometres of coastline on the islands. Nearly 12,300 people or 16.6 percent of the population in 2000 was living in the 100-meter belt along the coastline. Honningsvåg in Finnmark claims to be the northernmost city of the world, the coast is indented by large fjords, many of which are false fjords, as they are not carved out by glaciers. The highest point is located on the top of the glacier Øksfjordjøkelen, which has an area of 45 square kilometres, both Øksfjordjøkelen and Seilandsjøkelen are located in the western part of Finnmark. The Øksfjord plateau glacier calved directly into the sea until 1900, the central and eastern part of Finnmark is generally less mountainous, and has no glaciers. The land east of Nordkapp is mostly below 300 m, the nature varies from barren coastal areas facing the Barents Sea, to more sheltered fjord areas and river valleys with gullies and tree vegetation. About half of the county is above the line. This valley has the highest density of Brown bears in Norway, lynx and moose are common in large parts of Finnmark, but rare on the coast. The interior parts of the county are part of the great Finnmarksvidda plateau, with an elevation of 300 to 400 m, with numerous lakes, the plateau is famous for its tens of thousands of reindeer owned by the Sami, and swarms of mosquitos in mid-summer
13.
Murmansk
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The city is named for the Murman Coast, Murman is itself an older Russian term for Norwegians. Although Murmansks population is in decline—299,148,307, 257 ,336, 137 ,468, Murmansk was the last city founded in the Russian Empire. On June 29,1916, Russian Transport Minister Alexander Trepov petitioned to grant urban status to the railway settlement, on July 6,1916, the petition was approved and the town was named Romanov-on-Murman, after the imperial Russian dynasty of Romanovs. On September 21,1916, the ceremony was performed. After the February Revolution of 1917, on April 3,1917, in the winter of 1917 the British North Russia Squadron under Rear Admiral Thomas Kemp was established at Murmansk. From 1918 to 1920, during the Russian Civil War, the town was occupied by the Western powers, who had allied in World War I. On February 13,1926, local self-government was organized in Murmansk for the first time, during a session of the Murmansk City Soviet. Prior to this, the city was governed by the authorities of Alexandrovsky Uyezd, while this plan was not confirmed by the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee, in 1935–1937 several rural localities of Kolsky and Polyarny Districts were merged into Murmansk anyway. According to the Presidium of the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee resolution of February 26,1935, however, the provisions of the resolution were not fully implemented, and due to military construction in Polyarnoye, the administrative center was instead moved to Murmansk in the beginning of 1935. In addition to being the center of Murmansk Okrug, Murmansk also continued to serve as the administrative center of Polyarny District until September 11,1938. This status was retained when Murmansk Okrug was transformed into Murmansk Oblast on May 28,1938, the supplies were brought to the city in the Arctic convoys. For the rest of the war, Murmansk served as a point for weapons. This unyielding, stoic resistance was commemorated at the 40th anniversary of the victory over the Germans in the designation of Murmansk as a Hero City on May 6,1985. During the Cold War Murmansk was a center of Soviet submarine, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the nearby city and naval base of Severomorsk remains the headquarters of the Russian Northern Fleet. In 1974, a massive 35. 5-meter tall statue Alyosha, in 1984, the Hotel Arctic, now known as Azimut Hotel Murmansk, opened and became the tallest building above the Arctic Circle. Within the framework of administrative divisions, it is incorporated as the City of Murmansk—an administrative unit with the equal to that of the districts. As a municipal division, the City of Murmansk is incorporated as Murmansk Urban Okrug and they were abolished on June 2,1948. The same city districts were created for the time on June 23,1951
14.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
15.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
16.
Jens Arne Svartedal
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Jens Arne Svartedal is a Norwegian cross-country skier who has competed since 1996. He represents Trøsken IL from Sarpsborg in Norway and his greatest achievement is winning the individual sprint gold medal at the 2007 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Sapporo. He also has a medal in the Team sprint event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Svartedal has 17 cross country victories since 2001, mostly in the sprint races, two of those wins were in the sprint events at the Holmenkollen Ski Festival. Jens Arne Svartedal at the International Ski Federation Holmenkollen winners since 1892 - click Vinnere for downloadable pdf file
17.
Tobias Angerer
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Tobias Angerer is a German cross-country skier, and skies with the SC Vachendorf club. He graduated from the Skigymnasium Berchtesgaden in 1996, Angerer has been competing since 1996. Angerer turned 18 in 1995 in his first big event, the 10K classical at the FIS World Junior Championships in Asiago, Italy. The next year he took a 26th place on the 30 km freestyle and his first victory in the FIS World Cup came on 6 January 2004 in Falun, Sweden, when he won the 2×15 km double pursuit in front of Italys Pietro Piller Cottrer. Angerer goes by the name Toby rather than Tobias and he has won the overall FIS World Cup twice, first in 2005/2006 and again in 2006/2007. The first year he won ahead of Jens Arne Svartedal in the second place, in the 2006/2007 event, Angerer beat number two, Russias Alexander Legkov with 551 points and Eldar Rønning finished in third position. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, he won a medal in the 15 km classical interval start event. In 2007 Angerer became the first winner of Tour de Ski mens event, Angerer has six medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, with four silvers and two bronzes. Angerer has 22 World Cup podiums and nine World Cup victories, four of the wins which were in 2×15 km double pursuit, sportmarketing GmbH, which also manage Michael Greis, Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle, and René Sommerfeldt. Official website Tobias Angerer at the International Ski Federation
18.
Expressen
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Expressen is one of two nationwide evening tabloid newspapers in Sweden, the other being Aftonbladet. Expressen was founded in 1944, its symbol is a wasp, the first edition of Expressen was released on 16 November 1944. A main feature that day was an interview with the members of a British bomber who were successful in sinking the German ship Tirpitz. The editor in chief of Expressen is Thomas Mattsson, the paper is owned by the Bonnier Group. As of 2005 the paper had a stance, but it declared its independent leaning in 1995. Through mergers, the Gothenburg edition of Expressen is titled GT and the Malmö edition is titled Kvällsposten, Expressen maintains a centre-right political profile, describing its editorial position as independent liberal, while the competitor Aftonbladet is social-democratic. Ownership of Expressen is controlled by the Bonnier family, while Aftonbladet is owned jointly by Swedish trade unions, in 1998 the circulation of Expressen was 316,000 copies on weekdays and 396,000 copies on Sundays. The paper had a circulation of 334,000 copies in 2001, the 2004 circulation of the paper was 335,000 copies. It was 339,400 copies on weekdays in 2005, the 2010 circulation of the paper was 270,900 copies. In September 2016, Expressen published a column in which columnist Cecilia Hagen called political opponents rats, proceeded to ask how to get rid of them and its editorial offices are in Malmö and the editor in chief is Martin Kroon. Göteborgs-Tidningen or GT was a newspaper founded in Gothenburg in 1902. GT was owned by Göteborgs Handels- och Sjöfartstidning, but in 1973 acquired by Göteborgs-Posten, in 1998, Bonnier AB bought the newspaper and since then it has become a local edition of Expressen. GTs headquarters in Gothenburg and its editor in chief is Frida Boisen, list of Swedish newspapers Expressen, official website GT, official website Kvällsposten, official website
19.
Der Spiegel
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Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europes largest publications of its kind, with a circulation of 840,000. Spiegel Online, the sibling of Der Spiegel, was launched in 1994 with an independent editorial staff. Typically, the magazine has a content to advertising ratio of 2,1, Der Spiegel is known in German-speaking countries mostly for its investigative journalism. It has played a key role in uncovering many political scandals such as the Spiegel scandal in 1962, according to The Economist, Der Spiegel is one of continental Europes most influential magazines. The first edition of Der Spiegel was published in Hanover on Saturday,4 January 1947 and its release was initiated and sponsored by the British occupational administration and preceded by a magazine titled Diese Woche, which had first been published in November 1946. After disagreements with the British, the magazine was handed over to Rudolf Augstein as chief editor, from the first edition in January 1947, Augstein held the position of editor-in-chief, which he retained until his death on 7 November 2002. After 1950, the magazine was owned by Rudolf Augstein and John Jahr, in 1969, Augstein bought out Gruner + Jahr for DM42 million and became the sole owner of Der Spiegel. In 1971, Gruner + Jahr bought back a 25% share in the magazine, in 1974, Augstein restructured the company to make the employees shareholders. All employees with more than three years seniority were offered the opportunity to become an associate and participate in the management of the company, since 1952, Der Spiegel has been headquartered in its own building in the old town part of Hamburg. From 15,000 copies in 1947, it grew to 65,000 in 1948 and 437,000 in 1961 and it was nearly 500,000 copies in 1962. By the 1970s, it had reached a plateau at about 900,000 copies, when the German re-unification in 1990 made it available to a new readership in former East Germany, the circulation exceeded one million. Since 1988, it has produced the TV programme Spiegel TV, during the second quarter of 1992 the circulation of Der Spiegel was 1.1 million copies. In 1994, Spiegel Online was launched and it has separate and independent editorial staff from Der Spiegel. In 1999 the circulation of Der Spiegel was 1,061,000 copies, Der Spiegel had an average circulation of 1,076,000 copies in 2003. In 2007 the magazine started a new regional supplement in Switzerland and it was the first regional supplement of the magazine which covers 50-page review of Switzerland. In 2010 Der Spiegel was employing the equivalent of 80 full-time fact checkers, the same year it was the third best-selling general interest magazine in Europe with a circulation of 1,016,373 copies. When Stefan Aust took over in 1994, the magazines readers realised that his personality was different from his predecessor, in 2005, a documentary by Stephan Lamby quoted him as follows, We stand at a very big cannon
20.
Oberstdorf
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Oberstdorf is a municipality and skiing and hiking town in southwest Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. Oberstdorf is one of the highest market towns in Germany, the southernmost point in Germany is located in the municipality. At the center of Oberstdorf is a church whose tall spire serves as a landmark for navigating around town, the summits of the Nebelhorn and Fellhorn provide dramatic panoramic views of the alps. The Nebelhorn can be reached with a big cable car, visitors can ride a unique diagonal elevator to the top of the Heini-Klopfer-Skiflugschanze. Oberstdorf consists of the village of Oberstdorf and five other villages, in the vicinity is the Söllereckbahn and the Chapel of St. Fabian and St. Sebastian which is rich in art treasures. In Reichenbach is the 450-year-old Chapel of St. James and the Moorwasser swimming pool, the little hamlet of Rubi has 175 inhabitants. Typical of Schöllang are the houses around the Baroque onion tower of the parish church. In the vicinity is the 1531 castle church, the village of Tiefenbach takes its name from trees called Bergkiefer. The village lies on a terrace above the Breitach stream, Tiefenbach has a centuries-old spa tradition thanks to its sulphur spring. As early as the late 15th century counts and other high-ranking people convalesced here to cure their illnesses, there is a large number of valleys in the area around Oberstdorf, many of which are not only scenic, but are often starting points for walks in the mountains. Gerstruben, Germanys highest village, lies at the entrance to the Dietersbachtal, the Rappenalptal is the longest and runs from Germanys southernmost village, Einödsbach, past the Haldenwanger Eck, Germanys southernmost point. At the end of the valley the Schrofen Pass leads to Austria, the Allgäu Alps in the area around Oberstdorf attain heights of over 2,600 metres and belong to the Northern Limestone Alps. There is also a ski flying hill, Heini-Klopfer-Skiflugschanze, about seven kilometres to the south, aBCs Wide World of Sports famously featured the Oberstdorf ski flying hill when Vinko Bogataj fell during his jump in 1970, thus becoming known as The Agony of Defeat. Germanys modern figure skating center was built on the outside of the town and it has three covered rinks and some of them are accessible to the public, for recreational skating. It is a destination with European skaters for training camps. Oberstdorf hosts the annual Nebelhorn Trophy figure skating competition and has hosted the German Figure Skating Championships twelve times and it has also hosted the 1982,2000, and 2007 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Mountain bikers start their Transalp tour in Oberstdorf on the Schrofen Pass to Riva del Garda, the famous alpinist Andreas Heckmair, who participated in the first ascent of the North Face of the Eiger in 1938 lived in Oberstdorf until his death in 2005. Gertrud von Le Fort author, lived in Oberstdorf from 1925 till her death on 1 Nov 1971 The ski mountaineer and extreme sports athlete Toni Steurer was born in Oberstdorf
21.
Bavaria
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Bavaria is a free state and one of 16 federal states of Germany. Located in the German southeast with an area of 70,548 square kilometres and its territory comprises roughly a fifth of the total land area of Germany, and, with 12.9 million inhabitants, it is Germanys second most populous state. Munich, Bavarias capital and largest city, is the third largest city in Germany, the Duchy of Bavaria dates back to the year 555. In the 17th century CE, the Duke of Bavaria became a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Bavaria existed from 1806 to 1918, when Bavaria became a republic. In 1946, the Free State of Bavaria re-organised itself on democratic lines after the Second World War, Bavaria has a unique culture, largely because of the states Catholic majority and conservative traditions. Bavarians have traditionally been proud of their culture, which includes such as Oktoberfest. The state also has the second largest economy among the German states by GDP figures, modern Bavaria also includes parts of the historical regions of Franconia, Upper Palatinate and Swabia. The Bavarians emerged in a north of the Alps, previously inhabited by Celts. The Bavarians spoke Old High German but, unlike other Germanic groups, rather, they seem to have coalesced out of other groups left behind by Roman withdrawal late in the 5th century. These peoples may have included the Celtic Boii, some remaining Romans, Marcomanni, Allemanni, Quadi, Thuringians, Goths, Scirians, Rugians, the name Bavarian means Men of Baia which may indicate Bohemia, the homeland of the Celtic Boii and later of the Marcomanni. They first appear in written sources circa 520, a 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the diocese was named after an ancient Bohemian king, Boiia, in the 14th century BCE. From about 554 to 788, the house of Agilolfing ruled the Duchy of Bavaria and their daughter, Theodelinde, became Queen of the Lombards in northern Italy and Garibald was forced to flee to her when he fell out with his Frankish overlords. Garibalds successor, Tassilo I, tried unsuccessfully to hold the frontier against the expansion of Slavs. Tassilos son Garibald II seems to have achieved a balance of power between 610 and 616, after Garibald II little is known of the Bavarians until Duke Theodo I, whose reign may have begun as early as 680. From 696 onwards he invited churchmen from the west to organize churches and his son, Theudebert, led a decisive Bavarian campaign to intervene in a succession dispute in the Lombard Kingdom in 714, and married his sister Guntrud to the Lombard King Liutprand. At Theodos death the duchy was divided among his sons, at Hugberts death the duchy passed to a distant relative named Odilo, from neighbouring Alemannia. He was defeated near Augsburg in 743 but continued to rule until his death in 748, saint Boniface completed the peoples conversion to Christianity in the early 8th century. Bavaria was in ways affected by the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century
22.
German Ski Association
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The German Ski Association is the national governing body for skiing in Germany. The organisation was founded in 1905 among local ski clubs, the German Ski Association represents international interests of the German skiing and trains athletes and trainers. The DSV headquarters are located in Planegg, south of Munich, current DSV president is Alfons Hörmann
23.
Venice
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Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
24.
Giro d'Italia
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The Giro dItalia is an annual multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. The first race was organized in 1909 to increase sales of the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, the race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, except when it was stopped for the two world wars. As the Giro gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, the Giro is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the race are mostly UCI Proteams, with the exception of the teams that the organizers can invite. Along with the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, the Giro makes up cyclings prestigious three-week-long Grand Tours, the Giro is usually held during late May and early June. While the route each year, the format of the race stays the same. Like the other Grand Tours, the editions of the Giro dItalia normally consist of 21 day-long segments over a 23-day period that includes 2 rest days. All of the stages are timed to the finish, after finishing the riders times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race, Italian rider Vincenzo Nibali was the victor in the 2016 edition of the race. At the time La Gazzettas rival, Corriere della Sera was planning on holding a race of its own. Morgagni then decided to try and hold their race before Corriere della Sera could hold theirs, however, after the success La Gazzetta had with creating the Giro di Lombardia and Milan–San Remo, the owner Costamagna decided to go through with the idea. Their bike race was announced on August 7,1908 in the first page of that edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport. The race was to be held in May of 1909, the idea of the race was inspired by the Tour de France and the success that LAuto had gained from it. Since the organizers lacked the funds,25,000 lire, needed to hold the race, they consulted Primo Bongrani, Bongrani proceeded to go around Italy asking for donations to help hold the race. Bongranis efforts were successful, he had procured enough money to cover the operating costs. The money that was to be out as prizes came from a casino in San Remo after Francesco Sghirla. Even Corriere, La Gazzettas rival, gave 3,000 lire to the races fund, on 13 May 1909 at 02,53 am 127 riders started the first Giro dItalia at Loreto Place in Milan. The race was split into eight stages covering 2,448 km, a total of 49 riders finished, with Italian Luigi Ganna winning. Ganna won three stages and the General Classification
25.
Road bicycle racing
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Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events. Professional racing has been most popular in Western Europe, centered historically on France, Spain, Italy, since the mid-1980s the sport has diversified with professional races now held on all continents of the globe. Semi-professional and amateur races are held in many countries. The sport is governed by the Union Cycliste Internationale, as well as the UCIs annual World Championships for men and women, the biggest event is the Tour de France, a three-week race that can attract over 500,000 roadside supporters a day. Road bicycle racing began as a sport in 1868. The first world championship was in 1893 and cycling has been part of the Olympic Games since the sequence started in Athens in 1896. Road racing in its modern form originated in the late 19th century, the sport was popular in the western European countries of France, Spain, Belgium, and Italy. Some of Europes earliest road bicycle races remain among the sports biggest events and these early races include Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Paris–Roubaix, the Tour de France, the Milan–San Remo and Giro di Lombardia, the Giro dItalia, the Volta a Catalunya, and the Tour of Flanders. They provided a template for other races around the world, while the sport has spread throughout the world, these historic races remain the most prestigious for a cyclist to win. Single-day race distances may be as long as 150 miles, races over short circuits, often in town or city centres, are known as criteriums. Individual time trial is an event in which cyclists race alone against the clock on flat or rolling terrain, a team time trial, including two-man team time trial, is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock. In both team and individual time trials, the start the race at different times so that each start is fair. Race distances vary from a few km to between approximately 20 miles and 60 miles, stage races consist of several races, or stages, ridden consecutively. The competitor with the lowest cumulative time to all stages is declared the overall, or general classification. Stage races may also have other classifications and awards, such as stage winners, the points classification winner. A stage race can also be a series of road races, the stage winner is the first person to cross the finish line that day or the time trial rider with the lowest time on the course. The overall winner of a race is the rider who takes the lowest aggregate time to complete all stages
26.
Justyna Kowalczyk
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Justyna Kowalczyk is a Polish cross country skier who has been competing since 2000. Kowalczyk is a double Olympic Champion and a double World Champion and she is also the only skier who won the Tour de Ski four times in a row and one of two female skiers, who won the FIS Cross-Country World Cup three times in a row. Kowalczyk holds the record for the most wins in Tour de Ski with 14 competitions won and 29 podiums in total. She also won the Vasaloppet womens edition in 2015 and she is a member of cross country ski department of AZS AWF Katowice and is coached by Aleksander Wierietielny. Kowalczyk finished second in the sprint at the 2002 World Junior Championships. She finished 31st in the sprint event at the 2003 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. Recently in Canmore, Canada, on 22 January 2008, Justyna Kowalczyk won the race for her second World Cup triumph and she followed in Canmore with two more bronze medals in the same World Cup event. Kowalczyk was 3rd in the 2007 World Cup and she has also won thirty individual events at various distances and levels since 2001. At the 2009 world championships in Liberec, Kowalczyk won two medals, one in the womens pursuit, and another one in the 30 km mass start. She also secured a medal in the 10 km classical event. She won the overall 2008–09 Cross-Country Skiing World Cup, on 24 March 2009, Kowalczyk was awarded the Knights Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. On 27 February 2010, Kowalczyk beat Norways Marit Bjørgen by 0.3 seconds to win the medal in the womens 30 km classical event in the 2010 Winter Olympics. She posted a time of one hour,30 minutes,33.7 seconds and she earned two more medals in Vancouver, taking silver behind Bjørgen in the individual sprint classic on February 17,2010, and bronze in the 15 km pursuit on February 19,2010. Kowalczyk won the 10 km classical race in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi on a broken foot and she did not finish 30 km freestyle race. On February 22,2015 won bronze medal of the World Championship 2015 in team sprint with Sylwia Jaśkowiec in Falun and she won the Vasaloppet ski marathon in 2015 with a time of 4,41,02. Kowalczyk graduated from the Jerzy Kukuczka University of Physical Education in Katowice with an M. A. Dexamethason is a substance that is allowed Out-of-Competition but prohibited In-Competition. It acts as an anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant, Kowalczyk used the substance to alleviate an Achilles tendon condition. On 13 June 2005, the FIS Doping Panel issued a suspension for Kowalczyk
27.
Dario Cologna
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Dario Cologna is a Swiss cross-country skier. He has four overall World Cup victories, three Olympic gold medals, one World Championships gold medal and three Tour de Ski victories in his career so far. Cologna debuted in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Kuusamo in November 2006, during the 2007–08 season, Cologna finished in the top ten four times and placed 37th overall. In December 2008, Cologna took his first world cup podium finish with a place in the 30-kilometre competition in La Clusaz. He went on to win the 2008–09 Tour de Ski in January 2009, Cologna also won the overall 2008–09 World Cup with more than 100 points in front of the second place after placing 2 times first and other 3 times on the podium. He finished the 2009–10 FIS Cross-Country World Cup fourth, winning a race and he also came in third in the 2009–10 Tour de Ski. In the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics he won the medal in the mens 15km freestyle event. Cologna is the first Swiss to win a cross-country skiing gold medal at the Winter Olympics, Cologna won the 2010–11 FIS Cross-Country World Cup with more than 300 points ahead of Petter Northug, who came second. In this season he won four races and took six podiums. During the 2011–12 FIS Cross-Country World Cup season, Cologna won three races and took seven additional podium positions, on January 8,2012 Cologna took his third Tour de Ski win in Val di Fiemme, winning the 2011–12 Tour de Ski. He finished more than a minute ahead of everyone else, with Marcus Hellner being second, with this performance, Cologna won his third Tour de Ski overall win, being the only male athlete to ever have done so. He also snatched the yellow jersey becoming world no.1 in the 2011–12 FIS Cross-Country World Cup as of January 8,2012, at the World Championships 2013 in Val di Fiemme Cologna won the 30 km pursuit. He won the 30 km skiathlon at the Sochi Olympics, later in the games he successfully defended his title from the Vancouver Olympics in the 15 km race source, Updated on 18 March 2013 He is the older brother of Swiss skier Gianluca Cologna. Official website Dario Cologna at the International Ski Federation
28.
Virpi Sarasvuo
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Virpi Katriina Sarasvuo is a Finnish former cross-country skier who competed from 1995 to 2010. She won a medal in the team sprint event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. Four years later in Vancouver, Kuitunen won another bronze, this time in the 4 ×5 km relay, Kuitunen has eight medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with six golds, one silver, one bronze. She also has thirty-four additional individual victories at various levels of various distances since 2000, Kuitunen won the first ever Tour de Ski competition for women in 2006–07, winning over Norways Marit Bjørgen by 1,17.5. She also won the overall 2006–07 Cross-Country Skiing World Cup, as well as the sprint World Cup the same season, in the season 2007–08 Kuitunen won the overall again. Because of Kuitunens successes in cross-country skiing in 2007, she was awarded Finnish Sportswoman of the Year, Kuitunen also won the Tour de Ski in 2008–09. Virpi Kuitunen married Jari Sarasvuo on 16 July 2010, at the 2001 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti, Kuitunen was disqualified when she tested positive for hydroxyethyl starch, a banned blood plasma expander. This forced her to relinquish her silver medal earned in the 4 x 5 km, all results are sourced from the International Ski Federation. 5 titles –27 victories –52 podiums – Note, Until 1999 World Championships, hence results from 1999 World Championships races are included in the World Cup overall record. 2 medals –8 medals – Virpi Sarasvuo at the International Ski Federation Tour de Virpi report – Accessed 11 January 2007, media related to Virpi Sarasvuo at Wikimedia Commons
29.
Therese Johaug
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Therese Johaug is a Norwegian cross-country skier who has competed for the clubs Tynset IF and IL Nansen. In world championships she has won four gold medals along with three gold medals in relays and she is a three-time Olympic medallist. After skiing some domestic races in the 2006 season, Johaug took part at the Norwegian Championships in 2007, winning a bronze at the 7.5 km +7.5 km double pursuit event. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, she won gold in the 4 x 5 km relay, came sixth in the 15 km pursuit, Johaug won her first individual gold medal in the 30 km mass start race at the 2011 World Championships in Oslo. She also won gold in the 4 x 5 km relay, bronze in the 7.5 km +7.5 km double pursuit, at the 2013 World Championships she won her second individual gold medal in the 10 km freestyle race. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, she won the medal in the 30 km mass start. Johaug and compatriot Martin Johnsrud Sundby became the first Norwegians to win the Tour de Ski when they won the womens and mens competitions in the 2013-14 edition of the race, Johaug subsequently won the overall and distance competitions in the 2013–14 FIS Cross-Country World Cup. She won the Birkebeinerrennet ski marathon in 2015 with a time of 2.41.46, until 2016 Egil Kristiansen coached Johaug, and was described as in reality her best coach. On 13 October 2016, it was made public that Johaug had tested positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol which is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. In a press conference the day, Johaug said that the presence of the substance was due to using the salve Trofodermin for her sore. The positive test was taken on 16 September, bendiksen resigned his position with immediate effect. On 19 October Johaug was suspended by Anti-Doping Norway for two months while the case was investigated further, all results are sourced from the International Ski Federation
30.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby
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Martin Johnsrud Sundby is a Norwegian cross-country skier who has competed since 2003. He is the silver medalist of the 2010 Winter Olympics in the team relay and he is the first Norwegian to have won the Tour de Ski. Sundby got his breakthrough when he won his first individual victory on 30 November 2008 in Kuusamo. The victory was regarded as a surprise, despite Sundby delivering several solid displays in earlier races. At lower levels, Sundby has won a sprint event in 2003, a 30 km Scandinavian Cup race in 2007. He later won the sprint event at the test event in Liberec. Sundby and compatriot Therese Johaug became the first Norwegians to win the Tour de Ski when they won the mens, Sundby subsequently won the overall and distance competitions in the 2013–14 FIS Cross-Country World Cup. He also won the 2016 Tour de Ski, in addition to his Tour de Ski victories, Sundby won the inaugural Ski Tour Canada, despite starting behind Sergey Ustiugov and Petter Northug on the final stage. Despite his overwhelming World Cup success, Sundby has never won a gold medal at a World Championships or Olympics. On 20 July 2016 Johnsrud Sundby was banned from sports for 2 months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport for a rule violation. The CAS panel decided that the meaning was the former. For this and other reasons, including that Sundby declared salbutamol at the time of the test, as the tests were taken in competition, the two results were automatically stripped. This led to Sundby losing the 2015 Tour de Ski title, apart from the subsequent stages of the 2015 Tour the Ski, no other results were affected. His short suspension took place in summer months outside the skiing season. Martin Johnsrud Sundby at the International Ski Federation
31.
Charlotte Kalla
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Marina Charlotte Kalla, is a Swedish cross-country skier who has been competing at international level since the 2003-2004 season. She won a medal in the 4 x 5 km relay at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec. On 6 January 2008, Kalla won the edition of Tour de Ski in her debut in the event. On 6 May 2012, Kalla signed for Piteå Elit for the season 2012/13, Kalla won the gold medal in the womens 10 km individual for Sweden at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, with a time of 24,58.4. She also won a silver in the sprint event with Anna Haag at those same games. Kalla won a medal in the skiathlon event on 8 February in Sochi. All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation, media related to Charlotte Kalla at Wikimedia Commons Charlotte Kalla at the International Ski Federation 17 March 2005 Charlotte Kalla interview at SVTs open archive
32.
Alexander Legkov
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Alexander Gennadiyevich Legkov is a Russian cross country skier who has been competing since 2002. He has five individual World Cup victories including one Tour de Ski title, Legkov participated in three Winter Olympic Games. Legkov finished in 4th place after a final push to catch then-leader Johan Olsson of Sweden at the 2010 Winter Olympics 30 km double pursuit. Olsson finished in place with Legkov 1.2 seconds behind. Legkovs next best result was 8th place in the 4 x 10 km event at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, Legkov was second behind Germanys Tobias Angerer in the 2006–07 World Cup. He earned a silver in the 4 x 10 km and finished twice in 6th place at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championship in Sapporo at 2007. Alexander Legkov was Total winner of Tour de Ski 2012–13 when he defeated Dario Cologna, Maxim Vylegzhanin, in December 2016, FIS provisionally suspended six Russian cross-country skiers linked to doping violations during the 2014 Winter Olympics, including Alexander Legkov. Source, Updated on 18 March 2013 Alexander Legkov at the International Ski Federation
33.
Petter Northug
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Petter Northug Jr. is a Norwegian cross-country skier and double Olympic champion. He has 13 World Championship and 2 Winter Olympic gold medals with 20 medals overall and he is also the record holder for most stage wins in Tour de Ski. During his first years, Northug was generally considered a star of the future, whilst he was still a junior Verdens Gang newspaper reported in November 2005 that the ski manufacturers are fighting to get Northug. Fischer won his signature, and his contract included a salary, which would be multiplied by five if he made the Norwegian elite team for 2006/07. The contract also offered bonuses if he won medals in the junior World Championships, Northug has six gold medals from junior World Championships. His first two gold medals came in 2004/05 in the pursuit and the 10 km freestyle in Rovaniemi, then in 2005/06 in Kranj he won gold in the 10 km classic, the pursuit, the sprint, and he also has two silver medals. His victories made him the first athlete ever to win five gold medals at the FIS Junior Nordic World Ski Championships. Before he joined the World Cup he competed in a few Continental Cup meetings, during his Scandinavian Cup career he had seven podium finishes, he came second once in 2004/05, and in 2005/06 he scored four victories, and two second places. The 2005/06 season was Northugs first in the World Cup, although he competed in one race the season before, then in the last race of the year, a pursuit in Sapporo he claimed another podium place, coming second. He lost to Mathias Fredriksson by 3.8 seconds and he also came seventh, tenth, and twelfth in sprint races, and fifteenth in the 50 km freestyle in Holmenkollen. Northug finished the 2005/06 World Cup season in 14th place overall and he also finished 14th in the distance standings, and 24th in the sprint. After Norways disappointing display at the 2006 Winter Olympics, the Norwegian press questioned why Northug was not taken to the Games, Northug himself admitted he was disappointed after not getting selected, especially as he had won the double pursuit in the National Championships earlier in the year. The day after the 2006 Olympics Team was announced, Northug was on the winning the Norwegian Championships in 4x10 kilometer relay. As he crossed the line, he shouted And I am not going to the Olympics. Northug won his first gold medal at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Sapporo as a member of the 4 x 10 km relay in 2007, Northug completed the last leg of the relay, beating Sweden and Russia on the sprint for the finish line. He was also in a position to compete for silverware in the 30 kilometer duathlon. He was far more successful at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, in all three events he sprinted away from the rest of the pack to win the race. Northug was the runner up to the overall World Cup in the 2008/2009 season, Northug finished in an extremely disappointing 41st place in the first Cross Country event during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada
Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) 4 (2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13)
Dario Cologna (SUI) 4 (2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2017–18)
Virpi Kuitunen (FIN) 2 (2006–07, 2008–09)
Lukáš Bauer (CZE) 2 (2007–08, 2009–10)
Therese Johaug (NOR) 2 (2013–14, 2015–16)
Tobias Angerer (GER) 1 (2006–07)
Charlotte Kalla (SWE) 1 (2007–08)
Alexander Legkov (RUS) 1 (2012–13)
Norway
Switzerland
Poland
Finland
Russia
Czech Republic
Sweden
Germany
Slovenia
Italy
Canada
Ukraine
USA
France
Kazakhstan
Austria
Japan
