National coach is excluded from Tour de Ski
Peter Schlickenrieder wants to help his athletes, but does so in a way that is not permitted. In adverse conditions, he places a ski in the cross-country skiers' tracks so that they can free their skis from "aggressive snow". The jury delivers a harsh verdict.
Cross-country skiing national coach Peter Schlickenrieder has been severely punished for providing illegal assistance to his skiers in the pursuit competition of the Tour de Ski in Davos. The jury ordered the 53-year-old to pay a fine of 1000 Swiss francs (equivalent to 1070 euros) and, above all, to withdraw his accreditation until the end of the stage race on Sunday.
According to Schlickenrieder, he had placed a ski in the track in difficult conditions with heavy snow in places. His athletes were supposed to run over it "to get rid of the studs that had formed because the aggressive snow had stuck". He admitted that this was a breach of the rules: "Of course I accepted the penalty, even if it is a bit blatant."
If his skiers around Katharina Hennig, who had a hard time with her ninth place on Thursday, had laid out a ski themselves to remove the lumps of snow from under the waxed racing skis, this would have been in accordance with the rules according to Schlickenrieder: "But everything that benefits the athlete must be done by them, it must not be done by a third party." Schlickenrieder will therefore not be able to support his athletes on the course on Saturday and Sunday at the decisive Tour stages in Val di Fiemme.
The German cross-country team has to cope with another piece of bad news and finish the rest of the tour without another athlete. One day after Pia Fink, Sofie Krehl also gave up the race. "Sofie has had cold symptoms since this morning and will therefore not be competing today and will withdraw from the tour," team doctor Tom Kastner was quoted as saying.
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Despite the controversy surrounding Peter Schlickenrieder, his expertise in winter sports could be invaluable for Nordic skiing teams during the harsh conditions of future competitions. However, it's crucial that coaches adhere to the rules to ensure fair play, as any form of illegal assistance could lead to severe consequences.
Source: www.ntv.de
