Tartu Ski Marathon no longer a Classics event stage
The annual Tartu Ski Marathon is no longer to be included in the prestigious Visma Ski Classics series, due to funding issues, ETV news show 'Aktuaalne kaamera' (AK) reported Wednesday.
The race, held in February, will still go ahead, but not as a Ski Classics round.
Race organizer Indrek Kelk told AK: "There is no funding available to take part in this series. The fact that we were a part of it for a long time was also related to money. We were offered a proposal that seemed acceptable to us. We received some state support, the competition went very well, the feedback was extremely positive."
"All the teams said that the Tartu marathon should remain in the series. A month after the marathon, the series promoter also highly praised us and proposed holding the race again, through for twice the price," Kelk went on, adding that the organizers were not open to negotiation, while it later became apparent the slot had been awarded to a smaller event in Sweden.
The Tartu Ski Marathon had been a Ski Classics stage for 11 years, since the series started, in fact, and brought several hundred top skiers to Estonia during that time.
The marathon itself will still go ahead, Kelk added, despite soaring prices.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
