Cross-country skiing is a winter sport, which is why it is popular in the Nordic states, in Alpine region and in North America. But no matter how local this sport may seem to you over the past few years, it has become popular in almost all countries of the world, and even in those where there are no historical prerequisites for skiing. Over the past few years, this sport has been won from non-ski states such as Spain, Japan, Korea. This once again confirms that this sport has gained planetary popularity.
A limited number of bookmakers accept cross-country bets. Players don’t risk wagering big bucks on this sport because cross-country skiing competition outcome is hard to predict.
A bit of history
The first ski tournaments were held in the Scandinavian countries at the end of the 18th century, but the formation of this sport took place only in 1924, when 14 countries created International Ski Federation (now it already has 126 members). In the same year, cross-country skiing was present at first Winter Olympic Games, and since 1952, Olympic competitions for women have been held.
The World Cross-Country Championships for men have been held since 1925 and for women since 1954. The World Ski Championships is another cross-country skiing tournament that began to be held in seventies of last century. Every season, all the best skiers take part in this competition from October to March. As of today, there are almost 30 stages in this contention.
Basic bets in ski racing
To win . A skier’s victory at a certain stage or in a tournament as a whole.
Finish in the top three. There may be a finish in the top five, ten, etc. Bookmakers can accept bets both on a win and against it.
Comparison of skiers. You need to choose the one who will take the higher place from two skiers.
The best in the country. You need to choose an athlete from a specific country who will be ahead of his compatriots in the race.
How to do the analysis
When analyzing cross-country skiing, you need to take into account the fact that they are of different types. In races with different starts, athletes start after a long time interval, with a mass start at the same time, while athletes with the best time are in the first positions. Pursuit races take place in several stages, in relay races it is necessary to take into account and compare the strengths of all team members.
There is also an individual sprint, team sprint and other less popular kinds of races. Athletes can perform well in several types of races at once, but in general, each of them performs better in a particular race. You can track this moment by looking at the previous statistics of the athletes’ performances.
It is also worthwhile to preliminarily see in what style the race will take place. Some athletes are strong in the freestyle, others in classical forms , others are better on uphill, the fourth on downhill, etc.
Which tournament to bet on?
The most profitable for betting among all ski contentions is World Championship. One of its advantages is a long period and many stages, which make it possible to assess the form and readiness of athletes. Bookmakers offer margins close to 10% on cross-country skiing contentions. You can also place bets in several offices and then your chance of winning will increase.