When the men's 50km event is decided in Holmenkollen on March 14 next year, both the men's and women's classes will be decided at the same time, confirmed the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (Fis).
The men will start first and 45 minutes later the women will start in what the local organizer calls "double 50km".
The idea is criticized by Norwegian TV expert Petter Soleng Skinstad.
I can give praise for the attempt, but I am very, very, very uncertain about how this will work in practice. I think it will be very chaotic on the arena, both for the participants and the audience, he says to NTB.
With double mass starts, it will be messy on TV, he thinks.
You can imagine if you were to show two football matches on the same TV screen. It would have become very messy. It's exactly like that with cross-country skiing. You can't show both laps at the same time in a good way. The commentators can only comment on one race at a time, says Petter Soleng Skinstad.
The new approach must first be approved by the Fis board, but it is seen as a pure formality.
