The World Championship in Trondheim at the turn of the month in February/March is the season's highlight for cross-country skiers.
Several members of the Swedish national team testify that the Norwegian ski resort is one of the most difficult places to get the waxing right.
The waxing chief Anders Svanebo talks about the challenges with wet winds from the Atlantic meeting cold air from the Swedish mountains. Right in the middle of this is the Granåsen ski stadium, above Trondheim, where the World Championship will be decided.
It's challenging conditions. We're aware of this. There's a tendency for the temperature to often be around zero degrees and there's precipitation. Then it's tricky to wax, says Svanebo.
Tough long-distance races
In these conditions, the skiers are forced to choose between grip wax and rough skis in classical style. It can get extra tough in the men's and women's 50km races, which are held in classical style.
Sweden has also often had big problems over the years to find the right wax when it's time for rough skis.
There have been challenges, absolutely. This is one of the development areas we're working on ahead of the upcoming World Championship and the Olympic Games in Milan 2026, where it can also be similar conditions. We've had personnel on site in Trondheim during the past winter for testing, says Anders Svanebo.
"High Chaparral weather"
Ebba Andersson is aware of the waxing challenges that await in Trondheim. She describes the conditions as High Chaparral weather:
I went wrong with my waxing in my last World Cup weekend in Trondheim. I had too much grip. It's so unpredictable in Trondheim. One year there was a real weather change and many Russians got really badly waxed.
Swedish home advantage
National team skier Maja Dahlqvist sees an advantage in living in the Norwegian World Championship city:
Here in Trondheim, you can have four seasons in one training session. It rains a lot during a quarter of an hour and then the sun comes out. It's the same in winter, and then it's about having control over the material, says Maja Dahlqvist and continues:
In the winter, I'll bring home several rough skis to Trondheim to test them. If you have many rough skis, you can't just test them one hour before the start of a World Cup or a World Championship. Then it's an advantage to live here and try out the skis regularly when it's rough.
