Anne Kjersti Kalvå, from Norway, leaves Tour de Ski after testing positive for Covid. The Norwegian National Team doctor fears there may be more cases.

A new case of Covid has now been detected in the Norwegian team at the Tour de Ski. On Thursday, Anne Kjersti Kalvå tested positive. She was in third place overall after four of seven stages.

“Anne Kjersti Kalvå had to abandon Tour de Ski. She, unfortunately, tested positive for Covid after the competition in Oberstdorf yesterday and traveled home to Trondheim today,” according to a press release from the Norwegian Ski Association. 

Kalvå is the second in the Norwegian team to test positive for Covid. Women’s national team coach Sjur Ole Svarstad also tested positive earlier this week. National team doctor Over fears there could be more cases.

“It is boring that illness has occurred. It affects us all and creates uncertainty, even if it has been there since the first case. We are in a vulnerable period with a lot of infection in society,” says Feragen to TV2. 

Very Unfortunate For Kalvå

Kalvå was in third place overall in the Tour de Ski after four of seven stages and was one of the strongest candidates for the overall podium before she had to leave the Tour.  

Last year, her Olympic dream was ruined when she tested positive for Covid just before the national team’s departure to China. 

She struggled with the disease for a long time and has worked hard to return. So far this year, Kalvå has impressed in the World Cup and had the World Championships as the big goal this season. The question is whether Kalvå can return to top form for the Worlds.

Today is a rest day in the Tour de Ski. Tomorrow, one of the last three stages starts in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

See below the complete program for the Tour de Ski 2022/2023.

FACTS: Tour de Ski 2022/2023 

• Tour de Ski 2022/2023 starts in Val Müstair, Switzerland, on December 31 and concludes in Val di Fiemme, Italy, on January 8. 
• The race consists of seven stages in nine days.
• Tour de Ski 2022/2023 is the 17th edition of the brutal stage race. 

TOUR DE SKI 2022/2023

Day-by-day schedule

Stage 1

•  Saturday, December 31, 2022
•  Val Müstair, Switzerland
•  Sprint Freestyle Technique
•  All times are CET
•  Qualification, women and men
•  Heats and finals, women and men

More Information 

Stage 2

•  Sunday, January 1, 2023
•  Val Müstair, Switzerland
•  10km Classic Technique, pursuit
•  All times are CET
•  10km Classic Pursuit, women
•  10km Classic Pursuit, men 

More Information

Stage 3

•  Tuesday, January 3, 2023
•  Oberstdorf, Germany
•  10km Classic Technique, individual start
•  All times are CET
•  10km classic individual start, men
•  10km classic individual start, women

More Information

Stage 4

•  Wednesday, January 4, 2023
•  Oberstdorf, Germany
•  20km Freestyle Technique, pursuit
•  All times are CET
•  20km Freestyle Pursuit, men
•  20km Freestyle Pursuit, women

More Information

Stage 5

•  Friday, January 6, 2023
•  Val di Fiemme, Italy
•  Sprint Classic Technique
•  All times are CET
•  Qualification, women and men
•  Heats and finals, women and men 

More Information

Stage 6

•  Saturday, January 7, 2023
•  Val di Fiemme, Italy
•  15km Classic Technique, mass start
•  All times are CET
•  15km Mass Start Classic, women
•  15km Mass Start Classic, men 

More Information

Stage 7

•  Sunday, January 8, 2022
•  Val di Fiemme, Italy
•  Final Climb – Alpe Cermis (aka “Monster Climb”) – 10km Freestyle Technique, mass start
•  All times are CET
•  10km Mass Start Freestyle, women
•  10km Mass Start Freestyle, men

More Information

New this season is the same race distances for women and men in all World Cup events, as the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) decided in May. Several other changes have also been introduced to the World Cup.

Read More: Cross-Country Skiing Changes And World Cup Calendar For The 2022/2023 Season

Also Read: New Distances At The Cross-Country Skiing World Cup