This week Shchuchinsk in Kazakhstan is hosting the Roller Ski World Cup season premiere. In this article, skiing star Vladimir Smirnov talks about his hometown.

Vladimir Smirnov has lived in Sundsvall, Sweden, for over 30 years. But his roots are in Kazakhstan, specifically in Shchuchinsk, the same city that this week is hosting the Roller Ski World Cup.

“Shchuchinsk is a small, pleasant town with about 40.000 inhabitants. The nature around the city is very nice with forests and lakes,” says the 59-year-old Kazakh with four World Championships golds and one Olympic gold on his record.

Was skiing a natural choice for you?

“There were other sports, and the interest in biathlon was quite large. But cross-country skiing was the biggest. I started training when I was eleven and racing three years later. There was a big boom in the 1980s when several Kazakh skiers were part of the Soviet national team. Since then, a lot has happened, not least political changes with independence,” says Smirnov, who lived in Shchuchinsk until he moved to Sundsvall in 1991.

Last winter, the ski stadium in Shchuchinsk hosted the Junior Biathlon World Cup. It is time for another international event in the same arena this week.

“These are arrangements that suit Kazakhstan very well; good that the arena is used for this type of international event,” says Smirnov to Langd.se.

How often are you “at home in Kazakhstan”?

“Now I’ve lived in Sundsvall for so long that Sundsvall is home. But until 2015, I worked for Scania in Kazakhstan, so then I was there regularly, but for the last five years, I have not been in Kazakhstan,” says Smirnov.

A more extended interview with Vladimir Smirnov will be here on ProXCskiing.com this week.

Roller Ski World Cup Program – Shchuchinsk 2023

Thursday, July 13 (More information HERE)

• 1.4km Sprint FT Women
• 1.4km Sprint FT Men
• 1.4km Sprint FT Junior Women
• 1.4km Sprint FT Junior Men

Friday, July 14 (More information HERE)

• 200m Sprint FT Women
• 200m Sprint FT Men
• 200m Sprint FT Junior Women
• 200m Sprint FT Junior Men

Saturday, July 15 (More information HERE)

• 10km Individual FT Women
• 10km Individual FT Men
• 10km Individual FT Junior Women
• 10km Individual FT Junior Men

Sunday, July 16 (More information HERE)

• 20km Mass Start CT Women
• 20km Mass Start CT Men
• 16km Mass Start CT Junior Women
• 20km Mass Start CT Junior Men

This is the 2023 Roller Ski World Cup Calendar

Shchuchinsk, Kazakhstan

• July 13: Sprint 1.4km FT
• July 14: Sprint 200m FT
• July 15: Individual Start 10km/10km FT
• July 16: Mass Start 20km/16km/20km CT

Otepää/Tartu, Estonia

• August 10: Individual Start 10km/15km CT
• August 11: Mass Start 27/15km FT
• August 12: Sprint 200m FT
• August 13: Team Sprint 2×3×1.2km FT

Madona, Latvia

• August 18: Individual Start 7.5km/10km/15km CT
• August 19: Sprint 200m FT
• August 20: Mass Start 15km/20km FT

Val di Fiemme, Italy

• September 8: Mass Start 10km/15km FT
• September 9: Sprint 200m FT
• September 10: Mass Start and Uphill Race 11km/15km CT

Approved FIS Roller Ski World Cup Changes

According to FIS Roller Skiing on social media, during the FIS Cross-Country Committee meetings in Croatia earlier this year, some Roller Ski World Cup rules changes were approved:

• World Cup points will be assigned to 1-50 places with a similar point scale as in Cross-Country Skiing World Cup.
• The top 1-10 places in Individual Sprint Qualification races will get World Cup points.
• The new FIS Roller Ski Sprint World Cup title will be introduced this season.
• From July 2025, women and men will compete at the same distances. 

Read More: The 2023 Roller Ski World Cup season kicks off in Kazakhstan this week