Xinhua News Agency, Xinyuan, Jan. 9 — On the 9th, the FIS Cross-Country Skiing China Tour concluded in Nalati, Xinyuan, Xinjiang. This is the third time the event has taken place in Nalati.
Guan Dan Dan, the women’s overall champion of the FIS Cross-Country Skiing China Tour, gives an interview. Photo by Liu Chenggang
On the day, both men’s and women’s 1.2 km sprint races were held. Chinese athlete Guan Dan Dan claimed the women’s title, having also won first place in the 2.5 km middle-distance race on the 8th. The men’s 5 km race was also held on the 8th, where Norwegian athlete Petter Restad took the crown.
Earlier in early January, the FIS Cross-Country Skiing China Tour held two stops in Changchun, Jilin, and Xiwuqi, Inner Mongolia. The Nalati leg was the final event of the tour. This stop attracted 78 athletes from seven countries: China, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Czech Republic, the United States, and Finland.
Organizers stated that Chinese athletes swept the top three spots in the women’s overall standings across all three stops of the China Tour, namely Guan Dan Dan, Li Xin, and Ma Qinghua. The top three in the men’s standings were Sweden’s Robin Bryntesson, the United States’ Peter Kling, and Norway’s Petter Restad.
After the race, women’s overall champion Guan Dan Dan praised the weather and ski slopes in Nalati during an interview. “The competition in Nalati was very challenging for me, as my previous training wasn’t very specific, and I had to adjust to the time difference and environment. In the end, I overcame myself,” she said. “The ski resort in Nalati is excellent—the trails are world-class, the weather is pleasant, and today’s temperature even rose above freezing, much like Europe. It’s very conducive to athletes’ performance.”
Cui Yingbo, a member of the Chinese Ski Association and the chief judge of this event, described it as a high-level competition, with many top domestic athletes and international skiing stars taking part. “Nalati Ski Resort is one of the FIS-certified ski resorts in China. Its premium tracks and pleasant weather make it very suitable for competitions.”
Nalati is located in Xinyuan County, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. It is a world-renowned alpine grassland, with winter temperatures dropping to around minus 14 degrees Celsius. It is approximately 500 kilometers from Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.