The waiting is over! The start of the ski jumping and nordic combined World Cup in Ruka is finally around the corner! And Ruka welcomes the athletes from all over the world as usual „finnish“. Cold temperatures in the minus range and a solid, white blanket of snow offer the ideal conditions for the "Nordic Opening" at the Arctic Circle, only a few kilometers away from the Russian border.

After the Peter Riedel GmbH did the track maintenance for the World Cup for the past three years, everything is different this year. And when we write “everything different”, we mean everything different. Due to the Covid pandemic, the organization is much more complicated than usual. Every participant in the event has to undergo several corona tests before being allowed to check into the so-called "bubble". The bubble means the space that is defined in which the athletes and teams can move freely. And this doesn't go any further than from the hotel to the jumping hill, to the cross-country stadium and back again. Contact points to the media, to workers and other personnel are clearly regulated and only possible with keeping distance and rely to strict hygiene regulations. Spectators are certainly not allowed.

Unfortunately, due to the complicated circumstances, we were not able to enter Finland to carry out the maintenance and World Cup Support. That's why we're unfortunately not there this year. But what we have already seen from home in the TV: the track is in very good condition and everything is set up for a great weekend!

All that remains is to wish the organizer and the athletes all the best for the first competitions of the season. Stay healthy! Peter Riedel and his team