I have an interesting discussion going on here in Sweden.
We just had a breakthrough of a Swedish wc-skiier who won Tour de Ski in crushing fashion and she´s just about the most written-about person in Swedish media right now… Ans she did great, no doubt! Strong as a bull she was…
But it raised a few topics of interest; as popular and overwhelming as XC-skiing is in any of the Scandinavian countries, how does it compare to triathlon on a global scale in terms of being the “largest” sport in all aspects of the word?
I´m thinking media, prizemoney, participation, events, global interest etc…
A question like this would, for a Swedish sportsjournalist, be ridiculed as stupid to be even asked. Of course XC-skiing!
But apart from tradition, and number of events at the Olympics; which Winter-Olympics being a way smaller event to begin with, I see triathlon coming out on top on every aspect… Am I right or wrong?
XC-skiing may be more popular in climates where it’s an option, but that isn’t the case for large part of the planet. Here in the mid-atlantic US, there are 1000’s of triathletes, but very few XC-skiers (at least practicing ones). I would bet that triathlon would have quite a few more people involved, assuming you include everybody who has done one recently or is about to.
Just look at a world map and you’ll note where you can x-country ski. The options are limited. Even the international races have a limited number of countries represented. OK, Kenyans raced x-country and Jamaica had a bobsled team, but you know what I mean.
On the other hand, triathlon isn’t really a mainstream sport, but I’d suspect more people participate in triathlons than x-country ski races. In fact, I’d suspect there are more downhill skiers than X-country skiers, both recreational and at all race levels.
In Scandinavia however, you’re fighting an uphill battle. X-country skiing is a lot more popular than triathlon and always will be.
World-wide - triathlon is beiger than xc-skiing. However, perhaps it would not seem that way if you lived in one of the Scandanavian countries, where xc-skiing is a religion!!
While XC is huge over in Northern Europe, it’s still a fringe sport here in the US (although Kikkan, Andy, Kris are Red Group now). Our TOP skiers are very POOR, I seriously doubt any of them make over $50K a year including sponsor bonuses, unless they medal at Worlds or Olys.
Everyone here knows what a tri is, but XC, ha, they barely know it’s in the Olympics.
Asking this question in Sweden is almost like being in Canada and asking what’s bigger - ice hockey or triathlon.
We X-country ski in Canada also, but it’s nowhere near as popular as ice hockey, downhill skiing or maybe even curling. In fact in the past twenty years our lazy ass population has probably made snowmobiling one of the most popular winter sports.
Actually I remember seeing some figures from Ski Canada that showed higher participation in XC skiing than hockey for Canada. (It goes against the stereo-type the same way that soccer is the most played sport in the USA does.)
For the world scale it depends on what we are talking about. High visibility and $$, or most participants.
I’d have to disagree with the general consensus. XC Skiing is a bigger sport because it is done by more people at all levels (small children to the elderly) as a recreational activity. Triathlon tends to be done more by althletic types (real or perceived) so has a smaller number to draw on. (If we include everyone who swims, bikes, or runs then triathlon is bigger.)
triathlon is a race. xc skiing can be a race, or just an activity. if you look at it as an activity, xc skiing probably slays triathlon. if you’re talking about competitive xc skiing versus triathlon, then triathlon almost certainly slays xc skiing (if it’s on a worldwide basis you’re talking).
in scandinavia, austria, maybe italy, maybe france, most of the eastern bloc, the former soviet states, maybe canada, xc skiing as a competitive enterprise probably beats triathlon. in the U.S., australia, NZ, most of latin america, south africa, germany, certainly the UK, it’s triathlon. of course i’m leaving out india, china and indonesia. i don’t know what they do there, but i’m guessing it’s triathlon over nordic skiing.
In Canada, there is easily way more entries in triathlon events than there are in XC ski events. However there is likely a 1:1 ratio between people who “train triathlon and race triathlon”. In XC skiing it is more like 1 racer for every 100 people that actually participate in XC skiing, so with respect to participation XC ski would kill triathlon.
With respect to competitiveness, by and large the level of competition at most XC ski races is much higher in triathlon in Canada, simply because there are less XC ski races, less weekends of XC ski racing, so all the fast skiers show up for every race. One might argue that our top triathletes do better on the world stage than top XC skiers, but in the past five years or so our top female world cup skiers were doing better than our top women in ITU. Our top male triathletes in general had much better results on the world cup circuit than male XC skiers. I intentionally kept Ironman out of the comparison because there is no equivalent in XC skiing…you can compare FIS World Cup and Triathlon world cup head to head quite fairly.
My experience speaks directly to what Dev has to say. Worldwide, there are probably WAY more people who own and/or use cross-country skis than there are people who regularly swim/bike/run, but the bulk of them are probably more like my parents, who used to ski every weekend of every winter but now just like to toodle around the city park a few times each winter. Several of my high school teammates enjoyed college success and a few have gone beyond, but the opportunites aren’t as big as they are in other endurance sports. No wonder, then, that my old hs teammate is now working for GearWest in Minnesota, which happens to be both a triathlon AND cross-country skiing specialist.
As said, though, if you’re from Estonia or Norway or one of those other snowy countries… there are way more ski days than bike days, for sure!
The usual answer is…someone who owns XC skis as uses them regularly…but this person may have never raced or want to race but can still call himself an XC skier.
What is a triathlete?
The answer is nebulous…some argue that it is a person who trains regularly in all three sports…some argue that it is someone who races in triathlons…I’d argue that is is like a marathoner…just cause you run, you are not a marathoner, and just cause you swim bike and run does not make you a triathlete…however, once you have completed a triathlon or completed a marathon, you are one for life. Taking that further, if you train long in all three you aren’t an Ironman, but once you complete one, you are one for life.
I raced 4 IM but i´m not a ironman…i just did a race called ironman.
Regarding the original question. I think you should compare people who compete in tris and xc-skiing to make it fare and in that case triathlon beats xc-skiing in every aspect. XC-skiing may be popular in Sweden but most people just like to watch it on tv. And we had really bad winters last 10-15 years…today we had +5C and rain i Falun.
Then you’re like the guy with an engineering degree that refuses to call himself a trained engineer or the guy with a PhD who refuses to call himself Dr. That is fine if you don’t want to be called an Ironman, but you did a bunch and for most that means you are one…you may choose distance yourself from that label and that is fine.
It IS cold and dark over there when these types of questions bubble to the surface.
Several points (none related):
A) Most of the world is covered with warmth, nay, heat. There are entire continents who couldn’t pick a snowflake out of a frickin’ lineup. Triathlon continues to spread like a bad rumor all over the planet anywhere there’s swimmable water (and even Utah).
The trishops in Kinshasa are counting the days till the chick shows up with the crate of new Zoot shoes on her head. Goatherds in Honduras debate the real value of dimpled tires. DINKs in Los Gatos still approach anyone dressed in red, hoping to actually meet Satan and sell their souls for a Kona slot.
So while you’re “naval-gazing” away cabin fever, I think a more astute thread sociologically might be “Nordic” vs. “Flordic” skiing (that’s water skiing to those in Rio Linda).
An Aussie has never won the Vasaloppet. Guess they haven’t heard there’s a draft effect in skiing.
III) I am, without doubt, the finest X-C skier from Louisiana. Bar none.
IIIa) I couldn’t medal in the 8-under girls nationals in Norway. Maybe Sweden though.
Well if you look at the prizemoney, that swedish XC girl made close to $150 000 in that Tour de Ski competition alone.
Not to bad.
Well, Greg Bennet won +500 000 USD for winning four races this summer.
Also, most of the ITU World Cups have at least 100 000 USD in the prizepurse and some races have a LOT more like Hyvee in Des Moines where the winners won 200 000 USD. I don´t think prizemoney in XC-skiing World Cups even get close to that to be honest.
And the winner of Ironman gets, what, 120 000 USD? The equivalance in skiing would perhaps be the Vasalopp in Sweden. At least it´s the most classic of all ski races. The winner gets about 80-100 000 Swedish kroner which is about 15 000 USD.
And also on a larger scale; even 10 or 15 years ago Swedish TV would show a minute or two from Ironman and announce the two winners and I suppose it´s the same all over the world, even in places that aren´t necessarily tri hotspots. Hence, Ironman is a very wellknown event, well beyond the compounds of our sport, and it´s iconic to a degree that no ski race would even come close too…So triathlon as a sport has a defining race that skiing don´t.
And sure, people ski recreationally in Scandinavia and in Canada, but hey, where I live in Sweden we haven´t had a single day of snow yet this winter and even further up north it´s the same. So really, how many people actually ski? And it´s not a sport just beacuse you go out on the mountainside with a rucksack to picknick with coffee and pastries like people do here, just as riding your bike back and forth to work doesn´t mean you´re a budding triathlete… So even looking at participants worldwide I´ll say that triathlon with all races combined outweighs xc-skiing.
This is a very interesting discussion though since seen from a Swedish patriotic perspective (like most sportswriters would here) you´d have to be insane to even begin to claim such a thing. And what about biathlon? It´s huge here! At least in media. Cuz there´s really no recruiting on a mass level, only from former elite skiiers wanting a second shot (ha ha!) at the Olympics. I mean, where does this sport come from? The 2nd World War or so is my guess when they skiied and shot at each other…? Who knows.
And isn´t it weird that biathlon was what Americans first called duathlon and that Kenny Souza was hailed as the “World Biathlon King” not even knowing he was actually inte wrong sport?
