Italian Federico Pellegrino, 29, wants to limit the number of Norwegians in the World Cup to save the development of cross-country sport.

He believes that there are too many Norwegian riders at the top of the results list and that the World Cup should mimic the quota found in championships where all countries may have a maximum of four riders per race together with the title defender.

- Norway has as many people as can participate. I'm not talking about removing the top five, but the ones behind it. Those who are from sixth to twentieth, but who can still rank in the top 30 in the World Cup. It may not always be the case that all these riders should be included. Everyone knows that Norway is the best. We should have rules that only give the best riders room, Pellegrino tells VG.

VG writes that the Italian national team stood over the VC competitions in Lillehammer last weekend due to the fact that their ski federations have squeezed finances and thus could not afford to send any skiers. Pellegrino tells VG that it would financially facilitate for smaller ski federations if their riders can assert themselves in the race.

ARCHIVE: Warning for Norwegian Joy (November 30)

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