Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

[BigCoward]

Vittozzi is the most consistent, but her ski speed is just a tad too low.

She had the 2nd fastest ski time today.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Jacquelin would find a way to lose even if was the only one competing.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

She had the 2nd fastest ski time today.

I was speaking in general terms across the season.

 

[dobrien]

Karlsson booed by spectators

Bet they liked the atmosphere a hell of a lot better in Minneapolis.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

The Italians had great skis. If Barp was healthy he could have finished top 5, maybe even on the podium.

Barp is a huge prospect with some legit results this season, but I think this is massively overrating his level right now.

- He’s been generally better in skate this season (and I think also you can say the same about previous seasons)
- The only races he’s done over 20 km before is a couple of 30 kilometers as a junior, without remarkable performances here.

Barps best classic race this season he was 10th in Oberhof, but still comfortably behind Pellegrino. I don’t think there is any reason to believe he would do better than Pelle. For Pellegrino the problem in the end wasn’t that he’s too weak in double poling, it was that he was cooked and struggled to keep up in the hills in the end.

I don’t believe for one second that Barp could’ve been knocking down Golberg in the end to claim a spot at the podium. And i don’t believe he would be strong enough in the end to get a top 5. If he would’ve survived with the front group it would’ve in my opinion been his best performance this year by a margin, and if he was there anything other than being gassed like Pellegrino would’ve been a massive sensation in my eyes.

 

[BullsFan22]

Sundling not racing in Drammen.

 

[BigCoward]

At least both races for overall look like they are going down to the wire.
Really really hope Tandrevold holds on, if she's going to lose I hope it's Vitozzi.
Which member of the Norwegian men's murderers row wins is irrelevant.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Karlsson booed by spectators

Bet they liked the atmosphere a hell of a lot better in Minneapolis.

Problem is that you'd need the course for it. A 50k on those short courses around Theodore Wirth Park would likely be a pretty miserable viewing experience. I'm not saying that they don't have the challenging courses in that part of the US, but those courses aren't in the middle of cities except maybe Anchorage (and even then Kincaid Park is hardly in the city centre). FIS wants to go to the cities to get the crowds in because it's even more of a niche sport in the US than in Europe, whereas going to, like, Cable or Mount Itasca where they'd have the scope to put on a longer race with longer and more interesting loops would not have seen crowds of anything like the size that you can get in the middle of the Twin Cities.

Holmenkollen works because it's got those loops that suit a longer race already in place, and it's on the Oslo T-bane so it's very accessible from the inner city. Lahti is a couple of hours from Helsinki, but you can easily walk to the stadium from the bus station. Trying to get a suitable course for a full World Cup schedule that would be both good for the spectators at home, and for suiting the attendees, in the US with its vast expanses is a tricky balancing act I feel. Especially when FIS is so keen to go to the city centres that it went for a bland sprint on the Plains of Abraham rather than use Valcartier when they went to Canada for Alex Harvey and put races in Quebec despite the fact Valcartier is only just outside the city. Gatineau is probably their best bet over there.

All the places with tradition like Jericho, Presque Isle or Lake Placid are too small and too far from major population centres to attract the crowds; somewhere like Casper has the venue right up near the city but it's in the middle of nowhere; Soldier Hollow is a couple of hours outside Salt Lake City rather than close to it, and Anchorage is too remote in and of itself (not to mention a fraction of the size of Minneapolis).

 

[dobrien]

Problem is that you'd need the course for it. A 50k on those short courses around Theodore Wirth Park would likely be a pretty miserable viewing experience. I'm not saying that they don't have the challenging courses in that part of the US, but those courses aren't in the middle of cities except maybe Anchorage (and even then Kincaid Park is hardly in the city centre). FIS wants to go to the cities to get the crowds in because it's even more of a niche sport in the US than in Europe, whereas going to, like, Cable or Mount Itasca where they'd have the scope to put on a longer race with longer and more interesting loops would not have seen crowds of anything like the size that you can get in the middle of the Twin Cities.

Holmenkollen works because it's got those loops that suit a longer race already in place, and it's on the Oslo T-bane so it's very accessible from the inner city. Lahti is a couple of hours from Helsinki, but you can easily walk to the stadium from the bus station. Trying to get a suitable course for a full World Cup schedule that would be both good for the spectators at home, and for suiting the attendees, in the US with its vast expanses is a tricky balancing act I feel. Especially when FIS is so keen to go to the city centres that it went for a bland sprint on the Plains of Abraham rather than use Valcartier when they went to Canada for Alex Harvey and put races in Quebec despite the fact Valcartier is only just outside the city. Gatineau is probably their best bet over there.

All the places with tradition like Jericho, Presque Isle or Lake Placid are too small and too far from major population centres to attract the crowds; somewhere like Casper has the venue right up near the city but it's in the middle of nowhere; Soldier Hollow is a couple of hours outside Salt Lake City rather than close to it, and Anchorage is too remote in and of itself (not to mention a fraction of the size of Minneapolis).

Oh I definitely wasn't suggesting holding anything like the Holmenkollen 50k at Wirth; was just contrasting the atmosphere at Wirth where EVERYONE was getting cheers, some just about as massive as Jessie, with the booing and boorish behavior happening at Holmenkollen. I get that it wasn't all over the course; young people and alcohol tend not to mix well but I'm guessing most were ok. Just seems like something Nordic doesn't need; leave that kind of crap to the mountains in GT's I guess... ;-)

Holy crap, those Holmenkollen hills look massive, even with the foreshortening that happens on the screen!

 

[BullsFan22]

Problem is that you'd need the course for it. A 50k on those short courses around Theodore Wirth Park would likely be a pretty miserable viewing experience. I'm not saying that they don't have the challenging courses in that part of the US, but those courses aren't in the middle of cities except maybe Anchorage (and even then Kincaid Park is hardly in the city centre). FIS wants to go to the cities to get the crowds in because it's even more of a niche sport in the US than in Europe, whereas going to, like, Cable or Mount Itasca where they'd have the scope to put on a longer race with longer and more interesting loops would not have seen crowds of anything like the size that you can get in the middle of the Twin Cities.

Holmenkollen works because it's got those loops that suit a longer race already in place, and it's on the Oslo T-bane so it's very accessible from the inner city. Lahti is a couple of hours from Helsinki, but you can easily walk to the stadium from the bus station. Trying to get a suitable course for a full World Cup schedule that would be both good for the spectators at home, and for suiting the attendees, in the US with its vast expanses is a tricky balancing act I feel. Especially when FIS is so keen to go to the city centres that it went for a bland sprint on the Plains of Abraham rather than use Valcartier when they went to Canada for Alex Harvey and put races in Quebec despite the fact Valcartier is only just outside the city. Gatineau is probably their best bet over there.

All the places with tradition like Jericho, Presque Isle or Lake Placid are too small and too far from major population centres to attract the crowds; somewhere like Casper has the venue right up near the city but it's in the middle of nowhere; Soldier Hollow is a couple of hours outside Salt Lake City rather than close to it, and Anchorage is too remote in and of itself (not to mention a fraction of the size of Minneapolis).

Presque Isle and Jericho aren’t even used domestically anymore. Lake Placid has the Olympic legacy and the courses are fair, but yeah, it’s Upstate New York and it’s a ways from NYC.

 

[search]

looks like the finish in Drammen is a bit further down the hill this year. That little ramp is missing.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

was just contrasting the atmosphere at Wirth where EVERYONE was getting cheers, some just about as massive as Jessie, with the booing and boorish behavior happening at Holmenkollen. I get that it wasn't all over the course; young people and alcohol tend not to mix well but I'm guessing most were ok.

Normally the crowd in Holmenkollen have been known for cheering for everyone, but these reports of booing have come more frequently in the last 5 years or so, and it’s always the Swedes. I think the issue is young, drunk people that isn’t that interested in cross country skiing, but grew up with Northug making fun of the Swedes and therefore think it’s cool to boo the Swedish athletes. It’s stupid, but luckily it’s only a small fraction of the many spectators that does it.

looks like the finish in Drammen is a bit further down the hill this year. That little ramp is missing.

I think it’s been missing a few years already, definitively wasn’t there last year. One may think the organizers might have thought it would benefit the local girl Skistad (she’s from just outside Drammen) or it could be some practical issue, I don’t know.

 

[dobrien]

Fun women's final coming with Svahn and Skistad; neither of those two wants anything to do with losing to the other! We'll see who is blowing the kisses today...

 

[dobrien]

Svahn coming off a hard Holmenkollen stood no chance against Skistad today, but great performance nonetheless, Brennan too. But man, Skistad really had about 6 gears today.

 

[BullsFan22]

Rosie Brennan and that lovely, smooth technique of hers…

Svahn is now 102 pts behind Diggins…

 

[Mayomaniac]

That Ribom dq was a bit harsh, IMO that wasn't worth a DQ.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

That Ribom dq was a bit harsh, IMO that wasn't worth a DQ.

I think it was only a yellow card and it was DQ because she already had a yellow card.

Would be very harsh if it was a direct DQ, and even border line to give her a yellow.

 

[Mayomaniac]

I think it was only a yellow card and it was DQ because she already had a yellow card.

Would be very harsh if it was a direct DQ, and even border line to give her a yellow.

Yeah, it's a borderline yellow card, if even.

 

[OJRvE]

I think it was yellow cause it was Diggins. I remember reading somewhere that FIS after what happend in Lahti last year (and to some extent Final Climb 3 years ago) informed Swedish team management it would be consequences if they tried to sabotage Diggins. This was already months ago.

Looking at the footage from the start you could make the case Ribom moving sideways and trying to cut Diggins of the track. Tbh I just thougth Ribom tried to get the best line, she and Svahn are not friends anyway.

 

[BullsFan22]

Diggins also has a history with Karlsson, and Karlsson has a history with other skiers. She’s very aggressive, she sticks very close behind someone, often times making contact with the back of others’ skis, passes just in front, can swing her poles wildly…

 

[BigCoward]

Tandrevold currently has a 23% difference in hit rate between prone and stand, it can't often be that big?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Diggins also has a history with Karlsson, and Karlsson has a history with other skiers. She’s very aggressive, she sticks very close behind someone, often times making contact with the back of others’ skis, passes just in front, can swing her poles wildly…

Karlsson is the Matias Strandvall of distance skiers.

 

[BigCoward]

She only missed 2 and it still couldn't have gone much worse for Tandrevold.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Another suboptimal race by Tandrevold, but fortunately for her she'll still be within reach of the podium in the pursuit. However she's almost lost her lead over Vittozzi, and there are still more that might overtake before the race is done.

 

[BullsFan22]

Karlsson is the Matias Strandvall of distance skiers.

I don’t blame what Stupak (then Belorukova) did back in 2019 in Quebec.