And how often has the competition included Svendsen lately? So far in 2016 it is Anton and Schempp aka "German Fourcade" who has been challenging Fourcade the most. Johannes is also way more likeable than Fourcade, but that's just my opinion.Kokoso said:@Libertine and when the competition is between Svendsen, JTB and Martin, it's more understandable people cheer for Martin then, for you too I think.
Célia is quickly becoming my favorite. She needed a bit of experience with the shooting, but has make incredible progress the past few races. Also a very nice person, I love her interviews (even if she does say "cool" a bit too often!). The French women now have better depth than the men I think, or at least on par.Nastyy said:Celia Aymonier could be a force to be reckoned with in the near future if she keeps developing at this rate. Only switched over from XC for this season and is shooting quite decently already, just needs some consistency and maybe needs to be a bit quicker on the range as well. She was the faster skier on yesterday's sprint so her XC background shows, even though she wasn't near the elite in XC.
Got to admit that when the pressure is on, like yesterday at the second standing shoot, Fourcade really has an advantage.Libertine Seguros said:I cannot fathom why anybody would actually cheer for Martin Fourcade. It must be really boring when any race you don't podium is a let-down, and they hardly ever happen anyway.
I mean, I still like him more than Soukalová, and sure he's an incredible athlete whose achievements are amazing, but to want to cheer for him? Unless you're French, there's no excuse. It's like cheering for Marit Bjørgen.
Libertine Seguros said:Eurosport commentators suggesting this race would be much better if it was Mass Start, because more short Mass Start races in the men's calendar is of course what we need.
python said:the lady's 5k had nothing new nor exciting to watch except the justuna's apparent improvement of form. diggins ? well...isn't she supposed to dig in her heels given the name![]()
the men though produced an a a very welcome no norsemen on the podium. the vyleg victory of course is no surprise given his improving shape, but the truth be told he seldom does so well in the individual races. must be the brilliant pacing too. manificat on the classic podium is a slight surprise, yep, just a little bit, but the course tough profile must be helpful to the 'little' guys like him and vyleg when herring bone was the optimum mode of getting up.
again, congratulation to maxim on an impressive win.
..'little' (note the quotation mark) was referring to his relatively dry, lean body built. to my eye he's somewhat similar to hellner...at 72-73 kg (he's 181) that's lighter than the bulky 80kg guys - which is likely another reason he's such a superb climber in addition to his great motor and the splendid technique.BullsFan22 said:python said:the lady's 5k had nothing new nor exciting to watch except the justuna's apparent improvement of form. diggins ? well...isn't she supposed to dig in her heels given the name![]()
the men though produced an a a very welcome no norsemen on the podium. the vyleg victory of course is no surprise given his improving shape, but the truth be told he seldom does so well in the individual races. must be the brilliant pacing too. manificat on the classic podium is a slight surprise, yep, just a little bit, but the course tough profile must be helpful to the 'little' guys like him and vyleg when herring bone was the optimum mode of getting up.
again, congratulation to maxim on an impressive win.
Manificat 'little?' No, he is what, 185 cm tall? Vylegzhanin's strength is when he stretches out on the hills. Vylegzhanin is small. He and Sundby are the same size, give or take a cm either way. Bessmertnykh is another guy that's like Manificat, perhaps even taller, but his classic is so good and these types of races suit him. I think the Russians hit their altitude training spot on before coming to Scandinavia last week. Perhaps even their skis were good today. What happened to Legkov? He didn't look good coming in, and his skis were not optimal. He had to herringbone, but I think he must have fell in the last km or so. He was actually making up a few places, threatening the top 10, but lost around more than 30 seconds to the leaders in the last 1.5-1.8 km (last time check before the finish.)
python said:..'little' (note the quotation mark) was referring to his relatively dry, lean body built. to my eye he's somewhat similar to hellner...at 72-73 kg (he's 181) that's lighter than the bulky 80kg guys - which is likely another reason he's such a superb climber in addition to his great motor and the splendid technique.BullsFan22 said:python said:the lady's 5k had nothing new nor exciting to watch except the justuna's apparent improvement of form. diggins ? well...isn't she supposed to dig in her heels given the name![]()
the men though produced an a a very welcome no norsemen on the podium. the vyleg victory of course is no surprise given his improving shape, but the truth be told he seldom does so well in the individual races. must be the brilliant pacing too. manificat on the classic podium is a slight surprise, yep, just a little bit, but the course tough profile must be helpful to the 'little' guys like him and vyleg when herring bone was the optimum mode of getting up.
again, congratulation to maxim on an impressive win.
Manificat 'little?' No, he is what, 185 cm tall? Vylegzhanin's strength is when he stretches out on the hills. Vylegzhanin is small. He and Sundby are the same size, give or take a cm either way. Bessmertnykh is another guy that's like Manificat, perhaps even taller, but his classic is so good and these types of races suit him. I think the Russians hit their altitude training spot on before coming to Scandinavia last week. Perhaps even their skis were good today. What happened to Legkov? He didn't look good coming in, and his skis were not optimal. He had to herringbone, but I think he must have fell in the last km or so. He was actually making up a few places, threatening the top 10, but lost around more than 30 seconds to the leaders in the last 1.5-1.8 km (last time check before the finish.)
the russian success is well deserved but note the very narrow gaps - mere seconds. they often raise their shape in february (potentially peaking for wc or the olympics absent this year). also, it is likely the norges have either plateaued or off the season peak (in general). note how sundby could not do anything at the end even though he was in a perfect position being fed the spits. also, note how eversen gradually fell behind towards the end.
legkov imo started faster than he could have sustained, he's an emotional chap, but it's just a guess...bessmertnych is a pleasure to watch in a classic stride. belov, though, was far behind his classic potential.
Rider said:Legkov broke a ski, https://www.instagram.com/p/BBu036Fnif6/
For the media? Since when is Dorin-Habert or Baverel media?Libertine Seguros said:Nah, Johannes is a tool. If he was as successful as Fourcade he'd be way less likable, since Martin doesn't seem like a bad guy off the trails, whereas Johannes would be behaving more arrogantly than Martin on the trails, and more attention-seeking than Martin's brother off them.
Kokoso, I'm sad they're at Presque Isle rather than Fort Kent which has much tougher trails. Apparently there was some discussion on French TV on why fans seem to be cooling off on Soukalová as opposed to a couple of years ago, they asekd Dorin Habert who said that people just simply find Wierer more charismatic (she neglected to comment regarding herself, because unlike some of her teammates she's self-deprecating and honest), and Florence Baverel said that Soukalová is simply not as accessible to the media or approachable to the fans (which surprised me, last time I was at the World Cup she seemed relatively approachable compared to some, but that may have changed with the fight for the overall) and is more "in her own little bubble". I know we've discussed our own personal positions on her at great length and it's not worth going round again, but it's interesting that, especially compared to when she was one of the darlings of the sport 2-3 years ago, the fan love for her has dropped away enough that it's been noticeable to the media.
You act like you think there is some conspiracy to disparage the Czech Republic and keep it out of the centre of the sport, because some fans don't like the current Czech superstar, and don't like the trails at the national course (even while acknowledging there are other Czech athletes that they like, and that the atmosphere at NMNM is superb). That's all it is.
So you genuinely believe that everybody is desperately trying to disparage and discredit the achievements of the Czech Republic, and this is a transparent and genuine ploy?Kokoso said:Conspiracy...lo. I only pointed out obvious, had no idea it was conspiracy![]()
python said:it was just lovely !
i don't even care that the norges again missed the top 2 spots in as many days or that petter got a lecture in how to position for a final sprint. i was simply happy to see the coming up young talent of the xc sport raising to the top.
ustiugov and de fabiani, yep, are the future of the red-free zone. perhaps knaute was right that ustiugov is the absolutely best talent in the current field. perhaps she just wanted to boost her 'pupil'. but she appears wasn't far from the mark when the the owner of the 80kg + massive body was able to lift it 3 times up the mördarbacken and then sprint the way he did.
that's just silly. how could they destroy something that the norges had already demolishedMr. Brooks said:Nordthug on the Russians' dominance: "They are destroying the sport."
i had long stopped putting any commenting on. particularly, b/c they (like that german) they are dodos. i mean, they usually know the sport and certainly don't mean to misread, but they often do, and therefore imo are superfluous. i usually follow races via the nrk or the svt. sometimes the eurosport. they are all competent but i find the hd quality allows me to follow the events w/o their noise.BullsFan22 said:The German commentator on ARD literally said that "Ustiugov's ambitions/chances at a podium today are now over," after he started dropping back on the Morderbacken on the last loop.python said:snipped
that was my impression too. he's tactically maturing. will re-watch later to analyze those moments again.I think he pulled a Northug.
python said:that's just silly. how could they destroy something that the norges had already demolishedMr. Brooks said:Nordthug on the Russians' dominance: "They are destroying the sport."![]()
i had long stopped putting any commenting on. particularly, b/c they (like that german) they are dodos. i mean, they usually know the sport and certainly don't mean to misread, but they often do, and therefore imo are superfluous. i usually follow races via the nrk or the svt. sometimes the eurosport. they are all competent but i find the hd quality allows me to follow the events w/o their noise.BullsFan22 said:The German commentator on ARD literally said that "Ustiugov's ambitions/chances at a podium today are now over," after he started dropping back on the Morderbacken on the last loop.python said:snippedthat was my impression too. he's tactically maturing. will re-watch later to analyze those moments again.I think he pulled a Northug.