- Sep 25, 2009
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the classic race was so interesting that i decided to try reading more into its results...for that i watched the action again, reviewed the official splits and finally just read the nordic and english media.
what jumped at me right away, was that in addition to a soft, fresh energy-sipping track it was really windy --- blistering windy. this was visible in the video, plus the wind was a consistent comment from all the north americans the portal fasterskier.com interviewed (btw, i find their post race comments the most informative, even compared to the scandinavian media, including the norges).
what else was sticking out ? the amount of herringboning the elite is seldom seen doing.
the 3 factors - soft conditions, wind and the excessive usage of the sports 'granny gear' essentially shaped the results. it was important to be in front b/c the bottlenecks on the steep sections forced some skiers literally grind to a halt. also, the style of herringboning is so taxing and inefficient, that a skier with the generally superior classic technique would be reduced to the raw strength of his aerobic engine, sort of like running instead of skiing uphill. where does this all lead me ? perhaps, i am reading too much but it could partly explain why poltoranin and sundby - both excellent technicians - had struggled to close their gaps. the same consideration may explain why ustiogov, whose classic technique is visibly similar to a hunched-over, inefficient legkov style, why his raw aerobic power and strength allowed the incredible feat of leading for so long.
the same can be said of the iversen and northug superb engines, perhaps to a lesser degree (all 3 are btw big guys who would sink in the soft snow), b/c they did enjoy the shelter of ustiugov's back in a blistering windy conditions. it is true that in skiing the advantage of drafting is nowhere near as important as in cycling, but a lot of energy was saved yesterday behind a pacesetter. not to mention the energy savings due to the slight effect of compressing the snow by the front runners...
so much more impressive looks what ustiugov did yesterday !
now, about the splits...sundby was about 12-13 second behind the front trio for some kilometers. he fought valiantly. then, the gap started to increase to 18,19..and finally 40 sec at the finish. clearly, he was running out of steam, he was at the absolute limit. not so the trio in front, including even ustiugov. they were able to up the tempo in the last 1.5 -2 km.
that ustiugov lost so few seconds tells me he was the strongest yesterday. northug actually said just that...
imagine where this monster could be if he polished his striding
what jumped at me right away, was that in addition to a soft, fresh energy-sipping track it was really windy --- blistering windy. this was visible in the video, plus the wind was a consistent comment from all the north americans the portal fasterskier.com interviewed (btw, i find their post race comments the most informative, even compared to the scandinavian media, including the norges).
what else was sticking out ? the amount of herringboning the elite is seldom seen doing.
the 3 factors - soft conditions, wind and the excessive usage of the sports 'granny gear' essentially shaped the results. it was important to be in front b/c the bottlenecks on the steep sections forced some skiers literally grind to a halt. also, the style of herringboning is so taxing and inefficient, that a skier with the generally superior classic technique would be reduced to the raw strength of his aerobic engine, sort of like running instead of skiing uphill. where does this all lead me ? perhaps, i am reading too much but it could partly explain why poltoranin and sundby - both excellent technicians - had struggled to close their gaps. the same consideration may explain why ustiogov, whose classic technique is visibly similar to a hunched-over, inefficient legkov style, why his raw aerobic power and strength allowed the incredible feat of leading for so long.
the same can be said of the iversen and northug superb engines, perhaps to a lesser degree (all 3 are btw big guys who would sink in the soft snow), b/c they did enjoy the shelter of ustiugov's back in a blistering windy conditions. it is true that in skiing the advantage of drafting is nowhere near as important as in cycling, but a lot of energy was saved yesterday behind a pacesetter. not to mention the energy savings due to the slight effect of compressing the snow by the front runners...
so much more impressive looks what ustiugov did yesterday !
now, about the splits...sundby was about 12-13 second behind the front trio for some kilometers. he fought valiantly. then, the gap started to increase to 18,19..and finally 40 sec at the finish. clearly, he was running out of steam, he was at the absolute limit. not so the trio in front, including even ustiugov. they were able to up the tempo in the last 1.5 -2 km.
that ustiugov lost so few seconds tells me he was the strongest yesterday. northug actually said just that...
imagine where this monster could be if he polished his striding