Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

[kingjr]

Re: Re:

Moravec ran out of steam on the last k

Why do you think so? It was mostly downhill from the last intermediate and until then he was gaining on Bailey.

I think he lost about 3 seconds on average to all in the Top 20 on that mostly downhill section.

You can make up that time if you double pole hard on the little 'bump' in the middle of the downhill and the finishing straight. Bailey probably saved a bit for that part while Moravec put all he had left into the last climb.
For example I think he kept the same pace as Schempp on that climb but lost 4 seconds to him afterwards.

 

[Kokoso]

Re: Re:

Moravec ran out of steam on the last k

Why do you think so? It was mostly downhill from the last intermediate and until then he was gaining on Bailey.

I think he lost about 3 seconds on average to all in the Top 20 on that mostly downhill section.

You can make up that time if you double pole hard on the little 'bump' in the middle of the downhill and the finishing straight. Bailey probably saved a bit for that part while Moravec put all he had left into the last climb.
For example I think he kept the same pace as Schempp on that climb but lost 4 seconds to him afterwards.

Sounds good, plausible. Or it could be bad skis, it was mostly downhill.

Whatever it was, disappointment for Moravec must be huge. He's better of the two yet he has no gold medal.

 

[kingjr]

Re: Re:

Moravec ran out of steam on the last k

Why do you think so? It was mostly downhill from the last intermediate and until then he was gaining on Bailey.

I think he lost about 3 seconds on average to all in the Top 20 on that mostly downhill section.

You can make up that time if you double pole hard on the little 'bump' in the middle of the downhill and the finishing straight. Bailey probably saved a bit for that part while Moravec put all he had left into the last climb.
For example I think he kept the same pace as Schempp on that climb but lost 4 seconds to him afterwards.

Whatever it was, disappointment for Moravec must be huge. He's better of the two yet he has no gold medal.

Yeah, that would have been ideal for me. I think Bailey would have been very happy with Silver after he came so close to the medals 2 times.

 

[meat puppet]

The distance races at Otepää should give some indication as to what the balance of power is towards Lahti. Especially since the tracks are quite similar to one another in terms of total climb per lap (some 190-200m of vertical climbing per lap) and the frequency of climbs. In otepää the climbs are a bit longer and they are a bit more frequent in Lahti. Here's an image that superimposes the track profiles:

http://hs.mediadelivery.io/img/468/30226afdbd654fac9020aa523721ae6a.png

 

[python]

very interesting sprints...the 1st thing that instantly hit the eye was how warm and mushy the course was. added to a rather steep penultimate hill and the 3-4 minutes anaerobic effort would tell pretty much who is who with 4 days before lahti.

i was of course very happy to see how easily stina won. her superiority was such that bared an accident, she should win gold in lahti. falla fought well but if she, the lighter of the 2, could not drop stina on a steep hill in a mush, she would not stand a chance in a more solid snow. just my opinion but i am biased.

in the men competition also there were some interesting developments. 1st of, the klaebo superiority both in the qual and final was indisputable. he's a #1 candidate for the lahti sprint gold. but ustiougov showed himself well too. in fact, his choice of heats and tactics indicate his is very confident. to begin with, he INTENTIONALLY chose the last heat #5 (being the #6 qualifier) where none of the major competitors ran. it worked, but he gave at least 20 more minutes of recovery time to klaebo... he also started intentionally slow staying in the last position for about 1/2 of the loop (both in the qf and sm). it was quite risky b/c the course was not all that roomy to blast away on the final hill in any lane. and even at the finish of both the qf and the sm he was fighting hard out to stay 2nd. that he chose this risky tactic tells me he was very confident in his accelerations. that he podiumed at all starting with the 5th heat tells me he's very strong and had the conditions been colder he'd nip krogh.

i expected not much from petter and he showed not much... i expected a lot from pelle, but something went wrong. dont understand why sundby enters sprints 1 day before a distance race. good he broke a pole and wasn't a factor. in general a lot of broken poles including by petter.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Petter was dreadful, if he weren't the defending champion there's absolutely no reason for him to be in Lahti. Pelle I'm not sure about, he seemed racy at moments but at the key times he just didn't have it. Not convinced by Ustiugov's tactic in the final sprint, he made it very hard for himself going around the outside and I think that cost him against Krogh in the fight to the line. Maybe influenced by Matveeva's DQ earlier, which I thought was touch and go. Randall went for a gap that wasn't really there because you could see she was desperate to get past the Russian. Matveeva did move a bit to the left and then cut to the inside line on the right when Randall was trying to force up the inside, so I think that's what tipped it to a DQ, but it's a shame as Randall was given the reprieve then, while she was looking decent in the semi-final, I can't possibly imagine she'd have got to the top 2 once Diggins was away (she had some phenomenal skis for the glide today) even before she fell, though ES cut to an ad break so I didn't get to see the replay of how it happened. Matveeva could have been an interesting factor however. Klæbo took the men's final apart, I didn't know if he'd hold it coming into the stadium but that was really impressive.

 

[Singer01]

Norway only missing 3 out of first 25 and still 45 seconds down, unexpected. Germany and France also well back. Shipulin should bring this home.

 

[portugal11]

Shipulin was faster than fourcade. He is really the only one who could beat fourcade in the mass start

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re:

Shipulin was faster than fourcade. He is really the only one who could beat fourcade in the mass start

Johannes is my favourite for tomorrow. It helped his chances today that he could relax and he was already a very big favourite for the mass-start, I think.

 

[Gigs_98]

Wohoooo, Landertinger I love you. What a finish by him

 

[kingjr]

Just for the record, Northug's pole broke at the start. It probably didn't make much of a difference

 

[Singer01]

Wohoooo, Landertinger I love you. What a finish by him

That burst he put on up that hill night be my favourite part of the season so far.

 

[May0maniac]

What a great race, Landi is just awesome.
s post race interview on Austrian TV was also great: "Being the last guy from your team is just brutal, before the last shooting my Testicles went up to my Tonsils".
Shipulin was also super impressive.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Great that the Russians and Shipulin got the better of Fourcade. Must not be very pleased with this result...

 

[Singer01]

Bjogen absolutely smashing it. JK looking decent though which is nice. Really don't want another German win in the women's biathlon.

 

[Singer01]

Dunklee mixing with the big guns. Hope she can stay clean. Again the women's races are delivering.

 

[kingjr]

Looks like Gregorin can make the podium after all :exclaim:

 

[meat puppet]

Rather big gaps in the otepää xc race amongst women. Must say that I am surprised how much pärmäkoski but also the mid level Finns such as kyllönen, mononen and niskanen lost over 10ks. If their plan is to peak the next two weeks, they better be on the ball, because 1:20-2:30min is a long way to recover in such a short time. I think pärmä will he fine, but the others im not so sure.

Notably Kalla is back on track again, and this was a classic race!

As for biathlon, well, Dahlmeier was just insane in this wc. I like her, but c'mon, lose sometimes!

 

[python]

yes, kalla is back and as meat puppet said, this was not her favorite skating... i thought the finnish ladies would do better. sedova probably cant be too unhappy. btw, does anyone know if she and sedov (who ran today too) are related ? after the s. korea victory sedov has literally fell apart today. as did most of his compatriots except - as was well expected - bessmertych. his last lap was just furious. perhaps the fastest of everyone. had he not fallen 50m from the finish, i think he would replace dyrhaug for the 4th. i reckon the fall cost him 7-8 seconds in getting up and getting back up to speed...

niskanen: good race, good pacing and frankly in the soft conditions he should be slightly advantaged compared to the heavier sundby, but the beard is unnaturally strong. pretty clear that only a fluke will prevent him and bjoergen from taking gold in lahti...after the asthma commision report found everything was fine, the norges are back to the same old

 

[Kokoso]

Re:

Rather big gaps in the otepää xc race amongst women. Must say that I am surprised how much pärmäkoski but also the mid level Finns such as kyllönen, mononen and niskanen lost over 10ks. If their plan is to peak the next two weeks, they better be on the ball, because 1:20-2:30min is a long way to recover in such a short time. I think pärmä will he fine, but the others im not so sure.

Notably Kalla is back on track again, and this was a classic race!

As for biathlon, well, Dahlmeier was just insane in this wc. I like her, but c'mon, lose sometimes!

Bad conditions there, Finns had very bad ski, hence Pärmäkoski ond others loss.

Kalla already had some very good races before this season.

 

[Singer01]

After all the concerns about fourcade dominating, the men's races victories were spread out. And it was the women's that turned into a procession. Expect marit and mjs to ruin the spectacle next week.

 

[BullsFan22]

If Shipulin treated the individual races like they were relays or mixed relays, he would already be a legend. Ok, maybe I am being too harsh on him, but look at his record in Hochfilzen 2017: mixed relay bronze (less tactics from him and Fourcade in the final lap could have caught Schempp and then Fourcade cut him off, taking the silver from him), then he finished 21st in the sprint, 4th in the pursuit (an excellent race, but one less miss and he is in the medals, or more), 7th in the individual with two misses (one less and he wins the race), the Russkies win the relay, and he finished 4th in the mass start (two misses again, and he skis a dynamite final lap to again outlast Fourcade and come close to the medals.) Despite a bronze and gold here, with a bit of luck he could have won 3 or 4 gold medals. I know that these types of clichés are a big part of biathlon and I could say similar of a number of athletes (a great example is the Italian team-great form, just no fortune-except for Runggaldier in the individual, they should have won at least 3 medals...) My point was that Shipulin is a team player and he always rises to the occasion in the team events and head to head racing. Just a pity he couldn't snatch another gold or two.

Apart from JT Boe and OEB, the Norwegian biathletes were very, very poor. Quite a contrast to last year in Oslo, where they were the only ones challenging Fourcade and their women were all in form. It's like a totally different team this year. Eckhoff skied well, but couldn't hit the ocean. Svendsen and Tarjei Boe have had issues all season. It could be the asthma gate that has cast a shadow on the xc team, it could be something else...

The Austrians, good on them, a bronze in the relay and mass start (Eder) this weekend was a nice way to end a rather poor championships for them. I expected more from Landertinger, Hauser and even Eberhard, but I think he did ok, considering his inconsistency on the shooting range.

Makarainen and Wierer were disappointing. Unfortunately Wierer's ski form was not that great. Kaisa snagged a medal yesterday, but I think she was hoping for more. Having said that, when Dahlmeier sweeps the way she did, it's hard for anyone to do much.

Bailey and Dunklee's performances were a breakthrough for the Americans. Bailey said that before the season started this would be his last, but he'll go for the Olympics next year. Great shooting from him. He's had a career year in terms of consistency and peaking for the world's, at the age of 35, what's more.

The Germans dominated. Not only Dahlmeier won, though winning 5 golds in one championships tends to overshadow anyone else on that team. Doll and Schempp winning was just icing on the cake.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re:

After all the concerns about fourcade dominating, the men's races victories were spread out. And it was the women's that turned into a procession. Expect marit and mjs to ruin the spectacle next week.

I think the incident with the Russians may have played a role, despite getting some medals, Fourcade didn't do as well as he probably wanted.

Bjoergen and Sundby look like they will dominate Lahti. The only race the Bjoergen will have a hard time is the sprint, where it looks like it will be another one on one between Nilsson and Falla. Bjoergen is a better classic skier and the sprint being skate this year will not help her. I expect the Norwegians to win the relay and with no Johaug, the 30km and 15km skiathlon will be interesting. I hope Kalla is in form. The 30km should be good for her, even though I think a 15km or 10km skate is where she is at her best.

Sundby will have a tougher time no doubt.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

If Shipulin treated the individual races like they were relays or mixed relays, he would already be a legend. Ok, maybe I am being too harsh on him, but look at his record in Hochfilzen 2017: mixed relay bronze (less tactics from him and Fourcade in the final lap could have caught Schempp and then Fourcade cut him off, taking the silver from him), then he finished 21st in the sprint, 4th in the pursuit (an excellent race, but one less miss and he is in the medals, or more), 7th in the individual with two misses (one less and he wins the race), the Russkies win the relay, and he finished 4th in the mass start (two misses again, and he skis a dynamite final lap to again outlast Fourcade and come close to the medals.) Despite a bronze and gold here, with a bit of luck he could have won 3 or 4 gold medals. I know that these types of clichés are a big part of biathlon and I could say similar of a number of athletes (a great example is the Italian team-great form, just no fortune-except for Runggaldier in the individual, they should have won at least 3 medals...) My point was that Shipulin is a team player and he always rises to the occasion in the team events and head to head racing. Just a pity he couldn't snatch another gold or two.

Apart from JT Boe and OEB, the Norwegian biathletes were very, very poor. Quite a contrast to last year in Oslo, where they were the only ones challenging Fourcade and their women were all in form. It's like a totally different team this year. Eckhoff skied well, but couldn't hit the ocean. Svendsen and Tarjei Boe have had issues all season. It could be the asthma gate that has cast a shadow on the xc team, it could be something else...

The Austrians, good on them, a bronze in the relay and mass start (Eder) this weekend was a nice way to end a rather poor championships for them. I expected more from Landertinger, Hauser and even Eberhard, but I think he did ok, considering his inconsistency on the shooting range.

Makarainen and Wierer were disappointing. Unfortunately Wierer's ski form was not that great. Kaisa snagged a medal yesterday, but I think she was hoping for more. Having said that, when Dahlmeier sweeps the way she did, it's hard for anyone to do much.

Bailey and Dunklee's performances were a breakthrough for the Americans. Bailey said that before the season started this would be his last, but he'll go for the Olympics next year. Great shooting from him. He's had a career year in terms of consistency and peaking for the world's, at the age of 35, what's more.

The Germans dominated. Not only Dahlmeier won, though winning 5 golds in one championships tends to overshadow anyone else on that team. Doll and Schempp winning was just icing on the cake.

Huh . . Shipulin was in good shape, but he was never close to 3 or 4 gold medals. It would have been more likely that Johannes had ended up with 3 gold and 1 silver instead of "just" 3 silvers.

I also partly disagree with your assesment of the Norwegian men. I don't think you could have expected anything more from Tarjei, coming into this championship with only two IBU-cup races in his legs. He did quite well. Problem was that Emil just didn't hit the great shape he showed during early January and that the whole team underperformed terribly in the relay.
Norway's biggest problem is still on the women's side. The fact that Eckhoff's decent ski-speed is the most positive thing to say about the performance of the Norwegian women tells the whole story.

 

[May0maniac]

Re: Re:

After all the concerns about fourcade dominating, the men's races victories were spread out. And it was the women's that turned into a procession. Expect marit and mjs to ruin the spectacle next week.

I think the incident with the Russians may have played a role, despite getting some medals, Fourcade didn't do as well as he probably wanted.

Bjoergen and Sundby look like they will dominate Lahti. The only race the Bjoergen will have a hard time is the sprint, where it looks like it will be another one on one between Nilsson and Falla. Bjoergen is a better classic skier and the sprint being skate this year will not help her. I expect the Norwegians to win the relay and with no Johaug, the 30km and 15km skiathlon will be interesting. I hope Kalla is in form. The 30km should be good for her, even though I think a 15km or 10km skate is where she is at her best.

Sundby will have a tougher time no doubt.

Cologna DNS because of lower back/glutes pain, I hope that he'll be fine for the WC, but he traveled home to Switzerland and could skip all the classic races (yes, even the skiathlon).
Many teams had bad skis and problems with the conditions, the Finnish team should be stronger, Bessmertnykh could always get a medal in the classic races and Poltoranin also seems to be back on track, he looked smooth.
No idea what to expect from Krogh in the non-sprint races, maybe someone like Sedov could surpise people in the skating races and in the skiathlon.
No idea what to expect from De Fabiani he was pretty strong durning the 2nd half of the TdS, even if he had a bit of a meltdown on the final Alpe Cermis stage, maybe he can surprise us.