Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

[Cance > TheRest]

Re: Re:

JTB is insane right now, he will win several gold medals in Korea barring a catastrophe.

I can't remember Fourcade ever being so outclassed, does he suffer at altitude?
Also, is there any info as to what the blip was in last round for JTB, specifically the individual competition.

Probably a bit. He's never been particularly good in Antholz. He says it's due to slower acclimatization, but I'd have expected him to do better today than yesterday if that was the only reason.

 

[Singer01]

Svendsen may have been man of the match today, hopefully getting himself into prime form to break up the monotony of the big 2, Shipulin as well on his day can throw a spanner in the works.

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

Svendsen may have been man of the match today, hopefully getting himself into prime form to break up the monotony of the big 2, Shipulin as well on his day can throw a spanner in the works.

Shipulin has always been great in Antholz/always seems to hit peak shape at this point of the season, so it's not a huge surprise.

 

[Singer01]

JTB is currently 6.5/1 to win the world cup, with Fourcade odds on, do the bookies know that the 2 worst races get discarded and that puts JTB in the lead currently? i need to get some money on pronto.

 

[Forever The Best]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=womgF9xuEOg
Very classy by Domracheva.

 

[Singer01]

Re:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=womgF9xuEOg
Very classy by Domracheva.

The Karma gods look after her on the last shoot while everyone else falls to pieces, would be a nice reward for that sportsmanship if she wins today.
The race for the 3rd podium spot is excellently poised 'edit' (or it was when they came off the last shoot, before Kaisa went absolutely bananas).

 

[Brullnux]

My god did Wierer fall apart there. First place with a penalty loop to spare, then two misses and finishes 7th. Kaisa is still a beast.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Poltoranin is just a joy to watch in Classic.

Wierer fell apart there, but judging by her last lap it might even have been touch and go had she got it all right. With the snow falling Kaisa's fast turnover aggressive skiing might give her a bit of an advantage over the likes of Dasha as her long glides won't get as much purchase on the loose new snow.

 

[python]

reposting here due to wrong location earlier:

what happened to klaebo btwn km 11.9 and 13.9 :Question:

from leading poltoranin by .3 sec at 11.9 he dropped almost 20 seconds in just 2 km i did not hear any comments about him falling. therefore, poltoranin must have just put on his jets as klaebo may have been fading...

anyway, glad to see the spor'st most elegant classic skier relegating klaebo. also quite happy for halfvarsson finding his legs finally.

nor to forget, congrats to parmakoski on her 1st word cup win (hope i my memory did not let me down...). it was time !

 

[Brullnux]

Re:

Poltoranin is just a joy to watch in Classic.

Wierer fell apart there, but judging by her last lap it might even have been touch and go had she got it all right. With the snow falling Kaisa's fast turnover aggressive skiing might give her a bit of an advantage over the likes of Dasha as her long glides won't get as much purchase on the loose new snow.

I meant skiing-wise as well. But everyone seems in good form for Pyeongchang which bodes well for a good week. Dahlmeier isn't at last year's level either which is also good for competition. Domracheva though is shooting and skiing consistently well so may be my favourite to do best, or perhaps Kaisa, while Kuzmina has become a lot more inconsistent than she was at the start of the season. Maybe Dahlmeier will peak just right too. But it's nice and open, which is good.

I'm looking forward to another Boe vs Fourcade h2h, although Boe will almost certainly win. I'm less sure about the Olympics though as Fourcade away from high altitude last week seemed better than Boe, but the dynamics change every week.

lol maybe not. boe forgot how to shoot

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Ruhpolding is Fourcade's absolute favourite venue though, he's been pretty unstoppable there most of the time since the 2012 Worlds. He made some mistakes in his ski choices at Oberhof by his own admission, so potentially he could have been closer to his Ruhpolding level there physically than the results in comparison to Bø let on.

 

[portugal11]

Re:

Ruhpolding is Fourcade's absolute favourite venue though, he's been pretty unstoppable there most of the time since the 2012 Worlds. He made some mistakes in his ski choices at Oberhof by his own admission, so potentially he could have been closer to his Ruhpolding level there physically than the results in comparison to Bø let on.

I think fourcade is better at ostersund.
today, boe had a awful day and lost all his chances of winning the world cup.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re: Re:

Ruhpolding is Fourcade's absolute favourite venue though, he's been pretty unstoppable there most of the time since the 2012 Worlds. He made some mistakes in his ski choices at Oberhof by his own admission, so potentially he could have been closer to his Ruhpolding level there physically than the results in comparison to Bø let on.

I think fourcade is better at ostersund.
today, boe had a awful day and lost all his chances of winning the world cup.

I don't know about that. Johannes was 6 points ahead before today and is now 16 points behind. It's still open.

Paradoxically, it might actually help Johannes if Fourcade keeps on getting on the podium, as long as Johannes manages it himself for the remaning season. If the duo keep on sharing the wins/podium positions and Johannes manages to beat Fourcade more often than the opposite scenario, it could mean that the accumulated differences in points between 1st, 2nd and 3rd will be enough (more than 16) for Johannes to win the overall.

Perhaps unlikely, but you never know.

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

Ruhpolding is Fourcade's absolute favourite venue though, he's been pretty unstoppable there most of the time since the 2012 Worlds. He made some mistakes in his ski choices at Oberhof by his own admission, so potentially he could have been closer to his Ruhpolding level there physically than the results in comparison to Bø let on.

I think fourcade is better at ostersund.
today, boe had a awful day and lost all his chances of winning the world cup.

I don't know about that. Johannes was 6 points ahead before today and is now 16 points behind. It's still open.

Paradoxically, it might actually help Johannes if Fourcade keeps on getting on the podium, as long as Johannes manages it himself for the remaning season. If the duo keep on sharing the wins/podium positions and Johannes manages to beat Fourcade more often than the opposite scenario, it could mean that the accumulated differences in points between 1st, 2nd and 3rd will be enough (more than 16) for Johannes to win the overall.

Perhaps unlikely, but you never know.

boe can't do, anymore, performances like he did today. fourcade only have podiums so he has margin to fail in two occasions

 

[python]

what happened to klaebo btwn km 11.9 and 13.9 :Question:

from leading poltoranin by .3 sec at 11.9 he dropped almost 20 seconds in just 2 km

just found an answer in norwegian. no falling, just plain fatigue...another weakness to note for those who want to know how to beat the norwegian.
https://www.vg.no/sport/langrenn/i/rLW39w/poltoranin-utklasset-kl%C3%A6bo-p%C3%A5-slutten-det-var-en-krig

 

[Oude Geuze]

Great insight, be stronger than your competitor as was the case with Poltaranin or did you see something special?

 

[Singer01]

Question, has anyone there ever been a mixed relay in XC? if not has the idea ever been floated? Or is there no point as Norway 2 would probably beat the rest of the world combined?

 

[Kokoso]

Re:

Great insight, be stronger than your competitor as was the case with Poltaranin or did you see something special?

Spot on

 

[Kokoso]

Re: Re:

an alleged superman

Funny Who has alleged this?

Well, a quick search reveals descriptions in the Norwegian press including 'the comet' , 'a wonder' and so on. Maybe not actually 'superman', but in the general ballpark.

Thank you for an answer, which, compared to python's one that got deleted by mods, is polite.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Well, at least Cologna saved us from a bunch sprint. The Seefeld course looks nicely difficult for the Nordic Worlds next year, some very good long climbs and fast, if not especially technical, descents, that should be decently selective in the Individual start, and over the full length mass starts (50/30) the accumulation of efforts should make it a lot more selective than it was today, though today you had the added problem that nobody really wants to show too much of their hand ahead of the Olympics. Then again, they managed to achieve a defensively raced, negative 50k at Falun in a race that went over Mördarbakken five times...

 

[Oude Geuze]

Cologna and Harvey bullying the rest of the field these days, it’s awsome to see cologna back on form, beautiful skier and a good guy. Who will be able to stop him in the olympics? Duathlon, 50k and 15k are all possible for him, hopefully Harvey can also win one, it will be interesting for sure!

 

[Bavarianrider]

Re:

Well, at least Cologna saved us from a bunch sprint. The Seefeld course looks nicely difficult for the Nordic Worlds next year, some very good long climbs and fast, if not especially technical, descents, that should be decently selective in the Individual start, and over the full length mass starts (50/30) the accumulation of efforts should make it a lot more selective than it was today, though today you had the added problem that nobody really wants to show too much of their hand ahead of the Olympics. Then again, they managed to achieve a defensively raced, negative 50k at Falun in a race that went over Mördarbakken five times...

I fear that Seefeld simply has too many flat selections and not really a single Long climb, too. Not good for mass start races at all. So someone like Northug should use this as a Motivation. If he can get back in shape, Seefeld could be a good place for him next year.

 

[python]

i am less surprised with cologna and more with harvey...it was a long, significant hill where i did not expect him to hang on to sundby. as if another demonstration of his new found climbing shown at a recent tds..for a reference, he is about the same size as polto and ustiugov...we'll have to see. looks like klaebo decided to stay this one out.

 

[Erwin]

I simply have to disagree. There are way too long flat parts and downhills, especially the one beginning from the stadium. The last climb had a 35 meters height difference for sprints, though even less for other distances as they don't climb it all the way from the stadium. It's not even close to being selective enough for men's mass start races. In comparison, Ruka has a max climb of 55 metres, Lillehammer of 64 metres and Falun of 65 metres. Lahti has a max climb of 44 metres and the 50km race last year was a bad joke because the track was so easy. If they don't have bigger uphills in Seefeld, the world championships next year are going to be very boring.

 

[Bavarianrider]

I simply have to disagree. There are way too long flat parts and downhills, especially the one beginning from the stadium. The last climb had a 35 meters height difference for sprints, though even less for other distances as they don't climb it all the way from the stadium. It's not even close to being selective enough for men's mass start races. In comparison, Ruka has a max climb of 55 metres, Lillehammer of 64 metres and Falun of 65 metres. Lahti has a max climb of 44 metres and the 50km race last year was a bad joke because the track was so easy. If they don't have bigger uphills in Seefeld, the world championships next year are going to be very boring.

I have to agree with your anaylsis. Things really don't look too promising, could be a quiet boring sprinter's Festival , even in longer distances. What's especially sad of course is that 2021 will be in Oberstdof, and we all know how things play out there.
I still can't find profiles of the tracks in Pjöngchang, pretty disappointing that they don't offer such a Service in 2018.
If only the World Cup would come here one time, I promise you, the climb that they use in the IBU Cup would splitt a mass start field like the red sea :lol: