Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

[DenisMenchov]

It seemed like he was the only one really pushing for it. He needed those 100 points for the Overall battle, others looked like they tested their legs for the Worlds...

 

[meat puppet]

The sprint qualis begin in an hour or so. According to the official start list Nilsson will race: http://medias3.fis-ski.com/pdf/2019/CC/4340/2019CC4340QUA.pdf

 

[Singer01]

I had my dates mixed up, thought it was next week it started, excellent news. I have my doubts about Nillsson but she has been the class of the season so deserves a medal.
Norway should absolutely piss the overall medal table.

 

[kingjr]

Sergey is dumb as a brick. Would have loved to see him rip Klaebo to shreds after the finish, but he wasnt even able to do that. Well I suppose, they'll have to ban him for the rest of the event, perhaps season.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re:

Sergey is dumb as a brick. Would have loved to see him rip Klaebo to shreds after the finish, but he wasnt even able to do that. Well I suppose, they'll have to ban him for the rest of the event, perhaps season.

Not going to throw a pity party for Ustiugov, but Klaebo is not without blame.

 

[zarnack]

Swedes tripped over each other and two medals to Norway... in Sweden's strongest discipline of the championship.

 

[kingjr]

Re:

Swedes tripped over each other and two medals to Norway... in Sweden's strongest discipline of the championship.

Next up, the Klaebo/Iversen double?

 

[zarnack]

Re:

Sergey is dumb as a brick. Would have loved to see him rip Klaebo to shreds after the finish, but he wasnt even able to do that. Well I suppose, they'll have to ban him for the rest of the event, perhaps season.

In semifinal 1 they were playing cat and mouse. But with skiers like Klaebo, Ustiugov, Pellegrino someone was going to lose out badly. They should have pushed and played for 3rd and 4th going through with lucky loser times. Missed opportunity.

 

[DenisMenchov]

I don't think they can ban him. He only pushed him, not hit Klaebo, yellow card and some fine in my opinion.

 

[zarnack]

Well, okay, the individual sprints are done then.

What concerns team sprints, then I wonder, which 2 is Sweden going to pick? Damn, that's hard choice. And they absolutely have to win the team sprint to redeem themselves. However, the good news is that Nilsson isn't exactly in a bad shape, though not in her peak form either. So chances are she will participate in 4x5 relay and if Karlsson is any good (kind of top 10 performance material), Sweden would be formidable in the long relay.

Of course, it would be an equally hard choice for Norway to choose a partner for Kläbo for the men's team sprint. Assuming it is going to be Iversen, I assume he won't be put for the final leg, considering, what happened in Lahti!

The good news for Russia is that Ustiugov appears to be in good shape, so one would have to take him into serious consideration in the other disciplines. Except I guess he is unlikely to participate in 15 km, which would probably be between Niskanen and Bolshunov and maybe some Norwegian on his day.

 

[Singer01]

Re:

I don't think they can ban him. He only pushed him, not hit Klaebo, yellow card and some fine in my opinion.

anybody got a link?

 

[BullsFan22]

The French men were a bit like the Swedish and Slovenian women today. Excellent skate sprinters, a course that's really good for them, two men in the final, including their strongest one (literally and figuratively) and they lose out. They have a chance in the relay and Manificat has a shot in the skiathlon and the of course the 50km skate, but this was a really good opportunity missed for them. Pity.

Pellegrino just didn't quite have it today, plus Klaebo skis were rockets, again.

Ustiugov, yeah, not the smartest race from him in the semis and I feel he had a real shot to beat Klaebo for gold today, but hopefully he cools off and prepares for the rest of the races, where he'll have plenty of chances to win medals, but today's result hurts, especially the way the semifinal transpired. He skied like Halfvarsson, worrying about others rather than focusing on his own race. Another pity. Good for Retivykh. He's been around for ages, even though he's only 27. Seems to always be there or there about's, making the semis, finals, capable of getting on the podium in both classic and skate, so finally he got to a championship final and got his first podium. That said, this was his second championship start. No Sochi, no Pyeongchang, no Val Di Fiemme, no Falun...only Lahti before this. Wonder who the Russians will put in the team sprint with Bolshunov. I would be shocked if he wasn't on the team. Probably wise to sit him out and rest him for the team sprint. He isn't going to fight for a medal (i don't think) in the skiathlon unless the pack really breaks apart in the classic portion with him and guys like Niskanen piling on the pressure.

Kind of worried about the weather. Snow there tonight and most of tomorrow, but should freeze and make for good conditions for Saturday and Sunday. After that it could be a slush fest. Temperatures of up to 12 degrees celsius expected next week. It's way too early in the season for that sort of weather, especially in the heart of the Alps.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re:

Well, okay, the individual sprints are done then.

What concerns team sprints, then I wonder, which 2 is Sweden going to pick? Damn, that's hard choice. And they absolutely have to win the team sprint to redeem themselves. However, the good news is that Nilsson isn't exactly in a bad shape, though not in her peak form either. So chances are she will participate in 4x5 relay and if Karlsson is any good (kind of top 10 performance material), Sweden would be formidable in the long relay.

Of course, it would be an equally hard choice for Norway to choose a partner for Kläbo for the men's team sprint. Assuming it is going to be Iversen, I assume he won't be put for the final leg, considering, what happened in Lahti!

The good news for Russia is that Ustiugov appears to be in good shape, so one would have to take him into serious consideration in the other disciplines. Except I guess he is unlikely to participate in 15 km, which would probably be between Niskanen and Bolshunov and maybe some Norwegian on his day.

The Swedes I think will go with Nilsson. She is not at her best, that's true, but they need her experience and strength. I am assuming that Dahlqvist is the other choice, unless of course the reason for Ingemarsdotter not racing today was to rest her for the team sprint, but perhaps unlikely. What's interesting is that both Dahlqvist and Nilsson have good finishing ability, almost equal, so who do they put in as anchor?

The other women are better in skate, Falk (though she's hardly bad at classic, having finished 5th in Pyeongchang), Sundling definitely better in skate...The other options would be a 'universal' skier, but that's highly unlikely.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Swedish men today. I know that the sprints would give them more hope than distance races, but to see Thorn winning the qualification and Halfvarsson also figuring in, plus Svensson, who actually got the farthest today, it gives them hope for the team sprint. The distance races hinge on Halfvarsson, in my opinion.

Yes definitely no Ustiugov in the 15km classic. That would be a total waste of energy and a waste of a spot, IMHO. They'll have 4 strong guys that can challenge for medals. No reason to put him in his weakest discipline, an individual distance classic race. If his skis are working well in the skiathlon, he'll be one of the top favorites. There's no doubt about that. He's in good form, and as I said earlier, had a realistic shot of winning today but sometimes sprints are a lottery. Definitely the relay and 50km skate, and judging by the skiathlon, the team sprint with, likely, Bolshunov. Hopefully he channels the anger nicely and gets revenge in the next race(s).

 

[BullsFan22]

Watched a slow mo of the Ustiugov Klaebo incident. I don't blame Ustiugov for reacting the way he did. Klaebo the coward is DEFINITELY not without blame, but we know that FIS doesn't have cojones to give wonderboy, or indeed any top Norwegian a yellow or a straight DQ for any infringement or unsportsmanlike maneuvers. I would have been pissed as well. And Skar, what was his problem with Ustiugov? Sticking up for wonderboy?

 

[kingjr]

Watched a slow mo of the Ustiugov Klaebo incident. I don't blame Ustiugov for reacting the way he did. Klaebo the coward is DEFINITELY not without blame, but we know that FIS doesn't have cojones to give wonderboy, or indeed any top Norwegian a yellow or a straight DQ for any infringement or unsportsmanlike maneuvers. I would have been pissed as well. And Skar, what was his problem with Ustiugov? Sticking up for wonderboy?

Um, isn't that the normal reaction for a teammate?

 

[zarnack]

Kind of worried about the weather. Snow there tonight and most of tomorrow, but should freeze and make for good conditions for Saturday and Sunday. After that it could be a slush fest. Temperatures of up to 12 degrees celsius expected next week. It's way too early in the season for that sort of weather, especially in the heart of the Alps.

Well, that's global warming... or climate change using another term.

Guess in the long run they would have to hold championships more often in Scandinavia, Russia or in North America to be sure about the weather...

 

[zarnack]

Re: Re:

The Swedes I think will go with Nilsson. She is not at her best, that's true, but they need her experience and strength. I am assuming that Dahlqvist is the other choice, unless of course the reason for Ingemarsdotter not racing today was to rest her for the team sprint, but perhaps unlikely. What's interesting is that both Dahlqvist and Nilsson have good finishing ability, almost equal, so who do they put in as anchor?

Well, I assume given the choice they would put Dahlqvist for the anchor. Because not long ago Nilsson had a painful experience of a classic sprint finish and perhaps it would be a safe bet not to put her into a situation, where she could have to stretch herself at the line.

Also Dahlqvist may also possibly be in a more peaky form right now, she also won sprint's qualifying. So this also speaks for getting chosen for the anchor leg.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Well, that was some enjoyable sprints.

It's always satisfactory when the best sprinter in the world actually becomes world champion, not that Pellegrino would not have been a deserved winner as well.

The women's sprint final was, perhaps, slightly less epic than what transpired in the head to head sprint between Klæbo and Pellegrino in the men's sprint final. Still it was memorable in its own way.

Can't really say much about the Ustiugov-Klæbo incident in the SF other than it looked like Ustiugov tried to pass through a passage that just wasn't really there. It confuses me what made him so violent afterwards? I understand his frustrations, but pushing another athlete and touching another athlete's face is just poor sportsmanship.

 

[kingjr]

Re:

Well, that was some enjoyable sprints.

It's always satisfactory when the best sprinter in the world actually becomes world champion, not that Pellegrino would not have been a deserved winner as well.

The women's sprint final was, perhaps, slightly less epic than what transpired in the head to head sprint between Klæbo and Pellegrino in the men's sprint final. Still it was memorable in its own way.

Can't really say much about the Ustiugov-Klæbo incident in the SF other than it looked like Ustiugov tried to pass through a passage that just wasn't really there. It confuses me what made him so violent afterwards? I understand his frustrations, but pushing another athlete and touching another athlete's face is just poor sportsmanship.

Tbh, it looked a bit like the Schumacher/Hill incident in Adelaide.

 

[BullsFan22]

Re:

Well, that was some enjoyable sprints.

It's always satisfactory when the best sprinter in the world actually becomes world champion, not that Pellegrino would not have been a deserved winner as well.

The women's sprint final was, perhaps, slightly less epic than what transpired in the head to head sprint between Klæbo and Pellegrino in the men's sprint final. Still it was memorable in its own way.

Can't really say much about the Ustiugov-Klæbo incident in the SF other than it looked like Ustiugov tried to pass through a passage that just wasn't really there. It confuses me what made him so violent afterwards? I understand his frustrations, but pushing another athlete and touching another athlete's face is just poor sportsmanship.

You can clearly see Klaebo using his right side, his right ski going over Ustiugov's. He knew exactly what he was doing and he wasn't even given a warning for that. Had it been Ustiugov that did that, they would have DQ'd him. I blame Ustiugov for the wrong tactics in the semis. Should have done what he did in the quarterfinals, he would have made the final easily. I don't blame him for trying pass. It's like blaming Niskanen for trying to pass Iversen in the team sprint in Lahti. Niskanen also had choice words at the finish of that race. Obviously he didn't push Iversen, but he was rightfully upset, as he should have been, as Ustiugov was and should have been with Klaebo. I hope he takes releases all of his frustrations on the rest of the week. Nobody wants to watch a Norwegian championship at the World's.

 

[Põhja Konn]

Klaebo's move, to me, looked like a blatant obstruction. He got sloppy and left a small gap to his right, Ustyugov had every right to push into that gap. When Klaebo saw him coming he just trampled on Russian's skis with own right ski and rescued his position with it. If I've understood the rules correctly then Klaebo had the right to choose his lane as he was ahead of Ustyugov at the time of the incident, and thus avoided any punishment. But it was definitely intentional obstruction and as such cynical and unsportsmanlike behaviour, even if technically within the rules.

 

[Norbea]

Re:

Klaebo's move, to me, looked like a blatant obstruction. He got sloppy and left a small gap to his right, Ustyugov had every right to push into that gap. When Klaebo saw him coming he just trampled on Russian's skis with own right ski and rescued his position with it. If I've understood the rules correctly then Klaebo had the right to choose his lane as he was ahead of Ustyugov at the time of the incident, and thus avoided any punishment. But it was definitely intentional obstruction and as such cynical and unsportsmanlike behaviour, even if technically within the rules.

..and anyone in that race, including Ustyogov, would have done the same thing in Klæbo's position.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

I get that there can be debate about the move that Klæbo made. It's a grey zone case where people will disagree because of their bias'es. To me it did not look deliberate from Klæbo. He did not make a sudden swerve to his right, but just tried to take the shortest route to the turn. After they made contact the first time, I guess both were in their right to make sure they did not fall, so none of the things that transpired right after Klæbo's ski first crossed into Ustiugov's the first time should be punishable. I would not call it deliberate unsportsmanlike behavior from Klæbo's side, but then again, I am also not determined to see it that way.

Ultimately, while I do think Klæbo's behavior/maneuver can be legitimately excused as a race incident, the same cannot be said of what Ustiugov decided to do afterwards.

 

[zarnack]

I just read that Alex Harvey is going to retire after this season. And he isn't particularly old yet (30). So, what's the reason? No support from home country?

International competition in XC is going to be even more sparse and Canada will be left without any competitive skiers.

Personally I think it's a big shame and a big missed opportunity for XC that such a huge country (36M people) with such good cold winters like Canada isn't among top ski countries. But I guess they love their hockey too much.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re:

I get that there can be debate about the move that Klæbo made. It's a grey zone case where people will disagree because of their bias'es. To me it did not look deliberate from Klæbo. He did not make a sudden swerve to his right, but just tried to take the shortest route to the turn. After they made contact the first time, I guess both were in their right to make sure they did not fall, so none of the things that transpired right after Klæbo's ski first crossed into Ustiugov's the first time should be punishable. I would not call it deliberate unsportsmanlike behavior from Klæbo's side, but then again, I am also not determined to see it that way.

Ultimately, while I do think Klæbo's behavior/maneuver can be legitimately excused as a race incident, the same cannot be said of what Ustiugov decided to do afterwards.

The problem is, because Klæbo seems intent on turning himself into the new Northug both on and off the tracks, that comes with the same polarising response among the crowd as Northug generated, for better or for worse. And when an incident like today's happens, that's for better for his results (not even given a warning or a yellow) but for worse for PR as against a large proportion of the fanbase.