Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

[Bavarianrider]

I honestly think Krüger would have won a 50km race today. Quite the irony.

 

[DenisMenchov]

I honestly think Krüger would have won a 50km race today. Quite the irony.

No way, he looked cooked at the end. I think he wouldn't even medal in 50km.

But even if he could push the tempo all the way, where could he possibly drop Bolshunov?!

 

[Max Rockatansky]

When they made the decision to shortens the race IT was -16 degrees and wind speeds of 7 m/s. Perfect winter conditions, nothing outrageous at all. Tough, sure but nothing to be worried about. And well INSIDE the limits. Disgraceful.

From the official report: Air -16.7°C / Snow -10.5°C
Those were the conditions of the Ruka pursuit race: Air -18.5°C / Snow -16.0°C

FIS has a rule book for this. They are asked to also consider wind chill, which was around -22°C.

These factors together with any other relevant information such as the "wind chill factor" must be taken into consideration when a decision is made regarding cold weather.

If the temperature level is forecast to be between minus 15 °C and minus 25 °C at any point on the course, recommendations regarding cold weather protection should be made available to the competitors. Under such conditions it is the responsibility of the competitors to seek the information and to follow the recommendations given by the organiser.

Under -25°C they have to postpone or cancel. Not sure, but didn't they cancel the 30k of Lahti in '01 because of cold?

 

[Discgear]

Klaebo tells Norwegian media that he had a bad night and had planned to watch the 50k from the hotelroom, but when he heard the race was changed to 30k he decided to give it a go.

 

[Bavarianrider]

No way, he looked cooked at the end. I think he wouldn't even medal in 50km.

But even if he could push the tempo all the way, where could he possibly drop Bolshunov?!

Well in a 50km race the speed would have been lower overall. In theory he should have a lot more energy than someone like Bolshunov left. I think the 50km race would have suited him even better. We ll never know, though.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Klaebo tells Norwegian media that he had a bad night and had planned to watch the 50k from the hotelroom, but when he heard the race was changed to 30k he decided to give it a go.

That guy makes it really hard not to hate him.

 

[Mayomaniac]

That guy makes it really hard not to hate him.

He might as well go full Northug, if you're unlikable you might as well be a character.
After today it's clear that Norway should have gone Golberg-Holund-Roethe-Klaebo im the relay.

 

[Bavarianrider]

From the official report: Air -16.7°C / Snow -10.5°C
Those were the conditions of the Ruka pursuit race: Air -18.5°C / Snow -16.0°C

FIS has a rule book for this. They are asked to also consider wind chill, which was around -22°C.



Under -25°C they have to postpone or cancel. Not sure, but didn't they cancel the 30k of Lahti in '01 because of cold?

Today would have been a huge chance to promote cross country skiing. A 50km epic fight against the elements. That is something you can sell to the public.
Fis always tries to compete with biathlon, that can never work the way they do it.
They should position cross country skiers as the epic warriors of winter sports. The true tough guys, the ironmans of winter sports. That you can sell.
Trying to compete by doing shorter races on shorter loops will always look pale in comparison to biathlon.
Right now, xc skiers are doing more or less the same as biathlon athletes, but those guys have too shoot, too. It is no wonder that the biathletes are regared so much higher by the broad public. Fis shoud position XC skiing much differently. Yes, you can keep all that sprint stuff. But you also should play the card of cross country skiers as the kings of winter. Long and gard races will do that.
These Olympics offered the perfect conditiosn for that with the weather and the challenging course. But instead of embrassing it and selling this all you ever heard was that conditions were "too tough" and then todays disgrace to put the icing on the cake. We all know wehere we are going from here. Well never get courses in conditions like that again. You can take this to the bank.

 

[Bavarianrider]

He might as well go full Northug, if you're unlikable you might as well be a character.
After today it's clear that Norway should have gone Golberg-Holund-Roethe-Klaebo im the relay.

With Northug I have always felt that he was plaing the character of the villain. With Klaebo it feels much more that that`s simply the way he is.
Northug played mental games and too often the competition would fall for them. It is crazy how many races he won simply because no one was willing to set the pace. At least those dark days of mass start races from 2005 on to the mid 2010s are over.

 

[Discgear]

Now FIS announces that Women 30k is moved with an earlier start, due to hard winds. Whenever did winds become an issue for XC-skiing? I guess hard winds affects the possibility for the outlier to leave the field behind.

 

[search]

yep, start rescheduled to 4:00 CET. This means Johaug loses the historic chance to win both the first as well as the last Gold medal of the Olympic Games

 

[Bavarianrider]

Now FIS announces that Women 30k is moved with an earlier start, due to hard winds. Whenever did winds become an issue for XC-skiing? I guess hard winds affects the possibility for the outlier to leave the field behind.

Then they should simply do an individual start.

 

[Discgear]

Then they should simply do an individual start.

Totally agree

yep, start rescheduled to 4:00 CET. This means Johaug loses the historic chance to win both the first as well as the last Gold medal of the Olympic Games

That's so sad. Would have been fantastic for the sport, with a convicted doper banned from the last games, returning to the Olympics and leaving in full glory.
Gloria, in eternum Norvegia

 

[search]

German TV just showed an interview with Schlickenrieder. He said that shortening the event was absolutely the correct decision, and proven by the fact that even a Norwegian had to abandon the race

 

[Mayomaniac]

German TV just showed an interview with Schlickenrieder. He said that shortening the event was absolutely the correct decision, and proven by the fact that even a Norwegian had to abandon the race

Can we ask the Chinese to keep him/prevent him from leaving the country?
Sweden had Poromaa race a lot, every single race but the sprint and he finished every single one inside the top 10. Impressive for someone who was behind guys like Moch, Schumacher and Graz in the junior ranks. I know that he skipped the TdS to prepare for the games, but that's a lot of races for such a young skier.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

German TV just showed an interview with Schlickenrieder. He said that shortening the event was absolutely the correct decision, and proven by the fact that even a Norwegian had to abandon the race

"even" a Norwegian who was the only one to abandon. Yes.

 

[frenchfry]

Great race for Clément Parisse, first non Russian/Norwegian. In the end, 7th was about the best result he could have hoped for, though l was disappointed he finished behind Spitsov.

 

[Mayomaniac]

"even" a Norwegian who was the only one to abandon. Yes.

#deportSchlicki

 

[Mayomaniac]

Great race for Clément Parisse, first non Russian/Norwegian. In the end, 7th was about the best result he could have hoped for, though l was disappointed he finished behind Spitsov.

Yeah, maybe he and Patterson both wasted a bit too much energy by skiing at the front.
Speaking about Spitsov, today he really underperformed. I had him up there with Bolshunov and Krüger in my prediction.
Krüger seems to be one of the few Norwegians who likes really cold weather (probably also Golberg because his hometown Gol is really cold, so he should be used to it)

 

[titan31]

Klaebo tells Norwegian media that he had a bad night and had planned to watch the 50k from the hotelroom, but when he heard the race was changed to 30k he decided to give it a go.

I think the saddest thing here is a sick Klaebo was still worth putting in over Iversen, Valnes and Golberg. None of those other 3 had a chance.

Really just goes back to including Taugboel whos a very good sprinter but gave them no real option in the other races.

 

[Norbea]

German TV just showed an interview with Schlickenrieder. He said that shortening the event was absolutely the correct decision, and proven by the fact that even a Norwegian had to abandon the race

He abandoned because of stomach problems and that could have happened even if the race was just 1,5 km

 

[frenchfry]

Yeah, maybe he and Patterson both wasted a bit too much energy by skiing at the front.
Speaking about Spitsov, today he really underperformed. I had him up there with Bolshunov and Krüger in my prediction.
Krüger seems to be one of the few Norwegians who likes really cold weather (probably also Golberg because his hometown Gol is really cold, so he should be used to it)

In an interview he said that the pace wasn't that high and there was a lot of stepping on each other's skiis, That's one reason why he pushed the pace for a while, it was less stressful like that. In any case Clément isn't one to wheelsuck, he often does more than his share on the front.

 

[Discgear]

I think the saddest thing here is a sick Klaebo was still worth putting in over Iversen, Valnes and Golberg. None of those other 3 had a chance.

Really just goes back to including Taugboel whos a very good sprinter but gave them no real option in the other races.

IMO the saddest thing is the truly unworthy handling by FIS of the race length today.
The 2nd saddest thing is that Klaebo had planned - due to his bad "night/stomach" - to watch the race on TV, but when he heard the race was 30k instead of 50k he decided to race. What a hero, no sleep and a bad stomach...
The 3rd saddest thing is that Norwegian media apparently new that the race length was change before skiers like Andrew Musgrave.

You could almost here the arguments from the Norwegian delegates in the situation room. It is paramount that Klaebo participates. He's the poster boy for the sport and the duel between him and Bolshunov is a must, for a coronation of the Olymics XC-king. BUT, he won't participate in a 50k in these conditions.

 

[Norbea]

A lot of conspiracy theories about Norways role in this s***show. It is the the jury, not Norway who took this stupid decision to reduce the length of the race. They had other options available. Even as a Norwegian I don't know what the Norwegian team thought or did in this matter. For sure Kruger has prepared for a 50km. The only norwegian who has explicitly said he was happy about the decision was Sjur Røthe and I have no idea why. It makes no sense why he would think so other than not being in his best form.

 

[Bavarianrider]

A lot of conspiracy theories about Norways role in this s***show. It is the the jury, not Norway who took this stupid decision to reduce the length of the race. They had other options available. Even as a Norwegian I don't know what the Norwegian team thought or did in this matter. For sure Kruger has prepared for a 50km. The only norwegian who has explicitly said he was happy about the decision was Sjur Røthe and I have no idea why. It makes no sense why he would think so other than not being in his best form.

Well, I read Dagbladet and unlike the German Translation is totally off, Norwegians officials we're absolutely in support of shortening the race.
There are only two scenarios. Either the conditions dont allow a race or they do and you do the full race. What they did today is not justified in any case.
But as so often in XC skiing some nations saw their chance and pushed for it. ( Norway and Germany being among them)
And of course, Fis being Fis did not hesitate at all. Guys Like Jörg Capol and company hate the 50km Race anyway. So obviously they did Not hesitate for a Split second when they could get rid of it.