Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

[KZD]

Anttola getting his well deserved gold medal in the 10k skating. Apparently he could even be called for the Finnish team in Planiča which would be wild for a junior even a 19 year old one. Lars Heggen doing a great race as well, only 17 years of age and managed to finish second. Nordhagen disappointing by finishing outside the top5.

In the women Norway dominated with a 1-2-4 result and Andreassen on top again. Kaelin with a great third place for Switzerland though.

 

[BullsFan22]

Korostelev would have dominated every race

 

[Mayomaniac]

Anttola getting his well deserved gold medal in the 10k skating. Apparently he could even be called for the Finnish team in Planiča which would be wild for a junior even a 19 year old one. Lars Heggen doing a great race as well, only 17 years of age and managed to finish second. Nordhagen disappointing by finishing outside the top5.

In the women Norway dominated with a 1-2-4 result and Andreassen on top again. Kaelin with a great third place for Switzerland though.

I don't think that Nordhagen dissapointed that much, it's just that his performance at the Elite NC was that much of an outlier.
Overall 5 guys who race the junior OPA in the top 10, showing once again that at least in the junior ranks the level of that race is really high. 3 Swiss guys in the top 10 surprised me a bit, but just like the Italians they have been really good in the junior ranks in recent years.
Ghio finished 7th, almost with the same time as Nordhagen. That's good, if you consider the fact that he's a better classic skier.

Next year the Italians will have a deeper talent pool in the junior ranks, just look at the results of the recent EYOF.
Today I kinda expect a top 5 result from Elia Barp, maybe he'll even fight for a podium spot.

 

[Mayomaniac]

In other news, they are actually using a 5km lap in Toblach and it's one of the harder ones.

For at least 2.5 kms it's alway up and down and that part up to the highest point goes up to 20%.

 

[BullsFan22]

In other news, they are actually using a 5km lap in Toblach and it's one of the harder ones.

For at least 2.5 kms it's alway up and down and that part up to the highest point goes up to 20%.

Likely a Swedish vs American battle. Be interesting to see in what sort of form Karlsson is after going over the edge in the TDS. Diggins will gain on the downhill sections, so others like Andersson will need to be sharp.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Likely a Swedish vs American battle. Be interesting to see in what sort of form Karlsson is after going over the edge in the TDS. Diggins will gain on the downhill sections, so others like Andersson will need to be sharp.

Toblach usually suits Diggins really well, but the 2nd half of that climb up to the highest point (after the false flat) is really steep. You have to shift your weight backwards to still have a proper gliding phase in your V1. I remember Klaebo and Ustiugov having to run out of the tracks a few years ago when they had a classic pursuit after a skating race (in the normal world cup, not the TdS). The following downhill is also steep and not like your typical false flat Toblach downhill where you still have to work. The important thing is do get that right turn at the bottom right so that you carry a ton of speed into the following climb.
Anyway, with the 5km lap and that amount of climbing it's gonna be harder than what you often get in Toblach.

 

[OJRvE]

Likely a Swedish vs American battle. Be interesting to see in what sort of form Karlsson is after going over the edge in the TDS. Diggins will gain on the downhill sections, so others like Andersson will need to be sharp.

I expect Karlsson to be weak, top 5 at best but more like 10th place. She started the hard training for Worlds a week ago. Curious to see if Sundling is going the 10k, she did relatively good at the classic race in Les Rousses and should be better in freestyle, but possibly she will just do the sprint and relay. Andersson will almost certainly podium, hopefully she be able to carry the form into the worlds, but it’s a bit tricky to measure the level of her performance when others done the tour.

The return of Kalvaa and Tiril will be interesting, Kalvaa will probably be a bit under par (how much is the question and if she will be able to turn it around to the worlds), Tiril on the other hand I don’t know what to expect. I guess it’s possible she is flying again as she been so good this year and overcomes any minor setbacks but it’s also possible that it really taken its toll and she looks spent.

In the relay it looks like they will do the hard 3.75 course skipping the part Diggins loves. So it will be a challenging test for the Swedish sprint girls.

And by the way, just read Karlsson is staying in the exact same hotel room as she did two years ago…

 

[Mayomaniac]

I expect Karlsson to be weak, top 5 at best but more like 10th place. She started the hard training for Worlds a week ago. Curious to see if Sundling is going the 10k, she did relatively good at the classic race in Les Rousses and should be better in freestyle, but possibly she will just do the sprint and relay. Andersson will almost certainly podium, hopefully she be able to carry the form into the worlds, but it’s a bit tricky to measure the level of her performance when others done the tour.

The return of Kalvaa and Tiril will be interesting, Kalvaa will probably be a bit under par (how much is the question and if she will be able to turn it around to the worlds), Tiril on the other hand I don’t know what to expect. I guess it’s possible she is flying again as she been so good this year and overcomes any minor setbacks but it’s also possible that it really taken its toll and she looks spent.

In the relay it looks like they will do the hard 3.75 course skipping the part Diggins loves. So it will be a challenging test for the Swedish sprint girls.

And by the way, just read Karlsson is staying in the exact same hotel room as she did two years ago…

I mean, nearly all the Skiers and Biathletes usually stay in Santer's hotel (Cramer's Russians and the Swedish women during the summer training camp also always stayed there) and I guess they always book a floor for the skiers, so it can happen. As long as she dooesn't try to do pull-ups on a wooden doorframe that is filled with ornaments and doesn't exactly look stabe once again she should be fine.

 

[DonAragona]

Both Sundling and Ribom have said they're skiing tomorrow and Sundling should ski well if today is anything to go by.

Noticeable today how weak TUW looked in her heat.

Big race for Ebba Andersson tomorrow, with lots of talk about 'steps' she's taken this season in particular easier parts of the course. I think that climb, by the ski jump, significantly helped her last week and she won't have that tomorrow.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Hoffmann beats Bergane, Laukli, Marcisz et al in the 10k free in her first U23 year.

Schlicki announces the need for more sprints.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Hoffmann beats Bergane, Laukli, Marcisz et al in the 10k free in her first U23 year.

Schlicki announces the need for more sprints.

#SchlickiinsGulag

No, but super impressive, I did not expect to see only a third place between Bergane and Laukli in the skating individual start.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Barp 5th in the end, only 3 seconds behind the podium. About what I expected and really good for a first year u23 skier.
Of course the 7th place for the Japanese Ryo is a forum-related highlight.
The Americans really overraced Schumacher 2 years ago when he was really strong and he hasn't been the same since. Only 14th today...

 

[Mayomaniac]

It's raining right now in Toblach, no idea how that's gonna affect the conditions. If the rain stops early enough it could get really icy, otherwise it could be really wet, rather slow snow.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Barp 5th in the end, only 3 seconds behind the podium. About what I expected and really good for a first year u23 skier.
Of course the 7th place for the Japanese Ryo is a forum-related highlight.
The Americans really overraced Schumacher 2 years ago when he was really strong and he hasn't been the same since. Only 14th today...

I found "our" Ryo's origin story.

 

[BullsFan22]

Hoffmann beats Bergane, Laukli, Marcisz et al in the 10k free in her first U23 year.

Schlicki announces the need for more sprints.

To be fair to Schlicki he spends most of his time backcountry/alpine skiing, hiking while his team trains. Not sure how much he actually knows about the development of skiers in his country….

 

[Mayomaniac]

To be fair to Schlicki he spends most of his time backcountry/alpine skiing, hiking while his team trains. Not sure how much he actually knows about the development of skiers in his country….

Maybe that's why things are going well...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Ebba Andersson, I owe you a drink.

Jess' fall is being confirmed as the reason she didn't win (or rather assumed by the commentators of course, it would have been close without it but based on times at the time-checks Ebba would still have taken it by a very narrow margin - would have been 1-2 seconds in it, so any impact on Diggins' skiing that it would have had will likely have made the difference).

Kinda disappointed Eiduka isn't in Whistler to give us a more reliable comparison point for some of the younger athletes, but I get it, these are basically free points against no competition to extend her lead with the U23 bib and unless Fossesholm goes absolutely nuts in Planica and through to the end of the season she'll have an unassailable lead before long.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Fun fact, I actually saw Karlsson and sone staff members on the tracks between Innichen and Sexten around noon and if I wouldn't have told them to ski out of the valley they probably would have skied up to our ski station on a skimo track and might have missed the race

 

[Mayomaniac]

Fähndrich is in monster shape, I hope she can hold it until the WC.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Having to do the 2 longer climbs only twice and the rolling second half of the lap just favours the sprinters too much.

The Italian WC guys are all below their best eight now because of the heavy training block that they have now to peak for Planica.

 

[KZD]

Tiril Weng looked dreadful this weekend, it really seems that doing so much racing in the first part of the season took a lot of her so she will likely be a non-factor in Planiča and honestly the World Cup overall should be her only target but she needs to regain some of her shape.

Impressive performance from Andersson today beating Diggins in one of her favourite tracks with a disappointing performance from Karlsson. The Swedish sprint train looks unbeatable and in the men, Taugbøl and Valnes seem to be coming good just at the right time for Norway.

Not too much to say in the men's 10k race apart from the fact that is quite impressive from Golberg to beat Krüger in such a race and Klæbo seems to be getting better.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Tiril Weng looked dreadful this weekend, it really seems that doing so much racing in the first part of the season took a lot of her so she will likely be a non-factor in Planiča and honestly the World Cup overall should be her only target but she needs to regain some of her shape.

Impressive performance from Andersson today beating Diggins in one of her favourite tracks with a disappointing performance from Karlsson. The Swedish sprint train looks unbeatable and in the men, Taugbøl and Valnes seem to be coming good just at the right time for Norway.

Not too much to say in the men's 10k race apart from the fact that is quite impressive from Golberg to beat Krüger in such a race and Klæbo seems to be getting better.

The most interesting thing about the men's race was Cologna's commentary on Swiss TV:

-Said that the fast conditions helped the sprinters/bigger guys and made the race pretty close, while the 2nd part of the lap also helped heavier guys and good descenders.
-Said that Krüger is one of the few Norwegians who lets his skiing do the talking and was always pleasant to be around with.
-Said that Krüger is always the best when the Norwegians to a Vo2 max test on their team.

Frankly, I think shortening men's races to 10kms was a mistake.

 

[BullsFan22]

Watched the women’s race, apart from Østberg, the Norwegians didn't look good. Andersson in good form. The fact that Fändrich almost made the podium in a skate distance race is telling.

 

[KZD]

Bergane loool

 

[Mayomaniac]

Bergane loool

Yeah, that was unexpected...
Meanwhile, I didn't expect Italy to finish ahead of Switzerland and get a medal in the junior mixed relay.