Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

[Mayomaniac]

The German women are looking like a legit threat for the relay atm.

Tomorrow it's supposed to be a bit warmer, with minimal amounts of snowfall/rain.
Towards the weekend it's once again gonna get warmer and warmer.
With Niskanen still getting a top 10 in a skating race and the Norwegian women not punching above their weight the conditions today were probably fair and everyone was able to adapt to them.

 

[Mayomaniac]

For anybody that follows speed skating, I get serious vibes of the Jutta Leerdam / Femke Kok dichotomy out of Karlsson and Andersson.

As long as it doesn't turn into Wierer and Vittozzi...

 

[BullsFan22]

"Doesn't she just sparkle on television!"
"This is what cross-country skiing needed!"
"Jess Diggins has done cross-country skiing a massive favour" (apparently not being Swedish is a huge favour because apparently three months of Sweden dominating is worse for the sport than a decade of Bjørgen and Johaug)

I don't care how much she deserves it. This is just becoming unprofessional and needs sanctioning. Screaming "YESSSSSSS!!!" as she crosses the line and cheering others' failure is not acceptable from what is supposed to be an international broadcast.

I know I care more about this than any of you, but then a lot of you aren't reliant on this broadcast. I know that Jess can't help that and if I was watching a mute feed I would still be annoyed and I would still dislike her because of her character and behaviour, but nothing like as much as I do thanks to their bias and obsession. With these two clowns in the booth, however, I'm turning this off before I go full Richmond.

Did they really say that? That’s hilarious and ridiculous.

 

[Lequack]

I kind of understand the excitement of the commentators, it's tough to be impartial all the time with the Swedish women winnning all the races, and the Norwegian men. So for anyone else to get such a win, it's quite exciting. I love the energy of Jess Diggins, she's always so happy. Very deserved win.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

In the Championship races on the women side Norway and Sweden have basically won every single gold medal since 2011. Which individual race has not been won by Norway and Sweden? Kowalzcyk won one race at the Olympics in 2014, but is that the only one?
Diggins winning an individual gold medal here is a massive win for the sport.

As a Norwegian with an above average interest in the sport (been participating in Norwegian Champs back in the days) I've been following her quite close since she came rocketing in on the World Cup scene in january 2012 and she's my favorite athlete among the women. Far ahead of any of the Norwegian skiers she has competed against in these years. Norwegian media loves her and her Norwegian competitors clearly have extreme respect for her. A great winner today.

 

[Mayomaniac]

No surprise on the Italian team for tomorrow, Ventura, Daprà, Graz and Bard. Nice to see the younger guys, the one who gets the best result tomorrow gets to ski the 3rd leg in the relay.
Sweden has me a bit perplex, what is Anger gonna do in a hard 15km race, this isn't a 10km race with fast conditions on a fast course like Toblach? Having him rest for the relay after both he and Calle (who is actually smart enough to skip this one) had to dig deep and faded in the teamsprint would imo be the smart thing to do.

My predicion: Krüger vs Amundsen for gold and no medal for Klaebo.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I kind of understand the excitement of the commentators, it's tough to be impartial all the time with the Swedish women winnning all the races, and the Norwegian men. So for anyone else to get such a win, it's quite exciting. I love the energy of Jess Diggins, she's always so happy. Very deserved win.

But the thing is... they aren't Americans. I'd say it's cos they've got the voice in their ear because of the Discovery buyout, but they were pro-US before that too. They also cheerlead the Norwegians so it's not about impartiality vs. boredom of other teams that frequently win either. I mean, it's not even like Diggins hasn't won several races before, and they never get this excited for Niskanen, or Pellegrino, or Jouve, nor did they for Cologna or Kowalczyk in years gone by. They don't even get this biased for Musgrave and I could actually understand them being biased in that case.

Personally I think she's like a Disneyland attendant, she's trying to force down your throat how happy and fun she is at all time, and I really can't stand that. Like a bad salesman who is trying way too hard to seem like your friend to seal the deal. But if you feel she's more genuine, that's fine. That's just a difference in personal takes. However, if you think that this kind of commentary bias is acceptable from a de facto international, neutral broadcast, that I have a problem with. Because it's not just a one-off, getting caught up in the moment thing that could be forgiven (at least if it was an underdog story or something like that, which it obviously isn't as she was one of the on-paper favourites here). It is a relentless, constant propaganda offensive that permeates even races she isn't in.

 

[BullsFan22]

The German women are looking like a legit threat for the relay atm.

Tomorrow it's supposed to be a bit warmer, with minimal amounts of snowfall/rain.
Towards the weekend it's once again gonna get warmer and warmer.
With Niskanen still getting a top 10 in a skating race and the Norwegian women not punching above their weight the conditions today were probably fair and everyone was able to adapt to them.

Likely to be Gimmler, Hennig, Fink, Carl. In that order. Hennig could probably do a very good skate leg if she were to be in one, but they need her to hammer the classic leg. If Gimmler skis the way she did in the Toblach relay, they have a very good shot for the medals. Fink had a great relay in Toblach as well. Stuck in with Østberg easily, though the Norwegian had to catch her. Then they both dropped Ilar on the hardest climb. Don’t think Carl can match Sundling or Dahlqvist in the final km, but we’ll see how she’ll manage the entire leg, should they be that far up, battling for the win.

Pärmäkoski not in form. Maybe skis, but likely it’s form. Hard to see the Finns figure in the medals right now. The skate legs will be tougher, and I suppose they would need to have Niskanen or Pärmäkoski in one of the skate legs, if not both. The other options is Kyllönen in the first classic leg, then Niskanen, then maybe Piipo/Joenssu, then Pärmäkoski. Maybe doesn’t look too bad, but Kerttu and Krista aren’t in the same form as they were at the Olympics last year. Matintalo didn’t have a good sprint race.

 

[BullsFan22]

I kind of understand the excitement of the commentators, it's tough to be impartial all the time with the Swedish women winnning all the races, and the Norwegian men. So for anyone else to get such a win, it's quite exciting. I love the energy of Jess Diggins, she's always so happy. Very deserved win.

But she’s hiding something. It seems very forced oftentimes.

 

[search]

Sweden has me a bit perplex, what is Anger gonna do in a hard 15km race, this isn't a 10km race with fast conditions on a fast course like Toblach? Having him rest for the relay after both he and Calle (who is actually smart enough to skip this one) had to dig deep and faded in the teamsprint would imo be the smart thing to do.

Anger wanted to head home after the team sprint already, so maybe they prefer to test him before selecting him for the relay as well? Although, with Haeggstroem as the only other option...

 

[BullsFan22]

But the thing is... they aren't Americans. I'd say it's cos they've got the voice in their ear because of the Discovery buyout, but they were pro-US before that too. They also cheerlead the Norwegians so it's not about impartiality vs. boredom of other teams that frequently win either. I mean, it's not even like Diggins hasn't won several races before, and they never get this excited for Niskanen, or Pellegrino, or Jouve, nor did they for Cologna or Kowalczyk in years gone by. They don't even get this biased for Musgrave and I could actually understand them being biased in that case.

Personally I think she's like a Disneyland attendant, she's trying to force down your throat how happy and fun she is at all time, and I really can't stand that. Like a bad salesman who is trying way too hard to seem like your friend to seal the deal. But if you feel she's more genuine, that's fine. That's just a difference in personal takes. However, if you think that this kind of commentary bias is acceptable from a de facto international, neutral broadcast, that I have a problem with. Because it's not just a one-off, getting caught up in the moment thing that could be forgiven (at least if it was an underdog story or something like that, which it obviously isn't as she was one of the on-paper favourites here). It is a relentless, constant propaganda offensive that permeates even races she isn't in.

Exactly, even when Musgrave and Young got on the podium years ago, or were simply having good results, they never got as excited. They commentate on her as though she is an actual child. It’s really weird.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Likely to be Gimmler, Hennig, Fink, Carl. In that order. Hennig could probably do a very good skate leg if she were to be in one, but they need her to hammer the classic leg. If Gimmler skis the way she did in the Toblach relay, they have a very good shot for the medals. Fink had a great relay in Toblach as well. Stuck in with Østberg easily, though the Norwegian had to catch her. Then they both dropped Ilar on the hardest climb. Don’t think Carl can match Sundling or Dahlqvist in the final km, but we’ll see how she’ll manage the entire leg, should they be that far up, battling for the win.

Pärmäkoski not in form. Maybe skis, but likely it’s form. Hard to see the Finns figure in the medals right now. The skate legs will be tougher, and I suppose they would need to have Niskanen or Pärmäkoski in one of the skate legs, if not both. The other options is Kyllönen in the first classic leg, then Niskanen, then maybe Piipo/Joenssu, then Pärmäkoski. Maybe doesn’t look too bad, but Kerttu and Krista aren’t in the same form as they were at the Olympics last year. Matintalo didn’t have a good sprint race.

I doubt the Finns had bad skis, with bad skis Niskanen would have finished outside the top 10 today.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Anger wanted to head home after the team sprint already, so maybe they prefer to test him before selecting him for the relay as well? Although, with Haeggstroem as the only other option...

I mean, the temperature is supposed to rise again during the 2nd part of the week, but maybe the get lucky in the relay. Soft conditions would really kill Anger's chances. Still, who else do they actually have for that final leg?

 

[DonAragona]

Putting aside Eurosports commentary, it was a great race by Diggins. Surprised by Andersson, I think she thought she had the Gold in the bag judging by her facial expressions at the 'celebration'...Karlsson looking stronger and stronger, think she's the favourite for the 30km.

Interesting results today ahead of the relay, is Sundling still safe? Dahlqvist skied way above expectation for what was supposed to be a consolation prize. TUW carries on her decline in 2023, I think Kalva will ski the anchor with TUW going the first leg.

Finns seem miles away at the moment, Parmokoski in particular...

Kruger by 20 seconds tomorrow and hopefully diva Klaebo has to settle for a 'good' placement 5th.

 

[OlavEH]

Personally I think she's like a Disneyland attendant, she's trying to force down your throat how happy and fun she is at all time, and I really can't stand that

I really like Diggins. As a Norwegian I much prefer her to for example my compatriot and Diggins' opposite; Heidi Weng. A neurotic dumbass.

Or Karlsson. Whiny and not at all able to understand her own limitations.

 

[DonAragona]

I really like Diggins. As a Norwegian I much prefer her to for example my compatriot and Diggins' opposite; Heidi Weng. A neurotic dumbass.

Or Karlsson. Whiny and not at all able to understand her own limitations.

I like Heidi Weng, always been a 'character'...think she's kind but misunderstood, I know the Swedes hate her...

 

[OlavEH]

I like Heidi Weng, always been a 'character'...think she's kind but misunderstood, I know the Swedes hate her...

She is SO pessimistic and neurotic. That is really, really far from my cup of tea.

 

[search]

I mean, the temperature is supposed to rise again during the 2nd part of the week, but maybe the get lucky in the relay. Soft conditions would really kill Anger's chances. Still, who else do they actually have for that final leg?

they used Haeggstroem for it in the Olympics, but it's not like he did particularly well. If at all, he'd probably start in 1st, I guess, like in Oberstdorf

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Another option for the Swedish men is to use Rosjoe at the first leg, but seems like his form is not really good anymore.

 

[Mayomaniac]

She is SO pessimistic and neurotic. That is really, really far from my cup of tea.

Heidi being a neurotic weirdo is part of her charm, at least for me.

 

[OlavEH]

Heidi being a neurotic weirdo is part of her charm, at least for me.

Not for me. At least not when she is so pessimistic in addition. In december 2020 she almost had a breakdown due to the covid spread and restrictions. I don't like people that are so pessmistic during these kind of cicumstances.

 

[DenisMenchov]

I also like Diggins and this result is very well deserved. Congrats!

I wouldn't mind Karlsson winning as well, but now all three (Ebba included) of them have a massive win this season. So it's pretty balanced in the women's XC.

 

[Lequack]

I just noticed her gloves with two fingers, kind of funny.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Those gloves are great in the cold, keeps your fingers a lot warmer than the traditional gloves.

 

[Discgear]

I like Heidi Weng, always been a 'character'...think she's kind but misunderstood, I know the Swedes hate her...

Hate is a strong word, but her behavior after last worlds when Norway took a surprising win, after a formidabel Swedish waxing disaster, didn't help to rise her popularity. She jumped in and screamed in front of Frida when she gave a very heavy-minded interview.

View: https://youtu.be/rZo50yw512A