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My reponse to who could challenge Fourcade 2 weeks ago...I've got to say, my predictions are surprisingly accurate this yearmaltiv said:Johannes Tingnes Bø (Tarjei Bø's more talented little brother). 20 years old and had the 3rd fastest skiing time in the sprint. Maybe he won't step up this year, but certainly within 2 years. His shooting is still quite unstable, perhaps mostly due to him shooting absurdly fast. However, that could also be his way of beating Fourcade as that's his weak point.
Yes, even Brunet was shooting badly. No wonder they're feeling the pressure as there hasn't been a biathlon race in France for more than 20 years.Libertine Seguros said:Fourcade just held on, but it's notable that the other French are struggling to hold on to the top 20 (only Bœuf has made it, the others outside), and no French woman made the top 20 (Brunet only just qualified for the pursuit!!!). Home pressure seems to be hitting them, perhaps as they're not used to it.
Bavarianrider said:Northug would be smart if he focused on sprint and team sprint in Sotchi.
No way he'll win a medal in the 15km, 30km and 50km. Not with that ultra long climb before the finish.
Nastyy said:Does anyone else think it's really stupid that women's equivalent to men's 30k is only 15k? Men's distance is double what the normal is, but the women's is only 5k longer. Should be 20k in my opinion.
LGB?roundabout said:Unfortunately (or not) LGB won't host the WC in the next 2 seasons.
Anyone watching the NC? 12 teams within 3 seconds right now.
And just as I write Norway makes a break for it. Boo.
ToreBear said:LGB?
I'm gonna watch the NC a little later. I always like that race.
Pokljuka isn't gone, it's moved towards the end of the season. As Sochi holds the Olympics, there's no Khanty this season, so the go-home stretch of the season after the Olympics is Pokljuka, Kontiolahti and Holmenkollen.Nastyy said:It's really strange that France hasn't had a WC in biathlon considering they're a big biathlon country. The events in biathlon have been pretty much the same for a lot of years so maybe they've just been hesitant to pick up new places. Glad to see Pokljuka gone and Le Grand Bornard come in its place.
Yes the French have been really poor in their own ground and while others have been shooting poorly, Fourcade has been slow on the skis. Either he is far way from his peak from and it makes his results vary a lot or something else has gone terrible wrong. I don't see how he can go from beating Bö by 30 secs in Östersund to losing by 15 secs. In the relay it was obvious he had poor skis but today I don't think the blame can be placed on poor waxing.
I love Nordic Combined, but the Team Sprint is an absolutely horrible race format.roundabout said:Unfortunately (or not) LGB won't host the WC in the next 2 seasons.
Anyone watching the NC? 12 teams within 3 seconds right now.
And just as I write Norway makes a break for it. Boo.
jens_attacks said:cybjorgen rules again,fantastic surge
can someone tell me what happened to kriukov?
Yep, all this 10k is getting pretty monotonous, even though they mix in different hill sizes. There is one 15k in Seefeld in january though. But still just one in a hole season is a bit dissapointing.Bavarianrider said:Nooooooooooooooo, no more gimmicks. Had enough of Hurricane start , Handicap- start, penalty race, mass start All that messed it up for me.
Bring back the real 15km Gundersen! IT's a blasphemy that they don't have it anymore.
Some 10 years ago before they came up with that **** it war really big and had many spectzators in Germany.
Ronny Ackermann even became sportsman of the year in germany.
Right now Frenzel is just as sucessfull as Ackermann was but hardly anyone knows him.
Nastyy said:Don't know what happened at FIS but at some point they got this idea that XC and NC are boring and the race formats aren't appealing for the spectators. XC got much more sprints, mass starts replaced intervals and the combination race killed the awesome pursuit event. Mass starts are boring and combination race is a joke, they only got the sprints right. With NC they screwed it up totally and for some reason they also thought it would be nice to try some new venues and what they got was empty crowds. Now they've gone past the point of no return and the sport will continue to get smaller and smaller. What makes me cry/laugh the most is that at the World Championships NC has two identical races. All this for a few spectators more in central Europe but I don't think they achieved even that.
ToreBear said:I think TV ratings is the big thing. Also lack of Germans at the top in XC is probably something that is concerning, since they represent a big market.
On a related note, do you think there's any chance of Gössner getting back to her best before the Olympics?Libertine Seguros said:Dahlmeier and Preuss are the future of German women's biathlon, and Gössner if she can get back to health.