Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

[search]

Whoa, how did that comment end up under my username, I didn’t write it. I think you may have done something

lol, yeah, I wanted to quote your post first and say that the Swedish team left to China today as well - seems like this somehow confused everything. I've edited it now.

The Russians said that the rumours about positive tests are not true, btw. Two of their biathletes were unable to travel today, though, as they messed up their documents.

 

[BigCoward]

The Russians said that the rumours about positive tests are not true, btw. Two of their biathletes were unable to travel today, though, as they messed up their documents.

That's definitely true and they definitely wouldn't lie

 

[BullsFan22]

That's definitely true and they definitely wouldn't lie

Well if there are, it may be from the Borodavko group, because they stayed in the same hotel as the Norwegians. That said, the Russians stared they were never in contact with the Norwegians. Who knows what’s going on.

 

[search]

yeah, but the departure tests need to be analyzed by a laboratory accredited by China anyway, so don't think there's much point in hiding it.

Can we expect a waxing advantage for the Russians, by the way (or anyone else)? C8 fluorocarbons are not banned in China, nor is it a FIS race. So on paper, it should be allowed to be used - but everyone bringing it from Europe could struggle with the customs.

 

[BullsFan22]

I don’t think anybody would be hiding a positive test. Even if countries don’t say who tested positive, one would find out by the list of skiers in China, most likely by the start times.

It looks as if the two Russian biathletes and one of the coaches sorted out their QR code issues and will travel to China today, from what I saw.

No news on any test results from the cross country team. Hopefully they are all able to leave as planned.

 

[search]

No news on any test results from the cross country team. Hopefully they are all able to leave as planned.

according to Russian media (quoting Turyshev) everyone from the cross country teams delivered a negative test, and they will fly to Beijing today.

 

[BullsFan22]

according to Russian media (quoting Turyshev) everyone from the cross country teams delivered a negative test, and they will fly to Beijing today.

Yep. They left today, as was planned. Now they have to ‘survive’ the tests upon arrival, after that it should be easier, considering there won’t be much movement at the village. I wonder how many skiers from all the countries competing will choose to go to the opening ceremonies. In my opinion not many.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Romania missed out on a bronze medal in the mixed relay at the European Biathlon Championships because of a faulty handover at the last exchange. Chirkova didn't seem to be aware of the time penalty when she crossed the line as the third athlete, which then turned out to be ninth instead. A slightly better shooting from Aita Gasparin would probably have put the Suisse into third anyway, but since she didn't produce that, it's a real shame for the Romanians.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Marita Kramer positive for coronavirus, so looks like after losing the World Cup to it, she'll lose the Olympics to it too.

 

[BullsFan22]

Romania missed out on a bronze medal in the mixed relay at the European Biathlon Championships because of a faulty handover at the last exchange. Chirkova didn't seem to be aware of the time penalty when she crossed the line as the third athlete, which then turned out to be ninth instead. A slightly better shooting from Aita Gasparin would probably have put the Suisse into third anyway, but since she didn't produce that, it's a real shame for the Romanians.

You mean the Russians skiing for Romania

 

[Samu Cuenca]

You mean the Russians skiing for Romania

Three of them are of course Russian born, but in this case I base their nationality on the fact that they do have Romanian citizenship. The same goes for the Moldovans, Kazakhs and South Koreans and others, who used to represent Russia.

 

[meat puppet]

Despite the lottery about who gets to start (or enter china) and who does not, at least the tracks appear quite promising. The 7,5km track in particular features a continuous segment of work with little-to-no respite right from the start. I surmise the segment lasts about 8-12min or so depending on gender and where you start counting (before or after the first hill). And by the look of things, most of the climbs are "skiable" anyway. Although some experts think glide conditions will be good even if it is cold, it is possible we see some genuine endurance racing at least in some events.

That said, the inevitable non-participation of some key athletes will definitely devalue the games some.

 

[search]

within the bubble the infection risk should be fairly low, so I don't think there will be too many more dropouts - and Krueger & Weng may enter later on.

Where did you read about good glide conditions, though? From what I read, the opposite should be the case. Slow snow, and "abrasive as sandpaper" some coach said.

 

[Mayomaniac]

within the bubble the infection risk should be fairly low, so I don't think there will be too many more dropouts - and Krueger & Weng may enter later on.

Where did you read about good glide conditions, though? From what I read, the opposite should be the case. Slow snow, and "abrasive as sandpaper" some coach said.

This, really low temperatures and low humidity means lots of friction, the snow's making squeaky noises when you ski on it under those conditions.
Any news about Krüger? I guess he won't be able to defend his Skiathlon title, that must be rough...

 

[meat puppet]

A piece in the largest Finnish daily paper supported this view. It had quotes from a person who has been scouting the tracks on-site a couple times. The expected temp temperature swings between +5 (day) and -15 (night) combined with sunshine could create good glide during races.

NB, I hope the glide conditions are less quick. But we shall see.

 

[search]

Any news about Krüger? I guess he won't be able to defend his Skiathlon title, that must be rough...

his quarantine in Italy ends on Saturday, and it needs 4 negative PCR tests to be allowed to travel. Weng is isolated till tomorrow only, but the same applies for her, and she is worried about ending up in a quarantine hotel in China again, so may decide not to travel at all. But yeah, no matter what, most definitely no skiathlon for both.

About the conditions: apparently the wind blows quite a bit of sand on the course, which mixed with the dry snow leads to the difficult circumstances.

Edit: there's a bit more about it in Russian media today. Yakumushkin says he hasn't seen snow this dull in years, and (if I get the translation right) it's particularly bad when using the tracks. Some coach says that it's gonna be all about endurance. They did 23k in training today, and it felt like 40 or 50.

 

[BullsFan22]

A piece in the largest Finnish daily paper supported this view. It had quotes from a person who has been scouting the tracks on-site a couple times. The expected temp temperature swings between +5 (day) and -15 (night) combined with sunshine could create good glide during races.

NB, I hope the glide conditions are less quick. But we shall see.

Me too. The fast conditions suit Klæbo and the Norwegians, apart from maybe Holund and Røthe. I want it to be cold and not that fast.

 

[meat puppet]

Anyone brave enough to predict Johaug losing the skiathlon tomorrow?

One scenario could be that she tries to break away early as usual, but slow tracks and wind (forecast at 5m/s baseline and up to 15m/s gusts) allow chasers to claw her back and then outsprint her. Yeah, one can dream.

Have not followed nordic combined that closely, but if I am not mistaken, in men Riiber and quite a few others (Frenzel, Weber, Ilves) are out. So by my reckoning 4 out of the world cup top 7 are likely to DNS. Dont know if this means they lose all races, though.

 

[BullsFan22]

Ustiugov out of the skiathlon. Has back issues, again. Nothing serious, but they don’t want to risk anything. So he misses the tds, just to focus on the sprint and then see what happens? Doesn’t make too much sense, especially as he didn’t race in Korea.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Ustiugov out of the skiathlon. Has back issues, again. Nothing serious, but they don’t want to risk anything. So he misses the tds, just to focus on the sprint and then see what happens? Doesn’t make too much sense, especially as he didn’t race in Korea.

Wow that sucks ass. "They don`t want to risk anything. WTF. He certainly has better chances in the skiathlon than in the sprint, 15km or 50kkm. Ridicilous.

 

[BullsFan22]

Wow that sucks ass. "They don`t want to risk anything. WTF. He certainly has better chances in the skiathlon than in the sprint, 15km or 50kkm. Ridicilous.

That’s my thinking. How can he all of a sudden have back problems now? He hasn’t had a WC race in him since Davos, almost two months ago. He didn’t have any problems so far this season, until now. Sometimes I wonder if it’s Ustiugov or Cramer making the decisions. If it’s Ustiugov, Cramer must be one of the most patient people on the planet. Klæbo is 99% winning the sprint, and there are three other Norwegians, Pellegrino, Jouve and Chanavat, and maybe a couple other guys that can mix in the medal fight. If the conditions are as everyone has been saying they are, the first part of the skiathlon will be skied relatively controlled, maybe even at an easy pace for the top guys, and moves will be made during the skate portion. Why he is going to miss that opportunity is beyond me. If he’s going to be racing the sprint, and they say it’s a precaution than I am almost thinking he’s nervous. The skiathlon gives him a better chance at a medal, even a gold, than the sprint. Too many things can happen in the sprint. If he crashes or breaks a pole, it’s done, and then just like that, two races gone. I don’t see him racing the 15km classic and how will they determine the lineup for the relay if he doesn’t have a distance result? And the team sprint will be decided who the top two guys are in the sprint. If he can’t race the 30km, how is he going to cope with a 50km?

I truly hope he and Cramer know what they are doing.

 

[search]

Anyone brave enough to predict Johaug losing the skiathlon tomorrow?

One scenario could be that she tries to break away early as usual, but slow tracks and wind (forecast at 5m/s baseline and up to 15m/s gusts) allow chasers to claw her back and then outsprint her. Yeah, one can dream.

I think preparation was not exactly perfect, with the late arrival, uncertainties and so on before... But well, yeah, that's about it, I guess. Altitude, cold and tough track should suit her - and tbh, it's about time for her first individual gold medal anyway.

 

[BigCoward]

I think preparation was not exactly perfect, with the late arrival, uncertainties and so on before... But well, yeah, that's about it, I guess. Altitude, cold and tough track should suit her - and tbh, it's about time for her first individual gold medal anyway.

Yeah, I know she lost her 'prime' Olympics, but her not having an individual gold is weird. I think she would have won everything at the last one, and denied Bjoergen her golden send off.

 

[BigCoward]

Have not followed nordic combined that closely, but if I am not mistaken, in men Riiber and quite a few others (Frenzel, Weber, Ilves) are out. So by my reckoning 4 out of the world cup top 7 are likely to DNS. Dont know if this means they lose all races, though.

Graabak must be excited, coming Into form as most of his rivals drop out. Great opportunity for him.

 

[search]

I don’t see him racing the 15km classic and how will they determine the lineup for the relay if he doesn’t have a distance result? And the team sprint will be decided who the top two guys are in the sprint.

Terentyev has whatever kind of minor injury as well, btw, and is still in Italy. He'll take a flight tomorrow, but this doesn't really sound like there's too much to expect from him