Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

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KZD

Feb 21, 2019
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4 gold medals, after a less good Olympics in Pyeongchang this time Johannes Boe will finish this Olympics with the high number of gold medals of any sport (if I am not mistaken)

Good races from Ponsiluoma and Christiansen and a word for QFM that even with last shooting's choke finishes this Olympics with 5 medals the same as JTB and Olsbu, a dream season for him.
 
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Sep 26, 2020
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He's been a busy boy. I think we can allow him one off day. Calling it 'a choke' is harsh.

He has looked tired during the last races, so it's not a surprise that he didn't win. I wouldn't have called it a choke if he had missed one or two, but three was simply not good enough for his standards. He obviously pushed harder on the fourth lap, but Ponsiluoma still looked worse than he did going into the last shooting.

Of course he has no reason to be disappointed with neither the Olympics nor his season as a whole.
And getting fourth on a less than perfect day just underlines the consistency he's found.
 
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Apr 7, 2011
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Niskanen won't start the 50k. Lame if you ask me, he is clearly the best endurance skier of the games, and should be able to fight for a medal. Some speculate this is about being ready for the holmenkollen 50k classic. Fair enough, but that's two weeks away from the Beijing one.

Finnish arrogance towards the skate is frustrating.
Well to be fair, the guy totally cooked himself in all the competitions. I highly doubt he would have been competitive in the 50km.
 
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Apr 10, 2019
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Well to be fair, the guy totally cooked himself in all the competitions. I highly doubt he would have been competitive in the 50km.
And the Holmenkollen 50km is the one big classic race he still hasn't won, so I understand why he's resting for that one.
Italy is bringing De Fabiani, Salvadori and Graz. I have zero expectations, but it might be a decent learning experience for Graz.
De Fa seems to have problems when it comes to recovery/holding his form. He also hasn't been the same since he tried to reach Sundby levels of training volume, that one backfired. I've hear that he has had thyroid related problems over the last few seasons, but those wouldn't be hard to solve...
 
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Feb 20, 2010
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He has looked tired during the last races, so it's not a surprise that he didn't win. I wouldn't have called it a choke if he had missed one or two, but three was simply not good enough for his standards. He obviously pushed harder on the fourth lap, but Ponsiluoma still looked worse than he did going into the last shooting.

Of course he has no reason to be disappointed with neither the Olympics nor his season as a whole.
And getting fourth on a less than perfect day just underlines the consistency he's found.
That's essentially why he's where he is in the World Cup standards. Same with Røiseland. Whereas Eckhoff's bad days can be a write-off, her bad days still see her somewhere in the top 10 more often than not and sometimes even on the podium. QFM has similarly hit this run of consistency where he's only missed the top 10 three times all season - the first Östersund sprint, the pursuit after the second Östersund sprint, and the Antholz Individual where the whole French team were under par. Røiseland only has one result outside the top 10 all season - 12th in the second Östersund sprint; in fact, the 10th in the Individual at Östersund is the only other result outside the flower ceremony she's had. It's dominance not seen since Tora Berger in 2012-13.
 
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Aug 29, 2009
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not too much competition for Johaug left then - if it ever existed to begin with.

No idea what to expect for the men tomorrow. Some guys say it's gonna be the hardest race in ages, given the slow snow, and temperatures that will feel even colder (I read -25°C) due to the wind. This week Bolshunov didn't look as superb anymore as in the beginning, and the fact that Niskanen withdrew after a similar program speaks volumes. So in terms of freshness, Krüger should be in the best position, but whether the same can be said about his preparation, is a big mistery. Holund or Spitsov could benefit, but the latter hasn't shown much over 50k yet...

It could suit someone like Burmay maybe. Or Musgrave? And how good is Maltsev over such a distance? He should still be fairly fresh, and showed good shape in the beginning of the Games. The first part also applies for Roethe, but the 2nd not at all.
 
Apr 10, 2019
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For me it's probably gonna be Bolshunov and Spitsov vs Holund and Krüger, but an outsider could do well.
Maybe Moch if the Germans habe great skis once again...
The French shouldn't be underestimate in a skating race at altitude, if it's really cold.
On another note, now Italy is only bringing Salvadori and Ventura, wtf?
 
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Jul 24, 2015
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Is she not feeling well? This was probably the race that suited her the most.

Not in the form she wants to be in, no. She probably overdid her training coming into this season. She did ok in the relay, but otherwise she has struggled and haven't felt to good. She is young and she is still doing a lot of MTB at high levels in the summer. The coaches aren't to happy at her high activity level. She needs to be a bit more carefull.
 
Jul 24, 2015
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not too much competition for Johaug left then - if it ever existed to begin with.

No idea what to expect for the men tomorrow. Some guys say it's gonna be the hardest race in ages, given the slow snow, and temperatures that will feel even colder (I read -25°C) due to the wind. This week Bolshunov didn't look as superb anymore as in the beginning, and the fact that Niskanen withdrew after a similar program speaks volumes. So in terms of freshness, Krüger should be in the best position, but whether the same can be said about his preparation, is a big mistery. Holund or Spitsov could benefit, but the latter hasn't shown much over 50k yet...

It could suit someone like Burmay maybe. Or Musgrave? And how good is Maltsev over such a distance? He should still be fairly fresh, and showed good shape in the beginning of the Games. The first part also applies for Roethe, but the 2nd not at all.

It will get brutal for some. Will be a lot of tired faces. Klæbo says he is "prepared to keep fighting till he meets the grim reaper and then go beyond".
 
Aug 29, 2009
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yeah, I read Klaebo's statement. And also that Northug believes that he can win. Don't think he will be a factor, though.
 
Apr 7, 2011
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Still heart broken that Ustiugiv does not get the chance. I don`t say he would have won, but I most certainly feel that he deserved the spot after all he has been through.
 
Mar 16, 2021
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Looking at the start list, it could just be the 4 Norwegians and the 4 ROC after 20km. Though I'd love to see Musgrave competitive.
 
Mar 4, 2011
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It will get brutal for some. Will be a lot of tired faces. Klæbo says he is "prepared to keep fighting till he meets the grim reaper and then go beyond".
Will be a great bit of Friday evening viewing for US West Coast. Such a rare thing to be able to watch WC skiing (or pro cycling) at a time I normally want to watch something on my TV/computer screen. Next weekend it will again be back to getting up early to watch pro cycling . . .
 
Apr 10, 2019
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De Fabiani is not in shape, Pellegrino is a sprinter and Graz too did his best in sprints this season
Graz also had his best results as a distance racer in the junior ranks, for him it could have been a great learning experience. I think they should focus less on sprints and more on being an allrounder with him (probably also with Rastelli, who always looks good on the climbs in classics sprints, but gets blown away on the finishing straight).
At this point I wouldn't even be surprised if Pellegrino would do better than De Fabiani in this race (he's about 7kg lighter, that could help him on the longer climbs).
 

KZD

Feb 21, 2019
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I think it will be between Bolshunov, Holund and Spitsov. The other two and anyone aside from Klæbo will need to drop Bolshunov in order to win which won't be easy. Krüger is a question mark but I think he will miss the shape to go for gold even if I think that he will be better than Riiber or Frenzel from the Nordic combined.

From other countries, I would keep an eye on Burman, Musgrave, Parisse, Moch and Irineu Altimiras.