Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

[dobrien]

Laukli looked pretty relaxed following Weng.
Claudel cannot be at her best today otherwise I have to believe she'd be at the front.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I said this last year, but Laukli climbs like Quintana. Diggins climbs like Froome. It might be effective, but hot damn is it hideous.

Looks like Karlsson's a non-factor. Niskanen up to Diggins and feels like it's going to be Diggins-Weng-Niskanen in the GC. Best Norskie and Best American together for the stage.

 

[dobrien]

I said this last year, but Laukli climbs like Quintana. Diggins climbs like Froome. It might be effective, but hot damn is it hideous.

Cannot disagree with that!

 

[Mayomaniac]

If I saw someone skiing like Diggins with his upper body convulsing like that I'd probably call an exorcist.

 

[dobrien]

Podium battle is the big fight..

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Pace coming through! Top 5 on stage ahoy! There is that big Latvian flag to cheer her on at the side of the run which I promise you is not me, lol.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Knockout Laukli! CHAPEAU!

 

[Libertine Seguros]

And there we have it, probably the only American triumph I will cheer in the cross-country all season, c'mon Sophia!!!

 

[dobrien]

Perfectly executed. Don't help Heidi gain time on Jessie, just follow until you can make the gap.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Well, I got Sophia winning. I got so close to a stage podium for Eiduka (next season she might actually be a real threat, she was the Delphine Claudel of two years ago, so badly placed at the bottom and coming through so strong at the end).

All I needed was Heidi to gain that full minute on Jess and so Heidi is the one that let me down

 

[BigCoward]

That last 2 minutes by Diggins was something to behold.

 

[dobrien]

Jessie really

That last 2 minutes by Diggins was something to behold.

She really came unglued there; that is definitely not her forté.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Eiduka ended up 8th in the total. Only 17 seconds from 6th.

 

[dobrien]

Eiduka ended up 8th in the total. Only 17 seconds from 6th.

Great result for her; feeling like she should have some great momentum for the rest of the season hopefully.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Really does make you wonder what this could have been like if the conditions had allowed for a selective race yesterday, because there were some serious gaps created late on there, and they're basically the only ones not distorted by sprint bonuses since stage 2. A nice outcome on the final stage is not enough to wipe away all the negatives that this race has racked up, but it does raise its standing on the Marc Antony principle because I wanted Laukli to win and she did (although I will need to remonstrate about that stupid glitter epidemic spreading).

I will now get over-optimistic about Eiduka's chances on every hard course from here until eternity, though.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Stadlober has some of the sorst tactics ever. Burn yourself out quickly by doing all the work on the part of the stage that suits you the least,great idea...

Now I wanna see a healthy Laukli with a proper Summer prep.

If the 2 last classic races weren't somewhat neutralized by the weather Niskanen might have won the whole thing...

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Stadlober has some of the sorst tactics ever. Burn yourself out quickly by doing all the work on the part of the stage that suits you the least,great idea...

Now I wanna see a healthy Laukli with a proper Summer prep.

If the 2 last classic races weren't somewhat neutralized by the weather Niskanen might have won the whole thing...

If she'd been fully healthy with a proper summer prep, there's a significant risk that the team would have overraced her in December, though.

And your last paragraph is pretty soul-crushing to imagine. FIS engineered a race marginalising classic and giving out ludicrously over-the-top sprint bonuses to marginalise distance skiers and try to avoid large time gaps, and yet might still have got Kerttu freaking Niskanen as the GC winner if the weather hadn't intervened!

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Now I wanna see a healthy Laukli with a proper Summer prep.

She need to spend the summer adding a few kilos muscles and work on her classic technique instead of traveling the world racing trail running and getting drunk.

 

[dobrien]

She need to spend the summer adding a few kilos muscles and work on her classic technique instead of traveling the world racing trail running and getting drunk.

Lol what?!?! She absolutely LOVES trail running, she's skiing the best she's ever skied in her life, and apparently having a blast doing it. It would be silly to change what's working imho. Every athlete is different, some thrive on being 'monks', others don't like the ascetic focus and thrive on having some variety; Sophia certainly appears to be in the latter category and if it means her sticking with the sport rather than quitting like Hailey Swirbul for example, it's all to the good. Just my .02 of course.

 

[search]

yeah, her interviews made it pretty clear that Laukli doesn't see herself as a professional athlete, and also doesn't want to live the life necessary for it. She probably could be more successful if she would, but if it's not what she is aiming for, I don't really see the issue either.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Lol what?!?! She absolutely LOVES trail running, she's skiing the best she's ever skied in her life, and apparently having a blast doing it. It would be silly to change what's working imho. Every athlete is different, some thrive on being 'monks', others don't like the ascetic focus and thrive on having some variety; Sophia certainly appears to be in the latter category and if it means her sticking with the sport rather than quitting like Hailey Swirbul for example, it's all to the good. Just my .02 of course.

Well it works well as long as shes happy with entering the top 10 now and then and then win this Alpe Cermis stage. If she wants to take it to the next step she has a lot of work to do, and it would likely take some changes.

I’m not saying that she should stop running trail races, never drink again and live like a monk. But cutting down on it a little bit should be possible without losing the joy about the sport. If she runs half as many trail races and get drunk half as many times and spend a little more time working on technique and strength it it would in my eyes likely make her a better skier.

 

[dobrien]

yeah, her interviews made it pretty clear that Laukli doesn't see herself as a professional athlete, and also doesn't want to live the life necessary for it. She probably could be more successful if she would, but if it's not what she is aiming for, I don't really see the issue either.

Agreed. The mental part of athletics is every bit as important as the physical part; a healthy and happy skier is virtually always going to be a faster skier, and a health happy skier will almost certainly have more longevity in the sport. One of the most important parts of any difficult endeavor, whether learning a musical instrument, or becoming a great nordic skier, or whatever, is imho about love of process. Certainly, a laser-like focus on skiing will work for some, but for someone wired like Sophia it's a sure path to burnout; it is what it is. She's better served staying the course and if her skiing goals take on more importance she can alter her approach accordingly; for now it's hard to argue with success.

 

[Mayomaniac]

If she'd been fully healthy with a proper summer prep, there's a significant risk that the team would have overraced her in December, though.

And your last paragraph is pretty soul-crushing to imagine. FIS engineered a race marginalising classic and giving out ludicrously over-the-top sprint bonuses to marginalise distance skiers and try to avoid large time gaps, and yet might still have got Kerttu freaking Niskanen as the GC winner if the weather hadn't intervened!

Laukli is half Norwegian and does things her own way, with her I'm the least worried about the classic American overracing of young talent (they are really like the Russians when it comes to this).

 

[dobrien]

Well it works well as long as shes happy with entering the top 10 now and then and then win this Alpe Cermis stage. If she wants to take it to the next step she has a lot of work to do, and it would likely take some changes.

I’m not saying that she should stop running trail races, never drink again and live like a monk. But cutting down on it a little bit should be possible without losing the joy about the sport. If she runs half as many trail races and get drunk half as many times and spend a little more time working on technique and strength it it would in my eyes likely make her a better skier.

I'm not fundamentally disagreeing with you, but for now it seems like she's VERY happy where she is. She won the biggest trail running series in the world and I know it might seem like blasphemy to people for whom XC is a passion, but to her that's every bit as important and big a deal as skiing the world cup. And if it keeps her head fresh and her heart in endurance athletics, she will end up a much better skier than if she quits the sport because she's hating her lifestyle.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

yeah, her interviews made it pretty clear that Laukli doesn't see herself as a professional athlete, and also doesn't want to live the life necessary for it. She probably could be more successful if she would, but if it's not what she is aiming for, I don't really see the issue either.

There was a big article about her from NRK in the summer which I think is an interesting read with Google translate: https://www.nrk.no/sport/grat-seg-g...-til-norge-for-a-bli-et-medaljehap-1.16469841

Her outspoken goal is to win a medal in the Olympics and she says she’s willing to the the consequences of her goals. In the article, her new coach (Stadheim from Team Aker Dæhlie) also says that strength training and more double poling on roller skis in the summer is what she needs.