Nordic Skiing/Biathlon Thread

[kingjr]

Hede is loosing this one.
No offence to Klaebo, bit this is the wordt skating OG field in a long time. No Russians, no Ree and Krüger (both perfect for a hard course in soft conditions), Amundsen got sick before the Olympics and the best Central European skaters Moch and Vermeulen are totally out of shape.

When have Moch and Vermeulen ever beaten Klæbo in a 10k F race?

 

[kingjr]

It's crazy that Norway would have lost 10km skating, their best race collectively, were it not for Klaebo. The GOAT.

It's not so crazy considering that only 4 are allowed to start.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Desloges could’ve won this with a slightly better pacing strategy. He was a bit too fast the first 1,8 in my opinion.

 

[kingjr]

Someone needs to do a deep-dive one day into how much time Klæbo gains on descents compared to climbs in individual races. @Peyresourde Something for you to consider if you ever get bored with cycling ;-)

 

[KZD]

Finally Klæbo wins an individual skating race, in the best possible timing. Gold medal #8, on Sunday he should definitely beat the Winter Olympics record in the relay.

Massive race from Desloges again, after silver in the 20k, another one today, a welcome new face in the XC skiing world.

I didn't expect Hedegart to blow up in the last km but at least he gets a medal and hopefully gets selected to the relay or team sprint.

 

[meat puppet]

Would be interesting to know what kind of pacing strategies the top skiers followed. At almost 30kph and very upright position while producing propulsion, aerodynamic drag is a significant factor. Probably going deliberately slightly(?) into the red on the uphills where drag is less prominent due to lower speed, recovery downhill, and thresholdish on the flats is the way to go.

 

[YavorD]

Yeah, unless his teammate collapses in the team sprint.

Gonna be iconic if we see another Jorgen Brink.
Perhaps we can see a Valnes or Amundsen (in the relay) climb?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

QFM hitting all targets in prone is a story in itself, but I'm not sure I believe he can do it in standing, too. The same goes for Jacquelin. Hiidensalo keeps performing well.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

The French pirate might actually do it, unless he blows up in the last lap which wouldn't be the first time.

QFM is beating him easily.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

The French pirate misses the medals

 

[kingjr]

The French and Norwegians are completely in their own league on the skis.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

The French and Norwegians are completely in their own league on the skis.

Don‘t forget the Swedes.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

A strong sprint to the line has earned Sondre Slettemark a spot in the pursuit!

 

[kingjr]

Don‘t forget the Swedes.

Samuelsson and Ponsiluoma are at their normal level at best, under normal circumstances Samuelsson shouldn't be ten seconds behind the slowest Norwegian.

 

[Brullnux]

The French and Norwegians are completely in their own league on the skis.

Today it looked like the Norwegians absolutely aced it. Shocked to see Perrot slower than Laegreid

 

[BullsFan22]

Hede is loosing this one.
No offence to Klaebo, bit this is the wordt skating OG field in a long time. No Russians, no Ree and Krüger (both perfect for a hard course in soft conditions), Amundsen got sick before the Olympics and the best Central European skaters Moch and Vermeulen are totally out of shape.

And a 20:36 for a 10km…LMFAO

 

[Brullnux]

It's a shame but Giacomel has crumbled under the home Olympic pressure. His individual performance was fine(ish), but this was maybe his worst race of the year.

Needs a mental reset before the pursuit and to do it as calmly and unthinking as possible. It might help him to think a medal is impossible, and treat it as the best possible race practice for the mass start.