Winter Olympics 2010, Vancouver

[Moondance]

so the coalition didn't collapse either?

What?!?! I was too busy drooling over Mark Tuitert to notice we no longer have a government.

 

[Moondance]

Ahhhh, Miller takes gold. About time too.

 

[Oldman]

Ahhhh, Miller takes gold. About time too.

He's been coming to a slow boil for two months. I didn't think he'd lock into a slalom run like that to take the combined after chumming the downhill, though. There's no telling what will happen in the GS and Slalom now that he's gotten all of those medals. We might see the stellar performances of old and NBC will get giddy trying to kiss his ....whatever. Still is the best Alpine skiier I've ever seen across all disciplines.

 

[Moondance]

He's been coming to a slow boil for two months. I didn't think he'd lock into a slalom run like that to take the combined after chumming the downhill, though. There's no telling what will happen in the GS and Slalom now that he's gotten all of those medals. We might see the stellar performances of old and NBC will get giddy trying to kiss his ....whatever. Still is the best Alpine skiier I've ever seen across all disciplines.

He's defintely one of the best.... But for pure all-round skill I'd still choose Marc Girardelli, although Girardelli never won Olympic gold, and Miller has him beat there now.

 

[ak-zaaf]

WUST!

Again, pretty unexpected.

\o/

 

[Moondance]

WUST!

Again, pretty unexpected.

\o/

Hmmm... I was actually expecting it, or something close. Wust was looking good in the first two events she did, and if you analyzed them there were a lot of good signs for today. Nesbitt was skating far more forced than she usually does in the 1000m, and her verval (I have no idea if the Anglos have a word for this) was greater than it usually is. Groves in the 3km was also less stable than she usually is. Sablikova is never quite fast enough (although she probably will be one day).

I thought it was going to be really close between Wust and Groves and luckily the right woman won. Although it is a little sad for Groves. She seems like such a lovely woman, but she can't ever seem to get any breaks. Canada will take the women's TP, and Groves'll have a gold, but it won't be what she wanted.

Anyway, it's been a great Olympics so far for the Dutch. After the disappointing women's 3, the 500s and the men's 1000m, I was fearing that this was going to be a disaster Olympics. But if Gerritsen had only been 0.03s faster the Dutch would now be on course for a record 6 golds, and that would've been incredible. Every talking head has been yakking about how the Dutch are losing their place on top of the speed skating world, but we're showing them.

 

[Bala Verde]

Anyway, it's been a great Olympics so far for the Dutch. After the disappointing women's 3, the 500s and the men's 1000m, I was fearing that this was going to be a disaster Olympics. But if Gerritsen had only been 0.03s faster the Dutch would now be on course for a record 6 golds, and that would've been incredible. Every talking head has been yakking about how the Dutch are losing their place on top of the speed skating world, but we're showing them.

That's what I thought exactly, after seeing those races. However, now they've managed to double-gold the schaatsmijl, nothing can really beat their season anymore.

What's next, gold on the men's 10k and TP? What about the women's TP and 5k, any medal chances?

The dutch are notorious for their yakking & complaining Is Mart still doing the commentary and interviews in the on-site studio/booth, wearing his 'Norwegian' woolen jumpers?

 

[Oldman]

He's defintely one of the best.... But for pure all-round skill I'd still choose Marc Girardelli, although Girardelli never won Olympic gold, and Miller has him beat there now.

Giradelli had the nerve, skills and will to do anything except the type of Downhill these guys run. He, Ingmar and LaBamba/Tomba were greats to watch.

 

[eric_vv]

I thought it was going to be really close between Wust and Groves and luckily the right woman won. Although it is a little sad for Groves. She seems like such a lovely woman, but she can't ever seem to get any breaks. Canada will take the women's TP, and Groves'll have a gold, but it won't be what she wanted.

I'm not so sure anymore about the TP Gold. The Canadian team seems to have lost some of it's edge. Groves and Nesbitt are still good enough but who's gonna be the third teammember? Klassen, Rempel and Schussler haven't impressed me so far. Hughes was impressive (by her standard) in the 3000 but lacks the natural speed (could surprise Sablikova in the 5000 though).

The best indication for the TP would be the 1500 and 3000 where the 3th Dutch woman beat the 3th Canadian both times while the form of likely participants Elma de Vries and Jorien Voorhuis is still unknown and Valkenburg's gutsy race in the 3000 at least showed good form.

THe Candian team is still the obvious favorite but it's far from the done deal I thought it would be going into the olympics.

The German and Russian teams could obviously also be strong challengers.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I'm personally burnt out on Bode Miller. His name and face seem to be plastered all over every skiing event, like half of NBC's coverage are the "Bode Watch". Zzzzzzz.

 

[BroDeal]

I'm personally burnt out on Bode Miller. His name and face seem to be plastered all over every skiing event, like half of NBC's coverage are the "Bode Watch". Zzzzzzz.

They do this every Olympics. They pick "story of this Olympics" and beat the issue into the ground.

 

[Oldman]

I'm personally burnt out on Bode Miller. His name and face seem to be plastered all over every skiing event, like half of NBC's coverage are the "Bode Watch". Zzzzzzz.

Actually they have avoided the crap out of Bode because of his casual attitude in Torino. He didn't seek publicity then and hoped they'd leave him alone because he didn't place a premium on the Olympics over World Cup. He said repeatedly that he preferred a good run that pleased him to a medal.
The US Press pilloried him for not getting any hardware and he had no aspirations to continue.

Don't know what changed his mind but he has been absent from any endorsements or commercials in US broadcast. The telling moment came today when the odds-on favorite, Ivica Kostelic had posted a killer run and his family was rejoicing in the finish for a certain Gold Medal (his father had been the course-setter for the slalom run, Ivica's strongest discipline). Bode beat him convincingly and was burnt. The two were in the leader's paddock waiting for the leaders from the Downhill portion and Ivica said to him: "looks like you're back. You really deserved this." The two guys sat and talked without the excess theatre that involved nearly every other Gold performance and just looked happy until their podium positions were confirmed. Then they just looked happy...no theatre. Two racers appreciating the performances.
That is an Olympic moment whether you've had too much exposure or not.

 

[Moondance]

That's what I thought exactly, after seeing those races. However, now they've managed to double-gold the schaatsmijl, nothing can really beat their season anymore.

What's next, gold on the men's 10k and TP? What about the women's TP and 5k, any medal chances?

The dutch are notorious for their yakking & complaining Is Mart still doing the commentary and interviews in the on-site studio/booth, wearing his 'Norwegian' woolen jumpers?

Ohhhhh yes......

Although his dress sense now trends more to a sort of hipster college professor type of thing, with blazers and open neck shirts. It's bad, but then again, I doubt anything would look 'good' on him.

 

[Moondance]

I'm not so sure anymore about the TP Gold. The Canadian team seems to have lost some of it's edge. Groves and Nesbitt are still good enough but who's gonna be the third teammember? Klassen, Rempel and Schussler haven't impressed me so far. Hughes was impressive (by her standard) in the 3000 but lacks the natural speed (could surprise Sablikova in the 5000 though).

The best indication for the TP would be the 1500 and 3000 where the 3th Dutch woman beat the 3th Canadian both times while the form of likely participants Elma de Vries and Jorien Voorhuis is still unknown and Valkenburg's gutsy race in the 3000 at least showed good form.

THe Candian team is still the obvious favorite but it's far from the done deal I thought it would be going into the olympics.

The German and Russian teams could obviously also be strong challengers.

I certainly have better hopes for the Dutch women's TP, and these two 1500m prove that sometimes it's the Dutch who can pull off the upset against several more favored opponents. But it's so hard to pick against Canada. They looked fantastic in the TPs earlier this year, really aggressive but also in total control. If you saw the TP that i think it was Groves, Nesbitt and Schussler pulled off in the Calgary World Cup in December you'll know what I'm talking about. They clearly train very hard for it.

Can Wust, de Vries and Valkenburg/Voorhuis pull off the upset? Sure, but not likely. It'll be Netherlands, Russia, Japan and maybe Germany fighting for silver. I don't like Germany's chances, because they're going to have to pick Beckert and she'll act like an enormous anchor on the team for the first lap or two. By the time Beckert has sped up the Canadians will already have well over a second on them, and that can't be made up. Also Beckert doesn't really have a fluid skating style and as such doesn't fit into a pursuit lineup well.

 

[eric_vv]

I certainly have better hopes for the Dutch women's TP, and these two 1500m prove that sometimes it's the Dutch who can pull off the upset against several more favored opponents. But it's so hard to pick against Canada. They looked fantastic in the TPs earlier this year, really aggressive but also in total control. If you saw the TP that i think it was Groves, Nesbitt and Schussler pulled off in the Calgary World Cup in December you'll know what I'm talking about. They clearly train very hard for it.

Can Wust, de Vries and Valkenburg/Voorhuis pull off the upset? Sure, but not likely. It'll be Netherlands, Russia, Japan and maybe Germany fighting for silver. I don't like Germany's chances, because they're going to have to pick Beckert and she'll act like an enormous anchor on the team for the first lap or two. By the time Beckert has sped up the Canadians will already have well over a second on them, and that can't be made up. Also Beckert doesn't really have a fluid skating style and as such doesn't fit into a pursuit lineup well.

That's why I thought Canada was a certainty for gold in the TP. But a couple of things have changed since then especially the form of the individual riders.
1500 results olympics (calgary result)
1. Wust (12)
2. Groves (1)
6. Nesbitt (2)
21. Klassen (11)
35! Schussler (4)
De vries (3)
The rest of the Dutch riders at the 1500 meter won´t be in the TP.

So all the canadian woman are placed lower than at Calgary especially the expected 3th teammember Schussler. She seemed to have trouble with her skates before the start so that might explain it but she was only 25th on the 1000 so that´s not an indication of good form either.

Wust wasn´t even part of the team that raced the TP in calgary so that alone makes a big difference.

3000 meter
3. Groves (4)
5. Hughes (11)
7. Wust (6)
10. Groenewold (18)
11. Valkenburg (14)
14. Klassen (9)
Schussler (8)
Voorhuis (15)

Mostly the same as 1500 except that Hughes is much better this time, but like I said in my first post she lacks the topspeed needed in the TP (like Beckert) The other difference is the location, Calgary is simply much faster than Richmond which doesn't help riders like Nesbitt and Klassen who need fast ice for endurence events, while Wust, Valkenburg and Voorhuis have better results on slow ice. If either Voorhuis or de Vries is in good shape the Dutch stand a decent chance to beat the Canadian team.

Just looking at the results Klassen would be the best bet for the 3th place in the team unless it's just nerves hindering Schussler at these games. They remain the favorites and I was really impressed earlier in the season when they dominated the field, but I'm starting to wonder if they simply peaked too soon. Only Groves and Hughes seem to be at their best at the right time.

I agree about Beckert but the slow start shoul be less of a problem than it would have been in Calgary. She could also be replaced by Angermuller, but that would give the opposite problem in the final laps.

 

[Moondance]

Well, Schussler had her drama with her stakes being broken, and were being repaired until two minutes before she had to skate. She couldn't get any practice in. I doubt that she was going to medal, but she was defintely better than what she showed. I would still easily pick her over Klassen to pair with Groves and Nesbitt, I mean Klassen didn't so much die in the 3km as that she ceased to exist.

Luckily for them they'll have an easy going of it in the 1st round, skating against the USA or China, so they can put Schussler and Nesbitt in and see whether they hold up, and if one of them doesn't you can sub in Hughes for the semis and the final.

Netherlands on the other hand didn't have a good run in the TP World Cups, and so we'll probably face a tougher first round opponent like Germany or Japan, and then we'll have to get it right the first time with the team composition. It's way tougher odds. I'm not saying we don't have a shot, and with a strong Wust as a motor and distance skaters like de Vries and Voorhuis to stablize I definitely think we're favored over any other country in principle, but not Canada, i just don't see it as likely.

 

[eric_vv]

I didn't know what happened to Schussler, I just saw her walking around without skates, but that explains a lot. Still her 1000 meter race wasn't good enough either.

The Netherlands didn't have a good run in the high altitude TP's, but they were 2nd in the only low altitude TP (still 1.73 behind canada but not like the 5-6 seconds at high altitude) at Thialf. I'm just saying that if anyone is going to beat Canada it will be the Netherlands and they are in far better position to do it than they were earlier in the season.

In a way I wouldn't mind if Canada does win as expected, especially Groves deserves to have that Gold medal, all the Dutch girls except Groenewold (who probably won't ride anyway) are young enough to have another shot in 4 years. Elma de Vries is the oldest teammember at 26.

 

[flyor64]

Congrats to Øystein Pettersen and Petter Northug on the team sprint yesterday. Great race. Impressive tactic by Northug at the end there. Norwegian papers are reporting that Petukhov "took the bait"...

I think this will give some relief to Northug, who's been feeling some heat so far for coming up short.

Btw pretty funny storyabout how Øystein got his nickname "hotdog" (or would "sausage" be a better translation?) and the fact that he explained it to the reporters pretty cleary... The innuendo was well played, I gather, while only talking about how he looks in the cross country kit...

Not sure if it made it to the english speaking press or not

 

[python]

Congrats to Øystein Pettersen and Petter Northug on the team sprint yesterday. Great race. Impressive tactic by Northug at the end there.

yeah, it was super !!

Norwegian papers are reporting that Petukhov "took the bait"...

i was told that petukhov's coach agrees and said something similar after the race. he criticized their slow pace as he felt petukhov's superior V2 sprint was wasted.

 

[flyor64]

yeah, it was super !!

i was told that petukhov's coach agrees and said something similar after the race. he criticized their slow pace as he felt petukhov's superior V2 sprint was wasted.

Interesting.

Northug is reported to have said that he didn't even need to use his famous "kick" at the end.

We have a couple more chances to see who has the better sprint at the end...at least I hope we do

 

[Christian]

Anywho - anyone care for biathlon? I know most people in this forum probably don't have a good national team (same here), but it's really exciting and I love to watch it. My favorite is German Magdalena Neuner. Tonight is women's team competition!

 

[Oncearunner8]

I hope they (IOC) make up some new sports so the USA can get more medals!
Snowboarding is not serious! Just look at the way these “athletes” show up with the sagging pants and bandanas. Makes the traditional winter sports look dumb for allowing these folks to be called Olympians.

Oh almost forgot to add…… I hope the Russians do not win anything.

 

[Christian]

I hope they (IOC) make up some new sports so the USA can get more medals!
Snowboarding is not serious! Just look at the way these “athletes” show up with the sagging pants and bandanas. Makes the traditional winter sports look dumb for allowing these folks to be called Olympians.

Oh almost forgot to add…… I hope the Russians do not win anything.

Isn't the US the biggest snowboarding nation in the world?

PS - Russian guy won gold in Biathlon

 

[eric_vv]

Anywho - anyone care for biathlon? I know most people in this forum probably don't have a good national team (same here), but it's really exciting and I love to watch it. My favorite is German Magdalena Neuner. Tonight is women's team competition!

Biathlon is my second favorite sport afther cycling, but Dutch television doesn't care for it, so I'm usuallt stuck with Eurosport. The best ever result by a Dutchman is something like 50th in a worldcup so not much home favorites to support.

Certainly going to watch the relay tonight but Neuner won't be in it from what I understand, last I heard the individual events cost too much energy and she wasn't feeling up to it.

 

[TRDean]

Let me say I love the winter olympics!! I love the biathalon, long track speed skating, XC skiing, hockey, and hell...I have even enjoyed watching the curling. Some great drama in these races...absolutely fantastic. Happy that Northug got a gold...he seems a little "big for his britches" but he must be sleeping a little better.

On some of the other comments...funny, I have had the same thoughts. The outfits that the snowboarders wear drive me crazy! In that snowboard cross race...if the object is to go fast...why all the baggy clothes. Could you see the XC skiers wearing those baggy clothes? It is about performance, not style. It is a joke.

I also think that some of these sports should be removed from the Olympics...snowboard half pipe...I mean come on!!

And that down hill/mogule skiing? You are skiing for time and style points? Please!!

Like someone said...I am not a fan of competition sports being decided by judges!! Seems a little off to me. That being said...those figure skaters are good athletes.