Bolshunov was surprised by Chervotkin’s jumps, but supported: seventeen winter victories

Hip-hip hooray!

Bolshunov won the 15-kilometer freestyle mass start at the sixth stage after winning the sprint. There everyone was waiting for the first clash of the year: Alexander Bolshunov and Sergei Ustyugov. But falling does not ask permission. Ustyugov fell in the semi-finals of the sprint, while leading, did not fit into the turn when none of his opponents interfered with him, and the spectators were already rubbing their hands in anticipation of the final. He fell and broke his stick.

So the long-awaited Ustyugov flew past the final. True, I wrote that I was satisfied with the sprint. With each race (there were three of them) it became easier for him, the work was not done in vain: “Hip-hip hurray! I’m kind of on the move. Honestly, openly and without any exaggeration – I’m satisfied.”

And in the final of the sprint, the role of Bolshunov’s main irritant went to Savely Korostelev. Or rather, he took it for himself a long time ago, without asking anyone. Savely rushed forward, Alexander did not lag behind, and already at the finish line he was ahead of Savely and… he was like that in every race this season. Korostelev retained second place, despite the fact that Sergei Ardashev simply blew himself up with speed at the finish line.

And after the finish, the persistent Savely again stated that there was a chance to defeat Bolshunov. “If we start from the state before the race, then after we did well in qualifying, today we still wanted to put the squeeze on San Sanych. There was a chance, but it didn’t work out.”

Sergei Ardashev did not put on a big deal and in one of his interviews with local journalists admitted that Bolshunov’s endless victories irritate him. And, discussing who could still defeat Alexander in the sprint, he named another Alexander – Terentyev. True, admitting that he is not in shape yet. (Terentyev dropped out of the fight without qualifying.)

Agility Lehi

And in the mass start, everyone “caught” Sergei Ustyugov’s second chance for a head-to-head confrontation with the leader. Bolshunov ate Alexey Chervotkin (+1.1) at the very finish, Anton Timashov (+4.6) was in third place, and Pavel Solovyov (+4.7) was in fourth place. Only Saveliy Korostelev (+5.4) finished fifth, having stayed behind Bolshunov throughout the race and even leading it closer to the finish line, which experts immediately considered to be an erroneous tactic. Sergei Ustyugov was 26th.

Then Ustyugov called the race both good and fun: he liked it. But he admitted that he couldn’t force himself to work at his maximum. “The track is quite difficult, it’s strong in nature, it was a bit difficult to walk and jump on the climbs.” Although – again “I was almost not upset.” I wanted to be in the top 10, but I’m glad that I “lost only a minute.”

Alexey Chervotkin also said that the race was not easy. And “when Sanyok pulled for the first time,” he thought that Bolshunov would go all the way, but he slowed down the pace. “It turned out to be an accordion – it would stretch, then shrink.” Then Chervotkin decided to build on the situation and took off when he felt that he had to jump out. “And either take someone with you, or run away yourself.” He admitted that he doesn’t like the finish in Tyumen, because whoever sits in the back gets an advantage due to aerodynamics. “But I did everything I could.”

And Alexander Bolshunov was pleased – very pleased. Because he received resistance and did not give up the gold. “It was a good race, everyone tried hard, everyone was very good competition at every kilometer, they tried to use different tactics.” He also admitted that he was “very surprised by Lech Chervotkin” when he began to “jump” up the mountain like that. But, “if he started like this, then I can support him in this.” And I “pushed” more on the descent to gain speed. “The turn there was dangerous, we skied into it a couple of times during the course, the main thing was not to fall over.”

San Sanych also told someone something unexpected: he can’t immediately take the lead, because other skiers set a fairly high pace at the start. And at the beginning of the race it even seems to him that he can no longer hold on to the guys, but then he rolls in and pulls himself up. “Towards the middle of the distance the pace drops, and there you need to work.”

…When Bolshunov and Chervotkin were flying to the finish line, the memory dragged into the moment of struggle the restoration work with the back of both of them with Dr. Sergei Chechil. There is no point in retelling the exercises; these loads still cannot be conveyed in words (but you can look it up on the Internet).

Not madness, but the power of the brave. Although… for some it will definitely amount to madness.

Northug flashed on the women’s ski track

Women’s skiing also had its own expectations: Olympic champions Yulia Stupak and Tatyana Sorina returned. The sprint did not bring them success; Olympic champion Veronika Stepanova also did not reach the final, taking only fifth place in the semifinals. But the women showed a finale of extraordinary beauty and thirst for victory. Anastasia Faleeva won, in second place – Alena Baranova (+ 0.45), third – Elizaveta Pantrina (+1.18), in fourth place Daria Nepryaeva (+4.27), in fifth place Ekaterina Evtyagina (+11.60 ), in sixth is Alisa Zhambalova (+13.74).

In the mass start, Veronika Stepanova promised to win before the race. And – she won. After the finish, she also pleased everyone with Petter Northug’s gesture when he put his fingers to his nose: “I decided to repeat his masterful finish.” In second place is Elizaveta Pantrina (+6.5), in third is Tatyana Sorina (+7.6), Anastasia Kuleshova is 10 seconds behind, Evgenia Krupitskaya is 10.6. And all three skiers on the podium are from Yegor Sorin’s group. Yulia Stupak finished the race in the top ten participants.

Tatyana Sorina, having won her first medal after a long absence from the track, said that the injury was not entirely a thing of the past. And the most difficult thing about the race was that due to the abundance of snow, “I had an unstable foot,” so the athlete was afraid that her leg would hurt and she would have to quit the race.

And then only in one short story of a family showdown she revealed her ambitions. The question concerned how coach Egor Sorin is trying to limit her loads. Tatyana recalled directly on the air how on the last day of the training camp in Tsakhkadzor “a breakup almost happened.” And she “was simply not allowed to do the training as much as possible.”

But then the coach, on the same live broadcast, decided to explain to the people what he wanted. It turns out that he said: “Tanya, if you win a medal, I will rejoice at it as if I won first place.” And he obviously got excited, because Tatyana was very offended. “We haven’t spoken for a while.”

Even after the sprint, Tatiana’s coach and husband said that the athlete would not be in optimal condition for the Spartakiad. The injury also has an effect, and the fact that Tatyana is still feeding the child, that is, she is just recovering from childbirth. Therefore, it’s difficult to “look for your peak form” now, but Sorin will fight for the top three.

…The sixth stage of the Russian Cup on the track got pretty intense. The “cool” races for some will be followed by battles. Absolutely all Olympic champions will take part in the Spartakiad, except for Natalya Terentyeva, who is not yet cleared by doctors to compete. Ski races at the Spartakiad will be held in Tyumen from February 9 to 19.