Triumph of Bolshunov and Ustyugov
The 13th Tour de Ski draw traditionally ended with a climb to the Alpe Cermis mountain - short in distance but very insidious in nature. Fans are accustomed to the fact that on the last day there is a pursuit race in which skiers start according to the overall standings and the first at the finish line automatically becomes the champion. At the same time, the organizers decided to hold a race from a common start.
This format caused some criticism - the winner would have to be determined after an additional count of time, and the track itself on the Italian mountain is not suitable for mass races due to its narrow profile. But on the other hand, the last stage of the Tour de Ski has long been required to increase entertainment, since in recent years it has turned into single races of the leaders of the overall standings, between which there was practically no struggle. Mass start was an excellent solution, since it was still not difficult to follow the changes in the overall standings - only three skiers challenged the title.
They were the Norwegian Johannes Hösflot Klebo who seized the leadership at the last moment and two Russians: Alexander Bolshunov and Sergey Ustyugov. Klebo in this company was clearly superfluous - although he is the best in the overall standings of the World Cup, he is still not prepared for climbing the mountain. Thanks to the mass start, he still had chances to win if someone from the national team helped throughout the climb and allowed him to endure to the finish line.
However, Klebo did not receive such an opportunity. The numerical advantage in the distance was for Russian skiers, which a year ago seemed fantastic. Half of the ten-kilometer distance Klebo walked alongside Ustyugov and Bolshunov, remaining the virtual leader of the overall standings, but after an increase in the slope the situation began to change. The Norwegian began to lag, and no one could save him. His companions Schür Röthé and Simen Krueger had to fight for themselves. They might even have a thought about circumventing Klebo in the overall standings.
In the last kilometers, Röthe and Kruger, replacing each other, broke away from the general group, but not at all so far as to threaten Russian skiers. Bolshunov and Ustyugov in the company of Denis Spitsov conceded no more than twenty seconds. The closer the finish was, the clearer it became that for the first time in history the first two places on the Tour de Ski would be taken by the Russians. Ustyugov did not make any serious efforts to get around Bolshunov, and the 23-year-old athlete celebrated the first significant victory in his life, getting rid of the status of an “eternally silver” skier.
“Until the last meters, I was afraid to go forward, because the mountain is very complex, it doesn’t forgive mistakes. But today, along the way, it was my day, even my strength remained, ”said Bolshunov on the air of Channel One after the race.
È BOLSHUNOV MR. TOUR DE SKI!
Al russo basta il terzo posto sul Cermis (vince Krueger), Ustiugov e Klaebo si arrendono❄️🏆 # EurosportSCI # TourdeSkipic.twitter.com / aLkvhr6N7b
If Bolshunov decides to start at the next competitions in Dresden, he will put on the yellow-red shirt of the World Cup leader in the general and distance events. In the general classification, he overtook Klebo by 75 points, which nevertheless held third place in the Tour de Ski after Ustyugov.
The second consecutive silver Nepryaeva
For women, before the final climb to the Alpe Cermis, five skiers could fight for the victory in the overall standings, but only Theresa Johaug was the real contender. Although during the current “Tour de Ski” she gave her rivals a chance in individual races and even suffered minor defeats, she could not be equal in the final race.
The remaining girls had to fight for second place, and among them was Natalya Nepryaeva, who took third place in the overall classification. She was opposed by a trio of Norwegians: Astrid Jacobsen, Ingvild Estberg and Heidi Weng.
Nepryaeva also wanted to keep the second line in the sprint classification. To do this, she needed to collect bonus seconds on two cutoffs when climbing uphill. Although it was quite risky, because any extra body movement in such a race could end sadly, the Russian woman decided to still compete for extra points and lost only to Slovenian Anamaria Lampich, who became the best Tour de Ski sprinter. Lampich immediately slowed down, and Nepryaeva still had to overcome almost seven kilometers in full force.
The second eyeglass cutoff from the peloton came off already Johaug and Weng. After that, the best skier of the planet continued to run at her own pace, and Veng decided that she had enough, and returned to the general group. By that time, Jacobsen had dropped out of the pursuit. For Nepryaeva, this meant that there was a real chance to once again take second place in the Tour de Ski.
Only Estberg could prevent the Russian woman, who had to earn an advantage of nine seconds at the finish line. The Norwegian tried to run away from Nepryaeva, but still didn’t calculate her strength perfectly. Nepryaeva crept up to Estberg right in front of the finish line. They were separated by only three seconds, which were not enough to go around the Russian skier in the overall standings. The consolation for Estberg was that she became the bronze medalist of mountain climbing after Johaug and Weng.
Thanks to the second consecutive finish in the prizes at the Tour de Ski, Nepryaeva climbed to third place in the overall World Cup. The Russian woman loses only 63 points to Veng and can compete with her in the next stages. Thanks to the third victory in the main ski stage race (and the first in four years), Johaug again became unattainable in the general classification.
La regina del Cermis!
Therese Johaug vince il Tour de Ski alla sua maniera: per dispersione🇳🇴❄️✌️ # EurosportSCI | # TourDeSkipic.twitter.com / jWMQPmNiiP