After the ninth stage of the World Cup in cross-country skiing in Swedish Falun, the advantage of the Russian Alexander Bolshunov from the closest pursuer of the Norwegian Johannes Klebo in the overall standings increased to 425 points. At the moment, the asset of the four-time Olympic medalist is 1647 points, which is a record for domestic athletes.
Despite the fact that more than a month remains before the end of the season, many are already confident in Bolshunov’s final triumph, which may become historical. The fact is that the last domestic owner of the Big Crystal Globe was Vladimir Smirnov in the 1990/1991 season. In the asset of the skiers of the Russian national team, this trophy has never been.
The success of Bolshunov was admired by the Olympic champion in 1988, Mikhail Devyatyarov. He noted that the appearance of such a talented skier was predictable, and expressed hope that the Russian will be able to continue the triumphal series at the World Cup and the Olympics.
“In such a huge country as Russia, with a great love of people for skiing and long-standing traditions in this sport, there could not be a skier who could repeat the successes of Alexander Zavyalov and Vladimir Smirnov. Therefore, sooner or later a guy like Bolshunov should appear, who will take the "Big Crystal Globe." I hold my fists for Alexander and wish him not to miss this chance, ”Izvestia quoted Devyatyarov as saying.
In turn, the vice-president of the Russian Skiing Federation (FLGR) Sergey Kryanin noted the progress of a native of the Bryansk region.
“Bolshunov is tuned, even very well tuned to win the World Cup. His task is to earn as many points as possible. If this happens, it will be just super. Sasha is making every effort to do this, ”RIA Novosti quotes Kryanin as saying.
At the same time, some are in no hurry to give the Russians the main trophy of the season. His former teammate partner Alexander Legkov emphasized that you should first wait for the final starts, although all the prerequisites for a major victory are already there.
“But the fight continues, ahead of the race, and you need to see how many points are won in the remaining stages of the World Cup. And then we’ll already understand how many stages Bolshunov needs to win in order to become inaccessible, ”Legkov explained.
However, Bolshunov is admired not only at home, but also abroad. The Norwegian Sure Rethe, who lost to Bolshunov in the mass start at the World Cup in Falun and takes third place in the overall standings, admitted that he practically does not experience negative emotions due to the failure, since the opponent’s victory was logical.
“My scenario was that you need not only to be the first during the race, but also at the finish. However, on Saturday Bolshunov showed that he is a capable sprinter ... He is not very offended to lose. But a little unpleasant, ”said Reete.
In turn, journalist Torgeir Björn emphasized Bolshunov’s tactics.
“Last season, Russians lost a lot because of the wrong strategy. But we worked on it. Now Bolshunov is doing everything he wants, ”said Björn.
Journalists of the Dagbladet publication even called Bolshunov one of the strongest representatives of skiing in history, admiring his work at a distance in a mass start.
“One question arises: is Bolshunov another Russian ski monster? .. After two races in Falun without resistance from the injured Klebo, it seems that he is winning the World Cup. This is a positive point. The sport needed a change of leader after the Norwegian domination in the World Cup, ”summed up the stage at Dagbladet.
At the same time, journalists complained that Bolshunov continued to cooperate with Yuri Borodavko, who in 2010 received a two-year suspension for involvement in the doping scandal. In their opinion, the return to the work of a specialist reflects the state of affairs in FLGR.
“23-year-old Bolshunov is too young to be involved in fraud in Sochi six years ago, but around him in the Russian skiing community there are close ties between all involved. Even when Alexander was impressed at the previous Olympics, being part of a group of young reservists who replaced the estranged stars, his achievements remained in the shadow of past stories, ”says the Dagbladet article.
Such a convincing advantage in the overall standings was ensured for Bolshunov by the absence in Sweden of Klebo, who broke his finger in early February after an unsuccessful blow to the slot machine. The Norwegian will join his team at the upcoming Ski Tour stage race, but he himself admitted that he has dropped out of the fight for the Big Crystal Globe.
“Given that I can’t speak in Falun, I can congratulate Bolshunov on his victory in the World Cup. But he must know that at the end of the season I will return strong. Next season too. This season 100% was not mine, ”complained Klebo.
In response, FLG President Elena Välbe called the Norwegian statement a psychological attack and expressed the hope that he would soon return to the ski run.
"Ski Tour" will be held from February 15 to 23 in Sweden and Norway. In addition to Bolshunov, the Russian men's team included Sergey Ustyugov, Gleb Retivykh, Andrey Melnichenko, Andrey Larkov, Denis Spitsov, Artyom Maltsev, Ivan Yakimushkin and Evgeny Belov. The female team includes Natalia Nepryaeva, Alisa Zhambalova, Yana Kirpichenko, Ekaterina Smirnova, Diana Golovan, Anna Nechaevskaya and Alia Iksanova.