Ski race
In Norwegian Trondheim, the new ski tour "Ski Tour" has ended. Before the final pursuit race of 30 km with the classic style, Alexander Bolshunov had a comfortable advantage of 34 seconds over his closest competitor Paul Golberg. There was hardly any doubt that the World Cup leader would keep the groundwork and win the maximum number of points.
However, 15 minutes before the start, heavy snow began, confusing all the cards to the Russian skier. Not only was his inventory not prepared for such weather, he also had to lay down the track for all the pursuers. In a matter of kilometers, Golberg caught up with Bolshunov, and with him five more Norwegians, including Johannes Hösflot Klebo.
When the snow subsided, Bolshunov made an attempt to catch up with a large group of rivals fighting for second place, and was only five seconds away from it. However, too much effort was spent, and the Russian finished seventh. However, his main rival in the overall World Cup standings also did not succeed - his compatriots did not share points with Klebo, and he finished sixth. In the next three races, Bolshunov will still be the leader in the general classification, and this is the only good news for him according to the results of the “Ski Tour”, in which Golberg won.
In women's competitions, Russians did not claim anything. Natalia Nepryaeva long before the end had withdrawn due to a viral infection, and her teammates were powerless against most rivals. The best result was shown by Alisa Zhambalova, who took 22nd place.
Tobogganing
The stage of the World Luge Cup in Winterberg turned out to be the most scandalous in recent decades. Many athletes were dissatisfied with the ice conditions on the German track and refused to participate for safety reasons. The International Luge Federation agreed only to reduce the distance, at the same time punishing the American Summer Bricher, who actively criticized the organization.
As a result, the races took place, but the teams of Austria and the USA did not take part in them. Even most German sleigh riders did not dare to go down the home track. From Russia, the boycott was supported by the owner of two gold medals of the recent World Cup, Roman Repilov, who risked his leadership in the overall standings for safety.
As a result, the results of the World Cup were extremely sensational. In women, Tatyana Ivanova at first went in first place, but after the second descent, she was left behind by the Latvian Elisa Tsauce. German Yulia Taubits, the main rival of the Russian woman in the overall standings of the World Cup, climbed to third place. For Ivanova to win the Crystal Globe, she will need to either bypass the German woman at the last stage in Königssee, or show the second result.
In men's single sleighs, Russian fans could count on Semyon Pavlichenko, who went fourth after the first attempt. However, the unsuccessful second race in rainy conditions threw him far from the medals. The victory was won by the German Johannes Ludwig, who bad weather traditionally brings gold. Repilov was able to maintain leadership in the World Cup, but his main pursuer, Dominic Fishnaller, took fourth place in Winterberg and reduced the gap to just one point.
On the second day of the competition, the weather was still inclement, but it brought good luck to the Russian deuce Alexander Denisiev - Vladislav Antonov. The world champions in the sprint won both races and won the second time in a season. In Königssee, they will have the opportunity to compete for a place in the first three of the overall standings, where Russian sleigh riders have not fallen since Soviet times.
Congratulations Aleksandr Denisev / Vladisav Antonov (Russia) for your victory at the 8th Viessmann Luge World Cup in Winterberg # LugeLove # Worldcup # Winterfans # Winterbergpic.twitter.com / IK8j6yko2m
- FIL Luge (@FIL_Luge) February 23, 2020In the absence of Germans and Austrians, the Russians at the same time won the team relay. Ivanova, Pavlichenko, Denisiev and Antonov won almost half a minute against the Italians. This season is the second success of the Russian team, which opens the way to victory at the end of the year. However, the Italian team remains on the first line of the standings.
Team relay World Cup Winterberg: 1st Russia @Rusluge, 2nd Italy @Fisiofficial and 3rd Latvia @ luge_lv # BMW # Winterfans # LugeLove # Worldcup # Winterberg @ VeltinsEisArenapic.twitter.com / cqMHTrWA1U
- FIL Luge (@FIL_Luge) February 23, 2020Snowboard
The next stage of the World Cup in the turning disciplines of the snowboard took place on the Olympic track in Pyeongchang. For the first time in three years, Russian athletes managed to win medals on it.
Two-time world champion Dmitry Loginov and Italian Roland Fishnaller made their way to the finals of the men's parallel giant slalom competitions. The 39-year-old athlete made the final descent without any problems, while the Russian experienced problems at a distance and could not reach the finish line. For Loginov, this silver was the first award of the season. Andrei Sobolev climbed the podium with him, ahead of the Austrian Alexander Payer in a dispute over bronze.
Both Russians rose to the top five of the overall World Cup standings in this discipline, but they can no longer claim victory - Fishnaller won the title ahead of schedule. In the combined standings of slalom, Sobolev and Loginov complete the first six, having every chance to rise to at least second place for the five remaining starts, one of which will be held in Moscow.
Freestyle
The stage of the Freestyle World Cup was held in Minsk in the most interesting discipline for Russians - ski acrobatics. True, this time the medals to domestic freestylers were not submitted. Although Maxim Burov and Pavel Krotov reached the finals and even made their way into the second attempt, they remained standing immediately behind the podium, although they were the ones who performed the most difficult jumps of the evening. Lyubov Nikitina also adhered to this strategy, but because of the fall, she became only 12th in women's competitions.
Nevertheless, in the overall standings, Russian skiers still occupy leading positions. Burov remained the first, and Krotov shares the second place with the Swiss Noe Roth. Until the end of the season, acrobats will perform in Alma-Ata and Krasnoyarsk, after which Burov will be able to regain the Crystal Globe, which was already in his collection two years ago.
Bobsleigh and skeleton
In German Altenberg, the main start of the season in bobsled and skeleton began - the World Cup. In the first week of the competition, medals were played among female and male double crews. Russian athletes did not actually take part in this. The best result was shown by Nadezhda Sergeeva and Elena Mamedova, who took sixth place.
Alexey Stulnev and Ilya Malykh showed the 13th result among men at all. The biggest failure awaited Rostislav Gatyukevich and Ruslan Samitov. They rolled over in the second race of four.
Competitions will continue next weekend. The Russian team will have a chance to put medals in the piggy bank thanks to skeleton athletes, in particular Alexander Tretyakov and Elena Nikitina, who won six victories in the World Cup for two for the season.