"The absence of Norwegians is a minus for Sasha": Borodavko about Bolshunov's leadership at the Tour de Ski and problems with Nepryaeva's weight

- How do you assess the results of the Swiss part of the Tour de Ski?

- It's not bad that Yulia Stupak shows a fairly stable move.

Tatiana Sorina's condition was a little worse.

Natalya Nepryaeva looked much better in comparison with the previous day on Sunday.

Today it is very difficult for her to run in the mountains with a lack of oxygen and with a little excess weight.

All "muscle" athletes traditionally feel oxygen starvation in Val-Mustair and few can show what they are capable of - in this sense, the height here is insidious.

- Is it still difficult for Natalya to normalize her weight?

- The problem still exists, let's say.

And it lies in the fact that "excess weight" in relation to Nepryaeva is not a fat layer, but muscles.

Natasha has always been a big, muscular athlete.

It's just that now she felt, as they say, on her own skin, that being overweight is a very heavy load that you have to carry on yourself.

So, you need to get rid of it.

But the fact is that muscle mass does not go away quickly: you need hard training to burn it out.

Or tough competition.

- What is taking away more coaching forces now - working with Nepryaeva or still with Bolshunov?

- Alexander is a professional of the highest class, very independent and thinking.

Therefore, in working with him, I determine the training strategy, and he is already making adjustments, focusing on his own state and well-being.

Natalia is a girl, and that says it all.

Women always demand attention to themselves, they have to explain everything in more detail.

In addition, Natasha has a habit of performing the training load with some inner relaxation, without proper concentration.

We talked with her many times about what this can lead to, and now, in a sense, we are reaping the benefits.

- Is this a serious cause for concern?

- Natasha is a strong-willed athlete and I am sure she can handle it.

- When the current season began, no one knew what competitions would take place in it and whether it would be possible to keep the calendar at all.

Did you have a contingency plan in case the situation develops?

- Yes, and it was called the "Russian calendar".

No one was going to cancel our internal competitions, so we were determined to participate in them.

The same applies to training camps.

Until October we had no opportunity to go anywhere, we were preparing in Russia.

- Has it affected the effectiveness of training?

- Rather, it simply exacerbated the problems that exist at our bases.

Each of those places that are considered centers of centralized training have their own shortcomings.

There is no center where the whole complex of conditions exists - I mean roller tracks, cross and imitation circles, halls for strength work, and so on.

In the same Malinovka in the Arkhangelsk region, everything is fine with the tracks, but there is no gym.

The nearest one is located 40 km from the base, and you can't hit it all the time.

We faced all this complex of problems this year very closely.

It is easier in this respect abroad: in those places where we usually have summer and autumn training, we come, knowingly knowing everything about the tracks, reliefs and simulators.

- I know that in your group, Denis Spitsov had a rather hard coronavirus.

- Not as hard as it could have been, but it took three weeks for the treatment.

In total, Denis was without training for a month.

In general, almost all of us were ill, and each of the disease proceeded in its own way.

Sergei Ustyugov is still recovering, Spitsov was given the opportunity to approach the season calmly, without trying to force preparation.

And now he is approaching the results that we all expect from him.

- At the time when the pandemic in Russia was just beginning, were you afraid to get infected?

- In the spring - yes, very much.

Then everything somehow became dull.

And in October everyone was covered.

We were probably lucky: everyone got sick quite easily, including the coaches.

- How satisfied are you with the current state of Bolshunov?

Does it add or does the level remain stable?

- In skiing, an athlete's readiness very much depends on the level at which his rivals perform.

So far, we simply do not have a more or less clear picture in this regard.

But we will make every effort to prepare as well as possible for the World Cup.

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- Now there are no Norwegians next to Bolshunov.

Is this a minus?

- For his self-esteem and a thorough understanding of his own state - an absolute minus.

The Norwegians, without a doubt, are in the first place in the list of rivals, and it is always useful to see what conditions your competitors are in - it helps to achieve the desired psychological mood.

Without being able to assess them personally, it is difficult to understand how well they are ready and what to expect from them.

One can only guess.

On the other hand, I would not call those rivals that remain weak.

The Tour de Ski is definitely not a walk in this respect.

- Do you agree with the opinion that skipping the Tour de Ski and the World Cup stages can help the Norwegians better prepare for the World Cup?

- Difficult question.

Competitions give an athlete the opportunity to reach the ultimate level that is extremely difficult to achieve in training.

It is they that allow you to increase stamina and speed.

- A year ago, Bolshunov was eager to win the overall World Cup and Tour de Ski scores.

What is his main motivation now?

- Sasha never won the world championship - two years ago in Seefeld he was the second four times.

And winning another World Cup would be nice.

- "Tour de Ski" for you and Bolshunov - is it a self-sufficient tournament or just a stage of preparation for the world championship?

- The World Championship is definitely more significant.

Well, the best workout in preparation for the main start is competition.

Eight serious races in a row is great.

In addition, the Tour de Ski is not as difficult now as it was in the beginning.

There was a mass start, the "thirty" was removed, that is, for the athletes, the stage race has ceased to be too difficult a test.

- The stage in Val Mustair was remembered by the fans for the clash between Alexey Chervotkin and Evgeny Belov in the classic race from the common start.

What in this situation became the most absurd for you as a professional?

- The fact that athletes of one team, instead of standing on the podium with Bolshunov, created so many problems for themselves, ruining the race.

Now everyone continues to discuss who is to blame: Chervotkin, who was behind, or Belov, who rode in front of him, but clearly saw Alexei's skis and thus put his head into the mousetrap, which slammed shut.

For me, all this is from the series "Nobody wanted to give in."

I see neither right nor guilty - both are good: each was looking for his own path to victory, but in the end he punished himself.

It is no coincidence that foreigners long ago invented a saying: "As long as the Russians sort it out among themselves, we are invincible."

- I'll try to guess the source.

Olympics in Albertville?

- Yes, I think so.

It was there, if I’m not mistaken, that two of our athletes watched each other and were so carried away by this process that they did not even notice how Stefania Belmondo rushed past them.