"The Norwegians are afraid of him, you can see it on their faces": experts assessed Bolshunov's finish after the fall

“Everything looked very scary.

It was necessary to overtake 40 people "

On Saturday, Alexander Bolshunov gave the domestic fans another reason to rejoice.

The day before he won the 15 km freestyle race, and now he finished first in the "classic".

Moreover, even a fall in the course of the distance did not prevent him from winning a second victory in a row, which threw the Russian to the end of the fourth dozen of the intermediate protocol.

But he managed to get out of such a difficult situation and at the finish line ahead of the Norwegians Johannes Klebo and Paul Golberg.

“Winning in Falun is a pleasure.

I win here for the fourth year in a row.

Fast race, the speed was very high.

I was lucky that the athletes who were walking behind me saw the fall, and no one crashed into me, and I was able to return to the group, "Match TV quotes Bolshunov.

He also admitted that after the fall he experienced not the most pleasant emotions, because he had to bypass more than three dozen rivals.

“Everything looked very scary.

I ended up at the end of the group, it was difficult to get ahead.

It was required to overtake 40 people, but I did it.

Andrew Musgrave and Ilya Poroshkin walked in front of me.

They either caught on, or something else, but there was nowhere to go, because my skis clung to them.

To be honest, before the race I had a different tactic, but because of the fall, it did not work, - added Bolshunov.

Another Russian skier Denis Spitsov, who finished 13th, was surprised that the opponents did not try to increase speed after the fall of the leader of the overall ranking of the KM in order to get away from him.

“To be honest, I didn't understand what happened there.

I only saw how Sasha Bolshunov fell on one of the circles.

I thought, now they will start to "pull", foreigners love to do it.

Emil Iversen looked around several times.

I assumed they would turn on abruptly.

I wanted to step forward in order to slow down a bit, but for some reason the opponents did not try to run away this time either, ”Spitsov said on Match TV. 

In turn, the coach of the Russian national team, Yuri Borodavko, emphasized that the mass start in the last 1.5 km actually turned into a sprint, since the organizers made "a fairly easy track", and his ward managed to show his best qualities. 

“We are very glad that Alexander not only withstood and got out of a difficult situation, but also pulled ahead in the fight with his direct competitor Klebo.

At the finish line he did not yield to him.

Sometimes a few centimeters are enough to win a sprint, "the Sport-Express specialist quotes. 

According to another coach of the Russian national team, Sergei Turyshev, Bolshunov managed to prove to the Norwegians and other rivals: at the moment it is he who is the strongest skier in the world.

“Alexander is very strong, even though he fell during the race.

The Norwegian athletes underestimated us after the stage in Lahti, but with this performance he seemed to tell them: “Guys, wait, we still have the World Cup ahead.

If we even made a mistake somewhere, we will still make up our own, "- quotes the" Championship "specialist.

"Bolshunov opens a new history of modern skiing"

RT experts were also delighted with Bolshunov's incredible comeback in the "classic".

And the silver medalist of the Olympic Games Alexander Panzhinsky called him "a great athlete". 

“Despite the fall, he managed to pull himself together and perk up when it seemed that all chances were lost.

Sasha proved the opposite and eventually imposed the fight for the first place on the Norwegians.

This is a truly outstanding result, "Panzhinisky said in an interview with RT.

In his opinion, the Russian with two victories in Falun has dealt a serious psychological blow to the Norwegians, since they simply do not know how to beat the current owner of the Big Crystal Globe.

“After the stage in Lahti, Bolshunov, I think, was a little upset, because the Norwegians returned to the tournament and beat him in both races.

The spiteful critics began to belittle his previous victories, they say, Sasha was at the top only in the absence of his main competitors.

But in Falun, the Russian showed that at the moment he is the best skier on the planet.

At the same time, the Norwegians include team tactics in the fight against him, together they play a game against Bolshunov.

We are not necessarily talking about unsportsmanlike behavior, but the Scandinavians want to be at the top, and Alexander is the only one who is able to throw a glove at them, ”added Panzhinsky.

The Olympic Games medalist also suggested that the Russian will come up in even better shape for the World Championship, which starts on February 23 and ends on March 7.

“Victories in Falun will give him self-confidence and psychological balance.

He will be able to calmly spend the last weeks of preparation on the eve of the World Cup.

The main thing is that Alexander is constantly in good shape.

It cannot be said that now he has reached the peak, and by the time of the primacy of the planet he will fall into a functional hole.

I am sure that he and the coach are focusing on getting through the entire season exactly.

And now Bolshunov has an opportunity to recuperate, because every race is a serious stress for the body, "Panzhinsky noted.

In turn, the world champion and countryman of the winner of the KM stage in Falun Alexey Petukhov compared Alexander's success in the 15 km “classic” with a miracle.

“Not everyone succeeds in climbing to the very top from the 38th position after the fall.

But knowing Sasha and the volume of his training, I would not be surprised at this.

I understand what level of loads Wart gives him.

If a person digests them, then he begins to show the highest results.

Bolshunov, on the other hand, does the work in a positive way, and then goes to the start and is not afraid of the Norwegians.

He shows the Russian prowess that we all need.

You really need to bow before Alexander.

I don’t remember such results in cross-country skiing since the days of Bjorn Daly.

Bolshunov opens a new history of modern skiing, "Petukhov emphasized.

The world champion also stressed that the Norwegians have recently had to change their attitude towards the Russian.

Previously, they underestimated him, and now they are afraid.

“Beating them from race to race is worth a lot, and Bolshunov comes out and does it.

I think the Norwegians are already afraid of him.

You can even see it on their faces.

But at first the Scandinavians did not take the Russian seriously, they looked at him with a grin.

Last year, there were jokes that the Crystal Globe was lost in Russia.

The Norwegians simply do not know which keys to pick up for Bolshunov.

He alone crushes them all, ”added Petukhov.

And clashes with opponents during the KM stage in Lahti, according to the world champion, only angered the domestic athlete.

Moreover, he managed to use negative emotions in Falun for his own good.

“He is a smart enough person and reserved for his years.

Knows how and where to behave.

I think that with regard to Bolshunov, there should be no such actions on the part of rivals.

Foreigners are different in mentality, but such situations only make Russian bears stronger.

Bolshunov will not leave them a chance, so it is better not to provoke him.

Someone after the conflicts in Lahti would have broken, and Sasha won two victories.

I am sure that after everything that happened to him, Wartko, his father, and other relatives talked to him, ”suggested Petukhov.

Finally, the head coach of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug national team Sergey Kryanin noted the competent work of Bolshunov at a distance after falling at the beginning of the race.

“He still had time to fix everything.

In addition, he was lucky that he did not break the poles or skis, no one crashed into him.

By that time, the rivals had not gained any super speeds, and therefore the Russian calmly joined the struggle.

As for the battle in the last meters of the distance, Klebo is very strong at the finish line, and you need to have a handicap in front of him so as not to bring matters to a showdown on the line.

Sasha succeeded.

I do not exclude that the fall even further stimulated it, "the expert said in an interview with RT.

Like Panzhinsky, the coach believes that the Russian not only should not slow down on the eve of the World Cup, but is also able to approach the main tournament of the current season in even better shape.  

“I think that what Alexander is showing at the moment is not his maximum.

I am sure that the Russian athlete still has internal reserves.

The most important thing is to have order in his head.

By the KM stage in Finland, Bolshunov simply did not have time to recover from the energy-consuming Tour de Ski.

Still, it is very difficult to carry out eight races in ten days.

Sasha needed time to recover, while the Norwegians arrived in Lahti fresh, ”summed up Kryanin.