Hot weather, the success of the biathlete and Bolshunov's cold: what happens at the ski World Cup the day before the first medal draw

Early start due to heat

The organizers of the World Championships in Oberstdorf are faced with a problem that is rare in winter sports - hot weather.

This week, during the day, the temperature in the vicinity of the ski stadium reaches + 15 ° C and even higher, which is why the commentator Dmitry Guberniev joked that the competition will be held not on cross-country skis, but on water skis.

In order for the skiers to compete in acceptable conditions, the organizers had to change the schedule for the first two days.

The 10K men's and 5K women's qualifying races scheduled for February 24 have been postponed to 9:00 and 10:30 local time, although they were originally scheduled to start at 12:30 and 14:30.

On February 25, the elite of cross-country skiing will start the drawing of medals in the personal sprint in a classic move.

Their qualifying races will also start at 9:00 instead of 12:45.

The final stage of the competition has been moved from 15:15 to 11:30.

According to FIS Race Director Pierre Migneret, this will help keep the races running and avoid a total cancellation.

“Every minute when the sun is shining, it greatly affects the state of the snow.

We see that until 11:30 the track is doing well, ”Aftonbladet quotes Miniere.

According to the Olympic champion Mikhail Devyatyarov, in such conditions, light riders will have an advantage.

However, Alexander Bolshunov, who surpasses many rivals in weight, will still have a chance to prove himself if he has time to adapt.

“No matter how much the track is monitored, it will still break by the end.

And when the trail falls through, it becomes difficult for powerful skiers with a strong push.

There are exceptions, though.

In Sochi-2014, the Swiss Daria Kolonya won, who cannot be called a lightweight.

Whoever adapts better will win.

If Bolshunov has time to adapt, it's okay.

He also ran the World Championship in Seefeld, where it was also very warm, and won four silver medals, "Devyatyarov told Sport-Express.

Biathlete competing for ski medals

The 5 km races for women and 10 km for men, from which the World Championship started, served as qualifications for the time trial, which will take place on March 2 and 3.

Usually, athletes from countries where winter sports are very poorly developed are accepted in such competitions.

But sometimes quite famous athletes take part in the qualification.

So, in the women's race, the Latvian Baiba Bendika, well known to fans of biathlon, took part.

This year she became the European champion, and last week until the last fought for the medal of the World Championship in the mass start.

From Pokljuka, Bendika immediately came to Oberstdorf and confidently won the 5 km race.

Now she, along with two more compatriots and representatives of Thailand, Armenia, Brazil, Iceland, Croatia, Argentina and Hungary, will fight for the medals of the World Cross-Country Championship.

In the men's qualification, the Nigerian Samuel Ikpefan almost made a sensation.

He could be the first African to qualify for a mainstream race since the format was adopted in 2009.

Most of the distance he kept in the top ten, but still showed 17th time.

The best was the Thai-born Mark Changlung, whose sister Karen also qualified.

Skiers from New Zealand, Belgium, Iceland, Australia, Mongolia, as well as two Danes and two Latvians, qualified with him.

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Bolshunov's problems

Russian fans are primarily concerned with the state of Alexander Bolshunov.

The winner of the "Big Crystal Globe" came to Oberstdorf for his first world title, but before the competition he first of all needs to take care of his health.

According to the senior coach of the Russian national team Yuri Borodavko, the 24-year-old skier caught a cold.

“Unfortunately, Alexander caught a slight cold at the final stage of his training in the mountains.

In order not to force the form, not to drive the athlete, it was decided to lower him from the mountains ahead of time and send him to Oberstdorf, where he undergoes the final stage of training, "Borodavko told Sovetsky Sport.

However, one of the strongest Norwegian skiers Emil Iversen admitted that he does not believe in Bolshunov's cold.

In a conversation with Nettavisen, he recalled how before the Olympics in Pyeongchang there was also talk about the poor health of the Russian athlete, but in the end he performed in full force.

An equally unpleasant event for Bolshunov may be the FIS proceedings regarding the incident with the Finn Yoni Mäki at the World Cup in Lahti.

According to "Match TV", the federation intends to consider in the near future the possibility of imposing a fine on the Russian skier and depriving him of points in the overall standings of the World Cup.

It is reported that Bolshunov is unlikely to avoid the first sanction, and he can lose the earned points with a 50% probability.

The deprivation of points will be a rather serious punishment for Bolshunov. First, he may lose his status as an early winner of the World Cup. To prevent this from happening, he needs to maintain a lead over Ivan Yakimushkin by at least 730 points. Now they are separated by 839 points. Secondly, Bolshunov is very close to the record of Martin Junsrud Sundby, who won the World Cup in 2016 by 1032 points. No matter how many points the Russian is deprived of, he will have to try hard to get closer to the Norwegian and get around him in the five remaining races after the World Cup.