"They can start to slow down Sasha": Zavyalov about the provocations of the Norwegians, Bolshunov's fatigue and the peculiarities of the marathon

- How should you properly distribute forces in a ski marathon?

- First of all, you need to remember that this is primarily a mass start.

If it was an individual race - another matter.

There, from the coaches, at every kilometer, at every cutoff, information about the time and lag should be received.

In a marathon, you need to focus not only on yourself, but also on your opponents.

On the first kilometer, as a rule, you can see the work of the skis, who how they feel.

It is important that if the skis do not suit you in terms of sliding or holding, you have the opportunity to go to the pit stop and change them.

In a marathon, it is necessary to maintain control at a distance throughout the entire 50 km, and not only over yourself, but also over competitors.

In principle, they all studied each other perfectly.

Therefore, it will be possible to talk about some kind of hands only after the start of the race.

- How should Bolshunov tune in for a marathon?

Does he run the risk of being burned out from an excessive desire to put the Norwegians in their place?

- Alexander should approach him like a normal start.

Running better than you are prepared is difficult, but worse is calm.

You can really burn out corny, sit all night and think about the upcoming race.

In no case should this be allowed.

In the head should be exclusively knowledge about the rivals.

He must mentally walk the distance in advance, understand what the underwater currents can be.

- What undercurrents are we talking about?

- For example, a team can work for one coach.

There are many different options in this life.

The sport has become very versatile, especially in races like mass start.

For example, take a women's marathon.

There Theresa Johaug did not leave her rivals a chance.

I am sure that for men it will be much more difficult for someone to escape.

- What segment of the distance can be called decisive?

- As a rule, everything is decided by the finish.

In general, skiers like to say: "The marathon starts after the 45th kilometer."

- If the finish actually turns into a sprint race.

Who will have the advantage?

- The one who will be able to maintain strength for the last kilometers.

One race from my own career immediately comes to mind.

200 meters before the finish line, I was in sixth place.

Graduated 24th.

I got it with difficulty.

Has reduced all the muscles that only exist in the body.

It was like this: I see the finish line, but physically I cannot make the last steps.

God forbid, someone will be "turned off" on Sunday, but this can happen.

- If Bolshunov tries to "break" the group in the end and go into the lead, how many kilometers before the finish is it worth doing this?

- I repeat, it all depends on the state.

If it is bad, then Alexander will not be able to do anything in the last 100 meters.

If, on the contrary, there are no problems, he can run away a kilometer or even earlier.

Purely visually, from the TV picture, it is difficult to say how tired Bolshunov approached the marathon.

Everything will literally depend on the little things: how he sleeps, how he eats, how he goes to the toilet.

- What is the difference between the classical stage and the skating stage in terms of the distribution of forces at a distance?

- On the classics, as a rule, there are always problems with lubrication.

This is especially true of such weather conditions, in which, for example, the men's relay was held.

When it snows heavily, the trail becomes heavier.

It is more convenient to pass it with a "skate", although it cannot be said that skiers have to do it easily and simply.

Again, we must not forget that in the mass start you always have the opportunity to change skis at the pit stop if they do not work well.

This is a very important point.

- Will the “classic” give the lighter Norwegians an advantage on the ascents, especially given Bolshunov's fatigue, or is there no need to worry about this?

- "Classic" is, in fact, an individual form, in which everything depends on the technique of passing, as well as on the athlete himself, in particular, his anthropometric data.

In this regard, Sasha really differs from the Norwegians.

It is large and large, while many of them, as they say, are "dry".

But everything will depend on the readiness of the athletes for a particular race.

After all, in order to run away into these climbs, you must have strength.

- Should Bolshunov, as in skiathlon, immediately seize the leadership, or would it be more correct to work behind the backs of competitors?

- Now it is difficult to give him any advice.

First, he must carefully work out the start with his coach Yuri Borodavko.

We do not know how he feels after five races held at the World Cup.

I assure you that after the first kilometers everything will become clear.

It will be quite difficult to sit out.

You need to understand that no one will walk foot by foot.

All at once will take a pace above average, almost competitive.

- But it's hardly worth running away from the start.

- Why not?

You still need to go.

Nobody will stand.

Little by little, everyone will start to accelerate, look at the work of their own skis, study their rivals.

Then a group will be formed that will try to break away.

There were also cases when some skiers flew 10 km away from the others, and then no one could catch up with them.

But it's hard to predict anything.

This is a 50 km marathon, not 5. You are working at your limit for two hours, and at any moment your muscles can contract.

- Bolshunov feels good in contact races, but should he be afraid of provocations from the Norwegians?

Can they "choke" him with command tactics?

- I will say one simple thing.

When these little ski tricks start, you can see it immediately.

Any athlete understands that they are plotting against him.

Bolshunov has been running side-by-side with the Norwegians for more than one season and knows them very well.

And so, yes, the Scandinavians may well slow it down.

How?

It's very simple: three of them "hooked" Alexander at a distance, and one goes into the lead.

Or he may be pushed to the sidelines.

- Does the fact that the Russian has dealt with five Norwegians at once in skiathlon means that he knows how to resist their tricks?

“They don’t grab his hands.

Nobody bothers you to move to another ski track or also try to raise the pace, if your condition allows.

In the end, our guys can also help Sasha.

But I repeat, in the marathon, Bolshunov must work not only muscles, but also his head.

- Will the defeat of the leader of the Russian national team at the finish line of the relay from Johannes Klebo make him angrier?

- You shouldn't pay too much attention to this moment, because today Klebo has no equal in work at the finish line.

At the last kilometer of the distance, he will run away from anyone, including Bolshunov, and Sasha understands everything perfectly.

In the relay, Johannes proved it once again.

But all the same, any athlete will be hurt by such a defeat.

By the way, the victory of the Russian in the skiathlon angered the Norwegians.

Bolshunov will draw conclusions and will try to play on his strengths in the marathon.

- Can you call the current world champion in this sport Hans Christer Holund the main favorite of the race?

- It is very difficult to make predictions.

We talk about Bolshunov and the Norwegians all the time, but let's not forget that there are guys in the Russian national team who run marathons well.

It's all a matter of chance.

Take the women's race.

Yana Kirpichenko was going very well, but then she fell and in the end finished only 12th.

Anything can happen.