"The Norwegians are afraid of Sasha and are trying with all their might to stop him"

- Johannes Klebo suffered a well-deserved punishment in the situation with Alexander Bolshunov's broken stick at the finish of the marathon?

- I was very worried.

I watched the entire race from start to finish and tried to look closely at the controversial episode to understand what happened.

In my opinion, Klebo should not have appeared on the extreme right track.

Johannes should have switched to another.

And he knew very well about it, saw that he was walking behind Bolshunov.

As a former athlete, I perfectly understand what state both Sasha and the Norwegian are in now.

One of them was supposed to take the gold medal, but not Emil Iversen.

- Bolshunov cried after the finish, as well as after the protest of the Russian national team was satisfied.

Are you surprised by his emotions?

Alexander always seemed like an iron man.

- Firstly, they are friends with Klebo.

Sasha was upset by this whole situation.

- Friends?

It seemed that in the world of cross-country skiing there were no more implacable rivals ...

- I heard out of my ears that this is really so.

As it happened, it happened.

On the one hand, I am even glad that justice has finally triumphed.

We all remember the conflict with Yoni Mäki at the World Cup in Lahti.

Then Bolshunov was punished in full.

And if now there were no sanctions against Klebo, it would be wrong.

There is also a sense of bitterness.

Skiers could simply be left in their places.

Still, it is more likely a tragic accident.

The replay shows how the Norwegian staggered a little and knocked down the Russian's hand, after which he put a stick between his legs and broke it.

But, I repeat, since Bolshunov was the first to enter the target, Klebo had to go to another ski track.

Why did he go there?

It turns out that he decided to behave like Mäki.

- Don't you think that after the story with the Finn, rivals deliberately behave this way with Bolshunov, realizing that he can give free rein to emotions?

- To be honest, I agree with you.

Sasha is constantly provoked, and I watched this throughout the championship.

Remember the relay race.

When Klebo walked first, he deliberately took the sticks back behind his back so that Bolshunov would not have the opportunity to follow him foot to foot.

As soon as Sasha lost his pace, the Norwegian flew away from him.

This is a specific bullying.

Sasha was provoked, but he endured everything, because he is an iron man.

- Can we say that the Norwegians used command tactics against the leader of the Russian national team?

- Quite possible.

Surely, people work with them who give the appropriate commands.

They watch the competition closely and know Bolshunov's weaknesses.

The Norwegians are afraid of Sasha and are trying with all their might to stop him.

It's better for them to work as a team than to poke around in this mess one by one.

In fact, this is a very serious job.

And everything that happens is not news.

It has always been that way.

Norway and Russia have fought each other in cross-country skiing at all times.

- Why can't the Russians work out their command tactics against the Norwegians?

- So the rest of the guys just do not reach the level of Alexander.

He is a great fellow.

I, too, at one time never waited for anyone, did not ask for support.

I understood that it would be difficult for others to maintain my pace, so I immediately went into the lead and did not leave any chances to my rivals.

Sasha is the same.

He is a loner.

- Don't you think that the fight against the Norwegians psychologically broke Bolshunov?

- He had a hard time.

Serious pressure was exerted on Sasha throughout the tournament.

Hence the tears after the marathon.

The person is just tired of pulling this strap.

- Dmitry Guberniev after the race offered to award both Iversen and Bolshunov with gold medals.

How do you rate this option?

- This is unrealistic.

After all, Iversen overtook Bolshunov, so there can be no questions.

It doesn't matter here if you had one stick or two.

It's your problem.

It is clear that it is a shame for Sasha, but the Norwegian also fought.

I think the FIS made the absolutely right decision.

I am glad that justice has triumphed at least once in my life.

There were many situations when the Russians' protests were not even considered.

- Bolshunov's coach Yuri Borodavko said that

FIS Race Director Pierre Miniere “serves the interests of the Norwegian team”.

Are these words justified or are they more about emotions?

- Why not?

This is the personal opinion of a specialist.

Will the federation treat the Russians worse after this?

There, and so they behave towards us as harshly as possible.

To begin with, we cannot even fly our own flag.

Therefore, let them swallow Wart's words as they want.

"Bolshunov does not need to count medals"

- Are you surprised that Bolshunov had enough strength for a marathon?

After all, he took part in all the races of the championship.

- I can't say that it really surprised me.

I also took part in all the World Cup races at one time.

I'm glad he turned out to be such a tough athlete.

Well done.

Bolshunov defended his honor and the honor of Russia in Oberstdorf.

He ran all the races from start to finish without rest or pause.

- But some assumed that Alexander would be given a rest in the relay.

- He is a strong athlete, that's all.

Plus, Bolshunov is perfectly ready.

Only psychological pressure could unsettle him.

- Could he have missed gold medals because of this factor?

- There is no need to count the awards.

I always said: everything that is given from above will come, and you will never get too much.

What is really important is that Sasha became the world champion for the first time in his career.

In addition, he collected a full set of medals in Oberstdorf - an outstanding achievement.

Then you can walk calmly.

- Bolshunov collected four awards at the last two world championships and the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, but took gold only once.

Does it really satisfy him?

- We have no difference in Russia whether you won 500 awards or one.

The main thing is to become a world champion and an Olympic champion.

This status remains with you for life.

Bolshunov has already completed the first mission, the second is next.

I can say, as a person who finished sports a long time ago: then you will not go with a pile of medals.

And Bolshunov, sooner or later, will also understand this.

In family life, when he has children, the number of awards will not play a role.

But if you become the world champion, you are guaranteed to go down in history.

- We saw how in the relay Klebo mockingly dealt with Bolshunov at the finish line.

Purely theoretically, on the eve of the Olympics, Alexander is able to add so as not to lose to him?

- It seems to me that after the marathon, Johannes was specifically buried in the ground.

Surely, he thought that when the federation made a decision, the support of the Norwegians would affect, but he was disqualified.

One hundred percent - it killed Klebo.

I'm sure the Norwegian's hotel room has been destroyed.

- But you yourself said that the main thing is to become a world champion.

Johannes has six gold medals of the world championships ...

- The Norwegians have a completely different attitude to the matter.

It is important for them to collect all the medals and leave nothing to their rivals.

This is their tactic.

That is why Bolshunov became such a serious irritant for them.

After all, he takes away their awards from the Scandinavians.

“When I saw that Chervotkin had brought a minute to the Norwegians, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

- How do you assess the overall results of the World Cup for the Russian national team, if you do not take into account the performance of Bolshunov?

- All the good fellows.

We did a decent job.

Yes, the girls had unsuccessful races in which they flew past the medals.

That happens.

The tournament is over, and time cannot be returned.

Now other skiers need to be prepared for the Olympic Games, and of course, someone will remain from the current composition of the Russian national team.

- But, it turns out, except for Bolshunov, no one is capable of climbing the podium in personal races.

- Nothing wrong.

Most importantly, Alexander defended the honor of Russia.

And now it is extremely difficult to predict who, besides him, will be able to compete for awards at the Olympic Games.

Any conclusions can only be drawn after the start of the Olympic season.

If at this moment a person looks good, the coaches have one task - to keep him in this shape.

Therefore, you need to prepare people.

I think that now the national team has excellent specialists who know perfectly well what to do and how to bring athletes to major tournaments.

- Is it not worth talking about a crisis?

- In no case.

It's just that some recession has occurred here and now.

Again, you just need to prepare the skiers harder and train more.

There is no other recipe for success.

- Is the presence of Bolshunov in the team capable of doing harm to her to some extent?

The rest can relax, realizing that even in the most difficult race, Alexander is able to take the national team on his shoulders.

- On the contrary, in the presence of a skier of this level, his partners only become stronger.

It's not about Bolshunov himself, but the ambitions of the others.

Those who do not have them, they will remain below both with him and without him.

Whoever wants to, he himself will reach for Sasha.

- Sergei Ustyugov, on the eve of the World Cup, experienced serious health problems, and was injured at the tournament itself.

Are there any fears that it will be difficult for him to succeed at the Olympic Games?

- Perhaps Sergey will be able to pull himself together and build a training plan differently.

Age?

He is not that many years old.

Take the Norwegians.

Many of them are over 30, but they demonstrate the highest results.

Now it is important for Ustyugov to understand what he wants from the Olympic Games and from cross-country skiing in general.

- Natalia Nepryaeva also experienced health problems on the eve of the tournament.

If not for a broken arm, could she have claimed more in Oberstdorf?

- Nepryaeva was not very impressive throughout the season.

Although, perhaps, Natalya, indeed, would have been able to compete for medals, if not for the turning point.

In general, the Russians did not have many bright performances.

- Who from the Russian national team, besides Bolshunov, made you happy at the World Cup?

- Again, I don't want to scold the national team.

Take Alexei Chervotkin.

How impressive he worked in the first stage of the relay.

When I saw that he had brought a minute to the Norwegians, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

If I had gone the distance with such an advantage, I would not have lost one hundred percent.

But men build the baton somewhat differently.

The same Klebo slowed down how much in vain.

For women, everything is easier - if left, then meet.

See how Teresa Johaug, for example, does it.

She runs away and does not wait for rivals.

Chervotkin accomplished a real feat.

It's a pity the guys couldn't keep the lead.