Principal rivalry: how the struggle between Ustyugov and Bolshunov fuels interest in cross-country skiing

Sanctions imposed on Russian athletes by international federations hit the disciplines in different ways.

Figure skating, at least singles, coped with the problem with dignity, arranging its own tournaments.

And the competition at the Russian Championships in Krasnoyarsk this year turned out to be serious: after the men's short program, ten people fought for medals.

And what is important, the guys finally started to skate cleanly, with almost no falls, as Olympic champion Alexei Yagudin dreamed at the beginning of the year.

The girls have the same positive picture, and in pairs you can see the youth, which is slowly moving up in the top three.

Objective problems are only in dancing, but even here there is just a change of generations and you need to wait until the young and original guys gain experience and skills.

In any case, figure skating this season is still interesting to watch.

However, similar success in other winter sports was hard to expect.

And in many respects these fears were justified.

So, the stages of the Commonwealth Cup in biathlon, although they are broadcast on the federal channel, do not cause a huge stir.

Although it would seem that they are trying to create good conditions for athletes, they promise good prize money.

But on the track and the shooting range there is no such struggle as at the stages of the World Cup.

Representatives of Belarus confidently win races, and Russian leaders, including for objective reasons - due to a series of illnesses and injuries - are not seen or heard.

A similar situation was predicted in cross-country skiing.

As the head of the FLGR, Elena Vyalbe, immediately stated, skipping international competitions will set the discipline back several years, since there is insufficient competition within the country.

Constantly adding fuel to the fire and commentator Dmitry Guberniev, who is dissatisfied with the fact that the federation could not find a common language with Match TV on broadcasting the stages of the Russian Cup.

Perhaps in terms of results, this will happen, as Vyalbe says.

But with the popularity of the sport, there should be no problems, like biathlon.

After all, it is primarily influenced by individuals.

And this season is proved by Alexander Bolshunov and Sergey Ustyugov.

Both Olympic champions could relax in the absence of foreign starts and just ride for their own pleasure, paying more attention to personal issues: San Sanych, all the more, had a daughter, and his colleague on the national team even thought in the summer whether to continue his career.

Fortunately for Russian fans, the desire to win always and in any competition among skiers turned out to be much stronger than dreams of relaxation.

And as a result, the ups and downs of sprint races with the participation of Ustyugov and Bolshunov have been discussed on the Internet and in the media for two weeks now.

In the heat of the fight, athletes sometimes break the rules by stepping on each other's skis and sticks, and then express their claims, including during interviews in the mixed zone.

Their last meeting on the track ended in a fall, after which Alexander lost consciousness for some time and, due to a slight concussion, missed the last race of the Russian Cup stage in Krasnogorsk.

Of course, one can understand the coach of the Russian national team Yuri Borodavko, who does not like this whole situation: he would not want to “take dirty linen out of the hut” and even more so lead to injuries.

But in the current geopolitical situation, such fierce competition between Ustyugov and Bolshunov can only benefit the entire sport in the second part of the season.

Judge for yourself, San Sanych found himself a new irritant instead of Johannes Klebo.

After all, earlier it was he, according to the Russian, who inserted sticks into his skis.

In addition, yesterday's juniors do not let the “veterans” relax: Alexander Terentiev has already beaten Alexander once, while he was “cutting” on the track with Ustyugov.

Shot in the first races and Savely Korostelev, who for the season in such a company quickly matures.

Fans win.

Thanks to the explosive nature of skiers, every sprint now turns into an exciting and unpredictable spectacle.

In despondency, they should be in the FIS, since the stages of the World Cup are still inferior in dramaturgy to Russian competitions.

It is only frustrating that against the background of men, girls remain in the shadows.

However, here, too, an interesting confrontation between Veronika Stepanova and Natalia Nepryaeva is possible.

True, in Krasnogorsk, the owner of the Big Crystal Globe won all the races, leaving no chance for her rivals.

In this form, she, like Teresa Johaug, is simply not achievable for competitors.

So much will depend on Wiki here.

She has learned how to speak well and hold on to the camera, writes columns, and, of course, can “pull up” the girls from a media point of view.

But interviews are really bright and fiery after stubborn and uncompromising races: Bolshunov and Ustyugov can already give a master class.