Translated material
Different motivations
The last competitions before the Olympics did not add optimism
Early yesterday morning the first group of Russian skiers flew to the Olympic Turin. A little later they will be joined by those athletes who started at the last stage of the World Cup before the Olympics in Davos, Switzerland. True, the results shown by our compatriots there did not add optimism to ski racing fans. It is possible that the failure of Russian athletes to be among the winners, which should have been expected on the eve of the Games, is partly explained by the confusion in preparation for the season. Partly due to the lack of proper motivation among the riders themselves. And in this sense, as paradoxical as it may sound, large scholarships from the state and prize money from sponsors turned out to be a disservice. The national team's coaches agree that, against the backdrop of financial well-being, some athletes have lost motivation: why try and work to the limit of their capabilities if you can remain in the middle peasants and still earn good money.The program of the Swiss stage included women's and men's sprints, classic races of 10 km for women and 15 km for men. Let's start with the sprint. None of the three Russians - Alena Sidko, Natalya Matveeva and Anastasia Kazakul - made it to the "A" final and, as a result, could not qualify for medals. The victory went to Swede Anna Dahlberg. The sprint race with her participation in the title role resembled a dashingly twisted thriller. The Swede was last in the group of leaders, but as a result of her attack, three rivals fell; only Finnish Virpi Kuitunen managed to dodge, but even though she remained on her feet, she caught Canadian Sandra Crawford, which resulted in a second delay. As a result, no one stopped Dahlberg from finishing first. Kuitunen was second, Crawford third. There was some contact in the “B” final, where two Russians Sidko and Matveeva started. Due to an offensive fall, Sidko was only third at the finish line, and the final protocol shows seventh. Natalya Matveeva was ahead of her compatriot by one position - sixth. Kazakul finished 45th.
In the men's sprint, Bjorn Lind was out of competition. The Swedish athlete, who earned a reputation as a great sprinter, relied more on his own strength and training rather than on the know-how of sports equipment manufacturers. The fact is that several athletes from the Norwegian team at this stage started for the first time in new high-speed suits, which looked like overalls with hoods, like speed skaters. However, so far they have not brought any luck.
The next day, Russian Yulia Chepalova tried on the new equipment. True, at the finish of the ten-kilometer race in the classic style, Chepalova was seventh, losing to the winner Virpi Kuitunen a little more than a minute. As for other Russians, Larisa Kurkina was eighth, Sidko - 12th, Kazakul - 17th, Natalya Korostyleva - 25th. It is worth noting that the two strongest skiers on the planet did not take part in this race - Czech Katerina Neumanova and Norwegian Marit Bjorgen. The latter, although she arrived in Davos, did not go to the start after the warm-up. Her decision is quite understandable. After a recent cold, the World Cup leader did not take risks, especially since the weather in Switzerland was cold by European standards - minus ten degrees.
The last men's 15 km classic race before the Olympics also left the Russians without awards. The best of the five participants in our team was Sergei Novikov, who had the eighth result. Ivan Babikov was 18th.
The ski jumping World Cup that ended in Germany did not bring any surprises either. In the team competition, the Finns celebrated their victory - Tami Kiuru, Janis Happonen, Matti Hautamäki and Janne Ahonen. In total, 11 teams took part in the tournament. The Russian quartet consisting of Ilya Roslyakov, Alexey Silaev, Valery Kobelev and Evgeny Plekhov finished in tenth place.