"They just say:" Let's go. "And they fly"

On March 2, traditional Baikal Race -2019 dog sledges began on the Irkutsk reservoir on March 2. This year exclusively Siberians compete, in addition to participants from the cities of the Angara region, athletes from Barnaul, Krasnoyarsk and Khabarovsk arrived in Irkutsk.

Competitions are held in two categories: "Narts" (when the kayur rides in the harness on the sled) and the seizure (when the athlete is skiing in conjunction with dogs or dogs). It was assumed that, as in past years, the competition will be held at distances of 100 and 155 kilometers. But due to too warm weather, literally on the eve of the start, the organizers were forced to change the routes, the length of the distances was reduced. Athletes who were tuned to run 100 kilometers are now running 75 km, and the distance of 155 km was reduced to 130. "On the hills on which we have a route, it was snowing. It is pointless to go there," Siberia.reali told the deputy chief judge of Baikal Race - 2019, one of the organizers of the Oleg Oleg Tyurumin .

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But from the fact that the distances have become shorter, athletes are not easier.

- This year, the conditions are stronger, of course. The ice is bad, the water came out in some places. We have northern sled dogs, of course, it is very hot in such weather. We will run and monitor carefully so that there are no overheating. We are preparing for a very long time for the races, starting in August, we run up the distance. There is a training system. The food in front of the races is special, they have a sports diet. For me, the last stage will be the most difficult - the last thirty kilometers in the hangar, because the sun will just rise, most likely, judging by the last year, it will be hot and it will be difficult for dogs, ”said Ivan Timonin , a representative of the Altispit Center for Sports from Barnaul. He participates in the Baikal Race races the second time. Last year, their team took third place.

- I've been in sled sports for ten years. This is an integral part of my life. We live this. We have constant interaction with dogs. And there is an emotional connection between kayras and dogs. They all feel. There must be a mood, and our mood is fighting. The Kayur should not have a decadent mood on the highway, otherwise the dogs will not go. There should be constantly vigor of the spirit. Your inner steel rod is unbending that you will reach, you won’t give up, ”says Ivan Timonin.

Perhaps the most striking and stylish team in the current competitions - the team from Krasnoyarsk Spartak. On the withers of each dog there is a red rhombus with the letter "C". Kayur Nikolai Bolkhov carefully wipes his dogs before the start of his dogs, and then himself too. “There was a very cold winter in Krasnoyarsk. That's why we are cooling now. We trained, prepared for the race at minus 35, minus 30 degrees. Today we will have to boil a little until night,” says Nikolai.

In Irkutsk, a team from Krasnoyarsk arrived at six in the morning. The hotel in which the athletes planned to stop, there were no free places. Oleg Thyryumin came to the rescue. He invited the team to his driving center, to the village of Listvyanka, which is located on the shores of Lake Baikal.

- We enjoyed the hospitality of such a person, genius. We were very pleased. Baikal is nearby, walked with dogs on ice. This is the inspiration for which we came here. We had a dream - to come to Baikal. She came true. Meet with the same high people as we are. Here is the spirit of positive rivalry. The guys gave me the sled. Mine were harder than their. They helped me to be in the same conditions. Everyone supports each other, says Nikolai Bolkhov.

Nikolai has his own tactics in races. Until the start of the harness, he does not put the main starter, an athlete who creates an atmosphere to the rest of the participants. Nicholas do not stand in pairs, like other teams, they are built in a special order. “Here you drive in transport every day, he carries your body. I go on the harness, and she carries my soul,” Nikolai said about his feelings while driving.

The first three hundred meters, participants drove through the "corridor" from the audience. Hundreds of Irkutans and guests of the city usually come to see the start.

- I am a dog girl. And we go every year, look at these competitions. I think that today it is very difficult for dogs to run, the snow is heavy, wet. Last year it was colder, and they fled in shoes. I am rooting for the Arseniy Tyryumin team every year, and he is always in the three winners, ”Irkutian Elena told the Siberia.real.

- The most interesting thing in this race is strategy and tactics. All riders are in the same conditions, for all stopwalks turn off only at the finish, they themselves choose a place to relax. The choice of this place is precisely the intrigue and strategy. You yourself see how fast your dogs are, how hard they are, or here they need to rest, then to shoot, then to overtake another athlete. This is not frenzied running around, you need to turn on the brains here, ”says Oleg Turimin.

According to Oleg, in recent years, zoo defenders have become interest in them.

- And not only with us, but also abroad began to pay attention to the rights of dogs. They began to relate very scrupulous. But we know if you want the dog to run, feed if you want it to run faster, then run next to this dog. Everything is very interconnected here. And here is the question of the backfill: "Who makes this dog run?" We have no sticks with nails. Here are dogs, there are teams, no one forces them to run. They just say they: "Let's go." And they fly, ”says Oleg Tyurimin.

The organizers suggest that the first athletes, having gone through the entire route, will return to Irkutsk for five to six in the morning. This is about sledges with sledges. Participants who are skiing can come to the finish line a day later. It all depends on the individual training of athletes. Therefore, the award is scheduled for Monday, March 4. Winners and prize -winners will receive medals, diplomas and valuable prizes. The participants in the competition, depending on the results shown, will also be assigned sports categories for driving sports.