Chusovaya shooter: recovered Bolshunov may meet Ustyugov again

The third stage of the Russian Cross-Country Skiing Cup starts in Chusovy. The competition will take place from December 12 to 15 in the format of a mini-tour. Almost all of the strongest athletes, including three-time Olympic champion Alexander Bolshunov, are expected to compete at the stage in the Perm Region. However, this time no one knows what to expect from him.

Leader's health

According to the results of the first two stages in Vershina Teya, Bolshunov is in sixth place in the overall standings of the Russian Cup. It seems to be a normal position, if we take into account that he missed one race out of six. However, everyone expects more from San Sanych, who last season almost never lost and produced a series of 23 gold races.

The three-time Olympic champion was hit by illnesses both during the summer preparation period and just before the start of the winter season. As a result, he took only one medal in five starts in Vershinaya Teya - silver in the 15km speed skating section. This race was the final race of the first stage of the Cup. It was thought that at the second Bolshunov would show himself in all his might. And the skier himself said that he was beginning to revive.

However, the results did not go any further. At the second stage they became even worse - ninth place and 48 seconds behind the leader in the 10 km classic sectional, as well as a hopeless departure in the quarterfinals of the sprint. To deal with his condition, he decided to skip the mass start and went to Moscow for an examination.

His coach Yuri Borodavko informed journalists almost every day about how Bolshunov was doing. Here is how the events developed, according to Borodavko's statements in the media: December 4 - Alexander began the examination; December 5 - passed part of the tests, there is still no understanding of the condition; December 6 - Bolshunov definitely had a covid, it is too early to give forecasts on participation in the stage in Chusovoy; December 9 - the examination is complete, there are no bans on training and competition, Alexander will come to Chusovoy; December 10 - the skier arrived in Chusovoy, the decision on participation in the race will be on Wednesday; December 11 - Bolshunov will go to the start of the first race of the stage on Thursday.

Thus, Alexander must perform at least in the 15 km skate section. It was in this discipline that he took the only medal of the season so far. Further participation will depend on the athlete's condition. The schedule includes a free style sprint (December 14) and a 15km classic pasciut. It is important to realize that the competitions in Chusovy are held in the format of a mini-tour, which means that points will be awarded not only for individual races, but also for the final position at the stage.

Race without a leader: skiers showed a sharp struggle in Bolshunov's absence

Results of the second stage of the Russian Cup in Vershina Tei

Phantom yellow jersey

In Bolshunov's absence, the yellow leader's jersey at the second stage in Vershinaya Teya was played between three people: Ivan Gorbunov, Sergey Ardashev and Savely Korostelev. In the mass start, after passing the bonus cut-offs, it seemed that whichever of them would be the first to cross the finish line would be the one to arrive at the Chusovaya stage wearing the yellow jersey. Ardashev won that race and seemed to be the new leader of the season.

However, according to the official data of the Russian Cross-Country Skiing Federation, Ivan Gorbunov, who was second in the mass start, retained the lead. At the same time, he does not have a single victory in six starts. Gorbunov took stability. He has silver, bronze, two fourth places in sprints and sixth position in speed skating. Ivan is only one point ahead of Ardashev in the total, while Korostelev is 19 points behind and Bolshunov 138 points behind.

Olympic champion Sergey Ustyugov has no place in this rating. He has traditionally missed the stages in Vershina Teya, but he arrived in Chusovoy earlier than the others. Two years ago he also started the season in the Perm Region, where he took gold in the speed skating sprint. Initially Sergey did not plan to run three races in Chusovoy, but since the stage was also held in the format of a mini-tour, he competed in all of them. He took seventh place in the overall standings of the stage. Last season a mini-tour was also planned in Chusovy, but the stage was canceled due to severe frosts.

In the women's competitions the situation with the leader was more definite. Ekaterina Smirnova started the mass start at the stage in Vershina Tei in the yellow jersey and she was the first to cross the finish line. Ekaterina Nikitina lost 48 points to her, and the third place in the total is occupied by Arina Kalicheva with 54 points.

At the beginning of the season the girls have no Olympic champions at all. Yulia Stupak decided to devote the year to her family, Veronika Stepanova went on maternity leave, and Natalia Terentyeva is just coming out of it. Terentyeva is expected to compete in the ski-biathlon Race of Champions at the beginning of the year, she will return to the Russian Cup at the stage in Kazan, which will be held in mid-January. Tatyana Sorina was the only one of the heroines of Beijing in the line-up, but she was let down by an illness, bronchitis, which caused her to miss several races.

There will be no broadcasts of the races of the third stage on the federal channel. Nor were they at the competitions in Vershina Tei. There the Russian Cross-Country Skiing Federation organized an internet show. The broadcasts turned out to be quite decent, especially when compared to previous seasons. For example, in 2022 some races were shown from a phone. Now there were several professional cameras on the track (plus the copter that crashed into Bolshunov), there were graphics and commentators, although the picture occasionally slipped. Ski races should appear on the federal air at the stage in Kirovo-Chepetsk, which will be held from December 21 to 25.