Stage completed: in what form Korostelev and Nepryaeva approach the Olympics

Savely Korostelev and Daria Nepryaeva took part in the last races before the start of the Winter Olympics. In the mass start at the World Cup in Homs, Switzerland, both of our athletes showed the same result: they finished eighth. They showed good form, but they are still far from medals. Although experts believe that anything is possible.

Briefly among the leaders

Unlike sprints, which Daria has not been able to do at all so far (she overcame qualifying for the first time the day before, but crashed out in the quarterfinals), the Russian shows very good results in mass starts. In Toblach, the skier took eighth place, and in Val di Fiemme, she was in sixth place. That race brought Nepryaeva as many as 224 points. That's more than she got for all the other starts combined.

Therefore, the fans expected at least a place in the top ten from the mass start in Goma again. And Daria did not disappoint, even though the first couple of kilometers were difficult for her. Closer to the middle of the race, the Russian flew into the top 3, but she did not manage to stay in the medal zone for a long time. The last kilometers turned into a fight with Sweden's Lynn Swan for seventh place, which Nepryaeva nevertheless lost. The final result is the eighth place.

Finnish skier Johanna Matintalo became the winner of the race in a hard struggle. The second place went to the leader of the overall standings, American Jessica Diggens, who lost 0.9 seconds to the leader. Norwegian Astrid Eyre Slinn came third with a gap of 1.7 seconds.

Adaptation completed

Korostelev also showed his best result of the season, namely the fourth place in the same Val di Fiemme, in the mass start. In Homs, Savely failed to show a high result in the sprint, being eliminated in the quarterfinals and eventually becoming the 16th.

"I felt the taste," Korostelev wrote on his Telegram channel.

Norwegian Johannes Klebo took the first place, American Gus Schumacher became the second, and Swede Edwin Unger finished third.

The mass start (which took place on January 25) started with a problem for Savely: he broke a stick in the first meters of the track. Nevertheless, after the 10th km, Korostelev found himself surrounded by seven Norwegians. It was with them that the Russian had to compete for places inside the top 8. 800 m before the finish, Savely even reached the fifth place, but he did not manage to finish the race in prizes. Mattis Stenshagen, Erik Valnes and Andreas Rhea beat our skier in the finish line. The result is the same as Nepryaeva's — eighth place.

"We correctly assessed the situation as to how to get to the start of the Olympics in maximum shape with the least losses," said Yuri Borodavko, senior coach of the Russian national team, in an interview with Izvestia. — Today we can see that the adaptation of Korostelev and Nepryaeva is going well, they are already used to snow and higher speeds. The results that we have confirm our expectations.

The winner of the race was again multiple Olympic champion Johannes Klebo, five seconds ahead of Emil Iversen. Harald Amundsen finished third.

Medals on two sides: pressure on Korostelev and Nepryaeva is increasing

At the 2026 Games, our skiers may give up sprinting in order to successfully compete in distance races.

The last stage before the Olympics

The stage in Goms was the last one before the Olympic Games. Nepryaeva comes up to them on the 22nd line in the individual standings. Korostelev takes the 14th place. It is important to note that the Russians were allowed to start only at the third stage of the World Cup. That's why they did a lot less racing than the rest of the skiers.

Despite the fact that Daria and Savely fulfilled the standard for participation in the Games in early December, they received an invitation from the IOC only a few days ago. It is expected that they will go to all the starts to which they will be allowed.

— Will they run all the distances at the Games? We're still thinking. Most likely, yes, all distance races for which they receive permission will run. Everything is still in the process of discussion," Sport24 quotes the athletes' coach Egor Sorin.

If Savely and Daria end up in the top six at the Games, it will already be a very good result, says two-time world champion Olga Zavialova.

— After all, there was a very long break in international competitions. We can see that during this time the speeds have become completely different. That's why it's great that the guys are getting used to the new realities and gaining experience. It will help them a lot in the future. Both are still young, their whole careers are ahead of them," she said in an interview with Izvestia.

The Winter Olympic Games will be held from 6 to 22 February in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. However, the preliminary competitions will begin on February 4. And not only the two cities mentioned will host the competition, but athletes will also perform in Livigno, Anterselva, Bormio, Predazzo, Tesero and Verona.