Island calendar: will Bolshunov surprise you at the Russian Ski Racing Championships on Sakhalin

The main start of the season for our skiers who did not receive admission to the Olympics will take place in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The Russian Championship will be held there from February 25 to March 8. One of the intrigues will be the performance of the most decorated Russian skier Alexander Bolshunov. He failed to start the season and is now lagging behind Sergey Ardashev in the overall National Cup standings. Ski enthusiasts will also probably compare Bolshunov's time at distances with the results shown at the Olympics by Johannes Klebo. It is clear that the profile of the trails in Italy and Sakhalin is different, but the words of Bolshunov caused too much resonance, who called the level of results at the Olympics a "circus".

Sakhalin will host three Russian championships

In late February and early March, Sakhalin will become the country's sports center. In addition to skiers, the Russian Indoor Championships will be held here by track and field athletes (February 28 – March 3), as well as alpine skiers (February 28 – March 1), with the participation of Olympians Yulia Pleshkova and Semyon Yefimov.

Not everyone is happy about the competitions in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The athletics tournament was originally supposed to be hosted by Tyumen. When the athletes found out about the postponement, many criticized the decision. The pole vaulters were especially worried, as it was difficult for them to deliver their equipment to the championship venue.

Skiers are used to holding the main start in Tyumen, but they did not express particularly loud indignation about the postponement on Sakhalin. Three-time Olympic champion Alexander Bolshunov is even glad of the change of scenery.

— A new place is always interesting. You don't know what to expect. You always fly with great interest. We'll be happy to see what's where. Goals? If we run, we'll see. They stay in my head," the skier told Izvestia after arriving at the competition.

There were more discussions in the summer, when Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk appeared on the ski season calendar. At that time, Dmitry Guberniev, a television commentator and adviser to the Minister of Sports, called such a decision "stupid." The reasons for the discontent were the difficulties with the organization of broadcasts and the inconvenient start time of the races for residents of the European part of Russia.

Judging by the broadcast schedule, the Russian Championship races will be shown live on one of the federal channels. The start time may not be the most convenient, but it is quite working even for the central regions of the country. The earliest start for sprint prologues is 6 a.m. Moscow time. The medal showdown in these disciplines starts at 8:00.

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Who is Bolshunov's main rival

Alexander Bolshunov remains the central figure of the Russian championship. The skier tried to get to the Olympics and applied for a neutral status. However, he was rejected by the International Ski Federation (FIS) without explanation. Then Bolshunov appealed to the special commission of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. But they did not consider his appeal, explaining that the case did not fall under the jurisdiction of the commission.

Towards the end of the Olympics, Alexander made a vivid comment to Sport-Express about the competition in Italy.

— I watched the skiathlon at the beginning. I understood: come, take the medals and leave, everything is simple. That's why I'm not watching anymore. It's a circus," said the three—time Olympic champion.

The statement proved to be resonant. Some of the ski community and fans questioned Bolshunov's current international competitiveness, as he had lost his leadership position in Russia. It was unlikely that the skier was ready to compete with Johannes Klebo now.

Indeed, in the overall National Cup standings, Alexander currently concedes the first place to Sergey Ardashev, and there are only two wins in the season. However, Bolshunov's position was largely determined by the disastrous start of the competitive winter. At the start of the season, there were places in the top 10, illnesses, and the scandal with Alexander Bakurov's push, which led to a short disqualification. In January, the skier began to accelerate, and then the victories came.

Alexander also had a difficult start last season, but no one performed better than him at the Russian Championship in Kazan. Bolshunov won four gold medals, failing to reach the podium only in the sprint — 7th place. He still knows how to approach the main starts in excellent shape. Therefore, it is far from a fact that in Italy, having received an Olympic boost of motivation, Alexander would be untenable in the fight against Klebo.

The flight to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, as Bolshunov told Izvestia, was comfortable. Before the Russian Championships, he even managed to do an unusual competitive warm—up for himself - he ran 30 km as part of the International Marathon on Sakhalin and won this race.

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Bolshunov's rivals at the national championship will not be Savely Korostelev. He, like Daria Nepryaeva, decided to continue the season at the World Cup after the Olympics. Alexander's main opponent in Russia, Sergei Ustyugov, will not arrive either. The Olympic champion is competing less and less often, and skipping the main start now looks like a final decision to end his career.

The main competitor in the fight for the gold of the championship will be Sergey Ardashev, the leader of the overall standings. This season, he has consistently shown high results, both in sprint and distance races, which allows Sergey to lead the total by a margin.

Alina Pekletsova has practically no rivals for women at the distance. The Vologda skier has never dropped below second place in the long races of the season. There are only three silver medals — in the pursuit in Chusov, she lost to Olympic champion Veronika Stepanova, who returned from maternity leave, and also lost twice to the leader of the Cup of Russia Evgenia Krupitskaya in the division in Izhevsk and skiathlon in Kazan.

But there are enough candidates for gold in the sprint. Anastasia Faleeva, who is considered the strongest among girls in recent years, missed several races due to a back injury. As a result, she is only fourth in the sprint standings of the Cup of Russia, and Elizaveta Pantrina takes the first place. Besides them, Veronika Stepanova, Alyona Baranova, Ksenia Shorokhova and Tatiana Sorina will compete for the victory. The balance of power may change, because a month has already passed since the last start.

In Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, skiers will run almost the same distances as they did at the Olympics, but in different styles. If the marathon in Italy was held as a classic, then in the Czech Republic it will be a skate. The Sakhalin tournament opens with 10-kilometer heats, whereas these races were the third in the program of the Games.

The Russian championship also includes a non-Olympic mixed relay race. Thus, five team races will be held at the competition. The Tatarstan national team is the favorite in all of them. The region has a powerful squad, which in Russia has about the same strength as the Swedish women's national team and the Norwegian men's national team at the World Cup. This is despite the fact that Nepryaeva and Korostelev, who also represent Tatarstan, will not perform on Sakhalin.

The girls will be the first to take to the highway in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. On Wednesday, February 25, they will run a 10-kilometer classic style race. The start is at 6:30 a.m. Moscow time. And at 8:30 a.m., the men will compete for the medals of the Russian championship.

Russian Championship schedule

Wednesday, February 25th

6:30 a.m. — women, 10 km, split start, classic style
8:30 a.m. — men, 10 km, split start, classic style

Thursday, February 26

7:00 a.m. — women's skiathlon, 10+10 km
9:00 a.m. — men's skiathlon, 10+10 km

Saturday, February 28th

8:30 a.m. — 4x5 km mixed relay

Sunday, March 1st

6:00 a.m. — women, sprint, free style, qualification
6:30 a.m. — men's sprint, free style, qualification
8:00 a.m. — women and men, free style, finals

Tuesday, March 3

6:00 a.m. — women, team sprint, classic style, qualification
6:30 a.m. — men's team sprint, classic style, qualification
8:00 a.m. — women and men, team sprint, classic style, finals

Wednesday, March 4

8:00 a.m. — women's 4x7.5 km relay

Thursday, March 5th

8:00 a.m. — men's 4x7.5 km relay

Saturday, March 7th

7:30 a.m. — women, 50 km, mass start, free style

Sunday, March 8th

7:30 a.m. — men, 50 km, mass start, free style