PROFILE
For the first time, the World Ski Championships will be held in Asia. It will be accepted by Sapporo - the former village, and now one of the largest cities in Japan. Thirty-five years ago, the XI Winter Olympics was successfully held there. By tradition, local residents are more likely to observe the flights of ski jumpers than the monotonous run of skiers. Tickets for Matveeva and Dementieva are easily available. Anticipating the gaping voids in the stands, the organizers decided to let schoolchildren and the disabled go free of charge for all competitions.
SKI RACE
Our significantly rejuvenated composition. The main opening of the post-Olympic season was the winner of the 2006 World Youth Championship Alexander Legkov. He shockly spent the Tour de Ski stage race, finishing second in the overall standings, and won his beloved “thirty” by skating at the World Cup in Rybinsk. At the World Cup, coaches plan to bring the 23-year-old prodigy fully equipped to the duathlon, the “tag” by free-wheeling and the relay race, where our team has excellent chances for a medal. At the stages of the World Cup, the renewed Russian team excelled twice already - in La Clouse and Davos.
Great expectations are associated with Olympic champion Eugene Dementiev , who is in no hurry to go to the peak of form. At the February stages of the World Cup, the Tyumen skier did not enter the top ten in any race, but there is no tragedy in this: everyone knows Zhenya’s ability to focus on the main starts. In Sapporo, the best Russian skier, of course, will bet on the duathlon and save energy on the relay.
Due to illness, the captain of the national team Vasily Rochev missed the Tour de Ski and a number of other prestigious competitions. But in Japan it will not make any difference. The 2005 World Champion will start the campaign for the second gold from scratch. His main chance is in the “classic” sprint, where the Norwegian tandem Svartedal - Hetland looks invincible so far.
The dark horse in the men's team is 23-year-old Sergey Shiryaev . Compared to the rest, his successes may seem rather modest: a victory at the Russian championship, fourth place at the World Cup in Changchun and the twelfth in the Tour de Ski overall ... But this impression is deceptive - Shiryaev can shoot in any race. Almost certainly, the trainers will trust him with a free tag. The troublemaker of this season is training with a well-known specialist Anatoly Chepalov.
In women, unlike men, medal prospects are more vague. Golden Olympic team - Natalya Baranova, Larisa Kurkina and Yulia Chepalova - on maternity leave. In the absence of experienced stars, the national team will be “dragged” by 20-year-old Natalya Matveeva and Evgenia Shapovalova , who scored a winning double in the sprint at the Cup stage in Changchun. At the World Championships, for both speed racers, there will simply be ideal conditions - the track in Sapporo is laid along the plain and devoid of steep climbs and dangerous descents. In classic and free-style races, coaches will rely on the experience of Evgenia Medvedeva and Olga Zavyalova, whose success this season can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
Foreign favorites. Men. Tobias Angerer and Franz Goering (Germany), Jens-Arne Swartedal, Tor Arne Hetland, Peter Nortug, Simen Ostensen and Eldar Renning (Norway), Vincent Wittose and Emmanuel Jonnier (France), Giorgio di Centa and Pietro-Piller Cottrer (Italy ), Matthias Fredriksson and Anders Sodergren (Sweden).
Women. Katerina Neumannova (Czech Republic), Virpi Kuitunen, Aino-Kaisa Saarinen and Ritt-Lisa Roponen (Finland), Justina Kowalczyk (Poland), Petra Maidich (Slovenia), Kristina Schmigun (Estonia), Marit Bjorgen and Kristin Steyra (Norway).
Ski Jumping
Our team, led by German specialist Wolfgang Steyert, is progressing, but not as fast as we would like. The reason is the lack of modern springboards. Domestic jumpers simply have nowhere to train. Nevertheless, the results of this season are encouraging. With a happy combination of circumstances, the 27-year-old Dmitry Vasiliev can claim a medal in Sapporo. This season, he distinguished himself at the cup stages in Neustadt (3rd place) and Bischofshofen (4th place), was marked by getting into the top ten on the basis of the “Four Jumps Tour”.
Youth is not far behind the leader. 20-year-old Denis Kornilov at the stage in Willingen for the first time entered the top ten, and 22-year-old Dmitry Ipatov won the World Universiade in Turin. In team competitions, Russia will try to perform better than at the Olympics, where it finished eighth.
Foreign favorites. Anders Jacobsen and Roar Llokelsoy (Norway), Adam Malysh (Poland), Gregor Schlierenzauer and Thomas Morgenstern (Austria), Janne Ahonen (Finland), Simon Amman and Andreas Küttel (Switzerland).
SKI DOMESTIC
Ours . Nine years ago, at the Nagano Olympics, Valery Stolyarov won a historical bronze medal. Today, we can only dream of such successes. In the overall standings of the 2007 World Cup, the best of the Russians, Sergei Maslennikov, is not even in the fifty, although a year ago he closed the top ten at the Games in Turin.
Foreign favorites. Christoph Beeler and Felix Gottwald (Austria), Hanu Manninen (Finland), Ronnie Ackermann (Germany), Magnus Moan (Norway), Jason Lamy-Japuy (France).
QUOTE
“Most Russians are too young for serious results. I think they will need another two or three years to climb the peaks. Your girls lack tactical literacy rather than physical condition. My advice is not to go forward at the very beginning, not to drag the entire peloton on yourself, but to sit for the time being behind the leaders, ”Olympic champion Katerina Neumannova, in an interview with the sports information agency“ Ves Sport ”, carefully assessed the chances of Russian skiers.
NUMERAL
18 sets of awards will be awarded at the upcoming World Cup. Twelve of them - in skiing, three - in ski jumping and Nordic combined. In the unofficial team standings, the struggle for leadership will be fought by the Norwegians, Germans, Finns, and possibly Russians.