We write Ustyugov, Bolshunov in our minds: Russian skiers will start at the Tour de Ski. Bolshunov's finish

Ustyugov wins the sprint at the Tour de Ski. This finish is worth revisiting.

Russian skier Sergei Ustyugov won the 1.5 km sprint at the Tour de Ski multi-day race in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

The 25-year-old athlete showed a result of 2 minutes 57.28 seconds. For Ustyugov, this is the first victory of the season.

Following the two-time world champion from Russia, the Italian Federico Pellegrino finished.

Ustyugov, we recall, is the winner of the Tour de Ski of the 2016/17 season.

Another Russian Alexander Bolshunov, who will turn 21 on December 31, managed to reach the semi-finals on Saturday.

“I am very happy that I won. You know what our circumstances are. We have to go out and fight to the end,” Ustyugov said in an interview after the race.

Tour de Ski. 1st stage. Lenzerheide (Switzerland)

Men. Sprint

1. Sergey Ustyugov (Russia) - 2.57.3

2. Federico Pellegrino (Italy) - +0.99

3. Luca Shanava (France) - +2.76

In women, the owner of the track Lauren van der Graff became a sensational winner. American skier Sophie Caldwell finished second, while Norwegian Maiken Kaspersen Falla was third.

22-year-old Russian Natalya Nepryaeva, who ran for the first time in the sprint final, finished fourth with 46 bonus seconds.

On December 31, cross-country skiers and cross-country skiers in Switzerland will run a 15 km and 10 km pursuit. The Tour de Ski will end with the traditional uphill climb on January 7, 2018.

Women. Sprint

1. Lauren van der Graff (Switzerland) - 3:25.80

2. Sophie Caldwell (USA) - +1.42

4. Natalia Nepryaeva (Russia) - +3.17

Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Filippov

Russian skier Sergei Ustyugov remained second two stages before the end of the Tour de Ski multi-day ski race. According to the results of the starts in Oberstdorf, he was 53 seconds behind the competition leader Dario Cologna. Last year's race winner was prevented from realizing his potential by rains - because of them, the sprint was canceled, and the mass start was accompanied by numerous falls and blockages. RT talks about latest news with the Tour de Ski and the Russians’ chances of getting into the top three in the overall race standings.

Two thirds of the Tour de Ski multi-day ski race are left behind. With undisguised joy, the athletes leave the obstinate German Oberstdorf and head to Italy, where they will soon make the long-awaited ascent of the steep Alpe de Cermis mountain.

The races in Germany turned out to be a failure both in general and specifically for Russian skiers. After the starts in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, Sergei Ustyugov and Alexander Bolshunov still had excellent chances of getting into the top three. They were second only to Dario Cologne, who won the classic time trial and speed skating pursuit on home soil. Last year's winner of the Tour de Ski was 22 seconds behind, the newcomer to the Russian national team was 55 seconds behind.

If everything had gone smoothly in Oberstdorf, then Russian skiers would have been able to not only maintain these handicaps, but also reduce them. The competition program opened with a sprint classic move.

The first stage of the Tour de Ski showed how much Ustyugov was superior to his rivals in the sprint - the Russian then won, and neither Cologna, nor the Canadian Alex Harvey, nor the Norwegian Martin Junsrud Sundby, nor the Kazakh Alexei Poltoranin reached the final. For Bolshunov, the classic sprint is generally one of the most desirable types of the program - in it the 21-year-old skier won one of the first World Cup medals.

But the Russians failed to get close to Cologne, who had little chance of even qualifying. The race organizers announced that almost the entire competition program was canceled due to weather conditions - Oberstdorf was in the grip of a storm. Only the girls managed to conduct preliminary races, following which one Russian woman, Natalya Nepryaeva, was among the top 30, showing 27th result. This start was not included in the Tour de Ski standings, and the girls were only able to prepare for what would await them the next day. But there was little good there.

The fifth stage of the stage race consisted of a general start race of 15 km for men and 10 km for women. The conditions for the mass start left much to be desired - the snow was loose, the rain was unpleasant for skiers, and on top of that, the organizers skimped on barriers for the course. It turned out to be too narrow for such a contact discipline. Naturally, falls occurred almost every minute, causing entire rubble.

One of the victims was Nepryaeva. She was caught on the descent by Silje Slind. But if the Norwegian managed to return to the group of leaders, then for the inexperienced Russian it was a death sentence. She lost a minute to race winner Ingvild Ostberg. Another Russian, Anastasia Sedova, managed to finish in a high ninth position. She rose to tenth place in the overall standings.

Bolshunov was even more unlucky. He fell, bumping into someone else's stick, and found himself in the wet snow. As a result, the young skier took only 40th place - for someone who is fighting for the top three in the overall standings, this is a failure. The same fate befell Alexey Chervotkin, who finished two places lower. At the same time, both lost to the race winner Emil Iversen by less than 20 seconds, and let a dozen relay teams go ahead.

Swedish skier Jens Burman eloquently described what happened. He admitted that he had no idea how terrible the race would be.

“It was chaos. I fell several times, drove into people who fell in front of me. People were just falling here and there. I tried to dodge. It was some kind of hell. Sad race. Perhaps we guessed that something like this would happen. But I didn’t even think it was that bad,” Burman told Aftonbladet.

Russian Gleb Retivykh reminded the organizers of the Tour de Ski that it is always rainy in Oberstdorf and the local track is too dangerous for injuries.

“It was a very fast race, but there were also a lot of falls and broken poles. And in fact, today was a dangerous race in terms of maintaining health; you could get injured. I hope there won't be such weather in Italy. We're glad we're leaving. I just can’t understand why the organizers hold competitions here every time. Once in my memory there was no rain here. Every time there are problems with the weather,” R-Sport quotes the athlete.

But for Cologna, Harvey and Sundby the race turned out quite well. All of them were in the top eight. The Swiss increased his advantage over Ustyugov to 53 seconds. Sundby and Harvey are very little behind the Russian - 16 and 20 seconds respectively. Before moving to Italy, Bolshunov loses 19 seconds to Sundby in the dispute for bronze in the general classification, but he does not have the mountain climbing experience that the Norwegian can boast of.

Before climbing the Alpe de Cermis, skiers will again hold a mass start, but this time in a classic style. It is unlikely that Ustyugov and Bolshunov will seriously win back, so the positions in front of final stage are already visible. Last year's Tour de Ski winner has little chance of defending his title, and his young teammate will need to perform a minor miracle to rise from fifth place. However, in olympic year It’s not in vain that skiers tear their veins on the Italian steep, and it makes sense for Russian athletes to conserve strength before the trip to Pyeongchang, which has less and less time left.

came new year holidays, which means the prestigious multi-day ski race “Tour de Ski” is taking place on European slopes. The first stage of the race took place on the penultimate day of last year, and the stage race will end on January 7.

Last year's Tour de Ski winner Sergei Ustyugov did not start the Olympic season very brightly, without winning a single victory. True, three second places and generally stable results allow the two-time world champion to remain in third place in the overall World Cup standings.

And although Ustyugov was never able to win cup competitions, at the very first stage of the tour he climbed to the first step of the podium.

This success clearly demonstrates Sergei’s ability to lead himself to the most important starts of the season and add at the right moment, which encourages Russian fans ahead of Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.

The Tour de Ski began in the Swiss town of Lenzerheide, better known to sports fans for its cup championships. ski slopes. However, there is also room for cross-country skiers to compete.

Lenzerheide hosted the first three of the seven stages of the stage race.

On December 30, a sprint took place, the next day a classic race with separate start, and on the first day of 2018 - persecution.

Ustyugov entered the sprint one hundred percent prepared. Ski lovers seem to have gone back a year ago, when the Russian swept away literally everyone at the stages of the Tour de Ski and won the stage race with five victories, setting a record.

Sergei did not leave a single chance for his rivals in the sprint and looked overwhelmingly strong. First, he won qualifying, beating his closest pursuer, Italian Federico Pellegrino, by more than a second. In the quarterfinals, Ustyugov ran away from the rest of the rivals with Norwegian Finn Hagen Krogh and did not fight for first place, allowing Krogh to finish first.

In the semi-finals, the Russian skier reached the finish line before everyone else, ahead of Pellegrino by only four hundredths of a second, and solved the problem of entering the decisive race.

In the final, Sergei was incomparable - he did not wait for the sprint showdown, but ran away from all his rivals in advance and comfortably finished first with a one-second gap over the same Pellegrino.

French skier Luca Chanava was third.

One of the main contenders for victory, three-time winner of the Tour de Ski, Swiss Dario Cologna, dropped out in the quarterfinals and showed a final result of 14th. which left local fans disheartened. The opening of this season, Russian Alexander Bolshunov, stopped at the semi-final stage. Before the start of the stage race, the 21-year-old skier had four bronze medals and second place in the overall World Cup standings.

Unlike last year, Ustyugov was unable to dominate throughout all stages, and he parted with the Tour de Ski leader’s jersey after just two days.

In the 15 km race with a classic time trial run, Ustyugov showed only the tenth result.

For a skier of Sergei’s level, this was an unexpected failure. Earlier this season in Davos, the athlete covered the same distance in the classical style with the second time, and nothing foreshadowed tenth place.

Cologna won the race to the delight of local fans, and brought the leader Russian team 37 seconds and reduced the gap in the overall standings to 1.6 seconds. The second and third naturally became specialists classic style Alexey Poltoranin from Kazakhstan and Norwegian Martin Jonsrud Sundby.

Bolshunov took fourth place, rising to third place in the overall standings.

In general, Ustyugov’s position looked decent, although the advantage was reduced to a minimum, but the Russian’s freestyle running qualities made it possible to count on a successful completion of the first stage of the Tour de Ski. However, three times Olympic champion Cologna once again proved that he knows how to prepare himself first of all for the Olympic season, and showed excellent form.

In the 15 km pursuit race, the Swiss instantly neutralized the one and a half second gap from Ustyugov and for about the first third of the distance the leading duo kept the main peloton at a decent distance. However, already on the fifth kilometer, Cologna attacked Sergei so powerfully that Russian athlete did not have time to react to the Swiss’s jerk and let go of his opponent for more than 20 seconds.

Subsequently, Ustyugov managed to stabilize the gap, but he reached the finish line 17.6 seconds after Cologna.

Bolshunov finished the race in third place and defended his current podium place in the overall standings.

Thus, Cologna took the Tour de Ski leader’s jersey from Ustyugov and, taking into account bonifications, is 22.6 seconds ahead of Sergei. Bolshunov closes the top three, 55.5 seconds behind the Swiss.

The next, fourth, stage will take place in Oberstdorf on Wednesday, January 3. This will be a classic sprint, and Ustyugov, who is traditionally strong in this event, has a good chance of catching up with Cologne in the overall standings.

Other news, materials and statistics can be found at winter species sports, as well as in groups of the sports department on social networks

Ustyugov became second in the pursuit at the Tour de Ski stage, Bolshunov was third

Russian skier Sergei Ustyugov took second place in the 15 km freestyle pursuit race as part of the Tour de Ski race in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, another Russian Alexander Bolshunov came third. On Monday, Ustyugov finished in 35 minutes 14.2 seconds, 17.6 seconds behind Swiss Dario Colognier. Bolshunov was 45.5 seconds behind the winner. Another Russian Alexey Chervotkin (+49.9) was eighth, Andrey Larkov (+1.21.9) - 12th, Andrey Melnichenko (+2.24.8) - 25th, Denis Spitsov (+2.28.7) - 29th -th, Stanislav Volzhentsev (+2.36.8) - 30th, Ivan Yakimushkin (+2.53.5) - 33rd, Alexey Vitsenko (+2.54.6) - 34th, Gleb Retivyh (+5.45.9) - 64th. Earlier in Lenzerheide, Ustyugov, who is the winner of the Tour de Ski of the 2016/17 season, was the best in the sprint.

Ustyugov: counting on best result in pursuit of the Tour de Ski

Russian skier Sergei Ustyugov, who finished second in the 15km freestyle pursuit at the Tour de Ski, said he was hoping for a better result. Ustyugov was second in the pursuit, beating the Swiss Dario Colognier with 17.6 seconds, another Russian Alexander Bolshunov closed the top three. The race took place in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. “The race turned out to be good. Despite this, I was hoping for a more successful result. I tried to stay together with Dario, but then he went into the gap and I could not close the gap. I will continue to fight,” said Ustyugov, as quoted by the official International Federation website skiing(FIS). Cologna noted that he took advantage of the moment when Ustyugov was "tired." "The fans really helped me on the last lap when I felt tired," said the Swiss.

Sergey Ustyugov - second in the pursuit at the Tour de Ski; Alexander Bolshunov - third

Today, January 1, in Lenzerheide (Switzerland), the fifth stage of the World Cup in cross-country skiing continues - the multi-day Tour de Ski. Dario Cologna from Switzerland won the 15 km freestyle pursuit. The second was Sergey Ustyugov (+17.6 seconds behind Cologna), the third - Alexander Bolshunov (+45.5). In the overall standings of the Tour, Ustyugov dropped to second place, 22.6 seconds behind Cologne, ahead of Bolshunov by 33. In women, the Norwegian Ingvild Ostberg won the 10 km freestyle race, strengthening her leadership in the overall standings. The best of the Russians, Anastasia Sedova, became 11th.

Men. Pursuit. 15 km (C)

1. Dario Cologna (Switzerland) - 36.56.6
2. Sergey Ustyugov - backlog 17.6
3. Alexander Bolshunov - +45.5
…
8. Alexey Chervokin - +49.9
12. Andrey Larkov - +1.21.9
25. Andrey Melnichenko - +2.24.8
29. Denis Spitsov - +2.28.7
30. Stanislav Volzhentsev - +2.36.8
33. Ivan Yakimushkin - +2.53.5
34. Alexey Vitsenko - +2.54.6
64. Gleb Retivykh (all - Russia) - +5.45.9.

After three out of seven Tour races

1. Dario Cologna (Switzerland) - 1:12.46.6
2. Sergey Ustyugov - +22.6
3. Alexander Bolshunov - +55.5
…
8. Alexey Chervokin - +1.04.9
12. Andrey Larkov - +1.36.9
25. Andrey Melnichenko - +2.39.8
29. Denis Spitsov - +2.43.7
30. Stanislav Volzhentsev - +2.51.8
33. Ivan Yakimushkin - +3.08.5
34. Alexey Vitsenko - +3.09.6
64. Gleb Zealous (all - Russia) - +6.00.9.

Women. Pursuit. 10 km (C)

1. Ingvild Ostberg - 26.48.1
2. Heidi Weng (both - Norway) - +27.8
3. Jessica Diggins (USA) - +1.16.9
…
11. Anastasia Sedova - +2.11.5
17. Natalia Nepryaeva - +2.42.8
26. Alisa Zhambalova - +3.51.3
39. Anna Nechaevskaya - +4.36.9
49. Yana Kirpichenko - +5.08.6
52. Maria Gushchina (all - Russia) - +5.37.2.

The overall standings of the "Tour". After three starts out of seven

1. Ingvild Ostberg - 56.18.6
2. Heidi Weng (both - Norway) - +32.8
3. Jessica Diggins (USA) - +1.26.9
…
11. Anastasia Sedova - +2.26.5
17. Natalia Nepryaeva - +2.57.8
26. Alisa Zhambalova - +4.06.3
39. Anna Nechaevskaya - +4.51.9
49. Yana Kirpichenko - +5.23.6
52. Maria Gushchina (all - Russia) - +5.52.2.

Norwegian skier Östberg wins the 10 km pursuit in the Tour de Ski

Norwegian skier Ingvild Flugstad Østberg won the 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit race, which took place as part of the Tour de Ski stage race in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Östberg finished on Monday in 26 minutes 48.1 seconds. Her compatriot Heidi Weng (+27.8 seconds) was second, followed by American Jessica Diggins (+1 minute 16.9 seconds). Best time among Russians, Anastasia Sedova showed (+2.11.5), becoming 11th. Natalya Nepryaeva (+2.42.8) - 17th, Alisa Zhambalova (+3.51.3) - 26th, Anna Nechaevskaya (+4.36.9) - 39th, Yana Kirpichenko (+5.08.6) - 49- I, Maria Gushchina (+5.37.2) - 52nd.

Photo RIA Novosti / Alexei Filippov

In the meantime, today it is still planned to hold mass starts, but the laps will be shortened and the weather has improved a little: gismeteo.ru
skisport.ru

January 3, 2018 (9:09), Lisa:
"Old skier-1964, maybe we're just used to Sergey's victories?..."
That’s how it is and a living person, but in my opinion such work should not do without victories. Neither he nor our guys cry to the whole world about all sorts of doping from others:
- everyone plows and sows and reaps and reaps and reaps. Own. Without even paying attention to other people's things. If you judge how much snot has come out over the past 2 years from all sorts of dolls - MakLakok-Fukakok-Beilock-Krufordok, then these are not fighters, but precisely some kind of kindergarten behind the nanny's hem:
- they tearfully ask for their victories.

Of course everything presses, presses and presses:
- A 2-year-old bureaucrat at the head of Moody - the guys were screwed... over there by the sikoka. I’m not sure that we’ll sue - there’s a lot of pragmatic cowardice there, but there hasn’t been, and never will be, any sober thinking, since the word of the Jesuits is law there;
- sometimes Lena’s too stupid tongue - the boneless tongue even destroyed the USSR;
- besides, I’m not sure that the guys are irresponsible to their fathers, mothers, grandparents.
The psyche is a thing like you can’t throw away your poles, just like you can’t take off your skis: it’s always within you. And he eats and eats and eats. Seryoga is like that. And so is Sasha.

YES, you are worried, I am worried too. And I think whoever has a pure soul and heart will always worry. Maybe that’s why we are strong in spirit because we know how to worry? Empathize!

I agree with you on the rest.
But essentially I’m a maximalist (apparently) and “not bad” doesn’t suit me, for example:
- in my opinion, GOOD or EXCELLENT is better. Yes, from the heart for all the crybabies. That's what the trainers should be good for, so that it is GOOD and EXCELLENT. Why create lazy people? :) :) :)
____________________
January 3, 2018 (10:56), MSMC-76:
"Old skier-1964,... Colleague,
so I wrote due to what ( different equipment) and on what (“snow quality”)”

Oh, it's arrived. :) No questions.
____________________

Let the guys rest.
____________________

January 3, 2018 (17:23), Loktik:
"Tomorrow's mass starts may be replaced by sprints due to track damage"

Let's get sick. :)

Interesting race. There was no frank "porridge", the skis went well for everyone. Ustyugov is 6kg heavier than Kolonya. It's not significant. But 4 cm higher. He did not have time to recover, which, in fact, he himself was afraid of.

Tomorrow's mass starts may be replaced by sprints due to track damage: sports.ru

instagram.com

sprints canceled twitter.com

Colleague,
so I wrote due to what (different technique) and on what (“snow quality”):

“Power” didn’t work. “Frequency” won (but even there “strong” is not “stepdaughter”))))

I repeat: “In general, OURS pleased us!”

Congratulations to Sergei and Alexander on the podium!

Old skier from 1964, maybe we’re just used to Sergei’s victories? It seems to us that he will continue to tear everyone apart. And he is a living person. I’m actually worried about him this season, he’s going hard, he doesn’t have those powerful breakthroughs that he had last year. Worrying.
And our boys and girls look good, against the backdrop of mass suspensions.

January 2, 2018 (9:09) MSMC-76:
“The race was very interesting...
Sergei has powerful repulsions, and Dario has a little, but more frequent: so on “soft snow” he ran away from OUR.
And Bolshunov, - "beautiful"! Celebrated 21 years - MAN! FIGHTER!"

1. But the extra-long and stick-accompanying pushes and only the knee work uphill at the same time at Seryozha are alarming me. The absence of impulse shocks of the feet and toes even weighs on the eyes and soul:
- extra load on the muscles - arms, hips,
- which means their excess and early oxidation,
- which means early fatigue at a distance,
- which means that the tendons do not work - these "rubbers" do not need either extra blood or extra oxygen and do not get tired at all
- and works only on the moral-volitional. And in a simple way, for wear and tear. It is a pity that there is no monolithic work-movement of the body.: (: (: (: (
What can I not say about Dario, Martin Sundby, even about Sasha Bolshunov, for whom the main load goes precisely to the tendons. And they take the frequency of the impulse impulse - very economically for health, but for the result with benefit. For short-pulse jerks, not so much nutrition is needed as Seryoga's muscles - so Dario ran away, and Martin with the others "stuck".
2. Yes, I’m glad that the 15s are given, and I and the guys are GOOD, of course, but not at such an extra energy-consuming price:
- today's sprint will put a lot into place - after all, the 4th race. The 60s bonus is impressive. Although, in my opinion, it is still far from the zenith - well, I think before the race to the penultimate one.
3. YES, Sasha the Fighter.
But I will also note Denis Spitsov and Lyosha Chervotkin. Stas Volzhentsev and Andryukha Larkov were also pleasantly surprised - they stuck quite well in the race. It seems that Vanya Yakimushkin also looks good.
But Andryukha Melnichenko (25) with Lyosha Vitsenko (27 years old) will not get involved in any way - the summer is still not for the youth.
Sincerely.

Lisa, a very good photo, and Sergey's comment is optimistic.
Good luck guys and girls!

probably everyone has already seen it, but I really liked this photo and the signature Sergey. I started joking - it’s already good instagram.com

The race was very interesting.
It was nice to see how OURS “give battle”!

The snow was “soft, positive”, and it was clear that the “big” Ustyugov was a little slower than the “lighter” Cologna (rebound frequency: it was especially clearly visible at 3-5 kilometers when they ran in tandem).
Sergei has powerful repulsions, and Dario has a little, but more frequent: so on “soft snow” he ran away from OUR.
And Bolshunov, - "beautiful"! Celebrated 21 years - MAN! FIGHTER!

In general, - ours pleased!

Dmitry, well, yes.
Kolonya is not very strong in sprints, so Sergey has an opportunity to win back the gap.
And then there will be mass starts, where Sergey can give everyone the heat.
True, the weather is not very good there. For servicers - a puzzle.

So Sergei lost to Cologne, so that he would please his audience)) And then, I hope, he will enter his own rhythm. Sasha was pleasantly surprised by the fact that he endured, smart girl! Good luck guys today!
Our girls ran very well, although they are quite inexperienced))

Loktik, but for Cologna this will no longer be a native stage

Sasha and Lesha are not yet very good at laying out their forces along the track, they are not enough at the finish line. Sergei was not bad today, he let go of Dario once and was no longer able to catch up. I really hope for the sprint, where he can win back these seconds. Colonia was good yesterday and today, but it is not a fact that it will last for a long time, for almost two years it has not manifested itself in any way. Although today he was good

Well done Seryozha and Sasha! Good luck in your next races

Dmitry, next stage will take place in Oberstdorf, Germany, and the weather there is +3-+6, and even rain.
It will be hard.

Sergei, well done! He knows that the Olympic Games are ahead and works with reserves of strength. I believe that he will take Victory at the Tour de Ski!
Sasha Bolshunov, go for it!) Everything is ahead of you!

Loki, thanks! What would I do without you!

Two contenders for victory have been identified. But Bolshunov’s third place is threatened by a huge, mighty bunch of athletes.
But this is only after three races. Let's see what will happen next. Maybe everything will turn out quite the opposite

The boys performed well today. Of course, we always expect victory from Ustyugov, but it didn’t work out, Bolshunov fell apart on the last lap, Chervotkin and Larkov ran great.
Well, most likely, we can already talk about the relay race. Bolshunov and Larkov will probably run the classics, the 3rd stage is Chervotkin, the 4th - Ustyugov.

www.flgr.ru

Dmitry, Dima, here is the current Tour de Ski standings: medias2.fis-ski.com

Well done boys! Keep it up! Today Sergey Ustyugov was a little heavy, it seems that he did not fully recover, when every day there are races and great efforts must be made. Sasha well done, endured! Experience will come with performances, so far on a good path! The rest of the men also showed themselves well - well done! Good luck on your next races!

For the first time, he drew attention to how much more technical the Colony was than Ustyugov. It was not easy for Sergei at this stage in Switzerland, strength alone was not enough.

Seryozha, of course, well done, but Sasha is even more done! Got third! Good girl!

Yes, yes, Dmitry, I would also like to see the overall standings for the Tour de Ski on this page!

Sergey Ustyugov, Alexander Bolshunov, Alexey Chervotkin, Andrey Larkov - well done. Spitsov performed well
In general, the intrigue remains, and this is very good.

From the fans cross-country skiing The time has come for traditional New Year's entertainment - for ten years now best athletes The planets come together to test themselves against a busy stage race schedule, culminating in the famous uphill race in Italy's Val di Fiemme. But to get to it, the participants will have to go to the start six more times over the next eight days.

This year, the path to that same mountain began in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, where, as usual, the sprint was chosen as the prologue of the stage race - one of the two included in the program of starts this season. At the same time, the closeness of the Olympic Games, which is already felt literally in every movement of every athlete, could not but leave its mark on the Tour de Ski - several well-known athletes at once preferred to skip the grueling complex start in order to prepare for the Games. This was not the first and certainly not the last time this happened.

The women's part of the competition suffered especially, being left without , and . And the men’s leader refused to come to the Tour overall standings World Cup Johannes Klebo. The Russian team also suffered its loss - it fell out of the application at the last moment, as a result of an unsuccessful fall in training, it broke its nose and injured its neck. But if we remember that theoretically a couple of days ago there was still the possibility of all Russian skiers being excluded from the competition, then such a loss is even the lesser of evils.

ONE FOR ALL

Morning qualification brought Russian fans two main news - good and bad. Let's start, as usual, with a good one - he began his title defense at the Tour de Ski with the best time in qualifying, where he was ahead of the Italian and the Frenchman. The young hope of the Russian national team showed the 11th time, and three more of our skiers got into the top 30 -, and. As for the bad news, out of the six of our girls, only , which became the 12th, managed to get into the quarterfinals. The rest of the Russians ended up in the basement of the protocol, and three of them took the last places.

I had to fight for the honor of the country alone Nepryaeva, but from this test, forgive the tautology, she came out with honor. It was not easy for her already in the quarterfinals, where after the start she ended up in the last rows in a position that was not very convenient for attacking. But then along with Nepryaeva went on the offensive on the rise and ended up in the top three after the first round. In the second, she had to repel the Norwegian attacks most of the time.

Thanks to good speed at the finish line, the Russian woman got into the semifinals, which was even easier and more successful for her than the first round of the playoffs. The decisive race turned out to be extremely dramatic for almost all of its participants. The German woman fell, and the American woman broke her stick for the second time that day. Nepryaeva it was difficult, she was fourth with a noticeable gap between herself and the leaders. But Natalya fought to the end. She even managed to fight for a place on the podium with the eminent Norwegian, but this case turned out to be a losing one. However, fourth place is a very good result for us.

The victory, and the first in her career, and even in her stands, was won by the Swiss Van Den Graf. She quite unexpectedly had a very strong performance in all rounds, and in the final she staked out the first place with a powerful jerk. Silver Sophie Caldwell from USA.

KEEP BRAND

However, all the vicissitudes of women's wrestling for us were just a prelude before the first victory of the season. Ustyugov. After success in qualifying, the current title holder played the first knockout race as a grandmaster, constantly staying in the group of leaders and only at the last meters letting the Norwegian forward, who powerfully rolled to the finish line. However, not to say that these 1.2 kilometers were easy for Sergey - at the end he tried to catch his breath for a long time. Larkov, who became third in the same start, could have ended up in the semifinals, but in the end he lost the place of "lucky loser" to his compatriot Bolshunov.

Certain hopes were pinned on him before the Tour de Ski, but Alexander is still only 20 years old, and the lack of experience cannot but affect him. Problems with Bolshunova arose already in the first round of the playoffs, during the second round he rolled back from the second position to the fourth and was forced to attack the leaders' positions because of their backs on the last straight. It didn't work out quite well - fourth place in a photo finish. But he managed to qualify for the semifinals.

At this stage, both Russians started in the same race. And Ustyugov at first he stayed behind, but thanks to a jerk supported Pellegrino, came in second place after Krogh. Having chosen a convenient position for the spurt, Sergey left his competitors behind on the last straight. Bolshunov This time it was not possible to maintain the pace set by the others, and he ended up fifth in this warm company. The start of the Tour de Ski at our season opener turned out to be quite good, but nothing more. Surely Alexander himself wanted more.

But who knew exactly what he wanted and how to achieve it - Ustyugov. He conducted the final in an exemplary manner, not allowing anyone to doubt his own superiority and leading throughout almost the entire distance. The start turned out to be leisurely, but by the end of the first lap Sergei rolled out and seriously raised the pace. He worked in this mode for the rest of the race. The highest speed of the rest of the participants in the medal race was withstood Pellegrino And Shanava. But Ustyugov blocked their trajectory in the last turn and left no chance for anyone at the finish line. Here it is, the first success of the season!

Starting this Tour de Ski the same way as last year, Ustyugov will try to maintain the brand further. The second stage will take place on Sunday - before the New Year celebrations we will have a “classic” race of 15 km for men and 10 km for women.

Men. Sprint (C). 1. USTYUGOV (Russia) - 2.57.28. 2. Pellegrino (Italy) - gap 1.00. 3. Shanava (France) - 2.76. 4. Hakola (Finland) - 5.91. 5. Krog (Norway) - 14.39. 6. Jouve (France) - 21.01.
Women. Sprint (C). 1. Van der Graaf (Switzerland) - 3.25.80. 2. Caldwell (USA) - gap 1.42. 3. Falla (Norway) - 1.86. 4. NEPRYAEVA (Russia) - 3.17. 5. Diggins (USA) - 4.33. 6. Ringwald (Germany) - 31.68.