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Old March 12th 06, 06:34 PM
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Gene Goldenfeld wrote:
Nice description, Terje! There you have the difference between
Norwegian skiing and just about everything in the U.S. but the Rose Bowl
parade. And all for individual start races! (the Germans also show up
in big numbers, but overnight?) Your comments about the course


There are lots of people who have been camping out every year for a long
time, one of the guys I skied with on Friday have been occupied this way
since the last time we made the same trip together, about 15-20 years ago.

He naturally had to say hello to his friends both on the way out and on
the return.

correspond to what can be seen in the results
(http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.ht...CC&raceid=9452). Most of
the top 10 after the 1st and 2nd laps dropped 10-20 places by the end
and vice-versa, with Cottrer's DNF after leading by 1:10 at 33.4k mark
being primo case. In the women's race Sachenbacher was able beat
Beckie Scott for third by sticking with Neumannova for much of the
final lap. This all seems apropos to the discussion about mass start vs
individual start and the challenges of each on a hard course. I wonder
if a mass start 50k (or 30K for the women) on that course wouldn't
allow some separation at the top, unless everyone decided to hold
back.


With the heavy snowfall during the second lap, a mass start event would
almost certainly have been a big group, with a final sprint around
'Gratishaugen' and into the stadium.

In fact, Petter Northug might well have won such a race, but not by
being (imho) the best skier on the day. Bravo Anders!

BTW, what happened with Bjoergen (DNF)? Her falling results this week


She tried but after dropping 30 seconds in the first 2 km, she realized
that she had no chance at all.

after Mora suggest that her recovery either turned out to be not as
strong as she was hoping, or perhaps that she got a little carried away
in winning the Vasaloppet. It will be interesting in China and Japan


Probably both: Her entire season was marred by illness, then she tried a
bit too hard to get in shape for the olympics, and now she's missing the
groundwork needed to handle multiple races in a row.

for the overall championship, with Scott now down by only 46 points.


I know. Unless Bjørgen beats Scott in the first race (sprint), I think
she'll end up losing the glass globe on the last race, after leading
clearly all the time since the first event.

Terje

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