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#21
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Chandra Crawford also waited to re-pass toward the bottom of
the downhill. Tchepalova paid at the end for pulling nearly all of the way. Gene " wrote: Why is it really inevitable that the races come down to the last few minutes? An important reason is that the front skier takes the wind AND warms up the snow in the tracks so that the skiers rigt behind get less wind AND faster gliding skis (you often see skiers downhil grabing the skiing pole of the skier ahead of them rather to push up the speed of the front skier rather than having to brake. =20 In the olympic 50 k the other Swedish skiers said that if they felt that they had no chance fighting for the medals but enough power for it, they would burn their last fuell taking the wind for Anders S=F6dergren and pushing up the speed, helping him creating a gap to the others without getting stopped by the headwind and less good gliding skis, now Fredriksson was straong enough to finish 10th (which is pretty close to medal in that kind of long-wait-for-sprint-finish race) and the others weren't strong enough to help Anders pushing up the speed, but perhaps that the necessary tactics for making an erly gap to the others in a mass start race like this one (much like in bicycling): To have one skier who is strong enough to beat the others if he only could have the same headwind and glide as the others for some 10 km or so, and some other skiers (just like in bicycling) whose only task is to take the lead and help this guy creating a gap (thus spoiling their own hances of skiing fast in the end of the race). =20 The downside of having the lead was very apparent in the male sprint, where there was an upphill part, an 180 degree turning point and then downhill down to the finish, and there was a clear advantage NOT to be in the lead when the downhill started because then you get more speed downhill and can start the finish at higher speed, and therefoer in the finals, the skiers almost stopped at the turnaround point. The winner Bj=F6rn Lind said in TV afterwards that he had decided before to not under any circumstances be in the lead when the downhill started and that if necessary, he would have been standing still waiting 10 minutes for one of the other skiers to give up and be the first one to ski downhill if. Now the Italian skier gave after for the pressure, so nobody had to wait that long. =20 / Niklas =20 |
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#22
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In terms of racing strategy and tactics for mass starts, I think XC skiing is in it's infancy, especially compared to sports such as cycling. There is a huge tradition in XC that fitness is the only true determinant, and it's still not "cool" to draft and win it in a sprint. Personally, I have a great appreciation for time trial races, but things change. Bjørn Daehlie would have had a hard time to get his 47 or so WC wins and multiple Championship medals in today's racing climate - he wasn't a sprinter. I feel sorry for Anders Sødergren for the same reason. But things change, and the sooner we and the athletes accept the changes, the richer the races and race tactics can become. Because the new nature of XC racing makes it harder for the same people to win every race, and racers need to be able to admit when to help a team mate rather than go for the win themselves.
In spite of Alsgaard's sprinting prowess and skill, he hated the tactics the Italians used of betting everything on a sprint. But now, slowly, true team tactics are coming into play. The 2004 Marcialonga was a great example with Jørgen and Anders Aukland first used bike tactics to win. The same happened in the 2004 Vasa, with the same two brothers. They had clear tactics: Anders would pull away in the diagonal stride portion, and if that didn't work, he would help Jørgen win it with double poling by slowing down the field. They even had domestiques to help with feeds and to share the work load. Sweden and Italy scuttled Norway's hope in the Olympic relay this year by working together in the skating portion. Norway tried to stretch the field in the Olympic double pursuit with rabbits for the classic portion (the plan was changed when Estil broke his ski). I think every race has more and more of this going on, but there are no broadly available and truly skilled commentators who can get "inside" the race. I get so much more from watching the races on Norwegian or Swedish TV, because the commentators are more skilled, and there is more information about the racers, their conditioning and relative comfort with the conditions and the course. So what's my point? There are tactics and excitement involved in all mass start races, and with events such as the new Tour de Ski next year (with a mini version this coming week in Scandinavia with the Vasa, the sprints and Holmenkollen), we will see more and more tactics. Mass starts are here to stay, and by introducing more elements such as intermediate sprints, points jerseys etc. the races will get more and more exciting. What we need are better commentators who understand and can get "under the skin" of the race. These new formats will help that happen. I hope. |
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