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Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021
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Really enjoyed the Tour de Ski thread earlier this winter, so thought I would start a discussion about Worlds.

Cross Country World Champs start tomorrow, Thursday 2/25 in Obertsdorf, Germany. Conditions so far this week have been warm, sunny, and slushy, and races are being moved earlier in the day to try and keep conditions stable. No spectators at the venue, but all the big players are in attendance.

Thursday 2/25 at 5:30am EST: Classic Sprint

Men: Impossible to look past the Norwegians with Johannes Klaebo and Erik Valnes as favorites, especially for a classic sprint. Oskar Svensson from Sweden comes in hot with two sprint wins this season, and Federico Pellegrino from Italy is always a threat. The Russians have World Cup leader (by far) Alexander Bolshunov, sprint star Gleb Retivykh, and Sergey Ustiugov who looked strong in Ulricehamn after early season COVID. The French are also strong with Lucas Chanavat and Richard Jouve.

For the US, I'm interested to see how JC Schoonmaker and Ben Ogden do in their first senior worlds, along with Logan Hanneman and Kevin Bolger. Logan and Kevin have pretty early start numbers in qualification, which should be helpful if conditions deteriorate.

Picks:
1. Klaebo
2. Valnes
3. Svensson

Women: We could very well see a Swedish podium sweep- it has already happened on the World Cup. Linn Svahn from Sweden is likely the favorite, but Anamarija Lampic from Slovenia won the sprint overall last year and has been skiing very well this year as well. Nadine Faehndrich has had a great season for Switzerland, and the Norwegians will certainly be strong with the Wengs and defending world champ Maiken Caspersen Falla. Top Russian is likely Natalia Nepryaeva, but I believe she is recovering from a wrist injury.

The US is starting a very strong group with Jessie Diggins (overall world cup leader), Sophie Caldwell, Julia Kern, and Rosie Brennan (3rd in overall world cup).

Picks:
1. Linn Svahn
2. Anamarija Lampic
3. Jonna Sundling

Where to watch: https://fasterskier.com/...world-championships/
Start lists and results: https://www.fis-ski.com/...&seasoncode=2021
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [JDinMA] [ In reply to ]
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thanks for this - love watching xc ski

went to my local xc venue this morning and flailed around, not on my game at all - really struggled to keep/form form
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [JDinMA] [ In reply to ]
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I've been getting back into XC-Skiing myself this winter after a many year hiatus - I forgot HOW MUCH I love it! Of all of the things I have done in various Endurance Sports since I was in my mid teens - the thing that I still love the most is skiing - both classic and skate.

Is there a way to watch the coverage of the Championships?


Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [JDinMA] [ In reply to ]
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Just watched the prolog.
The Swedish women looks strong. Could go 1, 2, 3.

Klæbo is in shape.
But you always have some Russians.
The odds for Klæbo is 1,4.
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [Halvard] [ In reply to ]
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Norwegian women crazy strong in the heats so far. Without having them on the World Cup most of the season they were a bit of an unknown (I mean, you know Norway is going to be in the mix).
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [JDinMA] [ In reply to ]
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I guess my predictions were quite good :-)

Jonna Sundling was dominating. Great win for the Swede.
Falla now has 5 world championship medals in a row, and two olympic medals since 2013.

Klæbo is Klæbo. He is the best.
Three Norwegians in the male final. Result 1, 2, 3.
I call that a good day.
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [Halvard] [ In reply to ]
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I was curious to see how Bolshunov would tackle the course.

In all seriousness Klaebo is awesome. After the World Cup in Quebec he spent close to an hour signing autographs on the last day. I'm cheering for him; he's a generational talent.
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [Halvard] [ In reply to ]
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Maybe I missed where you made predictions... "Klaebo is in shape" doesn't really count in my book!! Joking aside, great day for the Norwegian men, and full credit to Falla, certainly a big stage skier.

Curious what Svennson's thought process was in the final deciding to go all DP. Surprising considering running the last hill was going to be the key moment.

Good result for JC and Ben to qualify, excited to watch them continue to develop!
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [JDinMA] [ In reply to ]
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Not much input on names/countries etc. But I watch the Biathlon championships while on the bike trainer, I have them all DVRed. I really don't get all the rules, names or what is going on but holy moly that is fun to watch!

It is crazy to watch someone who is 20+ seconds ahead of the field, miss one shot then ends up in 4-5th place or someone in 8th place nail all the targets and move up to 2nd. Towards the end, you can see them struggling to keep the rifle steady, running out of extra shots, etc. The mixed relays are my favorite to watch.
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [JDinMA] [ In reply to ]
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JDinMA wrote:
Maybe I missed where you made predictions... "Klaebo is in shape" doesn't really count in my book!! Joking aside, great day for the Norwegian men, and full credit to Falla, certainly a big stage skier.

Curious what Svennson's thought process was in the final deciding to go all DP. Surprising considering running the last hill was going to be the key moment.

Good result for JC and Ben to qualify, excited to watch them continue to develop!

Sorry. I should have written the sentence as an American. Klæbo is in shape, and when he is in shape he will win easily :-)
Klæbo has an acceleration no other skier can follow at the moment.
His technique is consistent, even in high speed. Especially look at his cornering (speed out of the corners).
Also his timing while double poling is on point.

Svennson had to try something new. He went for a medal. If he had used grip wax he would have been last anyway.
Going for just double poling could have worked.
Several sprints have been won with that technique. But not on this course, and not with this athlete.

Great for Sweden with a win also.
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [Halvard] [ In reply to ]
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I was really hoping for a better performance from the USA women. Diggins and Sophie didn't seem to have that spark. Maybe it was skis? Jessie's skis didn't look amazing but the skis always are fast when your body is fit! Does anyone know why Sadie Bjornsen didn't get a start in the classic sprint?

Klaebo is in a class of his own. He won the prologue by about 3 seconds. That may not seem like much, but 3 seconds is HUGE at that level. It would be so fun to be him; to just be able to make everyone respond to you.

I found it disappointing that the mens final was 1,2,3 Norway. They are just better than everyone and also seem to have better (but not hugely better) skis. It adds insult to injury when the fittest athletes show up at the start line with better skis than everyone else. At least Bolshunov didn't podium; I really dislike that guy.
Last edited by: xcskier66: Feb 25, 21 8:52
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [xcskier66] [ In reply to ]
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xcskier66 wrote:
I was really hoping for a better performance from the USA women. Diggins and Sophie didn't seem to have that spark. Maybe it was skis? Jessie's skis didn't look amazing but the skis always are fast when your body is fit! Does anyone know why Sadie Bjornsen didn't get a start in the classic sprint?

Klaebo is in a class of his own. He won the prologue by about 3 seconds. That may not seem like much, but 3 seconds is HUGE at that level. It would be so fun to be him; to just be able to make everyone respond to you.

I found it disappointing that the mens final was 1,2,3 Norway. They are just better than everyone and also seem to have better (but not hugely better) skis. It adds insult to injury when the fittest athletes show up at the start line with better skis than everyone else. At least Bolshunov didn't podium; I really dislike that guy.

wait..in what way do they have 'better skis'?
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [Fleck] [ In reply to ]
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Fleck wrote:
I've been getting back into XC-Skiing myself this winter after a many year hiatus - I forgot HOW MUCH I love it! Of all of the things I have done in various Endurance Sports since I was in my mid teens - the thing that I still love the most is skiing - both classic and skate.

Is there a way to watch the coverage of the Championships?

same! with my two kids minor hockey seasons on hold Ive had tons of time to reacquaint myself to the trails. Its been the best winter!
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [shady] [ In reply to ]
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It’s just an observation that the Norwegians had good skis today. They seem to always have good skis (with notable exceptions)

When you are at the top, you get the first cut of skis from ski companies. Klaebo gets Fischer’s top skis. He also has a waxer that sorts through hundreds of skis to give him the best one. Then he probably spends hours with his tech selecting skis that work best for his skiing style and conditions. Then you add on that Norway has the best organized and profesional waxing team.

Us master hacks have no conception of how much nicer World Cup skiers skis are. It’s not that they fly downhill (they do) it’s that they also are dreams on the uphills.

Norway has the ability to outwax every other team because of their resources. They are like an army.

Small teams sometimes hope for changing conditions cause they can’t compete with Norway in stable conditions. In stable conditions, Norway can out wax every other team. In variable conditions, luck comes into play and smaller teams can guess lucky on the wax.

Norway might only have skis that are <1% better than everyone else. But you can train a lifetime to get 1% better.
Last edited by: xcskier66: Feb 25, 21 11:30
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [xcskier66] [ In reply to ]
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xcskier66 wrote:
It’s just an observation that the Norwegians had good skis today. They seem to always have good skis (with notable exceptions)

When you are at the top, you get the first cut of skis from ski companies. Klaebo gets Fischer’s top skis. He also has a waxer that sorts through hundreds of skis to give him the best one. Then he probably spends hours with his tech selecting skis that work best for his skiing style and conditions. Then you add on that Norway has the best organized and profesional waxing team.

Us master hacks have no conception of how much nicer World Cup skiers skis are. It’s not that they fly downhill (they do) it’s that they also are dreams on the uphills.

Norway has the ability to outwax every other team because of their resources. They are like an army.

Small teams sometimes hope for changing conditions cause they can’t compete with Norway in stable conditions. In stable conditions, Norway can out wax every other team. In variable conditions, luck comes into play and smaller teams can guess lucky on the wax.

Norway might only have skis that are <1% better than everyone else. But you can train a lifetime to get 1% better.

hmm.. interesting
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [xcskier66] [ In reply to ]
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xcskier66 wrote:
It’s just an observation that the Norwegians had good skis today. They seem to always have good skis (with notable exceptions)

When you are at the top, you get the first cut of skis from ski companies. Klaebo gets Fischer’s top skis. He also has a waxer that sorts through hundreds of skis to give him the best one. Then he probably spends hours with his tech selecting skis that work best for his skiing style and conditions. Then you add on that Norway has the best organized and profesional waxing team.

Us master hacks have no conception of how much nicer World Cup skiers skis are. It’s not that they fly downhill (they do) it’s that they also are dreams on the uphills.

Norway has the ability to outwax every other team because of their resources. They are like an army.

Small teams sometimes hope for changing conditions cause they can’t compete with Norway in stable conditions. In stable conditions, Norway can out wax every other team. In variable conditions, luck comes into play and smaller teams can guess lucky on the wax.

Norway might only have skis that are <1% better than everyone else. But you can train a lifetime to get 1% better.

Jessie Diggens is one of the skier with most support from her sponsor Salamon.
You get support based on results, but not just that.
As a Norwegian skier you are competing with a lot of other world class skiers for attention.
It is a lot easier to be a top skier in the USA or Germany and get good or even better deals.

I do not think Valnes and Taugbøl have better support than top skiers from other countries.
How many outside of Norway know who Taugbøl is??
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [Halvard] [ In reply to ]
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Good points!

Taugbol and valnes definitely don’t have the level of support that klaebo does. They’re fitness shone through today.

I still think the Norwegians have wax advantages. Devon kershaws podcast has discussed his experience working for the Norwegian waxers. No other team has that level of effort.
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [xcskier66] [ In reply to ]
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xcskier66 wrote:
Good points!

Taugbol and valnes definitely don’t have the level of support that klaebo does. They’re fitness shone through today.

I still think the Norwegians have wax advantages. Devon kershaws podcast has discussed his experience working for the Norwegian waxers. No other team has that level of effort.

The good thing is that wax technicians that have worked for the Norwegians now work for other nations.
The grip wax specialist for the USA has worked for Norway.
The same for Sweden.

But yes, Norway has the coolest wax truck and budget.

It is hard for people from other countries to understand the status winter sports has in Norway.
Now during the world championship, and earlier for the alpine and biathlon championship you have wall to wall coverage
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [xcskier66] [ In reply to ]
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As an owner of a couple of pairs of skis that long ago belonged to a World Cup and Olympic champ, I can say yes, my skis at one time were an absolute dream. I was remembering today, how one year at Boulder Tour, the first time I raced them, I was laughing my way through the race, as on the flats and long gradual downhills I was just flying by so many people (of course I attributed it to my genius wax choice / skills (not!) Too bad the engine and the technique belongs to a flailing idiot!

Thanks JD for starting this thread.

I gotta say, I thought US had put it's wax woes behind it. And here we are in 2021. NOBODY on the US had good skis. Diggins was clearly slipping, Sophie looked to be working hard and going nowhere, and JC was the same. Disappointing. Jessie is too classy to throw the wax techs under the bus but you could just see the difference on the lack of glide and grip, but I'm not that classy. Wax was a huge issue today.

I hope they get it together by the skiathlon. Slush is brutal, but if the other countries can nail it, we need to as well.
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [xcskier66] [ In reply to ]
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Us master hacks have no conception of how much nicer World Cup skiers skis are. It’s not that they fly downhill (they do) it’s that they also are dreams on the uphills.


There is a difference - I got to ski on a Canadian National Team Members skis ounce for a bit, and they had been waxed by the Lead Wax Tech for the time for the Canadian Team and they were ridiculously faster than my own skis - and I take good care of my skis and do everything I can to make them as fast as I can make them!

So taking this to the next level - if you are the #1 Norwegian Skier, you get the first pick of every batch of Fischer's or Salomon's or whatever, and the best Wax Techs in the world waxing your skis. That's HUGE!


Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [hbog12] [ In reply to ]
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Great recap of the sprints on the Devon Kershaw show: https://share.transistor.fm/...7JlkMx0DiIyvAmRHtI7c

They discuss waxing as well as Svensson's choice to go with skate skis in the final along with other good stuff.
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [Fleck] [ In reply to ]
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Fleck wrote:

So taking this to the next level - if you are the #1 Norwegian Skier, you get the first pick of every batch of Fischer's or Salomon's or whatever, and the best Wax Techs in the world waxing your skis. That's HUGE!

It is not true that Norwegians get the first pick on skis.
Everything is dependent on what kind of agreement/sponsorship you have.

Skis
Top tier is international agreement.
These athletes will get to pick skis directly from the factory.
This is of course the best way to build up your fleet of skis.
So this is not just for Norwegians. This is for the best skiers.

Second tier is top national agreement.
These athletes can pick skis from the distributor of the country.

Third tier is skishop
You get your skis from a store.
But in Norway the ski stores are really good at picking skis. Many of them are going to the factories to pick skis there.

Grind
You cannot be competitive just with good skis. You need to have the correct grind for the different conditions.
I can get my own skis grinded by the same people and machines as the national team members here in Norway since most of the grinding is done by stores.

Waxing
Norway does not have a wax person. Norway has a wax system with documentation, testing and efficiencies.
And yes, here Norway is best.
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [Halvard] [ In reply to ]
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From Simi Hamilton on Insta. Classy.

"People have been messaging me why I didn’t race yesterday... valid question and I take it as a compliment that so many have faith in my classic sprinting! I’m not sick or injured. The reality is that after 11 years of trying to crack the code on classic sprinting at this level, I didn’t really think I was going to figure it out in what is most likely the last few weeks of my career, and I wanted to put all my focus into my skate racing, especially with the chance to partner up with one of my role models @gus.schumacher for the team sprint. I knew my decision was a good one yesterday when @ben.0gden was given my start and made the statement that he did, qualifying in 11th from bib 61 and finishing the day in 17th. I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again: this team of American boys coming up is going to do some extraordinary things, and I’m just humbled and grateful to do what I can to contribute to that. But first it’s time to get this old, creaky body in gear and do some skating!"
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [JDinMA] [ In reply to ]
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Day 2: Saturday 2/27

Looks like forecast is some light rain overnight, but staying above freezing. It will be cooler than the sprint, but temps still get above 40f/4c. Waxing for the classic leg of the skiathlon will likely be tricky, although I personally have very little experience with classic waxing.


Women 7.5k+7.5K Skiathlon @ 5:45 am EST

Favorite here is undoubtedly Therese Johaug from Norway, especially if conditions are variable/tricky. The question in my mind is if she is able/wants to open up an appreciable gap on the classic leg (where she is excellent), and if anyone is able to stay with her. There are skiers in the field with better finishing speed than Therese, but rarely is anyone near her! For Norway I am also interested to see Helene Marie Fossesholm in her first senior worlds start. She is such an exciting skier to watch, and was second to Therese in Lahti. Heidi Weng is also a strong podium contender after a third in Lahti.

Other contenders for the podium could be Ebba Andersson from Sweden who had great distance races at the Tour de Ski, Frida Karlsson (SWE) if she is fully recovered from injury, and Natalia Nepryaeva and Yulia Stupak from Russia.

For the US Jessie Diggins is definitely a podium contender if she can start the skate leg with the main group. The US is also starting three exciting younger skiers in Hailey Swirbul, Sophia Laukli, and Katharine Ogden.

Picks:
1. Therese Johaug
2. Jessie Diggins (heart over head?)
3. Heidi Weng

Men 15k+15K Skiathlon @ 7:30 am EST

This is going to be the Norway vs. Russian Ski Federation show, hard to see anyone else being a factor. Alexander Bolshunov probably comes in as the slim favorite based on the World Cup distance races this year, but in Lahti Norwegians took the first four spots with Iversen, Roethe, Golberg (not starting at world champs), and Krueger. The Norwegians also have Klaebo, and if he is in in contention coming into the finish, no one would bet against him.

For the US, Scott Patterson and David Norris bring experience, with Hunter Wonders and Ben Ogden bringing youth. Ben had a great result in the sprint, so I'm excited to see what he does in a distance race. I expected to see Gus Schumacher on the list (top American in Lahti), but it sounds like he is racing the team sprint on Sunday with Simi.

ETA: Iivo Niskanen from Finland could also be a player, especially driving the pace in the classic leg. Don't think he'll be on the podium, but expect him and maybe Dario Cologna from Switzerland among a lot of RSF and NOR suits.

Picks:
1. Alexander Bolshunov
2. Emil Iversen
3. Johannes Klaebo
Last edited by: JDinMA: Feb 26, 21 13:12
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Re: Cross Country Ski World Champs 2021 [JDinMA] [ In reply to ]
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The sad part is XC skiing is still so patronizing that women race shorter distances than men. Its not like these distances are particularly long for either men or women like super long 250km cycling classics where the average speed of the men''s race is so much faster than the women''s race that making the women race the distance would make itt substanttially longer in time (but even that is not an excuse since men and women race 8 and 9 hrs Ironmans respectively). Men and women race equal distaces on Olympic tri and marathons and roughly have the same percent delta in both events. A 30km skiathlon is a joke distance for the top women. By make the women race shorter they just reward the women with a slightly different physiology but really not that much different. I can't believe that xc skiing is still stuck in this ancient past like cycling and speed skating. When will they wake up realize it is 2021 not 1961?
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