CROSS-COUNTRY:

Nordic Notepad: Wrapping up in classic style

Feb. 26, 2010 — SRC Staff Report     ►Photo: Canada's Ivan Babikov, behind Remo Fischer (Agence Zoom)      

Join the SRC fun on Facebook

The relays are over, and the weather has turned. It was a bit messy for the women’s relay, but it is really messy now.

It has snowed all day, leaving deep wet snow everywhere except the skied-out classic tracks, which are soft and slushy. The corners are very deep, rutted and soft. There are patches of granular snow where they salted recently, and the ski speed picks up so much in those little patches it throws you backward. The weather promises to continue in much the same way for the next two days — a perfect lead-in to the last two events, which some Scandinavians consider the only important races in nordic skiing. They are classic technique races this year, which lends to the traditionalist feel.

Given these conditions, the women’s race will likely spread out fast. Good skis are critical for a day like this, as is choosing the right structure and the right grip. The odds are that the majority of athletes will opt to ski on “hairies” — skis with no grip wax, but slight structure. If a top team or a top skier misses the wax on a day like this, they’ll be out of the race, no matter how fit.

The favourites for Saturday have to be Marit Bjoergen, looking to become only the second woman in Olympic history to win four gold medals at a single Games, and Justyna Kowalczyk, the Polish powerhouse who has dominated the World Cup this year but hasn’t won a gold yet. The Finnish women have not had a great Games and have two strong classic skiers in Virpi Kuitunen and Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, who will be hungry.

On Sunday, the men’s 50 km race will close out the nordic events. Conditions look to be similar to Saturday — wet and sloppy. Skis will definitely play a factor on Sunday as well. The tactics for Sunday will be very interesting — unlike the women, the men’s mass-start races have tended to stay together in a big pack, with a sprint finish determining the finish order.

Norwegian great Petter Northug has regained his dominant sprint form that looked to be missing at the start of the Olympics, with a very impressive comeback performance in the relay. Everyone in the pack knows that if he’s around with 1k m to go, he’s a lock for the gold. As a result, skiers have been trying various tactics to neutralize his sprint.

This will make the race much more exciting — look for some skiers to try and break away from the pack, to see if they can stay away from Northug’s sprint. Skiers capable of this include Marcus Hellner and Lukas Bauer. Alex Harvey famously broke away at Trondheim last year, and the Canadian could try it again if he’s feeling good. Bauer is very fit and a terrific classic skier — he might try and split the pack up early, setting a relentless pace that only a few can follow. This is how he won the Tour de Ski on the final leg, not even giving Northug a look at a medal sprint.

Sara Renner will be the woman to watch for Canada. She likes the sloppy courses, and a great race Saturday could put her in medal contention. On the men’s side, any of the men could show up with great legs and put together a solid day, as we saw in the pursuit. Ivan Babikov is built for long distances and might have fresher legs than Devon Kershaw or Harvey, but there has been sufficient rest to level the playing field. Depending on team coaching decisions, Brian McKeever could also start on Sunday, making history as an Olympian and Paralympian in the same year.

It’s been an Olympics to remember for nordic sports … tune in to watch the final races! SRC