Legkov Repeats Personal Best In Test. First Salvo In Psy War Fired?

Boxing great Vitali Klitschko once said “the fight begins long before the first bell”

John McEnroe made a comment on his opponent-to-be that people remember decades after: “I’ve got more talent in my pinkie than ( Ivan) Lendl has in his whole body”

While commonplace in martial arts and other pro-sports with huge payday check, psychological pressure & attacks on opponent (s) is not normally associated with cross country skiing.

Or is it by now?

Perhaps, the first salvo of the Olympic season was fired today

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZD16_-Hprc/

The comment to the video posted by Egor Sorin, an assistant to Markus Cramer ( and world-class skier on his own right) reads:

2 tests today: the first to determine aerobic/anaerobic treshhold, the second – maximum exertion. @alexanderlegkov has repeated his personal best result of four years ago ( the year of the Sochi Olympics) in the first one and missed his PB by only a few seconds in the second one.
The post ends with hashtag  #ждите that is directly translated as #expect with a tinge of ‘you better believe it!’

Legkov won 50FT in Sochi with a fantastic sprint on the last uphill. A year and half after, however, the Russian was suspended by the International Ski Federation (FIS) based on Richard MacLaren report – and missed almost all of the last season

No proof of doping in case of Legkov ( as well as five other Russians, including Sochi 50FT silver medal winner Maxim Vylegzhanin) has ever emerged – and the CAS all but cleared Legkov & Co for a return to the world skiing circuit, including the Olympics.

Many a competitor were wondering how strong is a 34 year old Russian theese days – now they have their answer.

Who’s next to throw a virtual gauntlet?

Andrew Musgrave from Team GB has posted a strong video ( no mentioning of personal bests though)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYq0v89HPMd

Lucas Chanavat vs Richard Jouve duel looks good ( both French and Russian teams are in Oberhof now – would they hold a mini-match between themselves?)

Duel de vitesse face à @ChanavatLucas, qui gagne à votre avis ? pic.twitter.com/WSs3f0yrW3

— Richard Jouve (@Richardjouve) September 10, 2017

Norwegian Langrennsgutta featuring Messrs Iversen, Krogh, Krüger and Røthe has posted their update from Valdidentro, Italy
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYqxHcSAiOq/

check out that ‘kangaroo-poling’ at the end!

The rest of medal contenders are keeping fairly quiet so far. One could be sure, however, that there will be more Instagram/Twitter/FB reports of “personal bests” and “excellent form” as we approach the season. And we like it!