Ustiugov Tells His Fans He’s Got Severe Case Of Coronavirus, Faces Slow Recovery

Ustiugov Tells His Fans He’s Got Severe Case Of Coronavirus, Faces Slow Recovery

Leaders, Newsfeed
Sergei Ustiugov appeals to his fans via Instagram, telling them that he had a severe case of Covid-19 that stopped him from competing and even training in last few weeks. https://www.instagram.com/p/CIauZQVsTNR/?igshid=1au78krzaro9l In the post to his 84000 followers on the social network, the 28 year old ex-world champion says he fell ill in late October in Val Senales, Italy, and hasn't been able to restart proper training ever since as " body refused to adequately perceive the load and and each time I fell into a hole" The Russian wraps up by saying that he feels better now, undergone an extensive screening and is slowly starting to exercise properly, hoping to rejoin the team "soon".
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Five Skiers Born In XXI Century Who Kicked Some Ass In First Races Of Season

Five Skiers Born In XXI Century Who Kicked Some Ass In First Races Of Season

Leaders, Newsfeed
Yes, we know that the XXI century officially started in 2001, but we simply feel like listing here all those who have 20XX as their birth date - see it as a bit of "boundary marker" , if you like. And yes, we can't wait for these great young athletes, some of them still teenagers, to appear at the World Cup and, who knows, at the next year's Olympics? [caption id="attachment_17400" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Helene Fossesholm, 19, has proved yet again that she's the brightest upcoming star of international skiing by grabbing two podiums in two distance races in Beitostoelen that featured all of Norway's best[/caption] [caption id="attachment_17396" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anastasia Faleeva, 20 won her first Russian Cup gold in sprint in Vershina Tei. Technically, the Russia's best were in Finland,…
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Peter Schlickenrieder: There Is No Way This System Can Continue. Big Changes Need To Happen

Peter Schlickenrieder: There Is No Way This System Can Continue. Big Changes Need To Happen

Leaders, Newsfeed
The tensions that were/are simmering in the top-level international skiing seemed to have reached the boiling point. Late on Friday, Peter Schlickenrieder has thrown the gauntlet, publishing the Instagram post in which he openly calls for "Big changes" Earlier the same day Yelena Vyalbe has threatened to withdraw the Russian squad from the World Cup should the authorities somewhere try to quarantine an entire team if one team member gets a positive Covid test - apparently, that happened to the Russian Alpine skiers earlier this month when a waxer got corona-positive: everyone was ordered to stay indoors for over a week & not allowed to compete. Both Schlickenrieder and Vyalbe are far bigger personas in their home countries than the actual sport of cross-country skiing. Schlickenrieder, a very successful businessman,…
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Egor Sorin: Russian Skiers Are Well Provided For – Better Than Most Other Teams. It Would Matter In Crisis Times

Egor Sorin: Russian Skiers Are Well Provided For – Better Than Most Other Teams. It Would Matter In Crisis Times

Newsfeed, Training & Outfitting
Egor Sorin runs one of the training groups in large Team Russia. In practice the training groups operate much like independent teams. Sorin, former international-level skier, cut his " coaching teeth" working with Markus Cramer - and now in a way competes against his former mentor. At least his skiers do.We followed Sorin & his young skiers ( most of the group is U23 ) on their training in Ramsau We don’t see a huge problem in the lack of summer snow training this year. We concentrated instead on mid-altitude training that we see essential. [caption id="attachment_17194" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Setting the waypoints for hill running session. Sorin often runs/skies along [/caption]) True, we spend around 250 days/year in the camps and competing or traveling from one to the next. It’s…
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Where Are You, Ski Groupies?!

Where Are You, Ski Groupies?!

Newsfeed, Travel & Mass Sport
The sport of cross-country skiing desperately needs..no, not the snow - that too, but there are ways of getting the tracks done even when the Nature is unwilling. What cross-country skiing needs is a shift in culture where big stars are seen not as home boy/ girl, but a true celebrity with a worldwide appeal & with all the relevant trappings of the status. Groupies! Yep, like in the rock music or ( do we dare say it aloud? ) like in the ski jumping and the biathlon. The people who travel with their heroes for a chance to see them up close and , with any luck, personal. As in " swap a few words" -personal, that is. ...October would be a good time to start. In Ramsau/ on…
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