The multi-day ski race "Tour de Ski" starts in Switzerland. Ustyugov wins the sprint at the Tour de Ski. This finish is worth revisiting Three countries in nine days

MOSCOW, December 31. /TASS/. The Tour de Ski, a multi-day cross-country ski race, starts on Saturday in Val Müster, Switzerland. Next week there will be stages in the German Oberstdorf, Italian Dobbiaco and Val di Fiemme, the winners of the tour will be determined in the overall standings and individual events.

The Tour de Ski was created in 2006, similar to the Tour de France in cycling, where participants complete several stages in different cities over several weeks. As part of the ski tour, participants will have to run both sprint and long distances in classic and free style, so all-around skiers usually win the overall competition.

The only Russian winner of the Tour de Ski is Alexander Legkov, who became first overall in 2013, but he will miss the current stage race. Legkov, Evgeny Belov, Maxim Vylegzhanin, Alexey Petukhov, Yulia Ivanova and Evgenia Shapovalova were temporarily suspended from competition due to suspicion of violating anti-doping rules. Russian athletes sent a demand to the International Ski Federation (FIS) to allow them to participate in the Tour de Ski, but the FIS doping commission rejected the appeal.

The results of the Tour de Ski races are included in the World Cup, where Russian skiers have achieved only one victory this season - on December 11, Sergei Ustyugov won the freestyle sprint at the stage in Davos, Switzerland. In the previous cup race in La Clusaz, France, Legkov took third place in the 15 km freestyle mass start race. Russian skiers did not take a place on the podium this season.

Three countries in nine days

The Tour de Ski will take place from December 31 to January 8. On the last day of the year in Val Muster there will be sprint races for men and women in free style, on January 1 there will be mass start races in the classic style, women's 5 km, men's 10 km. On January 3, Oberstdorf will host a skiathlon (women - 10 km, men - 20 km), the next day - freestyle pursuit races (women - 10 km, men - 15 km).

On January 6, the stage starts in Italian Dobbiaco (Toblach), where women will run 5 km freestyle, and men will run 10 km. On January 7, Val di Fiemme will host classic mass start races (10 and 15 km). The tour will end on January 8 with a traditional nine-kilometer uphill pursuit race, at the end of which the overall winner will be determined. Only skiers who have completed all previous Tour de Ski races can claim success.

The first winners of the tour in 2007 were the German Tobias Angerer and the Finnish Virpi Kuitunen. The tour was won three times by the Swiss Dario Cologna, and Justyna Kowalczyk from Poland won four women's titles. Three times in 2014-2016, Norwegian Martin Sundby won the overall standings of the tour, but his 2015 result was canceled due to anti-doping rule violations, and the victory was given to compatriot Petter Northug.

Last year, the Norwegians Sundby and Teresa Johaug won the overall standings of the tour; the Italian Federico Pellegrino and the Norwegian Ingvild Flugstad Østberg took first in the sprint standings.

Swiss Cologna is a four-time winner of the Tour de Ski; Alexander Bolshunov – sixth

Today, January 7, in Val di Fiemme (Italy), the fifth stage of the World Cup in cross-country skiing, the multi-day Tour de Ski, ended. The men had a final 9km uphill race. The four-time winner of the Tour in the overall standings was the Swiss Dario Cologna. The second is the Norwegian Martin Jonsrud Sundby, the third is the Canadian Alex Harvey. The best of the Russians, Alexander Bolshunov, is sixth. The top ten Russians also included Alexey Chervotkin (ninth) and Andrey Larkov (10th). The 2016/2017 Tour champion, Russian Sergei Ustyugov, did not participate in the uphill race due to problems with his back muscles.

Men. Uphill race. 9 km. Results of the overall standings of the Tour de Ski

1. Dario Cologna (Switzerland)
2. Martin Jonsrud Sundby (Norway) - gap 1.26.5
3. Alex Harvey (Canada) - +1.30.6
…
6. Alexander Bolshunov - +3.09.7
…
9. Alexey Chervotkin - +3.33.5
10. Andrey Larkov - +3.37.8
…
13. Denis Spitsov - +5.13.1
…
18. Alexey Vitsenko - +5.51.2
19. Andrey Melchenko - +5.58.3
…
21. Ivan Yakimushkin - +7.01.0
…
26. Stanislav Volzhentsev - +8.10.8
…
41. Gleb Retivykh (all - Russia) - +12.50.1.

Swiss skier Cologna won the Tour de Ski for the fourth time in his career.

Swiss skier Dario Cologna won the Tour de Ski multi-day race, which ended on Sunday in Val di Fiemme (Italy). On Sunday, Cologna won the pursuit in a time of 28 minutes, 52.1 seconds. Second place went to Norwegian Martin Sundby (+1.26.5), third - Canadian Alex Harvey (+1.30.6). Russian Alexander Bolshunov finished sixth (+3.09.7). Russian Sergei Ustyugov, who was third in the overall standings before the final race, was unable to start due to a back injury. Cologna won the Tour de Ski for the fourth time in his career.

Alpine skier Hirscher won slalom at the World Cup in Switzerland

Austrian Marcel Hirscher won the slalom at the Alpine Skiing World Cup in Adelboden, Switzerland. After two attempts, Hirscher showed a time of 1 minute 50.94 seconds, second was his compatriot Michael Matt (+0.13 seconds), bronze went to Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen (+0.16). Russian Alexander Khoroshilov (+2.62) took 19th place, Pavel Trikhichev did not qualify for the second attempt, Alexander Andrienko did not finish in the first.

Austrian Hirscher excelled in slalom at the Swiss World Cup; Alexander Khoroshilov – 19th

Today, January 7, the 12th stage of the Alpine Skiing World Cup among men ended in Adelboden (Switzerland). The Austrian Marcel Hirscher won the special slalom, 0.13 seconds ahead of his compatriot Michael Matt, and 0.16 seconds ahead of the Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen. Russian Alexander Khoroshilov took 19th place.

Men. Slalom

1. Marcel Hirscher - 1.50.94
2. Michael Matt (both Austria) - 1.51.07
3. Henrik Kristoffersen (Norway) - 1.51.10
…
19. Alexander Khoroshilov (Russia) - 1.53.56.

Skier Sedova considers seventh place in the debut race of the Tour de Ski to be a good result.

Russian skier Anastasia Sedova said she considered seventh place in her first multi-day Tour de Ski race, which ended on Sunday in Val di Fiemme (Italy), a success. Sedova on Sunday finished in seventh position in the final stage - the freestyle pursuit race over a distance of 9 kilometers. The athlete lost 4 minutes 49.6 seconds to the winner, Norwegian Heidi Weng (time - 32.13.3 seconds). Norwegian Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (+48.5 sec) was second in the Tour de Ski, third was American Jessica Diggins (+2.23.2). “I’m certainly pleased with the result,” said Sedova, whose commentary was provided to RIA Novosti by the press service of the Russian Ski Racing Federation. “For the first time at the Tour de Ski and to get into the top 10, I think this is a very good result for a start.” I fulfilled my plan, I’m gaining experience and next season I’ll try to show better results.” “Now we’ll go home for three days, and then to Seefeld for a training camp,” the skier continued. “There I won my youth Olympics, so I’m glad that this is where I will prepare for the senior Olympics.”

American Shiffrin is the winner of the Slovenian stage of the World Cup in slalom; Ekaterina Tkachenko – 26th

Today, January 7, the 11th stage of the Women's Alpine Skiing World Cup ended in Kranjska Gora (Slovenia). American Mikaela Shiffrin won the special slalom. Swede Frida Hansdotter was second, and Swiss Wendy Holdener was third. Russian Ekaterina Tkachenko took 26th place.

Women. Slalom

1. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) - 1.43.50
2. Frida Hansdotter (Sweden) - 1.45.14
3. Wendy Holdener (Switzerland) - 1.45.37
…
26. Ekaterina Tkachenko (Russia) - 1.52.41.

Skier Ustyugov will not take part in the final race of the Tour de Ski due to injury.

Russian skier Sergei Ustyugov will not take part in the final race of the Tour de Ski due to injury, the press service of the Russian Ski Racing Federation (FLGR) told RIA Novosti. “Ustyugov will not be able to take part in the final stage due to injury,” said a representative of the press service. Before the final stage, Ustyugov, a two-time world champion, was in third place. He was supposed to start 1 minute 21.5 seconds after the leader, Swiss Dario Cologna.

Skier Ustyugov will undergo an MRI on Monday due to a back injury

The decision to withdraw Russian skier Sergei Ustyugov from the final stage of the Tour de Ski was made for precautionary reasons; on Monday the athlete will undergo an MRI, after which it will be clear how serious the back injury is, Elena Vyalbe, president of the Russian Ski Racing Federation (FLGR), told RIA Novosti. “It all started with that fall in Oberstdorf, yesterday I was still “stressed out”, it got worse. We decided to take care of it. Of course, Sergei was hurt, but he took everything fine. It seems like nothing serious, but tomorrow we’ll do an MRI. Then we’ll know for sure what’s wrong with his back.” , - Vyalbe said on the phone. Before the final stage of the Tour de Ski, two-time world champion Ustyugov was in third place. He was supposed to start 1 minute 21.5 seconds after the leader, Swiss Dario Cologna.

Alpine skier Shiffrin won the slalom at the World Cup in Slovenia

American alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin won the slalom at the World Cup in Kranjska Gora (Slovenia). Shiffrin took first on Sunday with a time of 1 minute, 43.50 seconds. Second place was taken by Swede Frida Hansdotter (+1.64 seconds), third by Swiss Wendy Holdener (+1.87). Russian Ekaterina Tkachenko was 26th (1:52.41).

Kryanin hopes that skier Ustyugov will recover from a back injury within 2 weeks

Russian skier Sergei Ustyugov should get rid of back problems within the next two weeks, the injury is not serious, but only a detailed medical examination will give a complete picture, Sergei Kryanin, vice-president of the Russian Ski Racing Federation (FLGR), told RIA Novosti. Ustyugov will miss the final stage of the Tour de Ski due to a back injury. The two-time world champion had to go into the race third, 1 minute 21.5 seconds behind the leader, Swiss Dario Cologne. “I think Sergei’s injury is not serious, but it gives him some discomfort; he has problems with his back. I think he will cope with this problem in a week or two. In order not to aggravate it, this decision has been made. It’s better to be careful, rather than fight for second or third places,” Kryanin said by phone. “We need to carry out a detailed examination. It will be carried out in the near future. Now there is no need to give extra burden,” the agency’s interlocutor emphasized.

Sergei Ustyugov resigned as Tour de Ski champion

Today, January 7, in Val di Fiemme (Italy) the fifth stage of the World Cup in cross-country skiing - the multi-day Tour de Ski - ends. The men will have a final 9km uphill race. The current champion of the Tour, Russian Sergei Ustyugov, who ranks third in the total, ended the fight early due to problems with his back muscles, as reported by the race organizers. In the fight for second place, he was behind Alexey Poltaranin from Kazakhstan - seven seconds. Hardly anyone doubts the overall victory of the Swiss Dario Cologna (1 minute 14 seconds advantage over Poltoranin). Now the main hope of the Russians will be Alexander Bolshunov (fourth and 25 seconds from Poltoranin).

Norwegian skier Weng won the Tour de Ski for the second year in a row, Sedova - 7th

Norwegian skier Heidi Weng won the Tour de Ski stage race, which ended on Sunday in Val di Fiemme (Italy). The four-time world champion won the final stage - the 9 km free style pursuit, showing a result of 32 minutes 13.3 seconds. Second in the Tour de Ski was her compatriot Ingvild Flugstad Östberg (+48.5 seconds), the top three was rounded out by American Jessica Diggins (+2 minutes 23.2 seconds). Russian Anastasia Sedova (+4.49.6) took seventh place, Natalya Nepryaeva (+7.13.5) - 11th, Anna Nechaevskaya (+8.44.5) - 18th, Alisa Zhambalova (+9.53.1) - 20- e, Yana Kirpichenko (+12.57.0) - 30th, Maria Gushchina (+13.16.4) - 31st. Weng won the Tour de Ski for the second time in a row.

The main news of skiing in Russia and the world today, January 7: Norwegian Weng won the stage ski race “Tour de Ski”; Anastasia Sedova – seventh

Today, January 7, in Val di Fiemme (Italy) the fifth stage of the World Cup in cross-country skiing - the multi-day Tour de Ski - ends. The women completed the 9 km uphill race. The Tour was won in the overall standings by Norway's Heidi Weng, 48.5 seconds ahead of compatriot Ingvild Ostberg. American Jessica Diggins was third. The best of the Russians, Anastasia Sedova, is seventh.

Women. Uphill race. 9 km. Results of the overall standings of the Tour de Ski

1. Heidi Weng
2. Ingvild Ostberg (both - Norway) - gap 48.5
3. Jessica Diggins (USA) - +2.23.2
…
7. Anastasia Sedova - +4.49.6
…
11. Natalya Nepryaeva - +7.13.5
…
18. Anna Nechaevskaya - +8.44.5
…
20. Alisa Zhambalova - +9.53.1..
30. Yana Kirpichenko - +12.57.0
31. Maria Gushchina (all - Russia) - +13.16.4.

The second day of the prestigious multi-day race turned out to be less successful for Russia than the first.

After the success at the start of the Tour de Ski, we were all waiting for the banquet to continue. Fortunately, there are enough strong skiers in the current team. One is worth it. And, fortunately, he is not alone. There are others who are capable of winning medals at big competitions.

BOLSHUNOV'S DRAMA

Even at the 11 km mark in the men's race everything was going great for us. That's all - this, which carried the nearest pursuer 4 seconds, and even 10. I wanted to believe that the ward Yuri Borodavko will make a wonderful gift for himself, because on December 31 the athlete turned 21 years old. However, the last part of the distance was too difficult for the Russian...

At the 13.5 km cutoff, Bolshunov was already third, ahead by 3.8. At the same time, the Norwegian had an earlier starting number, and Alexander ran based on his time. But that didn't help either. The Russian struggled at the finish line with all his strength, which was not much at the end of the distance, but in the end lost to Sundby by a meager 0.9. The disgruntled athlete punched the snow angrily and left the stadium in a terrible mood. Bolshunov failed to give himself a gift. Although for a person who is spending his first season in the World Cup, fourth place is far from so bad.

Moreover, Alexander is third in the sum of the first two races. He is only 12.7 behind the leader. The winner of last year's Tour de Ski, Sergei Ustyugov, is still in first place. Today's race didn't go well for "Loose Calf" - he was tenth, 37.1 behind the winning Cologna. At the same time, the two-time world champion did not look incredibly tired after the finish. Maybe the servicers didn’t quite get it right with the ski wax, or maybe Ustyugov was just not in the mood. After winning yesterday’s sprint, Sergei did not hide the fact that he went to the start without much emotion and a couple of days ago he seriously intended to skip the stage race. The point is about 11 suspended Russian skiers, for whom our athlete is very worried.

As for the denouement of today's trial, it turned out to be dramatic. Cologna was ahead of Alexey Poltoranin by some 0.6. As a result of this, the Swiss is now only 1.6 behind Ustyugov in the overall standings of the tour, and Poltoranin has risen to fourth position. He is 22 seconds behind the leader. Tomorrow we will have a freestyle pursuit race and it promises to be very interesting.

WOMEN: BEYOND TEN

Hopes for a Russian medal remained alive after the men's race on Sunday. A few hours after it ended, on the same track, the strongest women in the 10 km classic time trial were determined. And this season she managed to teach everyone that she is capable of fighting with world leaders, including in this discipline. The 22-year-old athlete, curiously, was one of the last to start. After her there were no top distance athletes, that is, Nepryaeva ran, knowing exactly the results of most of her rivals.

The beginning turned out to be optimistic. At the first cutoff (1 km), Natalya was in the top three. Unfortunately, our athlete failed to maintain the pace she had set. With each subsequent kilometer, her gap from the leaders grew, and she sank lower and lower in the protocol. It probably has something to do with inexperience. Still, the day before, Borodavko’s ward had lost a lot of strength and emotion when she reached the final of the sprint, and the difficult track against the backdrop of under-recovery was not at all easy for her.

As a result, Nepryaeva finished 12th and became the best of ours, ahead of even , which was faster at the 8.5 km cutoff. Natalya is now fifth in the overall standings. If we proceed from the fact that Yuri Borodavko, before the start of the Tour de Ski, set her the task of finishing in the top six at the end of the entire stage race, so far everything is going according to plan. But the athlete herself is completely unhappy with her performance today. And this is a good sign.

The Russian is 1.6 seconds ahead of the Swiss, who became the best in today's 15-kilometer race.

Men. 15 km KS. 1. Colonia (Switzerland) - 35.29.5. 2. Poltoranin (Kazakhstan) - 0.6 (lag). 3. Sundby (Norway) - 13.1. 4. BOLSHUNOV - 14. 5. CHERVOTKIN - 15.2... 10. USTYUGOV - 37.1... 13. VOLZHENTSEV - 48.6... 23. LARKOV - 1.08... 29. YAKIMUSHKIN - 1.25.5... 37. MELNICHENKO - 1.38, 6… 40. SPOKES - 1.47.1… 43. VITSENKO - 01.49.9.
Overall standings: 1. USTYUGOV. 2. Colonia - gap 1.6. 3. BOLSHUNOV - 12.7... 8. CHERVOTKIN - 49.8.
Women. 10 km. KS. 1. Ostberg - 26.59.4. 2. Veng (both - Norway) - 25.7. 3. Bjornsen (USA) - 42.2... 12. NEPRYAEVA - 1.15.1... 16. SEDOVA - 1.21.2... 20. ZHAMBALOVA - 1.38.4... 54. GUSCHINA - 3.00.01... 56. NECHAYEVSKAYA - 3.08.4 .

Ustyugov wins the sprint at the Tour de Ski. This finish is worth re-watching.

Russian skier Sergei Ustyugov won the 1.5 km sprint at the stage of the multi-day Tour de Ski race in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

The 25-year-old athlete showed a result of 2 minutes 57.28 seconds. For Ustyugov this is the first victory of the season.

Italian Federico Pellegrino finished behind the two-time world champion from Russia.

Ustyugov, we recall, is the winner of the Tour de Ski of the 2016/17 season.

Another Russian, Alexander Bolshunov, who turns 21 on December 31, managed to reach the semifinals on Saturday.

“I’m very glad that I won. You know what our circumstances are. We have to go out and fight to the end,” Ustyugov said in an interview after the race.

"Tour de Ski". 1st stage. Lenzerheide (Switzerland)

Men. Sprint

1. Sergey Ustyugov (Russia) – 2.57.3

2. Federico Pellegrino (Italy) – +0.99

3. Lucas Chanava (France) – +2.76

Among the women, the sensational winner was the owner of the track, Lauren van der Graff. American skier Sophie Caldwell came second to the finish line, and Norwegian Maiken Caspersen Falla came third.

22-year-old Russian Natalya Nepryaeva, who ran in the sprint final for the first time, took fourth place, gaining 46 bonus seconds.

On December 31, cross-country skiers in Switzerland will run 15-kilometer and 10-kilometer pursuits. The Tour de Ski will end with the traditional mountain climb on January 7, 2018.

Women. Sprint

1. Lauren van der Graff (Switzerland) – 3.25.80

2. Sophie Caldwell (USA) – +1.42

4. Natalya Nepryaeva (Russia) – +3.17

Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexey Filippov