At the Championship Heights competition, the head coach of the Russian national team, Yuri Borodavko, is no less popular among fans than his star students Alexander Bolshunov and Natalya Nepryaeva. After one of the long autograph sessions, the eminent specialist found a few minutes for the Sport correspondent and answered the most pressing questions about the national team, the missed World Cup and, of course, about the Norwegians.
World Cup: what about Klebo and what would we be capable of?
Klebo's losses surprise me, because Johannes has shown great results before. He had bright, powerful races with complete dominance, and in the World Championship he is very close, but he is beaten, and very seriously. Therefore, there is a certain amount of surprise, but still the same (Siemen) Kruger is one of the strongest athletes, who, at any race where he starts, is always among the favorites.
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I think we would not be left without medals, but I would not undertake to talk about the number. Cross-country skiing is distinguished by the fact that it is determined by head-to-head competition, and it is impossible to predict it. As time passes, I can say that the preparation for the «Champion Heights» is different from the preparation for the World Championships and the Olympic Games. Still, psychologically, this is a slightly different level, and the mood of the athletes is still not as fighting as it used to be.
Who are the future leaders and are there any problems with motivation?
We The team is young enough, everyone is in the juice, they show good results, they are strong, hardy. If someone is added from the youth, we will, of course, attract them, we do not leave a single athlete without attention.
We have looked at many, and today we know 99 percent what to expect from every skier. Of course, I would like Sasha (Bolshunov) and Natasha (Nepryaeva) to remain the leaders of the national team at the 2026 Games. But, as you can see from the «Champion Heights», these races are very difficult for Natalya, because she tries to win the races with little bloodshed and her competitive speeds are falling, unfortunately.
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She still wins, somewhere she loses a little, but so far this (dismissal from international competitions) has affected her the most. This is a matter of motivation and psychology, because it is difficult to force yourself to win for a minute and a half, just to have a gap of a minute and a half. It is necessary to win — she wins by adding at the finish line, but this does not add to her high functional readiness.
We will still have a serious discussion with Natalia, since this will not lead to anything good, and the recovery will be longer.
Our return: when will it happen and what will we show?
I think we will be able to show the same high results when we return. Maybe it will take a certain number of races for the athletes to feel the higher competition, the pace of the competition and the speed, which we may have lost the habit of a little, because of which our possibilities have dropped a little. All this is possible, it just takes time.Swedish journalist's insider that Russian skiers will return to international competitions next season? If a person speaks, then he relies on something, there are some facts. I would like to believe, of course, we all want this, we do not hide it. And there are many who want it too. We see low attendance at the World Cup, we discussed this topic and initially said that it would be so. The FIS (International Ski and Snowboard Federation) understood this, but they also did not make the decision themselves.
Even if we recall our suspension, we could not make a decision at the congress for two whole days. There was no unanimity, many countries opposed the suspension, but the most powerful pressure forced the FIS leadership to decide on the suspension of Russian athletes. What is happening has shown what all this has led to, so I hope that common sense will prevail.
Why did the Norwegians decide to confess about asthmatics?
I think so: all those athletes who who have therapeutic exceptions are dopingers, including asthmatics. They are all sitting on doping drugs, they secured the permission of their anti-doping laboratories in order to be able to use doping drugs. Behind these drugs, which seem harmless, there are serious things. They announced this because the flag fell and they believe that everything is possible for them, that they are covered by the legal side. That is why they feel so free. As soon as the therapeutic permits are removed, we will see a completely different picture, even in the Norwegian team.