The union of Bolshunov and Tatarstan is a complete failure so far: zero victories, missing the race in Kazan and the worst season

Bolshunov flew away but promised to return

Savely Korostelev won the opening race of the fifth stage of the Russian Cross-Country Skiing Cup in Kazan. The leader of the overall standings covered 15 km in 31 minutes 1.7 seconds and took the first place of the podium. Artyom Maltsev came second to the finish line, and Denis Spitsov rounded out the top three. The winners were within 8 seconds of the winner.

Together with the winner Korostelev, representatives of the Tatarstan team took four places in the top 6 of the race. The leader of the overall standings Sergey Ardashev lacked a little strength in the final part of the distance. Sergey Volkov and Sergey Zabaluyev came in fifth and sixth, respectively.

Alexander Bolshunov could have also fought for medals. However, the Olympic champion urgently flew to Moscow due to personal circumstances. The skier's coach Yury Borodavko did not share details but suggested that Bolshunov could return to Kazan for the two remaining races.

“Alexander Bolshunov left, he is now in Moscow due to serious circumstances. He is missing the first race in Kazan, but he still has the opportunity to compete in the following ones. If everything is resolved quickly enough, he will take part in the following races. He can still return to the stage in Kazan,” Borodavko told Match TV. A year ago, Bolsunov won all three races in Kazan.

The leader of the Russian national team confidently won the time trial, then the sprint, and in the end, he “nailed” his rivals in the skiathlon. Last season, the Olympic champion was unstoppable. Bolshunov won 23 races in a row and seemed invincible to his rivals. However, everything changed overnight. In the new season, Bolsunov has not won a single victory and is in fifth place in the overall standings.

Bolshunov's failed transfer

Meanwhile, in the off-season, the Tatarstan national team gathered a star-studded team. Before the new season, the team signed several prominent skiers at once. Here is the leader of women's skiing Veronika Stepanova, Olympic champion Natalia Terentyeva (Editor’s note: née Nepryayeva), champion of one of the stages of the current Cup Anastasia Faleyeva, as well as the most promising young skier in the world Savely Korostelev

The cherry on top of this entire transfer campaign was the transfer of Alexander Bolshunov. Such a grandiose staffing of the team became possible after the collapse of the Arkhangelsk Region team. The Arkhangelsk team lost its main sponsor, which is why it was necessary to urgently cut costs on skiers. Tatarstan took advantage of the situation and provided generous conditions to the leaders of the competitor.

The main success seemed to be the transfer of Bolshunov, which promised many gold medals for the republic. However, in reality, everything turned out differently. By the middle of the season, Bolshunov had not yet won a single stage of the Russian Cup, which in the last competition year only happened on major holidays. A couple of second places and several races outside the podium are a clear failure for Tatarstan.

At the same time, Bolshunov is not very active in events to popularise cross-country skiing in the republic. Moreover, the Olympic champion risks missing the Russian Cup stage in Kazan entirely. At least, the athlete's father doubts his son's health.

“Alexander’s health is such that as soon as something gets better, some problems arise again. There is no full recovery yet. This season he recovers a little, then again. Illness after illness. It seemed like he was going to the Race of Champions, and then a sore throat appeared — and he got sick. Well, that's it. You understand, health should come first,” Match TV quotes Bolsunov Sr.

It is interesting that, in addition to Bolshunov, fans are somewhat disappointed with the signing of Veronika Stepanova. True, the skier has a good reason. Stepanova is missing the current season due to pregnancy, information about which came after the contract with Tatarstan was signed.

Health and motivation let Bolshunov down

There are several reasons for Bolshunov's unsatisfactory results this season. The main one is his health. The skier contracted coronavirus during pre-season training, disrupting his preparation. The athlete has been plagued by the consequences of the disease throughout the season. He even had to miss some races at previous stages of the Russian Cup due to illness. Including the last major tournament — the Race of Champions in Ryazan where skiers compete with biathletes as part of a show.

Secondly, we should not rule out the factor of Bolshunov's decline in motivation. After last year's dominance, the skier experienced a natural decline. Find motivation to repeat the achievement is not easy, probably the Olympic champion cannot overcome himself yet. In addition, all this is happening against the backdrop of the disqualification of Russians from international starts. Constantly skiing only in domestic competitions is clearly not what the best skiers in the world want, which Bolshunov certainly is.

There are results even without Bolshunov

However, the Tatarstan team remains in the black from inviting stars, as far as the medals won are concerned. In the top 5 of the overall standings among men, there are four representatives of the Tatarstan team. Including the leader of the peloton Ardashev who broke away from Korostelev invited from the Arkhangelsk team by 52 points. In the top three is Ivan Gorbunov, the most modest of the leaders of the Tatarstan team.

Natalia Terentyeva won her first victory in two seasons in Kazan. The Olympic champion completely missed the last competitive year, and this year she only took part in her second race. But this did not stop her from winning for the first time after maternity leave. Terentyeva showed the best result in the 10 km freestyle race beating Alina Pekletsova from the Vologda region by 9.9 seconds.

Natalia's sister, Darya Nepryayeva, is having an excellent season. Recently, the Tatarstan athlete won her debut victory at the Russian Cup, and in the overall standings, she is in second place, right after Yekaterina Smirnova from the Tyumen region. Another newcomer to the national team, Anastasia Faleyeva, also won several starts and is in the top 5.

It is not surprising that Tatarstan is the undisputed leader in the overall standings of the national teams. The Tatarstan team is ahead of its closest pursuer by more than 2,000 points. A serious bid for the final victory. And this is in Bolshunov's worst season.