Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld - Day 5

Clicca qui per la versione italiana I arrive at the parking lot, a little later than expected, and find it closed. I leave the car in a parking lot in front, intended for skiers, then I discover that they had opened one behind. On the shuttle meeting a group of Aosta Valley, Brocard fans, telling about the Holmenkollen 50 km. Today is definitely the day when you see most Italians: there is of course Pelegrino's fan club, but also many from Trentino.

I arrive at the stands with a few minutes of margin. My stand B is almost empty, A is a little fuller, but not very full. These world championships do not seem to be a great success of public, as you can also see from the parking lot, which has never been filled even in half (perhaps because of this it has been replaced by a smaller one). On my side, mostly Norwegians and Finns, on the other many Swedes, which perhaps today are more than Norwegians.

We start with the heat of the women's sprint relay. Italy is in the first: it keeps the pace until, in the third leg (out of 6) Laurent (Pellegrino's girlfriend, as the speaker tells us) falls down. In the fourth leg we get closer, but in the last two we collapse and we arrive fifth, 26 seconds behind. The first 2 and 6 best times qualify: the second heat is faster, so we have to hope that the sixth remains behind. She does, but not enough: Italy is the first of the not qualified.

In the first men's heats, Austria takes the lead in the first leg and the audience remains almost impassive, despite the incitement of the speaker: there are very few Austrians. I have seldom seen a home team that is so little cheered, even if it will be a little better in the final. Italy is in the second heat: the speaker has prepared a repertoire of phrases typical of the Italian commentator to use them, with Pellegrino, like "all eyes on him". Both heats go as planned: Norway, Sweden and Russia in the first, Italy, France and Finland in the second.

I was hoping to see the jumping of the Nordic combined on the screen, but when the heats are over it is already over. The speaker gives only the first 4 positions (which include Austria), so I have to check on the website to find out that Italy is 7th, 1'38 " behind. The pause before the finals is short, about twenty minutes. I have idea of watching the women's final from the top of the second climb, and it turns out to be a very bad idea: I can only see a very short stretch. Perhaps you could see more from the sides, but there was too much crowd. there is an unreal silence: the speaker is not heard, the audience little. After the last passage I move to follow the finish on the screen: I see the victory of Sweden on Slovenia.

I'm back in the stands for the men's final, but I can not find my place anymore: I place myself a little higher, close toa group of Germans, who at first seem not to have realized that their team is not in the final . Race that starts very tactically, then cone team after another lose contact: at the last lap 6 are left (the 6 that I named before), then 5 when Finland falls down. When athletes come out of sight for the last climb. the framing is very narrow: you only see the first ones, Norway and Russia, and you do not understand what happens behind. Only when they are again visible live, I find out that Pellegrino is third, ahead of Sweden, and he will remain until the end. I saw two Italian medals : I could not hope for anything better!

The break before the Nordic combined is just under an hour. More than half of it I pass in the queue for lunch, a hamburger with potato roesti instead of the bun, so much that I'm afraid I will not make it on time. In the end I do, but eating very quickly. There are many more Austrians than before: this time the support for the home team is heard. The race is predictable, given the result of the jumping: Germany wins (but more clearly than expected), Norway and Austria fight for second place and the former wins, fourth Japan, fifth Italy.

At the exit I meet a group of Finnish fans, and I congratulate them for their passion: they are always numerous, despite the poor results of their representatives. The thing is even more noticeable in athletics. I arrived at the end: I'm sorry to leave, so I stop a bit in the central square to follow the jump on the screen. I'll follow the first run, then seeing that the second one does not start I decide to go: in any case I could not afford to stop for the award ceremonies.

See you again (maybe) in Oberstdorf, but first there is Doha and many other interesting events.

Mondiali di sci nordico a Seefeld - 5^ giornata

Click here for English version

Arrivo al parcheggio, un po' più tardi del previsto, e lo trovo chiuso. Lascio la macchina in un parcheggio di fronte, destinato agli sciatori, poi scopro che ne avevano aperto uno dietro. Sulla navetta incontro un gruppo di valdostane, tifose della Brocard, che raccontano della 50 km di Holmenkollen. Oggi è decisamente il giorno in cui si vedono più italiani: c'è naturalmente il fan club di Pellegrino, ma anche molti trentini.

Arrivo in tribuna con qualche minuto di margine. La mia tribuna B è quasi vuota, la A è un po' più piena, ma non pienissima. Questi mondiali non sembrano un grande successo di pubblico, come si vede anche dal parcheggio, che non si è mai riempito nemmeno a metà (forse per questo è stato sostituito da uno più piccolo). Dalla mia parte, soprattutto norvegesi e finlandesi, dall'altra molti svedesi, che forse oggi sono più dei norvegesi.

Si parte con le batterie della staffetta sprint femminile. L'Italia è nella prima: tiene fino a quando, nella terza frazione (su 6) la Laurent (fidanzata con Pellegrino, come ci racconta lo speaker) cade. Nella quarta frazione ci riavviciniamo, ma nelle ultime due crolliamo ed arriviamo quinte a 26 secondi. Passano le prime 2 e i 6 migliori tempi: la seconda batteria è più veloce, quindi ci tocca sperare che la sesta rimanga staccata. Lo è, ma non abbastanza: Italia prima delle escluse.

Nella prima batteria maschile, l'Austria va in testa nella prima frazione e il pubblico rimane quasi impassibile, nonostante gli incitamenti dello speaker: li austriaci sono pochissimi. Raramente ho visto una squadra di casa così poco incitata, anche se gli andrà un po' meglio nella finale. L'Italia è nella seconda batteria: lo speaker ha preparato un repertorio di frasi tipiche del telecronista italiano per usarle con Pellegrino, tipo "tutti gli occhi puntati su di lui". Entrambe le batterie vanno come previsto: Norvegia, Svezia e Russia nella prima, Italia, Francia e Finlandia nella seconda.

Speravo di poter vedere sullo schermo il salto della combinata nordica, invece quando finiscono le batterie è già finito. Lo speaker dà solo le prime 4 posizioni (che comprendono l'Austria), per cui devo controllare sul sito per scoprire che l'Italia è 7^ a 1'38". La pausa prima delle finali è breve, una ventina di minuti. Mi viene l'idea di guardare la finale femminile dalla cima della seconda salita, e si rivela una pessima idea: riesco a vedere solo un tratto molto breve. Probabilmente si vedeva di più dalle pendici della salita, ma c'era troppa folla. C'è un silenzio irreale: lo speaker non si sente, il pubblico poco. Dopo l'ultimo passaggio mi sposto per seguire l'arrivo sullo schermo: vedo così la vittoria della Svezia sulla Slovenia.

Torno in tribuna per la finale maschile, ma non trovo più il mio posto: mi piazzo un po' più in alto, in mezzo a un gruppo di tedeschi, che all'inizio sembrano non essersi resi conto che la loro squadra non è in finale. Gara che parte molto tattica, poi si stacca una squadra dopo l'altra: all'ultimo giro rimangono in 6 (le 6 che ho nominato prima), poi 5 quando la Finlandia cade. Quando gli atleti escono dalla vista per l'ultima salita. l'inquadratura è molto stretta: si vedono solo le prime, Norvegia e Russia, e non si capisce cosa succeda dietro. Solo quando sono di nuovo visibili dal vivo, scopro che Pellegrino è terzo, davanti alla Svezia, e lo rimarrà fino alla fine. Ho visto due medaglie italiane!: non potevo sperare di meglio!

L'intervallo prima della combinata nordica è poco meno di un ora. Più della metà lo passo in coda per il pranzo, un hamburger con i roesti di patate al posto del panino, tanto che temo di non fare in tempo. Alla fine ce la faccio, ma mangiando molto in fretta. Ci sono molti più austriaci di prima: stavolta il tifo per a squadra di casa si sente. La gara va com'era prevedibile, visto il risultato del salto: vince la Germania (ma più nettamente del previsto), Norvegia e Austria lottano per il secondo posto e vince la prima, quarto il Giappone, quinta l'Italia.

All'uscita incontro un gruppo di tifose finlandesi, e mi complimento con loro per la passione: sono sempre numerosi, nonostante gli scarsi risultati dei loro rappresentanti. La cosa si nota ancora di più nell'atletica. Sono arrivato alla fine: mi dispiace andarmene, quindi mi fermo un po' nella piazza centrale a seguire il salto sullo schermo. Ve do la prima manche, poi vedendo che la seconda non inizia decido di andare: in ogni caso non mi potrei permettere di fermarmi per le premiazioni.

Ci rivedremo (forse) a Oberstdorf, ma prima c'è Doha e tanti altri eventi interessanti.

Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld - Day 4

Clicca qui per la versione italiana I have chosen to go to watch jumping in Innsbruck, but this time leaving my car at the station. Already around 12.45 I see people going to the hill (the race starts at 14.30). From the station there is a tram every half hour, and I'm lucky to find one about to leave (I had not studied the timetable). There are a few people going to the race, but they are a minority. The crowd who go on foot deceive two Japanese, who get down in advance (I knew the right stop for seeing it yesterday). The panorama is beautiful, first the centre of Innsbruck, then the mountains. After getting down from the tram, in the last stretch towards the gates, I meet a group of Poles and a Japanese family with two young children.

I enter the stadium when trial jumps are halfway. The sector is much fuller than yesterday, but not so much to struggle to find a place. Sectors A to D (I am in C) are almost completely full, those higher up and those on the other side of the hill are almost completely empty. I will later hear that the spectators are 11,000: few, according to the locals. I settle among Austrians, on my right a group with jackets dedicated to the Tyrolean Aschenwald, who will arrive 13th. The most common flag is red and white, similar but not the same as the Austrian one, given at the entrance by a sponsor (a beer). There are also many Germans and Poles, the latter mainly in seats on top: some seem to struggle to stand up, probably for ethyl reasons. Numerous also the Japanese, while the Norwegians are there, but much fewer than the other times, given the concurrence with cross-country (where they made yet another double). I even see a Vatican flag.

It starts, and the first jumps are between 115 and 120 meters. Then comes Colloredo (No. 8) and does not reach 110, despite the cheering in Italian by the speaker. I wonder if he will avoid tlast place, but then there are three disastrous jumps in a row, from 10 to 12, enough to make you think of difficult conditions: one looked decidedly in trouble with the wind. Insam, with 14, goes a bit better, but it soon becomes clear that the qualification is out of reach (will be 41 °), the one after him, a Canadian, makes it clear that making a decent jump is possible: he will be the last to qualify .

After many changes of lead, we arrive at number 36, the Swiss Peier, who I admit not to have heard about before, and he's the big surprise: 131.5 meters, goes ahead and stays there until the end. Then the big ones come down: many seem to be in trouble, but then they always land close to the 130m line. Closes Kobayashi, which goes down very elegantly, the air seems to have no effect on him and also makes the longest jump (133.5m), but the judges do not reward him and closes third. Disappointment for Austrians and Poles, whose best jumpers are 5th and 7th respectively.

In the break the speaker interviews some spectators, including a Belgian (Belgium is represented in cross-country, but not in jumping) and a Norwegian with long elk horns, presumably true. The comment is almost exclusively in German: he only briefly says the result in English. and only for non-German speaking jumpers. It is however much less invasive than in Lahti. In a queue for the toilet, I meet an Estonian with a long beard and hat full of pins, who tells me he had been in Predazzo: of course, when one says "I have been in Italy" one does not think of Predazzo, but if you meet him at a ski jumping competition, it can happen. In the break I also notice that behind the track there are the tripods of the Olympic flames of 1964 and 1976 and a beautiful alpine landscape.

The second run starts with a bang, with 132.5 meters of Kobayashi the less good. The Bulgarian Zogravski also makes a big jump, but he will be disqualified for irregular equipment. We get to the top 10: Stoch rrallies some positions and makes the Poles dream, while the Austrians remain behind. Kobayashi the strong makes another nice jump to see (at least for me, less for the judges), but this time it is also short and remains off the podium. After him the German Eisenbichler shoots 135.5 and it is clear that the race is almost certainly closed. Only the Swiss is left, who fights, but closes third. Podium Germany-Germany-Switzerland, the first without Norwegians.

At the end they invite to stop for the "presentation" ceremony, but few do. At first I think I would, but then I give up for the cold, and thank goodness: I would have risked losing the tram, and there were no others for more than an hour! The tram is not very crowded: there are also snowboarders.

Tomorrow is out of discussion: I go to the cross country stadium, with the pairs' races of cross country and Nordic combined..