Cross Country Skiing - Tour de Ski
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The news was in the air for a couple of days now, a few hours before the start of the prologue in Oberhof, it's official: Justyna Kowalczyk waiver of the Tour de Ski.
Saturday 28 December 2013 3 minutes reading time
The Polish winner of the last four editions of the multistage race for excellence, has not digested the change in plans with respect to the second stage. Originally it would have to play the classic pursuit race Kowalczyk of which would have been the number one favorite, but the prohibitive weather conditions have prevented the organizers from Oberhof to set up a proper ring, and the test was therefore replaced with a sprint free technique, real weak point of the defending champion.
Kowalczyk has thus enacted a skit childish, threatening not to participate in the Tour de Ski whether the new program had been confirmed. The polish was perfectly conscious that this year, even with the original program, would have no chance of success in the presence of a Bjoergen and a Johaug much stronger than her in the free technique, let alone with a friend in the race less. After obtaining the sop, with the organizers have decided to halve the bonus seconds in the two sprint (the original one in Lenzerheide and the "new" Oberhof), Kowalczyk from good unsporting has decided to finally give up the Tour de Ski.
It should be noted that the change of program was not set up to help the Norwegians or to penalize Kowalczyk, but simply because in Oberhof the weather is anything but winter, and the organizers have already made a huge sacrifice to set up a ring of 1,500 meters and sprint prologue.
And so the Tour de Ski loses one of its most anticipated protagonists, however, that absence will not miss anybody because such a character that does not accept losing with dignity (no new episode: last year in the Finals Falun refused to compete in the pursuit final as, torn by Bjoergen, was not interested in a placement), does not deserve a stage as important as that of the Tour de Ski.
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