Bolshunov unexpectedly withdrew from the Russian Cup stage. What happened to the titled skier?

The next season for the titled Russian skier Alexander Bolshunov is not going too well so far. There are no victories, but there are plenty of scandals. Before the start of the next stage of the Russian Cup in Kirovo-Chepetsk, the three-time Olympic champion unexpectedly withdrew.

What happened to Alexander?

Fan hypotheses

From December 26 to 28, the fifth stage of the PhosAgro Russian Cup in cross-country skiing is taking place in Kirovo-Chepetsk. The men’s sprint final will take place on Saturday, where fans really wanted to see one of the most famous active skiers on the planet, Alexander Bolshunov, in action. But, unfortunately, the three-time Olympic champion did not start, which became known just before the start of the stage.

“Sasha Bolshunov, unfortunately, will not perform at the Russian Cup in Kirovo-Chepetsk,” wrote Match TV journalist Andrei Romanov on the Telegram channel.

Having learned the news about Bolshunov skipping the stage, ski racing fans began to put forward a variety of hypotheses to explain Alexander’s absence. Tired, sick, offended by journalists? Maybe he doesn’t want to see the “voice of biathlon” who went to the stage in Kirovo-Chepetsk?

Savely Korostelev and Alexander Bolshunov / Photo: © Russian Ski Federation

“Stayed at home”

Bolshunov’s season has really been difficult so far. There are podiums, but there have been no victories at the Russian Cup stages yet. At the same time, there were enough, if not scandals, then, to put it mildly, not the most pleasant episodes. Conflict with Alexander Bakurov in the finishing area and subsequent disqualification. Attacks on rivals from Yegor Sorin’s group, altercation with a Match TV journalist. As a bonus, biathlete Kristina Reztsova said on the air of the “Biathlon with Dmitry Guberniev” program that Alexander is not very polite and does not greet his colleagues.

Given all the accompanying circumstances, is it any wonder that fans were ready to see something global in Bolshunov’s skipping the stage, even to the point of boycotting tournaments? But no, everything turned out to be much more prosaic. The head coach of the Russian cross-country skiing team, Yuri Borodavko, told what really happened to the Russian skier.

— Alexander fell ill after Izhevsk and stayed at home. Apparently, it’s the flu, like many athletes. He interacted with fans a lot, so maybe he picked it up there. I hope that he will soon return to duty,” Soviet Sport quotes Borodavko.

Let’s hope that Bolshunov will really recover soon and return to competition. Unfortunately, Alexander is not going to have the Olympics this season, but there are still plenty of Russian Cup stages ahead. In Kazan, Syktyvkar, Apatity and Kirovsk, fans are eager to see one of the most popular skiers on the planet live. And in Kirovo-Chepetsk, ski racing fans will be pleased with other strong athletes.

Watch PhosAgro’s live broadcasts of the Russian Ski Cup on the TV channels of the Match group, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.