Cross-country skiing: two Russian Cup victories already
He could have been one of Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo‘s most serious rivals. Like all his Russian compatriots, Alexander Terentev has been banned from events organised by the International Ski Federation (FIS) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, he can only race in his own country.
On Monday, in the Russian Cup, the 25-year-old skier won a classic style sprint in Kirovo-Chepetsk, a town in the Kirov oblast. “ Everything went well, I’m happy,” he told Match TV after the race. His wife Natalia Nepryaeva also took part in the competitions.
It’s not the first time this winter thatAlexander Terentev has won. At the previous stage, in Chusovoy, he had already won on his favourite format, but this time in skating. For his new coach(he has left Yuri Borodavko‘s group), Egor Sorin, this shows that his colt is in good shape. Which hasn’t always been the case.
Back in January, he came down with flu and a high fever. ” And after that, I never got back to my top level,” he confided on his Telegram channel.
His latest successes show that he is back on track. Over the coming weeks, Alexander Terentev would also like to try his hand at longer distances. He hopes to run at least ten longer races. He has discussed this with his coach. ” But the main objective remains to rediscover my sprinting qualities,” he insisted.
Alexander Terentev made his mark at the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival (EYOWF) inErzurum (Turkey) in 2017, where he won bronze, and at the Universiade in Krasnoyarsk (Russia) in 2019, where he returned with a double title. The following year, he finished second in the U23 World Cup. In 2021, he dropped one place and finished third, behind Hugo Lapalus and American Gus Schumacher.
In Lahti (Finland) in 2020, then in Vuokatti (Finland) in 2021, he was also crowned world junior champion. In Ruka (Finland), where he had never raced before, he won the classic sprint that same year, beating the king of the discipline, Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo.
