Russia (bbabo.net), - The President of the Russian Ski Federation Elena Vyalbe commented on the victory of our team in the women's relay race.
Elena Valerievna, did you think that Yulia Stupak would immediately go into the lead at the first stage?
Elena Vyalbe: I think that in terms of tactics at every stage, everything was excellent. In the relay, if you have the strength to run away, run away.
Tanya Sorina made you nervous?
Elena Vyalbe: I forced her, but the skis didn't go. But here the brand of skis on which she rides has problems. But this is not a service. Servicers make the same ointment for everyone. This company simply does not have skis for the local snow. Even after the classic race, they went to the manufacturer, cursed, but today the problems with the skis were especially noticeable.
Weren't you surprised that the Germans fought with us for gold?
Elena Vyalbe: Firstly, if someone once listened to my interviews, they should have remembered: I said that we would fight with Swedes, Finns, Germans and, possibly, Norwegians. The Norwegians have a failure. I can say that the Germans are going in relay races, they know how to endure so that their breakthrough did not surprise us at all. Today I talked with one coach, I recalled the year 2002, when our team was removed from the relay race: I was there at the stadium and I saw victory on the faces of the Norwegians. In the end, the Germans won.
When did you realize that Veronika Stepanova would definitely "eat" the German skier?
Elena Vyalbe: When they went here together. We didn’t know, maybe the German woman also had a car of strength, and she would run away.
Stepanova started her stage slowly. Was it a tactical moment?
Elena Vyalbe: This is her style. The coaches led each of the athletes, told them when to start working. The girls had all the information. But each has its own. You shout to one: you don’t have to run away, the other - on the contrary. The coach said to Veronica: imagine that you are entering your classic race.
Your ski team is the main gold miner for our team. What do you think about this?
Elena Vyalbe: I'm very worried that snowboard and freestyle weren't enough. But there are objective reasons. I do not divide, skis are not skis. We are all together, we take medals for everyone. We are sailing in the same boat.
bbabo.Net