Nordic World Championships - Men's Relay
The men's 4 x 10km relay was the stunning race everyone expected - and for which the host Germans hoped. The big-time relays almost always include something bizarre or amazing, from equipment failures to a famous moment in the 2002 Olympic relay, when the two leaders briefly stopped at the top of the final hill to argue about who would descend first and who would take the second spot, from which a final charge to the line would be easier to mount.
As usual, the first leg of the 2004 men's relay was a big shake-out, with Norway, Russia, Italy, and Germany separating themselves into a leading pack. On the second leg, Norway and Russia started to pull away, putting nearly a minute into third-place Italyafter two legs and 20km of racing. (At this midpoint of the race, the skiers switch from classical to freestyle technique.) On the third leg, Norway and Russia stayed way off the front, but the race for third tightened, with Italy slipping back and Germany and France coming up.
The fourth and final leg of the race was where the real action commenced. Norway's anchorman, Torre Ruud Hofstad, had a 2.7-second lead over Russia as he started his leg of the race; the Russian Nikolai Bolchakov in turn had 53 seconds on Italy and 1:32 on Germany. But as Hofstad extended his first-place lead, German anchorman Axel Teichmann went wild behind him, catching not only the Italian skier in the bronze-medal spot but also outsprinting Bolchakov for the silver. With a few more kilometers, Teichmann might have even caught Hofstad, who finished just 18 seconds ahead of the German. As it was, Teichmann's medal-stealing performance clocked in at 23:41 - one of only two sub-24-minute legs on the day and a pace of 15.7 mph.
(Full coverage on Yahoo!, the Oberstdorf championships website, and Eurosport.)
Friday's big events at the championships are the men's and women's team sprints and ski-jumping on the large hill.
As usual, the first leg of the 2004 men's relay was a big shake-out, with Norway, Russia, Italy, and Germany separating themselves into a leading pack. On the second leg, Norway and Russia started to pull away, putting nearly a minute into third-place Italyafter two legs and 20km of racing. (At this midpoint of the race, the skiers switch from classical to freestyle technique.) On the third leg, Norway and Russia stayed way off the front, but the race for third tightened, with Italy slipping back and Germany and France coming up.
The fourth and final leg of the race was where the real action commenced. Norway's anchorman, Torre Ruud Hofstad, had a 2.7-second lead over Russia as he started his leg of the race; the Russian Nikolai Bolchakov in turn had 53 seconds on Italy and 1:32 on Germany. But as Hofstad extended his first-place lead, German anchorman Axel Teichmann went wild behind him, catching not only the Italian skier in the bronze-medal spot but also outsprinting Bolchakov for the silver. With a few more kilometers, Teichmann might have even caught Hofstad, who finished just 18 seconds ahead of the German. As it was, Teichmann's medal-stealing performance clocked in at 23:41 - one of only two sub-24-minute legs on the day and a pace of 15.7 mph.
(Full coverage on Yahoo!, the Oberstdorf championships website, and Eurosport.)
Friday's big events at the championships are the men's and women's team sprints and ski-jumping on the large hill.
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