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British skier Andrew Musgrave has just won the Norwegian XC ski champs, leaving a host of World Cup and World Championship winners in his wake. This is quite a big thing.
http://www.nrk.no/sport/vil-gi-britene-en-ny-skiyndling-1.11477976
http://www.nrk.no/sport/musgrave-vant-nm-sprinten-1.11477246
Not that big by the looks of things....
How do you mean? That the UK media isn't covering it? I think that says more about the UK media than about how major this is.
How come the Norwegians call him Scottish, but you changed it to British?
If it were as big a deal as you say (to people in the UK) it would receive more coverage.
I'm sure it's a great achievement. But it would generate its own column inches if it were a bigger deal.
aracer - Member
How do you mean? That the UK media isn't covering it? I think that says more about the UK media than about how major this is.
Because it's a "big thing" in the world of XC skiing. Which, in this country, makes it a very small thing
British Nordic Ski team call him British, he was also born in England so that avoids any controversy over the issue.
As I say, it says more about British media than the scale of the achievement - doubtless back page news and featured on TV in countries which actually care about XC skiing. There's an Olympic medal in this discipline next month after all, which I think makes it a big thing in its own right whether or not some bloke down the pub in London town cares.
loddrik, aren't you a little ray of sunshine these days?
😐
If a UK rider wins an mtb event, it barely registers on the nations consciousness, outside of mtb circles. And look at the participation numbers of mtb riders vs cross country skiers in this country.
It really isn't going to register really is it?
Not denigrating it as an achievement. But it is as niche a sport as its possible to get in this country.
It really isn't going to register really is it?
Well it's highlighted on the BBC sport homepage...
Is it as big a thing as all those british world champion mtb downhillers that you never see in the news?
It's a big thing in Norway. Hence it's a big thing. As he says, it's the next biggest race after World Cups. Whether it registers in the UK is irrelevant.
When did a UK rider last win a major international MTB event in an Olympic discipline?
[quote=loddrik ]Not denigrating it as an achievement. But it is as niche a sport as its possible to get in this country.
Hint - it's not in this country.
Why not? As pointed out, it is a winter Olympics year, so one of ours winning an event which would be used as preparation by the majority of the elite athletes is a pretty big thing.It really isn't going to register really is it?
Just hope he hasn't peaked too early.
[quote=loddrik ]If it were as big a deal as you say (to people in the UK) it would receive more coverage.
You're right. Oh look:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/winter-olympics/25780083
Not denigrating it as an achievement. But it is as niche a sport as its possible to get in this country.
Are you aware that there is a "rest of the world" as well as this country? I'm not sure that bigness of things can only be defined by profile in one small country.
It's a shame when the Winter Olympics is coming up that it's not made more prominent to help promote athletes competing in that.
It's a shame when the Winter Olympics is coming up that it's not made more prominent to help promote athletes competing in that.
Indeed. If only good news such as this made, oh, I dunno, the front page of the BBC Sport website...
😉
aracer - Member
British Nordic Ski team call him British, he was also born in England so that avoids any controversy over the issue.
Eh? He could still be Scottish.
is he competing in the Olympics?
I think he might just scrape into the British team for that
bokonon - Member
How come the Norwegians call him Scottish, but you changed it to British?
What a strange question! They are not mutually exclusive and (critically) he won. Simples!
Well done Andrew!
aracer - Member
British Nordic Ski team call him British, he was also born in England so that avoids any controversy over the issue.
Eh? He could still be Scottish.
Doesn't matter where he's from if he wins at the Olympics he'll be British, if not, Scottish.
Exactly prawny!
THM: think about it, unless you are trolling.
Doesn't matter where he's from if he wins at the Olympics he'll be British, if not, Scottish.
He isn't Scottish.
Are you aware that there is a "rest of the world" as well as this country? I'm not sure that bigness of things can only be defined by profile in one small country.
But this is about coverage and recognition in this, his home country isn't it?
Of course it will be a big deal in other countries.
What proportion of people in this country are likely to take up xc skiing??? I certainly can't it up in Liverpool. Maybe Northern Scotland. It's going to be pretty cost prohibitive for the 'man on the street'.
What proportion of people in this country are likely to take up xc skiing??? I certainly can't it up in Liverpool. Maybe Northern Scotland. It's going to be pretty cost prohibitive for the 'man on the street'.
I believe there are several people in the UK who manage to scrape together the funds to go on skiing holidays.
Drac - Moderator
Doesn't matter where he's from if he wins at the Olympics he'll be British, if not, Scottish.
He isn't Scottish
How do you know this?
Because he was born is Dorset.
Linford Christie was born in Jamaica
But this is about coverage and recognition in this, his home country isn't it?
No
😆Linford Christie was born in Jamaica
@acer thanks for the heads up on this, indeed good news. I'm just stunned at the negativity here. You might have had better luck mind in the skiing / snowboard forum
Before too many here get negative on xc skiing and racing its a lot lot bigger sport than mountain biking.
I believe there are several people in the UK who manage to scrape together the funds to go on skiing holidays.
I certainly can't, and certainly not on a regular basis where it would enable me to get to a level of competence where I were able to compete. It's going to require a little more than a week in Livigno every year.... 😕
Before too many here get negative on xc skiing and racing its a lot lot bigger sport than mountain biking.
In countries with the right conditions maybe. Certainly not in the uk.
Before too many here get negative on xc skiing and racing its a lot lot bigger sport than mountain biking.
No, no it's not, because it's not massive in Britain, which is the definition we have to use - Loddrik said so.
.
cynic-al - Member
THM: think about it, unless you are trolling.
Its Friday afternoon - SOH required. The chips cant be that big or that ingrained, blimey.
But if they are, the address to "points of view" is PoV@BBC.Com, since they are as bad...
[b]British [/b]cross-country skier Andrew Musgrave stunned his Norwegian rivals [b]by winning[/b] their national sprint freestyle race in Lillehammer. Though ineligible for gold as a foreign entrant,[b] the Scot[/b], 23, beat a field packed with skiers fighting for places on Norway's world-leading Olympic team.
Och, its a disgrace I tell you!
It made the BBC, so not that bad and bloody good effort from the Brit! 😉
At least, the Beeb were better with the preview of the Murray match:
Asked how he would go about ending his run of defeats against the Scottish number one, Lopez added: "It's tough to say what I really need to do to beat Andy.
I don't understand the thread title ? 😕
I don't understand the thread title ?
It's a translation of the original Norwegian article's headline.
Well done to Andrew on his victory. I don't know if xc racing is bigger as a sport on skis or on bikes. What I do know is that the gear they dress up in make both set of participants look ridiculous.
I don't understand the thread title ?
It's a translation of the original Norwegian article's headline.
I got that, I just don't understand what it means 🙂
The biathlon is good viewing when they show it, xc skiing and shooting combined
neal, perhaps you are too young to remember our past [s]English[/s] British winter sports glories?
oh to be fit enough to be a good biathlete
I got that, I just don't understand what it means
That Britain or is that Scotland; don't want to upset anyone; is shit at Skiing events and we haven't had a win since Eddie didn't win. So now we have something to be proud about our Skiers.
What size were his skis? 26,27.5 or 29?
The left one was 26 and the right one 29. Makes going round corners easier as the courses always go anti-clockwise. Apparently, this year some are going for two 27.5 as some form of compromise. I wonder if it will catch on.
Obviously the opposite way round if skiing in the S hemisphere.
neal, perhaps you are too young to remember our past English British winter sports glories?
I skied with Eddie a couple of times 😉
I just don't understand what they are getting at.
Eddie was a household name "at the time" he was in all the papers, on the news, everyone knew who he was.
I can't translate, but is it irony? Eddie made the headlines for coming last (heroically). Andrew, does the best of British, and beats them on their home turf and no one knows about it/who he is??
(As they used to say on Tomorrow's World) that is until now!!!
Eddie was a household name "at the time" he was in all the papers, on the news, everyone knew who he was.
Yup that's exactly it he was our skiing hero and now we have a new one, forgetting the female ski jumper of course.
I'll have one last try before leaving you to your perspective which doesn't extend beyond these shores...
[quote=loddrik]But this is about coverage and recognition in this, his home country isn't it?
Actually no, it's not. What I wrote was "this is quite a big thing" which was actually remarkably low key of me. I didn't suggest it was a big thing in the UK, and what I was alluding to is that it's quite a big thing in the world of sport. XC skiing being a vary major sport outside these shores - big enough to have 6 times as many Olympic medals as mountain biking, more than double that if you include biathlon and nordic combined (to make a total more than all cycling disciplines together). It's the national sport in Norway. Biathlon regularly gets higher TV viewing figures in Germany than football. In global terms it's a far more major sport than mountain biking, let alone DH MTB. Your parochial views aren't really wanted here.
Regarding the cost, XC skiing is actually a lot cheaper to do than alpine skiing. What's more you can and plenty of people do train for it in this country using roller skis - good enough training for a bimbling amateur like me to finish well in the top half of a ski marathon despite not having been on snow for almost a year until a couple of days before. Lots of people taking that up who've never been on snow - though I suppose you're probably right about it not being possible in Liverpool as they'd steal your wheels.
neal - title is google auto-translate of Norwegian headline - I thought it amusing and likely to get more people clicking than if I wrote something more bland. I think a better translation is 'Now they can forget "Eddie the Eagle"' - the point being that he is our most famous skier, and the suggestion being that might be about to change.
The win is covered in the Guardian [url= http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jan/17/andrew-musgrave-winter-olympics-win-norway ]link[/url]
FWIW I used to ski with a company run by an ex-Marine who skied for GB at the Sarajevo games, he was reserve for DH but skied the xc as he had trained for that too. I was surprised at how technical it was (pre skating) the wax on skis was built up in layers according to the course gradients uphill/flat/downhill and designed to wear off to show correct layer at correct time. As per DH the wax used was selected on temperature of snow and quite sensitive.
As for the trolls saying you cannot do it in UK a mate of mine trained for some Scandinavian dawn to dusk race pretty much exclusively on roller skis here in the UK. He'd never done xc before and it was for a bet. He enjoyed it so much he raced it a second time.
though I suppose you're probably right about it not being possible in Liverpool as they'd steal your wheels.
😯
Wow!! Just wow...
Were you laughing as you were typing this..?
No, but I am now 😆
This is great, and well done to the lad. I love XC skiing.
However, as a dig at the sports press and sports fans NOT this skier: if it had been a certain other sport popular around here, we'd all be disbelieving it and blaming something else....
....google translate..... I think a better translation is 'Now they can forget "Eddie the Eagle"'
Ah, now that makes a lot more sense !
Cheers.
And well done too to Lizzy Yarnold on her fourth World Cup medal in the skeleton - and not even a hint of her English nationality in the reports. It's a disgrace I tell you!!!!!! 😉
Let's have some recognition for some more minority sports that don't get the coverage they deserve.
http://www.etwa.org/results.html
OK so to quickly summarise- it's entirely possible for an achievement in a field to be a massive thing in that field, while still simultaneously being of very little interest to other people. One is not a comment on the other. It can be a very big, very uninteresting, very ignored deal.
It is just an extension of the fact that some people get massive salaries and public visibility and respect for kicking a ball around (for example) but the country's best surgeons don't get to be on the back page every day for saving people's lives or limbs (for example). Whether your particular game wins olympic medals seems to be the least of all that.