Finishing 31st in the qualifier on Saturday marks the second time in Bolshunov’s career that he didn’t make it to the heats. The other time was at the sprint in Falun in January 2021. 

In Falun, Bolshunov finished 46th. Saturday wasn’t quite as bad. 

Fellow Russian national team racer Natalia Nepryaeva also didn’t make it to the heats in Dresden on Saturday. Russian Coach Yuri Borodavko considers their disappointing performance as “unexpected.”   

“It’s hard to say why. It could be that we moved from high altitude (in Davos, Switzerland, editor’s note) last weekend to low elevation this weekend. But we will have to watch this,” Borodavko says to R.Sport.  

Racing the team sprint with Gleb Retivykh, the Russians expect more from Bolshunov. 

The Russians also point out that there is no need for panic: Bolshunov is still ranked third in the overall World Cup. 

“I think Bolshunov will perform a lot better in the team sprint. The distance is a bit longer. And there is no need to worry at this point. I think Bolshunov will perform and delight us” says Alexander Panzhinkiy in Tass. 

Panzhinkiy won the silver medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, where his teammate Nikita Kriukov won the gold medal.