Three stages of the World Cup were held this season. The season started in mid-July with the first stage in Madona, then continued in Kazakhstan in mid-August and now ended in September in Italy with the third stage as part of the world championship. A large number of athletes participated in two or one stage, while some competed in all three.
Raimo Vigants participated in all three, showing a very good performance throughout the summer and winning one individual victory in each of the stages. Wiegants won all the victories in the mass start distance in freestyle, showing very good tactics and excellent finishing qualities. Raimo became the leader after the Madonna stage and remained in first place until the end of the season, earning 764 points and 91 points ahead of the closest follower – 2021 Cup winner Matteo Tanella from Italy. Thus, Tanel is second for the third year in a row.
Raimo Vigants, the two-time world champion in roller skiing, had previously won second and two third places, becoming the cup winner for the first time. Last year he did not start in all stages, taking 9th place. Niks Saulītis, who started in Kazakhstan together with Vīgant, took 12th place with 372 points, but 15 points less and 13th place more than the world champion in team sprint Lauris Kaparkalej, who participated in two stages, among 100 participants.
In the junior competition, with starts in two stages and very good results in sprints, where she won a victory in Madona, and won a bronze at the world championship in Italy, Linda Kaparkalėja was able to squeeze into the top six with 392 points. Kitija Auziņa would definitely enter the top six in the adult competition, if she had been able to go with Vigant and Saulītis to the Kazakhstan stage. With starts in two stages and 402 points, Auziņa was still in the top ten with 9th place out of more than sixty participants.
Dāvis Kalniņš entered the top ten for junior boys, who was only two points short of being among the top six, just like Kaparkalėja. Kalniņas with 433 points and two awarded places in the Madona stage finished in 7th place. Bruno Bilans and Indriķis Circens ranked right behind the top ten out of 120 participants, also with starts in two stages, thus achieving the same as in the adult competition, namely the representation of three Latvian roller skiers in the Top15.
2024-09-19 15:05:24