All-Russian competitions in winter sports started - this is an alternative tournament, in which members of the Russian national team are not admitted to Pchenkhan. Just after the scandalous removal of our athletes from the Winter Olympics of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and announced the holding of these starts.

They will be held in five cities and stretch for a month and a half. During this time in the alternative battles will converge 920 skiers, biathletes, bobsledder, skeletonists, skaters and short track-players.

They will fight for a solid reward, which is not inferior to that received by the Olympic champions from Russia. Each winner can win up to 4 million rubles. No less solid and the composition of the participants: the leaders of the season, 8 "gold" medalists of the Games in Sochi and 18 prize-winners.

Meanwhile, even on February 24 in the village of Kononovskaya, the Arkhangelsk region, in the sports complex "Malinovka" started the competitions in cross-country skiing. They will last until March 3. Behind the race are 15 km for men and 10 km for women and individual sprints. In the first - gold from Artem Maltsev, followed by Maxim Vylegzhanin. Alexander Legkov came only 20-m.

The leader of the sprint was removed from the last Olympics Gleb Retivyh, bypassing the participant in the Games in Phenchkhan Alexander Panzhinsky. But the star of the sprint team of Russia Nikita Kryukov is located only on the 8th line.

In women, gold and silver were taken by Natalia Matveeva and Yevgeny Shapovalov respectively. Ahead of the fans expect a ski and mass start.

Bobsleysts and skeletonists will take the baton on March 20. Within 6 days they will compete on the Olympic track in Sochi. The program is similar to the Olympic program: competitions for two men and women, four for men and a skeleton for men and women.

Among the favorites - Alexander Tretyakov and Elena Nikitina (prize-winners of Sochi), Maria Orlova and Olga Potylitsyna, as well as the neutralized IOC bobsledder Alexander Kasyanov.

In parallel (March 23-25) in Kolomna skaters will perform. The program is almost identical to the Olympic program, unless there will be a pursuit race. Competitions are called the only ones where it becomes clear whether the excluded Russians could claim medals.

Among them are the world record holder Denis Yuskov, the world champion Pavel Kulizhnikov, the winner of the World Cup stages Alexander Rumyantsev, one of the leaders of the season Ekaterina Shikhova, who missed the Games by mistake of the IOC or OCD Sergey Gryaztsov, silver prizewinner of Sochi Olga Fatkulina, and also refused to participate in the past Olympics Olga Graf One of the main intrigues is biathlon. All participants are members of the Russian national team suspended by the IOC. Anton Shipulin and Alexei Volkov - Olympic champions of Sochi. In addition, Shipulin is a prize-winner of the World Cup 2017/18.

The alternative games in St. Petersburg will end with a short track. Competitions will be held from March 29 to April 1. Among the main contenders for the victory - Victor An, Vladimir Grigoriev, Eugene Zakharov, Denis Hayrapetyan and Artem Kozlov. All of them, especially the six-time Olympic champion An, could compete for Olympic medals of different dignity.

In general, the next six weeks for Russian sports fans will be saturated. True, how to monitor alternate starts is not yet clear. Apparently, Russian television ignores this competition.