Team 23: The Bulgarians!

Bulgaria Preview

Nations Cup Ranking: 23^rd (10 pts)

Men: 21^st (10 pt)

Women: N/A

2010/2011 World Cup Team

Men

Ivan Burgov

Stanimir Belomajev

Veselin Tzinzov

Women

Antonia Grigorova-Burgova

Teodora Maltcheva

What you may have missed last season:

Veselin Tzinzov was the only Bulgarian to score points, and his 10 came from one stop. Not to take anything away from his achievement (the majority of the FasterSkier staff admit that they would struggle to score points on the World Cup), but he scored all of those points at the World Cup in Rybinsk, Russia, at a race that could hardly be called competitive. In the 30 k Pursuit, where he finished 21^st (or dead last by three minutes, depending on how you look at it) all you had to do to pick up World Cup points was finish the race.

In non-skiing news, Ivan Burgov and Antonia Girgorova-Burgova got married! What, you haven’t been keeping up with your Bulgarian National Team gossip?!?

We’re assuming this means they both spent countless hours training this summer, and are going to be ready to throw down in Gallivaere, Sweden, at the first World Cup event this season.

Want to give the Bulgarians some love? Leave Antonia Grigorova-Burgova a message here! Make sure you have the ‘Bulgarian’ language feature enabled on your browser…

What You Should Know For This Season

The Bulgarians apparently LOVE rollerski racing without helmets with some pretty wild starts. As far as we know, no Bulgarian National Team members were injured during the filming of this video.

At the rollerski Siven Cup – which is the largest rollerski race in Bulgaria – there were over 100 competitors, including the entire Bulgarian National Team. Veselin Tzinzov won, ahead of some non-slouch competition (mostly Russians), so he must be in great shape.

Who You Should Watch

Antonia Grigorova-Burgova has a solid track record of racing World Cups and Alpen Cups, and in 2009 she had a Top 20 at World Juniors in Praz de Lys. At 24, she is still learning and improving, and while she won’t be edging out Justyna Kowalczyk or Marit Bjoergen in the race for the Crystal Globe, she might see some success.