From TeamToday…. “We had 60 degree days and sunny skies for our training camp in Park City. It was warm… Maybe a little too warm… Leading up to the first races of the year for the Continental Cup team no one wanted to talk about how warm it really is was for that time of year. On Monday of last week we were loading the vans to embark on the first trip of our race...
Editor's Note: WCSN is the only source of full World Cup race coverage available in the US. If you want to watch current events, this is the place to go. They offer a great value for the amount of coverage and is definitely worth checking out. Get all of the early season action in Cross Country and Nordic Combined at WCSN. – Live, On-Demand, and Video Highlights – Results, Photos, News and More – Follow...
Kontiolahti, Finland, November 29. Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK) started the new biathlon season with a big result, ninth place in the Men’s 20K Individual competition. Jeremy Teela Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY) was visibly disappointed with his day at the finish, 49th place with three penalties, 4:49.8 back. Through the first two stages of the race, Burke was in fifth position, before missing a prone shot in the third stage and then capping the afternoon...
Writes USST Head Coach Pete Vordenberg – “We are fighting the gungus here in Beitostolen. Our training, testing and time trials going into the winter have shown that we are fitter than ever. However it is plain that our transition to Europe could have been carried out better. We are tired out and fighting off a cold. We have no excuses. We tried hard, raced as fast as we could on the day and came...
The FIS Doping Panel issued its decisions in the cases of Austrian Cross-Country skiers Roland Diethard, Johannes Eder, and Martin Tauber, who were found to have committed anti-doping rule violations at the XX Olympic Winter Games in Torino in 2006. The allegations raised against the athlete Juergen Pinter were dismissed since they were not found to meet the standard of proof required to sanction the athlete according to the FIS Anti-Doping Rules. However, the Panel...
This has been a weird year for weather, and the fall has certainly been no exception, with the longest-running Indian summer here in Northern New Mexico, and pretty much nationwide, that I have experienced in my lifetime. With only a few days being the exception, I could have been in shorts riding mountain single track on my bike (usually the first activity to go with the onset of fall/winter weather) right up to Thanksgiving. Colorado...
Olympic and World champion Thomas Alsgaard has decided to make a comeback in the long distance FIS Marathon Cup. This makes him a teammate of Frode Estil, who is also racing for Team FAST this year, and a competitor of former teammate Anders Aukland, who skis for Team Xtra. Frode Pedersen wouldn’t be surprised to see Alsgaard mix it up this winter? “Ja, why not? The foremost benefit for us is simply to have Thomas...
Toko race wax tips are different from wax tips offered from other companies. We have a network of trained waxing professionals from the Toko Tech Team, Team Rossignol, and other sponsored athletes collaborating, testing, researching, and finalizing race wax tips throughout the country. Each wax tip takes into consideration not only weather forecast and snow type, but also local wisdom which makes a huge difference. In a classic race, if the course has some steep...
Kontiolahti, Finland, November 27. The US Biathlon team kicks off its 2007-2008 Biathlon World Cup season here in two days. For the first time in several years, the season will open under excellent conditions. Recent years have left northern and central Europe with virtually no snow and unseasonably warm temperatures in November and December. This year is the exception; Central Europe received heavy snowfall several weeks ago and continues to add to the totals almost...
The new World Anti-Doping Code was approved by the sports movement and governments of the world at the World Conference on Doping in Sport in Madrid (SPA) last week. The Foundation Board of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) unanimously ratified the revisions to enhance the Code on Saturday. During a full day of interventions on the Code by public authorities and the sports movement on Friday 16th November, the underlying position was clearly in support...
Right to Play's mission is to improve the lives of children in the most disadvantaged areas of the world by using the power of sport and play for development, health and peace. It is now possible to support the work of the international, humanitarian organization Right To Play by taking part in popular cross-country races belonging to the Worldloppet series. Worldloppet organizers have very generously donated Right To Play starting places in many of the...
Cross Country Canada and Norweigan Steinar Mundal have mutually agreed to discontinue Steinar’s coaching services effective Nov.18. Writes CCC “we appreciate the significant contribution that Steinar has made to our National Ski Team program since May of this year.” A replacement coach with World Cup experience is being sought, firstly on an interim basis, for the remainder of the 2007-08 season, and secondly for the period leading up to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Mundal...
Seattle, WA (July 9, 2007) — After celebrating its 100-year anniversary with the introduction of a lauded Nordic boot line, Madshus, the world’s oldest ski manufacturer, continues its success with new models for 2007-2008. With 38 models, the Madshus boot line extends from World Cup-winning Hyper and Athena race boots through the citizen racing Race Performance and Metis, men’s and women’s recreational touring NX, Backcountry and Junior series boots, achieving new heights of performance, comfort...
What's the one thing you are really nagging the skiers on right now? Right now, I’m really focusing on technique while also working strength. We’re doing a lot of double-poling, no-poles skiing and pull-ups. We also do a fair amount of speed and coordination work. I can’t absolutely say that doing agility drills and speed-work will make my skiers faster, but I can hope that when they play pick-up ultimate in college they won’t embarrass...
In the men's 4x10km relay it was all Norway with Norway II edging Norway I in the final sprint. Tor Arne Hetland edged Tord Asle Gjerdalen by .4 seconds in the final stretch. Norway I led the entire race until the final leg, building a 12 second lead at the second hand-off. But Tore Ruud Hofstad was able to close the gap and bringing Norway II even heading into the anchor leg. Russia I finished...
Yesterday's article on the SuperTour Sprint in West Yellowstone incorrectly named Laura Valaas as last year's SuperTour Champion. Caitlin Compton was the overall winner in 2006-2007. Laura was the Sprint Champion. Our apologies to Caitlin.
West Yellowstone, MT – Kristina Strandberg (Factory Team) skied away from the field, winning by 50 seconds over last year's SuperTour Sprint Champion Laura Valaas (USST/APUNSC). Polina Ermoshina, skiing for the UNiversity of New Mexico was third .2 seconds behind Valaas. Lindsey Williams (USST/NMU) was another .9 seconds back in 4th. Conditions were excellent – cold temperatures and a firm track resulted in relatively straightforward waxing. The course was held on a roughly 4+ kilometer...
The first distance race of the season was held yesterday in Beitostolen, Norway. Axel Teichmann of Germany won the men's 15km freestyle and Norway's Marit Bjoergen paced the field in the women's 10km event. Teichmann, the World Champion from Sapporo in the Pursuit race, took home his 7th World Cup victory, finishing 6.3 seconds ahead Lukas Bauer of the Czech Republic. Teichmann pulled out the win with a very strong last kilometer. Anders Soedergren of...