The 2014 Olympics in Sochi were an unmitigated disaster for German cross country skiing and biathlon. We look back on why, using our own observations and a 235-page Germany Olympic committee analysis of the country's performance in Sochi. With problems identified, the question becomes: what about now?
Fog blanketed the hillsides of Szklarska Poreba, Poland, as the men of the World Cup lined up for the start of the 15 k. In a field that lacked the esteemed Scandinavian racers, the predictions of who might win were about as unclear as the visibility on course.
Has a team sprint ever been won by a difference of 18 seconds? If so, Dmitriy Japarov and Maxim Vylegzhanin erased all memory of it on Sunday in taking the Sochi team sprint win by exactly that much. The field was stunned — Sweden took second and Germany was third.
FasterSkier contributor Gerry Furseth recently asked a few top European World Cup skiers about their favourite places to race internationally. Of course, there's some bias (since the interviews were done in Canmore), but several athletes didn't hesitate to reveal their top picks.
Maurice Manificat wrapped up the first World Cup period with an impressive win in the men's 30km skiathlon. He was followed by Roland Clara and Sjur Roethe. North Americans Noah Hoffman, Kris Freeman, Ivan Babikov and Graham Nishikawa all factored in the race.
Germany's Tim Tscharnke made a good day into a great one, capturing his first World Cup win (and individual podium) on his birthday in the 15 k classic mass start at the Alberta World Cup in Canmore, Alberta.
For a World Champion like Devon Kershaw, who has hundreds of World Cup starts to his name, there aren’t many personal bests yet to accomplish 10 years into a career. Yet on Saturday in Rybinsk, Russia, he checked another one off the list: his first official World Cup victory. The Canuck skied a smart race in the mass start 15 k freestyle, biding his time in the lead pack and making his move in the...
goatee’d wonder Axel Teichmann. He had his worst points total in ten seasons on the World Cup, finishing in the top five just once before the bronze medal in the relay at World Championships, and ending his season after Oslo. So if the Germans were that bad, how did they finish sixth? It was scoring World Cup points by committee for the red, yellow, and black suits, as 13 men and seven women chipped in....
Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Eldar Roenning, the first two skiers for Norway’s 4x10km relay team sat in the Photo Press Center, eyes glued to one of the many television screens, watching the race unfold. The tension was high – no laughing or joking, not even a smile. Tord Asle Gjerdalen was on track for Norway, and he, along with Sweden’s Anders Soedergren, had just been reeled in by the chase pack. The race was now...
The 2010/2011 Veissmann Tour de Ski is nothing if not draining. Consisting of eight events in ten days in two countries, the fifth edition begins December 31st and runs until January 9th. The Tour begins with a freestyle prologue in Oberhof, Germany, on December 31st, followed by a classic pursuit start on January 1st. The Tour then moves to Oberstorf, Germany, for a sprint on January 2nd, and a pursuit on the 3rd. After a...
Germany Nations Cup Ranking: 6th (4308 pts) Men: 4th (2453 pts) Women: 8th (1855 pts) 2010/2011 A Team Men Tobias Angerer Jens Filbrich Axel Teichmann Tim Tscharnke Women Stefanie Boehler Nicole Fessel Evi-Sachenbacher Stehle Miriam Goessner Katrin Zeller What you may have missed last season: Tim Tscharnke rising to German sprinting domination. The 21 year-old kid with no previous World Cup points cruised onto the circuit and took home over 100 World Cup points, looking...
America took its second win of the weekend in Muonio, with Kris Freeman skiing to a 12-second victory over Tobias Anger of Germany in a 10 k classic race. While Freeman was clearly the big story of the day, the morning actually started off with the women’s 5 k race. With a huge 45-meter climb partway through the course and a mostly downhill finish for the last kilometer or more, it was a fast and...
Falun, Sweden – The sight of Petter Northug (NOR) powering away from the field in the final meters of a race has almost become predictable. The Norwegian star once again used his brutal finishing punch to claim victory in the 20km pursuit, and gain a significant margin in the overall World Cup Finals’ standings. Northug started quickly and won the first intermediate sprint to gain 15 bonus seconds. He then dropped back in the pack,...
With temperatures at Whistler Olympic Park over 50 degrees on Saturday, it was easily warm enough for a bike race. And that was basically what spectators got, as the racing, the strategy, and the cast of characters in the men’s 30 k pursuit could have been lifted straight out of a Tour de France stage. On the shoulders of his Swedish teammates, Marcus Hellner played the role of Lance Armstrong, outkicking a four-strong bunch in...
Entering these 2010 Olympic Games, the top result by a Canadian man was a 14th by the legendary Pierre Harvey in 1988. Ivan Babikov bettered that with an 8th place in the 15km, but the best was yet to come. Pierre Harvey’s son, Alex topped his father’s result, finishing 9th today. And he was the just the third Canadian across the line. Babikov set yet another new record, finishing 5th, and in medal contention until...