This season, the US Biathlon Association (USBA) hired on two new coaches; 47-year-old Armin Auchentaller from Italy and Germany’s 42-year-old Michael Greis. Auchentaller’s primary duties are with the women’s team whereas Greis will focus on the men. The U.S. team comes off the retirements of two of its steady-stars; Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke. (Burke […]
A Sovereign Lake NorAm/SuperTour Weekend Rundown
For the third consecutive year, the SuperTour and NorAm series met up at Sovereign Lake near Vernon, BC, for a combined race weekend of skate sprints and classic interval starts. Over 450 athletes competed each day in four age groups. According to many attendees, combining the two Continental Cup series was an unqualified success. While […]
Hop on Board; Technical Delegates Needed
This article comes from Alan Watson, a certified TD and head of the cross-country section of the Pacific Northwest Ski Association (PNSA). Here’s the straight and simple request: U.S. Ski and Snowboard needs Technical Delegates (TD). Before we go any further, let’s give a brief rundown of what that means. U.S. Ski and […]
O% Expectation and 100% Focus; Clare Egan Finds her Way in Pokljuka, Slovenia
Over the weekend in Pokljuka, Slovenia U.S. Biathlon’s Clare Egan marked a breakthrough. During the IBU World Cup’s 10-kilometer pursuit on Sunday, with a single shooting penalty, Egan placed sixth (+1:22.4, 0+0+1+0). She also raced the fastest time for the ski portion of the race. Kaisa Mäkäräinen of Finland won the race in a […]
Norway Unstoppable for the win in Women’s 4 x 5 k Relay; U.S. 5th
For Norway, relays are often tallied not by wins, but how many wins have been missed. Back in 2009, Team Norway watched on as Team Sweden took the top spot of the podium for the women’s 4 x 5-kilometer relay event in Beitostølen, Norway. In the nine years after that second place finish in Beitostølen, […]
Norway Holds Off Russia for Another Relay Win; Americans in 12th
As Emil Iversen took command of the field from the gun during the men’s relay in Beitostølen, Norway, striding smoothly up the first climb in the lead, the question quickly became, can anyone take down Norway? The team of Iversen, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Sjur Røthe, and Finn Hågen Krogh must have liked their odds. Norway […]
Sunday Rundown: Beitostølen, Pokljuka (Biathlon), and Sovereign Lake (Update 4x)
FIS World Cup Beitostølen, Norway 4 x 5 k / 4 x 7.5 k Relay Sunday in Beitostølen, Norway the women raced a 4 x 5-kilometer relay on firm tracks and under partly cloudy skies — Saturday’s races featured fresh snowfall. Norway I took the win in a total time of 57:23.6 minutes. In order […]
Røthe Beats Sundby in Beitostølen; Harvey 13th
It snowed continuously throughout today’s 30-kilometer freestyle individual Start in Beitostølen, Norway. There was already a great deal of accumulation on the race course by the time the men started. This made the already challenging distance race even more grueling as the fresh snow created more resistance for skiers. Norway took the top two spots […]
Johaug Wins in Beitostølen; Diggins Eighth, Bjornsen 13th, Brennan 15th
“I feel like the shape was really good today,” Norway’s Therese Johaug told the International Ski Federation (FIS) after Saturday’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start race in Beitostølen, Norway. On a day when winter felt like winter, snow fell throughout the race and temperatures hovered around 20 degrees Fahrenheit, Johaug’s shape was never in doubt. […]
Saturday Rundown: Beitostølen, Pokljuka (Biathlon), and Sovereign Lake (Updated 4 x)
FIS World Cup Beitostolen, Norway 15 k/30k Freestyle Individual Start Women’s Race Report | Men’s Race Report With snow falling and trees covered with fresh snow, Beitostølen, Norway’s wintery essence was on full display during the women’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start on Saturday. Keeping her distance win-streak alive was Norway’s Therese Johaug who won her fourth […]
Friday Biathlon Race Rundown from Pokljuka, Slovenia
IBU World Cup Pokljuka, Slovenia Men’s 10-kilometer Sprint The men’s 10-kilometer sprint in Pokljuka, Slovenia was won today by Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø in a time of 23:46.3 minutes. During the two shooting stages, Bø skied a single penalty lap after missing one shot while standing. Bø led the race from beginning to end, marking […]
John Lazenby: Through the Lens
Here at FasterSkier, the primacy of the written word is often emphasized. We remain text driven, but we have delved into videos to help our readership learn more about the sport and of course, we rely on the eyes and vision of sport photographers to deliver visual stories in a way words simply cannot. […]
Thursday Race Rundown: Individual Biathlon Races from Pokljuka, Slovenia (Updated)
IBU World Cup Pokljuka, Slovenia 20 k/15k Individual Not the least of the myriad variables affecting biathlon races, fickle weather has played games in Pokljuka, Slovenia, site of the first round on the IBU World Cup. The men’s 20-kilometer individual race was originally scheduled for Wednesday, but was postponed to Thursday due to fog. For each missed […]
Wednesday Workout: Hitting the Trails with U.S. Para-Nordic and Head Coach Martin Benes
For this week’s Wednesday Workout, FasterSkier reached out to Martin Benes, the newest addition to the U.S. Para-Nordic coaching staff. Benes joined U.S. Para-Nordic this August, after five years working as the nordic skiing director and head coach at Sugar Bowl Academy in Norden, California. He is still currently living in California. Benes’s primary work […]
IBU Brings Doping Cases Against Four Russian Biathletes
On November 30, The International Biathlon Union (IBU) announced in a press release that it had began proceedings against four Russian biathletes accused of violating anit-doping rules. Evgeny Ustyugov, Svetlana Sleptsova, Alexander Pechenkin and Alexander Chernysev were the athletes named. Pechenkin is the only active athlete among the four, and he was provisionally suspended from […]
Tønseth Bests Røthe to Lock Up Lillehammer Pursuit Win; Harvey 16th
In sport, there’s the win and then there’s the story behind the win. In the sport of nordic skiing, some of these stories seem all too familiar, such as Sunday’s Norwegian victory in the men’s 15-kilometer classic pursuit. But even among the Norwegians in the sport of cross-country skiing, there are idiosyncrasies to the success. […]
Johaug’s Wins Lillehammer Overall; Bjornsen 10th
Here’s a sentence we might see routinely this season as the World Cup distance races transpire. Norway’s Therese Johaug wins again! In Sunday’s 10-kilometer classic pursuit race in Lillehammer, Norway, Johaug set an unmatched pace to win her second race of the weekend and the overall in Lillehammer’s three-race series. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla lead off […]
Sunday Rundown: From Lillehammer to West Yellowstone to Pokljuka (Updated 2x)
FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Lillehammer Norway: 10 k/ 15 k Classic Pursuit On Sunday, the third and final day of racing in Lillehammer, Norway concluded with a 10-kilometer classic pursuit for the women. A win is a win, and Norway’s Therese Johaug, took the day and her second victory in as many days when […]
Norway’s Røthe and Tønseth Gap the Field; Difficult Day for North Americans
Norway shined on their home course in Lillehammer, Norway with Sjur Røthe posting the fastest time of 36:3.0 minutes in the 15-kilometer individual start freestyle, followed closely by teammate Didrik Tønseth (+6.0). The Norwegians claimed six of the top-ten spots. Russia’s Denis Spitsov took the third podium position, finishing 28.6 seconds back. In his first distance World Cup […]
Johaug Takes Lillehammer 10 k Skate; Bjornsen in 9th leads Four U.S. Women in the Points
If thirty-year-old Therese Johaug of Norway is trying to scotch the dismay of the past two years, she’s doing it with her trademark high-turnover skiing and her top-step podium ways. In April of 2018, Johaug’s 18-month ban, for having the prohibited anabolic steroid clostebol in her bloodstream, ended. Back during her last full season on the […]