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FIS World Cup Tour de Ski Stage 5 15 k/10k Freestyle Pursuit Oberstdorf, Germany
Today’s Tour de Ski (TdS) Stage 5 15-kilometer freestyle pursuit in Oberstdorf, Germany began and ended simply enough: Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo wearing the Tour’s blue leader’s bib started first with a 15 second lead over second overall skier Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov.
By 2 k into the race, the pair had linked up and ceded no time to the 63 chasers. Klæbo put in a burst of speed over the last hill and carried a several meter gap into the finish straight to win the pursuit in 35:07.5 minutes. Ustiugov placed second (+0.4), with his teammate Alexander Bolshunov third (+1:08.4).
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Canada’s Alex Harvey, the best placed North American, was 22nd (+3:11.6). Lenny Valjas (CNST) placed 53rd (+8:10.6) and Bob Thompson 55th (+9:41.0).
Ben Lustgarten (CGRP) for the U.S., the only remaining U.S. male in the TdS, placed 54th (+8:38.2).
Men’s Results | Men’s TdS Overall Standings After Stage 5
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As the leader of the women’s TdS Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg never looked stressed in today’s 10 k skate pursuit. Østberg left the start with a 24 second lead over Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva and beat her by 30.4 seconds for the win. Østberg won in a time of 26:21.2 minutes, Nepryaeva placed second, and the U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Jessie Diggins was third (+1:12.6).
Diggins out-lunged Russia’s Yulia Belorukova across the finish line for a photo finish. Belorukova was 0.1 seconds behind Diggins as she placed fourth.
Diggins raced the fastest time of day on course, skiing the 10 k in 26:07 minutes.
Østberg retains the TdS leader bib, with a 35.4 second lead on second overall Nepryaeva, and a 1:22.6 minute lead on third overall Diggins.
Sadie Bjornsen (USST) placed 11th in today’s pursuit (+4:07.8). Bjornsen is also 11th overall in the TdS standings but will exit after today’s stage to focus on upcoming World Cups.
Canada’s Emily Nishikawa placed 30th (+7:26.1).
Women’s Results | Women’s TdS Overall Standings After Stage 5
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U.S. Cross-Country Ski Championships Craftsbury, Vermont 10 k/15 k Classic Interval Start
Today was the first day of racing at the U.S. Cross-Country Ski Championships in Craftsbury, Vermont. The women began with a 10-kilometer classic interval start race.
Caitlin Patterson (CGRP) won in a time of 30:44.7 minutes, while Jessica Yeaton (APU/Australian National Team) placed second in 31:05.5, and Kaitlynn Miller (CGRP) was third in 31:22.1.
Julia Kern (SMS-T2) was fourth overall and the third American in 31:33.9 minutes.
In the men’s 15 k classic race, Kyle Bratrud (SMS T2) won his third career national title. He stopped the clock in 41:41.8 minutes. Adam Martin (CGRP) placed second in a time of 42:12.8. Kris Freeman (Caldwell Sport), took third in 42:27.6. Freeman “retired” last season, but still remains in form and podium worthy.
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U.S. Paralympics Nordic Nationals Craftsbury, Vermont
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Also at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center on Thursday, the middle distance race was held for the first event at the Paralympic Nordic Nationals. Dan Cnossen won the race in 25:09.9 minutes. Cnossen is based outside of Boston but trains frequently in Craftsbury both as a sit-skier and biathlete.
“It was good, a really good course I thought,” Cnossen told FasterSkier in Craftsbury. “The grooming was good, but the conditions were a bit tough due to the snowfall. I love racing at Craftsbury, I’ve done the majority of my training in the last few years here. I think they undoubtedly put on the best venue. It is nice for me to come here. I am also a New England athlete.”
Asked about his tactics, Cnossen said the overnight snowfall changed his perception of the course.
“The course speed Yesterday during course inspection the conditions were a really fast and I was a little nervous about how it would go today but then with this snowfall it changed things a lot and I am a bit more of a climber and focus on that. Sometimes as sit skiers our poles sink a little deep in the softer snow so I was trying to pole in a light way, but not want to lose the power.”
Aaron Pike placed second, and Canada’s Yves Bourque was third.
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In the women’s event, Oksana Masters won the 5 k race in 19:38.9 minutes.
“This was a fun course. …. Yesterday was a lot icier and then today it was definitely a lot softer but it was cool because there was still a lot of technical components which often doesn’t happen in para-sport or para-courses sometimes for nationals,” Masters said. “So that was cool. It had a lot of climbs, a lot of fun downhills.”
Kendall Gretsch was second, and Lyne Marie Bilodeau was third.
- #usnats2019
- 2019 US Nationals
- Adam Martin
- Alex Harvey
- Alexander Bolshunov
- ben lustgarten
- Bob Thompson
- Cailtin Patterson
- Craftsbury US Nationals
- Emily Nishikawa
- Ingvild Flugstad Østberg
- jessica yeaton
- Jessie Diggins
- Johannes Høsflot Klæbo
- Julia Kern
- Kaitlynn Miller
- Kyle Bratrud
- Lenny Valjas
- Natalia Nepryaeva
- Obertsdorf 15 k skate pursuit
- race rundown
- Sadie Bjornsen
- Sergey Ustiugov
- U.S. Cross-Country Ski Championships in Craftsbury
- Yulia Belorukova
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