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World Cup Preview: #1 Norway

Welcome to FasterSkier’s World Cup Preview, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts. The World Cup begins with a classic sprint in Ruka, Finland on Nov. 24th *** Norway Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 1 Women’s Ranking 2017/2018: 1 Men’s […]

Klæbo, Falla Defend Beito Sprint Titles; Newell 16th, Hart 31st for U.S.

BEITOSTØLEN, Norway — A year ago, 20-year-old Johannes Høsflot Klæbo leapt onto the scene with a season-opening skate-sprint win in Beitostølen. Before that, he made waves at 2016 U23 World Championships, winning gold in the skate sprint, 10-kilometer classic and 4 x 5 k relay. But until last season, Klæbo, a member of Norway’s national […]

Halfvarsson on Win Streak; Harvey Repeats in 10th in Lillehammer Mini Tour

LILLEHAMMER, Norway — The men’s 10-kilometer freestyle on Day 2 of the Lillehammer mini tour turned out to be a nail biter and a win-win situation for Swedish fans on Saturday. Calle Halfvarsson, who won Friday’s classic sprint, started 42nd, 6 minutes behind his teammate Marcus Hellner in bib 30. Both are Swedish national team […]

Bjornsen ‘Fastest in the World’ in Qualifier; Weng Tops Lillehammer Sprint Final

LILLEHAMMER, Norway — If anything’s consistent after two days of classic sprinting on the Cross-Country World Cup this year, it’s that nothing is a given — especially on the women’s side of World Cup sprinting. No more Maiken Caspersen Falla dominating every World Cup sprint. However, Norway’s defending Sprint World Cup champion is no slouch, placing second in both […]

Leading Up to Lillehammer, U.S. Team Talks Midweek Race Prep

We hear a lot about the details of a cross-country ski racer’s day on race day, but what about those four or five days in between? What do World Cup racers do then, in the middle of the week? FasterSkier Norwegian contributor Aleks Tangen ventured to Lillehammer on Wednesday and Thursday to find out. *** LILLEHAMMER, Norway […]

Falla Doesn’t Miss a Beat in Beito Sprint Opener

BEITOSTØLEN, Norway — For the reigning Sprint World Cup champion who never lost a classic sprint last season (and placed first or second in all but one World Cup skate sprint), Sunday’s 1.2-kilometer freestyle sprint was about starting where she left off. Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla did just that, qualifying first then cruising through the heats to win […]

Junior World Champ Johannes Klæbo Pulls Beito Upset

BEITOSTØLEN, Norway — On the final day of International Ski Federation (FIS) preseason racing in  Beitostølen, one 20 year old stood above the rest of the nearly 90-man field. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who won three gold medals at the 2016 Junior World Championships in Rasnov, Romania, held off several household Norwegian names in the men’s freestyle sprint final. Klæbo, a Norwegian U23 […]

Bjørgen Wastes No Time With Beito Comeback; Tønseth Wins Again

BEITOSTØLEN, Norway — Saturday’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start was, from the start, all about Marit Bjørgen. Her previous race was 603 days earlier on March 27, 2015 in Harstad, Norway, but that didn’t seem to affect Norway’s six-time Olympic gold medalist one bit. “I’ll admit that I have had my doubts,” she told Dagbladet about returning to competition. “And I’ve been tired, but I […]

With Biggest Names Out, Østberg & Tønseth Top Beito Opener

Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and Didrik Tønseth opened their seasons with a bang at home in Beitostølen on Friday, beating out large fields in the women’s and men’s 10 and 15 k classic races. Several Canadian juniors and developing skiers raced, too, as well as American and recent MSU grad Cambria McDermott, who’s living and training in Norway.