Germany's Simon Schempp won his second-straight sprint at the third stop of the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. Meanwhile, Lowell Bailey was one of nine men in the top 15 to clean, and his U.S. teammate Tim Burke finished just ahead of him in 14th.
At long last, for the big items on your list (or what could be), $200-and-up gift ideas. And with that the Holiday Gift Guide is complete. Happy Holidays!
Oh, the things you can buy for the cross-country skier or all-around winter enthusiast! Go crazy with a cool duffel, toasty warm boots or overboots, a Strider bike made for little skiers, and more!
Willing to spend a little more than $25 but less than $80? Check out these extra-thoughtful and wicked-cool gift ideas.
It's here! FasterSkier’s Holiday Gift Guide, divided into four categories by price points, is meant to help you manage the holidays, whether it's browsing you seek or last-minute shopping ideas.
The Canadian men posted their second-best result in a World Cup relay in sixth on Sunday in Hochfilzen, Austria. They did so thanks to near-perfect shooting from the Gow brothers and fast ski times from all four team members.
Sweden's Stina Nilsson pulled off a last-minute move from third to first in the women's freestyle sprint in Davos to win her first World Cup, and Sophie Caldwell advanced as a two-time lucky loser to ultimately place sixth in the final. Her U.S. teammate, Jessie Diggins placed ninth overall, and two other U.S. women made the heats.
After qualifying in 10th and 21st, Simi Hamilton and Andy Newell saw their sprint days end in the quarterfinals, where they placed sixth and fifth for the U.S., respectively. Hamilton busted a pole, and Canada missed out on the heats with Len Valjas coming closest to qualifying in 31st.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby had to fight for at least 20 kilometers of the men's 30 k freestyle on Saturday, which wasn't easy, he explained. “This is the toughest [race] I’ve been in so far this year," Sundby said. The Norwegian had to work especially hard to hold off France's Maurice Manificat, who started 1 minute behind him.
Therese Johaug raced to a 1-minute-and-10-second victory in the women's World Cup 15 k freestyle in Davos, Switzerland, and her teammate is calling the deficit scary. “She is completely a machine," third-place finisher Heidi Weng said. "What is it exactly you're made of?”
On Sunday, Erik Bjornsen showed the world there's a lot more where that came from when it comes to his classic skiing. Same goes for the U.S. men's relay team, which skied in fifth for at least a third of the men's 4 x 7.5 k relay at the Lillehammer World Cup in Norway.
Clare Egan had been hoping for a top 60 in the IBU World Cup sprint on Saturday. Imagine how she felt after placing 16th. "It gives me confidence that the work I am doing is good and that I am on the right track,” she explained. Annelies Cook placed 25th for the U.S., Rosanna Crawford led Canada in 22nd, and Zina Kocher, Julia Ransom and Megan Tandy also qualified for the pursuit.
Therese Johaug and Martin Johnsrud Sundby didn't even try to make it interesting on Saturday; they were feeling too good. The Norwegians won the Lillehammer World Cup skiathlons by 1 1/2 minutes and 44 seconds, respectively, and skied a good portion of the race completely alone.
If you were wondering whether a podium in the first race of the season took the pressure off Rosanna Crawford for the first individual women’s race on Thursday, the answer is no. The Canadian biathlete explains her mindset and physical form during the 15 k individual, in which she placed 13th.
Brian Gregg won't be racing the SuperTour this weekend in Sun Valley, Idaho, and shooting for the overall SuperTour lead for Period 1. Instead, he's already been awarded a World Cup start in Davos, the 30 k skate, on Dec. 12.
Whatever Sadie Bjornsen was doing the first lap of Sunday's 10 k classic pursuit wasn't working for her, so she revamped and tackled the final three laps with a whole new attitude. "I gave myself a little smacking and realized I had to make my opportunity today," she said after placing 14th in the Ruka Triple for her best overall finish in Kuusamo, Finland.
Andy Newell remembered a thing or two about the Kuusamo course, and he shared them with his U.S. teammates before the World-Cup opening classic sprint there on Friday. His calculations worked, as Newell ended up just over a second off the podium in fourth for his best result in three seasons.
Two 22-year-old sprinters topped the podium in the men's and women's freestyle sprints in Bruksvallarna, Sweden, with Norway's Havard Solås Taugbøl beating four Swedes and Even Northug in the men's final and Stina Nilsson denying Charlotte Kalla of her third-straight victory.
Jessie Diggins did it again, winning her second-straight race in Gällivare, Sweden, on Sunday by 10 seconds over Czech skier Petra Novakova. Caitlin Gregg also reached the podium -- in day reminiscent of the 2015 World Championships 10 k -- and Liz Stephen and Rosie Brennan placed fourth and fifth.
Which is worse: Petter Northug winning Friday's 10 k classic in Bruksvallarna, Sweden, while wearing the Swedish colors, or him comparing the win to a teenager beating a toddler in a footrace?