ERZURUM, Turkey — Thursday’s U23 World Championship classic distance races started out well for team USA with Sadie Bjornsen’s (APU/USST) fifth-place finish in a closely-packed group at the top of the 10 k classic results. We caught her after the finish to talk about her race. Results
If there’s one takeaway from the Junior and U23 World Championships thus far, it’s that Russia is a well-oiled machine. Evgeniy Belov (RUS) won his country its sixth gold medal of the week on Thursday, ahead of Noah Hoffman (USA) in second and Hannes Dotzler (GER) in third. Based on Belov’s delight on the podium, the run of success isn’t getting old. “I cannot express how happy I am today when I defended the...
ERZURUM, Turkey — In her first race at these U23 World Championships, Mariya Guschina (RUS) had no trouble sticking with the standard set by her Russian teammates this week, claiming the gold medal by 26.7 seconds over Polina Medvedeva (RUS). Second through fifth place were tightly packed—Martine Ek Hagen (NOR) took third, only 1.3 seconds out of silver, Emma Wiken (SWE) was 0.4 behind Hagen in fourth, and APU’s Sadie Bjornsen (USA) crossed the line...
ERZURUM, Turkey — Dahria Beatty (CAN) and Janelle Greer (CAN) led the way for the North Americans on Wednesday at World Juniors in the 5 k classic, finishing 25th and 28th, respectively—within 7.3 seconds of each other. Both women said they had hoped for more, but were stymied by the tough course at altitude in Kindalli, a feeling many athletes pointed out. The need to conserve energy threw Beatty off her usual sea-level racing strategy....
ERZURUM, Turkey — It takes quite a bit to detract from what was nearly a clean dual podium sweep in the men’s and women’s classic distance races at World Juniors on Wednesday. Natalia Zhukova (RUS) won the women’s 5 k ahead of compatriots Elena Soboleva and Elena Serokhvostava. On the men’s side Sergey Ustiugov (RUS) took his second victory of these championships, with teammate Ermil Vokuev behind in second. Norway’s Sindre Bjoernestad Skar was the...
Our final stop on our SIA Show tour brought us to the Atomic booth, where we met up with Rick Halling. He talked to us about the new camber construction of their classic skis and the changes to their World Cup boots.
ERZURUM, Turkey — With two gold medals in as many days at the World Junior/U23 Championships, Russia is clearly on top of its mens’ sprint game. Gleb Retivyk (RUS) took home a decisive win on Tuesday, skiing into the stadium in the final out of reach of his competitors, and maintained his lead all the way around the last corner and through the straightaway. His compatriot Evgeniy Belov (RUS) took second, and in a fight...
ERZURUM, Turkey — After scoring points on the World Cup, a victory at U23 World Championships is still a big deal. Just ask Hanna Kolb (GER)—despite having placed 17th this weekend in Szklarska Poreba, Poland sprint, she still thought of her inaugural U23 title as an significant accomplishment. “It is one of the greatest achievements for me,” she said to FIS marketing coordinator Michal Lamplot. “Even though I have won already some World Cup points…this...
ERZURUM, Turkey — Stina Nilsson (SWE) trained all summer for the World Juniors sprint, and on Monday she got what she’d worked for with her victory at the Kandilli Nordic Ski Center. She led a 1-2-4 Swedish team performance in the freestyle sprint, which exceeded ever their coaches’ expectations. Jonna Sundling (SWE) was fourth. Unlike the men’s sprint outcome, which featured a repeat winner, Nilsson came from a 12th-place showing in the classic sprint at...
ERZURUM, Turkey — For elite skiers under the age of 20, the FIS Junior World Championships are a focal point of the previous year’s training. No matter the national team, an athlete’s success at World Juniors causes elated finish-line celebrations, as it confirms he can ski as fast, or perhaps faster, than he ever thought possible. The freestyle sprint, the opening events of the 2012 championships at Kindalli Nordic Ski Center, was no exception....
ERZURUM, Turkey — Less than a day remains before the start of the 2012 FIS Junior and U23 World Championships. Despite language barriers and transportation confusion, the excitement at the Kandilli Nordic Ski Center was palpable in anticipation of Monday’s junior freestyle sprints. The sun even came out for the occasion, revealing a mountainous, moon-like landscape that had previously been hidden behind clouds. Kandilli lies about 40 k to the west of Erzurum, where athletes...
We continued on our SIA Show tour over at the Alpina booth, where we met up with Steve Kvinlaugh who talked to us about their responsibility to bring more younger skiers into the sport of cross country skiing and what those skiers specific needs were. From this line of thinking was the development of their new ‘Action’ series of boots as well as a complete bottom up redesign of their elite boots.
Our next stop at the SIA Show was with Madshus where their Marketing Manager Connor Folley walked us through what was new with their 2012 line. He talked to us about their new nano line of boots and their evolving focus on the hydrodynamics of the ski or in other words the tension that exists between the base of the ski and the snow surface.
At the Toko USA booth at SIA, FasterSkier caught up with Brand Manager Ian Harvey who showed us several new products for 2012-2013: including their new Start Duffel bag, an entirely new glove line and all the changes to their wax line including moving from dibloc to tribloc and from moly to diamond like carbon (DLC).
At the Rossignol USA booth at SIA, Nordic Division Manager Ryan Green talked us through several products for 2012-2013: new features in the top-end Xium skate and classic boots, a new Xium classic ski, which features uniquely formulated R-grip material in the kick zone, and a new junior ski.
The cross country World Cup moves to Szklarska Poreba, Poland this weekend, beginning with Friday’s skate sprint. This marks the first time Poland has hosted a World Cup event, and with the queen of the home team, Justyna Kowalczyk, only 12 points behind Marit Bjoergen (NOR) in the season-long battle for the overall World Cup title, there should be plenty of excitement for the local crowd. As part of the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) effort...
Our next stop at the SIA Snow Show was at Swix USA, where we got a look at new features on next year’s carbon-composite poles, new formulations in Swix’s klister line, and tried on their new gloves.
Every winter, snow-specific outdoor brands congregate at the Snowsports Industries of America (SIA) Snow Show in Denver, Colorado to exhibit their new gear for the following year to retailers from all over the country. For nordic companies, the four-day show at the Colorado Convention Center is followed by two days of on-snow demos at Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Tabernash, where retailers try out the new equipment and begin the process of deciding what to carry...
Chelsea Holmes (SVSEF) may be used to racing at altitude, but that didn’t make the 5 k classic on Saturday at the Aspen SuperTour any less painful. “Oh my God, I felt like my heart was ripping out of my chest, all the time,” said Holmes after winning by 0.5 seconds in the individual start. Rosie Brennan (APU) was the runner-up for the second time in one day, as the classic sprint qualifier occurred earlier...
In case you missed the action in Aspen, Colorado this weekend, check out the video below of the men’s 10 k classic on Saturday. The individual-start distance race followed the sprint qualifier by about two hours and featured two laps of a rolling 5 k course at over 8,000 feet. Matt Gelso (SVSEF) took home the 10 k title; Leif Zimmermann (BSF) was second and Vegard Kjoelhamar (CU) finished third. 10 k classic results