After a close call in the quarterfinals, Sophie Caldwell advanced as a lucky loser - and adjusted her strategy, going all the way to the final where she finished fourth: "Fourth is always sort of a bittersweet place to get... But this is the best result I’ve had in a long time so I’m really happy with it."
Sophie Caldwell had the best World Cup sprint qualifier of her career: "My legs felt better than they have all year." She's joined by five U.S. teammates in the heats, including Simi Hamilton, who talked to us about the pressure felt after winning this Tour de Ski stage two years ago.
How much does competing in the Tour de Ski hurt a skier later in the season? For women, barely at all, a new study finds - but for men, there's an increase in illnesses after the Tour, a drop in results, and less of a chance to medal at championships, compared to years where the same athlete doesn't compete in the grueling race series.
It's not often that a NorAm leader turns down their start rights on the World Cup. But Kevin Sandau has a good reason to do so: he's focused on prepping for the last period of World Cups, which will happen at home in Canada.
Those who lost the wind lottery last weekend in Sweden came to Hochfilzen, Austria, looking for redemption - and clean shooting. Some succeeded: Simon Schempp of Germany, who won on the day; Lowell Bailey of the United States, in 12th; and Scott Gow of Canada, in 33rd.
Who was happiest: Franziska Hildebrand, who claimed her first win? Maren Hammerschmidt, who started second to last but crossed the line with the second-fastest time in just her 11th World Cup? Or Miriam Gössner, who is finally back from a devastating injury and placed third? Rosanna Crawford was the only North American to crack the top 40.
20-year-old Sean Doherty surprised himself by breaking into the World Cup points in a race he doesn't consider a favored format - yet there he was, attacking his way to 17th place. Lowell Bailey was close behind in 24th and Nathan Smith led Canada in 27th.
Ole Einar Bjørndalen swore that this would be his last season - and after missing six weeks of training due to illness, he had doubts whether he would make Norway's World Championships team. But the 41-year-old is back and won big on the World Cup, and now teammates and competitors are wondering if he has another Olympics in him.
Top skiers' message to world leaders: we want to keep having winter, so make a legally-binding climate agreement. And the message to ski fans? Andy Newell says: "We need to get on the backs of the guys and women in the U.S. who make these decisions, and put some pressure on them.”
Is Norway taking advantage of a partnership get around new FIS rules limiting the number of team staff allowed on course? Or is Great Britain actually taking advantage of them, to get more expert wax testing? Either way, FIS says that a new partnership that rubs Sweden the wrong way is a-okay.
Rosanna Crawford has been shooting for the World Cup podium for a long time now. And on the first day of the season, she got there, along with teammate Nathan Smith. "It feels amazing," she said. "I feel so lucky to share the podium with my teammate who I’ve trained with for so long."
Despite a rocky start, Canada's Rosanna Crawford and Nathan Smith rose through the field to capture second place in the World Cup single mixed relay in Östersund, Sweden, the first competition of the World Cup season.
As Norway raced to another relay win thanks to near-perfection by Johannes and Tarjei Bø, Canada and the United States finished ninth and tenth in the four-person mixed relay in Östersund, Sweden.
While Therese Johaug dominated the 10 k classic pursuit to win the Ruka Triple mini-tour, that wasn't the surprise - that would be teammate Heidi Weng finishing a lap early and losing both a podium finish and a lot of World Cup points. Sprinters Stina Nilsson and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg went 2-3 are beginning to make their names as distance skiers.
After today's 5 k skate in Kuusamo, Finland, Therese Johaug laughed remembering how short races used to be such a weak point for her. Not anymore: the Norwegian skied to a dominating 17.6-second victory over Charlotte Kalla of Sweden. That's 2% back in an 11-minute race.
After a cluster of doping cases, the International Biathlon Union levied the maximum fine allowable in its rules on Russia - 100,000 Euros. It's hard to determine the budget of Russian biathlon, but the fine might represent less than one percent of its resources.
Norway's TV2 says it has found out that Estonian cross-country skier Kristina Smigun is likely to be stripped of her 2006 Olympic gold medals; national and international federations seem happy to discuss, but the IOC will not. Meanwhile, a Norwegian Paralympian alleges Russians had separate (and comically short) doping control tests at the 2014 Olympics.
Alexander Os, a 35-year-old Norwegian ex-Olympian who founded "Team Feskslogs" after being left off the national team, almost won today's mass start - but Germany's Simon Schempp got him at the end. Juliya Dzhyma of Ukraine won the women's race. Leif Nordgren (USA) placed 19th and Megan Tandy (CAN) 40th in their respective races.
“Today was definitely a solid team performance,” Tim Burke said after the season-opening race in Norway. “Our entire men's team is at a very high level and we are all very excited to see what we can do in the relay.”
Just as in this race last season, Italy's Dorothea Wierer shot perfectly to top Norway's Tiril Eckhoff - but this year it was closer, with Eckhoff just three seconds back. Susan Dunklee (USA), Megan Tandy (CAN), and Annelies Cook (USA) placed 21st, 23rd, and 25th, respectively.