Sorry about the delay in the posts folks, but trains, planes and automobiles have gotten the best of me the past couple days. Add in an amazing three different sets of FIS races to report on and it meant a lot of looking at results and reports to find out who did what. Before I [...]
It only seems fitting that the country where nordic skiing was born is the best ski country in the world. The religion of langrenn in Norway has produced the likes of current superstars such as Northug, Bjørgen, Hattestad, Johaug and the list goes on. Their depth and talent on the women’s side can’t be matched [...]
While much of the press about Russia is usually negative and surrounding doping allegations, it’s no secret that they have the depth and talent that can rival the best countries in the world. However, with a handful of athletes banned due to doping over the past year, it’s made even the optimists a little skeptical [...]
Last season, the rivalry between Norway and Sweden men’s teams came to a climax as Sweden was able win the relay at the Olympics. Hellner has become one of the best all-rounder athlete in the world, and with teammates like Johan Olsson, Emil Jonsson and Anders Sodergren just to name a few; they are undoubtably [...]
They might not be the flashiest team out there, but Italy always seems to be one of the strongest (and oldest) cross-country nations in the world. Marianna Longa seems to be getting better with age and Follis is one of the quietest superstars in the sport. Piller-Cottrer and di Centa aren’t getting any younger, but with the likes of [...]
I apologize for the lack of Finnish season preview yesterday, something was awry with my internet connection and wouldn’t allow me into my WordPress account. But now everything is better, so without further adieu… Finland The Finns have been rebuilding for numerous years now, but the biggest name in the ski world to retire last [...]
Well, we’re finally getting into the thick of it. Where national teams are equally strong on the gender divide. Germany’s men finished an impressive 4th for men while the women were in 8th. With household names in the team such as Angerer, Teichmann and Sachenbacher-Stehle, the Germans should expect big things yet again this year. [...]
Like Slovenia, Poland’s rise into the cross-country spotlight is due to their female skiers; in particular, Justyna Kowalczyk. We’ve seen what she can do on the snow and how her rivalry with Bjørgen will be at an all-time high this year due to some recent smack talk in the papers. The two-year ban smacked on [...]
This country preview has been an easy one to write, mainly because I only have to write about one sex, the women. With a men’s team that is non-existent, let’s focus on the women shall we? MEN’S DISTANCE Out of the 185 men that scored points in the distance and sprint races last year, zero [...]
The French have slowly crept up on the world and have become a force to be reckoned with. The vetern leadership of Vincent Vittoz on the men’s side has helped bring the likes of Jean-Marc Gaillard and more recently Maurice Manificat to be some of the most exciting and promising talents in the sport. MEN’S [...]
Over the past couple years, the Swiss team has turned into a legit contender on the men’s side. 2008-2009 Crystal Globe winner Dario Cologna is one of the best young skiers in the world, but the big changes have come from teammates Curdin Perla and Toni Livers who have improved steadily. On the women’s side, [...]
The Czech team has been led by one man the past 5 years and his name is Lukas Bauer. After the retirement of Katerina Neumanova, the women have not found an athlete that can lead them to greatness. While the men’s team finished in 9th with 1191 points (1021 from Bauer), the women only finished [...]
The title meant to look more like “12 Days Before Christmas… Beitostølen”, but that’s neither here nor there. Let’s face it, Gällivare is still three weeks away, but for a large portion of World Cup athletes, the season starts a week earlier, in Beitostølen, Norway, Munio, Finland, or Bruksvallarna, Sweden. Since skiing is life in Norway [...]
It’s only four weeks until the start of the 2010-2011 and everyone is getting itchy with excitement. The Sprintgutta has defined October Syndrome in the ski world as “the increase in rumours of how athletes are in incredible shape leading up to the Beitostølen races.” The speculation only creates for more things to talk about [...]
When I say “The Polish Experiment”, I’m not referring to Justyna Kowalczyk or if you are a MMA fan, Krzysztof Soszynski. No, I’m talking about the recent proposed race format from Vegard Ulvang and the FIS. In recent history, the FIS has attempted to tweak and improve the sport of cross-country skiing to win fans, [...]
This might be a little late, but I thought I’d post a version of “what grinds my gears” anyways… It’s been almost three weeks since the news broke that Nikolai Pankratov had been with caught intravenous equipment and 22 vials/capsules of Actovegin, a drug derived from calf blood (the animal, not the muscle). The FIS [...]
As the summer-lull endlessly and painfully drags on, there is a shimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. The bookies have put out there preliminary odds on who they think will reign victorious this year for the Overall World Cup Title. If you enjoy watching the races on Eurosport like me, you’ll be [...]
As the summer-lull endlessly and painfully drags on, there is a shimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. The bookies have put out there preliminary odds on who they think will reign victorious this year for the Overall World Cup Title. If you enjoy watching the races on Eurosport like me, you’ll be [...]
I know, I know, I realize that the title might be a little pre-emptive and using the title of a Green Day superhit just oozes with cheese, but the title couldn’t be more fitting. The problem with being an avid fan of cross-country skiing is that (interesting) news in the off-season occurs about as often [...]
The first month of the 2010-2011 has ended and to be fair it’s been really dull in terms of news. The reason why Langrenn.com is easily the best website for skiing in the world is because even though there is literally no news to speak of (over the past two months), they still managed to [...]