The sprints today could be summed up as utter dominance by the winners. World Cup fans haven’t been treated to that kind of skiing in a sprint event for a very long time, if ever. Justyna Kowalczyk proved that there is no limit to her powers as she keeps hitting the podium the majority of the races she [...]
The last race before the Olympics is upon up and it is the last time to test out the legs. The courses have been completely revamped from a couple years ago which saw the “A” final being double poled by all six athletes. The course profile has been made one of the most trecherous on the circuit and [...]
Today was the first World Cup race in over two weeks and the skiing and site were immaculate. Not only is Canmore arguably the most beautiful spot on the World Cup circuit, it is also one of the most difficult. The big continuous climbs paired with altitude makes for a tough day for all athletes.
The fields were much [...]
This weekend saw the world’s best junior and under 23 races take main stage in Hinterzarten, Germany. I find these some of the most exciting races of the year. It’s like the World Junior Hockey Championships at Christmas, it’s very exciting to watch to see some of the future stars of the sport. This year was no exception, [...]
The finale to the World Cup weekend in Rybinsk is proceeded by the first break in the World Cup calendar since the one before the Tour. The two week hiatus will give teams a chance to settle into North America before the World Cup resume for one more weekend before the Olympics in Canmore.
More and [...]
The sprint relay’s saw the end of a cold weekend in Russia. Even though the sun was out, it didn’t cut the frigid temperatures that the athletes had to endure. Jürgen Capol decided to run just the finals and not torture the athletes with heats. It worked out for the best as the women’s field only had [...]
I’ll start off this post by saying that I didn’t watch the races so I won’t try to sugar-coat anything. Whatever I write here could have probably been decifered by yourself off the results sheet or on another website alredy. First off, the start lists were depressing, it’s as simple as that. There should be some sort [...]
The course was the same one they have used in previous years with only one major hill right followed by the downhill run out into the home straight. It was another chilly affair on the sprint course as many of the athletes has buffs stretch around their necks. The first corner out of the stadium [...]
This will be an abbreviated post as this blogger has been bed stricken with the flu. Tomorrow begins the last World Cup weekend before the circuit moves to Canada for the Canmore races and the Olympics. It is perhaps the smallest field ever for a World Cup event. There are no Norwegians or Swedes due to their [...]
The weather was beautiful and sunny in Otepää and almost every heat had an exciting finish that went to a photo finish. Qualification saw Saarinen and Jönsson grab the fastest times. The Swede’s showed up very strong today in both the men’s and women’s sides. Whoever though that Sweden would be putting more skiers into the men’s and [...]
The winners of this years Tour de Ski showed no signs of slowing down as both Kowalczyk and Bauer took the classic victories. It was an important race for many nations as this was the last chance to determine selection for the distance racers going to Vancouver in three weeks time.
Women
It’s a head scratcher how [...]
This weekend sees the last chance for many athletes to qualify to represent their country at the 2010 Winter Olympics. Some big names won’t be there as they will be resting up after the Tour de Ski. However, most of the athletes that skipped the Tour return to racing as they sharpen their form for [...]
The Tour this year had some of the most impressive performances of the season, and due to the format changes, some races that were more exciting than expected. There were spills and thrills but at the end of the 10-days, there were two champions: Kowalczyk and Bauer. There were many other great performances by athletes [...]
The Tour is done another year and most athletes will start to look forward to the Olympics while some have their sights on more immediate races that will be taking place in Otepaa this coming weekend. Numerous athletes have yet to qualify to represent their country and this is their last chance to prove their [...]
The Aple Cermis is becoming a place where no one is safe. Not only is it a daunting task, but more often than not, the athletes are surrounded by other who want to get to point B before they do. It doesn’t matter if you have almost 30 seconds on your closest competitor, it seems [...]
The Aple Cermis is becoming a place where no one is safe. Not only is it a daunting task, but more often than not, the athletes are surrounded by other who want to get to point B before they do. It doesn’t matter if you have almost 30 seconds on your closest competitor, it seems [...]
Tomorrow could be the most exciting finale to a Tour de Ski we have ever seen. There are 30 seconds separating Majdic and Kowalczyk while Northug and Bauer have eight seconds between them; a gap like that will be fairly useless as I can see Bauer catching Northug within the first couple kilometers. The other [...]
The biggest theme in todays races was the amount of bonus seconds up for the athletes to gain to increase their lead or decrease their deficit on the other athletes. The women were skiing 10km with three intermediate sprints while the men were doing 20km with six opportunities to grab bonus seconds. Five more women [...]
Today’s rest day announced the second of two rest days that the athletes have welcomed with open arms. Most of them will be sleeping copious amounts and eating as much as is humanly possible to refuel and top up for the final two stages of this years Tour. The course profile for tomorrow looks very undulating on [...]
The conditions were seemingly perfect as it was sunny and blue skys with the temperature hovering around -4°C. The races were fast with the winning times of 23:14 for the men over 10km and 12:37 for the women over 5km. Today was a chance for those classic specialist take a bite out of the lead [...]