Oslo, Norway – The Canadian men’s team, just off a record-breaking Olympics, was unable to re-capture the magic. The “Big-4” of Devon Kershaw, Ivan Babikov, Alex Harvey, and George Grey all dropped out of the race, leaving Graham Nishikawa as the sole finisher in 48th place, +19:24. Kershaw was complimentary of his teammate, and very disappointed in his own performance. “Nish is a tough MF’er. Ivan, George, Alex and I pulled the pin. I had...
Oslo, Norway – Norway may be taking criticism for a lack of depth on the men’s distance team. Behind Petter Northug, the talent is considered “mediocre,” which means in Norwegian terms that there is no one else who can consistently place in the top-10. The women, on the other hand, have held up their side of things, today turning in a dominating performance to sweep that podium in the historic Holmenkollen 30k. The freestyle race...
Kontiolahti, Finland – Russian Ivan Tcherezov, who missed out an an individual medal at the Olympics, settling for a bronze in the relay, got a measure of revenge, winning the men’s 10km sprint in Finland. Darya Domracheva (BLR) the bronze medalist in the individual competition in Whistler won the omen’s 7.5km event, shooting clean on her way to an 8.4 second victory over Olga Zaitseva (RUS). Tcherezov had a perfect day on the range, one...
Kontiolahti, Finland – It is a rare occurrence in the Nordic sports when men and women compete together, but the International Biathlon Union usually holds one such race each season. The mixed relay combines two women and two men in the standard biathlon relay format. The women each ski 6 kilometers, while the men are confronted with a 7.5km course. With races on both Saturday and Sunday, many teams chose not to race their best...
Oslo, Norway – The World Cup has moved to Oslo, the site of the 2011 World Championships, and Saturday’s 30/50km freestyle will be a preview of that event. The Holmenkolen Ski Stadium has undergone a major renovation since the last World Cup races here in 2008. The biggest change is the new Ski Jump overlooking the city. The women will race a single 5km lap and then three 8.3km loops. The men will ski the...
Drammen, Norway – While in the US, the story of the day was Andy Newell’s 3rd place finish, Emil Joensson (SWE) and Marit Bjoergen (NOR) both skied to impressive victories in the tough Drammen field. A classic sprint in Norway is a recipe for the strongest field on the World Cup circuit. With Norway holding a number of additional Nations Cup start spots, just getting into the heats is tough. Joensson left nothing to chance,...
La Feclaz, France – A large contingent of American skiers are in Europe competing in the spring OPA cup races. The OPA cup is a European Continental Cup series along the lines of the US SuperTour. Ten men and six women competed in the 5/10km freestyle mass start event on Sunday. Brian Gregg led the men in 12th place, while Caitlin Compton paced the women in 10th. The major goal of the trip for these...
Lahti, Finland – Maurice Manificat (FRA), along with his teammates, was shut out of the medals in Whistler, the most heartbreaking moments coming when Emanuel Jonnier lost out in the final sprint for the podium in the 4×10 relay. But today Manificat gained a small measure of redemption, outsprinting Lukas Bauer in the men’s 30km pursuit. The two broke away from the field at the 20km mark, and skied clear. Third place finisher Ilia Chernouov...
Lahti, Finland – The Olympics have come and gone, but there is still plenty of racing to be done. The World Cup did not miss a beat, restarting less than a week after the Olympic 50k with a 15/30km pursuit as part of the annual Lahti Ski Games. The fields were competitive, but lacked many of the top skiers who are taking some time to recover after the Games. In the women’s event, the “Queen...
Whistler, British Columbia – The US men’s cross-country ski team concluded a disappointing Olympics with two very different performances in the 50km classic. Kris Freeman, who inexplicably struggled the entire Games, dropped out after 20 kilometers. He spent the first 15km with the lead pack, but was always at the back, hanging on. He lost contact, and with a month of World Cup racing potentially ahead, he opted to save his body. “My coaches said...
Whistler, British Columbia – And so it all comes to an end. Two weeks after the first 2010 Olympics cross-country ski race, the final event is just over an hour away – the men’s 50km classic. The weather is better today – but only in relative terms. Instead of the heavy downpour of yesterday, the rain can be characterized as a light drizzle. Conditions are slow again, and ski switching will again play a major...
Whistler, British Columbia – A combination of relatively extreme weather and the ability to switch skis mid-race led to an interesting wax day in the women’s 30km classic. Wax techs were kept busy during the races testing skis, while racers were faced with tactical decisions of whether or not to take the time to switch. Skiers were allowed to switch up to three times during the race, and could do so only in the “pit”...
Whistler, British Columbia – Pouring rain, heavy snow, back to pouring rain, classic Whistler weather, and no one was more happy than Justyna Kowalczyk. She plowed her way through the muck to earn the first Polish gold in Olympic cross-country ski history. Kowalczyk’s Olympics to date had hardly been poor. She won the silver in the sprint, bronze in the pursuit, and skied well in the 15km, and has made no bones about the fact...
Whistler, British Columbia – Heavy falling snow and the ability to swap skis during the race await the field in the final women’s cross-country ski race of the 2010 Olympic Games. 55 women will take to the start line in the 30 km classic mass start event at Whistler Olympic Park. Despite the absence of two of the top skiers, the race should be hotly contested over the 3x10km course. Petra Majdic (SLO), who has...
Whistler, British Columbia – Olympic biathlon racing comes to a close today with the final event of the 2010 Olympic Games, the men’s 4×7.5km relay. More so than any other event, good shooting is critical to success in the relay, and strong performances are needed form all four athletes. In the biathlon relay, each skier gets three extra shots per shooting stage. This means a biathlete has eight bullets to hit five targets. The catch,...
Whistler, British Columbia – The US relay teams did not distinguish themselves in the overall standings, but that was not unexpected. The men’s team featured four athletes who are usually considered sprinters, and the women’s team three Olympic rookies. So there were few expectations for a top overall result, though on the right day, the women could have battled for the top-8. Despite the men finishing 13th of 14 teams, and the women 11th out...
Whistler, British Columbia – The US Nordic Combined team will paying overweight on their flight back to Park City. A historic day doubled their Vancouver medal haul, giving them nearly nine pounds of hardware. Billy Demong skied away from teammate Johnny Spillane and Austrian Bernard Gruber on the final climb to claim Olympic gold. With a move of his own, Spillane left Gruber in the dust, too—laying claim to his 3rd silver medal of the...
Lightning. Bears. Concrete walls. Those are a few things that might be able to stop Norway’s Marit Bjoergen right now. Mere mortals from Italy, Finland, and Germany? Fat chance. Taking the tag from Kristin Stormer Steira with Italy hot on her heels, Bjoergen laid down a blazingly fast final leg, dropping Sabina Valbusa on the very first climb. She skied away, uncontested, to her third gold medal of these Games—Norway’s first in the women’s relay...
Whistler, British Columbia – A day after the Swedish men skied to a clear victory in the men’s 4×10 relay, their female counterparts will attempt to match the feat in the 4x5km event. They will have their work cut out for them, however, and will have a tough time overcoming a very strong Norwegian team. Despite featuring multi-medalist Charlotte Kalla, Sweden is actually a long shot for a medal. Anna Haag, who teamed with Kalla...
Whistler, British Columbia – The heavy snow had stopped, and as Marcus Hellner made his way around the stadium, the clouds broke. For the first time in two days, the sun shown down on Whistler Olympic Park, revealing a golden afternoon for the Swedish men’s cross-country team. It took 22 years and a return to Canadian soil for Sweden to regain the top step of the podium in the 4x10km relay. And for the Anders...
