Yesterday Tim Burke of the US Biathlon Team posted on of the top US results in the history of the sport, finishing 2nd in the 20km World Cup race in Ostersund, Sweden. Burke took some time out from preparing for tomorrow’s sprint to talk with FasterSkier about his historic performance. You have been very close to the podium on a number of occasions. What was different this time? I think the difference for me yesterday...
Kusaamo, Finland – Petter Northug (NOR) staged an impressive come-from-behind victory, in the men’s 15km classic World Cup race in Finland. This was Northug’s first World Cup win in a classic distance race. Northug sat out yesterday’s sprint as he recovered from a stomach ailment, and his participation today was questionable for much of the week. The Norwegian star started slowly, sitting in 41st place, 16 seconds off the pace. Meanwhile, the Russian team set...
Kuusamo, Finland – Aino Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) skied to a convincing 13 second win in the women’s 10km classic. Her last World Cup victory came exactly a year ago in this same event. Saarinen led the overall World Cup for a good portion of the season last year, before stumbling down the stretch, and finishing third She is off to a good start this year, and is back in the driver’s seat. Skiing before a...
Kuusamo, Finland – Kris Freeman (USA) finished 4th in the men’s 15km classic World Cup this morning. The result marks Freeman’s best World Cup performance ever – though he does have two 4th’s in the World Championships as well. Freeman was just 2.2 seconds off the podium, and edged out 5th place finisher Norwegian Martin Sundby Johnsrud by just .4 seconds. Freeman started conservatively, sitting in 62nd, 10 seconds off the pace at 1.1km. By...
Kuusamo, Finland – Ola Vigen Hattestad (NOR) picked up where he left off last year, winning the men’s 1.4km classic sprint at the Nordic Opening weekend in Kuusamo, Finland. Hattestad, the two-time defending World Cup sprint champion, qualified in 9th, before showing the patience and speed that led him to six victories last season. He cruised to a convincing 1 second victory in the A-final over teammate Oystein Pettersen. Nikita Kriukov (RUS) was 3rd. “This...
Kuusamo, Finalnd – Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), the defending World Cup Champion upset Petra Majdic (SLO) in the first World Cup sprint competition of the year. High humidity and a challenging course made for a tough day. Aino Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) paced the field in the qualification round of the 1.2km classic sprint. Her time of 3:01 was one second faster than runner up Anna Olsson (SWE). Majdic qualified 3rd and Kowalczyk 5th. Saarinen led the...
Beitostolen, Norway – The Swedish women’s relay team of Anna Olsson, Sara Lindborg, Anna Lindborg, and Charlotte Kalla turned an early 17 second deficit into a 16 second victory over rival Norway. Conditions were described as “midwinter” with new snow softening the icy tracks that welcomed racers in yesterday’s individual freestyle. The temperature was just under freezing at -1 C. The top-5 teams plus one pulled away in the first leg – Sweden, Norway, Finland,...
Beitostolen, Norway – World Cup racing continues tomorrow with a 4×5/10km relay. Canada will field both a men’s and women’s team, while the US will represent in the men’s race. The Beitostolen realy is the only such event prior to the Olympics, so there will not be another opportunity to see how team’s measure up. Canada is missing a key member of their squad – George Grey. Grey is recovering from an injury and will...
The 2010 World Cup season is set to start this weekend in Beitostolen, Norway, with a 10/15km freestyle on Saturday, and a 4×5/10km relay on Sunday. Exactly 120 days later, with the conclusion of the World Cup Final in Falun, Sweden, one of athletics ultimate endurance challenges comes to an end. A total of 40 races, including 13 individual sprints, 21 distance races, 3 relays, and 3 team sprints, are on the schedule. This includes...
The 2010 men’s World Cup field should be as deep and competitive as always. FasterSkier previews the top men in the world, and makes some predictions. Petter Northug (NOR) He can do it all and has the best finish in the game. Some question the sportsmanship of his tactics, but regardless of morality, they work. Prediction: After being left off the ’06 Olympic team, he has something to prove. He will go for a sweep,...
Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) Kowalczyk is last year’s overall World Cup Champion and should be considered the favorite to repeat. Her versatility and stamina are her strengths. She’s just as capable of winning a sprint as a 30 km., and last year she missed just one race, scoring World Cup points in every start. She had a total of nine podium finishes, including five victories. Kowalczyk was not dominating last weekend at FIS races in Sweden,...
Beitostolen, Norway was not the only site of high level FIS races this past weekend. Many top World Cup athletes also competed in Muonio, Finland, and Bruksvallarna, Sweden. While some of the Canadian National Team remained in Canada, Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey, Graham Nishikawa, and Chandra Crawford traveled to Europe in preparation for next week’s World Cup opener in Norway. Kershaw had an up and down weekend, barely qualifying for the heats in the classic sprint,...
Beitostolen, Norway – The three race Beitosprinten weekend came to a close with today’s 5/10km classic individual start. Once again the races featured World Cup quality and significant depth. The US Ski Team, already with several strong results over the last two days, ended their World Cup warmups with impressive performances. Kikkan Randall led the way in the women’s 5km classic, placing 4th, just 8.4 seconds off the podium. Marit Bjoergen won her second race...
Beitostolen, Norway – Kris Freeman skied to a 5th place finish in the men’s 15km freestyle FIS race in Beitostolen, Norway. Freeman finished just 32 seconds behind winner Petter Northug (NOR). Many top World Cup skiers participated, making for a deep and challenging field. Italian Giorgio DiCenta and Russian Alexander Legkov were 11 and 17 seconds back of Northug to round out the podium. Today’s race was a good test for Freeman, who required...
Beitostolen, Norway – FIS racing action continues, as top skiers prepare for next week’s World Cup opener. 122 men and 74 women are scheduled to start. The men’s field includes such names as Petter Northug (NOR) Pietro PIller Cottrer (ITA) and Alexander Legkov (RUS). They will be racing a 15km freestyle. Kris Freeman (USA) makes his debut, starting as bib 110 in the seeded group. He will be joined by fellow American Lars Flora. In...
Beitostolen, Norway – The start of 2009-2010 season officially began for the US Ski Team with a classic FIS sprint in Beitostolen, Norway. With excellent snow, and the World Cup opener just a week away at the same location, many of the top skiers in the world are using this weekend to prepare. 56 women and 104 men took to the course on a cold day in central Norway. The US started 3 skiers – Andy...
The 4th annual FIS Tour de Ski will be held this season, and for the first time an American will compete. Andy Newell will start the eight-stage event that is modeled on the Tour de France. In the past it hasn’t made much sense for US athletes to take part. Contesting the Tour requires not only a high level of fitness, but the ability to excel at every distance and technique. Rule changes for the...
The International Climate Day of Action was held just over a week ago. CNN called it “The most widespread day of political action in the planet’s history.” According to 350.org, “people in 181 countries came together for the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet’s history. At over 5200 events around the world, people gathered to call for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis. Over 19,000 photos have been submitted...
26 racers braved rain and snow to contest the Mt. Greylock Rollerski Race in Lanesboro, Massachusetts on Sunday. The road up the highest point in Massachusetts has been closed for two years for a complete overhaul. The result? Perfect pavement the length of the eight mile climb, and a rollerskier’s paradise. The race returned to Mt. Greylock after a 7-year hiatus. The weather, however, did not cooperate and the race was shortened to 4.5 miles....
Taylor Fletcher put on a strong move in the later half part of the race to ski away from Nordic Combined teammate Nick Hendrickson and the cross-country team’s Kris Freeman to claim the victory in the annual NYSEF Climb to the Castle rollerski race in Lake Placid, New York. In the women’s race Morgan Arritola (USST) led a strong pack, edging Liz Stephen (USST) by 14 seconds. Ida Sargent (Dartmouth/Craftsbury) took third, just 2.5 seconds...
