Topher Sabot – Page 26 – FasterSkier.com

Freemans Go 1-2 in Craftsbury Marathon

Topher SabotFebruary 4, 2009

“You could not ask for a better day. This is what cross country skiing is all about,” said Olympian Kris Freeman following his victory in the 50km classic event. The 2009 Marathon will be remembered for all the superlatives: great snow, solid tracks, easy waxing, nice temperature, lots of fun, and even abundant sunshine. Over 600 skiers enjoyed the best of what the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont has to offer Nordic skiers. The marathon debuted...

Juniors Racing Results

Oestberg Two For Two at World Juniors

Topher SabotFebruary 3, 2009

Praz de Lys, France – Invild Flugstad Oestberg (NOR) won her second World Junior gold in two events, taking the victory in the 10km pursuit. Oestberg skied at the front the entire race, breaking away in the skate leg en route to 24.3 second victory over Finland’s Krista Lahteenmaki. Hanna Brodin (SWE) claimed her second podium of the Championships, adding the bronze to a silver in the SUnday’s sprint. Brodin was just over 40 seconds...

Racing

Rezac and Hansson win König Ludwig Lauf, Sarah Max 4th

Topher SabotFebruary 2, 2009

Oberammergau, Germany – Stanislav Rezac (CZE) and Jenny Hansson won the 37th annual König Ludwig Lauf World Loppet. Rezac and Hansson both particpated in the 50km classic – the premier event of the weekend. Rezac, a winner of the FIS marathon cup in 2005 and a familiar face on the World Loppet podium, edged Swede Jerry Ahrlin in a sprint to the finish. The final margin of victory was only .4 seconds after nearly two...

Juniors Racing Results

U23 Championhips Concludes with Sprint, World Juniors Gets Underway

Topher SabotFebruary 2, 2009

Praz de Lys, France – The U23 Championships came to a close with a classic sprint, also the first event of the World Junior Championships. U23 Men The Canadian men’s U23 team capped an excellent week by placing four skiers in the top 10, led by Alex Harvey in 5th. Harvey, gunning for a podium result, and possibly a victory, was foiled in achieving those goals, but still impressed with two top-5 results. Teammate Len...

News Olympics World Cup

Whistler Olympic Course Controversy

Topher SabotJanuary 29, 20092

Every pre-Olympic year, World Cup events are held at the Olympic venues. This allows staff and volunteers to experience a full-fledged international event. Kinks can be worked out, and there is still plenty of time to make adjustments if need be. Additionally, it is on opportunity for athletes to become acquainted with the venue, and in the case of cross-country skiing, race on the Olympic courses. Canadian Nationals were held at Whistler Olympic Park last...

US Ski Team

US Ski Team Brings Suit Consistency

Topher SabotJanuary 28, 2009

After years of a remarkable level of wardrobe schizophrenia, the US Ski Team has ushered in a new era of racing suit consistency that should make it easier to follow our favorite US athletes on the race course. There are currently two suit variations being used by US Ski Team athletes, and athletes racing for the US in international events. They are so similar, that for practical purposes (identifying US skiers in a race) they...

Racing Results US Ski Team World Cup

Hattestad Now 4 for 5 In World Cup Sprints

Topher SabotJanuary 26, 2009

Otepaa, Estonia – Norweigan Ola-Vigen Hattestad continues to dominate the men’s World Cup sprint competitions, winning the 1.4km classic event as Norway controlled the A-Final. Hattestad has now won four of five World Cup sprint events this season and finished second to Swede Emil Joensson last week in Whistler. Hattestad rarely qualifies at the top, but shows remarkable patience and finishing speed in the heats. Yesterday he qualified all the way back in 25th place...

Racing Results US Ski Team World Cup

Majdic Wins in Otepaa, Randall 16th

Topher SabotJanuary 26, 2009

Otepaa, Estonia – Petra Majdic (SLO) won her fourth sprint race of the season, edging overall World Cup leader Aino Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) and Tour de Ski winner Virpi Kuitunen (FIN) in the A-Final. The podium represented the top three women in the overall World Cup standings, with Saarinen and Majdic swapping places. Majdic dominated the final, setting a blistering pace out of the start, and skiing to a 1.3 second victory over Saarinen. Kuitunen...

Racing Results World Cup

Bauer Back on Top In Estonia

Topher SabotJanuary 24, 2009

Otepaa, Estonia – Lukas Bauer (CZE) demonstrated that he is in good form heading to World Championships, wining the men’s 15km classic World Cup race in Estonia. Bauer, last year’s overall World Cup Champion and Tour de Ski winner, edged Swede Johan Olsson by 1.5 seconds. Veteran Vincent Vittoz (FRA) rounded out the podium, +9.3 seconds. This was Bauer’s first victory of the season, bettering his second place performance in Kuusamo, Finland at the end...

Racing Results World Cup

Kowalczyk Shows No Sign of Fatigue in Convincing Win

Topher SabotJanuary 24, 20094

Otepaa, Estoina – Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), coming off a strong showing in Whistler, showed no ill effects from the travel, skiing to an impressive 26 second victory in the women’s 10km classic World Cup. Kowalczyk won the 15km pursuit in Whistler, and finished second in the individual sprint. Only a handful of racers from the Whistler events competed in Estonia, and non fared better than Kowalczyk. She held a 4 second lead at the 2.3...

Racing World Cup

US Women 4th in Team Sprint, Italy Victorious

Topher SabotJanuary 18, 2009

Whistler, British Columbia – The US Women’s Sprint Relay team of Liz Stephen and Kikkan Randall skied to a 4th place finish today under sunny skies in Canada. The duo, racing together for the first time, moved up in the last two laps, and closed on the lead pack to finish only .9 seconds off the podium. The result did not come easy. To even contest the final, Stephen and Randall had to advance out...

Racing World Cup

Canada Third in Men’s Team Sprint, Sweden Wins

Topher SabotJanuary 18, 20091

Whistler, British Columbia – The Canadian team of George Grey and Alex Harvey finished an impressive third in the Men’s Team Sprint competition this morning. Harvey outsprinted Russia I, lunging at the line, to claim the final podium spot. The Swedish team took the victory in a tight and exciting race. The semifinals were hotly contested. In the first heat, American Mike Sinnott broke from the field and opened up 15 meter gap at the...

Racing World Cup

Kowalczyk Skis To Victory in Women’s World Cup Pursuit

Topher SabotJanuary 17, 20091

Whistler, British Columbia – Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) gained her third career World Cup victory, skiing to victory in the women’s 15km pursuit. Kowalczyk, who won this same event in Canmore last season, was able to ski away from Italy’s Marianna Longa in the final two kilometers. Longa set a fast pace from the start, quickly breaking apart the pack. Kowalczyk appeared to be struggling at times, but had plenty left on the final lap to...

Racing World Cup

Piller Cottrer Wins World Cup Pursuit as Italians Dominate

Topher SabotJanuary 17, 20091

Whistler, British Columbia – Pietro Piller Cottrer led a strong Italian contingent, winning the 30km World Cup pursuit at Whistler Olympic Park. The bronze medalist in the event in the 2006 Olympic Games, Piller Cottrer captured his 6th career win, the most ever by an Italian. Piller Cotter broke from the lead back with under seven kilometers to go, skiing away to a convincing victory. The Italian team used bicycle racing tactics to control the...

Racing World Cup

Pursuit Preview From Whistler

Topher SabotJanuary 17, 2009

Racing World Cup

Whistler Sprint Preview

Topher SabotJanuary 16, 2009

The Whistler World Cups are set to get under way tomorrow morning with the individual classic sprint. Nine American men and 17 Canadian men will contest the 1.6km event. The course has been lengthened from the original 1.4km course that many skiers raced on at Canadian Nationals last year, and trained on in the spring. The increase is due to an attempt by the FIS to prevent double poling classic sprints. The field, as expected,...

Racing US Ski Team World Cup

A Look Back at the First Two Months: US and Canada

Topher SabotJanuary 14, 2009

With the Vancouver World Cups just a few days away, the US and Canadian ski teams are preparing to start the next phase of the international racing season. The highlight, of course, is the World Championships, scheduled for mid-February in the Czech Republic. And while the athletes, coaches, and service personnel are all looking forward at this point, it can be useful to examine the past several months of racing. Overall, it was somewhat of...

Racing US Nationals

US Nationals Aftermath

Topher SabotJanuary 12, 20099

Last week’s US National Championships were marked by the cancellation of two events and seemingly endless postponements. With temperatures barely reaching the legal limit for racing, it was all organizers could do to pull off one distance race and one sprint. This has led to discussion as to what, if anything, should be done to avoid similar situations. Proposals include moving the entire Championship to the spring, avoiding venues susceptible to such frigid weather, and...

Racing Tour de Ski World Cup

Kuitunen Holds off Saarinen For Tour Victory

Topher SabotJanuary 4, 2009

Val di Fiemme, Italy – Virpi Kuitunen (FIN) won the 3rd annual FIS Tour de Ski in impressive fashion, holding off a late attack by teammate Aino-Kaisa Saarinen. Kuitunen, who has won the last two overall World Cup titles, held a 32 second lead starting the race, but could not feel comfortable. last year she entered the Final Climb with a 40 second cushion on young Swede Charlotte Kalla. Kalla was unable to make up...

Racing Results Tour de Ski World Cup

Cologna Wins Tour de Ski, Northug Charges to Second

Topher SabotJanuary 4, 2009

Val di Fiemme, Italy – 22-year old Dario Cologna (SUI) won the third annua FIS Tour de Ski, skiing away form the field in the grueling Final Climb. Cologna, who had never stood on the World Cup podium prior to this season, and had just 34 Word Cup starts under his belt, finished 30th in last year’s Tour. This season was different. Entering the 7 event, 10 day test, the young Swiss was considered a...

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