Nové Město, Czech Republic served up a traditional rock’em sock’em pursuit series on the World Cup. Saturday featured a 10 k/15 k interval start skate, followed by a 10 k/15 K classic pursuit. Bolshunov and Johaug were the clear fitness outliers but some great races within the race unfolded. And yes, how about those big baggy bibs? Part art-class smock part moo-moo, it was not a good race look. But we digress. To break...
In this episode, Devon answers questions from listeners that rang from how World Cup athletes maintain in-season fitness to why in fact relays don’t end with a classic leg. Fell free to send in questions regarding the World Cup to info@fasterskier.com or devon@fasterskier.com. This week’s post-racing recap will drop on Monday following the weekend’s racing in Nové Město.
We are corrected in this episode: we try to be better Francophiles by improving our pronunciation of the weekend’s stand out performer on the men’s side, Lucas Chanavat. We also dig down and find the fun in Sunday’s team sprint in Dresden. With a whirlwind 0.7 k loop, and each skier racing six legs, it was basic sprinting fun. Thanks for listening.
Dresden is calling with a wild ride skate sprint. Post-Tour de Ski, it is time to visit historic Dresden, Germany for a weekend of city sprints. With trucked in artificial snow, slick, fast, and icy conditions made for some spills on the Dresden oval. Stay on your feet, and stay out front: basic tactics that some mastered Saturday. Chanavat took the men’s win and Svahn the women’s victory.
In this episode, we connect with John Munger, Executive Director of the Loppet Foundation in Minneapolis and Garrott Kuzzy, former U.S. Ski Team member who grew up near Wirth Park. From impressions of Wirth back-in-the-day to exploring how the World Cup ended up in Minneapolis, we drill down on most (but not all) things Minneapolis World Cup. That event goes down on March, 17. We cover the cost of hosting, infrastructure demands, and how the pieces...
Holy smokes. It concludes. First off, for those who have listened to this seven-episode post-TdS run, we appreciate it. And there was the racing. Johaug. Weng. Diggins and Brennan in form today on the Alpe, and Sadie Maubet Bjornsen in seventh overall. For the men …. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo faded on the Alpe while Alexander Bolshunov came into his own. We could digress. But we’ll leave that for the podcast. Ciao. Wait. A small digression. We...
A bit of moving day on the women’s side today as Stage 6 of the Tour de Ski concluded. The biggest mover, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen eeks within three seconds of Therese Johaug for the overall. So much drama set to unfold tomorrow. And then there’s Lampic and Diggins on the podium. For the men, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo ran away with the win. But the Alpe Cermis on Stage 7 could crush the young man — or...
In this seven part mini-series, this part five of our Tour de Ski breakdown. Stage 5 offered close racing on a famed Val di Fiemme, Italy 2.5 k loop. Mass start classic races, 10 k for the women, 15 k for the men, made this a three horse race on the men’s side and slightly more open field for the women. Have a listen. And…we get a bit sidetracked at the end. If you like...
The Tour de Ski says so long to Tobalch, where Stage 4, a classic pursuit for the men and women, firmed up the standings for some at the sharp end and saw others take a slide down the rankings. Stage 4, a 10 k/15 k classic pursuit in Toblach, Italy saw Johaug retain the overall lead for the women, and Bolshunov snag the yellow leader’s bib from Ustiugov. On a tricky classic course with steeper...
In this episode, Devon gets into the nitty-gritty of a lovely day of interval start racing. That’s for real: 15 k for the men, 10 k for the women … all skate. Stage 3 starts a run of three distance races in a row. Overall positions are still in play, but the top-tier are beginning to separate. Lots of Russians today in the top-10 for the men, and a nail biter on the women’s...
Moving on from picturesque Lenzerheide, Switzerland. With two days of racing, the leaderboards are shaking out for the men and women. In this Tour de Ski episode, we break down the day’s skate sprint, pay homage to Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen, and bow to the sprint king Klæbo. Thanks for listening. We’ll pick up the show after Stage 3 in Toblach, Italy.
Stage 1 of the 2019-2020 Tour de Ski is final. With two distinct shows in the Lenzerheide, Switzerland men’s and women’s mass start races, the seven-stage TdS narrative has the intro chapter written. Therese Johaug for Norway looks prepped for the distance race sweep, whereas the men’s side has several skiers playing for keeps. On second thought, maybe it’s not that simple after all. They’ve got six stages to go.
Yes, the sprint skiers put on a show this weekend in Planica, Slovenia. With a pure skate sprint weekend – both an individual and team sprint were on tap — speed and dicey conditions were a highlight. But perhaps, it took a supporting role to the weather. Day one featured a green-brown and rainy template peppered with bountiful bolts of lightning. The racing was postponed for a bit of time. Sunday was a winter...
To the point: thoughts and opinions on WADA’s decision to ban Russia from major international competitions for four years.
In this episode of The Devon Kershaw Show … it is all things Davos. While the glam Swiss valley boasts mountain scenery, and a fusion of traditional Swiss cowbell and high finance, in many ways it remains decidely old school. Among other things, we discuss what some say is an outdated Davos distance course and the killing it Swedish women’s team. We’ll be releasing a mid-week episode where we chat about last week’s WADA...
If you’ve been following along with the global ski scene and wax, you know this: perfluorinated waxes have been a hot button topic. From issues with importing into the U.S., stories on potential health and environmental risk, and new “green” wax products coming on-line…it’s been hard to keep up with trends. The International Ski Federation announced last month that it would move towards a fluoro-free race series next year. That caught the surprise of many...
First off, The Devon Kershaw show is live on iTunes and Google Play. And for that matter, Spotify. So you’ve got a few ways to subscribe and listen. Press the subscribe button on the player below for a direct link. Second, lots to breakdown after this weekend. Yup, Johaug crushed, but so did Diggins, Maubet Bjornsen, and Brennan. And cheers for the American women’s second place in the relay. For the men, Hans Christer...
This is a new project from FasterSkier and the podcast title pretty much says it: Devon Kershaw will be sharing his thoughts and insights of the 2019-2020 World Cup with us. It began this morning, Sunday, December 1, very early for me and not so early for Devon who is based in Lillehammer, Norway. Devon is a former longtime Canadian National Team member, a World Champion, and commentator for Eurosport at last year’s Seefeld, Austria...
Devon Kershaw, for many years, was a go-to on the World Cup for Canada. He won a gold medal at the 2011 World Championship in the team sprint with Alex Harvey and finished second in the World Cup overall in 2012. He is accomplished. He is also a student of the sport. That was evident last season as he helped Eurosport with its television broadcast coverage of the 2019 World Championships. Watching Kershaw provide race...
In this episode, we speak with now-retired Swedish skier Ida Ingemarsdotter. The thirty-four-year-old Ingemarsdotter became the head coach for the Swedish national development team this fall. She’ll be leading a crew of U23 and U20 skiers as they hope to transition to the senior national team. For many years, Imgemarsdotter was a Swedish World Cup staple. She’s a two-time medalist at the Olympics and a down to earth Swede, as we learn about her recent...