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...
Back in 2015, prior to her first go at a World Championships, Rosie Brennan was asked this: What’s your biggest motivation while racing?. “I am most motivated by wanting to show that my hard work was worth it, that I did everything I could to go as fast as I could,” Brennan replied at the time. She was twenty six years old then, and now at 30 years old, the Park City native grinds away,...
In this episode, we connect with Max Cobb, the CEO of U.S. Biathlon. He also sits on the International Biathlon Union’s (IBU) Executive Board. When we spoke, he had just returned from the IBU’s “historic” Extraordinary Congress which took place from October 18th-20th, in Munich. The IBU has been rocked in the recent past by internal mismanagement and doping scandals. Rather than succumb to the inertia associated with systemic change, the IBU has reset and...
Vegard Ulvang at fifty six years old remains an icon in Norway. With Olympic and Championship medals, a World Cup Overall title in 1990, he’s in the lineage of Norwegian skiing royalty. Away from the tracks, Ulvang began and then sold a profitable clothing company. He fills his time making documentaries and television features. He is also, as you’ll hear at the top of the interview, committed to living a life of exploration, calculated risk,...
As the Northern Hemisphere slowly tilts towards shorter days and colder temps … and hopefully snow… we spoke with Troy Taylor at U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Taylor’s official title is that of High Performace Director. What that means is he helps coordinate the multiple moving parts involving sport science for the portfolio of teams at U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Taylor has been in this role with U.S. Ski & Snowboard since 2015. He first worked for U.S....
On May 26, Maddie Phaneuf wrote a crisp and revealing blog post about her struggle with mental health issues after the 2018 Olympics. The blog post was titled Invisible Battles, and like many who suffer from a mental health crisis, her struggle was real but often difficult to discuss candidly. Phaneuf does a great service to the community by describing the symptoms she experienced and how she sought help from mental health professionals. Phaneuf...
Kelsey Phinney brings to the sport of cross-country skiing a big-world view as she has rolled with challenges and fine-tuned her athletic performances. First things first: Phinney has become a voice for Parkinson’s Disease advocacy and education. She produced this great podcast episode for the Davis Phinney Foundation titled The Neuroscience of Parkinson’s — it’s part of a broader series from Phinney called The Parkinson’s Podcast. Phinney’s father, himself a former professional cyclist who was diagnosed...
“Everyday has been a new adventure,” were the words from the U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Kevin Bolger as he summarized his first full-time season on the World Cup. At twenty-six-years-old, Bolger is a relatively new face on the team’s evolving crop of sprint skiers. He was re-nominated to the USST for a second consecutive year this past May. Bolger’s ski path took him to Sun Valley for two seasons as a post-graduate skier. He matured physically...