All American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. CABLE, Wis. – Whether or not it’s your first time following or participating in the American Birkebeiner, a point-to-point race from Cable to Hayward in northern Wisconsin, here are few pieces of information to bring you up to speed on what’s happening at the 39th annual event. 1. The biggest one of all. The Birkie as the largest cross-country ski marathon...
All American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. HAYWARD, Wis. — Ever wonder how they get all that snow, about half a kilometer’s worth and 6 inches to a foot deep, all across Main Street and out toward Hayward Lake for the finish of the American Birkebeiner? FasterSkier’s Alex Matthews tagged along for a four-hour grooming session in downtown Hayward with two of the Birkie’s main men, Chief of Course...
ERZURUM, Turkey — In the minutes between finishing and stepping on the podium for the flower ceremony, we caught up with Noah Hoffman (TeamHomeGrown/USST) to talk about his silver-medal performance in the 15 k classic at U23 World Championships. Results
ERZURUM, Turkey — Thursday’s U23 World Championship classic distance races started out well for team USA with Sadie Bjornsen’s (APU/USST) fifth-place finish in a closely-packed group at the top of the 10 k classic results. We caught her after the finish to talk about her race. Results
All American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. Birkie Elite Sprints are available to watch
If there’s one takeaway from the Junior and U23 World Championships thus far, it’s that Russia is a well-oiled machine. Evgeniy Belov (RUS) won his country its sixth gold medal of the week on Thursday, ahead of Noah Hoffman (USA) in second and Hannes Dotzler (GER) in third. Based on Belov’s delight on the podium, the run of success isn’t getting old. “I cannot express how happy I am today when I defended the...
ERZURUM, Turkey — Dahria Beatty (CAN) and Janelle Greer (CAN) led the way for the North Americans on Wednesday at World Juniors in the 5 k classic, finishing 25th and 28th, respectively—within 7.3 seconds of each other. Both women said they had hoped for more, but were stymied by the tough course at altitude in Kindalli, a feeling many athletes pointed out. The need to conserve energy threw Beatty off her usual sea-level racing strategy....
ERZURUM, Turkey — It takes quite a bit to detract from what was nearly a clean dual podium sweep in the men’s and women’s classic distance races at World Juniors on Wednesday. Natalia Zhukova (RUS) won the women’s 5 k ahead of compatriots Elena Soboleva and Elena Serokhvostava. On the men’s side Sergey Ustiugov (RUS) took his second victory of these championships, with teammate Ermil Vokuev behind in second. Norway’s Sindre Bjoernestad Skar was the...
ERZURUM, Turkey — With two gold medals in as many days at the World Junior/U23 Championships, Russia is clearly on top of its mens’ sprint game. Gleb Retivyk (RUS) took home a decisive win on Tuesday, skiing into the stadium in the final out of reach of his competitors, and maintained his lead all the way around the last corner and through the straightaway. His compatriot Evgeniy Belov (RUS) took second, and in a fight...
ERZURUM, Turkey — After scoring points on the World Cup, a victory at U23 World Championships is still a big deal. Just ask Hanna Kolb (GER)—despite having placed 17th this weekend in Szklarska Poreba, Poland sprint, she still thought of her inaugural U23 title as an significant accomplishment. “It is one of the greatest achievements for me,” she said to FIS marketing coordinator Michal Lamplot. “Even though I have won already some World Cup points…this...
All Madison SuperTour and American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. MADISON, Wis. – At the first 90-degree turn on the four-corner course around Capitol Square, Jennie Bender almost came to a stop. Standing up, she scanned her three competitors in the women’s A-final at the SuperTour 1 k freestyle sprint on Sunday. The Central Cross Country (CXC) Elite Team skier was looking for one in particular. Bender eventually drew...
All Madison SuperTour and American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. MADISON, Wis. – Finland’s Jari Joutsen could have been mad or at least frustrated with a split-second lane change that forced him out of his spot into another skier in the A-final of the SuperTour 1 k freestyle sprint on Sunday. After the race as he stood next to Philip Furrer, the Swiss who claimed the victory, Joutsen smiled....
ERZURUM, Turkey — Less than a day remains before the start of the 2012 FIS Junior and U23 World Championships. Despite language barriers and transportation confusion, the excitement at the Kandilli Nordic Ski Center was palpable in anticipation of Monday’s junior freestyle sprints. The sun even came out for the occasion, revealing a mountainous, moon-like landscape that had previously been hidden behind clouds. Kandilli lies about 40 k to the west of Erzurum, where athletes...
All 2012 Madison SuperTour and American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. MADISON, Wis. — As Dmitriy Ozerskiy patiently awaited his turn to take a look at the result board, his Russian teammate, Maxim Fadeev, approached him. Fadeev had just heard the news that Ozerskiy won the SuperTour freestyle sprint qualifier, 0.06 seconds ahead of Jari Joutsen of Finland. Fadeev was the third fastest around the 1 k loop,...
All 2012 Madison SuperTour and American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. MADISON, Wis. — Jennie Bender of Central Cross Country (CXC) won another qualifier in the second straight day of sprints around Wisconsin’s state capital, posting the fastest time in 2:04.0. After winning Saturday’s classic sprint qualifier by more than 6 seconds, Bender had less of a gap on Sunday. Hilary McNamee of Maine Winter Sports Center was...
All 2012 Madison SuperTour and American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. MADISON, Wis. – Two hours seems like a lot of time between qualifiers and heats, but when it comes down to it, sprints are sprints. They’re restless from start to finish. Between the SuperTour 1 k classic races at the heart of Wisconsin’s state capital on Saturday, some athletes killed time by running around downtown. Others, like...
All Madison SuperTour and American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. MADISON, Wis. – Most of the men in the SuperTour classic sprints on Saturday probably didn’t have a clue who Jari Joutsen was. He certainly had an international reputation with several World Cup top-30 results. Yet to the 22 others in the 1 k sprint around Madison’s Capitol Square, Joutsen was just another competitor – one Finish skier...
All Madison SuperTour and American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. MADISON, Wis. — Jennie Bender of Central Cross Country (CXC) did as she intended in Saturday’s 1 k classic sprint qualifier, the first race of the Madison SuperTour, posting the fastest time by 6.1 seconds. Bender won the city sprint qualifier in 2:18.7, ahead of Hannah Dreissigacker (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) in second. Hilary McNamee (Maine Winter Sports...
All Madison SuperTour and American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. MADISON, Wis. — In his SuperTour debut, Jari Joutsen put forth a strong showing for Finland, winning the men’s 1 k classic sprint qualifier in 1:55.1. The 33-year-old, who skis for Vetelin Urheilijat, beat Skyler Davis of the U.S. Ski Team and Stratton Mountain School (SMS) by 1.1 seconds. Davis was the second-fastest qualifier on the snow-covered streets surrounding...
All 2012 Madison SuperTour and American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of SkiErg. MADISON, Wis. — Here’s a look at how SuperTour race organizers make a city sprint possible in downtown Madison. Starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, some 90 trucks carted manmade snow from an energy facility about a mile or two from Wisconsin’s State Capitol and dumped it on the city streets surrounding the square. Madison’s Don Miller Subaru...