Tim Burke couldn't quite excel on the shooting range enough to get that great race he was hoping for, but the American team has one more chance in Sunday's relay. Brendan Green led the Canadians in 31st.
22-year-old Canadian biathlete Julia Ransom just wanted to score some World Cup points this year - top 40's - to feel like she was on track. She blew that goal out of the water in the Antholz, Italy, on Saturday, shooting a perfect 20-for-20 and skiing to 19th place.
Two names on the Antholz pursuit podium were familiar, but also notable: a World Champ who had never won a World Cup, and a new mom who is returning from a year off. Susan Dunklee of the U.S. finished 17th, flying on the tracks with the fourth-fastest ski time of the field.
For Germany's Simon Schempp, it's three years in Antholz and three sprint wins. Can he also triple up on the pursuit on Saturday? Meanwhile, Tim Burke led North American starters with a 17th place finish. "This was one of my best performances in a sprint race, although the result does not reflect that."
Americans Holly Brooks, Torin Koos and Lauren Fritz, along with Canadian Graham Nishikawa, share their travel stories and racing adventures from the 2016 China Tour de Ski earlier this month. “I see why the Chinese don’t come to the World Cups very often, they seriously do it up in their own country,” Brooks said.
Two Russians cleaned Thursday's sprint at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy, and both landed on the podium. Olga Podchufarova captured her first World Cup win, finishing 8 seconds faster than Italian runner-up Dorothea Wierer, and Russia's Ekaterina Yurlova hit every target for third. Meanwhile, three North Americans qualified for the pursuit: Rosanna Crawford in 33rd, Susan Dunklee in 37th and Julia Ransom in 46th.
New to the FIS Ladies Cross Country Committee, Dartmouth coach Cami Thompson-Graves is trying to understand why fewer women than men compete on the World Cup, and is this something the committee can help with? In many countries, girls and women participate in skiing at equal numbers to boys and men at younger ages, but then there is a drop-off. Is the small field size a funding problem or a participation problem?
U.S. Nordic Combined coach Dave Jarrett talks about the cause and effect of a string of World Cup cancellations this season. "Every race that we have had the ability to start five guys on the World Cup has been canceled so far, and we are not going to get those chances back," he explains.
Just six months after graduating from UNH, Annika Taylor, a 22-year-old California native, found herself starting her first World Cup race in late November as the sole female representative of Great Britain's cross-country ski team. "I’m actually addicted to the lifestyle because every weekend is a new experience," Taylor says.
After leading into the final loop of the women’s 4 x 6 k relay on Sunday, Ukraine successfully held off Germany at the finish, to the audible dismay of the packed stadium in Ruhpolding, Germany. The Ukrainian women took the win by 1.2 seconds, Germany finished second and Italy edged Russia in a sprint for third.
In their first team sprint together, Americans Ida Sargent and Sophie Caldwell placed fifth on Sunday, while the U.S. men's team of Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton missed an early tag and ended up being disqualified in the final. “It was disappointing for sure, but it was a good call by the jury," U.S. head coach Chris Grover said.
Groundhog Day. That was the feel of Sunday’s 6 x 1.2-kilometer freestyle team sprints at the World Cup in Planica, Slovenia, a day after Sweden’s Stina Nilsson and Italy’s Federico Pellegrino won the individual freestyle sprints on the same one-lap 1.2 k course.
In "danger" of not qualifying for 2016 World Championships, Germany’s Erik Lesser stuck it to those who questioned his chances, winning Saturday's mass start at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding in front of a local crowd. "I don’t want to hear about that again after giving you what you wanted," he told reporters.
Though four U.S. skiers qualified for the freestyle sprint heats in Planica, Slovenia, none advanced beyond the quarterfinals. With a fresh mindset, the U.S. Ski team is looking to move forward for the next freestyle sprint: the team sprint on Sunday.
Italy's Federico Pellegrino rolled to his fourth-straight skate sprint victory on Saturday, and Stina Nilsson of Sweden won her second World Cup race as the regular season resumed in Slovenia following the 10-day Tour de Ski.
Three Canadians missed the heats by slim margins on Saturday, with Len Valjas placing 31st for the third time in a World Cup skate sprint this season and Maya MacIsaac-Jones finishing 31st in the women's race, followed by Dahria Beatty in 32nd. “It’s a great start, it’s exciting and that’s why we have them over [there],” head coach Justin Wadsworth says.
Gabriela Soukalova picked up the tenth win of her career in a snowy mass start in Ruhpolding, Germany: "Just before the start of the season, I was talking with a friend about whether I would ever this tenth World Cup. I put ten as a goal before the finish [of the season]. So that now I'll have to increase that a little.”
Last week, the 2016 U.S. Paralympics Sit Ski Nationals and IPC Continental Cup were held in Craftsbury, Vt., where Oksana Masters swept the women's races, newcomer Joy Rondeau placed second in four of them, and Andy Soule won all but one of the men's races. “I was impressed with the group as a whole and am excited to see what is to come,” head coach Eileen Carey explained.
The U.S. men had their best relay result in three years - despite, they say, not having their 100% best days ever. "I feel like this is absolutely where we belong, but we are capable of more than this," said Tim Burke. "I feel like there’s more to come for this group."
For the second-straight year, the city of Valdez, Alaska, is hosting back-to-back races (17.5 k classic on Saturday and 17.5 k skate on Sunday) with a combined payout of $10,000 dollars. As of Thursday, 29 skiers were registered. “We are guaranteed to run the race,” the race director explains. “The odds couldn’t be any better for those folks.”