The 16th starter, Jessie Diggins landed in the leader's chair for a few minutes before Germany's Nicole Fessel and Norway's Therese Johaug finished on Saturday in the 15 k freestyle at the Davos World Cup. Diggins ended up 11th and the U.S. had two in the top 20 with Caitlin Gregg in 20th.
Therese Johaug raced to a 1-minute-and-10-second victory in the women's World Cup 15 k freestyle in Davos, Switzerland, and her teammate is calling the deficit scary. “She is completely a machine," third-place finisher Heidi Weng said. "What is it exactly you're made of?”
Those who lost the wind lottery last weekend in Sweden came to Hochfilzen, Austria, looking for redemption - and clean shooting. Some succeeded: Simon Schempp of Germany, who won on the day; Lowell Bailey of the United States, in 12th; and Scott Gow of Canada, in 33rd.
Who was happiest: Franziska Hildebrand, who claimed her first win? Maren Hammerschmidt, who started second to last but crossed the line with the second-fastest time in just her 11th World Cup? Or Miriam Gössner, who is finally back from a devastating injury and placed third? Rosanna Crawford was the only North American to crack the top 40.
Just days after WADA released a comprehensive report on its findings regarding systematic doping in Russia, FasterSkier sought out the opinions of Marty Hall, a former coach of both the U.S. and Canadian ski teams. As expected, he didn't sugarcoat his reaction.
The NorAm opened with three races in four days in Canmore, Alberta, with two distance races on short loops -- one of which the men double poled. Kevin Sandau won the first two men's races, and another Alberta World Cup Academy skier, Dahria Beatty won the women's skate mass start and classic sprint on days 2 and 3.
Sun Valley hosted the second set of SuperTour races -- with a classic sprint and classic mass start -- and we have an assortment of photos recapping the action.
With a tough psyche and plenty of team support, Chelsea Holmes raced to her first win of the season during the women's SuperTour 10 k classic mass start on Sunday in Sun Valley, Idaho, ahead of APU teammate Becca Rorabaugh in second and Craftsbury's Caitlin Patterson in third.
After rebounding from separate scary incidents, APU's Scott Patterson and Eric Packer showed their desire to be back on top of the SuperTour, placing first and third in Sunday's 15 k classic mass start in Sun Valley. Patterson won by more than 30 seconds and CU's Mads Strøm edged Packer for second.
On Sunday, Erik Bjornsen showed the world there's a lot more where that came from when it comes to his classic skiing. Same goes for the U.S. men's relay team, which skied in fifth for at least a third of the men's 4 x 7.5 k relay at the Lillehammer World Cup in Norway.
Ninth on Saturday, Nathan Smith placed 10th in Sunday's pursuit, the final race of the IBU World Cup in Östersund, Sweden, and another Canadian, Macx Davies finished in the top 30 in his first World Cup pursuit.
On a bluebird day in Sun Valley, APU's Becca Rorabaugh skied to her strengths to win the women's SuperTour classic sprint final, while Craftsbury skiers Kaitlynn Miller and Caitlin Patterson fed off their teammates' success to round out the podium in second and third.
"Patience was really the name of the game and I kept it all day,” said Saturday's SuperTour classic sprint winner, Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess. He beat out Reese Hanneman and Tyler Kornfield, both of APU, for his first win of the season.
Clare Egan had been hoping for a top 60 in the IBU World Cup sprint on Saturday. Imagine how she felt after placing 16th. "It gives me confidence that the work I am doing is good and that I am on the right track,” she explained. Annelies Cook placed 25th for the U.S., Rosanna Crawford led Canada in 22nd, and Zina Kocher, Julia Ransom and Megan Tandy also qualified for the pursuit.
Therese Johaug and Martin Johnsrud Sundby didn't even try to make it interesting on Saturday; they were feeling too good. The Norwegians won the Lillehammer World Cup skiathlons by 1 1/2 minutes and 44 seconds, respectively, and skied a good portion of the race completely alone.
Of the five U.S. women that started Saturday's skiathlon, four of them finished in the top 30 and one was just outside in 37th. "It’s nice that everyone is starting to feel like themselves," said Sadie Bjornsen, who led the team in 20th after skiing in the top 20 throughout the race.
The 2016 Ski Classics kicks off this weekend with a doubleheader in Livigno, Italy, and the marathon regulars are chomping at the bit to get started with the long-distance race series.
Ole Einar Bjørndalen has seen a lot in his 20-plus years on the IBU World Cup circuit. “The overall level of the athletes has changed a lot," he told FasterSkier in a recent exclusive interview in Norway. "When I first started, there were a lot fewer who skied really fast,”
If you were wondering whether a podium in the first race of the season took the pressure off Rosanna Crawford for the first individual women’s race on Thursday, the answer is no. The Canadian biathlete explains her mindset and physical form during the 15 k individual, in which she placed 13th.
With plenty of shovels and smiles, the Sun Valley crew is working hard to make both SuperTour races happen at the Lake Creek trails. "Putting the work in here gives the athletes an opportunity to test themselves appropriately on the kinds of courses that they need to be prepared to ski on," SVSEF Nordic Director Rick Kapala explains.