The first individual IBU World Cup race took place a week ago in Östersund and wrapped up this past Sunday. Here, we recap everything from biathlon in Sweden and at home in Canmore, to the Lillehammer mini tour and nordic-combined competitions, and second U.S. SuperTour stop in Bozeman, Mont.
Photos from an exciting day of mass start racing in Canmore, Alberta, on Sunday. American and Canadian men and women contested NorAms, and Canada also used the youth and junior categories as selection trials for age-group championships in Minsk, Belarus, this winter.
While many in the nordic community flock to West Yellowstone each November, this New Mexico master describes what Thanksgiving skiing in Crested Butte is like, with individual attention and a homologated 5 k loop on the edge of town.
Emil Hegle Svendsen talked about throwing out his skis; Ole Einar Bjørndalen didn't use his best. Nathan Smith hopes for stonegrinding before the next World Cup and Susan Dunklee's skis might go back to Fischer for care. One thing is certain: Östersund did a number on skis. How do you come back from that?
Martin Fourcade came out firing, missing several of his targets on Sunday, but pulling off a 10-second victory in the men's 12.5 k pursuit on the last day of the Östersund World Cup nonetheless. Canada's Nathan Smith cleaned three stages to reach the top three, but missed three on his last stage to finish 16th.
Finn Hågen Krogh had reason to believe he cold hold off Norwegian teammate Martin Johnsrud Sundby in Sunday's 15 k classic pursuit, the final stage of the Lillehammer mini tour. And Johnsrud, who won every tour last winter, had a feeling he could catch Krogh, but got a little nervous when it took longer than he expected.
As so often on the World Cup lately, it’s not a question of who will fight for the victory, but how the competition between Marit Bjørgen and Therese Johaug will unfold. Sunday held a sprint showdown between the two in the women's 10 k classic pursuit on the last day of the Lillehammer World Cup mini tour.
The last time Kaisa Mäkäräinen opened the season with a win in Sweden, she also won the overall World Cup title. Is she going to do it again? Canada's Rosanna Crawford finished 14th, and is also excited to see what comes next: "I know there is so much potential."
The United States biathlon team went into today’s World Cup pursuits looking for improvement, and two athletes nailed it: Lowell Bailey finished 17th and Susan Dunklee 19th. Both used deliberate shooting strategy on Ostersund's gusty range to make their moves.
Rock-solid and fast conditions on the second day of the Lillehammer mini tour didn't work to the Canadians' favor, with Alex Harvey struggling with his left leg about 3 kilometers into the 10 k freestyle and Ivan Babikov feeling like he couldn't turn it into high gear.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby is back in the Overall World Cup leader's bib after a 2.2-second win over teammate Finn Hågen Krogh on Saturday in the men's 10 k freestyle at the Lillehammer World Cup. For Sunday's pursuit, he'll start 20 seconds behind Krogh, who leads the mini tour after two-straight podiums.
Nothing went perfectly for the U.S. in Ostersund today, but one thing is clear: Tim Burke and Susan Dunklee are fast! Burke finished 17th and was excited about improving his ski performance in the sprint, a format which is shorter than he would prefer. Lowell Bailey was 23rd while Dunklee and Leif Nordgren missed the points but made the pursuit.
Therese Johaug wasn't sure if last week's 42-second win over teammate Marit Bjørgen was a fluke. While she wasn't able to dominate by as big of a margin in Saturday's 5 k freestyle, Johaug did top Bjørgen again -- this time by 0.3 seconds -- on Day 2 of the mini tour in Lillehammer, Norway.
When Tiril Eckhoff missed a shot in standing, she assumed she'd have maybe a top ten in today's World Cup sprint. Instead, she charged to the top of the results sheet, and stayed there despite several clean-shooting challengers. She joined her brother (and coach) Stian on the list of Norwegians who have won in Ostersund, and called out Norwegian journalists for doubting her.
After a wildly disappointing 20 k individual on Wednesday where he missed six shots and finished more than ten minutes behind the winner, French biathlon star Martin Fourcade pulled himself together and turned in a dominating performance in the 10 k sprint today, winning by 28 seconds.
Pål Golberg put every ounce of faith in his boards on Friday in order to overcome Norwegian teammate Finn Hågen Krogh and Russia's Alexey Petukhov and win the Lillehammer World Cup 1.5 k freestyle sprint. Two-time lucky loser, Canada's Alex Harvey found himself in contention in the final before finishing fifth on Day 1 of the mini tour.
While Alex Harvey was the only Canadian to make the heats on Friday, at least two of his teammates -- Perianne Jones and Jess Cockney -- were less than a second off the mark in the World Cup skate sprint in Lillehammer.
Marit Bjørgen's gotten used to winning opening mini tours in Kuusamo, and she seems to have no problem getting off to a strong start in the first of three races in Lillehammer, either. "It is always fun to win," she told NRK after her second-straight World Cup sprint win in Friday's 1.3 k freestyle sprint.
Two Canadians notched career bests on Thursday in the first individual World Cup race of the season: Megan Heinicke in 12th and Rosanna Crawford with a best 15 k result of 16th. The best part for Biathlon Canada is, it's neither of their signature races.
Susan Dunklee came within 3.1 seconds of a top 20 in 21st, which she was pleased with while wanting more. "Today certainly wasn’t our strongest team showing," she explained, citing their lack of on-snow time compared to other teams. "The season is long, and we still have time to tune up. We will get there."