Skies cleared and the sun shined on the 30-kilometer mass start classic at the Holmenkollen. When not surrounded by tall pines, racers were offered beautiful vistas of Oslo and the cold blue fjord on which Norway’s capital is built. While the Sunday crowd pales in comparison to the masses who attended the men’s event on Saturday, plenty of tents still lined the course to house families of fans camped out for the weekend. The snowbanks lining...
FIS World Cup Oslo, Norway Holmenkollen 50 K Mass Start Classic Today’s podium at the men’s 50-kilometer mass start classic at Holmenkollen involved a tight group of skiers, many of them Russians and Norwegians. Of the top-11 skiers, five were from Russia, five from Norway with the lone wolf slotted in there, Alex Harvey from Canada. Russia swept the podium with twenty-two-year-old Alexander Bolshunov placing first in 2:23:49.8 hours. Maxim Vylegzhanin was second (+1.0), and...
It was a good day for US Biathlon. Two skiers in the top-15 in an individual start race. Today, Clare Egan placed 11th, Joanne Reid 15th in the 7.5-kilometer sprint at the IBU World Championships in Östersund, Sweden. It’s a big stage and it can come with big nerves and expectations. Here are the emails we received from Egan and Reid respectively after the race. “I’m really happy with my race. It’s always a thrill...
On Friday, the third day of racing at the 2019 NCAA Skiing Championships featured another cross-country racing day with the women’s 15-kilometer mass start classic and the men’s 20 k mass start classic. After two days of racing and scores tallied from a single day of nordic racing on Wednesday and an alpine GS event on Thursday, Dartmouth was in the overall lead for the team championship. They had tallied 259 points to Utah’s 252.3...
On Friday’s second day of racing at the IBU World Championships in Östersund, Sweden the women raced the 7.5-kilometer sprint. Slovakia’s Anastasiya Kuzmina skied a single penalty lap to mark a winning time of 22:17.5 minutes. Norway’s Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold shot clean to place second, 9.7 seconds back. Laura Dahlmeier of Germany also shot clean to earn third place at 12.6 seconds behind. In her fourth World Championships, Clare Egan for the U.S. earned her...
Once again, the Nordic World Ski Championships in Seefeld (AUT) were a complete success for Fischer: 68 % of the skis and 60% of the boots were worn by medallists from the Fischer Race Family. In addition, 75% of all medal winners were successful with the TURNAMIC® binding system. Consequently, Fischer has once again proven to be the most successful brand in Nordic racing. With a total of 88 medals – 32 Gold, 29 Silver,...
Marte Olsbu Røiseland, Tiril Eckhoff, Johannes Thingnes Bø, and Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen of Norway won the opening race, a mixed relay, of the IBU World Championships in Östersund, Sweden. The foursome won the race in 1:17:41.3 hours. The race format requires women to contest the first two legs, or 2 x 6-kilometers, whereas as the men ski the final two legs, or 2 x 7.5 k. On the way to the win, Norway used seven...
If you’ve ever wondered what the elite wave is like compared to one of the larger later starting waves here is a crash course. A little background for context, the 2018 American Birkebeiner was my first introduction to the Birkie and the 50K distance. I started in wave 2 and paired with perfect conditions my first Birkie is by far my favorite race I’ve done. Wave 2, while crowded and congested (think penguins huddled...
NCAA Skiing Championships Stowe, Vermont 10k/5k Freestyle In Stowe, Vermont the men raced a 10-kilometer interval start skate race on Wednesday to open the cross-country portion of the NCAA championships. Erik Olsvik Dengerud from the University of Colorado won in a time of 24:25.5 minutes. Kornelius Groev from the University of New Mexico (UNM) placed second in 24:45.1, and Ian Torchia of Northern Michigan University was third in 24:45.4. https://www.vteabp.org Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier from UNM was...
As the Seefeld World Championships faded as of Sunday with the conclusion of the men’s 50-kilometer freestyle, here are some news gaps related to the recent arrest last week of five cross-country skiers. Here are the basics. Several cross-country athletes were arrested in Seefeld as part of a German and Austrian effort to curb doping in sport. Austrian athletes Dominik Baldauf and Maz Hauke, Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin, and Estonia’s Karel Tammjärv and Andreas Veerpalu were...
The 2019 Seefeld World Championships event came to a close on Sunday, the 11 days of competition capping off with a men’s 50-kilometer freestyle mass start. Unlike two years ago at the Lahti World Champs, whenResults -David Brown and Jason Albert contributed Double click on the photos below to enlarge.
FIS Nordic Ski World Championships Men’s 50 K Freestyle Mass Start It has come to a close. The 2019 Nordic Ski World Championships ended today with the men’s 50-kilometer freestyle mass start. Hans Christer Holund of Norway began to make his mark on the race shortly after 20 k with a solo attack. In his bold ski-alone effort, Holund was able to fend off any chasers and win in 1:49:59.3 hours. Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov timed...
From start to finish on Saturday, Norway’s Therese Johaug commanded the front without missing a beat. By the 5 k mark, the top seven skiers, which included Norwegians Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, Austrian Teresa Stadlober, Sweden’s Ebba Andersson and Frida Karlsson and American Jessie Diggins, as well as Johaug, had a close to 30 second gap on the field’s remaining 41 starters. But for anyone familiar with Johaug, it isn’t enough to...
FIS Nordic Ski World Championships Seefeld, Austria Women’s 30 k Freestyle Link to the full race report. Saturday closed out the racing for the women with the 30-kilometer freestyle at the 2019 World Championships in Seefeld, Austria. Norway’s Therese Johaug, already the winner of the skiathlon and 10 k classic at these championships, secured her third gold in a time of 1:14:26.2 hours. Her teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg placed second (+36.8). Sweden’s nineteen-year-old Frida Karlsson...
Overnight a video was leaked of Austria’s Max Hauke as he was arrested during a police raid conducted earlier this week. Hauke is seen in the video receiving a blood transfusion. The police officer who provided the video to the media is now under investigation by Austrian authorities. https://twitter.com/yohanroblin/status/1101426827036409856 On Wednesday, Hauke was one of five cross-country athletes arrested in Seefeld as part of a widespread anti-doping sting. Along with Hauke, Austrian teammate Dominik Baldauf, Estonians Karle...
The 4 x 10-kilometer men’s relay was a two-team tango as Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov and Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo were tagged for their respective anchor legs on Friday. The two teams stuck together until Klæbo moved ahead with less than five k to go and gapped Russia by 22 seconds. naltrexone revia It was enough final leg surge for Norway’s Emil Iversen, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Sjur Røthe, and Klæbo to win in 1:42:32.1 hours. Russia’s...
The beautiful chess match on snow came down to the wire in Thursday’s 4 x 5-kilometer relay at the Seefeld, Austria World Championships. The chaser was Norway’s Therese Johaug, hustling to close an 18.8-second gap to Sweden’s Stina Nilsson. Known as a sprinter who comes to distance events with aerobic chops, Nilsson, who won bronze in the 2018 Olympic 30 k classic mass start, couldn’t be rattled as Johaug lurked ever closer as the 5...
It was a tough day in Seefeld, Austria Wednesday on and off the race tracks. The efforts and drama in the men’s World Championship 15-kilometer classic were overshadowed by the news of several athletes arrested on suspected doping violations. The distractions shed more light on the underbelly of some high-speed athletes and those who support the cheating. The only thing deafening the day’s police actions was the roar of the considerable Norwegian fanbase in Seefeld. Shedding...
At a news conference in Innsbruck, Austria today, the Federal Criminal Police Office (the equivalent of the FBI in Austria) clarified that several athletes had been arrested for doping. This remains a developing story. However, Tiroler Tageszeitung reports that Austrian cross-country skiers Dominik Baldauf and Maz Hauke were arrested for “blood doping”. Austrian police claimed a Kazakh and two Estonian athletes were also arrested. Baldauf and Hauke were paired in the men’s team sprint at the...
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Seefeld, Austria Women’s Individual 15 k Classic Norwegians travel well to international cross-country races. That was evidenced by the roar of the crowd in Seefeld, Austria during Wednesday’s 15 k classic as Martin Johnsrud Sundby crested the final climb and descended into the home stretch. Nothing was for certain until +2.9 seconds popped up next to Russian Alexander Bessmertnykh’s name as Sundby crossed the finish. Sundby won the race in...