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.
At one point in Saturday's World Cup skiathlon, Alex Harvey wanted to give up. He didn't and ended up 10th, and what's more, Canada placed 21st, 23rd and 24th with Graeme Killick, Devon Kershaw and Ivan Babikov. Noah Hoffman rebounded from 36th at the ski change to finish 25th.
Regardless of when winter officially starts, it's here as far as the ski world is concerned, and there's a lot to be excited about in North American racing. Canadian biathletes Rosanna Crawford and Nathan Smith jumped out to a relay podium in the first IBU World Cup race, and Canadian cross-country skier Alex Harvey took second in the men's 10 k skate in Kuusamo, Finland, for his first early season podium.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby didn't waste any time squashing the field on Sunday in the final stage of the Ruka Triple and won the men's 15 k classic pursuit by 44.7 seconds over a late-charging Petter Northug. Canada's Alex Harvey started sixth and ended up seventh for his best finish in the Kuusamo mini tour.
Alex Harvey’s second place on Saturday remains a single drop in the bucket, but it’s a reminder that his quest for the World Cup overall is for real. With "new" legs post-surgery, the 27-year-old Canadian is now a contender in strenuous skate races as well as classic sprints and distance events.
Alex Harvey enjoyed the leader's chair for quite some time during Saturday's 10 k freestyle, the second race of the Ruka Triple World Cup. He ended up second to Martin Johnsrud Sundby, but the Canadian was pleased with his podium in a hilly skate race, especially in the first distance race of the season.
Lenny Valjas was the lone Canadian to qualify on Friday in the first World Cup race of the season, the Ruka Triple classic sprint in Kuusamo, Finland. “Today’s goal was just to qualify and to make it into the points," Valjas explained. "There was no huge expectations."
Two Canadians landed in the top four in Sunday's 15 k freestyle FIS race in Gällivare, Sweden, with Alex Harvey reaching the podium in second and Devon Kershaw missing it by 23 seconds in fourth. Noah Hoffman finished sixth for the U.S., Canada's Ivan Babikov was eighth, and Erik Bjornsen (USA) notched his second-straight top 10.
Devon Kershaw arrived in Beitostølen, Norway, last week without any teammates, team wax or coaching support, and worst of all, no skis. He also didn't have a race suit. “That added to the hilarity of the situation,” the Canadian World Cup Team veteran explained. And then he raced on klister when most everyone else double poled.
It looks like winter at the Canmore Nordic Centre, even if the race loop is only 900 meters long. Rosanna Crawford of the Biathlon National Team and Graeme Killick of the National Ski Team won 8 k and 10 k skate races there on Saturday.
Jürg Capol, the marketing director for FIS's nordic side, doesn't predict there will be a second Ski Tour Canada and says there's little television interest in Europe. Cross Country Canada's Dave Dyer disagrees, and says that many European squads have stated they will send a full team of top racers.
Head coach of the Canadian World Cup and national team, Justin Wadsworth spoke to FS at length about the team this season and how its athletes have handled summer and fall training. Bottom line: most everyone starting on the World Cup is healthy, and several are in the best shape of their lives.
It wasn't easy, but the crew at the Canmore Nordic Centre got it done. "We have a slightly smaller loop than we had before because we had so many warm temperatures last February and March," Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth explained. But the Frozen Thunder classic sprint was held on snow Monday with more than 50 competitors, and Emily Nishikawa and Lenny Valjas emerged as this year's winners.
Fresh off of marrying his new wife Kristin Størmer Steira in northern Norway, Devon Kershaw drove to Oslo and then jetted off for a high-elevation dryland training camp in the Italian Alps with his Canadian teammates and buddies, Jesse Cockney and Alex Harvey.
Why use a single hill for bounding intervals when you can cover an entire 5 k World Cup loop? Ivan Babikov's continuous bounding workout will get your heart pumping and your legs strong for winter.
Liz Stephen and Alex Harvey are FasterSkier's cross country skiers of the year for their impressive feats in the 2014/2015 season.
FasterSkier's cross country performances of the year come from Alex Harvey at the 2015 World Championships where he won silver and bronze medals in the sprint and skiathlon. Jessie Diggins and Caitlin Gregg are co-recipients of the women's award for their historic 2-3 finish in the 10 k freestyle at Worlds.
After a disappointing 2015 season that was unable to bring back the high points of her first Olympics and national title in 2014, Heidi Widmer regrouped - and decided to take advantage of her dual citizenship and race for Switzerland next year, not Canada. She's moving to Davos in June.
Rosie Brennan racked up six victories in eight races in the U.S. before finishing her season in Europe, and Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess also won both national sprints and subsequently qualified for World Championships, making them our Continental Skiers of the Year.
Alex Harvey's personal coach and the head coach of the Pierre-Harvey Training Centre for more than a decade, Louis Bouchard has been recognized as one of Canada's top coaches for some time. This year, FasterSkier picked Bouchard -- the man behind two individual World Championships medals -- as its 2015 Coach of the Year.