Typically known as a sprinter, Dasha Gaiazova is knocking on distance racing’s door. The 29-year-old notched her second-best result of the season in a distance event, placing 33rd in Sunday’s 10-kilometer classic individual start at the World Cup in Lahti, Finland.
Len Valjas (CAN) led the Canadian men on Saturday in Lahti, Finland, with an strong eighth place finish. His performance was just as fueled by frustration as it was fitness. Valjas toed the line today after a miserable run of sickness. “I was sick for nine days,” he said. “I had strep throat, then a chest cold, and laryngitis. It felt good to get out of bed.” The timing of the sickness couldn’t have been worse,...
Andrea Dupont was called up by Canada to race in the sprint at World Championships, and offered a World Cup start the weekend before. But it seemed silly, she thought, to go to Europe for just a few days - and so she managed to gain a start spot in Sweden's famed Vasaloppet, where she double-poled her way to 11th place.
The classic races of World Championships took place in Val di Fiemme: interval start, relay, marathon. Biathletes competed in Oslo, Americans held their own in Slavic Cup action, and Swedes (and everyone else) gave it their all in the Vasaloppet. Summaries of the action, along with links to reporting and results.
Alex Harvey hung with the group for the first half of Sunday's 50 k, but dropped out of contention and didn't have the skis or the body to catch back up in the final race of the 2013 World Championships. He finished 28th, Graham Nishikawa was 48th and Ivan Babikov pulled out halfway through.
Canada fell short of its expectations in Friday's 4x10 k relay, placing 12th of 18 teams and 2:39.3 behind the winners.
Ivan Babikov had one of the best races of his life on Wednesday with a career-best fourth in the World Championships 15 k freestyle. After a slow start, the man affectionately known as the Canadian "Bulldog" raced to one of the best finishing times, about 30 seconds off the podium.
Canada's domestic series, the NorAms, wrapped up in Grand Prairie, Alberta, this weekend, where Graeme Killick of the Alberta World Cup Academy and Nakkertokk racer Alana Thomas won grueling but exciting three-day minitours. We caught up with podium finishers for their comments on the race.
Dasha Gaiazova, Emily Nishikawa and Brittany Webster represented Canada in Tuesday's two-lap 10 k freestyle individual start at World Championships, and while none were ecstatic about their results, most saw the value in racing at the highest international level.
Marit Bjørgen of Norway and Nikita Kriukov of Russia both have two gold medals to their names so far this Championships, and Dario Cologna finally got the title he's been search for; but Americans made a splash too, in every discipline, with Sarah Hendrickson winning jumping, Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins the team sprint, and the nordic combined team bronze in the team event. Alex Harvey also made history when he took bronze in the classic sprint, the first individual World Champs medal for Canada.
In the mix for most of Sunday's freestyle team sprint at World Championships, Canada's Perianne Jones and Dasha Gaiazova couldn't stick close enough to the leaders and missed advancing to the finals by two places to end up 13th overall.
Nikita Kriukov did it again at World Championships, winning gold for Russia, this time in the 6 x 1.5 k freestyle team sprint with Alexey Petukhov on Sunday. Sweden took second and Kazakhstan was third, edging Canada's defending champs by 0.03 seconds for bronze.
Aiming for another podium, Canada's Alex Harvey stayed in the mix for most of Saturday's 30 k skiathlon before getting caught behind too many men on the last lap and climbing several places to 13th. Ivan Babikov finished 31st after a strong classic leg, Graham Nishikawa was 51st and Brittany Webster placed 57th for Canada.
After narrowly qualifying in 26th, Alex Harvey went on to have the race of his life in Thursday's World Championships classic sprint, placing third to make history for Canada, which he hopes will lift the rest of the team after sub-par finishes.
The Canadian World Cup Team's journey through the season hasn't been as picture-perfect as last year, or even 2011 when Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey won gold in the team sprint. Aiming for the podium in Val di Fiemme, they have two World Championships medals in mind and reason to believe they can achieve at least that.
Canadian biathlete Zina Kocher raced the 10km freestyle cross-country World Cup in Davos on Sunday, fresh off biathlon World Championships.
Ivan Babikov dropped out and Alex Harvey finished 56th on an inauspicious day for the Canadian men. But head Coach Justin Wadsworth is not worried.
Canada's Lenny Valjas gave it his all and drained the tank for sixth, a season-best, non-stage result, and Devon Kershaw continued to his ascent into fighting form in eighth at Saturday's World Cup classic sprint in Davos, Switzerland.
A few days after calling it a season and flying home to Canmore, Alberta, Chandra Crawford and her coach Eric de Nys talk about her decision and what's next for Canada's Olympic gold medalist as she tries to recover for Sochi.
Skiers and jumpers tested out the Sochi trails - quite successfully for the U.S. and Canada; biathletes finished up World Youth and Junior Championships with another medal for Sean Doherty and two Canadian top-tens; Americans turned to longer marathon racing at the Boulder Mountain Tour and Craftsbury Marathon; Canadians mini-toured through Eastern Championships.