After following the first Olympic race online, we recommend these two sites for following the action as it happens. For Live Results: http://www.eurosport.com/crosscountryskiing/torino/2005-2006/
With a huge lead group still right together at the 25km mark, the men's 2x15km Olympic pursuit race suddenly blew apart in the last few kilometers as Sweden's Anders Sodegren and Italians Pietro Piller Cottrer and Giorgio Di Centa put forth an incredible effort on the last major climbs. Sodegren hammered out a devastating pace on the last huge climb, which left most of the lead group trailing and only the two Italians were able...
The Olympic cross country races starts on Sunday and you can follow all 14 Olympic cross country races live on the internet. Start lists are usually available in the afternoon the day before the race and results are updated roughly every kilometer during the races. It’s very exciting! Here is the link if you want to get up early (or not go to bed at all) and follow the races: http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/1228.html?event_id=19551 The first cross country...
Norwegian skiers have not fared well in the men’s pursuit race in recent years and the head coach has (once again) decided to use two of his skiers as pace setters or rabbits in the classic portion of the race. The idea is for the “rabbits†to set a hard pace and that way weaken other nations skate specialist and increases the medal chances for Norway’s only realistic medal hope, Frode Estil. Many are skeptic...
By Paul Robbins, NBC Commentator American Kris Freeman likes it the Olympic cross-country course, as does defending pursuit champion Beckie Scott from Canada and the rest of the sport’s heavyweights, but the Nordic combined guys aren’t quite as enthusiastic. Read the whole article:
TURIN, italy—Beckie Scott knows suffering is as necessary to her sport as snow. There is a fine line of pain tolerance she will traverse as she races for Olympic gold tomorrow in the women's 15-kilometre pursuit race in the mountains of Pragelato. If she goes too hard, she risks going over the edge and having her technique fall apart. If she doesn't go hard enough, she won't stand a chance of the podium. “You have...
Canadian and US women will be racing the Olympic women’s 7.5 + 7.5-kilometer pursuit at 10 AM European time on Sunday Morning ( 4 AM Eastern standard time). 67 women are entered for this event. Beckie Scott and Sara Renner have front row start positions with bib #4 and bib #10. The men’s Olympic 15 + 15-kilometer pursuit starts at 1.45 PM European time (6.45 AM Eastern standard time). 77 men are entered to race...
60 of 74 Norwegian 2006 Olympians will not participate in Friday’s opening ceremony of the 2006 Olympics in Torino Source: Aftenposten Neither cross country skiers, biathletes, alpine skiers, ski jumpers or nordic combined skiers will participate at the opening show reports Aftenposten. The Norwegian curling team will however participate with its ten athletes. – We have to do what’s in the athlete’s best interest. Many have important competitions or workouts the day after say chief...
PRAGELATO, Italy (Feb. 10)– U.S. Ski Team officials anticipate that two U.S. skiers placed on a five-day 'no-start' provision will be able to compete beginning next Tuesday (Feb. 14). The two U.S. skiers were among eight athletes placed on a no-start list by the International Ski Federation after tests Wednesday (Feb. 8) showed slightly elevated hemoglobin levels. The FIS protocol is a health and safety provision. “Elevated hemoglobin levels can be a natural response to...
Pragelato, ITA — Sean Crooks, a member of the Canadian Olympic Cross-Country Team, was issued a five-day start prohibition on Thursday after pre-competition blood testing carried out by the FIS revealed a hemoglobin level slightly above international standards; however, his planned competition starts at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games do not stand to be affected. “Sean is recognized in our program as having a naturally high hemoglobin level, an average that places him just below...
Australia is sending its biggest cross-country ski team to a Winter Olympics with Paul Murray, Esther Bottomley and Claire-Louise Brumley qualifying for events on the Pragelato course. Along with biathlete Cameron Morton there will be strong skinny ski flavour to this Olympic team. Murray and Bottomley will compete in the sprints and there are hopes that these two will sneak into the finals. Brumley will contest the 15km Pursuit and the 30km freestyle. It will...
The Torino Olympic Torch Relay started from Rome on December 8, 2005. More than ten thousand torchbearers will have carried the Olympic Spirit around Italy by February 10, 2006 when the Flame arrives at its final destination at the Opening Ceremony of the Torino 2006 XX Olympic Winter Games. Speculation is mounting about who will light the Olympic Flame in Torino. Some of the main contenders include Alberto Tomba, three-time Olympic Champion and two-time silver...
Three North Americans, Kikkan Randall, Leif Zimmerman, and Sean Crooks, were today issued with a start prohibition for five consecutive days due to too high hemoglobin values. The FIS says that this prohibition is not a sanction, but is to protect the health of the athletes. We stress that this is NOT a positive drug test. As we understand the rules, this means that they are ineligible for the pursuit race on Sunday but will...
Kaisa Varis and Jari Isometsa were not selected for the Finnish Olympic team. The Finnish Olympic team was announced on Wednesday. Two former doping convicted skiers, Kaisa Varis and Jari Isometsa were not selected to represent Finland, despite being nominated by the Finnish Ski federation. – Varis has showed good shape in only one weekend this season and that’s not enough, said Kari Niemi-Nikkola of the Finnish Olympic committee. Kaisa Varis was 9th in the...
Russia's national Olympic committee has chosen 16 athletes for the Olympic nordic skiing races in Pragelato. A very tense and difficult decision was anticipated for the Russian Olympic committee. There were many strong athletes to choose from. From a large pool of strong athletes, an Olympic team had to be chosen and several strong skiers had to be denied a place on the Russian team. There was one surprise however. The young Ivan Babikov, whose...
Editor's Note: In the recent discussion about the US Olympic team, references were made to the way the Norwegians select their team. The Norwegians use primarily coaches discretion in selecting their Olympic team. It appears that when the stakes are this high, controvery can always appear, especially when discretion is used. Also of interest is the fact that Norway will only take five women, compared to twelve men. Left out was among others Guro Strom...
What is new in the FIS disciplines? Of the 84 titles and total of 252 medals at stake at the XX Olympic Winter Games in Turin, the six FIS disciplines will award 38 titles and 114 medals. That is two titles and six medals more than four years ago in Salt Lake City, UT, USA. Since 2002, the most changes have taken place in Cross-Country Skiing. While the total number of titles is still 12,...
Ten men and seven women were named to the US Olympic team today. MEN Kris Freeman Carl Swenson Andrew Newell Torin Koos Chris Cook Andrew Johnson Lars Flora James Southam Justin Freeman Leif Zimmermann WOMEN Wendy Wagner Kikkan Randall Sarah Konrad Lindsay Williams Abby Larson Rebecca Dussault Lindsey Weier Full article:
Eldar Ronning left out: 6th place in the Vernon freestyle sprint and skiing the anchor leg on Norway’s winning team in the Canmore World Cup classic sprint relay not enough to make the team. The Norwegian Ski Federation has selected the following skiers to race the freestyle sprint at the 2006 Olympics in Turin (Pragelato): Tor Arne Hetland, Johann Kjœlstad, Trond Iversen and Ola Vigen Hattestad There was not found room for Eldar Ronning. Ulf...
-Scott, Renner headline talented Canadian nordic squad focused on podium results- Canmore, Alta.-Fresh off the heady success achieved at two World Cup events on their home snow last month, Canada’s elite cross-country ski athletes are sprinting into the 2006 Olympic Winter Games replete with veteran leadership and podium potential. Cross Country Canada unveiled a stellar lineup on Thursday of five women and seven men who have been nominated to strap on the skis and don...