Sundby King of the Hill and Tour de Ski Again
Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway overtook teammate Petter Northug at the base of the Alpe Cermis hill climb to win the final stage and secure his second Tour de Ski title in the process.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway overtook teammate Petter Northug at the base of the Alpe Cermis hill climb to win the final stage and secure his second Tour de Ski title in the process.
Canadian star Alex Harvey had been pondering an unorthodox plan to classic ski up the Tour de Ski's final climb, but he pulled out after a lackluster result Saturday.
Liz Stephen found herself in fifth place in Saturday's 10 k classic mass start at the Tour de Ski, and she thought, why not? Why don't I belong here? She hung on to record her best-ever finish in the classic technique, and hopes to move from sixth up to fourth in the Tour's final stage on Sunday.
In the tightest race of the 2015 Tour de Ski, German Tim Tscharnke outsprinted four other non-Norwegian skiers to claim his best World Cup result of the season. The current Tour standings now leave the potential for a dramatic final Tour stage on Sunday.
Therese Johaug surprised nobody as much as herself when she passed Marit Bjørgen in the final meters of Saturday's 10 k classic mass start. Norway swept the podium again, but Aino Kaisa Saarinen of Finland turned in her best performance all season in fourth place, and American Liz Stephen finished an assertive fifth.
Andrew Musgrave is having a historic 2015 Tour de Ski after earning the fastest time in the 25 k pursuit. FasterSkier caught up with Musgrave as he prepared for the final two stages of the Tour in Val di Fiemme, Italy to talk about the race, his goals, and the future of British skiing.
Kikkan Randall is leaving the 2015 Tour de Ski in 25th, while Liz Stephen put together a good performance on Thursday to stay in 14th overall. Stephen will be the only American women racing in the final two stages.
The only thing that can stop Norway’s Marit Bjørgen from winning her first ever Tour de Ski title is herself. Entering Thursday’s fifth stage, a 5 k skate pursuit, in Toblach, Italy, Bjørgen had a 1.34.3 advantage over teammates Heidi Weng and a 2.16 lead over defending Tour de Ski champion Therese Johaug. If either Weng or Johaug wanted a chance to catch Bjørgen, the oppurtunities were winding down and they needed to catch her today.
Alex Harvey found himself in a slower group during Thursday's 25 k freestyle pursuit in Toblach, Italy, but still managed to get past Switzerland's Dario Cologna to take the sixth overall in the Tour de Ski. Canadian teammates Devon Kershaw and Ivan Babikov finished 25th and 31st, respectively.
A bitter Evgeniy Belov of Russia, who finished fourth in today's sprint finish of the 25 k Tour de Ski pursuit, pointed his finger at Petter Northug - the Norwegian skied 24.7 kilometers with the lead pack of four, but never actually led the race until he won it. He now leads the Tour by seven seconds over Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Calle Halfvarsson.
Alexey Poltoranin proved that once in a while you just need to muscle your way to first place. He opted to use skate skis and double poled his way to the victory in Wednesday’s 10-kilometer classic race, the fourth stage of the Tour de Ski in Toblach, Italy.
Three Canadians remain in the Tour de Ski, and in the 10 k classic on Wednesday, Alex Harvey led them in 14th -- a result he considered good, not great. Devon Kershaw placed 21st and Ivan Babikov was 32nd.
American Sadie Bjornsen is done with this year's Tour de Ski ranked in seventh position after earning an eighth-place finish in the 5 k interval start in Toblach, Italy, on Wednesday. Jessie Diggins took 19th, and will finish the final three stages of the Tour.
Norway’s Marit Bjørgen was untouchable again, for the fourth day in a row as she won the 5k classic in Toblach, Italy, and widening her overall gap to 1:34.3.
The USST men finished their last race of the 2015 Tour de Ski in Toblach, Italy without much fanfare. Erik Bjornsen led the squad in 58th to conclude what Andy Newell called a frustrating week. With the Tour behind them, the men are headed to Ramsau, Austria to recover and prepare for the remaining World Cup racing before World Champs.
Sophie Caldwell won a photo finish in her quarterfinal heat on the way to seventh place in Tuesday's Tour de Ski 1.4 k freestyle sprint in Val Müstair, Switzerland. Meanwhile, Kikkan Randall continues to improve on the Tour stage after taking tenth overall.
A critical mistake at the end of a quarterfinal heat prevented Canada's Alex Harvey from moving on to the semifinals of the Tour de Ski 1.4 k freestyle sprint in Val Müstair, Switzerland. Meanwhile, Simi Hamilton led the American skiers with an eighth-place finish.
Norway’s Marit Bjørgen proved once again that she is the hands down favorite to with this year’s Tour de Ski competition by setting the fastest qualifying time in Tuesdays 1.4 k course and continuing that pace all the way to the final.
For the second sprint in a row, Italy's Federico Pellegrino came out on top of a stacked World Cup field. Petter Northug of Norway, however, finished second, and retained his overall Tour de Ski lead. “Today, one of my big dreams has come true: to beat Petter (Northug) in the sprint final,” Pellegrino said.
With the pace slowed after 2.5 k, the 15 k classic pursuit in Oberstdorf, Germany, looked more like a mass start. From the huge pack of skiers, Petter Northug threaded his way to a sprint finish win, with Alex Harvey of Canada out-double-poling Sweden's Calle Halfvarsson for second.