Devon Kershaw is submitting daily reports from the 2010 Tour de Ski. He is currently in 10th place overall after a strong race today. Tour de Ski 2010, Day Two – 15km Classic in the true “pursuit” style The Tour continues to click along, Northug continues to win and Oberhof remains engulfed in fog. Most of those statements are true – although in a strange twist of fate – Oberhof did “almost” clear off for...
Oberhof, Germany – With four skiers in the top-30, Canada is off to a good start in the 2010 Tour de Ski. Led by Devon Kershaw, who climbed up to 10th place today, the Canadians are in striking distance of the podium. Kershaw was a disappointing 37th in yesterday’s prologue, but with times packed close, he did not face much of a deficit today, starting 37 seconds down. With the field closing up quickly, he...
Oberhof, Germany – Petter Northug (NOR) held on to the lead in the 2010 Tour de Ski, edging Maxim Vylegzhanin (RUS) in a photo finish. Northug won yesterday’s prolugue by .8 seconds. With sprint bonus seconds added, he began today’s 15km classic pursuit with a six second lead on Sweden’s Marcus Hellner. Northug set a fast pace out of the start, but with 60 skiers starting within 40 seconds, gaps quickly closed, and a large...
Oberhof, Germany – Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) took over the 2010 Tour de Ski lead with a strong performance in the women’s 10km classic pursuit. Starting in 3rd, 16 seconds behind Petra Majdic (SLO), Kowalczyk quickly closed the gap. She, Majdic, and Natalia Korosteleva (RUS) formed a lead group of three that skied alone for the first four kilometers. By the 6k mark, Korosteleva had fallen off the pace, and Aino Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) was closing...
Even though we saw a great performance from Kowalczyk and some more magical moments from Northug, today’s races were highlighted by the Finnish skiers in my eyes. They skied hard and with intention. Sure, they didn’t win the race, but they sure changed how the results list looked with their intentions out on the course. [...]
The prologue has been dominated by two German’s since the inception of the Tour de Ski: Claudia Nystad and Axel Teichmann. Today saw Nystad fail to win her 4th consecutive prologue, while Teichmann was edged out by a Swede and a Norwegian to deny him of his second straight victory in the format. There are [...]
Devon Kershaw is a member of the Canadian National Team. He is submitting reports from the 2010 Tour de Ski. This is Devon’s fourth Tour. Under blazing lights burning holes through the incessant fog that hangs over Oberhof like the mood of a depressed, frowning old man on a rainy day – the 2010 edition of the Tour de Ski got under way. Today’s course was the exact same layout as last year’s Tour start....
Oberhof, Germany – Petra Majdic (SLO) won the opening event of the 2010 Tour de Ski, besting Natalia Korosteleva (RUS) by 2 seconds in the 2.8km freestyle prologue. Majdic, who finished third in last year’s Tour, now leads the event. She also picked up 15 bonus seconds with her victory. The prologue is considered a sprint for the Tour sprint standings. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) was third, +6.3 seconds. She held a two second lead at...
Oberhof, Germany – Peter Northug (NOR), starting last, yet again came from behind to win the 3.7km freestyle Tour de Ski Prologue this afternoon. Northug, the overall World Cup leader, and heavy favorite to win the Tour, ranked 31st at 1.5km, 5 seconds off the pace. But as has become the norm, he turned on the jets and just edged Swede Marcus Hellner by .8 seconds. Axel Teichmann (GER) was third, 2 seconds back, and...
Oberhof, Germany – The 2010 Tour de Ski kicks off tomorrow with the 2.5/3.75km freestyle prologue. Despite rain today, the course is in excellent shape, and organizers are expecting it to be hard and fast tomorrow. 88 men and 74 women are scheduled to start. The prologue is an interval start, and the non-traditional distance makes for interesting results. Too long to be a sprint, and shorter, by far than any distance race on the...
The 2010 Tour de Ski kicks off tomorrow in Oberhof, Germany. Festivities start today with the Team Presentation ceremony. You can watch a live stream of this even right here. The presentation will take place at 11:00AM Eastern Standard Time.
Tomorrow sees the start of the fourth annual Tour de Ski. Oberhof, Germany is the location of the first two stages and will be the first time the 10-day competition has taken place in an Olympic year. Subsequently, some big names will not be taking part as they have prioritized the Olympics and the preparation [...]
Christmas has come and gone, and the next phase of the season is just around the corner. The Cross-Country World Cup continues with the Tour de Ski, starting on January 1st in Oberhof, Germany. The first three events of the Tour are in Oberhof – the Prologue, a 10/15km classical pursuit and a classic sprint. The Nordic Combined World Cup also picks up in Oberhof, overlapping with the Tour. Two competitions are on the 2nd...
Last night saw millions of people around the world slip into turkey-induced comas; I was one such person. However, today is a new day and we’re now only six days from the start of the fourth edition of the Tour de Ski. This years Tour is starting a day later than years past, on New [...]
In exactly nine days, the fourth edition of the Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski performance by Craft Sportswear will get underway. For the first time this exciting race series will start on New Year’s Day in Oberhof, Germany. This season, the three Oberhof Stages will be followed by a sprint in Prague. After a rest day the Tour will continue with another premiere, an A to B race from Cortina to Toblach with a 17...
The 4th annual FIS Tour de Ski will be held this season, and for the first time an American will compete. Andy Newell will start the eight-stage event that is modeled on the Tour de France. In the past it hasn’t made much sense for US athletes to take part. Contesting the Tour requires not only a high level of fitness, but the ability to excel at every distance and technique. Rule changes for the...