TOBLACH, Italy – Images from today’s race, a 15k pursuit freestyle, Stage 7 of the 2011/2012 Tour de Ski. The tight race that all expected, between Bjoergen (NOR) and Kowalczyk (POL) did ensue, as seen in picture after picture of the Pole leading the Norwegian and vice versa. Numerous others to share as well. Enjoy.
TOBLACH, Italy – The Dolomites were the site of brutal battles between the Austrians and Italians during World War I. Nearly 100 years later, members of European and North American countries once again waged war among these mountains in the depths of winter—this time, in a cross-country ski race. Perhaps appropriately, it was a Swiss athlete who rose above the fray here on Thursday, winning a 32-kilometer freestyle pursuit by skiing his own race and...
The men's 35 kilometer course from Cortina to Toblach features a smooth gradual uphill and then a smooth gradual downhill, followed by 3 kilometers of familiar terrain in the Toblach nordic network.
The best biathletes in the world got a warm welcome in Oberhof, Germany, on Wednesday – in fact, they could be forgiven if they felt that they were in the Thuringian version of a tropical storm. Although it didn’t actually rain during the evening race, the temperatures hovered just around freezing, humidity was close to 100 percent, and the wind, despite averaging around two meters per second, was recorded to gust up to 35 miles...
TOBLACH, Italy – It’s hard enough to finish in the top 30 on the World Cup, but American Holly Brooks did something even more impressive here in Wednesday’s Stage 6 of the Tour de Ski: she finished in the top 30 with a broken wrist. By placing 30th in the skate sprint, Brooks joined an elite club of skiers who have toughed out some top finishes with broken bones. Fellow members include Slovenian Petra Majdic,...
TOBLACH, Italy – Alex Harvey (CAN) advanced to a World Cup sprint final for just the second time in his career on his way to a 6th place finish in the Tour de Ski skate sprint. Harvey posted his best-ever sprint qualification result, throwing down the fifth fastest time in the morning time trial. He saw that as a good sign, and followed up by winning his quarterfinal. He told FasterSkier that he “didn’t have...
TOBLACH, Italy – Were the Russians drinking vodka in their wax cabin after Nikolay Morilov won Stage 6 of the 2012 Tour de Ski on Wednesday? “A little, yes,” said Mikhail Lukertsenko, one of the team’s staff. “It’s a victory.” Morilov, a 25-year-old Olympic medalist, foiled the Tour heavyweights and big names on the homestretch here, using a combination of perfect tactics, timing, and power. Petter Northug (NOR) was second, missing out on the victory...
TOBLACH, Italy – Like two great deities of Greek mythology, locked in an epic struggle for supremacy, Marit Bjørgen (NOR) and Kikkan Randall (USA) came together to do battle on the open plains of the Toblach Ski Stadium. The talk of the 2012 Tour de Ski has been the competition between Bjørgen and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), and with the two women combining to win every stage thus far, and just 4.8 seconds separating the pair...
The Tour de Ski has moved on from Germany to Italy, and along with it, American Holly Brooks has gone from being eine zähe dame to una signora dura. An MRI on Monday morning revealed that the tough lady has been racing with non-displaced fractures at the end of her radius—one of the bones in her forearm—as well as a “big bone bruise.” After her 53rd place finish in Stage 5 of the Tour, a...
Here’s our photo gallery from the 2011/2012 Toblach Men’s 5K Classic Prologue.
TOBLACH, Italy – With consecutive Tour de Ski stage victories, Marit Bjoergen (NOR) is pounding on Justyna Kowalczyk’s (POL)_door, looking to serve an eviction notice for the top of the Tour podium. Kowalczyk still holds the overall lead in her quest for a third Tour de Ski title, but with a win today in the 3-kilometer classic prologue, Bjoergen not only crept closer, but also showed a form that has been missing since illness took...
TOBLACH, Italy – Here are some of today’s best images from the Tour de Ski Toblach Classic 3.3 Km.
TOBLACH, Italy – It’s been a while since one had to flip to the second page of the results sheet to find Kikkan Randall’s name. Yet there it was on Tuesday, sandwiched between two anonymous central Europeans. Randall finished in 29th place in Stage 5 of the Tour de Ski, 43 seconds down to winner Marit Bjoergen (NOR). Hard to believe, but the result was Randall’s worst of the year on the World Cup, and...
TOBLACH, Italy – It took 11 races, but Alexander Legkov finally got his first win of the 2012 season in Stage 5 of the Tour de Ski on Tuesday. With the help of a new coach and the right pair of skis, the Russian powered through finicky conditions to edge Eldar Roenning (NOR) and Dario Cologna (SUI) in the 5 k individual-start classic race. Petter Northug (NOR) floundered through the slick, soft conditions in Toblach,...
TOBLACH, Italy – Ivan Babikov (CAN) will race Stage 5 of the 2012 Tour de Ski, according to Canadian Head Coach Justin Wadsworth. “He’s for sure going to race today,” Wadsworth said. Babikov had a catastrophic crash at the end of Stage 4 of the Tour in Germany, breaking a ski and a pole. Canadian staff initially feared he had broken his wrist. X-rays came up negative, and after an examination by Mireille Belzile—the mother...
A Aston Martin: Spotted one out on the roads today. Huh? Pretty fancy car for pretty crappy roads? Oh wait, there goes Petter! B Blue: As in blue sky! OMG….. we almost gave up on good weather. It was only a tiny bit of blue, but appreciated immensely. C Cash: $89,420. Marit Bjoergen’s cash winnings this season. Therese and Justyna are way back in the $40,000 range…. D Duct Tape: Many racers had it on...
There’s just too much racing going on during the first half of January to comment on it all. But the first rest day of the Tour de Ski certainly deserves some notes. So here’s a look at the current leaders of the Tour, compared to how they’ve fared in previous years, starting with the men: [...] Related posts:
OBERSTDORF, Germany – Four down, five to go, and an epic battle is developing in the men’s 2012 Tour de Ski. Over the course of the four events thus far, only 1.1 seconds separate Dario Cologna (SUI) form leader Petter Northug (NOR). Northug took his second stage victory of the Tour, but Cologna actually closed the gap due a strong showing in the intermediate sprints in the men’s 20km skiathlon in Oberstdorf, Germany. Despite...
OBERSTDORF, Germany – Over the past two years, Norway’s Marit Bjørgen has gotten used to her spot at the top of women’s cross-country skiing. Collecting win after win, and paycheck after paycheck—and backed by her deep-pocketed Norwegian national team—Bjørgen has become skiing’s version of the one percent, firmly ensconced at the top of her sport and showing little interest in spreading the wealth. Since December 29th, however—the first stage of the 2012 Tour de Ski—Bjørgen...
OBERSTDORF, Germany – And here are our favorite images from the 2012 Tour de Ski women’s skiathlon.