Harvey, Kershaw Break Out in Pursuit
Alex KochonNovember 27, 2011
Overall men’s results. World Cup standings.
HomeCategory
World Cup
The cream of the crop. The best in the world compete all winter long on the World Cup. We follow them at every stop with article and results. We also post occasional reports from North America’s best as they travel the globe.
“For the ladies, overall, a really great day.” – Head USST Coach, Chris Grover *** Going into the last stage of the Ruka-Triple mini tour, the US women kept their expectations high and did not disappoint. Grover told FasterSkier in a phone interview that Holly Brooks, Liz Stephen, and Ida Sargent all had personal best classic results today: Brooks posting 23rd, while Stephen and Sargent broke into the 30’s. To top it off, Kikkan...
Even if he didn’t say it, Petter Northug presented the challenge from the onset. The first starter in the men’s 15 k classic pursuit would give his followers a fighting chance before playing the game of cat and mouse in Kuusamo, Finland. The Norwegian frontrunner in the three-day Ruka Triple mini-tour wasn’t known for charging out of the gate in those types of races anyway. As expected, he led the race with the help of...
Marit Bjørgen thought today’s win was “possible”, but her 17 second head start in today’s classic pursuit over teammate Vibeke Skofterud was not enough to give her complete confidence in a win. Bjørgen blasted out of the start with a speed fitting of a 1km sprint, trying to gain even greater cushion from the very first of 10 kilometers. Racing against only the clock, with the thought of her strong competitors and teammates chasing...
Kuusamo Tests NoCo Competitors
Alex KochonNovember 26, 2011
Don’t call the Americans ungrateful. They were happy to be on snow in Kuusamo, Finland, competing for the first time, jumping when they could. But they’re happy to be moving on to Lillehammer, Norway, for the second weekend of the nordic-combined World Cup. The first one was challenging enough. After U.S. veteran Johnny Spillane was eliminated from the competition before it started, missing out a qualifying jump on Friday, the team suffered another blow Saturday...
Babikov the “Bulldog” Powers to 16th; North Americans Look for Bright Spot
Alex KochonNovember 26, 2011
For most of the 119 starters in the men’s 10 k freestyle, Saturday’s race was hardly a walk in the park. That is, unless you like to go out in windy, misty, rainy, sleety and snowy conditions and enjoy encroaching darkness. And if you love long, steep hills — three per lap to be exact — the course in Kuusamo, Finland, was for you. Fortunately, the conditions on the second day of the Ruka Triple...
Northug Takes Over in Ruka Triple 10 k
Alex KochonNovember 26, 2011
Roland Clara had been second before. On Saturday in Kuusamo, Finland, the Italian looked pretty comfortable in the leader’s chair, bundled in a blanket and flashing a genuine smile. But the men’s 10 k freestyle race on the second day of the Ruka Triple mini-tour was only halfway through. With individual starts staggering the finishes, Clara could see his seat wasn’t permanent. With every checkpoint — 3.1, 6.4 and 8.1 k — his challengers closed...
Led By Randall’s 12th-Place Finish, American Women Excel – And Gain More Fans
Chelsea LittleNovember 26, 2011
Editor’s Note: There has been significant confusion regarding results for today’s World Cup races. The FIS website lists overall standings for the three-race mini-tour. Kikkan Randall is 5th in those standings, and finished 12th in today’s 5km freestyle. There are, Kikkan Randall concedes, downsides to success. But they’re pretty miniscule. For one, the American skier’s expectations have been raised since notching her first-ever distance top ten in Sjusjøen, Norway last weekend, and then skiing to...
Nobody was surprised to see Marit Bjørgen atop the leaderboard after the second stage of the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland today. The Norwegian star was the last to start, thanks to her win in the classic sprint yesterday, and had all the information she needed to beat her competitors – not that she needed it. Over just five fast kilometers, Bjørgen racked up a sizeable lead and cruised across the finish. It was a...
First-Time Winner at Challenging NoCo Opener
Alex KochonNovember 25, 2011
For the last week, they had been waiting to jump. Really, about 60 nordic-combined athletes from around the world waited all summer for the season to kick off in Kuusamo, Finland. Once there, it seemed the only things holding the athletes back were the weather and the ominous large hill itself. Billy Demong remembered telling someone in an email: “Sometimes survival is success in Kuusamo.” The U.S. nordic combined veteran meant that literally. He was...
New Faces Top Men’s Kuusamo Sprints
Alex KochonNovember 25, 2011
Sweden’s Teodor Peterson wasn’t the only one knocking at the World Cup’s “Ruka Triple” mini-tour opener in Kuusamo, Finland, on Friday. Another 23 year old, Lenny Valjas of Canada was right there with him. After cutting it relatively close in the men’s 1.4-k classic sprint qualifier, making the top 30 in 24th and 8.86 seconds behind leader Anssi Pentsinen (FIN), Peterson was one of two to advance from the quarterfinals. There, Valjas edged out four...
The “Ruka Triple” is a three day, three race mini-tour held in Kuusamo, Finland. The excitement started today with a classic sprint, 1.4 km for the men and 1.2 km for the women. The tracks were icy and fast, the kick a straightforward klister, and both men and women’s top finish times posted in the 2:40’s. In the women’s sprint, Vibeke Skofterud of Norway took the top qualifying time, less than one second ahead of...
The World Cup season kicked off last weekend in Sjusjoen, Norway with a 10/15km freestyle and a 4×5/10km relay, but in terms of a true “opener,” the now-annual Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland provides for more drama, and a robust test for the athletes. Action starts on Friday with the first sprint of the season—a 1.4 kilometer classic affair, that give sprinters a chance to see how they measure up after a summer of training....
Sjusjøen Recap
JoranNovember 23, 2011
Finally, the World Cup season is under way. The individual 10/15km freestyle races this past weekend had some predictable performances (the Norwegian women) and some not so predictable performances (Swedish men). Men Let’s focus on just three of the men with notable performances on Saturday: Definitely strong races for each of these guys, but there [...] Related posts:
New Statistical Skier Features
JoranNovember 21, 2011
I’ll have a post up on Wednesday with some items from this weekends World Cup races. But I’ve been busy over the off-season and the site has seen some fairly major changes, so I need to take a second to describe what’s new. First, some general housekeeping. Regular readers may notice that I’m going to [...] Related posts:
World Cup Weekend in Review: Extras
Alex KochonNovember 20, 2011
As the first World Cup weekend of the cross-country ski season drew to a close, there were plenty of extra notes and quotes to go around. Here’s what didn’t make the post-race recaps following the Saturday’s individual 10k/15k freestyle and Sunday’s relays in Sjusjøen, Norway: Kris Freeman (USA) On placing 55th in Saturday’s 15 k freestyle: “I’m not coming over here for top 30s,” he told FasterSkier. “I’m over here to be in the top...
U.S. Men Hang Tough, Finish 11th
Alex KochonNovember 20, 2011
From the start, the U.S. men appeared ready to roll with the best of their World Cup competition at the 4×10 k relays in Sjusjøen, Norway, on Sunday. It wasn’t looks so much as action. Andy Newell jumped out to a first quick lap on the 2.5-k loop, working outside the icy track to position himself in fifth. As he found out, he wasn’t the only one working hard — most of the men he...
If you’ve ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go right, you should be able sympathize with the Canadian men, because things could probably not have gone much worse for the first two legs of Canadian mens’ 4×10 k relay team Sunday in Sjusjeon, Norway. Devon Kershaw, a veteran of the Canadian National Ski Team (CNST) who is known for his skill and love for the 10 k classic opening-leg of the...
With the Norwegian women taking the top two spots earlier in the day in the 4×5 k, the Norwegian men had the bar for success set high for their four-man relay effort. As always, Petter Northug Jr. was anchoring Norway I, supported to Eldar Roenning and Finn Haagan Krogh on classic skis, while Lars Berger, biathlete, brother of Tora Berger, and occasionally cross-country relay selection skied third in the 4×10 k race in Sjusjøen, Norway,...
U.S. Women Recover From Rough Start, Ninth in Relay
Alex KochonNovember 20, 2011
Sticky skis and icy conditions — they don’t always mix. You didn’t have to tell Ida Sargent that. But it wasn’t about the number of times Sargent fell down on Sunday’s rock-solid course at Sjusjøen, Norway, that mattered. As the starting leg of the U.S. women’s cross-country ski team in the 4×5 k World Cup relay, she had to get back up. “I didn’t want to lose anymore time than I already had,” Sargent wrote...