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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.

I had hoped to have actual racing to write about by this week, but as we all know the snow situation in Europe hasn’t been cooperating. Hopefully we’ll finally get some racing done this weekend. In the meantime, everyone keeps writing their little nation previews. FasterSkier’s piece on Slovenia mentioned an up and coming junior [...] Related posts:

  1. Post-WJC/U23 Development: Canada
  2. Post-WJC/U23 Development: Germany
  3. Post-WJC/U23 Development: Italy

I had hoped to have actual racing to write about by this week, but as we all know the snow situation in Europe hasn’t been cooperating. Hopefully we’ll finally get some racing done this weekend. In the meantime, everyone keeps writing their little nation previews. FasterSkier’s piece on Slovenia mentioned an up and coming junior [...] Related posts:

  1. Post-WJC/U23 Development: Canada
  2. Post-WJC/U23 Development: Germany
  3. Post-WJC/U23 Development: Italy

I had hoped to have actual racing to write about by this week, but as we all know the snow situation in Europe hasn’t been cooperating. Hopefully we’ll finally get some racing done this weekend. In the meantime, everyone keeps writing their little nation previews. FasterSkier’s piece on Slovenia mentioned an up and coming junior [...] Related posts:

  1. Post-WJC/U23 Development: Canada
  2. Post-WJC/U23 Development: Germany
  3. Post-WJC/U23 Development: Italy

Vittoz Vittoz said au revoir to life as an athlete. The great French hope had his worst season since 2002, finishing (for him) a measly 23rd in the overall World Cup rankings. Vittoz had some good races – he finished fourth in the final climb in the Tour de Ski and third in the 20 k pursuit in Lahti – but he wasn’t his old medal-winning self. While the most famous Frenchman might have had...

First World Cup Moved to Sjusjøen (Updated)

The International Ski Federation (FIS) announced Thursday that the first World Cup of the 2011-2012 season, originally scheduled for Beitostølen, Norway, will instead be held a 170 km drive to the east in Sjusjøen, Norway. The venue is situated just 20 km outside Lillehammer, and has never held a World Cup event before, according to Terje Lund, head of the organizing committee. The event schedule will remain the same: 10/15 k on Saturday, November 19 and a...

I’m continuing to pick and choose which nations in Fasterskier’s countdown to write about. The US and Canada I’ll cover later in more detail, and I’m written about Japan a fair bit in the past. A couple of comments in their write up about Kazahkstan stuck out to me. The first was the comment about [...] Related posts:

  1. Most Improved: Women’s Distance
  2. Prediction Game: Who’s Gonna Podium In Their Very Next Race?
  3. USST Preview: Liz Stephen & Morgan Arritola

I’m continuing to pick and choose which nations in Fasterskier’s countdown to write about. The US and Canada I’ll cover later in more detail, and I’m written about Japan a fair bit in the past. A couple of comments in their write up about Kazahkstan stuck out to me. The first was the comment about [...] Related posts:

  1. Most Improved: Women’s Distance
  2. Prediction Game: Who’s Gonna Podium In Their Very Next Race?
  3. USST Preview: Liz Stephen & Morgan Arritola

I’m continuing to pick and choose which nations in Fasterskier’s countdown to write about. The US and Canada I’ll cover later in more detail, and I’m written about Japan a fair bit in the past. A couple of comments in their write up about Kazahkstan stuck out to me. The first was the comment about [...] Related posts:

  1. Most Improved: Women’s Distance
  2. Prediction Game: Who’s Gonna Podium In Their Very Next Race?
  3. USST Preview: Liz Stephen & Morgan Arritola

Whether or not the World Cup opener happens in Beitostolen or elsewhere, the season will start eventually, and in doing so, will feature new rules and schedule changes. Top Teams Required to Compete One of the changes which could have a large impact on the World Cup scene is a new rule requiring the top teams to compete in all but one World Cup weekend. According to the recent FIS Cross Country press release; “The...

Beitostølen World Cup Likely to be Moved or Canceled, North Americans Adjust (Updated)

With current temperatures in Beitostølen, Norway hovering a few degrees above freezing, chances are the first World Cup of the season, scheduled to take place November 19 – 20, will be canceled or moved to a new venue. The International Ski Federation (FIS) has until Wednesday to make the call according to competition rules. “I would say the chances for Beitostølen are 10% and for Sjusjøen, [Norway] 40%,” said cross-country race director Jürg Capol via...

At the age of 34, Lukas Bauer of has already done pretty much everything a skier can hope for. At the 2006 Olympics in Torino, he won silver in the 15 k classic. In Vancouver four years later, Bauer took home bronze in both the 15 k skate and the relay. He owns a silver medal from 2009 World Championships in the 15 k classic, and he has twice won the Tour de Ski; in...

The FasterSkier countdown continues (and is joined by NordicXplained). Per usual, I like reading about the nations I don’t always follow as closely, like the Ukranians. The distance results for the four skiers mentioned in the FasterSkier article are below: Roman Leybyuk had a string of strong results between 2002 and 2006, but has been [...] Related posts:Best Young Sprint Skiers: 2009-2010 Canadian National Team Preview: Alex Harvey & Devon Kershaw Canadian National Team Preview: Chandra Crawford & Daria Gaiazova

The FasterSkier countdown continues (and is joined by NordicXplained). Per usual, I like reading about the nations I don’t always follow as closely, like the Ukranians. The distance results for the four skiers mentioned in the FasterSkier article are below: Roman Leybyuk had a string of strong results between 2002 and 2006, but has been [...] Related posts:

  1. Best Young Sprint Skiers: 2009-2010
  2. Canadian National Team Preview: Alex Harvey & Devon Kershaw
  3. Canadian National Team Preview: Chandra Crawford & Daria Gaiazova

The FasterSkier countdown continues (and is joined by NordicXplained). Per usual, I like reading about the nations I don’t always follow as closely, like the Ukranians. The distance results for the four skiers mentioned in the FasterSkier article are below: Roman Leybyuk had a string of strong results between 2002 and 2006, but has been [...] Related posts:

  1. Best Young Sprint Skiers: 2009-2010
  2. Canadian National Team Preview: Alex Harvey & Devon Kershaw
  3. Canadian National Team Preview: Chandra Crawford & Daria Gaiazova

FasterSkier’s piece on Belarus over the weekend naturally got me thinking about their performances. As they note in that article, they’ve had some wild times, including the famous “lucky” silver medal by Leanid Karneyenka in 2007 thanks to an early start position and a freak snowstorm, and their mishap in the team sprint relay in [...] Related posts:

  1. Participation Rates
  2. Canadian National Team Preview: Chandra Crawford & Daria Gaiazova
  3. Lahti Pursuit Recap

FasterSkier’s piece on Belarus over the weekend naturally got me thinking about their performances. As they note in that article, they’ve had some wild times, including the famous “lucky” silver medal by Leanid Karneyenka in 2007 thanks to an early start position and a freak snowstorm, and their mishap in the team sprint relay in [...] Related posts:

  1. Participation Rates
  2. Canadian National Team Preview: Chandra Crawford & Daria Gaiazova
  3. Lahti Pursuit Recap

FasterSkier’s piece on Belarus over the weekend naturally got me thinking about their performances. As they note in that article, they’ve had some wild times, including the famous “lucky” silver medal by Leanid Karneyenka in 2007 thanks to an early start position and a freak snowstorm, and their mishap in the team sprint relay in [...] Related posts:

  1. Participation Rates
  2. Canadian National Team Preview: Chandra Crawford & Daria Gaiazova
  3. Lahti Pursuit Recap

Anchorage’s New World-Class Biathlon Range Is a Game-Changer

Anchorage has long been home to many of the country’s best nordic skiers. With elite teams like APU, Alaska Winter Stars, the University of Alaska Anchorage, several strong high school programs, and a thriving recreational and masters race scene, skiers couldn’t ask for a more supportive community. But biathletes? That was another story. “I started biathlon in 2003, back when the Kincaid [shooting] range was at its old location,” 2011 World Junior Championships team member...

In the same vein as my previous post following up on Spain’s WC prospects, the FasterSkier series next looked at Lithuania. I’m sometimes curious why some of the former Soviet republics aren’t better represented in cross country skiing. I imagine many of them have struggled economically since the breakup of the USSR and national sports [...] Related posts:

  1. Most Unimproved Men: Distance
  2. NOW Is It Panic Time For The Norwegian Men’s Distance Team?
  3. Rybinsk: Sprint Recap

In the same vein as my previous post following up on Spain’s WC prospects, the FasterSkier series next looked at Lithuania. I’m sometimes curious why some of the former Soviet republics aren’t better represented in cross country skiing. I imagine many of them have struggled economically since the breakup of the USSR and national sports [...] Related posts:

  1. Most Unimproved Men: Distance
  2. NOW Is It Panic Time For The Norwegian Men’s Distance Team?
  3. Rybinsk: Sprint Recap