Oberhof, Germany, has been kind to the Canadian biathlon team so far this year. After the men finished 11th in the relay on Wednesday, they had a banner day on Friday with finishes of 14th, 16th, and 34th from Brendan Green, Jean-Phillipe Leguellec, and Scott Perras. With a mass start competition coming up on Sunday, the team is feeling good. “With Brendan’s 14th place, we both managed to squeeze in the mass start race this...
Nothing comes for free on the Tour de Ski. After six stages, attrition is becoming a major factor for the competing athletes. The difficult 10-day event can have that effect – every year, dozens of skiers drop out as illness, injury, or just plain fatigue take a steep toll. For the men, 30 have already retired. This year, the Germans have been especially hard-hit – a whopping nine of their men have pulled out of the event....
Bryan Fletcher, who left Europe before Christmas with a career-best eighth place at the World Cup events in Ramsau (AUT), has spent the holidays polishing the details and preparing for the next events.
Of the three Tour de Ski stages remaining this morning, it had to be the 16km freestyle that frightened leader Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) the most. A stronger classic skier, and a ferocious climber, Kowalczyk should be confident with the last two stages – a 10km classic mass start, and the famous final climb. But the handicap start event in Toblach was an excellent opportunity for her competiton to make up ground. And they did just...
Dario Cologna (SUI) may not have had time to enjoy the scenery, but his efficient performance left little room for excitement at the front of the men’s 35 kilometer freestyle handicap start, leaving the setting the most interesting part of the day. The sixth stage of the 2011 Tour de Ski wound its way from Cortina to Toblach, climbing for the first 16 k before a long gradual descent to the stadium, and a final...
With her second sprint victory of the Tour, Petra Majdic (SLO) has again established herself as one of the top sprinters in the world. While it has taken some time for the tall Slovenian to round into top form, she is now clearly firing on all cylinders. In the 1.3km freestyle sprint in Toblach, Italy, Majdic won the qualification round, and led each of her heats from start to finish – the same strategy she...
The 2011 Tour de Ski is half way complete, and with the first rest day just about over, it is a good time to check in. Women On the women’s side, favorite Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) has not disappointed. She won the first two evens before finishing seconds to Petra Majdic (SLO) in the classic sprint, and fifth in the 10km pursuit. Despite being unable to break the field as she has often done in the...
Anna Haag and Charlotte Kalla claimed the top two spots for Sweden in the women’s 10km pursuit as the 2011 Tour de Ski continued in Oberstdorf. The pair, with the help of third place finisher, Marthe Kristofferssen (NOR) succeeded in knocking overall Tour leader Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) off the podium for the first time in this multi-stage event. Kowalczyk placed fifth after skiing at, or near the front for most of the race. And the...
The Tour de Ski is a hellishly difficult event for the teams that take part. Ten days, eight races, and five different venues in two countries make for a schedule that often results in massive fatigue, illness, and injury. However, the Canadian National Ski Team (CNST) has come up with an innovative way to deal with those demands – this year, the Canucks have equipped themselves with a huge tour bus. Emblazoned with the Cross...
Devon Kershaw (CAN) thought he had his first World Cup victory. His powerful move over the top of the last climb paid off, and he came screaming down into the stadium with a gap on none other than defending Sprint Cup champion Emil Joensson (SWE) and former overall World Cup champion Dario Cologna (SUI). But Joensson, perhaps the best pure sprinter in the world, can never be counted out. The Swede came charging back, and...
Kikkan Randall (USA) continued a consistent run through her first Tour de Ski, placing 17th in the classic sprint in Oberstdorf. In three Tour races, Randall has now placed 16th, 22nd, and 17th with her best event – the skate sprint – yet to come. Randall qualified in 18th today, 7.29 seconds behind leader Petra Majdic (SLO), and drew a tough assignment in the quarterfinals, matching up with Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) and Charlotte Kalla (SWE),...
During an amazing run spanning two seasons from 2008 to 2009, Petra Majdic (SLO) won 10 of 16 World Cup sprints, and finished on the podium two additional times. On an Obertsdorf sprint course, where she placed 15th at the 2005 World Championships 6 years ago, Majdic once again showed the form that has made her one of the greatest sprinters in World Cup history, leading the day from wire-to-wire. Majdic started by laying down...
Kikkan Randall (USA) continued a strong start to the 2011 Tour de Ski, striding to 22nd in the women’s 10km classic handicap start. Randall, skiing in her first Tour, started in 16th based on her result in Friday’s prologue, and posted the 27th fastest time of the day. The field was extremely tight at the start, and Randall was one of four skiers to start 28 seconds back. Waxing was difficult, and Randall opted to...
As most expected, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) took her six second lead in the 10km classic, and ran it with, dropping the hammer from the get go, and leaving the competition to fight for second. The handicap start event (as FIS) likes to call it, is actually a true pursuit, with skiers starting based on the results from the previous day. With her victory in the Tour de Ski prologue, and the accompanying 15 bonus seconds,...
For Canada’s Devon Kershaw, the biggest moment in Saturday’s classic pursuit in Oberhof, Germany, came not on the homestretch, but with four kilometers left in the 15-kilometer race—the second stage of the 2011 Tour de Ski. After working his way up through the field, Kershaw found himself at the front of the race, with Switzerland’s Dario Cologna and a few other skiers on the attack. But rather than charging ahead, the 28-year-old Kershaw did something...
Marcus Hellner (SWE) has ended 2010 on the top step of the podium. The Swede used his powerful skating to capture the stage victory in the 3.75 k prologue in Oberhof, Germany, on the opening day of the 2010-2011 Tour de Ski. Hellner beat out Alexei Petukhov (RUS) by 2 seconds for the win over the short distance. While Petukhov has never competed in the Tour before, he is no slouch – the Russian is...
The 2010-2011 Tour de Ski is underway in Oberhof, Germany, and defending champion Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) seems to have picked up right where she left off. Kowalczyk took just 6 minutes and 39 seconds to complete the 2.8 k freestyle prologue, .5 of a second ahead of Charlotte Kalla (SWE), while Astrid Jacobsen (NOR) was third, 4.8 seconds back. As a result of the win, Kowalczyk receives a 15 second time bonus, while Kalla receives...
The 2010/2011 Veissmann Tour de Ski is nothing if not draining. Consisting of eight events in ten days in two countries, the fifth edition begins December 31st and runs until January 9th. The Tour begins with a freestyle prologue in Oberhof, Germany, on December 31st, followed by a classic pursuit start on January 1st. The Tour then moves to Oberstorf, Germany, for a sprint on January 2nd, and a pursuit on the 3rd. After a...
Norwegian superstar Marit Bjoergen is sticking to her guns, and will not be racing the 2011 edition of the Tour de Ski. The winner of every single World Cup race this year, Bjoergen announced at the beginning of the season that she would follow the same plan that resulted in five medals at the 2010 Olympics. And that plan means no Tour de Ski. Since coming back from several down years thought to be caused...
