For the first time this season, someone who wasn’t Norwegian stood atop the men’s World Cup biathlon podium. After six straight races of Norwegian dominance, the spell was broken in Pokljuka, Slovenia on Thursday. The top Norwegian finisher, Tarjei Boe, didn’t even make the top ten. But Norway’s loss was Austria’s gain, as Daniel Mesotitsch picked up his third career World Cup victory, by almost a minute over Benjamin Weger of Switzerland. Sergui Sednev of...
With Kikkan Randall earning frequent flier miles for her trips to the podium, and the likes of Andy Newell, Kris Freeman, Devon Kershaw, and Alex Harvey battling for the top-10, it can be easy for the younger North American skiers to get lost in the shuffle. Simi Hamilton (USA), Len Valjas (CAN), and Phil Widmer (CAN), all members of their respective nation’s B-Teams posted strong results in Sunday’s World Cup sprint in Davos, Switzerland. The...
While the likes of Emil Joensson, Alexei Petukhov and Dario Cologna dominated the headlines, Andy Newell likely had the best disappointing day in the freestyle sprint in Davos. Placing 13th for the second week in a row, Newell missed out on a spot in the semifinals by two inches at most. Newell was his usual self in qualification, posting the fourth fastest time, and easily advancing to the heats. “I felt good [in the qualification],”...
Kikkan Randall is in for a long week. With the news that the Polish Ski Association (PSA) plans to appeal Justyna Kowalczyk’s relegation in the Sunday’s women’s sprint final in Davos—which elevated Randall to third place—the Alaskan could be waiting until late this coming week to find out whether she gets to keep her podium finish, and the $5,000 that goes with it. According to International Ski Federation (FIS) rules, the PSA can take up...
With 100 meters to go in Sunday’s skate sprint in Davos, Kikkan Randall flew into the stadium in fourth place. A few strong strides brought her close to even with third, and second place even seemed to be within reach. Enter Justyna Kowalczyk—the wiry Pole with a reputation for provocative statements and questionable tactics. Just as Randall was about slide past, Kowalczyk made an aggressive move to her right, forcing the American to switch lanes...
In the loaded field that is men’s World Cup sprint racing, advancing to the finals with any consistency is no mean feat, making Emil Joensson’s (SWE) back-to-back sprint victories that much more impressive. Joensson used a slick move on the second lap of the two loop Davos sprint course to move into the lead, and his breathtaking finishing speed to seal the deal in the final. Alexei Petukhov (RUS) held off Dario Cologna (SUI), rounding...
Following on the heels of two North American podiums in Dusseldorf, Canadian and American distance skiers turned in a mixed bag of results in the 10/15km individual start classic race in Davos, Switzerland. The top distance skiers from both countries, with the notable exception of all-rounder Kikkan Randall, skipped the Dusseldorf sprint weekend in order to prepare for the longer event at altitude in Davos. Devon Kershaw (CAN) led the way, skiing to an impressive...
Two weeks ago, young Alexei Poltaranin (KAZ) stood on the start line in Kuusamo wearing bib two. The race was the final event of the Ruka Triple, a World Cup mini-tour in Kuusamo, Finland. Powered by strong results in the preceding classic races, Poltaranin was in position to battle for the overall podium. And battle he did, but despite holding position through the early part of the race, he was dropped by the leaders, swallowed...
“It might have been good for me to fall down the drain a little,” Petter Northug said at the press conference in Davos Friday afternoon.
Rocket boosters? Tiny electric motors? Cutting the course? The World Cup women’s field is going to have to come up with something, because it’s pretty clear that plain old training and technique isn’t going to be enough to beat Norway’s Marit Bjoergen any time soon. In Saturday’s 10 k classic in Davos, Switzerland, Bjoergen won for her fourth time in five races this year, skiing to a 30-second victory over her Polish rival Justyna Kowalczyk....
After three months of silence, the lawyer for Nikolai Pankratov, the Russian cross-country skier accused of breaking anti-doping rules, has gone public. In comments first made to the German press and confirmed in an e-mail to FasterSkier, Markus Höss, the Stuttgart-based attorney representing Pankratov, has refuted the charges against his client, and accused the International Ski Federation (FIS) of conducting a flawed legal process. Sidebar: The Pankratov Files WADA’S PROHIBITED LIST – This document shows the...
After a wildly entertaining weekend of sprinting in Dusseldorf, complete with North American podiums and crashes galore, the World Cup returns to normalcy in the cross-country paradise of Davos, Switzerland. The action starts on Saturday with an individual start 10/15km classic, before shifting back to sprinting with a freestyle event on Sunday. A number of top skiers, including Marit Bjoergen (NOR), Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), Marcus Hellner (SWE), and North Americans Kris Freeman (USA) and Devon...
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After the U.S. men’s performance in the season-opening World Cup relay in Sweden, which had Andy Newell, Kris Freeman, and Noah Hoffman hanging with the leaders through nearly three full legs, the question hung in the air: Who would be the skier to fill the void in the fourth spot? The answer seemed to lie back at home, in the form of a rising star like Tad Elliott, who could be ready in time for...
As a cross country skier, it’s tough to turn down a free trip to World Cups in Estonia, Russia, and the Czech Republic. Unless, of course, you’ve got a shot at racing at World Championships in Norway later on in the winter. That’s the case for Alaska Pacific University’s (APU’s) Holly Brooks, the current women’s SuperTour leader. Along with her teammate Lars Flora, Brooks’s finishes at the November races in West Yellowstone earned her start...
With their doping suspensions completed and competition ban lifted, one Russian biathlete retires and two return to the international racing circuit this weekend.
Stupid, nonsensical, and “completely in the wrong.” Those were the descriptions by elite cross-country skiers and coaches of German sprinter Josef Wenzl’s actions in the Dusseldorf team sprint on Sunday. Wenzl’s his own Wenzl-esque kamikaze attack against Swedish skier Marcus Hellner. “I moved in on him, when there was absolutely no reason to—and we both went down,” Kershaw wrote in an e-mail on Monday. “I had qualified first, and was poised to perhaps slot into...
The first big chinks in Ole Einar Bjoerndalen’s armor showed up at the 2010 Olympics, where his two-medal performance was eclipsed by the three podiums collected by his Norwegian teammate, Emil Hegle Svendsen. Bjoerndalen, 36, was charitable at the time, as befitted a living legend with nearly three-dozen World Championships medals to his name. And there was no sense that he felt threatened by Svendsen—after all, the three medals that Svendsen won in Vancouver represented...
