Toblach, Italy – Peter Northug (NOR) won his third stage of the 2010 Tour de Ski, outsprinting Dario Cologna (SUI) and Marcus Hellner (SWE) in the 35km freestyle pursuit. For the first time in the four year history of Tour, the event stopped in the Cortina-Toblach region of Italy. Today’s race wound through the valley’s between Cortina and Toblach, climbing up for 16km, before dropping down to the finish. The point-to-point course featured tunnels, suspension...
The 2010 Tour de Ski is now half over, and the record field is rapidly dwindling in size. This is the result of the confluence of two specific factors – the rule changes allowing skiers to keep World Cup points and prize money even if they withdraw, and the fact that it is an Olympic year. This is the 4th Tour de Ski, and the first to coincide with the Olympic Games. A handful of...
Prague, Czech Republic – Natalia Korosteleva (RUS) won the fourth stage of the 2010 Tour de Ski, and her first ever World Cup race, riding a late charge in sloppy conditions in Prague. Korosteleva won an exciting final with numerous lead changes and one major crash. Slovenian Vesna Fabjan, the top qualifier, led early followed closely by Korosteleva, Aino Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) Celine Brun-Lie (NOR) and Arianna Follis (ITA). Fabjan crashed on one of the...
Prague, Czech Republic – Emil Joensson (SWE) bounced back from a crash in yesterday’s sprint that may have cost him the victory, to win the skate city sprint in downtown Prague. The 1.2 km freestyle sprint marked the 4th race in 4 days for the Tour de Ski, and the flatter, faster course clearly favored the sprinters. Petter Northug (NOR) and Axel Teichmann (GER), first and second in the overall entering the day, did not...
Andy Newell is the first American to ever race in the Tour de Ski. Through the first three events he has had an up and down time of it. Newell has only one more race in the Tour – tomorrow’s skate sprint in Prague. He will then withdraw from the Tour and focus on training for several weeks. In the first event, the 3.7km prologue, Newell finished 48th. He was in 25th at the 1.5km...
Oberhof, Germany – Petra Majdic (SLO) skied to victory in the third stage of the 2010 Tour de Ski. Majdic bounced back from a tough race yesterday, and maintained her position as the Tour sprint leader. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) held onto the overall lead, finishing second. There was a clear division between the haves and have nots today. The top eight in qualifying held eight of the top nine spots on the final result sheet,...
Oberhof, Germany – Eldar Roenning (NOR) won a hotly contested sprint final in the third stage of the 2010 Tour de Ski. Roenning prevailed through challenging conditions to claim his sixth career World Cup victory, and his first since 2008. The weather was far from ideal in Oberhof this afternoon, with heavy snow falling and soft tracks. These conditions combined with a long course of 1.6km, made for slow qualification times and an uncommonly spread...
George Gray led the Canadians with a 17th place in yesterday’s prologue. Sara Renner took 27th in the prologue and moved up in today’s pursuit for a final finish of 21st place. Renner: Today, I was slow off the start but stronger at the end. It was basically a mass start. I had six girls in my second. I feel like my shape is turning around and hopefully I can qualify tomorrow. I don’t mind the back to...
Devon Kershaw is submitting daily reports from the 2010 Tour de Ski. He is currently in 10th place overall after a strong race today. Tour de Ski 2010, Day Two – 15km Classic in the true “pursuit” style The Tour continues to click along, Northug continues to win and Oberhof remains engulfed in fog. Most of those statements are true – although in a strange twist of fate – Oberhof did “almost” clear off for...
Oberhof, Germany – With four skiers in the top-30, Canada is off to a good start in the 2010 Tour de Ski. Led by Devon Kershaw, who climbed up to 10th place today, the Canadians are in striking distance of the podium. Kershaw was a disappointing 37th in yesterday’s prologue, but with times packed close, he did not face much of a deficit today, starting 37 seconds down. With the field closing up quickly, he...
Oberhof, Germany – Petter Northug (NOR) held on to the lead in the 2010 Tour de Ski, edging Maxim Vylegzhanin (RUS) in a photo finish. Northug won yesterday’s prolugue by .8 seconds. With sprint bonus seconds added, he began today’s 15km classic pursuit with a six second lead on Sweden’s Marcus Hellner. Northug set a fast pace out of the start, but with 60 skiers starting within 40 seconds, gaps quickly closed, and a large...
Oberhof, Germany – Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) took over the 2010 Tour de Ski lead with a strong performance in the women’s 10km classic pursuit. Starting in 3rd, 16 seconds behind Petra Majdic (SLO), Kowalczyk quickly closed the gap. She, Majdic, and Natalia Korosteleva (RUS) formed a lead group of three that skied alone for the first four kilometers. By the 6k mark, Korosteleva had fallen off the pace, and Aino Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) was closing...
Devon Kershaw is a member of the Canadian National Team. He is submitting reports from the 2010 Tour de Ski. This is Devon’s fourth Tour. Under blazing lights burning holes through the incessant fog that hangs over Oberhof like the mood of a depressed, frowning old man on a rainy day – the 2010 edition of the Tour de Ski got under way. Today’s course was the exact same layout as last year’s Tour start....
Oberhof, Germany – Petra Majdic (SLO) won the opening event of the 2010 Tour de Ski, besting Natalia Korosteleva (RUS) by 2 seconds in the 2.8km freestyle prologue. Majdic, who finished third in last year’s Tour, now leads the event. She also picked up 15 bonus seconds with her victory. The prologue is considered a sprint for the Tour sprint standings. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) was third, +6.3 seconds. She held a two second lead at...
Oberhof, Germany – Peter Northug (NOR), starting last, yet again came from behind to win the 3.7km freestyle Tour de Ski Prologue this afternoon. Northug, the overall World Cup leader, and heavy favorite to win the Tour, ranked 31st at 1.5km, 5 seconds off the pace. But as has become the norm, he turned on the jets and just edged Swede Marcus Hellner by .8 seconds. Axel Teichmann (GER) was third, 2 seconds back, and...
The sport of cross-country skiing has changed dramatically over the past decades. In a recent blog post, Vegard Ulvang, Chairman of the FIS Cross-Country Committee and an Olympic and World Champion, gathers some opinions and states the need to keep looking forward. Reading newspapers and speaking to Cross-Country fans, athletes and coaches from different nations can sometimes be an interesting task. Here are some of the strongest quotes from the last months: “Everything was better before....
The 2010 Tour de Ski kicks off tomorrow in Oberhof, Germany. Festivities start today with the Team Presentation ceremony. You can watch a live stream of this even right here. The presentation will take place at 11:00AM Eastern Standard Time.
Christmas has come and gone, and the next phase of the season is just around the corner. The Cross-Country World Cup continues with the Tour de Ski, starting on January 1st in Oberhof, Germany. The first three events of the Tour are in Oberhof – the Prologue, a 10/15km classical pursuit and a classic sprint. The Nordic Combined World Cup also picks up in Oberhof, overlapping with the Tour. Two competitions are on the 2nd...
