Great photos and commentary from the past weekend’s World Cup races – from Pete Vordenberg on TeamToday… Gällivare Skate Race …and a fall report from US Development Team athlete Liz Stephen… “One foot in front of the other, over and over. A foot clipped into a pedal that goes in circle after circle. A day of free throws, the glide of a ski, the volley of a ball, hitting a home...
Sometimes, the specifics of ski racing are not necessarily told through the results sheet. Sometimes, there’s more to the story than meets a singular pair of eyes. Here are a few impressions from the US Ski Team, told through pictures and through words from the opening World Cup race of the season in Gallivare, Sweden. Enjoy. Hellner displays a little flow to complement his snappy, powerful, effective skate style. Helner’s always been a skater. He’s...
19-year old Marthe Kristoffersen out-sprinted Riita-Liisa Roponen to give Norway the victory over Finland in the women's 4x5km relay in Gaellivare, Sweden. The Norweigans and and Finns battled for the entire race, matching leg for leg. The pack broke up quickly, with Italy's Arianna Follis the only skier able to keep up with Marit Bjoergen (NOR) and Pirjo Muranen (FIN) on the first leg. Virpi Kuitunen set the pace for the Finns after the handoff...
Norway made it two for two today, winning the men's relay in a mass sprint to the finish, edging host Sweden by .2 seconds in the 4x10km relay in Gaellivare. Not to be outdone by the Norweigan women, the men's team skied to a victory by an even smaller margin than their female counterparts. Just a few hours after Marthe Kristoffersen outsprinted Finn Rita-Liisa Roponen for a .4 second victory, Petter Northug edged Swede Marcus...
Charlotte Kalla (SWE) skied to an impressive 24.4 second victory over Norweigan Marit Bjoergen in the women's 10km freestyle in Gaellivare, Sweden. Finn Aino Kaisa Saarinen claimed third +32 seconds. In the men's 15km event, Marcus Hellner gave Sweden two victories in two races, edging Italian Pietro Piller Cottrer by 1.4 seconds. Petter Northug (NOR) claimed third, +6.9. The only American in the race, Kris Freeman, got his season off to a solid start, finishing...
Hometown hero Charlotte Kalla skied to an impressive 24.4 second victory over Norweigan star Marit Bjoergen in Gaellivare, Sweden, as the World Cup got underway this morning. Kalla, who grew up in Gaellivare led at every checkpoint in the 10km freestyle event, expanding her lead from .4 seconds at 2.3 kilometers, to 12.1 at the 6.7km mark. Bjoergen, the top Norweigan woman, has struggled over the past several years to place consistently at the top...
The 22 year old Hellner, like women's victor Charlotte Kalla, won his first ever World Cup on the trails of his hometown of Gaellivare, Sweden, edging Italian Pietro Piller Cottrer by 1.4 seconds. Norweigan Petter Northug claimed the final podium spot, +6.9. “I feel great now. It was a tough race and at the end it felt like going in a tunnel with the audience and everything. When I crossed the finish line everything just...