World Cup

Arianna Follis and Renato Pasini (both Italy) took the victory in today’s free style Sprint in Rybinsk (RUS). Follis took her first World Cup victory in this season in a great atmosphere on the discerning course of Demino Ski Center, ahead of Claudia Kuenzel-Nystad (GER) and Kikkan Randall from USA. On fourth place finished the current World Cup leader Virpi Kuitunen (FIN). Also in the final: the home favourite Natalia Matveeva (5th place, RUS) and...

Pokljuka (Bled), Slovenia, January 21. Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY), after missing the podium in yesterday’s Pursuit competition, came back even stronger in today’s 15K Mass Start competition, finishing sixth with the best US Biathlon result since January, 2000. Burke left the stadium frustrated yesterday after three penalties in the final shooting stage dropping him from fifth to 11th place. Today, it was a different story, as Burke had only two penalties total, compared to...

First victory for Roponen and Legkov Riitta Liisa Roponen from Finland and the Russian Alexander Legkov take the victory in Rybinsk in the mass start races over 15 km (ladies) and 30 km (men) in free technique. For Roponen it was the first World Cup victory and her second podium place in this season after her successful second place in the World Cup race over the same distance and the same technique in La Clusaz...

Pokljuka (Bled), Slovenia, January 20. Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY), after being in fifth position before the final shooting stage finished a frustrated 11th today, 1:22.3 behind the winner, Christoph Sumann of Austria, in the Men’s 12.5K Pursuit competition. Prior to the final standing stage, Burke, who started in 13th position, missed only one of fifteen shots in the twenty-shot Pursuit competition. That single penalty came on the second prone stage, early in the competition....

January 11th, 2007: The Viessmann FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Rybinsk (RUS), which is situated in the region of Jaroslawl, 280km in the north-east from Moscow, will take place on January, 20th /21st. The Organizing Committee of Rybinsk gave today the “green light” for a distance and a sprint race in the Cross-Country area ‘Demino’. Due to the lack of snow the FIS will change the competition program from the planed Pursuit races to Distance...

Ruhpolding, Germany, January 11. Jeremy Teela (Anchorage, AK) crossed the finish line today in 7th place in the Men’s 4 X 7.5K Relay with a broad smile and a raised ski pole as the stadium announcer described the US finish as, “sensational,” several times. In a relay won by Norway in 1:29:17, after a see-saw battle with second place Russia, the US Team of Jay Hakkinen (Kasilof, AK), Tim Burke (Paul Smiths, NY), Lowell Bailey...

Norwegian national team coach Ulf Morten Aune is of the opinion that the final hill in Tour de Ski simply was too steep. — There was little that reminded you of ski racing and it didn’t look good, said Aune.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING FLIES HIGH ON MOUNT CERMIS KUITUNEN AND ANGERER AT THE TOP OF THE TOUR DE SKI The final climb to Mount Cermis crowned the German and the Finn, who made the difference in the Italian stages and were able to win the new cross-country skiing challenge launched by the International Ski Federation and were awarded a considerable jackpot (the amount won by the two athletes is approximately 150.000 Euro). The German “tank” started...

Who will win Tour de Ski? The last 3-kilometers of Tour de Ski’s finale races are extremely steep. The finale climb has a 400-meter gain over approximately 3-kilometers! It’s up the alpine hill in Val de Fiemme. Check out the course profile here. The women’s finale race is 10-kilometer freestyle mass-start, while the men’s race is 15-kilometer freestyle mass-start on Sunday.

Virpi Kuitunen from Finland, the winner of the Sprint Stage in Asiago yesterday, took another victory in today’s 15 km mass start competition in the classical technique in Val di Fiemme, the fifth Stage in the Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski. Virpi Kuitunen finished in the today’s race clearly – 37.1 seconds – ahead of her team mate Aino Kaisa Saarinen. Marit Bjoergen from Norway took the third place, reaching the finish 1.06.5 minutes behind...

The current World Cup leader Eldar Roenning (NOR) won the today’s 30 km mass start competition in the classical technique in Val di Fiemme, the fifth Stage in the Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski. Eldar Roenning finished in today’s race in the finish sprint – 0.6 seconds – ahead of the Russian Ivan Alypov. Sami Jauhojaervi from Finland took the third place, reaching the finish 1,6 seconds behind today´s Stage winner. For Alypov and Jauhojaervi...

Here are the overall result lists after 4 races in Tour de Ski. Women: 1 1166037 KUITUNEN Virpi FIN 1:02:21.4 1:32.6 2 1303777 BJOERGEN Marit NOR 1:02:49.7 3 1276714 MAJDIC Petra SLO 1:02:55.7 4 3425003 STEIRA Kristin NOR 1:03:00.1 5 1255665 SAARINEN Aino Kaisa FIN 1:03:08.8 6 1305426 SKOFTERUD Vibeke W. NOR 1:03:17.0 1:36.4 7 1256732 SACHENBACHER STEHLE Evi GER 1:03:22.2 8 1142563 SHEVCHENKO Valentina UKR 1:03:23.1 1:41.0 9 1222200 LONGA Marianna ITA 1:03:36.2 10...

Tobias Angerer and the Germans are in the middle of a controvery after the local Tour de Ski Organizers in Oberstdorf skied in the tracks for them when it started snowing hard. There were three Germans on top of the podium after Wednesday’s 15-kilometer individual start classic race in Tour de Ski, and that made French skier Vincent Vittoz angry. Vittoz claimed after the race that the Organizers plowed the tracks for Angerer and the...

The World Cup leader Virpi Kuitunen (FIN) and the ski veteran Tor Arne Hetland (NOR) took the victory in today’s free style Sprint in Asiago (Italy), the fourth Stage in the Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski. Virpi Kuitunen took her first Tour de Ski stage victory in the Sprint under bright sunny skies in Asiago, ahead of Marit Bjoergen (NOR) and the home favourite Arianna Follis (ITA, Valley d’Aosta). In fourth place finished Britta Norgren...

Marit Bjœrgen got an expensive lesson when she blew up fighting for sprintbonus-seconds in Tuesday’s pursuit race at Tour de Ski. She won’t make that mistake again. Marit Bjœrgen blew up big time when she was fighting for bonus-seconds in s sprint during Tuesday’s 5+5 kilometer pursuit mass-start race. She fought hard with Aino Kaisa Saarinen and Virpi Kuitunen, but lost to both. And it was costly. She filled up with lactate and was not...

Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski performance by Craft Sportswear at Oberstdorf (GER) on January 3rd, 2007 Petra Majdic (SLO) and the 22-years-old Franz Goering (GER) won the Individual competition of the Tour de Ski 10 km (ladies) and 15 km (men) in classical technique in the World Championships village from 2005 in Oberstdorf. Petra Majdic took her first Tour de Ski stage victory in a race with difficult snow conditions clearly 27.2 seconds ahead of...

Kristin Steira (NOR) and Vincent Vittoz (FRA) won the Pursuit races of the Tour de Ski over 5 km C + 5 km F (ladies) and 10 km C + 10 km F (men) in Oberstdorf. The 25-year-old Steira, who won only one World Cup until now, was fourth after the 5km classics. But she started to attack the three in front of her as soon as they had changed skis. She built up a...

—Devon Kershaw finishes as top Canuck in 25th place, moving into 12th overall— Oberstdorf, GER—While they have all but mastered the sprint discipline, Canada’s next generation of World Cup cross-country skiers continue their paces on a dedicated journey towards excellence in the distance races. The national ski team competing in Europe this week, which consists of six men and four women ranging from age 20 to 28, took another step forward on their learning curve...

Christoph Eigenmann (SUI) and Marit Bjorgen (NOR) won the men's and ladies’ opening Sprint Stages of the inaugural Tour de Ski in Munich on New Year’s Eve. The 0.8 and 1.2km courses at the Olympic Stadium in Munich represented the first challenge in the inaugural Tour de Ski after the planned opening Stages in Nove Mesto were cancelled. Many falls caused havoc in the men's event with the Scandinavians in particular having trouble staying on...

—Canadian Devon Kershaw wins silver, Chandra Crawford skis to bronze medals— Munich, GER—A Christmas scrooge may have tried to spoil the holidays for Canada’s elite cross-country skiers, but Santa certainly had the last laugh before the New Year rings in — delivering a present in the form of silver and bronze medals for Devon Kershaw and Chandra Crawford in the sprint competition at the FIS Tour de Ski in Munich, Germany on Saturday. The 24-year-old...