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World Cup

The cream of the crop. The best in the world compete all winter long on the World Cup. We follow them at every stop with article and results. We also post occasional reports from North America’s best as they travel the globe.
A Mega-Classic 50 k to Close out the Championships: A Klæbo DQ in the Final Straight Reshuffles the Podium

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com.  It was under overcast skies that the men made their final preparations before the start of Sunday’s mass start 50 k classic, the final event of the 2021 World...

Johaug Runs Away With Gold in the 30-kilometer Classic; Maubet Bjornsen 15th in Final Professional Race

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. A blanket of fresh snow lay on the ground while the frozen rocky peaks of the Bavarian Alps peaked through the clouds. Finally, Oberstdorf, Germany looked like a wintery...

Heavy Snow and a Heavy Klæbo Hop-Skate: Norway Beats Russia for Men’s Relay Win

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com.  After the tropical conditions of the past week, the men were greeted with heavy snowfall for Friday’s championship 4 x 10 k relay competition in Oberstdorf. Temperatures hovered around...

U.S. Women’s Biathlon Races to Best Relay Finish Since 1994 (USBA Press Release)

NOVE MESTO, Czech Republic (March 4, 2021) – In the final women’s 4×6-kilometer relay of the BMW IBU World Cup season, Team USA turned in a performance for the ages. The team’s sixth-place finish in the field of 21 teams on Thursday was the best since 1994 and just 40.1 seconds off the winning time turned in by Sweden. The U.S. quartet’s time was also a mere 12.3 seconds from the bronze medal. By comparison, the...

Norway Leaves No Doubt in 4 x 5 k Championship Relay Win; Finland and U.S. Down to the Wire with Finland Taking Bronze.

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Tension built, tension released, as the build-up to the women’s 4 x 5-kilometer relay at the World Championships began under a partly cloudy sky, light breeze, and what we’ve...

Another Norwegian Sweep in the 15-Kilometer Skate: Holund, Krüger, and Amundsen

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Here we are in the back half of the 2021 World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. As athletes strive for their peak fitness, storylines from the World Cup season, pandemic,...

It’s a Tempo-Fest – Johaug Captures 10 k Skate at Worlds; Diggins Fourth

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. The high pressure continued at the 2021 World Championships on Tuesday in more ways than one. Oberstdorf, Germany’s temps hovered around 50 degrees Fahrenheit for the start of the women’s...

Uniforms Addenda: More 2020/2021 World Cup Uniforms

There have been, by FasterSkier’s calculation, 37 distinct nations that have seen at least one athlete start a World Cup race this season. The first 22 of them were surveyed following the opening weekend of racing in Ruka, in what now seems like a dispatch from another era in which all Scandinavian countries competed and Jessie Diggins was still rounding into form. This article surveys the next 15 who competed on subsequent World Cup weekends,...

Norway Speeds Ahead for Men’s Team Sprint Gold, Canada’s Cyr and Ritchie 7th Overall

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. The firepower was evident on the start line. Norway, Russia, France, Italy, and six other teams paired for the team sprint Sunday at the 2021 Oberstdorf, Germany World Championships....

Sweden’s Sundling Edges Out Switzerland for Team Sprint Gold; USA 5th

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. And now for something completely different. The skate team sprint. Three roughly 1-kilometer loops each for 7.2 k total, relatively flat with just two brief upticks per lap, winding...

Bolshunov Victorious in the 30-Kilometer Skiathlon; Patterson 14th, Norris 17th

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. With swaths of bare ground peeking through the melting snow, skis rattling through tracks and swooshing across the lanes, and short-sleeved race tops, World Championship racing continued in a...

Johaug Breaks Away for the Skiathlon Win; Diggins 15th

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Overcast skies greeted the skiers as they lined up for a 15 k skiathlon Saturday morning, the second World Championship event in Oberstdorf, Germany. Despite temperatures hovering around 37°F,...

Exploring Alexander Bolshunov: The Emergence – Part 1

  This is the first part of a three-part series on Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov. You can find part two here.    At 24 years old, Alexander Alexandrovich Bolshunov has become arguably the best men’s skier in the world. He has already secured this season’s World Cup title, to go along with his 2020 Overall Crystal Globe. He has a handful of Olympic and World Championship medals—all silver. At the Oberstdorf World Championships, his least favorite...

FIS Statement on Bolshunov’s Actions in Lahti

The International Ski Federation released a statement this morning regarding Alexander Bolshunov’s disqualification in the Lahti, Finland 4 x 7.5 k relay for “unsportsmanlike conduct”.   This linked article written earlier this month considers the pathway to sanctions in cases like a physical altercation at a FIS race. Below is the FIS statement in its entirety. *Decision of Ethics and Compliance Commissioner on Alexander Bolshunov* The FIS Council assigned an Independent Ethics and Compliance Commissioner...

Norwegian Triple Championship Podium with Klæbo Crowned the Winner; Ogden 17th for the US

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Against the backdrop of hundreds of cardboard cut-out fans, the men battled for the first medals of the 2021 World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. Despite warming temperatures, conditions were...

Sweden’s Sundling Cruises for First Championship Gold in the Classic Sprint

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. After qualifying events on Wednesday, World Championships kicked off in earnest in Oberstdorf, Germany with the Classic Sprint event Thursday morning. Due to unseasonably warm temperatures, the start times...

Exploring Alexander Bolshunov: A Rivalry is Born – Part 2

This is the second part of a three-part series on Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov. You can find part three here.    During the season of 2018/19, there was fierce competition for the overall World Cup between Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Alexander Bolshunov, who surprised the Norwegians by proving to be a versatile and resilient competitor. Sergey Ustiugov was initially seen to be the main threat to Klæbo’s World Cup campaign, haunting him in the Tour de...

Exploring Alexander Bolshunov: A Rumble in Lahti – Part 3

This is the third part of a three-part series on Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov. You can find part one and part two here.    This season, the Alexander Bolshunov vs. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo show has been largely sidelined due to Norway pulling from cross-country World Cups due to the coronavirus. When the Norwegians returned to the World Cup in Lahti, the wait proved a pressure cooker of tension.  When Bolshunov fell in the closing stages of...

How to Watch: Nordic World Championships (Updated)

Red alert: Due to the expected warm temperatures in Oberstdorf, organizers have changed the start time for Thursday’s classic sprint heats to 5:30 AM EST. Stay tuned to the schedule, as we expect more changes throughout the week. We’ve received many emails asking how to watch the Nordic World Championships beginning in earnest this Thursday with a classic sprint in Oberstdorf, Germany. In terms of using an Internet provider in the U.S., meaning a non-VPN...

Nordiq Canada Names 2021 World Championship Team (Press Release)

Press Release   CANMORE, Alta.—Nordiq Canada has named 10 athletes who will wear the nation’s colours at the 2021 FIS World Nordic Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany, February 23 – March 7. Earning their coveted spots based on results achieved at the 2020-21 World Cup races, five women and five men will bring the maple leaf to the start line in all races throughout the two-week Nordic festival.  “Not having competitions in Canada this season...