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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.
‘You Just Had to Bite Your Teeth Together,’ Bjørgen Wins Challenging Ruka 10 k; Diggins 10th

At age 37, with more than 110 World Cup wins, 18 World Championships titles and six Olympic gold medals, it’s hard to imagine Norway’s Marit Bjørgen as anything but a machine; she races, she wins, she repeats. But even the World Cup veteran, who first raced the circuit in 1999, occasionally considers the simplicity of throwing in the towel. With intermittent snow showers on Saturday in Kuusamo Finland, temperatures hovering around freezing and varying snow conditions over...

Saturday Rundown: Bjørgen, Klæbo Dominate Ruka Day 2; Diggins 10th; Fletcher Gets 2nd Top 20

FIS Cross Country World Cup (Kuusamo, Finland): 10/15 k classic Men’s report On Day 2 of the Ruka Triple World Cup opener on Saturday, Norway’s Marit Bjørgen collected a 17-second victory in the women’s 10-kilometer classic individual start in Kuusamo, Finland. Bjørgen started 30th of nearly 90 women and was contested by one other: Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla in bib 44. Kalla clocked through the 3.1 and 6.2 k checkpoints faster than Bjørgen, but the Norwegian’s...

Sadie Bjornsen Second in First Race of Season; Nilsson Tops Ruka Classic Sprint

On Friday in Kuusamo, Finland, the 2017/2018 Cross Country World Cup began with the first day of racing in what’s called the Ruka Triple — a three-day event featuring a 1.4-kilometer classic sprint, 10 and 15 k classic races on Day 2, and 10/15 k freestyle pursuits on Sunday. For many, considering how multifaceted the U.S. Ski Team (USST) women are, and how five to six of them are podium threats, the biggest step up...

Klæbo Commands Kuusamo Classic Sprint; Harvey 21st, Bjornsen 24th

There was no mistaking Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo in Friday’s 1.4-kilometer classic sprint, even with no natural light illuminating the course in Kuusamo, Finland, by the time the men’s final left the start line. The 21 year old’s distinct runner-like, high-tempo stride could be seen leading the five other men’s finalists on every climb, distinguishing him from the light fog and densely packed trees lining the course’s firmly packed tracks. Making his World Cup debut...

Friday Rundown: Sadie Bjornsen Opens with Career-Best Second in Ruka

FIS Cross Country World Cup (Kuusamo, Finland): Classic sprints Men’s race report In the first race of the 2017/2018 cross-country World Cup season, U.S. Ski Team (USST) member Sadie Bjornsen, who turned 28 on Tuesday, raced to the best result of her career, placing second to Sweden’s Stina Nilsson in Friday’s classic sprint in Kuusamo, Finland. Last season, Bjornsen notched her first World Cup podium in third place in the 5-kilometer freestyle in Toblach, Italy,...

World Cup Windup: Canada

Welcome to World Cup Windup, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24. Last but not least, Canada! CANADA Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 10th Women’s Ranking 2016/2017: 14th Men’s Ranking 2016/2017: Sixth Who’s Back: Alex Harvey, World Champion, runner-up in the Distance Cup, and third in the overall World Cup;...

World Cup Windup: Italy

Welcome to World Cup Windup, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24. ITALY Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: Ninth Women’s Ranking 2016/2017: Ninth Men’s Ranking 2016/2017: Eighth Who’s Back: Federico Pellegrino, World Champion in the sprint and runner-up in the Sprint Cup; Dietmar Nöckler, who joined him for team sprint...

World Cup Windup: France

Welcome to World Cup Windup, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24. FRANCE Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: Eighth Women’s Ranking 2016/2017: 15th Men’s Ranking 2016/2017: Fifth Who’s Back: Maurice Manificat, the fastest man up the Tour de Ski final climb last season, and a World Cup race winner previous...

World Cup Windup: Germany

Welcome to World Cup Windup, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24. GERMANY Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: Seventh Women’s Ranking 2016/2017: Sixth Men’s Ranking 2016/2017: Ninth Who’s Back: Nicole Fessel and Steffi Boehler, top-20 in the World Cup distance standings; sprint finalist Sandra Ringwald; Victoria Carl and Katharina Hennig,...

Qualified for First World Cups, Locke Sees It As ‘First Step’

In Rossland, British Colombia, most residents can reach the town’s lone alpine hill by car in five minutes, the cross-country trails in seven. Tucked high in the Monashee Mountains, hemlock and fir outnumber some 3,500 locals, most of whom know each other by name. And over the past two decades, Rossland, which was fourth in the juvenile boy’s classic sprint.  “That sat heavily with me all summer because I knew, I believed that I was capable of being...

World Cup Windup: Switzerland

Welcome to World Cup Windup, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24. SWITZERLAND Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: Sixth Women’s Ranking 2016/2017: Seventh Men’s Ranking 2016/2017: Seventh Who’s Back: Olympic gold medalist Dario Cologna, who finished seventh in last year’s World Cup standings and third in the Tour de Ski;...

World Cup Windup: USA

Welcome to World Cup Windup, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24. *** Note: The following article has been updated to clarify that various World Cup organizers are responsible for paying travel and living costs for Continental Cup leaders (as well as Red Group athletes and paying for Nation’s Support: see...

World Cup Windup: Russia

Welcome to World Cup Windup, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24. RUSSIA Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: Fourth Women’s Ranking 2016/2017: Fifth Men’s Ranking 2016/2017: Second Who’s Back: Ust-iu-gov! Ust-iu-gov! Sergey Ustiugov, a sensation in the last two seasons, is back for more. There’s also top-20 ranked overall skiers...

World Cup Windup: Finland

Welcome to World Cup Windup, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24. FINLAND Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: Third, by just 106 points over Russia Women’s Ranking 2016/2017: Third Men’s Ranking 2016/2017: Fourth Who’s Back: World Cup overall title runner-up Krista Parmakoski, fifth-place Matti Heikkinen, and eighth-place Kerttu Niskanen; Iivo...

Lack of FIS Action on Banned Russians Causing Confusion: ‘It Shouldn’t Be This Difficult’

Note: On. Nov. 23, the day before the first World Cup race of the season, the the CAS decision that the provisional sanctions of the Russian cross-country athletes would expire on 31st October and can only be reinstated if there was more specific evidence of individual anti-doping rule violations.” In the CAS press release announcing the Oct. 31 deadline for FIS to bring a case against the skiers, the court only wrote that “a further provisional suspension may be imposed on the athletes...

World Cup Windup: Sweden

Welcome to World Cup Windup, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24. SWEDEN Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: Second Women’s Ranking 2016-2017: Second Men’s Ranking 2016-2017: Third Who’s Back: Stina Nilsson, second in the Sprint Cup and fourth in the World Cup overall; Hanna Falk, third in the Sprint Cup;...

World Cup Windup: Norway

Welcome to World Cup Windup, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24. NORWAY Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: First, by a landslide: 13,383 points to 7,053 by runner-up Sweden. Women’s Ranking 2016/2017: First Men’s Ranking 2016/2017: First Who’s Back: Overall World Cup winners Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Heidi Weng; Sprint...

More Early Racing as Cologna, Kylloenen, and Van Der Graaf Get Wins

The World Cup season draws ever-closer as season-opening races continued this weekend in Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland. In Muonio, Finland, a long weekend of racing wrapped up with 10 and 15 k skate races. Finland’s Anne Kylloenen took the win in the women’s 10 k, besting Emilie Kristoffersen of Norway by 8.2 seconds. Kylloenen’s national-team teammates Laura Mononen and Aino-Kaisa Saarinen took third (+14.0) and fourth (+17.1), respectively. Merete Myrseth, a Norwegian skier who competed...

Finns, Russians, Norwegians & Swede Nab Early-Season Wins; Vylegzhanin Competes Despite IOC Ban

FIS races are already being contested in Finland and Sweden this weekend, with most top Scandinavian racers sitting out but a few national-team members and others picking up their first victories of the season. The competitions in Muonio, Finland, drew the most diverse field, including racers from Norway, Russia, Japan, China, Canada, Estonia, and Slovakia, among other countries. In the men’s classic sprint on Friday, the home team got a win from Ristomatti Hakola; he...