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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.
Lillehammer, Östersund & West Notes & Quotes

Three days of racing, more than a dozen North American skiers, and one FasterSkier on-site reporter was there to witness it all — including Women | Women | Women | Diggins’s 5 k victory “Jessica can be either in the front or in the back when it comes to classic. I thought that if she has a good day, then we and Marit can try to chase Heidi, and that would be a really nice group....

Sunday Rundown: Lillehammer, Östersund & West Yellowstone (Updated x6)

Welcome to The Rundown, your quick primer of need-to-know information about the day’s racing. We’ll be updating this digest as the day goes on with additional results, photos and quotes. The Rundown is NOT a race report; stay tuned for complete race reports later today with interviews from the day’s top racers. (Note: This Rundown has been updated to include comments from U.S. Nordic Combined’s Bryan Fletcher, who placed ninth on Sunday at the World...

All Alone, Weng Wins First Mini-Tour Title in Lillehammer; Diggins Hangs On for 8th

Norway’s Heidi Weng started the 10-kilometer classic pursuit in Lillehammer, Norway, on her own, and she finished just the same: alone, and in first place. The 25 year old chalked up her first World Cup mini-tour win on Sunday, after second in the 5 k skate in Saturday. Weng started the day with a 20-second cushion separating her from second-place Ingvild Flugstad Østberg in the mini-tour standings, and extended that lead slightly by the middle...

Queen of 5 k Skate, Diggins Makes It a Habit in Lillehammer

Note: This article has been updated to include American Rosie Brennan’s result. *** There are several different ways to describe Lillehammer’s 5-kilometer freestyle course, complete with at least five notable climbs, one of which takes a World Cup skier about 3 1/2 minutes to conquer. “Fun” isn’t the word most would use, but most aren’t Jessie Diggins. A 25-year-old member of the U.S. Ski Team from Afton, Minn., Diggins rounded the one-lap course with a speed no...

Saturday Rundown: Lillehammer, Östersund & West Yellowstone (Updated x 4)

Welcome to The Rundown, your quick primer of need-to-know information about the day’s racing. We’ll be updating this digest as the day goes on with additional results, photos and quotes. The Rundown is NOT a race report; stay tuned for complete race reports later today with interviews from the day’s top racers. *** U.S. SuperTour opener in West Yellowstone: Freestyle sprints [UPDATE] The U.S. domestic season opened in West Yellowstone, Mont., with 1.3-kilometer freestyles on...

Bjornsen ‘Fastest in the World’ in Qualifier; Weng Tops Lillehammer Sprint Final

LILLEHAMMER, Norway — If anything’s consistent after two days of classic sprinting on the Cross-Country World Cup this year, it’s that nothing is a given — especially on the women’s side of World Cup sprinting. No more Maiken Caspersen Falla dominating every World Cup sprint. However, Norway’s defending Sprint World Cup champion is no slouch, placing second in both classic sprints so far this season. Take Sadie Bjornsen, for example. In her Qualifier |  Mini-tour standings (after Day 1)

Friday Rundown: Lillehammer Classic Sprint

Welcome to The Rundown, your quick primer of need-to-know information about the day’s racing. We’ll be updating this digest as the day goes on with additional results, photos and quotes. The Rundown is NOT a race report; stay tuned for complete race reports later today with interviews from the day’s top racers. *** FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Lillehammer: Classic sprint Men’s report For the Men |

Leading Up to Lillehammer, U.S. Team Talks Midweek Race Prep

We hear a lot about the details of a cross-country ski racer’s day on race day, but what about those four or five days in between? What do World Cup racers do then, in the middle of the week? FasterSkier Norwegian contributor Aleks Tangen ventured to Lillehammer on Wednesday and Thursday to find out. *** LILLEHAMMER, Norway — The first mini tour of the World Cup season starts today — Friday — in Lillehammer. A year ago at...

17 Questions for 2017: Dahria Beatty

Welcome to “17 Questions for 2017”, where we are catching up with American and Canadian national-team members before the beginning of the winter season. *** The day after her 22nd birthday last March, Dahria Beatty made the case that she could be Cross Country Canada’s next star. Not only did she score her first World Cup top 30, but she nabbed a remedying some back troubles and building strength, Beatty says she looks like a...

Four Canadian Women Aim to Put Their World Cup Team on the Map

To kick off this World Cup season, Cross Country Canada (CCC) had planned to send four women for Period 1. After its men’s team has gathered most of the attention in recent years, the Canadian women are now in a position to develop depth at the top level of the sport. In her third full World Cup season, Emily Nishikawa, of Canada’s World Cup B-team, will be joined for Period 1 by national U25 Team members Dahria Beatty...

Wednesday Workout: Saarinen’s New Morning Routine, World Cup Return

Moms are famous for multitasking, but how do these World Cup mommas do it? We recently heard from mid-April, and we got a second opinion from Finland’s Aino-Kaisa Saarinen, who gave birth to a baby girl in early May. (Article continues below) View this post on Instagram #Repost @kikkanimal with @repostapp Uutta ja erilaista leireilyä. Mukavaa! ・・・ Family camp at @santasport in Rovaniemi with @ainokaisasaarinen and our #superdads ! Great to get our winter adventure going! #babytravel...

Anti-Doping Norway Seeks 14-Month Suspension for Johaug, Case Ongoing

The doping case of Norwegian cross-country skier Therese Johaug has come to at least a temporary conclusion, with Anti-Doping Norway recommending a suspension of the star athlete for 14 months. Johaug told Reuters. “I expect they will have a hearing in February.” The proposed ban would be retroactive to Oct. 18 and last until Dec. 18, 2017, two months before the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. NRK reports that the casefile and the recommendation from Anti-Doping Norway will...

Niskanen Wins Another Ruka 15 k; Harvey 11th

The opening World Cup races came to a close this Sunday, with Finland's Iivo Niskanen taking the overall win in the men's 15-kilometer classic race for the second time in a row. The Finnish skier held off the likes of Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby in order to secure the victory. "This was a really important victory, because last year was so difficult," Niskanen said during a T.V. interview.

Sunday Rundown: Ruka, Östersund, Pontresina & Beitostølen (Updated x6)

Welcome to The Rundown, your quick primer of need-to-know information about the day’s racing. We’ll be updating this digest as the day goes on with additional results, photos and quotes. The Rundown is NOT a race report; stay tuned for complete race reports later today with interviews from the day’s top racers. *** IBU Cup in Beitostølen: 7.5/10 k sprints [UPDATE] With the second set of men’s and women’s sprints IBU Cup sprint on Friday.) In the women’s...

Randall Misses Heats in Kuusamo, But Optimistic About Upcoming Races

Kikkan Randall returned to World Cup racing on Saturday, with baby in tow. The verdict on her performance: neither as good as hoped for, nor worse than history would predict. On Saturday, the three-time Sprint World Cup champion competed in her first World Cup competition since 2014. Randall took the 2015/2016 season off while pregnant with her son, Breck. In her return to racing, she finished 52nd – 19.75 seconds off Krista Parmakoski of Finland’s qualifying time in...