About halfway through the men's quarterfinal, things were looking pretty good for the Americans. Andy Newell, who qualified in fifth, was up front behind teammate Simi Hamilton in the lead, but a troublesome downhill descent took Newell out of the running. Hamilton fell behind in the slushy conditions and placed fifth in the heat for 23rd overall and Newell ended up 26th.
Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk remained unbeaten in the classic technique this season, skiing to an uncontested win in the World Cup sprint in Asiago, Italy. Anne Kyllönen of Finland finished second with Norwegian Maiken Caspersen Falla in third.
Showing strong form as World Cup period I winds down, Russian Nikita Kriukov held off Kazakh Alexey Poltaranin at the line to take the win on a soft and slow course in Asiago, Italy. Gianlucca Cologna of Switzerland was third.
When Andrew Young qualified for his first World Cup sprint heats on Sunday, he knocked his better-known teammate Andrew Musgrave out of the top 30. Britain now has four athletes who meet the Olympic "A" standard, and perhaps more on the way - now they just have to find a way to get them all to the start line in Sochi.
Mikey Sinnott is the first to admit that his fitness isn't great so far this season. But although his overall goal is to make the Olympics - and his results so far on the World Cup, where he earned starts after winning last year's SuperTour, haven't done that for him - he's staying on the circuit one more week to soak up the competition before prepping for U.S. Nationals.
From the cross-country World Cup in Davos, Switzerland, to U.S. Nordic Combined's best finish in a team sprint in Ramsau, Austria, to five straight days of biathlon races in Annecy, France: here's everything you didn’t get to read about over the weekend.
Extraordinary performances are becoming ordinary for the North American contingent this year as new stars emerge, historic results accumulate, and expectations continue to grow. FasterSkier was on site in Davos, Switzerland, where five USST members raced to the top 30 in Saturday's distance races and six made the heats in Sunday's sprints.
Incoming U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association CEO Tiger Shaw promised this fall that he'd spend some time getting to know each of the many sports he'll soon oversee. He made good on that promise when he visited the cross country ski team in Davos, Switzerland, this weekend, witnessing their best day ever of World Cup sprinting.
The Canadian team was locked out of the quarterfinals in Sunday's World Cup sprint, leading team members and coaches to call it a "bad day". But two team members who are recovering from health issues - Lenny Valjas and Chandra Crawford, who made her season debut at this level - looked at the sprint qualifier as a way to gain fitness on their upward trajectories, regardless of results.
A podium for Kikkan Randall, a career-best ninth-place finish by Sophie Caldwell, a semifinals appearance by Jessie Diggins - it was a good day for the U.S. Ski Team, before you even consider strong quarterfinal efforts by Sadie Bjornsen, Andy Newell, and Simi Hamilton. "We're really excited about the day," Matt Whitcomb said.
If you missed the 2 ½-minute men’s freestyle sprint final on Sunday in Davos, Switzerland, but caught a glimpse of the top three at the finish – you wouldn’t have a clue what happened. Everyone was happy -- an unusual thing at this level -- and the Norwegian winner, Anders Gløersen, was perhaps the least animated of the bunch.
Marit Bjørgen might be the best skier in the world (although Justyna Kowalczyk would have something to say about that). Kikkan Randall might be the best sprinter. But after a tight photo finish in the Davos freestyle sprint today, both realized they will need to get even better if they want go into the upcoming Olympics feeling confident about gold.
After making a risky lane choice - albeit one that had worked in the past - Kikkan Randall ended up touching skis with Stina Nilsson of Sweden in the final of today's World Cup sprint. While she didn't fall, it may have cost Randall something - she only lost the race by 2 centimeters. U.S. coach Matt Whitcomb reviewed the video and called the incident a valuable learning experience.
Maurice Manificat was having one heck of a flashback on Saturday in Davos, Switzerland. Two years older and more experienced than he was at his last 30 k there, the 27-year-old Frenchman could sense that he was in the hunt for another World Cup career best in the same race and place he placed second in.
With Kikkan Randall, Liz Stephen, Holly Brooks, and Jessie Diggins all scoring World Cup points, the American women's team was happy with their day in Saturday's 15 k skate. Were there any personal bests? No, but a few of them cracked a tough Davos course that has given them trouble in the past.
"So I tried to do my own race and not think about the other ones being in front of me," said Norway's Marit Bjørgen after her win in Davos today. She wasn't kidding around - not only was she the last starter in the 15 k freestyle, but she also wasn't winning at the early checkpoints. But if anyone can turn the tables, it's Bjørgen.
Get to know Davos, and its trails, before you watch the World Cup races this weekend. A hint: it's at elevation and the courses feature loooooong uphills. Saturday's 15/30 k skate competitions are going to be tough! Luckily, there's a forecast of sun and some great scenery.
A look back to the second weekend of World Cup racing in Lillehammer, Norway. This past weekend proved to be exciting, with the 10 and 15 k classic races on Saturday and the relays on Sunday. Take a look to see some shots from both days.
FasterSkier reported live at the IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, and 2,000 kilometers north in Lillehammer, Norway, the U.S. cross-country and nordic-combined teams found success in Lillehammer. NorAm racing kicked off in British Columbia, and Bozeman SuperTour skiers braved the cold to get distance races in after Saturday's sprints were canceled.
Fresh snow couldn't keep the US women's relay from matching their best ever 4.5 Classic/Free Relay time. Randall, Bjornsen Stephen and Diggins claimed a bronze medal despite near disaster and broken ski pole. A second US women's relay team clinched 12th to close the second weekend of World Cup racing