Maxim Vylegzhanin and the Russian relay team seized the men's 4 x 7.5 k relay victory on Sunday in Lillehammer, greatly raising their team's expectations ahead of the Sochi Olympics. If Lillehammer made anything clear it's that the men's relay is now dominated by a new Norway/Russia rivalry.
The Canadian and American men's relays fell short of their goals on Sunday, placing 14th and 17th, respectively, in the 4 x 7.5 k Lillehammer World Cup, but both are optimistic about the future.
Four races into the 2013/2014 World Cup season and American Sadie Bjornsen already has two top 10's and the recognition that comes with it. Bjornsen placed seventh in Saturday's 10 k classic in Lillehammer, Norway, leading three U.S. women in the top 30.
The Canadian men showed signs of recovery and an upswing in their second weekend of racing, with Alex Harvey leading the team in 16th in Saturday's 15 k classic individual start at the World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway.
Out of 17 Norwegians in Saturday's World Cup 15 k classic race, Pål Golberg wasn't the favorite. The 23 year old ended up notching his first World Cup victory in Lillehammer, and lesser-known teammate Didrik Tønseth surprised (himself) in third.
American Rosie Brennan earned World Cup start rights by capturing the 2013 SuperTour title. She made her European World Cup debut last season, racing the entire final period, before starting this fall at the top level. This season she placed 70th in the Kuusamo, Finland mini-tour and finished 54th today, in the 10 k classic in Lillehamar, Norway. US Ski Team Women’s Coach Matt Whitcomb termed Brennan’s performance “a strong result.” For her part, Brennan...
Justyna Kowalczyk ran away with another 10 k classic victory on Saturday, beating Sweden's Charlotte Kalla by 12.4 seconds at the Lillehammer World Cup. This time, Kowalczyk did so in Norway -- where she's never won a distance race before.
It can be hard riding so much success. Noah Hoffman came down a bit from a stage win in the Kuusamo Ruka Triple to place 41st in the Lillehammer World Cup 15 k classic on Saturday. He led the American men, with Kris Freeman in 75th and Mikey Sinnott in 81st.
The official beginning to the 2014 racing season didn't disappoint with tons of exciting nordic action taking place across the globe. FasterSkier was on-site in West Yellowstone to cover the SuperTour opener, Kikkan Randall opened with her best classic-sprint finish of second in Kuusamo, Noah Hoffman notched the fastest men's time in Sunday's 15 k pursuit to end the Kuusamo Ruka Triple, and Tim Burke had his first podium of the biathlon season.
Noah Hoffman (USA) was the fastest World Cup skier today, posting the best time on the final day of the Kuusamo mini-tour, an effort that moved him up to 9th overall. The result paid off, both in valuable World Cup points, and Swiss Francs.
The United States women capped a highly successful start to the 2014 World Campaign, leaving Finland after three days of racing as the fourth ranked squad in the world. Kikkan Randall led the way, placing 5th in the Ruka Triple mini-tour.
Marit Bjoergen (NOR) overcame a 25 second deficit to rival Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), before holding off Charlotte Kalla (SWE) and Therese Johaug (NOR) on the final day of the Ruka Triple.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby held off Russians Maxim Vylegzhanin and Alexander Legkov in the homestretch to claim victory in the Ruka Triple mini-tour.
The high hopes for today’s final stage of the Ruka Triple, in Kuusamo, Finland failed to materialize for the Canadian National Team, as they were unable to place anyone in scoring position. The Canadian men fell short of their expectations with Ivan Babikov, a traditionally strong distance skate skier, giving the team it’s best result in the 15k pursuit, with 37th place overall.
Sadie Bjornsen (USA) continued a strong start to the season, placing a career-best 7th in the 5km classic in Finland.
The North American men made a solid showing at the second stage of this year’s Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland. The men’s individual 10k classic was what each team described as a productive start to the season - headlined by Ivan Babikov of Canada, who tied for 21st and American Noah Hoffman who placed 28th.
Lukas Bauer's (CZE) masterfully paced race ousted Eldar Roenning (NOR) from the victors chair today in Kuusamo, Finland, allowing the veteran Czech to claim his first victory since 2010. Bauer's pace in the 10 k classic race saw his split times trailing throughout the first 8 k to both Roenning and Dmitriy Japarov (RUS), before accelerating in the final kilometers to best grab the victory time by 2.4 seconds.
Martin Fourcade (France) wins the men's World Cup Biathlon 10 k sprint after 2nd place Fredrik Lindstroem (Sweden) crashes. American Tim Burke finishes in third.
Kikkan Randall (USA) earned the first classic sprint podium of the year, placing second to Justyna Kowalczyk in the World Cup opener in Kuusamo, Finland.
The first day of cross country ski racing in this season’s opening World Cup Event has come to a close. Alaska Pacific University’s Kikkan Randall claimed a silver medal in the women’s classic style sprint race in Kuusamo, Finland. Randall said she didn’t expect a podium finish, but APU Coach Erik Flora thinks she was more than prepared.