So much has happened since November that it’s easy to forget that, prior the first World Cup of the season, Kikkan Randall didn’t know whether she’d even come close to matching her performances from the season before. Well, she did: after finishing the last sprint of the season on Wednesday in Stockholm, she was awarded the second sprint globe of her career.
Before Andy Newell got a medal for finishing fifth in the overall sprint rankings this season, the race that took place in front of the Royal Palace in Stockholm was not quite what the U.S. was looking for from the final sprint of the year. Newell led the way for the men 11th but was aiming for the finals. Ida Sargent posted the top women's finish in 20th and Kikkan Randall was 22nd.
Petter Northug sheltered himself from the wind then surged to the front when it counted, winning each of his heats and ultimately Wednesday's final for his first sprint victory in Stockholm. The win put him ahead of Alexander Legkov and Dario Cologna in the overall World Cup standings and in prime position for the rest of the World Cup Finals.
Sometimes Justyna Kowalczyk has to fight for her wins, and for others it looks almost looks easy for her. "It was a relatively easy victory today," she said in front of the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden, where she won her fourth World Cup classic race in a row by 2.2 seconds on the 1.1 k city sprint course. Kowalczyk leads World Cup Finals by 7.1 seconds after the first stage.
From Drammen to nearby Oslo, to a frigid and snowy biathlon weekend in Siberia, and Norwegian dominance and U.S. junior nationals - a lot of exciting racing this weekend, much of it with extra significance as the end of the season draws near.
After making no ski changes and competing with the first chase group for most of the women's 30 k freestyle at Holmenkollen, American Liz Stephen notched another career-high on Sunday in Oslo, Norway, with a ninth-place finish. Though happy with the result, Stephen was a bit frustrated with how the ski change tactics played out.
Therese Johaug knows how to win big at Holmenkollen, but she outdid herself in Sunday's 30 k freestyle mass start, beating Justyna Kowalczyk by 46.6 seconds and skiing alone for nearly 23 k to do so.
Devon Kershaw was the top Canadian in the men's 50 k freestyle mass start in Holmenkollen in 29th, not quite his 10th-place result in the 50 k classic there last year, but an improvement over his recent outings. Ivan Babikov followed in 33rd, and Alex Harvey did not finish because of back pains.
Noah Hoffman led the U.S. in the Holmenkollen 50 k on Saturday with a 24th-place finish. It was good enough to qualify him for World Cup Finals next week, but he wasn't entirely satisfied with the result. "I need to be able to have the confidence to relax early on in the race," he said.
On Saturday in Oslo, Norway, Alexander Legkov triumphed on Holmenkollen's notoriously brutal track, persevering through vicious pace changes, 2,000 meters of climbing, and warm, wet conditions to win the prestigious 50 k freestyle by 1.2 seconds over Martin Johnsrud Sundby.
In his first World Cup quarterfinal appearance in three years, Torin Koos finally found a result he was happy with in Drammen, Norway, on Wednesday with an 18th-place finish in the classic city sprint. Andy Newell, meanwhile, fell victim to bad luck and finished 27th after a crash.
Starting hard in her quarterfinal but missing out on advancing, Dasha Gaiazova led the Canadians in 15th in the Drammen classic sprints. Qualifying in 29th and 30th, Lenny Valjas and Alex Harvey were glad to make it through, but wanted a little more after finishing 16th and 20th, respectively.
With the season winding down, Kikkan Randall produced her best classic result of the year on Wednesday with a fifth-place finish in the Drammen, Norway, city sprints. She led the American women; Sadie Bjornsen also qualified for the heats and finished 30th.
Petter Northug put himself in prime position heading into the final World Cup races of the season, beating Alexey Poltoranin in Wednesday's classic sprint in Drammen, Norway, with one powerful finish.
In Drammen, Norway, on Wednesday Justyna Kowalczyk continued the momentum from her distance win in Lahti and charged to victory again, this time in a 1.3 k city sprint. Save for a challenge from Heidi Weng (NOR) in the final round, the Polish star blew the competition away all day, and in the process secured the overall World Cup crystal globe for the 2012-2013 season and for the fourth time in her career.
With only a few weeks left of racing across the nordic sports at each competitive level, the season is beginning to show distinct signs of drawing to a close. Most notably, Kikkan Randall (USA) won her one and only shot at a freestyle sprint duel with Marit Bjørgen (NOR) in Lahti, Finland, and in the process locked down the sprint crystal globe a full three competitions before the end of the season. Emil Joensson (SWE) did the...
At the first World Cup since World Championships, the American men posted two top-30s between the freestyle sprint and 15 k classic in Lahti, Finland. Kris Freeman was 25th in the distance event and Andy Newell placed 27th in the preceding sprint. Neither result was stellar, but it was Freeman's best finish since his top-10 in Canmore.
Typically known as a sprinter, Dasha Gaiazova is knocking on distance racing’s door. The 29-year-old notched her second-best result of the season in a distance event, placing 33rd in Sunday’s 10-kilometer classic individual start at the World Cup in Lahti, Finland.
The disappointment of World Championships now well behind her, Sadie Bjornsen led the American women in the Lahti, Finland, 10 k classic with another personal best: 18th place, six notches better than her previous high water mark. Liz Stephen and Kikkan Randall tied for 28th to put three American women in the top 30.
Just when people were starting to doubt Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk, the 30-year-old put down a pace no one could keep up with – not even four-time 2013 World Champion Marit Bjørgen – on Sunday in Lahti, Finland.