Marit Bjørgen topped Norwegian teammate Heidi Weng by 17.3 seconds to win the last classic-distance race of the season and complete her sweep of the World Cup weekend in Lahti, Finland.
Marit Bjørgen topped Norwegian teammate Heidi Weng by 17.3 seconds to win the last classic-distance race of the season and complete her sweep of the World Cup weekend in Lahti, Finland.
Alexey Poltoranin proved that once in a while you just need to muscle your way to first place. He opted to use skate skis and double poled his way to the victory in Wednesday’s 10-kilometer classic race, the fourth stage of the Tour de Ski in Toblach, Italy.
Three Canadians remain in the Tour de Ski, and in the 10 k classic on Wednesday, Alex Harvey led them in 14th -- a result he considered good, not great. Devon Kershaw placed 21st and Ivan Babikov was 32nd.
Whether Therese Johaug is a better skate or classic skier is more or less a moot point now that she's claimed her second win of the season in another 10 k classic. Johaug beat teammate Marit Bjørgen by more than 42 seconds again on Saturday at the Davos World Cup to quiet anyone who doubted her in that distance technique.
Sadie Bjornsen was, in a way, trying to avoid the kind of seventh-place showing she broke out with last year in Kuusamo, Finland. Instead, she placed 17th on Sunday for a result she was pleased with, especially considering how much it hurt. Jessie Diggins was 39th and four more Americans were in the top 60.
Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw always want podiums, that's a given, but at this point in the season -- at the first World Cup weekend in Kuusamo, Finland -- they were pleased with top-15 results. Also on Sunday, Emily Nishikawa pulled off a career best in Europe in 38th in the women's 10 k classic.
Therese Johaug took the fun out of fighting for first, proving herself untouchable throughout Sunday's two-lap 10 k classic on the first day of World Cup distance racing in Kuusamo. Teammate Marit Bjørgen knew the race was for second and narrowly edged Sweden's Charlotte Kalla.
Sunday was for the distance racers in Gällivare, Sweden, with five Canadians -- four men and one woman -- getting a chance to test their form in the 10/15 k classic races. Alex Harvey notched his second-podium performance in third, Emily Nishikawa was fourth, Devon Kershaw fifth, Ivan Babikov sixth, and Graeme Killick eighth.
When it comes to opening distance races, Therese Johaug is a gamer. On Friday, she won the first 10 k classic of the season for the fourth year in a row and third-straight Beitostølen distance opener -- once again ahead of Norwegian teammate Marit Bjørgen.
Zeke Williams of the Alberta World Cup Academy reports from 2014 Canadian Nationals in Newfoundland, interviewing the winners of Sunday's short-distance classic men's and women's races.
Giving a little recognition where it’s due, here’s a look at the top-10 skiers in each of Monday’s classic individual starts on Day 1 of U.S. Junior Nationals. Classic sprints kick off today with qualifiers at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time; heats start at 1 p.m.
The Toblach World Cup 10-kilometer classic individual start on Saturday provided a few takeaways exactly one week out from the Olympics. Bjørgen made a statement with a definitive win, Kowalczyk missed the podium for the first time in a 10 k classic since 2009, and the U.S. women put four in the top 20, five in the top 22, in a classic distance race.
In the last big North American race before the holiday break, Kevin Sandau (AWCA/NST) and American Kate Fitzgerald (APU) took home top honors on Sunday in the Black Jack NorAm 10/15 k classic individual starts in Rossland, B.C.
Placing fifth in her first FIS race of the season, Sadie Bjornsen broke up a Norwegian sweep of the top 10 on Friday in Beitostølen, Norway, along with fellow U.S. Ski Team member Kikkan Randall in 10th. Five other U.S. women finished in the top 30, and Noah Hoffman led the U.S. men in 42nd.
Kikkan Randall led three American women into the top-30 in the third stage of World Cup Finals on Saturday, a 10 k mass start classic. With 19th place on the day she moved into 15th in the mini-tour, and if she maintains that position in Sunday's pursuit she'll be able to hold off Marit Bjørgen in the overall World Cup standings.