As the Tour de Ski drags on, the World Cup field is tiring. Nobody – atrial fibrillation in the Ruka, Finland, 10 k. “It is great to be on the podium again, especially after I crashed today,” she told FIS. “I had to fight my way back in the race but in the end I felt very strong.” While Kylloenen had praised her skis, one team wasn’t doing so. The Norwegians failed to reach the...
The second day of SuperTour racing in West Yellowstone came to a close on Sunday with the men's and women's distance classic events. Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation skier, Matt Gelso took his second win in a row, claiming the men's 15-kilometer classic race title, while the Craftsbury Green Racing Project's Liz Guiney garnered her first ever SuperTour win.
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...
Norway's Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and Didrik Tønseth opened their seasons with a bang at home in Beitostølen on Friday, beating out large fields in the women's and men's 10 and 15 k classic races. Several Canadian juniors and developing skiers raced, too, as well as American and recent MSU grad Cambria McDermott, who's living and training in Norway.
Not many skiers are accustomed to skiing in slush, but those able to find their stride on Tuesday with temperatures in the mid-50s in Rasnov, Romania, tended to fare better on the second day of U23/Junior World Championships. Stratton juniors Katharine Ogden and Julia Kern notched top 20's and Jasper Good (U.S. Nordic Combined) achieved 11th in the first nordic-combined competition.
A few new competitors broke through on the second day of SuperTour racing in Craftsbury, Vt., in both the men's and women's 10 k classic event. In the women's race, Erika Flowers made a debut SuperTour win, while Liz Guiney and Julia Kern tied for second. Kris Freeman double poled to first in the men's race, ahead of two UVM skiers.
After her brother Scott Patterson won the opening race of U.S. nationals on Sunday, the men's 15 k classic, Caitlin Patterson joked that she had to match him. "That was encouraging, but also a little bit of competition," she said. Both rose to the top spot of their respective men's and women's podiums.
Therese Johaug once again dusted the women's field, this time in the 10 k classic individual start at the World Cup in Toblach, Italy. There, two U.S. women finished in the top 20, about two minutes behind her.
The NorAm opened with three races in four days in Canmore, Alberta, with two distance races on short loops -- one of which the men double poled. Kevin Sandau won the first two men's races, and another Alberta World Cup Academy skier, Dahria Beatty won the women's skate mass start and classic sprint on days 2 and 3.
After winning two medals at the 2015 World Championships, Alex Harvey finished 17th in Sunday's 15 k freestyle in Lahti, Finland. Meanwhile, Emily Nishikawa led the Canadian women in the 10 k and earned her best World Cup result of the season.
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.