FIS Nordic U23 World Championships (Midway, Utah): 10/15 k freestyle Paddy Caldwell, of the Stratton Mountain School and U.S. Ski Team D-team, raced to the first top 10 of his career at a U23 World Championship on Thursday, placing ninth in the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Caldwell started 44th (of 53) and crossed the finish in sixth before being bumped down three places to ninth. Upon being passed by the eventual...
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. *** Canadian NorAm/U.S. SuperTour at Sovereign Lake: Classic sprint [UPDATE] U.S. skiers filled the open category podiums on the first fully North American...
BEITOSTØLEN, Norway — Saturday’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start was, from the start, all about Marit Bjørgen. Her previous race was 603 days earlier on March 27, 2015 in Harstad, Norway, but that didn’t seem to affect Norway’s six-time Olympic gold medalist one bit. “I’ll admit that I have had my doubts,” she told placing second to teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg in Friday’s 10 k classic, Weng Dagbladet that she opened fast on Saturday, but her muscles tired as the race progressed. “It’s irritating, but...
With the wrap-up of this year's World Cup season, many U.S. Ski team members made their way to Craftsbury, Vt., for the final races of the U.S. calendar. Noah Hoffman raced to his first win of the season in Monday's 15 k freestyle individual start. “Honestly, it’s nice to get to win a race every once in awhile,” he said.
After placing third in Wednesday's skiathlon, Finland's Matti Heikkinen claimed his first victory since 2011 on Friday in the men's 15 k skate. Canada once again had four in the top 30, with Alex Harvey leading the team in fourth. “I think it’s one of the best races of my life here," Harvey said of Canmore. Noah Hoffman led the U.S. in 23rd.
The final set of competitions, the team events, on Friday wrapped up the weeklong U23/Junior World Championships in Rasnov, Romania, with the U.S junior women skiing to eighth. The day before, three Americans landed in the top 15 at Junior Worlds: Jasper Good (nordic combined), Katharine Ogden and Ian Torchia.
Eastern Canadian Championships drew nearly 800 racers in a FIS points race leading up to the Ski Tour Canada, and on the second and third days of racing last weekend, several top racers traded spots atop the podium. Michael Somppi handed Kevin Sandau his first distance loss, and Andy Shields won the classic mass start.
Longtime friends Brian Gregg and Matt Liebsch took the top-two SuperTour podium spots in Saturday's 15 k freestyle, while Scott Patterson (APU) finished third his first time racing in West Yellowstone.
Saturday's takeaway: don't tick off Martin Johnsrud Sundby. He will come back with a purpose and has the potential to win big. The 31-year-old Norwegian did so in Beitostølen's 15 k skate FIS race, and France put two in the top five after a somber evening in Paris.
Ivan Babikov couldn't believe what he was hearing early in the 2015 World Championships 15 k freestyle. Two years after placing fourth in that race, he was in danger of finishing near last if he didn't speed up. Babikov turned it on for his second lap, which ended up being 24 seconds after than his first, to place 20th. Also for Canada, Graeme Killick placed 32nd and Jess Cockney was 57th in his first distance race in almost three months.
While the American men missed their personal marks in Wednesday's 15 k freestyle at World Championships, some, like Kyle Bratrud, were more satisfied with their performances than others.
Noah Hoffman made his return to the World Cup with a 38th-place finish in Sunday's 15 k freestyle in Östersund, Sweden. He led the American squad, which included first time World Cup racer Kyle Bratrud.
Finn Hågen Krogh is trying to make a case for himself to race at World Championships, and he did about all anyone could ask on Saturday and Sunday, winning the last two races before the 2015 World Championships begin in Falun, Sweden, later this week.
It had been almost two months since Emily Nishikawa raced on the World Cup, yet the 25-year-old Canadian National Development Team skier picked up essentially where she left off, collecting her second-best result of the season on Sunday in the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle in Östersund, Sweden. “It was great to get racing on the World Cup again today,” Nishikawa wrote in an email after placing 36th in Sunday’s race. “My goals for today were just...
With several men on the U.S. team aiming for top-15 results or better on Thursday, two of them did so and three finished in the top 20. "This male U23 group is the future of US Skiing and it is a blessing just to be a part of it," Northern Michigan senior Kyle Bratrud stated.
Dario Cologna was victorious in Friday's 15 k freestyle in Rybinsk, Russia and in the process thwarted four Russians who were gunning for a home-country podium sweep.
Heads turned and ears perked up alongside the course at U.S. Cross Country Championships on Sunday as Kyle Bratrud was rumored to be leading the men's 15 k freestyle individual start. In fact, the Northern Michigan senior led from start to finish, and ended up winning for his first top 20 at nationals.
While two Americans won Friday's Frozen Thunder sprints, Canada had its revenge on Monday, taking four of six podium spots. In the men's 10.8 k skate race, Devon Kershaw bested Kris Freeman by five seconds to take the win. In the Women's 7.2 k race, biathlete Rosanna Crawford edged Liz Stephen for the win.
At Canadian Nationals on Tuesday, Ivan Babikov pulled out an 18.4-second victory of Paralympic gold medalist Graham Nishikawa, both of which were fresh off the plane from Europe and Russia, respectively. Heidi Widmer notched another national title as well.
Another cold one at Sovereign Lake kept the organizers and athletes scrambling in temperatures around -20 degrees Celsius, but the end result was an exciting first NorAm of the season, with two Americans taking the top spots in the men's 15 k and Heidi Widmer winning the 10 k skate.