Norris and Hanneman, both skiers for APU in Anchorage, are among a rare group of U.S. men who have finished the Tour de Ski. We conducted a brief email exchange with the skiers post-Stage 7 of the Tour de Ski. David Norris FasterSkier: Huge accomplishment to one, stay in the Tour, and two, remain near the top-30 in prob the deepest field the TdS has seen for a long time. Can you speak to that?...
The fateful Alpe Cermis. The 10-kilometer capstone of the Tour de Ski, athletes complete the 1.5 k sprint loop before following the river valley down to the base of the alpine hill, climbing steeply for nearly 400 vertical meters to the finish. Bodies aching with the cumulative fatigue of the tour, racers are totally spent at the finish of the event. Crossing the line, they collapse with their faces pressed into the snow gasping for...
With one stage remaining in the 2019-2020 Tour de Ski (TdS), and with standings somewhat unsettled before what some consider to be a slam dunk final stage for the current overall leader Therese Johaug from Norway, time bonuses were what mattered in Val di Fiemme, Italy on Saturday. Podium pride was at stake, but generous time bonuses were the carrot for many in the 1.27-kilometer classic sprint. First through 30th place in the TdS sprints...
Three skiers atop the overall standings after Stage 4 set the tension for Stage 5 in Val di Fiemme, Italy: a 15-kilometer mass start classic race. Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov skied in the yellow leader’s bib while his teammate Sergey Ustiugov stood 16 seconds back in the overall. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Norway’s Tour de Ski (TdS) podium hope, lurked at 26 seconds back. With a mass start format, the three contenders would play chess match skiing...
The 100th Tour de Ski Stage in Val di Fiemme, Italy, featuring a four lap 10-kilometer mass start classic. Coupling the results in distance racing over the last 14 months since Therese Johaug returned to the world cup and those of Stage 4, it seemed like a safe bet to predict a rematch between Johaug and her teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg. Another opportunity to race head-to-head over every meter of the course, and for Johaug...
The Tour de Ski says so long to Tobalch, where Stage 4, a classic pursuit for the men and women, firmed up the standings for some at the sharp end and saw others take a slide down the rankings. Stage 4, a 10 k/15 k classic pursuit in Toblach, Italy saw Johaug retain the overall lead for the women, and Bolshunov snag the yellow leader’s bib from Ustiugov. On a tricky classic course with steeper...
The hunter becomes the hunted. Looking back on previous tours, Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov has not worn the leader bib going into the pursuit stage except for the 2016/2017 tour in Oberstdorf, Germany. That year, Ustiugov won six of the seven stages, placing second in the mass start classic in Stage 6, but still raced up the final hill climb with a significant buffer for the overall victory. This year, Ustiugov was the man to beat....
Toblach, Italy. A stunning stadium and backdrop with the Dolomites lording over the venue and a steady cling-clang of baritone bells greeted skiers along portions of the course. Stage 3 in Toblach, a 10-kilometer interval start skate, turbocharged the 2019-2020 Tour de Ski (TDS). After two stages, a Stage 1 mass start skate and Stage 2 skate sprint, Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva sat atop the overall standings. In third overall, Norway’s imminent threat, Therese Johaug, was positioned...
New day, new venue, almost a new decade. The 2019/2020 Tour de Ski continued in Toblach, Italy with a 15-kilometer interval start skate. In the war of attrition that is the tour, the first stages set the tone. Hopefuls for the overall win seek to establish their position near the top without expending too much energy to hold up for the long haul. We saw this in the first stage, where the men’s field remained...
With lickety-split snow and a two-lap course lined with fans, Stage 2 of the Tour de Ski (TdS) in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, a 1.5-kilometer skate sprint, sent a few ripples through the field, but solidified Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo as the TdS front runner. Yesterday, Klæbo, in second place, ceded little time to two of his main rivals for the overall, Russians Sergey Ustiugov, who won Saturday’s mass start skate, and Alexander Bolshunov, who placed third....
Day two of the Tour de Ski offered the American women the Sisyphean task of earning back time after a miss on ski and wax selection in Stage 1 prevented them from performing to their capability. This was particularly so for Jessie Diggins, a favorite for the overall tour podium who finished the first stage in 29th 1:20 behind Norway’s pace-setting Theresa Johaug. Her teammate Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, also a top all-arounder, was in the...
Stage 1 of the 2019-2020 Tour de Ski is final. With two distinct shows in the Lenzerheide, Switzerland men’s and women’s mass start races, the seven-stage TdS narrative has the intro chapter written. Therese Johaug for Norway looks prepped for the distance race sweep, whereas the men’s side has several skiers playing for keeps. On second thought, maybe it’s not that simple after all. They’ve got six stages to go.
The starting corral was blocked by a wall of red before the start of the 15-kilometer mass start freestyle in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Of the top ten ranked athletes, eight hailed from either Norway or Russia, interrupted only by Iivo Niskanen of Finland and Lucas Chanavat of France. Front and center was last year’s victor Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. He became the youngest Tour de Ski Champion at 22 years of age after holding off Russia’s Sergey...
Saturday marked the start of the 14th Tour de Ski in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Forgoing the traditional prologue start to determine time back to the leader, organizers threw in a spicy 11-kilometer mass start freestyle. Easy to follow for fans, maybe not so much for those following in the wake of Norway’s Therese Johaug. The scene was a Swiss winter ideal: plentiful snow, portions of the course dappled in sunlight, others shrouded in a drifting-in and...
The Tour de Ski (TdS) is well into its teenage years. This year’s edition, the 14th, features three locales and the following races with a few minor new twists to excite this seasonal highlight of cross-country World Cup racing. Lenzerheide, Switzerland (stages 1-2) Dec. 28, 29 Stage 1: 10/15 k freestyle mass start. A mass start initiates the TdS this year, that’s new. It replaces the timeworn prologue. Stage 2: Skate sprint Toblach, Italy (Stages...