The opening World Cup races came to a close this Sunday, with Finland's Iivo Niskanen taking the overall win in the men's 15-kilometer classic race for the second time in a row. The Finnish skier held off the likes of Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby in order to secure the victory. "This was a really important victory, because last year was so difficult," Niskanen said during a T.V. interview.
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...
The two men who landed on the first and third steps of the podium in Saturday’s World Cup opener in Kuusamo, Finland, weren’t even slated to start as of a week ago. But 20-year-old Johannes Høsflot Klæbo’s chose to skip the opening World Cup weekend because his energy wasn’t where he wanted it to be. “It’s just so competitive [this] time of year,” Canadian Alex Harvey observed in a post-race phone interview. “The Norwegians that were first and...
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. *** West Yellowstone FIS Races: 5/10 k classic Scott Patterson of Alaska Pacific University (APU) continued his winning streak on Saturday, topping the 10-kilometer classic FIS race...
Alex Harvey had a bone to pick with Davos, and he made strides in resolving it on Friday and Saturday at the Swiss World Cup venue. Top-15 World Cup distance results have eluded him there, but not in Saturday's preseason tuneup. "It's always rough for me to race at altitude, so I was very pleased with the result and the way the body worked,” he explained.
Canadian World Cup Team member Alex Harvey is no stranger to success. Always lurking near the top end of the World Cup overall, Harvey has his sights set on more World Championships hardware -- specifically a second skiathlon medal -- and the season-culminating Crystal Globe.
Devon Kershaw was the lone Canadian with the option to compete last Sunday in Gällivare, Sweden, after the race dates were rescheduled. While the field was small, he explained it was a great opportunity "to put a bib on and blow out the cobwebs."
It's not easy picking a World Cup team. Ask Cross Country Canada's High Performance Director Tom Holland, who recently spoke to FS about this season's goals and how they selected their best athletes to achieve them.
After a junior and U23 career spent skiing for Rossland, BC's Black Jack ski team, Julien Locke earned a national team nod in May and has relocated to Canmore, Alberta. He's aiming to impress at the World Cup sprint selection races at Frozen Thunder this week.
For the Canadian World Cup Team, September entailed a trip to the Italian Alps for altitude training. Alex Harvey, Devon Kershaw, Lenny Valjas, Graeme Killick, and their coaches ventured to Livigno and Stelvio Pass, and joined the Norwegian men's team for some workouts.
In this episode of the FasterSkier podcast, Devon Kershaw speaks his mind from Oslo, Norway -- where he's living and training. From learning Norwegian to how many more years he plans to stay in the game, it's all here.
It's a big day for national-team nominations as Canada released its list of top-tier cross-country skiers -- with six men and one woman on the World Cup A and B teams -- for the 2016/2017 season.
Coaching at the international level beings expectations, personalities to manage, not to mention the nitty gritty of booking plane tickets and travel logistics. When Justin Wadsworth stepped away from Canada's National Team head coach position this past March, it gave an opportunity for three core skiers from his tenure -- Kershaw, Harvey, and Babikov -- to reflect on where they have been.
Canada's Alex Harvey and American Jessie Diggins take the honor of FasterSkier's Cross-Country Skiers of 2016. Both are all-arounders encroaching on Norwegian-dominated territory and the overall World Cup podium.
It was a good year for North American skiers on the World Cup. Boiling down the choices for best North American cross-country performance of 2016 was no easy task. That's our disclaimer; now the drum roll ... our top awards go to Jessie Diggins and Sophie Caldwell (a tie for the women) and Alex Harvey.
Photos from the third day of racing at Canadian Ski Nationals in Whitehorse, Yukon, where Alex Harvey notched his second-straight individual win of the week and Dahria Beatty rose to the top of the women's freestyle interval start.
Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby is taking home all the hardware: two Crystal Globes and the Ski Tour Canada overall. After starting with a 39-second deficit to Russia's Sergey Ustiugov on Saturday, Sundby rose and Ustiugov faded. Canada's Alex Harvey finished fifth overall for his best result in a World Cup tour.
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.
Stage 6 of the Ski Tour Canada featured a brutal course for both the women's 15-kilometer and the men's 30 k skiathlons. It was simply survival of the fittest as the classic loop featured a grueling 1.2 k climb while the skate leg was punctuated by dicey soft-snow corners navigated at high speed.
Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby won the Ski Tour Canada's brutal Stage 6 skiathlon on Wednesday, putting him third overall in the Tour, while Petter Northug remains in second despite losing precious time to Tour leader Sergey Ustiugov. Canada's Alex Harvey jumped a spot to fourth overall, and his teammates Ivan Babikov and Graeme Killick posted season-best results.