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Alexander Bolshunov

Sunday Rundown: U.S. Nationals; Tour de Ski Finale; Oberhof Relays

U.S. Cross Country Championships (Anchorage, Alaska): 20/30 k classic mass starts Women’s report Sweden’s Hedda Bångman denied Caitlin Patterson of her first outright victory of the week at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships, but Patterson as the first American racked up her third-straight national title in the women’s 20-kilometer classic mass start at Kincaid Park on Sunday in Anchorage, Alaska. Bångman, a 22-year-old freshman at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU), pulled off a 15.9-second...

Cologna Wins Tour de Ski; Harvey Solves the Alpe Cermis for Third Overall

The 2018 Tour de Ski is a wrap. On Sunday in Val di Fiemme, Italy, the final Stage 7 hill climb was a mirage of sorts as Switzerland’s Dario Cologna soloed in for his fourth overall Tour de Ski (TdS) victory. The stage, a 9-kilometer freestyle pursuit “final climb” ascends an alpine ski-area slope for the final three k’s as it climbs 425 meters from race start to finish. Not once did the 31-year-old Cologna...

Tour Turnaround: Poltoranin Wins Fiemme Classic, Vaults into 2nd Overall; Harvey Third; Ustiugov Fades

Saturday’s 15 k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy, began as many expected: with aggressive skiing from Sergey Ustiugov and his Russian teammates. Ustiugov, last year’s Tour de Ski champion, started the day ranked second, 53 seconds behind Switzerland’s Dario Cologna, himself a three-time Tour de Ski champion. Ustiugov was obviously trying to make up some of that time in a bid to challenge Cologna for the title: he skied hard from the...

Iversen Wins TdS Stage 5 ‘Pack Race’; Harvey Fifth to Retain Fourth Overall

Like ants swarming a bread crumb — skating ants — on ice. That was one image that could be conceived from the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle mass start on Thursday, which served as Stage 5 of the 2018 Tour de Ski in Obertsdorf, Germany. Aftercancellation of Stage 4 after the women’s qualifier — so organizers opted to salt the course to preserve it as much as possible for the mass starts. It was raining again on...

Thursday Rundown: Iversen, Østberg Prevail in Jam-Packed Oberstdorf Mass Starts

Tour de Ski Stage 5 (Oberstdorf, Germany): 10/15 k freestyle mass starts Women’s report In one of the more unconventional stages of the Tour de Ski — a rainy, seven-lap, 14.7-kilometer men’s freestyle mass start, and a five-lap, 10.5 k women’s mass start (both of which were adapted to a shorter course afterMen’s Stage 5 | Women’s Stage 5 |

Cologna in Control with TdS Pursuit Win; Harvey 4th, Bjornsen 22nd

The Tour de Ski (TdS) theater was treated to a solo-skier drama during the Stage 3 men’s 15-kilometer freestyle pursuit on Monday in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. On New Year’s Day, it was a homegrown skier, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna, who stole the show winning the race in 34:56.6 minutes. Cologna is a three-time Tour de Ski winner, who until Harvey showed he’s a master of gamesmanship and crushing sprint efforts after a distance effort. Sometimes leading, sometimes...

Tour de Ski Rundown: Diggins 3rd; Harvey 4th; Østberg and Cologna Tally Win No. 2

Tour de Ski Stage 3 (Lenzerheide, Switzerland): 10/15 freestyle pursuits Men’s report In the first three stages of the Tour de Ski (TdS), three different American women have reached the podium. Jessie Diggins became the latest in Monday’s New Year’s Day 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Heading into Stage 3, the last one in Switzerland before the Tour moves to Oberstdorf, Germany, Diggins ranked third overall in the TdS. She started the men’s 15...

Tick-tock. An appropriate intro in a place like Switzerland — a nation and culture known for accurate timepieces and punctuality. Depending on how you look at it, for 31-year-old Swiss skier Dario Cologna, one of two things has been on-the-dot: his three year slide in results since winning the 2014/2015 World Cup overall and his battle with both injuries and an ascendant Martin Johnsrud Sundby; Or his rejuvenated Lenzerheide, Switzerland Tour de Ski (TdS) Stage...

Tour de Ski Rundown: Sadie Bjornsen 3rd; Østberg Posts 25-Second Win; Cologna Wins at Home

Tour de Ski Stage 2 (Lenzerheide, Switzerland): 10/15 classic Men’s report For the second-straight day of the Tour de Ski, an American landed on the podium, with Sadie Bjornsen placing third in the women’s 10-kilometer classic individual start on Sunday in Lenzerheide. For Bjornsen, it was her third individual podium of the season and first in a race longer than 5 k.  She finished behind two Norwegians, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, who took the win in...

Ustiugov Sets Stage, Wins Tour-Opening Skate Sprint in Lenzerheide

For Sergey Ustiugov, the Tour de Ski (TdS) is picking up where he left it last year. Last January, the 25-year-old Russiansix stages remaining. “I really wanted to win today to start the Tour strong,” Ustiugov said, according to an International Ski Federation (FIS) press release. Ustiugov’s opening day began with his qualifier, which he won after covering the course in a time of 2:58.46 minutes. Italy’s Federico Pellegrino posted the second-fastest qualifying time, 1.08...

Manificat Thrives in Davos 15 k Skate; Harvey Steady in 10th

There’s always a bit of pomp and circumstance in Davos, Switzerland, where you’re as likely to spot a world banker, posh fur coat or World Cup skiers taking center stage. With a brisk wind, clouds descending from the Alps, and light snowfall on Sunday, it was 15-kilometer freestyle time in Davos. With an interval-start format and the traditional three laps of the course that essentially climbs to 3.3 k then descends through forest to the...

Sunday Rundown: Davos, Hochfilzen and Sovereign

NorAm/SuperTour (Sovereign Lake near Vernon, British Columbia): 10/15 k freestyle VERNON, B.C. — The combined NorAm and SuperTour event at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre continued with individual-start distance races and continued with the theme of U.S. domination of the leaderboard. Ian Torchia, of Northern Michigan University (NMU) and the U.S. Ski Team D-team, started the day with a big victory in the men’s 15 k freestyle, finishing in 36:29.7 minutes and on the heels...

Pellegrino Can’t Stop Klæbo in Davos; Hamilton Ninth in Skate Sprint

DAVOS, Switzerland – Would Johannes Høsflot Klæbo cruise to win No. 6, a perfect World Cup record, in the skate sprint today, or could someone stop him? As qualifying finished, the quarterfinals passed, and the semifinals began on Saturday, it became clear that only one man had a chance: Federico Pellegrino, the Italian who won World Championships gold over Klæbo last season. Sergey Ustiugov, the Russian who would have challenged Klæbo last year, didn’t make...

Saturday Rundown: Davos, Hochfilzen and Sovereign (Updated)

NorAm/SuperTour (Sovereign Lake near Vernon, British Columbia): Classic sprints On the opening day of the NorAm Continental Cup series in Canada (which doubled as a U.S. SuperTour), American Kaitlynn Miller of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) started Saturday with a nearly three-second win in the classic-sprint qualifier at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre, then went on to win her quarterfinal and semifinal before topping the final as well. Miller was the fastest women’s qualifier...

Sunday Rundown: Lillehammer; Östersund; West Yellowstone (Updated)

US SuperTour (West Yellowstone, Montana): 10/15 k classic mass starts The second day of SuperTour racing took place as originally planned at the Rendezvous Ski Trails in West Yellowstone, with 22-year-old Hedda Bångman, of the University of Colorado Boulder (CU), and 33-year-old Brian Gregg (Team Gregg) winning the women’s 10-kilometer and men’s 15 k classic mass starts, respectively, on Sunday. Bångman, a Swedish freshman on the second in Saturday’s skate sprint) in third (+4.6). Kyle Bratrud (CXC...

Klæbo Wins Lillehammer Classic Sprint for Win No. 4 of the Season

Smack dab in the heart of the nordic sport world in Lillehammer, Norway, the World Cup began its second weekend of the 2017/2018 season with a kick-and-glide bang on Saturday. The men contested a 1.5-kilometer classic sprint on a course featuring a flat run into and out of a three successive climb-descent combo. At 21 years old, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo remains peerless. Is it the lungs? His up-tempo, high-output running style? For all the...

Saturday Rundown: Lillehammer; Östersund; West Yellowstone (Updated)

US SuperTour (West Yellowstone, Montana): Freestyle sprints Anne Hart and Nick Michaud were the big winners on opening day of the US SuperTour season at the Rendezvous Ski Trails on Saturday, taking individual victories in the women’s and men’s freestyle sprint finals, respectively. Hart led into the finishing straight to take the win in 2:52.49 minutes, 0.88 seconds ahead of Erika Flowers, her teammate on the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team, who placed second, and...

Klæbo Holds Off Sundby, Bolshunov and Harvey for Ruka Triple Sweep

Two previous days of racing, and back-to-back victories no less, had begun to take its toll on Johannes Høsflot Klæbo within the first few laps of the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle pursuit on Sunday in Kuusamo, Finland. The 21-year-old Norwegian could feel it throughout his body; he was tired and 38 seconds of a starting cushion wasn’t going to be enough to hold off the hungry challengers behind him. Klæbo, who won Friday’s classic sprint and...

Sunday Rundown: Kalla, Klæbo Take Ruka Triple Crowns; Austria, Norway Top Biathlon Relays

FIS Cross Country World Cup (Kuusamo, Finland): 10/15 k freestyle pursuit Men’s report Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla took down the fiercest contender women’s cross-country skiing has ever seen, challenging Norway’s Marit Bjørgen on the final lap of the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit on Sunday then successfully holding her off to the finish. Kalla entered the final day of the three-day Ruka Triple mini tour with a 2-second lead on Bjørgen out of the pursuit start. Bjørgen...

Klæbo Steamrolls to Another Ruka Win; Harvey 13th in 15 k Classic

Is Johannes Høsflot Klæbo better than Petter Northug* was at his age? It’s hard to say, reigning Norwegian World Cup winner Martin Johnsrud Sundby told NRK. But his performance in the last two days is pretty unheard of, Sundby said after Saturday’s 15-kilometer classic. On both Friday and Saturday at the Ruka World Cup opener in Kuusamo, Finland, Klæbo (who’s still a U23 athlete at just 21 years old, although he’s on Norway’s exclusive World...