Alexey Poltaranin (KAZ) skied to a convincing 8 second win in the men's 5km classic prologue in Toblach, Italy. Petter Northug (NOR) added to his overall Tour lead, besting rival Dario Cologna by .2 seconds to claim second.
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Not This Tour, Dario: After Four Men Battle for 35 K, Northug Emerges to Win Finishing Sprint
Chelsea LittleJanuary 3, 2013
The days when Switzerland's Dario Cologna won Tour after Tour seemingly effortlessly have come to an end. Cologna still has a shot, but after Petter Northug of Norway defeated Cologna and Russians Alexander Legkov and Maxim Vylegzhanin in a sprint finish in stage four, he'll have to work a little harder. After today's showing Northug, meanwhile, is confident that the title is his.
Three Russians worked together to swallow Sunday's pursuit leader, Petter Northug, in the second stage of the Tour de Ski. Maxim Vylegzhanin and Alexander Legkov held the pace and secured a 1-2 finish while Northug settled for third.
Last year's Tour de Ski prologue winner, Petter Northug of Norway started the 2012/2013 Tour on another strong note, winning Saturday's 4 k freestyle prologue in Oberhof, Germany, ahead of Marcus Hellner and Alexander Legkov.
For the second day in a row, a Russian kept Petter Northug (NOR) off the top of the podium. Alexander Legkov won the men's 10km skate in Kuusamo by 6.8 seconds. Maurice Manificat (FRA) was third.
Olsson, Classic Master of the Moment, Dominates 15 k in Szklarska Poreba
Chelsea LittleFebruary 18, 2012
It isn’t all that common, these days, to see Johan Olsson on the World Cup. After a strong start to this season, Olsson took a two-month forced hiatus due to illness. Last year, after the November World Cups he didn’t return to the top level of competition until World Championships in March. In 2010, he skipped the entire month of January to prepare for the Olympics. Injury and illness are sadly par for the course...
Follow-Up On Devon Kershaw + World Cup Overall
JoranFebruary 17, 2012
A commenter on Monday’s post noted that there are some folks fairly close behind Kershaw in the WC overall, so he has more to worry about than just catching Petter Northug. In particular, Marcus Hellner is only 57 points back, while Alexander Legkov is fully 168 points back. Hellner is obviously the more immediate concern, [...] Related posts:
For the past few years, the World Cup in Rybinsk, Russia has been the weekend frequently skipped over by national teams and various individuals. With the overall World Cup title a focal point this season and no major championship to save up for, however, the expected fields are nearly double what they’ve recently been, in spite of the handful of athletes who have decided not to race in the extreme cold. The forecast initially looked...
Physio’s Unusual Move to Russia Takes Her Inside Legkov’s Renegade Ski Team
Chelsea LittleFebruary 1, 2012
In the summer of 2010, Isabelle Knaute found herself in an unusual position. Originally from Germany and a veteran of the Swiss national team staff, the physical therapist was hired by the Russians to work with a small group of skiers. “I don’t think there’s ever been a foreign staff member for the Russian team,” star athlete Alexander Legkov told Russian website skirun.ru at the time. Knaute, who took five years of Russian in school,...
TOBLACH, Italy – The Dolomites were the site of brutal battles between the Austrians and Italians during World War I. Nearly 100 years later, members of European and North American countries once again waged war among these mountains in the depths of winter—this time, in a cross-country ski race. Perhaps appropriately, it was a Swiss athlete who rose above the fray here on Thursday, winning a 32-kilometer freestyle pursuit by skiing his own race and...
Legkov Grabs First Win of Season in TDS Stage 5; Cologna Takes Overall Lead
Nathaniel HerzJanuary 3, 2012
TOBLACH, Italy – It took 11 races, but Alexander Legkov finally got his first win of the 2012 season in Stage 5 of the Tour de Ski on Tuesday. With the help of a new coach and the right pair of skis, the Russian powered through finicky conditions to edge Eldar Roenning (NOR) and Dario Cologna (SUI) in the 5 k individual-start classic race. Petter Northug (NOR) floundered through the slick, soft conditions in Toblach,...
Even if he didn’t say it, Petter Northug presented the challenge from the onset. The first starter in the men’s 15 k classic pursuit would give his followers a fighting chance before playing the game of cat and mouse in Kuusamo, Finland. The Norwegian frontrunner in the three-day Ruka Triple mini-tour wasn’t known for charging out of the gate in those types of races anyway. As expected, he led the race with the help of...
left Marcus Hellner and Dario Cologna standing still. And Legkov wasn’t alone in impressing the crowd with his finishing skills – Vylegzhanin did what most possible consider to be impossible, did a fantastic job of reeling in and then dispatching Frenchman Jean-Marc Gaillaird in the 20 k pursuit in Rybinsk, Russia. But despite having possibly the strongest team on paper, the Russians had the most devastating relay experience at World Championships in Oslo. After taking...
For Canada’s Devon Kershaw, the biggest moment in Saturday’s classic pursuit in Oberhof, Germany, came not on the homestretch, but with four kilometers left in the 15-kilometer race—the second stage of the 2011 Tour de Ski. After working his way up through the field, Kershaw found himself at the front of the race, with Switzerland’s Dario Cologna and a few other skiers on the attack. But rather than charging ahead, the 28-year-old Kershaw did something...
The 2010/2011 Veissmann Tour de Ski is nothing if not draining. Consisting of eight events in ten days in two countries, the fifth edition begins December 31st and runs until January 9th. The Tour begins with a freestyle prologue in Oberhof, Germany, on December 31st, followed by a classic pursuit start on January 1st. The Tour then moves to Oberstorf, Germany, for a sprint on January 2nd, and a pursuit on the 3rd. After a...
Vylegzhanin Wins in La Clusaz, But Northug is Back
Nathaniel HerzDecember 18, 2010
In Switzerland last weekend, Russia’s Alexander Legkov skied to his second podium of the year, continuing a strong start to the winter. But in an interview afterwards with the Russian newspaper Sport Express, he said he was trying to relish the results as much as possible, knowing that soon, Norwegian star Petter Northug would be back on the circuit at full strength. “Make no mistake—a couple of races, and Northug will return to the level...
Two weeks ago, young Alexei Poltaranin (KAZ) stood on the start line in Kuusamo wearing bib two. The race was the final event of the Ruka Triple, a World Cup mini-tour in Kuusamo, Finland. Powered by strong results in the preceding classic races, Poltaranin was in position to battle for the overall podium. And battle he did, but despite holding position through the early part of the race, he was dropped by the leaders, swallowed...
You can tell that North American skiing has come a long way when a day with two men in the top 15 of a World Cup race is closer to disappointing than exciting. In the final stage of the “Ruka Triple”—a three-day mini-tour in Kuusamo, Finland—Canadian Devon Kershaw led the way for the North Americans with a 10th place in the 15 k skate pursuit. But with Alex Harvey dropping 13 places and Kris Freeman...
In Petter Northug’s absence, Marcus Hellner (SWE) took over the mantle as the dominant World Cup male, following up an impressive victory in Saturday’s 15km freestyle by leading the Swedish relay team to the top of the podium. Hellner outsprinted Russia’s Alexander Legkov after the two teams broke away on the third leg. Daniel Rickardsson (SWE) and young Petr Sedov (RUS) broke away from Norway’s Chris Andre Jespersen and Switzerland’s Remo Fischer during the first...
Hometown Hellner Takes World Cup Opener in Gallivare
Nathaniel HerzNovember 20, 2010
Swedish fans must have been crushed after Norway’s Marit Bjoergen knocked off their hometown hero Charlotte Kalla in the 10 k skate on Saturday morning in Gallivare. But they must have been equally thrilled in the afternoon, when Marcus Hellner (SWE) skied to an 11-second victory over Switzerland’s Dario Cologna—finishing in the stadium that was named for him after a double gold medal-winning performance at the 2010 Olympic Games. “I felt like I had control today,”...