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Sunday Race Rundown: Otepää and More (Updated 2x)

FIS World Cup Otepää, Estonia classic 10/15 k individual start  Women’s Full Report | Men’s Full Report World Cup cross-country action returned to the Otepää race venue on Sunday, with athletes reconvening after Saturday’s classic sprints for the weekend’s distance classic event. In the women’s 10-kilometer individual start classic race, Norway’s Therese Johaug finished first in a time of 29:53.7 for the win. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson finished second (+48.4) while Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva claimed third (+56.7). Skiing for the...

Saturday Race Rundown: Otepää Classic Sprints and Beyond (Updated 2x)

FIS World Cup Otepää, Estonia 1.3 k / 1.6 Classic Sprint Starting the day’s performance benchmarks off was Stina Nilsson of Sweden with the fastest qualifier in the women’s 1.3-kilometer classic sprint in Otepää on Saturday. She stopped the clock in 3:07.62 minutes. The U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Jessie Diggins was the top-qualifying North American in 18th (+5.37). Sadie Bjornsen (USST) qualified 20th (+5.71), and Ida Sargent 27th (+8.38). On a course rewarding patience and...

The Long Seven Stage Road: Ben Lustgarten Holds His Head High

    Risk is part of putting on the race bib. In an individual sport like cross-country skiing, athletes expose themselves to be judged by place, time back, splits, sector times, overall rankings, fastest (or slowest) times on the day. In the latest version of the Tour de Ski (TdS) overall winners were crowned on Sunday; Norwegians Ingvild Flugstad Østberg won the women’s Tour, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo won the men’s. Both were first-time winners. Within...

Back-to-Back Wins for Klæbo With Stage 6 Val di Fiemme 15 k Classic Victory

The final stages of the Tour de Ski (TdS) often bring drama: the attrition of some athletes leaving opportunity for others. Among the 45 male competitors who chose to start Saturday’s TdS Stage 6 of 7–a 15-kilometer classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy–some may have been experiencing fatigue from racing the Tour’s previous five stages; others may have been finding their peak. For Italy’s Francesco de Fabiani, who started Saturday in bib number...

Saturday Race Rundown: Val di Fiemme’s Stage 6 of the TdS in the Spotlight

FIS World Cup Stage 5 Tour de Ski 10 k/15 k Mass Start Classic Val di Fiemme, Italy Women’s Report | Men’s Report The clear outcome from the women’s 10-kilometer classic mass start was Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg’s fitness. The TdS leader began the day with a 35.4 second lead on second overall skier Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia. The time back to Nepryaeva at the end of Stage 6 only grew. Østberg’s form became evident around...

Klæbo and Ustiugov Duel in Oberstdorf;  Klæbo Prevails at the Line

The crux of today’s Tour de Ski (TdS) Stage 5 15-kilometer freestyle pursuit came down to a simple yet taxing pulse of energy. That move occurred well into a race as the day’s main narrative was established by the two charging off-the-front. Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo began the pursuit in the blue bib as the Tour’s overall leader. Under overcast skies, free from the snowstorm that pummeled Stage 4, Klæbo started 15 seconds ahead of the...

Thursday Race Rundown: Tour de Ski and U.S. Nationals (Updated 2 x)

FIS World Cup Tour de Ski Stage 5 15 k/10k Freestyle Pursuit Oberstdorf, Germany Men’s Report | Women’s Report  Today’s Tour de Ski (TdS) Stage 5 15-kilometer freestyle pursuit in Oberstdorf, Germany began and ended simply enough: Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo wearing the Tour’s blue leader’s bib started first with a 15 second lead over second overall skier Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov.   By 2 k into the race, the pair had linked up and ceded...

Iversen Wins Tight Oberstdorf Mass Start; Canada’s Harvey 13th (updated)

Temperatures near freezing, high humidity, and snow falling heavily in large flakes – a trifecta that can be difficult for kick waxing – greeted racers in Oberstdorf, Germany during Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski. The 15-kilometer classic race marked the first mass start of the World Cup season giving the racers the opportunity to face off head to head. It was close quarters on the 2.5 k loop. With a string of Norwegians,...

Tuesday Race Rundown from Val Müstair, Switzerland (TdS Stage 3)

FIS World Cup Tour de Ski Stage 3 1.4 k Freestyle Sprint Val Müstair, Switzerland Women’s Race Report | Men’s Race Report In the third stage of the Tour de Ski (TdS), there was no doubt who was in control after the qualifier. Sweden’s Stina Nilsson, who skied the fastest qualification time in 3:30.52, won the 1.4 k freestyle sprint in Val Müstair, Switzerland on Tuesday. Nilsson made a clean sweep of her quarterfinal, semi-final,...

Ustiugov is Back with a Tour de Ski Stage 2 Win; Harvey in 14th

For the World Cup seasons 2016-2018, along with Norwegians like Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, the name of Russian Sergey Ustiugov was a regular at or near the top of the results sheet. In 2016 Ustiugov marked 11 World Cup podiums. He had another 11 in 2017, and five last season along with the Tour de Ski (TdS) overall title. Ustiugov didn’t exactly suffer a shattering fall from grace. His five podiums last...

Sunday Race Rundown from Toblach, Italy (TdS Stage 2)

FIS World Cup Tour de Ski Stage 10 k/15 k Freestyle Interval Start On Sunday, Stage 2 of the Tour de Ski (TdS) offered a 10-kilometer freestyle interval start for the women in Toblach, Italy. Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva won the race in a time of 25:12.8 minutes. Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg skied to a razor-thin second place, clocking in 0.3 seconds behind Nepryaeva. Another Russian, Anastasia Sedova, placed third (+10.9). This was Nepryaeva’s first career...

Just Getting Started, Klæbo Wins TdS Opening Sprint in Toblach; Bolger 21st (Updated)

*Note: This article has been updated to include comments from U.S. Ski Team B-Tean member, Kevin Bolger Without the visual of the grey and white U23 marker next to his name on an FIS results sheet, it’s easy to forget Norwegian Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is still under 23 years of age. As the Tour de Ski (TdS) celebrates its 13th edition this year, the twenty-two-year-old Klæbo (he celebrated his 22nd birthday this October) is only...

Saturday Race Rundown from Toblach, Italy (TdS Stage 1)

FIS World Cup Tour de Ski Stage 1 1.6 k Freestyle Sprint Women’s Report | Men’s Report Seventy-five skiers began the 2018/2019 women’s Tour de Ski in Tobalch, Italy with a 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint. The U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Sadie Bjornsen was the fastest qualifier finishing in 2:35.95 minutes. Sweden’s Linn Soemskar was second (+0.14), and Stina Nilsson third (+0.40). Jessie Diggins (USST) qualified in 6th (+1.38), and Sophie Caldwell 9th (+1.60). The final was...

2018/2019 Tour de Ski Preview (Updated)

Beginning this Saturday in Toblach, Italy with a freestyle sprint is the 13th edition of the Tour de Ski (TdS). According to the International Ski Federation (FIS), over the course of seven stages the men will race 80.918 kilometers, the women 60.67 k.  The TdS has become both a staple and a spectacle of the annual World Cup calendar. With a jam-packed series of races primacy is placed on both the ability to recover well...

A Sovereign Lake NorAm/SuperTour Weekend Rundown

For the third consecutive year, the SuperTour and NorAm series met up at Sovereign Lake near Vernon, BC, for a combined race weekend of skate sprints and classic interval starts. Over 450 athletes competed each day in four age groups. According to many attendees, combining the two Continental Cup series was an unqualified success. While many of the skiers expressed their pleasure in interviews, one quote stood out. “The SuperNoram is the best idea ever.”...

Saturday Rundown: From Lillehammer to West Yellowstone (Updated)

FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Lillehammer Norway: 10 k/ 15 k Freestyle Individual Start Women’s Report | Men’s Report On Saturday, the second day of World Cup cross-country racing ensued in Lillehammer, Norway with a 10-kilometer freestyle individual start race for the women. On a track of snow surrounded by green fir trees and a soggy landscape, the women skied two laps of 5 k course. Norway’s Therese Johaug was the fastest skier at every...

Americans Dominate the Field, Podiums at Winter Games NZ (Updated)

Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Simi Hamilton of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) and Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team, and Kevin Bolger of the USST and Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. *** It’s that time of year again where several members of the U.S. Ski Team, along with top-level skiers from the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) and Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team are training at the Snow...

Wednesday Workout: Craftsbury Running Intervals

For a mid-summer Wednesday Workout, we reached out to Craftsbury Green Racing Project head coach Pepa Miloucheva. In addition to sharing a running workout, Miloucheva told us what and who is new to the team based out of Craftsbury, Vermont. “All is good here in Craftsbury,  everyone is healthy and training is going well,” she wrote in an email in early July. The nordic team joined last month’s U.S. Ski Team (USST) training camp in...

Caitlin Gregg on Her Record-Setting Fifth Birkie Title: ‘I’m trying to set the bar pretty high’

Caitlin Gregg has raced the American Birkebeiner enough times — and won it more than anyone else — that she’s got the course down pat. Powerline, Big Bertha, High Point, Heckler’s, OO, Gravel Pit, Mosquito Brook, B*tch Hill, Hatchery, the lake, the bridge, the Main Street finish. But the conditions and the competition, that’s something that changes from year to year. The elite racers were among the first to start the 50-kilometer American Birkebeiner (“Birkie”)...

Ishpeming SuperTour Rundown: Norris Tallies Two Wins, Three Podiums

U.S. SuperTour (Ishpeming, Michigan): Friday, Saturday and Sunday The SuperTour circuit ventured to the Al Quaal Recreation Area in Ishpeming, Michigan, this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday for three days of racing Feb. 16-19. Day 1 In Friday’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprints, Kevin Bolger of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) posted a 2.69-second victory in the men’s final over his teammate Jack Hegman in second and 3.02 seconds ahead of David Norris of Alaska...