For someone who finished the World Cup last winter ranked second in the overall standings, Canada’s Devon Kershaw flies relatively well under the radar. While his own teammate Alex Harvey is treated as a “pseudo-god” in Quebec, Kershaw is rarely mentioned by name when European journalists ask Dario Cologna (SUI) or Petter Northug (NOR) whom they’re watching out for in the coming year. This relative anonymity, Kershaw says, is just fine by him. “It’s pretty...
Just over a week ago, five U.S. Ski Team women and one Canadian packed their bags in various parts of the world and set off to meet in Sweden. Usually faced with the task of preparing for months of overseas travel, some might have scratched their heads. What do you bring for just two weeks? Americans Kikkan Randall and Liz Stephen had already been in Europe for nearly a month, first competing in the Blink...
The first North American to arrive in Sweden last week, Canadian Chandra Crawford came two days earlier than everyone else, starting her journey Wednesday in Östersund near the Norwegian border. There, she visited Canadian national-team technician Micke Book and his family, and rollerskied before making her way 460 kilometers north on Friday. Up in Torsby, the home of Sweden’s famous ski tunnel, she worked out alongside U.S. Ski Team members Kikkan Randall, Liz Stephen, Holly Brooks, Jessie Diggins and...
here to register. Bend, OR (April 16, 2012) – On May 20, the Athletic Club of Bend, Oregon, is partnering with Fast and Female to offer an energizing afternoon for both youth and adults. Fast and Female, a program launched seven years ago by 2006 Olympic gold medallist Chandra Crawford – is inviting girls ages 9 to 19 for a day of dance, activities, and inspiration from 3 pm to 6 pm. Following successful events...
With the Super Tour in our neighborhood last week we got to see some fast skiing! Craftsbury Outdoor Center hosted the tour finals and closed out the week with a Fast & Female Clinic on Sunday. Several girls in our Mansfield Nordic Club attended Fast and Female and raved about it (see their comments below). But some other interactions with the USA and Canadian women gave insight to their class, beyond their fast skiing. At...
With SuperTour Finals and U.S. Distance Nationals wrapping up in Craftsbury, Vermont, the North American ski community can call it a wrap on another season. Despite a general lack of snow, the finale in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom was a success – particularly for the U.S. Ski Team’s Kris Freeman, who after a disappointing World Cup season returned to the States to claim the overall win at SuperTour Finals and then the national title in the...
CRAFTSBURY, Vt. – In shades of red, blue, green and white, six highly competitive women stood at the start line at the SuperTour Finals on Tuesday waiting for their signal to get after the 1.6-kilometer classic loop one more time. On one end of the A-final lineup stood World Cup sprint champion Kikkan Randall, who flew in from Europe on Sunday. On the other, her World Cup teammate and distance specialist, Liz Stephen soaked up...
MONT SAINT-ANNE, Québec – If there was a date circled on Chandra Crawford’s calendar, this was it. Well, it may have been one of many, but she at least took a mental note and had plenty of ambitions for Saturday’s 30-kilometer classic mass start at Canadian Ski Nationals. A Canadian National Team member and 2006 Olympic gold medalist in the skate sprint, Crawford had been thinking about the 30 k since last June. Third in...
MONT SAINTE-ANNE, Québec — Whipping along the first of two downhills on a chemically enhanced sprint course at Canadian Ski Nationals on Thursday, Chandra Crawford could feel the vibrations in the stadium. Everyone there could. A helicopter soared directly ahead, swaying above one end of the 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint loop to the other for an unrivaled viewpoint of the nation’s cross-country skiing finale. Spectators buzzed that the mayor of Québec was inside. In fact, it...
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of decided to skip the race. * * * Chandra Crawford led the Canadian women in the 10 k classic on Saturday, finishing 35th in her best distance race of the year. “It was great,” said Crawford. “I was really charging.” She described the pace as steadily fast, but Crawford didn’t let it bother her. “I just tried to relax and...
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of
This year, the Haywood Canadian National Championships have been pushed back a week to accommodate a special group – Canada’s World Cup elite, which are returning in force to put on a show for the home crowd in Quebec. With Alex Harvey, Devon Kershaw, Chandra Crawford and all the major Canadian stars slated to participate, the fields will be some of the deepest in North America all season. The Canadian World Cup squad has turned...
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of headlined the North American prologue performances on Friday, but seven other U.S. and Canadian skiers turned in gutsy races on the killer 2.5/3.3 k courses. One of the most impressive outcomes was the fact that Sylvan Ellefson (USA) finished the race at all, despite crashing and injuring his ankle in the middle of the race. He finished last, in 47th,...
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of Results Matthew Voisin contributed reporting.
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of
All in all it was a great day for the Canadian team in Drammen for the World Cup classic sprint. Lenny Valjas earned his first World Cup podium, placing second, Chandra Crawford reached her first classic final and took 5th while Dasha Gaiazova matched a career-best placing 8th. The only negative was the luck of Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw, both of whom looked back in top form after a long altitude camp in Italy....
While I have literally no idea how to actually pronounce this weekends' World Cup venue, there is no doubt in my mind that Poland will put on a show.There are also loads of questions swirling about performances, at least in my mind.Here are a few of th...
It was one heck of a weekend on the World Cup in Otepää, Estonia. Dario Cologna (SUI) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) each swept both the sprint and distance classic races. Devon Kershaw (CAN) came back from an unlucky equipment malfunction in the sprint to a gutsy third-place effort in the 15 k the next day. With the conclusion of Period 2 on the World Cup, Kikkan Randall (USA) still holds onto the sprint leader bib. The...