Daniel Rickardsson, the Swede who taught everyone a lesson on how to race a 15K classic interval start when he won the 15K by almost a full 30 seconds during the World Cup in Drammen eight days ago, is ready to get even with the Norwegians from Sunday’s pursuit.
What could have been Anders Södergren’s opportunity to shine, Daniel Richardsson’s repeat of the 15K in Drammen last weekend, Johan Olsson’s confirmation of the Olympics last year and Marcus Hellner’s insult to injury on Northug’s home turf all got stuck in sticky skis.
One might say that a Swede winning a World Cup race on Norwegian soil would be reason for a national day of mourning. But despite Sweden getting the best in this stage of the great Nordic skiing rivalry, the unflagging good cheer of 15,000 Norwegian ski fans indicated otherwise. Daniel Rickardsson (SWE) turned in a dominating performance before a boisterous crowd in the last distance World Cup race prior to the start of the World...
Heading into Saturday’s 15 k classic race, it had been more than four years since Eldar Roenning won a World Cup distance race. But even before he left the starting gate in Otepaa, Estonia, the Norwegian knew that it was going to be a solid day. “I had a good feeling—I was feeling that I was good enough for the podium,” he said. Roenning wasn’t just good enough for the podium—he was good enough for...
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...