OBERHOF, Germany — After several years of playing a dour second fiddle to Petter Northug (NOR), Axel Teichmann (GER) struck a different chord on Friday, besting the Norwegian at his own game with a strong attack on the last climb to win the second stage of the 2012 Tour de Ski. On snowy afternoon at the ski stadium in Oberhof, the race was rife with waxing challenges—temperatures holding at right around freezing, a mixture of...
OBERHOF, Germany – If the Prologue is any indication, the 2012 Tour de Ski will play out as predicted by the media hype—a battle between Petter Northug (NOR) and Dario Cologna (SUI). Northug edged his rival, and defending Tour champion, Cologna, by .7 seconds in the men’s prologue in Oberhof, Germany. Maurice Manificat (FRA) placed third, four seconds off the pace. As expected, times were tightly compressed on the fast hard track. The course was...
As athletes prepare to start this year’s Tour de Ski on Thursday, plans are taking shape for the next four editions of the race that would vary its length and location. According to FIS Cross-Country Race Director Jürg Capol, the Tour will almost certainly be making a stop in Switzerland next year, and for the three years afterwards. The event will alternate between venues in Münstertal—the small valley that claims Swiss superstar Dario Cologna as...
With two overall World Cup titles, two Tour de Ski victories, and an Olympic gold medal, it is hard to believe that there is anything Dario Cologna (SUI) has not won. But before today, Cologna had never stood atop the podium in a World Cup sprint race. On a short yet challenging Rogla sprint course, Cologna showed he is in good position to defend his Tour de Ski title. Cologna placed second in the 14km...
Though the men’s 15 k classic mass start in Rogla, Slovenia was contested on a 7-lap manmade loop, the final distance race in Period 1 of the World Cup provided plenty of excitement. Petter Northug (NOR) delivered what is now almost an expected sprint-finish performance, and edged out Dario Cologna (SUI) and Alexey Poltoranin (KAZ) to the line with a powerful double pole. Though the last-second victory on Saturday was typical of Northug’s style, the...
Davos, Switzerland — The Russians are coming. On a beautiful blue-sky day in Davos, Switzerland, Russian sprint-specialist Alexey Petukhov picked up his first win of the season in the 1.5 k sprint freestyle World Cup. Petukhov skied clear of the competition, leaving Swedes Teodor Petersen and Emil Joensson scrambling for second and third, respectively. While Petter Northug (NOR) crushed the field by nearly a minute in the 30 k on Saturday and was considered by many...
After a weekend of city sprinting in Germany, including gluhwein, spills, and DSQ’s, the FIS World Cup heads to Davos, Switzerland, this weekend for another pair of skate races. Saturday sees a rare beast on the World Cup — a long distance individual start skate race (15 for the women, and 30 k for the men) — while Sunday features what might be the most intense sprint of the World Cup season. While Dusseldorf...
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...
With the Norwegian women taking the top two spots earlier in the day in the 4×5 k, the Norwegian men had the bar for success set high for their four-man relay effort. As always, Petter Northug Jr. was anchoring Norway I, supported to Eldar Roenning and Finn Haagan Krogh on classic skis, while Lars Berger, biathlete, brother of Tora Berger, and occasionally cross-country relay selection skied third in the 4×10 k race in Sjusjøen, Norway,...
Petter Northug (NOR), famed for his unmatched finishing kick, fired up the afterburners once again, accelerating out of the final stadium hairpin and into the homestretch. The seconds ticked off the clock, and it seemed impossible that Northug would overtake his challenger. But lifting off the snow with each stride, Northug ate up the final meters, lunging across the line before collapsing in a heap, just two tenths of a second ahead of Roland Clara...
massive black visor was so our preview last seasonwe were excited about the group Cologna had supporting him, and in 2010-2011 they showed why. In the very first relay of the season they were outstanding, finishing fourth. Three weeks later in La Clusaz, France, the foursome cruised to a 30 second victory over an incredibly talented Russian team. Of the three non-Cologna Swiss primarily distance-skiing men, Perl was by far the best, finishing a career-high...
For Dario Cologna, it’s better late than never. After enduring a brutal two weeks at the World Ski Championships in Oslo, where he was stymied by bad skis and bad tactics, the Swiss cross-country superstar finally got things back on track on the World Cup in Lahti, Finland on Saturday. At the finish of the men’s 20 k pursuit, Cologna outsprinted Frenchmen Maurice Manificat and Vincent Vittoz for the win—his first since his victory in...
Less than a week following the conclusion of the 2011 World Championships,in Oslo, the World Cup picks back up in Lahti, Finland. This is the last event prior to the World Cup Final, where only the top-50 ranked skiers and continental cup series leaders may enter. There are a number of interesting story lines as the season winds down, mainly revolving around standings. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) has locked up the women’s overall World Cup but...
Two lines of burly men, attired in identical red and white shirts, each carrying a massive cow bell that reached from waist to ground, marched in synch up the trail. They stopped in unison, and then with less then perfect acumen settled their bells and cheered. Behind came a larger crowd, carrying massive banners and countless flags. The Dario Cologna fan club was out in force, and the parade up the final 100 meters of...
Petter Northug (NOR) did everything he could, but even a “late birthday present” from rival Dario Cologna (SUI) was not enough to get the Norwegian within striking distance of the overall Tour lead. On a warm day, starting with drizzle, and shifting to sun, Northug displayed the top form he has been struggling to find all season in the penultimate stage of the 2011 Tour de Ski. In winning the 20km classic mass start event,...
Dario Cologna (SUI) may not have had time to enjoy the scenery, but his efficient performance left little room for excitement at the front of the men’s 35 kilometer freestyle handicap start, leaving the setting the most interesting part of the day. The sixth stage of the 2011 Tour de Ski wound its way from Cortina to Toblach, climbing for the first 16 k before a long gradual descent to the stadium, and a final...
If you still had any doubts about Canadian Devon Kershaw’s ability to ski with the best in the world, they should now be put to rest. In a talent-packed final in the 1.4 k skate sprint during Stage 5 of the Tour de Ski, Kershaw not only skied with fastest men on the circuit, but blew them away on route to the stage victory, the first of his career. “I’m more than happy,” said Kershaw...
The 2011 Tour de Ski is half way complete, and with the first rest day just about over, it is a good time to check in. Women On the women’s side, favorite Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) has not disappointed. She won the first two evens before finishing seconds to Petra Majdic (SLO) in the classic sprint, and fifth in the 10km pursuit. Despite being unable to break the field as she has often done in the...
In Monday’s 20 k pursuit, in Oberhof, Germany, instead of Petter Northug (NOR) turing heads with an impressive sprint finish, it was Finland’s Matti Heikkinen who displayed remarkable finishing speed to secure victory in the fifth stage of the 2011 Tour de Ski. The Finn, who has had difficulty on the World Cup so far this season, put on a massive attack on the final steep uphill, surprising the field. Heikkinen had been very quiet...
Devon Kershaw (CAN) thought he had his first World Cup victory. His powerful move over the top of the last climb paid off, and he came screaming down into the stadium with a gap on none other than defending Sprint Cup champion Emil Joensson (SWE) and former overall World Cup champion Dario Cologna (SUI). But Joensson, perhaps the best pure sprinter in the world, can never be counted out. The Swede came charging back, and...