With every seemingly spontaneous sprint to the front of Saturday’s World Cup classic race in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic, Devon Kershaw appeared as eager and energetic as a kid in a candy shop. Naysayers or nervous Nellies might have questioned the Canadian’s strategy in the 30 k mass start. The head coach of the Canadian national ski team, Justin Wadsworth wasn’t worried. Kershaw simply followed the plan the two carefully crafted before the...
After a two month hiatus from World Cup racing, Johan Olsson (SWE) demonstrated a complete return to form, pushing the pace from the get-go in the 30km classic mass start in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, before countering a vicious attack from Dario Cologna (SUI), and riding fast skis to victory. Olsson couldn’t have asked for a better start to the 2012 season. At the opening 15km skate in Sjusjoen, Norway, he skied to a convincing...
Life on the World Cup is one giant judgment call. Each day brings new decisions and, sometimes, unforeseen challenges. With little time, athletes and coaches often make up their minds and go with it. That’s about all they can do. The spontaneity often leads to uncertainty – as is the case with this weekend’s World Cup in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic. Several teams will probably do as the U.S. Ski Team plans and...
A couple quick notes about some sprinting results. Devon Kershaw Kershaw’s having a heck of a season. On of the things I’m been most impressed with is how much his sprinting has improved, which is something I feel like hasn’t been mentioned much in a lot of the coverage: The circled result in the most [...] Related posts:
What a weekend for North America! It has to be said, so I”ll get it out of the way right at the top: the turn the World Cup takes through Russia is generally not fully attended and this year was the same, although perhaps not as dramatically as before. But there were plenty of notable [...] Related posts:
Though it didn’t quite measure up to the standard they set for themselves on Saturday, Canada continued its strong run of World Cup performances by placing two in the top ten in the Rybinsk 30 k skiathlon on Sunday. Devon Kershaw led the way in sixth with a time of 1:20:47.1, only 9.5 seconds behind the winner Maxim Vylegzhanin (RUS). Alex Harvey was only one second behind Kershaw in eighth, and Ivan Babikov finished 19th...
Devon Kershaw set the bar as high as it could go for the Canadians on Saturday with his win in the Rybinsk 15 k freestyle, but his teammates skied to impressive finishes as well. Alex Harvey skied with Kershaw for much of the race to finish in fifth (+5.5). Ivan Babikov, in his first race back on the World Cup since the Tour de Ski, finished 17th (+13.6), and would have finished higher had he...
For a World Champion like Devon Kershaw, who has hundreds of World Cup starts to his name, there aren’t many personal bests yet to accomplish 10 years into a career. Yet on Saturday in Rybinsk, Russia, he checked another one off the list: his first official World Cup victory. The Canuck skied a smart race in the mass start 15 k freestyle, biding his time in the lead pack and making his move in the...
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...
For the better part of the last three months, the Canadians, like many national ski teams, have spent a lot of time together. Fortunately for the three men currently on the World Cup circuit, they seem to get along pretty well. Self-dubbed the “3 Amigos” on Twitter, Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey and Lenny Valjas spend much of their free time goofing around and posting pictures of their collective shenanigans while traveling Europe. They must fit...
(Note: This recap has been corrected to include that Devon Kershaw previously made the podium in a World Cup freestyle sprint in 2006.) Maybe it was the frigid temperatures that scarcely rose above 2 degrees Fahrenheit, -17 degrees Celsius, on Thursday. Maybe it was Moscow. Maybe it was Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth’s promise of a Hawaii trip if all went well. Devon Kershaw said he wasn’t sure what possessed him on Thursday, but it...
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...
Devon Kershaw’s rebound from a disappointing classic sprint in Otepää to a third-place finish in the 15 k the next day certainly had the Canadian excited. He’d been gunning for gold, but the World Champion found it hard to be too upset with a podium finish on what many are referring to as the toughest course on the World Cup. In a phone interview on Sunday, Kershaw was just as happy to learn that some...
Devon Kershaw had it in his head. He wanted redemption. The Canadian National Team veteran hadn’t been entirely pleased with his season so far despite finishing fourth in the Tour de Ski two weeks ago. After several top 10 performances this season, Kershaw took a big hit on Saturday, finishing 40th in the World Cup classic sprint after his pole shattered in his hand and he struggled to find a replacement. With one chance to leave...
After winning the Tour de Ski, Dario Cologna (SUI) took a much-needed break from racing and skipped last weekend’s city sprints in Milan, Italy. His return to the World Cup on Saturday in Otepää, Estonia, left little doubt that the overall points leader is on top of his game. He owned the classic sprint from the qualifier to final. Cologna’s qualifying time was more than 4 seconds ahead of the next-fastest skiers, and he handily...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – With the conclusion of the 2012 Tour de Ski, it may not make sense to mention bridesmaids to Devon Kershaw (CAN). Kershaw may hold a World Championship gold in the team sprint, but after a fourth in the Olympic 50k in 2010, and now a fourth in the Tour de Ski, he is getting a little tired of being runner up in the individual events. “I had dreams of being...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – Tour de Ski winners are all alike; every Tour de Ski loser is a loser in his own way. Petter Northug (NOR), Marcus Hellner (SWE), Devon Kershaw (CAN), Lukas Bauer (CZE)—each had his own problem that torpedoed his hopes for a Tour victory, whether it was bad skis, a broken pole, a weak discipline, or an uncooperative body. Dario Cologna, on the other hand, had nothing go wrong. The Swiss...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – For Canadian Devon Kershaw, the toughest thing about the nine-stage Tour de Ski may not actually be physical pain of racing. It might, instead, be keeping his head screwed on straight. “I overanalyze a lot,” he said Saturday. “I’ve been pretty nervous the last few days, and just trying to tick [the stages] off one by one.” For the last two stages of the Tour, though, Kershaw has kept it...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – Before Stage 8 of the Tour de Ski, a secret weapon arrived at the Canadian hotel here. It didn’t come in a box; it wasn’t a hi-tech ski wax, or special food or drink. And it wasn’t