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Didrik Tønseth

Canmore Reporter’s Notebook: Scandinavian Feuds, Nearly-Nudes, Car Crash Recovery, and Doping Doubts

CANMORE, Alberta:  We’re three days into a six-race series of World Cup racing in North America and I’m just one guy, which means there hasn’t been time to share all the fun little stories and subplots that have been filling my notebook. I’m summarizing a few of the better ones here. Stay tuned for more notes and some feature stories after Tuesday’s final race in Canmore. If you have ideas for stories, tips or feedback...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Recapping a soggy, fluoro-free weekend in Trondheim

Eli Brown, a member of the U.S. Ski Team’s waxing and ski service staff, joins us this week to talk about his job and the new enforcement of the rules banning fluorocarbons on the World Cup circuit. We recap another strong weekend for American athletes, along with all the hijinks that happened in Trondheim, Norway at the test event for next season’s World Championships. The World Cup takes a break next weekend before the Tour...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Finals in Falun, eff yeah

It was full sun and full gas in Falun, Sweden, for one last hurrah of World Cup racing. The three-day weekend brought us new formats, American podium performances (plural!) and any number of other highlights. Thanks for listening over the course of the World Cup tour — we’ll be back periodically during the off-season with interviews and updates. You can email us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll catch up with a mailbag episode in the next few weeks.

North American Men End on High Note in Falun 15 k Free; Patterson 7th, Léveillé 9th, Ketterson 15th

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the A Hall Mark of Excellence Award.  To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Following the men’s Olympic 50-turned-28.6 k in Zhangjiakou, long-time American distance champion Kris Freeman and Devon Kershaw called Scott Patterson an “Olympic Specialist”, commenting on how Patterson had found many...

Attrition in the Fog: Bolshunov pips Krüger for the Oslo 50 k Classic Win

Oslo in late winter – it’s be hit or miss. Fog. Bluebird. A maritime climate, with plentiful moisture in the air, a slight drop in temps can morph the Holmenkollen ski complex into a ping-pong-ball-world. Athletes were mere shadows striding into and out of view on a foggy- drizzly day at the Holmenkollen. As spectators were limited to trail side spots as the main stadium was closed due to the Covid-19 virus, for some concerned,...

Beitostølen 15 k Classic:  Tønseth, Klæbo, Krüger go 1-2-3

A national race in Norway, dare we say, may at times be at least as competitive as some World Cups: the field is deep. Today in Beitostølen, Norway the men contested a 15-kilometer classic in tricky waxing conditions. With fine classic technique on display, Didrik Tønseth of Norway won in 34:56.7. Teammates Johannes Høsflot Klæbo placed second, 18.9 seconds back with Simen Hegstad Krüger taking third (+36.5). David Norris (APU) was the top placed U.S. skier in...

Takeaways from the 2019 International Coach Seminar in Trondheim, Norway

Concurrent with the U.S. Ski Team and other nations partaking in the Toppidrettsveka rollerski series based in Trondheim, Norway, local organizers hosted the 2019 International Coach Seminar from August 24-25.  The conference attracted coaches from eleven countries including Russia, the U.S., China, Finland, and Norway.  Guri Knotten Hetland, a former Norwegian competitive skier, helped steer the conference’s agenda. Hetland is also leading Trondheim’s bid to secure the 2025 Nordic Ski World Championships and is the...

The World’s Great Age Begins Anew: Athletes Mark May 1

If you’re reading this website, you’re probably well aware that the nordic skiing training year begins on May 1. In a sport where most races happen between November and March, and demand of athletes that they repeatedly race to the point of nearly losing consciousness, the preparation for race season had better start a long time before that. As the well-worn, but accurate, saying has it, skiers are made in the summer. tretinoin Embracing the...

At Home, Harvey Garners Second to Klæbo; Bjornsen 18th

Amidst overcast skies and spectators bearing signs for the local cross-country favorite, Canadian Alex Harvey, World Cup Finals resumed on Saturday in Québec City, Québec with a men’s 15-kilometer classic mass start race. Thanks to his win in Friday’s freestyle sprint, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo lead Saturday’s 78 starters out of the gate, his yellow bib also indicative of his first place rank in the 2019 Overall World Cup Standings. With Saturday and Sunday being...

Bolshunov wins 15 k in Falun and the Distance Cup; Harvey 11th, David Norris 16th

Sunday’s men’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start race in Falun, Sweden, was the final European stop for the World Cup. With the race concluded, athletes will pack up ski bags, moth-ball the wax buses, and jet across the Atlantic. Next week athletes will race amidst the crowds and city-scape of Québec. The final Euro-leg of the World Cup saw Alexander Bolshunov of Russia win his third individual race in a row. His top-step effort was his...

Sunday Race Rundown (Updated 2x)

FIS World Cup Falun, Sweden 10k/15k Inidividual Freestyle The sun rises. The sun sets. And Norway’s Therese Johaug won the 10-kilometer individual start freestyle in Falun, Sweden. In 25:23.9 minutes, Johaug made her winning statement. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson placed second (+18.75), with the U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Jessie Diggins in third (+30.3). Fourth place went to Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway who finished 30.8 seconds back. Sadie Bjornsen (USST) raced to 12th (+1:05.7), Julia Kern...

Russian Teams Take the Top Two Spots in Ulricehamn; U.S. in 13th

Today in Ulricehamn, Sweden, the men skied a 4 x 7.5- kilometer relay in unsettled conditions. Racers dealt with harsh conditions as the wind howled and heavy snow fell. With a softened course, it appeared most teams struggled with kick on the steeper climbs. Scott Patterson of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) commented on the conditions via email, “the race conditions were interesting with both falling snow and blasting wind. The organizers re-groomed the course...

Sunday Race Rundown: Ulricehamn, Antholz, and Lake Placid (Updated)

FIS World Cup Ulricehamn, Sweden 4 x 5 k / 4 x 7.5 k relay The sun rises, the sun sets, and Norway wins the women’s 4 x 5-kilometer relay in Ulricehamn, Norway on Sunday. For the 11th time in a row, a Norwegian women’s team bested the world in the storied race format. Heidi Weng, Therese Johaug, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg won in a time of 57:06.3 minutes. For the first...

Manificat Gets his Win; Harvey Returns for Ninth

  The tension in the interval start race comes down to watching the clock. The seconds tick, the time checks pass, the squirm of the of the skier in the leader’s chair only quelled after the top-prospects slide past the finish — and there’s only a reference to time back. On Dec. 12, that was France’s Maurice Manificat, the thirty-two-year-old skate skiing star, residing where he often belongs, sitting in the leader’s chair in Davos,...

Niskanen wins in Otepää, Bolshunov second, Bjornsen 30th

Finland’s Iivo Niskanen took the victory in Sunday’s 15-kilometer classic individual start in Otepää, Estonia. This is Niskanen’s first World Cup win of the season and his third career individual World Cup victory. During the first half of the race, Niskanen’s splits were up on the rest of the field and by 7.5 k, he had almost 15 seconds on the next closest competitor. Niskanen finished in a time of 19:26.8. Niskanen was just voted...

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...

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...

FIS World Cup Beitostølen, Norway 4 x 5 k / 4 x 7.5 k Relay Sunday in Beitostølen, Norway the women raced a 4 x 5-kilometer relay on firm tracks and under partly cloudy skies — Saturday’s races featured fresh snowfall. Norway I took the win in a total time of 57:23.6 minutes. In order of relay legs, Heidi Weng, Therese Johaug, Ragnhild Haga, and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg comprised the team that raced at the...

Tønseth Bests Røthe to Lock Up Lillehammer Pursuit Win; Harvey 16th

In sport, there’s the win and then there’s the story behind the win. In the sport of nordic skiing, some of these stories seem all too familiar, such as Sunday’s Norwegian victory in the men’s 15-kilometer classic pursuit. But even among the Norwegians in the sport of cross-country skiing, there are idiosyncrasies to the success. In the case of Didrik Tønseth, the Norwegian winner of Sunday’s 15 k pursuit in Lillehammer, Norway, the victory was...

Sunday Rundown: From Lillehammer to West Yellowstone to Pokljuka (Updated 2x)

FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Lillehammer Norway: 10 k/ 15 k Classic Pursuit On Sunday, the third and final day of racing in Lillehammer, Norway concluded with a 10-kilometer classic pursuit for the women. A win is a win, and Norway’s Therese Johaug, took the day and her second victory in as many days when she crossed the line first in 29:35.5 minutes. Sweden’s  Ebba Andersson finished second (+16.8), Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg third (+17.9)....