Marit Bjørgen stuck with Justyna Kowalczyk during her typical attack on the last lap, and went on to drop Kowaczyk and the rest of the women in Saturday's 10 k classic mass start at World Cup Finals. Norway swept the podium, and a deflated Kowalczyk decided to call it quits.
The typical plot line never materialized. Norway's Petter Northug was supposed to spend the first several laps back in 25th and then surge to the front for the victory in the final 100 meters at World Cup Finals in Sweden. Instead, Northug's teammate Eldar Rønning salvaged a tough season with a surprise 15-kilometer classic mass start victory, posting a time of 43:26 minutes on the 2015 World Championships course.
Noah Hoffman moved up from second-to-last at the start of the 15 k mass start classic on Saturday to finish 25th in the third stage of World Cup finals, leading the American men. Andy Newell skied just ahead of Torin Koos in a sprint finish and the two ended up 38th and 39th, respectively.
A year after Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw topped the podium in the World Cup Finals prologue, the Canadian team was looking for some positives on Friday, but would have to settle for two top 30s on a challenging day.
Andy Newell and Torin Koos each skied top-30 finishes for the U.S. on Friday in the second stage of World Cup Finals, a 2.5 k freestyle prologue. Newell moved into eighth overall in the mini-tour with his 16th place and Koos scored the first distance points of his life in 25th. Noah Hoffman was 51st.
The American women were back on form on Friday for the 2.5 k prologue at World Cup Finals. Kikkan Randall led the way with a third-place finish, and behind her in seventh and eighth, respectively, Holly Brooks and Jessie Diggins were ecstatic to have confidence-building races towards the end of the season. Liz Stephen was 20th for a total of four women in the top-20.
Just when spectators thought he might falter, Petter Northug rebounded from a nearly five-second deficit midway through Friday's 2.5 k prologue to win his second-straight race of World Cup Finals by 2.1 seconds over teammate Pal Golberg. Norway showed its strength on the modified course, putting six in the top seven.
Despite an uncertain start to the morning of the second stage of World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden, on Friday, the day ended with a very familiar name at the top of the results. Marit Bjørgen resumed her usual position on the podium and won the 2.5 k freestyle prologue by 4.4 seconds over Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla. Kikkan Randall, who spend the better part of the last 24 hours engaged in debate with FIS over the safety of the race course, finished a comfortable third in the individual start race.
Athletes concerned with new changes to the Falun World Cup Finals course threatened to boycott the prologue on Friday if changes weren't made, citing safety concerns. Athlete representative Kikkan Randall submitted a formal complaint to FIS on behalf of athletes and the mass start course was readjusted, though not to everyone's satisfaction. Justyna Kowalcyzk has said she won't race, and there will be more meetings between FIS and athlete representatives before the start on Friday morning.
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
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of Complete Results Matt Voisin contributed reporting.
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 Complete Results Matt Voisin contributed reporting.
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 Complete Race Report Matt Voisin contributed reporting.
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of Complete Results Matt Voisin contributed reporting.
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
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of