It snowed continuously throughout today’s 30-kilometer freestyle individual Start in Beitostølen, Norway. There was already a great deal of accumulation on the race course by the time the men started. This made the already challenging distance race even more grueling as the fresh snow created more resistance for skiers. Norway took the top two spots as Sjur Røthe won the with a time of 1:09:53.5. His teammate, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, was close behind in second...
“I feel like the shape was really good today,” Norway’s Therese Johaug told the International Ski Federation (FIS) after Saturday’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start race in Beitostølen, Norway. On a day when winter felt like winter, snow fell throughout the race and temperatures hovered around 20 degrees Fahrenheit, Johaug’s shape was never in doubt. Absent two seasons from the World Cup after testing positive for banned steroids in her system, Johaug is back with...
At Norway's Blink festival, the women's winner of the 60 k classic received just one-fifth the prize money as the men's winner. Smaller women's fields present a conundrum for long-distance race organizers: how can they promote women's racing and incentivize attendance, and what constitutes enough effort toward doing so?
Sweden's Stina Nilsson surged past Norway's Ingvild Flugstad Østberg to win the World Cup women's 6 x 1.2 k freestyle team sprint in Otepää with the same crew that won the Olympic bronze medal at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Therese Johaug surprised nobody as much as herself when she passed Marit Bjørgen in the final meters of Saturday's 10 k classic mass start. Norway swept the podium again, but Aino Kaisa Saarinen of Finland turned in her best performance all season in fourth place, and American Liz Stephen finished an assertive fifth.
Norway’s Marit Bjørgen was untouchable again, for the fourth day in a row as she won the 5k classic in Toblach, Italy, and widening her overall gap to 1:34.3.
Looking for motivation to get in tip-top ski shape for next winter? Check out these photo montages of the 2013/2014 FIS World Cup season.
This week contained a flurry of action! A bit overwhelmed? We've got you covered. This week we'll let our articles do the talking, so we've organized them here so you can keep the nordic action around the globe strait. Happy reading!
When Justyna Kowalczyk stood at the head of the chevron before the 10 k pursuit Friday morning in Rybinsk, Russia, she must have felt a little bit lonely. That’s because no less than 20 of the top 30 women in the current overall World Cup rankings were missing. Kowalczyk’s biggest rival, Marit Bjoergen (NOR) opted to take the weekend off, as did fourth ranked Petra Majdic (SLO), and 6th through 9th, Therese Johaug (NOR), Charlotte...
The Canadian National Ski Team (CNST), despite fielding five men with Olympic experience, started the 2010-2011 World Cup season slowly on Saturday. In the 15 k freestyle in Gallivaere, Sweden, Alex Harvey led the team, placing in 34th, while Ivan Babikov finished 54th, Devon Kershaw 58th, George Grey 78th, and Brent McMurtry 94th. “It was definitely a bit of a letdown,” said Head Coach Justin Wadsworth in a phone interview with FasterSkier. “I was obviously...
Slovenia Nations Cup Ranking: 10th (1890 pts) Men: N/A Women: 7th (1890 pts) 2010/2011 A Team Men N/A Women Petra Majdic Vesna Fabjan Katja Visnar What you may have missed last season: The Slovenians managed to ski their way into the top 10 on the Nations Cup with only three skiers – all female – contributing to their points total. Embarrassing for other countries? Slightly, but when the three athletes you’re facing are Petra Majdic,...
Canada Nations Cup Ranking: 12th (1161 pts) Men: 10th (848 pts) Women: 13th (313 pts) 2010/2011 A Team Men Alex Harvey Devon Kershaw George Grey Ivan Babikov Women Chandra Crawford Dasha Gaiazova What you may have missed last season: The sheer amount of injuries and setbacks the Canadian team endured this season, especially at the Tour de Ski. The World Cup circuit had barely kicked off when former head coach Inge Braten slipped and fractured...
Japan Nations Cup Ranking: 18th (353 pts) Men: 16th (163 pts) Women: 19th (190 pts) 2010/2011 A Team (Best estimate) Men Yuichi Onda Nobu Naruse Women Masako Ishida Madoka Natsumi What you may have missed last season: Two years ago, during the 2008-2009 World Cup season, the Japanese ski team made history. Masako Ishida became the first Japanese national to win a World Cup medal by
Nations Cup Ranking: 19th (229 pts) Men: 15th (179 pts) Women: 20th (55 pts) 2010/2011 A Team (Best estimate) Men Sergei Dolidovitch Leanid Karneyenka Women Olga Vasiljonok Nastassia Dubarezava Alena Sannikova What you may have missed last season: Belarus very quietly made their way into spot number 19 on the Nations Cup. Dolidovitch and Karneyenka were regular starters who picked up the odd point where they could. The greatest success on the team came from...
Spain Nations Cup Ranking: 21st (33 pts) Men: 18th (33 pts) Women: N/A 2010/2011 World Cup Team (Best estimate) Men Vincenc Villarula Diego Ruiz Women Laura Orgue What You May Have Missed Last Season: On the World Cup, the Spanish were incredibly quiet most of the year. But like a couple of teams (see Canada, Sweden), they had a proportionally impressive Olympics. Vincenc Villarula finished in 31, a heart-breaking .1 behind Jean-Marc Gaillard and a...