How often do you see ten biathletes lined up at the firing range, but no one pulling the trigger? In Sunday's World Cup women's relay, patience was the name of the game as strong winds swirled around Antholz, Italy.
Norway took the team relay in the World Cup men's 4x7.5 k biathlon in Antholz, Italy.
For three out of the four legs in the IBU World Cup women’s 4 x 6-kilometer relay on Saturday in Hochfilzen, Austria, it could’ve been anyone’s game, especially Russia’s, Germany’s, Poland’s and the Czech Republic’s. All four were within 40 seconds of one another behind Russia in first at the final exchange — and while it might have seemed like Russia with a 19-second lead was untouchable — any biathlete will tell you nothing in...
The 2014 Olympics in Sochi were an unmitigated disaster for German cross country skiing and biathlon. We look back on why, using our own observations and a 235-page Germany Olympic committee analysis of the country's performance in Sochi. With problems identified, the question becomes: what about now?
Anja Gruber thought she was done with skiing after finishing high school in her native Germany. However, she received a call from Partrick Weaver of UVM that changed everything. Now, Gruber is a two-time NCAA Champion with eyes on the World Cup.
Once a powerhouse of men’s biathlon, Austria fell on tough fortunes the last few years. But their team of wily veterans is back to their old tricks: Dominik Landertinger outsprinted Germany’s Simon Schempp at the finish of the World Cup relay.
Russia skied a consistent and fairly unremarkable race to win the biathlon World Cup 4 x 6 k relay. But the biggest story was Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle, whose aggressive skiing and near-perfect shooting took Germany from 18th to 1st on the second leg. Was her mid-race comeback a metaphor for her career, now that the Olympic skier has switched to biathlon?
The Tour de Ski kicked off in miserable fashion in Saturday, with rain and minimal snow in Oberhof, Germany. But 3 1/2 hours away in Gelsenkirchen, there was a more fun solution. For the 12th time, fans packed a soccer stadium to watch World Cup athletes do a relay race around a small artificial course. For the first time since the inaugural race in 2002, an all-German team won.
Take a multi-time World Champion, a speed demon who has improved enough on the range to win World Cups - and then add a junior racer and an Olympic gold medalist skier who recently turned biathlete. It's not the usual formula, but it got Germany a win over Ukraine and Norway in the women's biathlon relay in Sochi today.
Three Russians worked together to swallow Sunday's pursuit leader, Petter Northug, in the second stage of the Tour de Ski. Maxim Vylegzhanin and Alexander Legkov held the pace and secured a 1-2 finish while Northug settled for third.
With four men in the Tour de Ski, Alex Harvey led Canada with a season-best of sixth in Saturday's 4 k prologue. While it probably wasn't going to make or break his season, it was still a good sign for him and teammates like Ivan Babikov, who posted a personal best of 32nd.
50,000 fans in a soccer stadium. Bulletproof glass protecting them from a shooting range. 20 of the world's best biathletes. Magdalena Neuner suspended on a trapeze. This is what you'll find at the World Team Challenge, a which happened in Germany today. Susan Dunklee shared her experience after placing tenth with Tim Burke.
Last year's Tour de Ski prologue winner, Petter Northug of Norway started the 2012/2013 Tour on another strong note, winning Saturday's 4 k freestyle prologue in Oberhof, Germany, ahead of Marcus Hellner and Alexander Legkov.
Soldier Hollow, the Utah venue that played host to the nordic events at the 2002 Olympics, is no stranger to big-name athletes. Just a few weeks ago, World Cup sprint champ Kikkan Randall was there training with the cross-country national team. The medal-winning nordic combined team skis there regularly. But last week, Utah had a visit from another of the nordic world’s most recognizable athletes: Germany’s Andrea Henkel, who joined the U.S. biathlon team for...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – After winning a World Junior title in 1997, Jay Hakkinen has gone on to compete in four different Olympic Games and notch nine individual World Cup top-tens, including one this year. But despite Hakkinen’s long contribution to the U.S. team, in past years he has been more visible in Europe than in the sport in his home country. In 2008 he moved to Oberhof, Germany, when he and his girlfriend Kristin Orlameunder...
Between training on an Austrian glacier and inside a ski tunnel in Germany, a guy’s got to have some off-snow fun. Not that skiing isn’t fun, but when it’s your job, an offer to play pickup soccer with several top Norwegian and German nordic skiers is difficult to pass up. For Andy Newell, the invite came nonchalantly from Norwegian men’s coach Trond Nystad, who previously headed the U.S. Ski Team. With little notice, the 27-year-old...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – Right from the start of the 4 x 6 k relay here at World Championships, the German women made it clear that they were going to give their fans a show – and, most likely, the gold medal that they so vocally craved. Tina Bachmann, a lithe, six-foot-tall 25-year-old, put the field on notice when she turned in the fastest first-leg time, making up for the single spare round she used to...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – Going into today’s men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay, the field was wide open. France, with double gold medalist Martin Fourcade and silver medalist brother Simon Fourcade, was a prerace favorite. But last year’s top two teams, Norway and Russia, hadn’t dominated in the individual races, and neither had host country Germany. Meanwhile, Sweden’s Carl Johan Bergman had won two medals, and three Swedes had finished in the top ten. Slovenia and...
RUHPOLDING, Germany – There were plenty of errors at the IBU World Championships mixed relay today, mistakes that were big enough to have a surprising and significant impact on the outcome of the race. France’s third-leg racer, Simon Fourcade, received the tag from Marie Dorin Habert in second place, just 11 seconds behind Norway. But he imploded in spectacular fashion, using all six of his spare rounds, hitting the penalty loop, and losing almost two...
For the last two weeks or so, I’ve been holding down the fort here in Craftsbury as my teammates travel and race all over God’s white acre. In the short span between January 19th and February 2nd, the CGRP has been represented at races in Italy, Germany, Estonia, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Norway, and the western United States…AND at the Craftsbury Marathon, of course. While [...]