Håvard Solås Taugbøl – FasterSkier.com

Entire Norwegian sprint team tests positive for COVID following Lahti World Cup

Rachel PerkinsMarch 2, 2022

Corresponding with a social media post from Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, the Norwegian news outlet NRK reported yesterday that each of the men’s national team sprinters who competed in Lahti last weekend has tested positive for COVID-19. Head sprint coach Arild Monsen told NRK that Håvard Solås Taugbøl was the first to test positive on Monday, followed by Erik Valnes, Pål Golberg, Sindre Bjørnestad Skar and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo on Tuesday. According to Trondheim regional newspaper...

News Racing World Cup

In Front of a Long-Awaited Crowd, Klæbo and Chanavat Take It to the Line in Lahti Freestyle Sprint

FasterSkierFebruary 26, 2022

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. By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ian Tovell During a brief reprieve from racing, the top tier of international racing made its way from the high desert of Zhangjiakou, China...

News Racing World Cup

Norway Takes the Top Two Podium Spots in the Team Sprint; Bolger and Schoonmaker Ski to 9th

Rachel PerkinsDecember 19, 2021

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. In the wake of the American women taking second to the Swedish powerhouse duo, and yesterday’s top two spots on the podium, Maja Dahlqvist and Jonna Sundling, the men’s team...

Racing World Cup

Taugbøl Takes the City Sprint Win in Dresden; Schoonmaker Back in the Semis to Finish 9th

Rachel PerkinsDecember 18, 2021

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. With Christmas decor lining a ribbon of snow providing a better indication that we are nearing the end of Period I and heading into the holiday season than the...

News Racing World Cup

Klæbo Strikes Back; Two Americans in the Semis, Three in the Top-30 in Lillehammer

Rachel PerkinsDecember 3, 2021

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. Last weekend in Ruka, a new season of World Cup racing came in like a lion. Right off the bat, there were so many storylines to follow. Here, we’ll...

Racing World Cup

Norwegian Triple Championship Podium with Klæbo Crowned the Winner; Ogden 17th for the US

Ella HallFebruary 25, 2021

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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. Against the backdrop of hundreds of cardboard cut-out fans, the men battled for the first medals of the 2021 World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. Despite warming temperatures, conditions were...

Racing World Cup

Klæbo Strides for the Falun Sprint Win; Schoonmaker 18th

Jason AlbertJanuary 31, 2021

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their 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. Squeaky snow, firm tracks and a fanless Falun was the backdrop for the men’s 1.4-kilometer classic sprint in Falun, Sweden on Sunday. The racing capped a three day series...

News

The Sun Has Set: Norway’s National Cross-Country Team Experiences Deep Financial Cuts

Peter MindeMarch 31, 2020

On Tuesday morning, the Norwegian Ski Federation (NSF) and announced a new sponsorship agreement, set to begin on 1 May. Sparebank will remain the federation’s title sponsor for 10 million kroner, approximately US $950,000. It’s a two-year agreement with an option for a three-year extension. The amount is a reduction from the 15 million kroner (US $1,416,750) in the previous contract. The new deal comes at a time of uncertainty as global economies sputter...

News Racing World Cup

Relocated to Konnerud: Drammen will wait 365 Days while Klæbo and Sundling Celebrate Now

FasterSkierMarch 4, 2020

Men’s Sprint Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Norwegian men showed up on form for today’s freestyle sprints in Konnerud, just outside the city of Drammen. As the venue was used for the Norwegian National championship at the end of January, most of the team has already had a dress rehearsal racing on the windy course. It seems that Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, who sat out the national championships, did not need a dress rehearsal. He won the qualifier...

Racing World Cup

Klæbo Runs Away with Oberstdorf Classic Sprint Win

Jason AlbertJanuary 26, 2020

Sunday’s men’s 1.5-kilometer classic sprint course in Oberstdorf, Germany deserves some recognition. Site of the 2021 FIS Nordic Ski World Championships, racers were offered a glimpse into how the world’s foremost sprinter, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway, would navigate it’s kicker climbs, steep descents, and roughly three minute and thirty-second effort. The sprint course offered three distinct climbs, one at 0.2 k, the largest at 0.52 k, and the third starting at 1.1 k. The...

Racing World Cup

Dresden Team Sprint Rundown

FasterSkierJanuary 12, 2020

It was dizzying in Dresden for the skate team sprints. The man-made loop of lightning-fast snow had skiers going literally round and round for a total of 11 exchanges between teammates. Each skier skated a single 0.7-kilometer lap, for a total of 7.8 k. Each skier raced six laps. Turn your head dizzy. The Women’s Final The finals consisted of ten teams. Sweden I animated the race with its display of pull ahead speed late...

Racing World Cup

Chanavat Stays out of Trouble in Dresden with the Skate Sprint Win

Jason AlbertJanuary 11, 2020

The metaphors are rife when describing the rough and tumble nature of the urban environment. Most often we think of pine forest, alps, and Hansel and Gretel valleys as the backdrop for the World Cup. To foster interest and in-fill a dense schedule of racing, city-sprints are nothing new when it comes to populating the World Cup calendar. Places like Dresden provide a contextual backdrop to a Europe steeped in history. The city is often...

Racing World Cup

Norway Goes 1-2 in Freestyle Team Sprint; Americans 7th

Rachel PerkinsDecember 22, 2019

From under the umbrella to inside the snow globe. Fat flakes were falling in Planica, Slovenia at the start of the freestyle team sprint. A painful mix of speed and endurance, each team member skied three 1.2-kilometer laps for a total of 7.2 k. Comprising the victorious Norway I team, Sindre Bjørnestad Skar and Erik Valnes stopped the clock at 16:54.52. Fellow countrymen Håvard Solås Taugbøl and Gjøren Tefre took the Norway II team to...

Racing World Cup

Third Consecutive Sprint Victory in Davos for Klæbo; Hamilton 6th

Rachel PerkinsDecember 14, 2019

Davos, Switzerland: gifted athletes, throngs of spectators lining the course, plenty of Vitamin-D and a spectacular day for the 1.5-kilometer freestyle sprint. Racers chased down and skied away from their long afternoon shadows as the sun moved across the cloudless bluebird sky. The crowds were in for a treat. In sprint racing, heats often have significant variance. Some will be fast, some will be slow with a final upsurge in intensity at the end. In...

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

First World Cup Win for Klæbo; Hamilton 8th in Otepää, Misses Final by Inches

Harald ZimmerFebruary 18, 2017

Johannes Høsflot Klæbo is young enough that he could have started at the U23 World Championships in Soldier Hollow, Utah, earlier this month. And the 20-year-old Norwegian probably would have done well there. But the 2016 Junior World Champion in the freestyle sprint and 10-kilometer classic races held in Râsnov, Romania, already has his sights set much higher this season, targeting next week’s senior International Ski Federation (FIS) Nordic World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland. And...

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Saturday Rundown: Otepää and Hochfilzen (Updated)

FasterSkierFebruary 18, 2017

IBU World Championships (Hochfilzen, Austria): Men’s relay [UPDATED] Russia’s four-man relay team hit nearly every target on Saturday, using a total of just three spares to clean 40 targets, and stayed out of the penalty loop to capture gold in the men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. It was the last team event and the second-to-last day of the championships, with the men’s and women’s...

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Sunday Rundown: Valjas, Harvey Win 1st Team Sprint of Season in Toblach

FasterSkierJanuary 15, 2017

FIS Cross-Country World Cup (Toblach, Italy): Freestyle team sprint Men |

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Hamilton Back on Podium in Toblach Sprint; Five Americans in Top 13

Alex KochonJanuary 14, 2017

The feeling was beyond déjà vu. Simi Hamilton remembered the exact moment so clearly: almost exactly Tour de Ski’s first stage in Val Müstair, Switzerland. After leaving the Tour after Stage 2, Hamilton competed in two OPA Cup races last weekend in Planica, Slovenia. There, he won the skate sprint and finished fifth in the 10 k skate. “That definitely increased my confidence and I felt much better about where I was fitness-wise and speed-wise...

News Racing World Cup

Saturday Rundown: Hamilton Second in Toblach Skate Sprint (Updated)

FasterSkierJanuary 14, 2017

FIS Cross-Country World Cup (Toblach, Italy): Freestyle sprints Men | Race report Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen posts a 22-second win for her first victory of the season and first time shooting without a miss in an individual race since the Ruhpolding sprint almost exactly a year ago. Dunklee leads North Americans in 33rd and qualifies for the pursuit, along with Canada’s Rosanna Crawford (55th), Megan Tandy (56th) and Julia Ransom (60th). Ski Classics press release. “It...

General News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Newell, Hamilton Reach Heats in Davos Skate Sprint, 23rd and 26th Overall

Alex KochonDecember 13, 2015

After qualifying in 10th and 21st, Simi Hamilton and Andy Newell saw their sprint days end in the quarterfinals, where they placed sixth and fifth for the U.S., respectively. Hamilton busted a pole, and Canada missed out on the heats with Len Valjas coming closest to qualifying in 31st.

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