Canadian Chandra Crawford wrapped up her pre-season tune-up in fine form, placing second to fellow World Cup sprint star Ida Ingemarsdotter (SWE) in the Bruksvallarna, Sweden skate sprint. Crawford qualified in 7th, three seconds down on Stina Nilsson (SWE) before placing second to Katja Visnar (SLO) in the first quarterfinal, in the process bumping teammate Dasha Gaiazova, who was third in that heat. In the semis, Crawford returned the favor, besting Visnar as both women...
Ida Ingemarsdotter (SWE) bided her time, letting Maiken Caspersen Falla (NOR) lead the final in the skate sprint in Szklarska Poreba, Poland before using a strong finish to take her second victory of the season. The trail to the top of the podium was hardly easy, packed with star power despite the early exits of Marit Bjørgen (NOR) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL). In addition to Ingemarsdotter, Falla and Kikkan Randall, the final featured the always...
MILAN, Italy – Italy is a place of great history, with ruins from ages past, ancient works of art and a culture that existed long before North America felt the footfall of Western civilization. Americans and Canadians generally travel to Italy to admire the history of the country, not make it. But on another brilliant sunny day in the northern Italian metropolis of Milan, Kikkan Randall, Jessie Diggins, Chandra Crawford and Perianne Jones did just...
MILAN, Italy – Eat your heart out Justyna Kowalczyk, there is a new sheriff in town — or in this case, sheriffs, and they are hanging out in central Milan. Kowalczyk, the ironwoman of cross-country skiing, who rarely misses a race, is back in Poland, recovering from the Tour de Ski, and preparing for the next phase of World Cup racing, while Ida Ingemarsdotter (SWE) and Kikkan Randall (USA) are duking it out in the...
It has been three-and-a-half years since Chandra Crawford has graced the podium in an individual World Cup race, but that drought has come to an end as the 2006 Olympic Champion powered her way to second on a short yet challenging sprint course in Rogla, Slovenia. Crawford finished right on the tails of Norwegian Maiken Caspersen Falla, who laid claim to her first individual World Cup win. Ida Ingemarsdotter (SWE) finished third. Sprint Cup leader...
Norwegians Petter Northug and Marit Bjoergen have now both sat out a race at World Championships – not Charlotte Kalla though, and the Swedish star has no plans to take a day off. In another day at the office, Kalla teamed with Ida Ingemarsdotter to win the women’s World Championship classic team sprint in Oslo, Norway, skiing away from Finland and Norway in the last lap. The team sprint features pairs of athletes, alternating laps,...
While most had expected Hanna Falk to be the number-one pick along with Ida Ingemarsdotter for the Swedish sprint relay team, Charlotte Kalla showed up at the press conference Tuesday morning.
As the Norwegian and Swedish teams offered their insight to what might happen in the opening event at the 2011 World Championships, both athletes and coaches admitted that Kikkan Randall was a big concern.
Sweden Nations Cup Ranking: 3rd (6793 pts) Men: 3rd (3535 pts) Women: 3rd (3258 pts) 2010/2011 A Team Men Emil Joensson Mats Larsson Robin Bryntesson Jesper Modin Teodor Peterson Daniel Richardsson Anders Soedergren Marcus Hellner Johan Olsson Jens Eriksson Women Lina Andersson Magdalena Pajala Anna Haag Ida Ingemarsdotter Charlotte Kalla Hanna Falk Hanna Brodin Sara Lindborg What You May Have Missed Last Season Hanna Falk coming from absolute obscurity to lead a strong Swedish women’s...
In the men’s classic sprint in Canmore on Saturday, there were all kinds of tactics in play. In the women’s version, there was just one: go like hell, and leave everyone else in the dust. That was Justyna Kowalczyk’s M.O. today. Using the massive engine she’s developed by racing every event in her path, the Polish dynamo crushed her competition in every single heat she skied on Saturday. In the final, she had more than...