Ivan Babikov – FasterSkier.com

Multimedia Podcasts The Devon Kershaw Show

Stage 8 of the Tour de Ski: The Alpe Cermis with Kershaw and Ivan Babikov

Devon KershawJanuary 10, 2021

The question is not where to start. That is with Jessie Diggins and her shining moment over eight stages at the Tour de Ski. Diggins secured the overall win in the Tour de Ski on Sunday, the first non-European skier, male or female to win the Tour. Ivan Babikov, former Candian National Ski Team member and master of the Alpe himself, joins Devon to discuss Diggins, the Russians, the Alpe, and the vagaries of the...

Canadian National Ski Team General News

CCC Lays Off Four Staff Members, Including Babikov

Alex KochonJune 9, 2018

Cross Country Canada (CCC) has appointed a new high-performance and development advisor, CCC’s CEO since November 2016. On the upside, he explained that another sponsor and investment firm, Haywood Securities, has agreed to sponsor the NorAm circuit as it has in the past. Asked if budget cuts were among the biggest challenges affecting CCC at the moment and the reasoning behind the latest layoffs, Pearsall said, “Yes. If things had stayed the same that would’ve...

Canadian National Ski Team General Interviews News Racing

On the Mend: Valjas Back for More with Eyes on Seefeld

Jason AlbertJune 5, 2018

Canadian World Cup B-team member, Len Valjas was beaming. Valjas, along with podium-regular teammate Alex Harvey, had won a World Cup team sprint in Toblach, Italy. The next weekend, Valjas and three teammates (including Harvey) rocketed to individual classic sprint and ended the day in seventh for his best result at his second Olympics. Canada’s Olympic sport-funding system emphasizes championship medals and results. Harvey and Valjas set new Olympic benchmarks this February for Canadian men’s cross-country...

Canadian National Ski Team General News Para Nordic Team nominations World Cup

Cross Country Canada Nominates 2018/2019 National Team

FasterSkierMay 10, 2018

press release. Notably, the World Cup A-team is made up of one man — Alex Harvey — after three athletes from Devon Kershaw, Jess Cockney and Knute Johnsgaard). Graeme Killick, of last season’s World Cup B-team, also retired. Len Valjas was nominated to the B-team, a demotion, he said, that was a result of him ending his season immediately after the PyeongChang Olympics. “The reasoning is that I … didn’t show up to [the World...

News Olympics Team nominations

Cross Country Canada Names 11 to Olympic Team

FasterSkierJanuary 29, 2018

announced its 2018 Olympic cross-country ski team for the upcoming Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. The team includes 11 athletes: seven men and four women. According to the

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Klæbo Holds Off Sundby, Bolshunov and Harvey for Ruka Triple Sweep

Alex KochonNovember 26, 2017

Two previous days of racing, and back-to-back victories no less, had begun to take its toll on Johannes Høsflot Klæbo within the first few laps of the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle pursuit on Sunday in Kuusamo, Finland. The 21-year-old Norwegian could feel it throughout his body; he was tired and 38 seconds of a starting cushion wasn’t going to be enough to hold off the hungry challengers behind him. Klæbo, who won Friday’s classic sprint and...

Canadian National Ski Team General News Olympics Racing World Cup

World Cup Windup: Canada

FasterSkierNovember 23, 2017

Welcome to World Cup Windup, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24. Last but not least, Canada! CANADA Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 10th Women’s Ranking 2016/2017: 14th Men’s Ranking 2016/2017: Sixth Who’s Back: Alex Harvey, World Champion, runner-up in the Distance Cup, and third in the overall World Cup;...

Canadian National Ski Team Interviews News Olympics Racing World Cup

Cockney Seeking More Sprint Semifinals En Route to Better Olympics

Chelsea LittleOctober 5, 2017

Last Olympics, the first for Canadian cross-country skier Jesse Cockney, went almost exactly wrong. In Sochi, Russia, Cockney slumped to 53rd in the sprint — his signature event — missing the heats by 6.5 seconds in a lighter field than many World Cups (at the Olympics, no country can enter more than four athletes). “I honestly believed I would be better — I didn’t imagine I would be that far behind,” Cockney said in an...

Camps General Multimedia News Photo Gallery Training

Men Go to SoHo, U.S. Women in the Methow (Camp Photo Galleries)

FasterSkierJuly 14, 2017

(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Canadian coach Ivan Babikov on his team’s recent camp in Park City, Utah.) Two days after Andy Newell and Erika Flowers tied the knot in Bozeman, Mont., seven members of the men’s U.S. Ski Team and eight U.S. women’s team members jumped into an intensity training block at their respective dryland camps in Park City, Utah, and the Methow Valley in northern Washington. The 10-day camps...

Canadian National Ski Team General Team nominations

CCC on Team Selections and ‘Moving Ahead’ with Half the Budget of Sochi

Gabby NaranjaMay 30, 2017

What a year for Cross Country Canada (CCC). For the first time in history, its men’s team stood on a World Cup gold and its women’s team pulled off its Canada’s 2017/2018 national-team nominations earlier this month, FasterSkier caught up with CCC’s High Performance Director Thomas Holland and the World Cup co-coach Ivan Babikov to discuss the program moving forward. What’s changed since last year? Not much. With a strong season behind them, an Olympic season ahead and a solid coach...

Biathlon Canadian National Ski Team General News Racing US Biathlon US Ski Team World Cup

FasterSkier’s 2017 Performances of the Year

FasterSkierApril 15, 2017

This is it — the final award in our 2016/2017 awards series. Votes stemmed from the FS staff, scattered across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and while not scientific, they’re intended to reflect a broader sense of the season in review. This honor goes to outstanding North American performances of the year across various nordic sports. Previous categories: Collegiate | U.S. Continental | Biathletes | U.S. Breakthroughs | International | won the 20-kilometer individual at 2017 IBU World Championships, it was by about a slim margin as he...

Canadian National Ski Team General News Racing World Cup

An Air-Guitar Solo: Harvey Closes Out Championships with 50 k Win

Gabby NaranjaMarch 5, 2017

LAHTI, Finland — Here’s the basics: fast and firm tracks, cloudless skies, and once again a stacked field for the final event of the 2017 Nordic World Championships: the men’s 50-kilometer freestyle mass start. Over the course of the 50 k, Canada’s Harvey had to think about one thing: be up front near the top three in order to shadow Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby’s inevitable gut punch in the last kilometer. What he didn’t have...

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Iversen Redeemed in Falun 30 k Classic; Harvey 15th on Tough Wax Day

Alex KochonJanuary 29, 2017

$33,500: the post-race interview with VG. The victory, which he secured by 3.7 seconds over his team’s superstar Martin Johnsrud Sundby in the men’s 30-kilometer classic mass start in Falun, Sweden, was his Saturday. Second place by 0.06 seconds was unacceptable, and the look on his face and the pole he snapped in two after the men’s freestyle sprint final said it all. “I’ve been pretty mad at my little brothers, but I don’t think...

News Photo Gallery Racing

Ulricehamn Extras: Bonus Quotes & Photos

FasterSkierJanuary 24, 2017

Last weekend’s first-ever World Cup in Ulricehamn, Sweden, was one Canada will remember for a long time, after Alex Harvey won Saturday’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start for his second-straight World Cup victory (after Men’s report | Men’s report |

News Racing World Cup

A Maple-Leaf ‘Miracle’, Canada Races to Historic 3rd Place in Ulricehamn Relay

Gabby NaranjaJanuary 22, 2017

Looking up from the finish line on Sunday, Canada’s Len Valjas saw something he would never forget. Amidst a sea of waving Swedish flags, a trio of men ran toward him. Their arms were outstretched and a chorus of cheers escaped all three as they charged toward their teammate. Just a week ago, Valjas had celebrated his Johnsgaard, of Canada’s U25 Team, maintained his position within the middle of the lead pack. “Alex tagged me off...

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Harvey Tops Ulricehamn 15 k: ‘It’s the Win that Gives Me the Most Satisfaction’

Chelsea LittleJanuary 21, 2017

It’s not like winning is a new feeling for Canada’s Alex Harvey. After all, the Quebec-based cross-country skier said in a Cross Country Canada press release. “It is nice to be able to own a statistic like that, but I do it for the result and to be the best I can be each race. If that means that I win back-to-back then that is a bonus.” With Strong Performances, Canada Looks to Relay While...

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing Tour de Ski US Ski Team World Cup

Sundby Breaks the Streak for 1st Stage Win in Val di Fiemme; Harvey 19th in Mass Start

Alex KochonJanuary 7, 2017

Six laps. Three climbs per lap. Fifteen-kilometer classic mass start. If you’re in it to win it, where do you make your move? That was the kind of calculating Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby was doing throughout Saturday’s Stage 6 mass start, the second-to-last stage of the 2017 Tour de Ski, in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Every time he rounded the 2.5 k loop, the man he needed to beat — Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov — was...

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing Tour de Ski US Ski Team World Cup

Ustiugov Wins Third-Straight Stage; Harvey 4th, Kershaw 10th in Skiathlon

Jason AlbertJanuary 3, 2017

Ustiugov, Ustiugov, Ustiugov...the Russian skier has made it there wins in a row to open the Tour de Ski. Despite a wrong turn, Norway's Sundby placed second and sits second overall. Canada's Harvey has skied consistently -- a fourth today -- and is seeking an overall podium in the Tour. He's third overall after three stages.

Canadian National Ski Team General News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Seven-Stage Tour de Ski Starts Saturday

FasterSkierDecember 30, 2016

It’s time for the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) 11th Tour de Ski. The 2017 edition takes place in three countries and four different venues. Racers will compete in seven stages over the course of nine days. The grueling Alpe Cermis — a 9-kilometer freestyle hill climb in Val di Fiemme, Italy — will be featured again as the final race to determine the overall Tour de Ski (TdS) results. Directly leading up to the multi-stage event, currently out...

Canadian National Ski Team News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Niskanen Wins Another Ruka 15 k; Harvey 11th

Gabby NaranjaNovember 27, 2016

The opening World Cup races came to a close this Sunday, with Finland's Iivo Niskanen taking the overall win in the men's 15-kilometer classic race for the second time in a row. The Finnish skier held off the likes of Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby in order to secure the victory. "This was a really important victory, because last year was so difficult," Niskanen said during a T.V. interview.

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