In her first World Cup of the season and best result since the 2012 World Cup freestyle sprint at home in Canmore, Alberta, Alysson Marshall launched back into international-racing action on Saturday and placed 44th in the women’s 1.2-kilometer classic sprint in Otepää, Estonia.
Rock-solid and fast conditions on the second day of the Lillehammer mini tour didn't work to the Canadians' favor, with Alex Harvey struggling with his left leg about 3 kilometers into the 10 k freestyle and Ivan Babikov feeling like he couldn't turn it into high gear.
Regulars for the last week in Gällivare, the Canadians put themselves in the mix in Saturday's classic sprints with Perianne Jones winning the women's final, Alex Harvey taking second to Russia's Sergey Ustiugov in the men's final, Lenny Valjas placing fourth and Jess Cockney bringing it home in sixth.
The 5 Peaks Trail Running Series came to Canmore for the second installment of central Alberta's race series last weekend. Consistent with the usual 5 Peaks format, this event consisted of an “enduro” distance and a “sport” distance, 12 k and 8 k respectively. But unlike your average 5 Peaks race, this event featured Olympians.
Zeke Williams of the Alberta World Cup Academy reports from 2014 Canadian Nationals in Newfoundland, interviewing the winners of Sunday's short-distance classic men's and women's races.
Some of our favorite photos from the second half of the men's 4 x 10-kilometer relay on Sunday at the Sochi Olympics, including Sweden's Marcus Hellner literally jumping out of his skis and Russia's Alexander Legkov tebowing after the finish.
Of the 18 North Americans that competed in Sunday’s 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprints at the Toblach World Cup, nine made the rounds. Many of them chatted with FasterSkier about the day and final race before the Olympics.
Erik Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team broke through in Saturday's 15 k classic individual start at the Toblach World Cup in Italy, two days after placing 17th the same event at U23 World Championships. Aside from Alex Harvey in fifth, the rest of the North American men placed outside the top 38 on a wet day marked by tricky conditions.
Moving on from last season, the Canadians are a calculated bunch and ready to get the World Cup season started -- with a goal of not overemphasizing early results in order to peak for the Olympics. For the entire team, the Tour de Ski is part of the plan.
Jess Cockney stayed upright despite a tangle in the finishing straight to notch his second-straight team sprint title with Brent McMurtry at Canadian Nationals on Saturday, and Marlis Kromm and Heidi Widmer skied to a nearly 10-second victory in the women's race.
Typically known as a sprinter, Dasha Gaiazova is knocking on distance racing’s door. The 29-year-old notched her second-best result of the season in a distance event, placing 33rd in Sunday’s 10-kilometer classic individual start at the World Cup in Lahti, Finland.
Jess Cockney and Emily Nishikawa, both of the Alberta World Cup Academy and Senior Development Team, wrapped up Eastern Canadian Championships with the overall titles Sunday, winning their respective 30- and 15-kilometer pursuits in Cantley, Quebec.
Alysson Marshall overcame the gut-wrenching and familiar feeling of being sick for her first NorAm win of the season, and Phil Widmer continued his classic-sprint winning ways on Day 1 of the Eastern Canadian Championships in Cantley, Quebec.
The 2011-2012 SuperTour kicks off Wednesday morning with a two-round, individual-start sprint in West Yellowstone, MT. Racers will first cover the 1.5 k point-to-point course on classic skis, then recover for a bit before heading out again on skate equipment. The fastest combined time of the day for men and women takes the win. The most noticeable feature of the course is the finish, a steep climb that will leave athletes spent at the end...
Winners of the NorAm sprints in Thunder Bay also secured tickets to the World Championships. The weekend series serves as World trials for U23, World Juniors and the 2011 World Championships in Oslo.