The cross country World Cup moves to Szklarska Poreba, Poland this weekend, beginning with Friday’s skate sprint. This marks the first time Poland has hosted a World Cup event, and with the queen of the home team, Justyna Kowalczyk, only 12 points behind Marit Bjoergen (NOR) in the season-long battle for the overall World Cup title, there should be plenty of excitement for the local crowd. As part of the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) effort...
With every seemingly spontaneous sprint to the front of Saturday’s World Cup classic race in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic, Devon Kershaw appeared as eager and energetic as a kid in a candy shop. Naysayers or nervous Nellies might have questioned the Canadian’s strategy in the 30 k mass start. The head coach of the Canadian national ski team, Justin Wadsworth wasn’t worried. Kershaw simply followed the plan the two carefully crafted before the...
Life on the World Cup is one giant judgment call. Each day brings new decisions and, sometimes, unforeseen challenges. With little time, athletes and coaches often make up their minds and go with it. That’s about all they can do. The spontaneity often leads to uncertainty – as is the case with this weekend’s World Cup in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic. Several teams will probably do as the U.S. Ski Team plans and...
Though it didn’t quite measure up to the standard they set for themselves on Saturday, Canada continued its strong run of World Cup performances by placing two in the top ten in the Rybinsk 30 k skiathlon on Sunday. Devon Kershaw led the way in sixth with a time of 1:20:47.1, only 9.5 seconds behind the winner Maxim Vylegzhanin (RUS). Alex Harvey was only one second behind Kershaw in eighth, and Ivan Babikov finished 19th...
Devon Kershaw set the bar as high as it could go for the Canadians on Saturday with his win in the Rybinsk 15 k freestyle, but his teammates skied to impressive finishes as well. Alex Harvey skied with Kershaw for much of the race to finish in fifth (+5.5). Ivan Babikov, in his first race back on the World Cup since the Tour de Ski, finished 17th (+13.6), and would have finished higher had he...
For a World Champion like Devon Kershaw, who has hundreds of World Cup starts to his name, there aren’t many personal bests yet to accomplish 10 years into a career. Yet on Saturday in Rybinsk, Russia, he checked another one off the list: his first official World Cup victory. The Canuck skied a smart race in the mass start 15 k freestyle, biding his time in the lead pack and making his move in the...
For the better part of the last three months, the Canadians, like many national ski teams, have spent a lot of time together. Fortunately for the three men currently on the World Cup circuit, they seem to get along pretty well. Self-dubbed the “3 Amigos” on Twitter, Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey and Lenny Valjas spend much of their free time goofing around and posting pictures of their collective shenanigans while traveling Europe. They must fit...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – With the conclusion of the 2012 Tour de Ski, it may not make sense to mention bridesmaids to Devon Kershaw (CAN). Kershaw may hold a World Championship gold in the team sprint, but after a fourth in the Olympic 50k in 2010, and now a fourth in the Tour de Ski, he is getting a little tired of being runner up in the individual events. “I had dreams of being...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – For Canadian Devon Kershaw, the toughest thing about the nine-stage Tour de Ski may not actually be physical pain of racing. It might, instead, be keeping his head screwed on straight. “I overanalyze a lot,” he said Saturday. “I’ve been pretty nervous the last few days, and just trying to tick [the stages] off one by one.” For the last two stages of the Tour, though, Kershaw has kept it...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – Before Stage 8 of the Tour de Ski, a secret weapon arrived at the Canadian hotel here. It didn’t come in a box; it wasn’t a hi-tech ski wax, or special food or drink. And it wasn’t
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – Eldar Roenning (NOR) spent much of the eighth stage of the Tour de Ski working for Petter Northug (NOR), but as the final kilometer rolled around, he submitted his resignation, packed up his skis and poles, and headed out on his own. Roenning attacked on the final climb of the unforgiving Val di Fiemme 4.5 kilometer loop, opening a 10 meter gap entering the stadium, a lead he never relinquished...
TOBLACH, Italy – A year ago Devon Kershaw (CAN) entered the 35-kilometer point-to-point Tour de Ski pursuit sitting in second, and primed for a run at the top-5. Just under an hour later, he was struggling to hold onto the large chase pack that had gobbled him up at the 20k mark. Ever since that day this event has been on his mind—through summer training camps, early fall racing, and right up until the start...
TOBLACH, Italy – Alex Harvey (CAN) advanced to a World Cup sprint final for just the second time in his career on his way to a 6th place finish in the Tour de Ski skate sprint. Harvey posted his best-ever sprint qualification result, throwing down the fifth fastest time in the morning time trial. He saw that as a good sign, and followed up by winning his quarterfinal. He told FasterSkier that he “didn’t have...
TOBLACH, Italy – Ivan Babikov (CAN) will race Stage 5 of the 2012 Tour de Ski, according to Canadian Head Coach Justin Wadsworth. “He’s for sure going to race today,” Wadsworth said. Babikov had a catastrophic crash at the end of Stage 4 of the Tour in Germany, breaking a ski and a pole. Canadian staff initially feared he had broken his wrist. X-rays came up negative, and after an examination by Mireille Belzile—the mother...
OBERSTDORF, Germany – That was more like it. Such was the prevailing mood in the Canadian National Ski Team camp after Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey finished sixth and seventh in Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski here on Sunday. The day wasn’t perfect,
OBERSTDORF, Germany – Ivan Babikov’s arm isn’t broken, according to his coach Justin Wadsworth. X-rays at a local hospital Sunday afternoon revealed that Babikov’s bones were intact, after a hard crash at the end of Stage 4 of the 2012 Tour de Ski that busted Babikov’s pole and one of his best skis, Wadsworth said. Local physicians gave Babikov a brace, and told him to let pain govern his decisions about racing. Wadsworth said in...
Canadians Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey entered the Tour de Ski as legitimate contenders for the top-5 after both placing in the top-10 last season. Both men are capable of podium results in just about any race, a key to Tour success, but neither has broken through yet, though Harvey had an excellent prologue, placing sixth. After a rough ski day in the pursuit, they were looking to bounce back in the classic sprint in...
OBERHOF, Germany — There’s no shortage of grit among the top men on the Canadian cross-country ski team. Each year, Alex Harvey, Devon Kershaw, and Ivan Babikov train for hundreds of hours, climbing dozens of steep hills through sun, rain, and snow. The training has powered the athletes to some pretty impressive accomplishments this season. But even after all that preparation, Stage 2 of the Tour de Ski on Friday threw a challenge at the...
OBERHOF, Germany – Thursday’s freestyle prologue will probably not end up being significant in the grand scheme of the 2012 Tour de Ski, which includes eight more competitions and 100 kilometers of racing spread across two countries. But that doesn’t mean good results here didn’t give athletes a boost. Led by Alex Harvey’s sixth-place finish, the Canadian men are flying high after Stage 1 of the Tour. With Harvey just seven seconds away from the...
Lenny Valjas and Ivan Babikov are in, Kris Freeman is out, and the U.S. is looking forward to more quota spots for its women’s team next year During the first period of World Cup racing, the U.S. and Canadian ski teams had plenty of notable results. Kikkan Randall won and won again, much to the delight of the Americans. She and Sadie Bjornsen shared a team sprint podium, while Holly Brooks notched a couple of...