Anyone who’s seen Liz Stephen train knew she was completely capable of doing what she did Sunday in Muonio, Finland. For cripes sakes, she challenged the guys during a US Ski Team interval trail-running session this summer. Earlier at that camp in Lake Placid, N.Y., she Hevoskuuri.fi. “Heikkinen competes to win.” Noah Hoffman led the U.S. men in 13th about 0.47 seconds ahead of teammate Kris Freeman in 14th and about 1:18 behind Heikkinen. After...
On a clear, cold morning in Muonio, Finland, time marched one step closer to the World Cup and turned up mounting anticipation for it’s commencement by a few degrees. Alexey Poltoranin (KAZ) claimed his second victory of the weekend in the 10 k classic, though the rest Kazakh team was not quite as dominant as it was in Friday’s sprint. Lukas Bauer (CZE) was less than five seconds back from Poltoranin in second place and...
It may have been a relatively relaxed tune-up race, but there was no lack of depth in the field that showed up for the FIS classic sprints in Muonio, Finland, on Friday. Kazakhstan produced an impressive sweep of the podium; Alexey Poltoranin, a traditionally strong sprinter, led the charge while compatriots Nikolay Chebotko and Denis Volotka (KAZ) followed close behind. American Andy Newell, who led much of the final heat, finished fourth after a slight...
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of Complete Results Matt Voisin contributed reporting.
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of Complete Results Matt Voisin contributed reporting.
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of Complete Results Matt Voisin contributed reporting.
All the talk about the Marit Bjørgen/Justyna Kowalczyk rivalry may have been getting a little old. On Sunday, Bjørgen did her best to erase the speculation of who will take the overall World Cup title, winning the 30-kilometer classic mass start at Holmenkollen in Oslo, Norway. In the last World Cup event before the finals in Sweden, Bjørgen beat Kowalczyk of Poland by 51.9 seconds in 1:26:09.8. The two started off the line at breakneck...
Marit Bjørgen (NOR) doesn’t enter many races as an underdog, but with the way Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) advanced through the early heats in the classic sprint in Lahti, Finland, the Norwegian was just one more woman in the final trying to avoid being embarrassed. Kowalczyk powered away from the field in both the quarter and semi finals, opening up gaps on the first climb that ultimately reached as much as 30 meters. No one could...
Norway’s Therese Johaug notched her fourth individual World Cup win of the season on Saturday in Lahti, Finland, skiing to a comfortable 10.8-second win in the 15 k skiathlon. She won a the 10 k pursuit race there last year. Johaug led a top-four Norwegian sweep; Marit Bjørgen led the chase pack to finish second, Heidi Weng notched her first career individual World Cup podium in third and Kristin Stoermer Steira was, once again, fourth. Just...
In what couldn’t have been a better-scripted home-coming, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) blew the World Cup women’s field off the tracks with an uncontested win in the 10km classic in Szklarska Poreba, Poland. Kowalczyk has singlehandedly put cross-country skiing on the map in Poland, establishing herself as one of the all-time greats with three consecutive World Cup titles and the same number of Tour de Ski wins. She is known for her massive training volume and...
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...
Recall that at the start of the season, I considered this question with a bit of skepticism. I was definitely more skeptical about her prospects than some others. Hopeful, but skeptical. My skepticism stemmed from the fact that while Kikkan is arguably the best freestyle sprinter in the world right now, her classic skiing has traditionally lagged a [...] Related posts:
The Marit Bjørgen (NOR), Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), and Therese Johaug (NOR) show continued in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, as the three packed the podium once again, this time in the 15km classic mass start. The recipe is simple, and easily repeatable. Take the three women listed above, mix together well in any type of distance race format, add in a hearty shake of snow, and bake for 15 to 45 minutes. The result will be...
At the start of Sunday 15 k skiathlon in Rybinsk, Russia, all eyes were on two women: Marit Bjørgen, the Norwegian who had dominated the 10 k mass start on Saturday and taken over the lead in the World Cup rankings, and Justyna Kowalczyk, the Pole who had won the Tour de Ski and held the World Cup lead until Bjørgen took it over. “It has turned out to be a lot of Marit and...
During the early part of the season, Marit Bjørgen (NOR) skied with a simple strategy—go fast from the start, gap the field, and win by a ridiculously large margin. But with some setbacks due to illness and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) rounding into form, a different approach became necessary. Bjørgen skied a more tactical race in Rybisnk, Russia, letting others drive the pace on a frigid day and attrition slowly whittle down the field. By the...
For the past few years, the World Cup in Rybinsk, Russia has been the weekend frequently skipped over by national teams and various individuals. With the overall World Cup title a focal point this season and no major championship to save up for, however, the expected fields are nearly double what they’ve recently been, in spite of the handful of athletes who have decided not to race in the extreme cold. The forecast initially looked...
The reigning queen of Polish skiing is officially back on top of the world. After a slow start to her 2011-2012 campaign, Justyna Kowalczyk owned the Tour de Ski in January, then followed up that performance with her victory on Thursday in the Moscow city sprint. In doing so, she took over the yellow bib that represents the top level of World Cup success. In front of a home crowd, Russian teammates Natalia Korosteleva and...
Two weeks after claiming her third Tour de Ski title, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) shows no signs of slowing down. A day after winning the classic sprint, Kowalczyk, racing in her preferred classic technique, took a page out of Axel Teichmann’s book, mirroring the notoriously slow starter’s strategy and dominating the second half of the 10km individual start in Otepaa, Estonia. Marit Bjørgen (NOR) was runner up for the second time this weekend, with teammate Therese...
Justyna Kowalczyk didn’t have to say a word. Marit Bjørgen knew it was on. Kowalczyk, the three-time defending Tour de Ski champion from Poland, had spent the better part of the last two weeks recovering from her most recent Tour victory. Bjørgen, the Tour de Ski runner-up, had done the same, skipping last weekend’s races in Milan, Italy, to prepare for Otepää, Estonia. While the two rivals didn’t face off until the final of Saturday’s...
You’ll recall that recently this rivalry has been fairly one sided, no matter how much Justyna’s fans want to believe otherwise. The previous two season simply saw Marit winning far more of their head to head match-ups. At the start of the season, things looked even worse for the Justyna camp, as she struggled quite [...] Related posts: