VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – If an instant can last a lifetime, Marit Bjørgen (NOR) had more than enough time to watch the 2012 Tour de Ski slip away. Locked in a battle with rival Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) for eight races, Bjørgen matched the Pole stride for stride on the lower part of the final climb up the Alpe Cermis. An then, in that interminable moment, Kowalczyk was gone. The two-time defending Tour champion accelerated,...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – The bell lap of the 2012 Tour de Ski kicks off on Sunday with the famed climb up the Alpe Cermis, and after a decisive victory over Marit Bjørgen (NOR), Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) will start with an eleven second lead. Kowalczyk demonstrated that she may have been down for a few days, as Bjørgen won four consecutive stages, but she was certainly not out. Back in her preferred classic technique...
TOBLACH, Italy – Cross-country skiing has plenty of unlikely alliances, from Norwegians running the Swiss national team to an American heading up the Canadian coaching staff. But few alliances were more curious than the one forged on Thursday between Marit Bjoergen (NOR) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL). In Thursday’s Stage 7 of the Tour de Ski, Bjoergen outsprinted Kowalczyk on the homestretch here to win by two seconds, taking her fourth straight victory and her third...
TOBLACH, Italy – Images from today’s race, a 15k pursuit freestyle, Stage 7 of the 2011/2012 Tour de Ski. The tight race that all expected, between Bjoergen (NOR) and Kowalczyk (POL) did ensue, as seen in picture after picture of the Pole leading the Norwegian and vice versa. Numerous others to share as well. Enjoy.
TOBLACH, Italy – With consecutive Tour de Ski stage victories, Marit Bjoergen (NOR) is pounding on Justyna Kowalczyk’s (POL)_door, looking to serve an eviction notice for the top of the Tour podium. Kowalczyk still holds the overall lead in her quest for a third Tour de Ski title, but with a win today in the 3-kilometer classic prologue, Bjoergen not only crept closer, but also showed a form that has been missing since illness took...
OBERSTDORF, Germany – Over the past two years, Norway’s Marit Bjørgen has gotten used to her spot at the top of women’s cross-country skiing. Collecting win after win, and paycheck after paycheck—and backed by her deep-pocketed Norwegian national team—Bjørgen has become skiing’s version of the one percent, firmly ensconced at the top of her sport and showing little interest in spreading the wealth. Since December 29th, however—the first stage of the 2012 Tour de Ski—Bjørgen...
OBERSTDORF, Germany – Three wins in three days over a range of distances and in both techniques—exactly what many expected in the Tour de Ski, just not from Justyna Kowalczyk (POL). Norwegian Marit Bjoergen dominated the first World Cup period, winning five of the six races she started, most in dominating fashion. Despite taking a pass on the Tour for two years, Bjoergen entered the 2012 edition as the favorite. Two consecutive overall Tour wins,...
OBERSTDORF, Germany – Kikkan Randall’s pink tiara will have to wait until next year. The birthday girl had a cardboard crown on hand for Stage 3 of the Tour de Ski on Saturday—a gift from her mother that Randall was ready to pull out if she made the final heat of the classic sprint race. Unfortunately, the tiara had to stay in her backpack, as the Alaskan got a 29th birthday present of an unexpected...
OBERHOF, Germany – Oh, it’s on. The battle between Marit Bjørgen (NOR) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) for Tour de Ski queendom has officially begun—with Kowalczyk landing the first blow. By a scant 0.4 seconds, the Polish strongwoman claimed victory in the first stage of this year’s Tour on Thursday afternoon, covering the icy 3.1-kilometer freestyle prologue in just over seven minutes. Bjoergen was second, with 21-year-old Swede Hanna Brodin earning her second-ever World Cup podium...
After struggling to match her form from last winter, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) was finally back on top of the World Cup podium on Saturday in Rogla, Slovenia for the 10 k mass-start classic distance. Throughout the beginning of the five-lap race, Kowalczyk traded the lead on and off with Therese Johaug (NOR), who ended up fading to second at 22.1 seconds back. Her teammate Vibeke Skofterud (NOR) made a late-race challenge for silver, but ended...
After a weekend of city sprinting in Germany, including gluhwein, spills, and DSQ’s, the FIS World Cup heads to Davos, Switzerland, this weekend for another pair of skate races. Saturday sees a rare beast on the World Cup — a long distance individual start skate race (15 for the women, and 30 k for the men) — while Sunday features what might be the most intense sprint of the World Cup season. While Dusseldorf...
After packing seven women into the top 10 on Saturday, it was undisputed that Norway was the team to beat in Sunday’s 4×5 k women’s relay. And the Norwegians showed no signs up letting up, starting four teams that all contained talented skiers. However, it was obvious that only one was a clear standout – Norway I. Featuring the same quartet — Vibeke Skofterud, Therese Johaug, Kristin Stoermer Steira, and Marit Bjoergen — as they...
As the air turned slightly cooler in Muonio, Finland, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) won her third race of the weekend on Sunday in the 5 k classic. In only two short laps, she bested the women’s field by 20 seconds, clocking in at 11:40.7. Aino-Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) notched her second runner-up performance of the weekend. Sami Jauhojärvi (FIN) won his first race of the series in front of a home crowd after placing second on Full...
On a fast 5 k skate course, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) notched her second victory in Muonio, Finland. The defending Tour de Ski and overall World Cup distance champ cruised over the icy, two-lap course in 10:31, four seconds ahead of a pack of six Finns. “The route in Muonio was really fast,” said Kowalczyk on her website. “I am satisfied with the result and how the ball [is] rolling for me.” Norway’s Snorri Einarsson held...
Despite the warm weather, which has already complicated plans for teams and race organizers all across Scandinavia, the season still managed to kick off on Friday with a classic sprint in Muonio, Finland. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) cruised to victory over the women’s field, while Andreas Nygaard (NOR) fought off Russia’s Egor Sorin and Nikolay Bolotov in a close race for first. Ida Sargent (CGRP/USST) had the best American finish of the day, finishing 10th overall...
which FasterSkier did some interesting work on), the outspoken Pole was thoroughly dominated by Norwegian superstar Marit Bjoergen whenever the two raced head to head. The Pole won just three of those face-offs, and lost to Bjoergen all four times they raced against each other at World Championships, leaving little doubt as to who was the superior skier. She probably doesn’t care all that much, but Kowalczyk didn’t make any friends stateside after her little...
I received an email recently asking about field strength for the men’s and women’s WC fields, particularly as it applies to mass start races. Lately we’ve seen the men’s field engage in a fair bit of pack skiing, whereas the women’s field strings out more quickly. First, I want to dispatch with a common bit [...] Related posts:
Hey, the first international ski races of the 2011-2012 season took place recently in New Zealand! They are officially FIS sanctioned races, but my impression is that they have a bit more of a training camp time trial feel to them. The Americans, Canadians, some Russians, and then an assortment of Japanese, Korean, and locals [...] Related posts:
At Polish three time overall World Cup champion Justyna Kowalczyk has never been one to keep her mouth shut. Take, for example, her accusation that Marit Bjoergen’s asthma medicine is performance-enhancing. “Without the medicine Marit would not have won gold medals,” Kowalczyk said at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. If Bjoergen has asthma, then it may very well be true. But Kowalczyk’s implication was that either Bjoergen did not have asthma and was taking the...
Skarverennet in Norway, the unofficial international season finale, draws deep and competitive field of racers from both the biathlon and cross-country World Cup circuit. This year, it’s a pursuit: the men will chase the women for the overall title.