laurien van der graaf – FasterSkier

With Winter Arriving in Planica, Sweden Asserts their Dominance with Team Sprint Win

Jason AlbertDecember 22, 2019

With the tight racing and jostling for position the team sprint presents, another factor was in the mix during Sunday’s Planica, Slovenia women’s 7.2-kilometer freestyle team sprint: big, fat, and plentiful snowflakes. Saturdays’ rainy, and lightning ridden sprint racing on an artificial snow loop, had a 180-degree backdrop flip-flop with a white winter arriving in Planica in time for the holidays and a World Cup TV broadcast. A several inch veneer of fresh snow covered...

General News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Caldwell Third in Dresden City Sprint; Falk Gets First Win Since 2010

Chelsea LittleJanuary 13, 2018

In Sophie Caldwell’s quarterfinal heat of the World Cup skate sprint in Dresden, Germany, she led from start nearly to finish. In the final 200 meters she was passed by Sweden’s Hanna Falk, but won a photo finish for second place and advanced to the semifinals. In that quarterfinal heat, the U.S. Ski Team member had finished just 0.24 seconds behind Sweden’s Falk. As the racing got even tighter in the semifinals and final, it...

General News Olympics Racing World Cup

World Cup Windup: Switzerland

FasterSkierNovember 20, 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. SWITZERLAND Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: Sixth Women’s Ranking 2016/2017: Seventh Men’s Ranking 2016/2017: Seventh Who’s Back: Olympic gold medalist Dario Cologna, who finished seventh in last year’s World Cup standings and third in the Tour de Ski;...

Continental Cup Doping General News Racing World Cup

More Early Racing as Cologna, Kylloenen, and Van Der Graaf Get Wins

Chelsea LittleNovember 12, 2017

The World Cup season draws ever-closer as season-opening races continued this weekend in Sweden, Finland, and Switzerland. In Muonio, Finland, a long weekend of racing wrapped up with 10 and 15 k skate races. Finland’s Anne Kylloenen took the win in the women’s 10 k, besting Emilie Kristoffersen of Norway by 8.2 seconds. Kylloenen’s national-team teammates Laura Mononen and Aino-Kaisa Saarinen took third (+14.0) and fourth (+17.1), respectively. Merete Myrseth, a Norwegian skier who competed...

News Racing World Cup

Öberg Takes First World Cup Win, Diggins Claims Fifth in Rybinsk Sprint

Lander KarathJanuary 24, 2015

It was a day of firsts for Jennie Öberg of Sweden who had her first World Cup sprint final, podium, and win in Rybinsk, Russia. Jessie Diggins skied to her best result of the season, taking fifth. The USST women placed and addition three skiers in the top 13.

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An American at Bysprinten

Audrey ManganMay 1, 2012

The sixth annual Bysprinten took place over the weekend in the small town of Mosjøen, Norway. The town is home to less than 10,000 residents, yet the event manages to attract some of the biggest names in cross-country skiing every year from both Norway and elsewhere in Europe. This year, Petter Northug (NOR), Laurien Van der Graaff (SUI), Øystein Pettersen (NOR), Heidi Weng (NOR) and Ola Vigen Hattestad (NOR) were among the biggest draws of...

General News Other Racing

Brandsdal, Van der Graaf Speed to Victory at Bysprinten

Audrey ManganApril 29, 2012

No snow-speed records were broken at the sixth edition of Bysprinten, but the annual two-day ski festival on the streets of Mosjøen, Norway provided plenty of excitement for the 3,000 spectators who came out to see their favorite national team members ski as fast as possible. On Saturday, Eirik Brandsdal (NOR) prevailed in the men’s final sprint, and Laurien Van der Graaf (SUI) topped the women’s field. “I am very fond of Bysprinten. I often do...

Racing World Cup

Randall Wins Skate Sprint In Davos, Ending Bjoergen’s Streak

Kieran JonesDecember 11, 20117

Davos, Switzerland — Marit who? At least that’s how it appeared in the World Cup in Davos, Switzerland, on Sunday, during the 1.5 k freestyle sprint, as it was American Kikkan Randall who destroyed the field rather than the usual Marit Bjoergen devastation. The Alaskan native blasted her way to her second consecutive World Cup sprint victory of the year, skiing away from the other five women in the final, leaving Russian Natalia Matveeva to grab...

General News Racing Results World Cup

Kikkan Randall “On Fire” in Dusseldorf City Sprint

Kieran JonesDecember 3, 20111

DUSSELDORF, Germany — Kikkan Randall is a World Cup Overall threat. At least, that was the way it felt in the city of Dusseldorf Saturday afternoon, when Randall hammered around the 900-meter manmade loop on her way to her first World Cup victory of the season. In the freestyle sprint, Randall out-gunned Natalia Matveeva (RUS) in the rush for the line, while Laurien Van Der Graaf (SUI) picked up the bronze medal in her first-ever...