The first trimester of the IBU World Cup concluded this past weekend in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Team USA’s Deedra Irwin (Pulaski, WI/Army World Class Athlete Program) stepped up and had the best weekend of her career, landing eighth in the sprint on Thursday. The last time U.S. Biathlon had an athlete in the top ten was in 2022 when Irwin skied to seventh place in the individual event at the Olympics in Beijing. Irwin, who shot...
Welcome back to the Devon Kershaw Show. This week we have an under-the-weather Rachel Perkins, filling in for Nat Herz, to breakdown the first two stages of the Tour de Ski in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. From winter storm conditions for the 10/15k classic that contrasted a clear and fast opening freestyle sprint, there was plenty to note in these first two stages. We discuss translating top results in qualification into advancing into the semifinals and finals,...
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Lenzerheide, Switzerland was tucked into a snow globe today, as snow fell steadily in fat flakes throughout the races. The wax technicians had their work cut out for them as...
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. To set the scene for the Tour de Ski, briefly turn to an episode from the event that inspired it. Cue “the Badger,” Bernard Hinault, who at the...
Day two of the Tour de Ski offered the American women the Sisyphean task of earning back time after a miss on ski and wax selection in Stage 1 prevented them from performing to their capability. This was particularly so for Jessie Diggins, a favorite for the overall tour podium who finished the first stage in 29th 1:20 behind Norway’s pace-setting Theresa Johaug. Her teammate Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, also a top all-arounder, was in the...
Stage 1 of the 2019-2020 Tour de Ski is final. With two distinct shows in the Lenzerheide, Switzerland men’s and women’s mass start races, the seven-stage TdS narrative has the intro chapter written. Therese Johaug for Norway looks prepped for the distance race sweep, whereas the men’s side has several skiers playing for keeps. On second thought, maybe it’s not that simple after all. They’ve got six stages to go.
The starting corral was blocked by a wall of red before the start of the 15-kilometer mass start freestyle in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Of the top ten ranked athletes, eight hailed from either Norway or Russia, interrupted only by Iivo Niskanen of Finland and Lucas Chanavat of France. Front and center was last year’s victor Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. He became the youngest Tour de Ski Champion at 22 years of age after holding off Russia’s Sergey...
The Tour de Ski (TdS) is well into its teenage years. This year’s edition, the 14th, features three locales and the following races with a few minor new twists to excite this seasonal highlight of cross-country World Cup racing. Lenzerheide, Switzerland (stages 1-2) Dec. 28, 29 Stage 1: 10/15 k freestyle mass start. A mass start initiates the TdS this year, that’s new. It replaces the timeworn prologue. Stage 2: Skate sprint Toblach, Italy (Stages...
The Tour de Ski (TdS) theater was treated to a solo-skier drama during the Stage 3 men’s 15-kilometer freestyle pursuit on Monday in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. On New Year’s Day, it was a homegrown skier, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna, who stole the show winning the race in 34:56.6 minutes. Cologna is a three-time Tour de Ski winner, who until Harvey showed he’s a master of gamesmanship and crushing sprint efforts after a distance effort. Sometimes leading, sometimes...
Tour de Ski Stage 3 (Lenzerheide, Switzerland): 10/15 freestyle pursuits Men’s report In the first three stages of the Tour de Ski (TdS), three different American women have reached the podium. Jessie Diggins became the latest in Monday’s New Year’s Day 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Heading into Stage 3, the last one in Switzerland before the Tour moves to Oberstdorf, Germany, Diggins ranked third overall in the TdS. She started the men’s 15...
Tour de Ski Stage 2 (Lenzerheide, Switzerland): 10/15 classic Men’s report For the second-straight day of the Tour de Ski, an American landed on the podium, with Sadie Bjornsen placing third in the women’s 10-kilometer classic individual start on Sunday in Lenzerheide. For Bjornsen, it was her third individual podium of the season and first in a race longer than 5 k. She finished behind two Norwegians, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, who took the win in...
FIS Cross-Country Tour de Ski (Lenzerheide, Switzerland): Stage 1 freestyle sprint Men’s report Sophie Caldwell is back on the podium. It’s been two years since the 27-year-old U.S. Ski Team sprinter won an individual World Cup race and
FIS and FS reporting) Stage 1 start lists: Men Austria Women Teresa Stadlober Anna Seebacher Lisa Unterweger Men Dominik Baldauf Max Hauke Bernhard Tritscher Finland Women Mari Laukkanen Laura Mononen Kerttu Niskanen Krista Pärmäkoski Aino-Kaisa Saarinen Anne Kyllönen Men Iivo Niskanen Ristomatti Hakola Martti Jylhä Kusti Kittilä Ari Luusua Antti Ojansivu Canada Men Alex Harvey Devon Kershaw France Men Maurice Manificat Jean-Marc Gaillard Adrien Backscheider Clément Parisse Lucas Chanavat Baptiste Gros Alexis...
With the longest races of the Tour de Ski out of the way, sprinters Andy Newell, Simi Hamilton, Sophie Caldwell, and Ida Sargent are looking forward to the classic sprint on Tuesday. They may continue the Tour a stage or two, seeking to score World Cup points in a distance event.
Didrik Tønseth admits that a plan that seemed smart in the morning didn't seem so smart after the race was over - and after Norwegian teammate Petter Northug left him for dead on the trails. With just one more sprint to get out of the way, the distance specialist still hopes for a top Tour de Ski finish.
Americans Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen skied another pair of consistent races, keeping themselves in the top 10 overall in the Tour de Ski. Liz Stephen moved up to 22nd place, while Sophie Caldwell called her effort "maybe my best-ever distance race" in 27th.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby maintained his Tour de Ski lead, winning Sunday's 10 k freestyle pursuit by 1:25.2 over Norwegian teammate Petter Northug, who pulled a controversial move on another teammate, Didrik Tønseth, in the final lap of the Stage 3 race. Finn Hågen Krogh moved into third, avenging a self-inflicted crash on Saturday.
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway picked up her first World Cup distance victory by doing the unthinkable: dropping seemingly unbeatable teammate Therese Johaug on an uphill. "It was a great victory for me, in many ways," said Østberg, who now leads the Tour de Ski by 14.3 seconds.
If there's one word that sums up the recent performances of several members of the U.S. women's team, it's consistency. In Stage 2 of the Tour de Ski, the women’s 15 k classic mass start, Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen proved particularly consistent in their pacing, consistent in their technique, and consistent in their results.
With both Noah Hoffman (in 23rd) and Erik Bjornsen (in 30th) notching their best World Cup results of the season, the American men's team was happy at the finish line -- and now only needs one more man to score a World Cup distance point to increase its start quota next season.