Three American men finished within 16.5 seconds of one another in the top 20 of Thursday's sprint at the IBU World Cup in Presque Isle, Maine, setting themselves up well for Friday's pursuit. The youngest man in the field, Sean Doherty, 20 led them with a career-best 13th.
Considering anything better than sixth would have been a first-ever for either the U.S. or Canada in Sunday's IBU World Cup mixed relay, that put Lowell Bailey in a bit of a position heading into the final loop. He ended up catching Canada's anchor, Brendan Green for fourth and came within 1.7 seconds of third.
Despite four penalties, Italy’s Dominik Windisch overcame difficult conditions on the course and shooting range for his first IBU World Cup victory and podium on Saturday. Meanwhile, Tim Burke skied around a sick competitor on the last loop and rose above three penalties for a season-best seventh.
Martin Fourcade and the rest of the top three agree, something about racing in Canmore is hard. "None of us felt they were skiing really fast," Germany's third-place finisher Simon Schempp said. He finished more than 18 seconds behind Fourcade and 3 seconds out of second, which went to Russia's Anton Shipulin.
In "danger" of not qualifying for 2016 World Championships, Germany’s Erik Lesser stuck it to those who questioned his chances, winning Saturday's mass start at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding in front of a local crowd. "I don’t want to hear about that again after giving you what you wanted," he told reporters.
The U.S. men had their best relay result in three years - despite, they say, not having their 100% best days ever. "I feel like this is absolutely where we belong, but we are capable of more than this," said Tim Burke. "I feel like there’s more to come for this group."
Martin Fourcade won big in Ruhpolding, in a snowstorm and despite one penalty. Lowell Bailey, meanwhile, got some redemption after missing two shots in the last stage of Sunday's mass start: in the 20 k individual, he nailed all five targets in his final stage and raced to 14th place.
Martin Fourcade didn't feel very good this weekend -- he made that well known -- yet the Frenchman pushed on for his 41st World Cup victory in Sunday's 15 k mass start at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. American Lowell Bailey finished 16th and Canadian Nathan Smith took 25th in the selective race.
Canada's Nathan Smith overcame what he considered the worst conditions he's seen so far this season and posted the 13th-fastest course time and 19-of-20 shooting to place sixth in Saturday's IBU World Cup pursuit in Ruhpolding, Germany.
On Sunday, French biathlete Jean-Guillaume Béatrix knew he was the luckiest man in Pokljuka, achieving the first World Cup victory of his career in a men’s 15-kilometer mass start he hadn’t planned on racing.
Germany's Simon Schempp won the second race of the week at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia, with a 16-second pursuit victory over France's Martin Fourcade, while American Tim Burke raced up to ninth (after starting 14th) for his first top 10 of the season.
Germany's Simon Schempp won his second-straight sprint at the third stop of the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. Meanwhile, Lowell Bailey was one of nine men in the top 15 to clean, and his U.S. teammate Tim Burke finished just ahead of him in 14th.
The Canadian men posted their second-best result in a World Cup relay in sixth on Sunday in Hochfilzen, Austria. They did so thanks to near-perfect shooting from the Gow brothers and fast ski times from all four team members.
Martin Fourcade was behind some race drama on Saturday in the IBU World Cup men's pursuit, which the man who finished second behind him -- Simon Schempp -- called a "psycho race." American Lowell Bailey was in the hunt for a top 10 and placed 13th with a single penalty.
Those who lost the wind lottery last weekend in Sweden came to Hochfilzen, Austria, looking for redemption - and clean shooting. Some succeeded: Simon Schempp of Germany, who won on the day; Lowell Bailey of the United States, in 12th; and Scott Gow of Canada, in 33rd.
20-year-old Sean Doherty surprised himself by breaking into the World Cup points in a race he doesn't consider a favored format - yet there he was, attacking his way to 17th place. Lowell Bailey was close behind in 24th and Nathan Smith led Canada in 27th.
Regardless of when winter officially starts, it's here as far as the ski world is concerned, and there's a lot to be excited about in North American racing. Canadian biathletes Rosanna Crawford and Nathan Smith jumped out to a relay podium in the first IBU World Cup race, and Canadian cross-country skier Alex Harvey took second in the men's 10 k skate in Kuusamo, Finland, for his first early season podium.
“Today was definitely a solid team performance,” Tim Burke said after the season-opening race in Norway. “Our entire men's team is at a very high level and we are all very excited to see what we can do in the relay.”
The second set of trials for US Biathlon's World Cup team takes place this weekend in Jericho, Vt., with sprints both Saturday and Sunday. Three women are in the mix for two openings for IBU World Cups 1, 2 and 3, and several men are competing for one remaining men's spot.
An Olympian and longtime racer at the top of the American pack in skiing and biathlon, Charlie Kellogg will be missed for much more than that: he was a friend on trail, a partner in adventure, and a mentor and leader for local and national nordic sports organizations.