Marit Bjørgen (NOR) continued to show excellent early-season form, skiing away from the field in the final of the classic sprint in Kuusamo, Finland. Russians Evgenia Shapovalova and Anastasia Dotsenko rounded out the podium.
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A Norway-U.S. Relay Battle? Norwegian Women Win Again, But Americans Notch First World Cup Podium
Chelsea LittleNovember 25, 2012
While it's no surprise that Norway's women won the World Cup relay today, their margin of victory wasn't the largest it has ever been - for two legs, they were stalked by tenacious U.S. women. Jessie Diggins dug deep to retain a podium spot for the Americans.
Bjørgen Is Back up to Same Tricks, Bests Johaug in 10k Opener; Randall Surprises With First Distance Podium
Chelsea LittleNovember 24, 2012
GÄLLIVARE, Sweden – To here the top three women from today’s 10 k freestyle race tell it, none of them expected to win. Marit Bjørgen of Norway, the hands-down favorite coming into this first weekend of World Cup racing after winning the opening race last year as well as the overall World Cup, said that she would have been happy just to be on the podium. Despite the weight of expectations after trouncing Bjørgen...
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...
Norwegians Run Away with Relay; U.S. Pulls Off Fifth
Alex KochonFebruary 12, 2012
As the sunlight sliced through rows of majestic trees in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic, Sunday around noon, a few of the Norwegians could have afforded to soak up the scenery in the women’s 4×5 k relay. They probably didn’t, though. Marit Bjørgen finally lifted her head to look around as she entered the stadium to seal the Norwegian win. With a nearly 40 second lead, Bjørgen as the Norway I anchor threw up...
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...
Johaug Sneaks in Rybinsk Pursuit Victory as Bjørgen and Kowalczyk Battle for Overall Title
Chelsea LittleFebruary 5, 2012
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...
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...
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 – 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 – Like two great deities of Greek mythology, locked in an epic struggle for supremacy, Marit Bjørgen (NOR) and Kikkan Randall (USA) came together to do battle on the open plains of the Toblach Ski Stadium. The talk of the 2012 Tour de Ski has been the competition between Bjørgen and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), and with the two women combining to win every stage thus far, and just 4.8 seconds separating the pair...