Sunday, for the men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay in Lahti, Finland the scene was decidedly more fitting for winter sport: The race began amidst falling snow despite bare firs and hardwoods lining the course. It’s been a sparse winter in Lahti. Eleven teams contested the relay, with ten nations represented; Russia fielded two teams. The U.S. was not represented. For the first 7.5 k leg, Russia I’s Ilia Semikov and Russia II’s Andrey Sobakarev...
As Emil Iversen took command of the field from the gun during the men’s relay in Beitostølen, Norway, striding smoothly up the first climb in the lead, the question quickly became, can anyone take down Norway? The team of Iversen, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Sjur Røthe, and Finn Hågen Krogh must have liked their odds. Norway has claimed eight of the last nine men’s relay victories on the World Cup, falling only to Russia in Lillehammer’s...
For Germany and Norway, it was a two-way battle for first following the final exchange of the men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay on Saturday at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Antholz, Italy. There, thanks to third-leg Johannes Thingnes Bø, Norway had taken the lead by 17.7 seconds over Germany and built a 38-second gap to Russia in third. Ukraine was another nine seconds back in fourth, skiing just ahead of France and...
Andy Newell got the U.S. men's relay off to a strong start Sunday, tagging off to Noah Hoffman in fourth. Hoffman rose to second, but two crashes on his last lap proved too much to overcome and the Americans finished 10th, a season best that left the team wanting more.
Norway's Sjur Røthe proved Sunday he, too, can beat Sweden's Marcus Hellner -- even if his last-second move was controversial -- as the Norwegians topped the Swedes in the 4 x 7.5 k relay in La Clusaz, France.