After the Tour de Ski, cross country skiers took a rest while the sprinters returned to the fore, with perennial favorites Teodor Peterson (sprint) and Maiken Caspersen Falla (team sprint) taking wins in Liberec; new faces also rose to the top, like Mona-Liisa Mahlvaleto of Finland in the women's sprint. In biathlon, Martin Fourcade is back to himself and Tora Berger won the mass start on the same course she took her World Championship title last year. Domestic racing was on pause.
The NorAm World Junior/U23 Trials may be over, but the quotes were still rolling in after the races this week. Here's what didn't make the race reports.
The focus at the NorAm World Junior/U23 Trials hosted by Lappe Nordic shifted to classic sprinting today with a shift in the top of the podiums to match. The pressure was rising for athletes chasing a limited number of spots on the U23 and World Junior races in Liberec, Czech Republic, while older athletes tried to accumulate points toward a trip to the World Championships in Val di Fiemme.