In the tightest race of the 2015 Tour de Ski, German Tim Tscharnke outsprinted four other non-Norwegian skiers to claim his best World Cup result of the season. The current Tour standings now leave the potential for a dramatic final Tour stage on Sunday.
Alexey Poltoranin proved that once in a while you just need to muscle your way to first place. He opted to use skate skis and double poled his way to the victory in Wednesday’s 10-kilometer classic race, the fourth stage of the Tour de Ski in Toblach, Italy.
A critical mistake at the end of a quarterfinal heat prevented Canada's Alex Harvey from moving on to the semifinals of the Tour de Ski 1.4 k freestyle sprint in Val Müstair, Switzerland. Meanwhile, Simi Hamilton led the American skiers with an eighth-place finish.
For the second sprint in a row, Italy's Federico Pellegrino came out on top of a stacked World Cup field. Petter Northug of Norway, however, finished second, and retained his overall Tour de Ski lead. “Today, one of my big dreams has come true: to beat Petter (Northug) in the sprint final,” Pellegrino said.
With the pace slowed after 2.5 k, the 15 k classic pursuit in Oberstdorf, Germany, looked more like a mass start. From the huge pack of skiers, Petter Northug threaded his way to a sprint finish win, with Alex Harvey of Canada out-double-poling Sweden's Calle Halfvarsson for second.
Sunday's 15 k classic pursuit proved to be rough for the American men on the Tour de Ski. Erik Bjornsen led the Americans in 60th, while Simi Hamilton, following a successful prologue, finished just behind in 61st. Andy Newell suffered a crash and finished in 88th.
Dario Cologna may have won two Olympic gold medals in Sochi, but it's been a heck of a long time since he won an actual World Cup. By besting the field in Saturday's 4.4 k prologue by 5 seconds, he did just that. Calle Halfvarsson of Sweden bested Norway's Petter Northug for second place.
Anders Gløersen had planned to sit out Saturday’s World Cup 15-kilometer freestyle interval start in Davos, Switzerland in order to rest for Sunday’s sprint. However, as fate would have it, several teammates came down with illness and Gløerson was placed on the start list. It turns out fate was in the Norwegian’s favor, as he earned his first World Cup distance victory in convincing fashion.
Finn Hågen Krogh had what he called a perfect race Sunday in Davos, Switzerland. After placing third in the qualification round of the 1.3 k freestyle sprint, the Norwegian rapidly progressed through his quarterfinal, semifinal, and ultimately the final to earn his first World Cup victory and another Norwegian podium sweep.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby had 99% decided to use skate skis in today's 15 k classic World Cup race in Davos. But then at the last second, he changed his mind. The choice worked, and he earned a 6.6-second win over teammate Didrik Tønseth. Dario Cologna went with skate skis and finished third.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby is back in the Overall World Cup leader's bib after a 2.2-second win over teammate Finn Hågen Krogh on Saturday in the men's 10 k freestyle at the Lillehammer World Cup. For Sunday's pursuit, he'll start 20 seconds behind Krogh, who leads the mini tour after two-straight podiums.
Pål Golberg put every ounce of faith in his boards on Friday in order to overcome Norwegian teammate Finn Hågen Krogh and Russia's Alexey Petukhov and win the Lillehammer World Cup 1.5 k freestyle sprint. Two-time lucky loser, Canada's Alex Harvey found himself in contention in the final before finishing fifth on Day 1 of the mini tour.
In the big leagues this season, Finland's Iivo Niskanen, 22, not only notched his first World Cup podium on Sunday, but he won the men's 15 k classic individual start in front of a packed stadium in Kuusamo. Two Finnish skiers made the top three, and Norway's Martin Sundby took second.
Eirik Brandsdal repeated his Kuusamo feat from last year, winning the classic sprint there for the second-straight year. He led a Norwegian sweep of the men's top four, outlasting Northug in a double-pole showdown to the finish, and 21-year-old Sondre Turvoll Fossli placed third in his first World Cup final.
Sondre Turvoll Fossli, the runner-up of Sunday's 1.5 k classic sprint in Beitostølen, Norway, knew Petter Northug was coming for him sooner or later. Sure enough, Northug on skate skis passed him in the final stretch before the finish for a 0.4-second FIS victory.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby apparently doesn't need to be 100 percent on any given day to beat some of his most competitive teammates. The 30-year-old Norwegian national-team member won Saturday's 15 k skate by nearly 17 seconds despite feeling drained after a long Friday.
Defending overall World Cup champ Martin Johnsrud Sundby took it to his Norwegian teammates on Friday, winning the 15-kilometer classic FIS race in Beitostølen, Norway, by nearly 23 seconds.
Norwegian ski star Petter Northug has been sentenced to 50 days of jail, among other punishments, for driving while intoxicated, crashing his car, and then lying to police about what happened. It's unclear how this will affect his quest for gold at Falun World Championhips in February.
One author's take on the whole Northug fiasco, including the consequences it could hold for the 28-year-old Norwegian skiing star.
This FasterSkier series will examine the growing challenge to the national team model by privately funded ski teams and independent sponsorship agreements. Will national teams be able to support themselves in the future, or will corporate teams take over cross country skiing? This first article in the series will look at Petter Northug’s record deal with Coop and the implications it has for the Norwegian National Team and the sport as a whole.