When news broke last week that 14 Russian cross-country skiers may have doped at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, stakeholders in the sport reacted around the globe. Some, like Canada's then head coach Justin Wadsworth, essentially predicted that two years ago at the Games. Others, like French skier Robin Duvillard, tried not to get too caught up in it, but he might by default.
Alexander Legkov left the training group he started in Davos and hopes to do battle with Northug and Cologna again next season. He muses on cultural differences: “Cologna is also a workaholic. He, too, has only one thing in the head - sport. He won’t look for more. With Northug it’s a little different.”
Petter Northug of Norway, who was a World Champion last season over the same distance, will not start today's 15 k individual race - and neither will Alexander Legkov and Maxim Vylegzhanin of Russia, Johannes Duerr of Austria, or Maurice Manificat of France. Norwegian and Russian coaches chat about the reasoning.
The World Cup season has come to an end, and with it, so have a number of prominent careers. Retirements always spike at the end of an Olympic year, and 2010 is no exception. The list includes Virpi Kuitunen (FIN), Sabina Valbusa (ITA), Laurence Rochat (SUI), Reto Burgermeister (SUI), Rene Sommerfeldt (GER), Sarah Renner (CAN), Milan Sperl (CZE) and Anna Olsson (SWE). Kuitunen is the biggest name among the group. She won consecutive overall World...