Oh Liberec, oh Liberec, before we say so long … here’s what didn’t quite fit into last weekend’s recaps of the World Cup classic sprints and team sprints in the Czech Republic. Disclaimer: It’s Canadian- and female-heavy.
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Two 22-year-old Norwegians, Maiken Caspersen Falla and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, topped Sunday's World Cup team sprint podium, beating Sweden's Ida Ingemarsdotter and Stina Nilsson by half a second in the 6 x 0.85 k skate sprint. The U.S. women with Sadie Bjornsen and Ida Sargent ended up seventh after hanging in third.
Andy Newell was sixth in Liberec, Czech Republic, on Saturday for his third appearance in a sprint final this season. He was the only American to advance past the qualifier, but as this is the first World Cup since before the Tour for many, his teammates look forward to moving up from here on out.
And just like that, it's all over. U.S. Nationals drew to a close on Tuesday at Soldier Hollow with the completion of the freestyle sprint. As usual, there were a lot of leftover bits and pieces from the post-race interviews.
All six of the female finalists in the U.S. nationals skate sprint had a pretty good sense how the last race around Soldier Hollow would play out. Caitlin Gregg threw them for a loop, but Sadie Bjornsen responded, edging Sophie Caldwell and Jennie Bender for the win.
The 2013 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championship continued on the trails of Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah with the senior women's 20 k classic mass start. The lead pack was established early with just six women in contention for the national title throughout the majority of the race. On the course's final major climb, Hermode's Hill, it was Sadie Bjornsen (USST/APU) who attacked, opening up a sizable gap by the time she entered the stadium. Check out our footage of the action.
Bjornsen Gets What She Came For, Wins National Title in 20 k Classic Mass Start
Alex KochonJanuary 6, 2013
A two-time runner-up at this year's nationals, Sadie Bjornsen proved to herself that she can achieve gold, winning her second national title in three years in her first-ever 20 k. Bjornsen skied away from the pack late, beating teammate Kate Fitzgerald by nearly 13 seconds.
Rosie Brennan of APU notched her first national title at home just outside Park City on Friday, winning the 10 k freestyle individual start by nearly 11 seconds over teammate Sadie Bjornsen. Kate Fitzgerald took third to complete the APU podium sweep.
It was a frigid morning on the trails of Soldier Hollow for the women's 10km freestyle race at the 2013 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships. After two grueling laps around a challenging course on slow snow it was the APU squad that gathered on all steps of the podium. Here is a look at some of the action.
The women's classic sprint at Soldier Hollow was a nail-biter of a race, decided in the final meters of the A-final when Jennie Bender eked ahead of Sadie Bjornsen to take her first U.S. Nationals title. Click through our photos to relive the excitement.
Still craving more details from Wednesday's classic sprint at U.S. nationals in Soldier Hollow? We've got the extras right here.
Sargent Bounces Back with top Skate Sprint Result, Bjornsen, Caldwell Continue to Roll
FasterSkierDecember 16, 2012
Ida Sargent earned her second top-10 result of the 2013 season, setting a personal best in a World Cup skate sprint. She was joined in the heats by teammates Sadie Bjornsen and Sophie Caldwell, both of whom had strong days.
Kikkan Randall turned in her best World Cup classic distance result, placing sixth in the 10 k mass start in Canmore. Teammates Sadie Bjornsen and Holly Brooks joined her in the top 30 while Liz Stephen and Jessie Diggins were late scratches.
For someone who’s never raced a World Cup individual skate sprint before, Sophie Caldwell of the Stratton Mountain School T2 Team didn’t show it. The 22-year-old placed 14th on Saturday, leading the rest of the U.S. women behind winner Kikkan Randall.
The lead nearly got away from her, but Sadie Bjornsen (APU/USST) was able to claw her way back from third to win the 10 k classic SuperTour in Bozeman by 17 seconds on Sunday. Chelsea Holmes (SVSEF) was second and Rosie Brennan (APU) took third.
With five women in the top six, Alaska Pacific University pretty much cleaned up in the classic sprint in Bozeman, Mont. Sadie Bjornsen won a close finish with teammate Lauren Fritz; Corey Stock (Dartmouth) took third.
Let it be known, there’s a new queen on the SuperTour. On a sunny morning at Bohart Ranch, Sophie Caldwell (SMS T2) handily won the freestyle sprint, putting herself on top of the sprint rankings halfway through the Quebec World Cup qualifying period. Sadie Bjornsen skated to second place and Caitlin Gregg took third.
WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. – The distance course on the South Plateau wasn’t too bad if you didn’t think about it too much. The 9-kilometer freestyle race – the first of the 2012/2013 U.S. SuperTour series – netted a slight elevation gain of about 300 feet from start to finish. A course profile indicated that the terrain was rolling. No problem. Try racing it. The individual start began around 7,260 feet above sea level, which is...
Ready or not, the 2013 SuperTour season is fast approaching. Here’s what you need to know about the domestic race scene this year. At this point, we’ve pretty much said everything we can about the twelve senior ski programs in the U.S. We ran a series throughout the summer highlighting each team’s past accomplishments and goals for the future. Read back through ‘em for comprehensive rosters and standalone previews (scroll down for links). Now that...
American World Cup Preview: Gathering Momentum
Audrey ManganNovember 15, 2012
Welcome to the latest installment of FasterSkier’s season previews! Here we break down what to expect from the US Ski Team’s cross-country athletes on the international stage in 2012-2013. With the pre-World Cup races in Muonio, Finland, just around the corner, now is a good time to take stock of what happened last season. When it was time to write this preview a year ago, the Americans were coming off of a very different winter....