Emil Iversen of Norway pulled out a victory in Stage 2 of the Ski Tour Canada, ahead of teammate Petter Northug and Sergey Ustiugov of Russia in the men's 17.5 k classic mass start on Wednesday in Montreal, Quebec. Here are a sample of photos recollecting the action.
On a 1.7-kilometer technical course with hustling and jostling, U.S. sprinter Simi Hamilton proved he had the tactics and the lungs to ski with the world's best on Tuesday. He placed third in the Ski Tour Canada's opening skate sprint, 0.09 seconds behind Russia's Sergey Ustiugov in first and 0.01 behind France's Richard Jouve in second.
In the men's 15 k freestyle mass start at the World Cup in Falun, Sweden, Russian Sergey Ustiugov bested Italy's Francesco de Fabiani and Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby for his first distance win. "It is obvious that in the end of the season Russian team is getting better and better," Ustiugov said.
There were no Norwegians on the podium Saturday in Falun, Sweden. Russia secured the top two with Maxim Vylegzhanin in first and Alexander Bessmertnykh in second, and France’s Maurice Manificat finished third. American Erik Bjornsen to a second-best 21st, a minute out of first.
Maurice Manificat has been waiting for this win all season despite being on the podium twice in the last two months. On Saturday, he beat Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby for his first World Cup victory since 2013. For Sundby, it was a small speed bump on his way to seize control of the 2015/2016 World Cup overall.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby won his third-consecutive Tour de Ski by a record-breaking 3 minutes and 15 seconds and another Norwegian, Finn Hågen Krogh, bested a tight chase pack for second overall. Russian Sergey Ustiugov captured third, and Alex Harvey led the North Americans in 14th at the end of the eight-stage Tour.
Finn Hågen Krogh knows a lot about ups and downs, and has formed somewhat of a pattern at this year's Tour de Ski. However, the Norwegian had one of his career-best races on Friday, winning the 10 k freestyle by 3.6 seconds ahead of teammate and overall Tour leader Martin Johnsrud Sundby. Noah Hoffman placed 19th to lead the U.S., and Canadian Alex Harvey finished 37th and is now 15th in the Tour.
Emil Iversen lived up to his breakfast-table proclamation on Tuesday and won his first World Cup race, ahead of Russia's Sergey Ustiugov and Kazakhstan's Alexey Poltoranin in the men's classic sprint, Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski.
Martin Johnsrud Sundby maintained his Tour de Ski lead, winning Sunday's 10 k freestyle pursuit by 1:25.2 over Norwegian teammate Petter Northug, who pulled a controversial move on another teammate, Didrik Tønseth, in the final lap of the Stage 3 race. Finn Hågen Krogh moved into third, avenging a self-inflicted crash on Saturday.
It’s a new year, yet some things remain the same. Jan. 1 marked the opening stage of the 2016 Tour de Ski, a 1.5-kilometer freestyle sprint in in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. It also marked the third World Cup sprint victory in a row for Italy’s Federico Pellegrino.
After qualifying in 10th and 21st, Simi Hamilton and Andy Newell saw their sprint days end in the quarterfinals, where they placed sixth and fifth for the U.S., respectively. Hamilton busted a pole, and Canada missed out on the heats with Len Valjas coming closest to qualifying in 31st.
Two Canadians landed in the top four in Sunday's 15 k freestyle FIS race in Gällivare, Sweden, with Alex Harvey reaching the podium in second and Devon Kershaw missing it by 23 seconds in fourth. Noah Hoffman finished sixth for the U.S., Canada's Ivan Babikov was eighth, and Erik Bjornsen (USA) notched his second-straight top 10.
With Canadians and Russians to contend with, American Andy Newell placed second overall in Saturday's FIS classic sprint in Gällivare, Sweden. “I think what you’ll see more from me more this year is I’ll be the one making attacks and not responding to other peoples’ [attacks],” Newell explained.
Italy’s Federico Pellegrino skied himself into the history books after his victory in Saturdays sprint race in Rybinsk, Russia, denying Russians a victory at home for the second day in a row.
Dario Cologna was victorious in Friday's 15 k freestyle in Rybinsk, Russia and in the process thwarted four Russians who were gunning for a home-country podium sweep.
Russia's Alexey Pethukov and Sergey Ustiugov emerged as a team-sprint force to be reckoned with in the first team sprint of the season and last one before World Championships, and Canada's Jess Cockney and Lenny Valjas teamed up for eighth.
If he hadn’t been a Northug, one might have wondered what that 24-year-old Norwegian was doing in the men's 1.5 k classic-sprint final on Saturday.
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.
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.
Sunday was for the distance racers in Gällivare, Sweden, with five Canadians -- four men and one woman -- getting a chance to test their form in the 10/15 k classic races. Alex Harvey notched his second-podium performance in third, Emily Nishikawa was fourth, Devon Kershaw fifth, Ivan Babikov sixth, and Graeme Killick eighth.