FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Concept2, embrace the idea of pulling a “Klæbo” or deciding to “Klæbo” a course. On Tuesday at the Alpensia cross-country venue in PyeongChang, his name gained even more light in the glimmer of cross-country skiing stardom. He raced to a convincing win in the men’s 1.4-kilometer classic sprint at the 2018 Winter Olympics amidst freshly falling snow and frigid winds. While most racers were bundled in buffs,...
FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Concept2, Women’s international report | Men’s international report | Post-qualifier notes & quotes After winning the sprint qualifier by 0.39 seconds over defending gold medalist Maiken Caspersen Falla and then besting the Norwegian by 0.03 seconds in her semifinal, Sweden’s Stina Nilsson captured Olympic gold in a dominating performance in the classic sprint final, ultimately besting Falla by 3.03 seconds. Falla had to fight to even keep silver, as Olympic Athlete of Russia Yulia Belorukova pushed the pace...
If you read FasterSkier, two aspects of our coverage generates the most reader comments: doping violations and their adjudication, and team-selection criteria. Although here we are, two days away from the PyeongChang Olympics’ Opening Ceremony with At the time, U.S. Ski Team Head Coach told FasterSkier that the small team was by design. “With seven women and seven men, we have our start positions filled,” Grover said in 2014. “Seven and seven was the magic number...
SEEFELD, Austria — A gray sky shadowed over the Tirol ski trails on Sunday. A similarly cool tension built on the course as slightly more than 100 racers warmed up for the mass start of the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle mass start. With five minutes to spare, spectators hurried to stake their spot, some carrying steaming-cheese-fondue-filled baguettes from the Le Gruyère cheese tent: Switzerland’s stamp on the Austrian snow. For those on site, the Le Gruyère...
IBU Open European Championships (Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy): Single mixed & mixed relays Susan Dunklee and Lowell Bailey teamed up for the final day of the 2018 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Open European Championships in Ridnaun, Italy, and raced to a bronze medal in the single mixed relay. The American duo, both of which earned individual medals at last year’s IBU World Championships, finished just 9.1 seconds out of first, which went to Norway’s Thelka Brun-Lie...
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup (Seefeld, Austria): Normal hill/10 k Two of the same men from Jumping | Women’s report Women’s final Men’s qualifier | Friday’s sprint and thus started first), and shot clean to take the lead after the third stage — where Varvynets missed one. Chevalier went on to clean the final stage for perfect 20-for-20 shooting and crossed the line first in 29:25.4. Varvynets finished second, 11.0 seconds back after missing a...
Sunny skies. Craggy Slovenian Alps. Fresh snow and firm classic tracks. The perfect backdrop for the coiffed hair and pink sunglasses. On Saturday in Planica, Slovenia, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo again proved his form is on another level. Sometimes calm with tens of meters to spare, sometimes allowing others to draft momentarily on his ski tails, Klæbo won the World Cup men’s 1.6-kilometer classic sprint in 3:27.35 minutes. In a final that featured three Norwegians,...
(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Canada’s Bob Thompson.) Federico Pellegrino’s winning move in the men’s 6 x 1.2-kilometer freestyle team sprint on Sunday wasn’t exactly the same as yesterday when the Italian attacked on the final climb of the Saturday’s individual sprint, Locke placed 15th for a career best. The two ultimately finished seventh in the first team-sprint semifinal, just one place behind Great Britain’s James Clugnet and Andrew Young....
How do you beat Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo at his competition-crushing game? Take him by surprise with minimal time to recover. Italy’s Federico Pellegrino did just that on the last uphill rise of the 1.2-kilometer sprint course on Saturday in Dresden, Germany. Dresden, a historic city in eastern Germany, debuted its brand-new course along the Elbe River on manmade snow amid damp conditions and temperatures above freezing throughout the day. Pellegrino had done what he...
FIS Cross Country World Cup (Dresden, Germany): Freestyle sprints Men’s report For her second-straight World Cup sprint, Sophie Caldwell of the U.S. Ski Team reached the podium in the women’s 1.2-kilometer freestyle sprint on Saturday in Dresden, Germany. Caldwell placed third in the final behind Sweden’s Hanna Falk, who won it in 2:11.02 minutes, and Maja Dahlqvist, also of Sweden, who placed second (+0.23). Caldwell and Dahlqvist both lunged in a photo finish for second,...
OBERSTDORF, Germany — On Wednesday, a storm big enough to earn a name from meteorological agencies, “Burglind” provided unexpected obstacles to the World Cup cross-country ski field. With some gusts of wind approaching hurricane speeds, the women’s and men’s sprint courses became potentially dangerous — and they are already difficult to ski under regular conditions. Trees fell on a warmup track and a section initially intended for the men’s sprint. Blown-over ad banners and gates...
The Tour de Ski (TdS) theater was treated to a solo-skier drama during the Stage 3 men’s 15-kilometer freestyle pursuit on Monday in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. On New Year’s Day, it was a homegrown skier, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna, who stole the show winning the race in 34:56.6 minutes. Cologna is a three-time Tour de Ski winner, who until Harvey showed he’s a master of gamesmanship and crushing sprint efforts after a distance effort. Sometimes leading, sometimes...
Tour de Ski Stage 3 (Lenzerheide, Switzerland): 10/15 freestyle pursuits Men’s report In the first three stages of the Tour de Ski (TdS), three different American women have reached the podium. Jessie Diggins became the latest in Monday’s New Year’s Day 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Heading into Stage 3, the last one in Switzerland before the Tour moves to Oberstdorf, Germany, Diggins ranked third overall in the TdS. She started the men’s 15...
Tick-tock. An appropriate intro in a place like Switzerland — a nation and culture known for accurate timepieces and punctuality. Depending on how you look at it, for 31-year-old Swiss skier Dario Cologna, one of two things has been on-the-dot: his three year slide in results since winning the 2014/2015 World Cup overall and his battle with both injuries and an ascendant Martin Johnsrud Sundby; Or his rejuvenated Lenzerheide, Switzerland Tour de Ski (TdS) Stage...
Tour de Ski Stage 2 (Lenzerheide, Switzerland): 10/15 classic Men’s report For the second-straight day of the Tour de Ski, an American landed on the podium, with Sadie Bjornsen placing third in the women’s 10-kilometer classic individual start on Sunday in Lenzerheide. For Bjornsen, it was her third individual podium of the season and first in a race longer than 5 k. She finished behind two Norwegians, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, who took the win in...
For Sergey Ustiugov, the Tour de Ski (TdS) is picking up where he left it last year. Last January, the 25-year-old Russiansix stages remaining. “I really wanted to win today to start the Tour strong,” Ustiugov said, according to an International Ski Federation (FIS) press release. Ustiugov’s opening day began with his qualifier, which he won after covering the course in a time of 2:58.46 minutes. Italy’s Federico Pellegrino posted the second-fastest qualifying time, 1.08...
FIS Cross-Country Tour de Ski (Lenzerheide, Switzerland): Stage 1 freestyle sprint Men’s report Sophie Caldwell is back on the podium. It’s been two years since the 27-year-old U.S. Ski Team sprinter won an individual World Cup race and
Last Thursday, U.S. Ski & Snowboard sent out a press release detailing the U.S. contingent for the upcoming Tour de Ski which begins this Saturday, Dec. 30, with a freestyle sprint in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. In non-Olympic and non-World Championships years, the Tour de Ski (TdS) stands as the highlight for many all-around World Cup athletes and fans. This year’s U.S. team for the TdS includes four men and seven women, all current members of the U.S....
NorAm mini tour (Rossland, B.C.): 10/15 k freestyle pursuits Team Gregg ended the Rossland NorAm mini tour with another double win, with American Caitlin Gregg and her husband Brian Gregg winning the 10- and 15-kilometer freestyle pursuits, respectively, at the Black Jack Ski Club trails. Caitlin capped the long weekend with her third-straight win, a 48.28-second victory over former Canadian biathlete Zina Kocher (Foothills Nordic). Caitlin started first and was first across the finish in 29:02.86,...
