1-on-1 with Erik Bjornsen (Exclusive Video)
FasterSkierNovember 13, 2013
Before the start of the 2013/2014 season, 22-year-old Erik Bjornsen recently sat down with Reese Hanneman for a frank discussion about last winter and the one just ahead.
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SuperTour Finals
The season may be over, but there were a few musings left floating around after last week’s 30/50 k National Championship that never made it into our original reports. Presenting the last edition of notes and quotes ‘til November, for the die-hard race junkies.
Watch Erik Bjornsen hold off Kris Freeman on the final climb up Sugar Bowl Resort to win SuperTour Finals on a blustery day on the mountain.
The hill climb that concluded SuperTour Finals on Monday looks even more brutal on video than it did in the photos. Liz Stephen clawed her way back from a 2-minute, 26-second deficit at the start to pass Sadie Bjornsen and then Kikkan Randall and claim both the stage win and the overall title.
Liz Stephen certainly likes her hill climbs. Starting at a 2-minute, 26-second deficit in the pursuit start of the last stage of SuperTour Finals, she obliterated the field on the 6 k course to both win the tour and post the fastest time of the day by nearly two minutes. Kikkan Randall, who started the hill climb in the lead, settled for second after skiing off the course partway through the ascent.
In his first domestic sprint start in two years, Andy Newell delivered the win he hoped for in the classic sprint at SuperTour Finals. Our footage of the heats.
Kikkan Randall expanded her SuperTour Finals lead on Saturday at the Auburn Ski Club, skiing to a commanding win in the stage three classic sprint. Ida Sargent took second and Sadie Bjornsen finished third. Our footage of the heats.
Former college skiers Susan Dunklee, Annelies Cook, and Hannah Dreissigacker decided not to go straight to vacation when their World Cup biathlon season ended. Instead, they're racing SuperTour finals - for most, the first classic races and first sprints of the season. After a collection of top-ten results, it looks like a good decision, but they're also keeping things fun with an intra-team "Biathlon Cup" competition.
Kris Freeman took an early lead and ran with it in the 15 k mass start classic on Saturday at SuperTour Finals, schooling the field by 47 seconds. Our footage from the race.
Kikkan Randall (Alaska Pacific University/U.S. Ski Team) continued to tear around the trails at SuperTour Finals during a sunny 10 k mass start classic, giving herself a nice lead halfway through the race series.
There's something about SuperTour Finals that seems to agree with Kris Freeman. The veteran skier looked more like his usual self on Friday in the 15 k mass start classic — he gapped the field early and won the race by 47 seconds. Erik Bjornsen took second, beating Andy Newell in third by less than two seconds. Freeman now leads the tour by 12.2 seconds with the conclusion of two stages.
The two-time World Cup sprint champion at SuperTour Finals surprised no one in clocking the fastest women's 3.3 k prologue time on Thursday through a wet snow squall. In fact, Kikkan Randall's time held up as the second-fastest of the day once the men's field had finished. Jessie Diggins took second, 8.0 seconds back, and Sadie Bjornsen claimed third in the opening event of the series.
Erik Bjornsen headed into Thursday's wet-and-blustery 3.3 k prologue at SuperTour Finals with a controlled fire, pacing himself for the first half and attacking for his first SuperTour win by 14.5 seconds. The only man, or woman, to beat Kikkan Randall, he did so on a tough and slow course.
At 7,000 feet and with a serious climb smack in the middle, the 3.3 k freestyle prologue will open up SuperTour Finals on Thursday with a bang. The Americans, Canadians, Europeans and biathletes in Truckee will quickly find out what they have left in the tank as the season begins to close.
There was plenty of sun and snow to go around at the backup course SuperTour Finals at Auburn Ski Club on Wednesday. Professional, junior and college athletes from all over the country were out training and testing skis to dial in their game plans before the races series gets underway at 9:00 a.m. Thursday with the 3.3 k freestyle prologue. A few trailside images.
The Nationals Dilemma
Audrey ManganFebruary 12, 2013
Petter Northug, Jr., revealed last week that he lied about an illness in 2011 in order to get out of racing at Norwegian Nationals prior to the Oslo World Championships. The revelation sparked debate across Norway about whether nationals should move to the spring. The discussion should be a familiar one for Americans as the best U.S. athletes increasingly skip the event to focus on international races.
The Auburn Ski Club in Truckee, Calif., is currently working towards being officially named to host the 2013 SuperTour Finals and Distance Nationals. U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) Nordic Manager Joey Caterinichio said in an email on Tuesday that Truckee is the “tentative site” to host and should be closer to confirmation within the week. The event is scheduled for March 28/29 through April 5. “Due to the timeframe of this event, finding a place...
SuperTour Finals: Hill Climb Photos
Alex KochonMarch 30, 2012
click here. Women’s hill climb video footage from the hill with interviews
SuperTour Finals: Classic Sprint Photos
Alex KochonMarch 29, 2012
CRAFTSBURY, Vt. — Photo galleries from the men’s and women’s 1.6 k classic sprints are up on FasterSkier’s start list. For the heats, check out the Women’s qualifier photos | Men’s qualifier photos |
JAY, Vt. – Every uphill has to end at some point. But what if it’s a mountain, and what if you can’t see the top? Nearly 70 women and 90 men probably thought something along those lines as they ascended a 1.8-kilometer freestyle hill climb at the Jay Peak alpine resort on Wednesday. As part of the SuperTour Finals, the event was a pursuit with the mini-tour leader starting first and the rest of the...