One can expect some tactics during a 4 x 10 k relay in heavy snowfall for world championship glory. To summarize nearly two hours of racing in three sentences there was this: Russia off the front, then in the middle. Norway in the middle, then off the front. Then Klæbo becoming the king of coy as he tempts Bolshunov and pounces for the win. This 4 x 10 k relay provided a wealth of storyline...
The facts are this: with Johaug in the 4 x 5 k relay mix Norway remains a force late in the race when the skate legs ensue. Today in Oberstdorf, Johaug took over the race and made it a relative yawner up-front. The real action was for third place where the U.S. and Finland threw down. Over 20 k of racing came down to the final straight when Krista Pärmäkoski and Jessie Diggins drag raced....
For what it is worth, and it is worth something, the 15 k interval start skate at the 2021 World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany lived up to the hype as the race of truth. Coming in, we would have expected Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov to search, seek, and destroy every centimeter of this salted and then melting course. It was a grind for all. And throughout the laps on a brutal course, the Russian was...
In today’s 10 k story on FasterSkier, here’s how it began: “The high pressure continued at the 2021 World Championships on Tuesday in more ways than one. Oberstdorf, Germany’s temps hovered around 50 degrees Fahrenheit for the start of the women’s 10-kilometer individual freestyle, and a rarefied number of skiers poised to step on the podium. The pressure cooker that is the individual start, with skiers setting off at 30-second intervals was on display...
In this episode, we speak with Zach Caldwell — Putney, Vermont ski whisperer, and wax nerd at Caldwell Sport. We’ve received questions from listeners asking about the difficulty of waxing (for both skate and classic) as well as ski selection when the temperatures spike beyond the melting point for snow. That has been the case in Oberstdorf, Germany the last week, site of the 2021 Nordic Ski World Championships. That said, it’s a “rest day”...
In this Sunday, World Championship team sprint episode of the Devon Kershaw Show, we have a special guest from Québec , the actual Prince of Québec … Alex Harvey. It has been ten short or long years since he and Kershaw won the classic team sprint at the 2011 Oslo World Championships. First off, before listening to the episode today…check out the videos posted below. To set the scene, this win goes down at...
The most special of special guest on the podcast today, Kristin Størmer Steira. Størmer Steira, a retired Norwegian ski star, chats it up with Devon from Lillehammer, where the two are busy raising two young daughters. According to a 2014 FasterSkier article on the couple, evidently, Kershaw’s “great smile”, a legacy of his youth in Sudbury, won Størmer Steira over. In her own right, Størmer Steira was a Norwegian ski star. Back in 2005, Størmer...
The legend is set in stone: Kikkan Randall brought a new intensity and bottom-line results to the U.S. Ski Team. Three overall sprint globes to her name, five Olympics, a bronze at the 2017 Lahti World Champs in the skate sprint, a silver at the 2009 Liberec, Czech Republic World Champs skate sprint, a gold at the 2013 Val di Fiemme, Italy World Champs in the team sprint (with Diggins), and the 2018 Olympic Gold...
In this episode, we chat about the weekend’s racing from World Juniors and U23s. This is part two of our coverage of Worlds for the younger folks. This episode covers the relays and mass start classic races that concluded Sunday in Vuokatti, Finland. On the show is longtime Kershaw friend Noah Hoffman, who it turns out, beyond his cross-country skiing endurance exploits, is an investment partner with Kershaw. We hear about the weekend’s racing,...
Devon jumps into the World Junior/U23 fray. This is part one of our coverage of Worlds for the younger folks. This episode covers the classic sprints and the individual skate races that concluded today in Vuokatti, Finland. The racing began on February 9 with the junior classic sprint. The U23 classic sprints were postponed on Wednesday due to the severe cold in Finland. Those sprints were held Thursday. Friday was a jam-packed race day with...
In this episode, Devon and former Canadian National Team member Jess Cockney discuss the intricacies of Saturday’s skate sprint and Sunday’s team sprint in Ulricehamn, Sweden. The stage has been set, the first few acts are over, yet the curtain has not closed — Jessie Diggins with a third place in Saturday’s sprint brings her closer to securing the World Cup overall as the season enters it’s last month and a half of racing. No...
The second weekend with Norway back on the scene was a reveal. Therese Johaug, arguably the second greatest cross-country skier of all time, was bested by an in form and dialed in Jessie Diggins. Interval starts, for what its worth, most often do not command a television or streaming audience. This show is a must watch. It may just be Diggins’ best career race. So we chat a ton about Diggins. But we also...
We all thought the big news would be the return of Norway. And certainly, that was the news, just not the lead. Norway swept both the men’s and women’s skiathlon podiums on Saturday and won the 4 x 5 k and 4 x 7.5 k relays on Sunday. But…and this is a big but, Alexander Bolshunov made the headlines with his violent behavior as he crossed the finish line in Lahti on Sunday. Down the...
In the big global picture, much has transpired since Jessie Diggins won the Tour de Ski. On the macro side of things, that being on the World Cup, a break has transpired. On Saturday, the cross-country World Cup returns with a skiathlon. The more notable news is the Norwegian national team will spice up the skiing as they return from a self-imposed hiatus from the World Cup since early December. We also answer some...
The question is not where to start. That is with Jessie Diggins and her shining moment over eight stages at the Tour de Ski. Diggins secured the overall win in the Tour de Ski on Sunday, the first non-European skier, male or female to win the Tour. Ivan Babikov, former Candian National Ski Team member and master of the Alpe himself, joins Devon to discuss Diggins, the Russians, the Alpe, and the vagaries of the...
The Tour de Ski’s Stage 7 cliff notes: Diggins remains the overall Tour de Ski leader after being eliminated in today’s semi-finals of the classic sprint. The news day on the micro-level belongs to Sweden with a sweep of the women’s podium and Oskar Svensson, yes a Swede, won on the men’s side. More macro: Diggins wears the yellow bib heading into Sunday’s final stage, the Alpe Cermis hill climb. Bolshunov has literally shut...
As we slowly run out of fumes in this 8-stage epic, we debrief the Stage 6 happenings from the Tour de Ski. First, the Tour de Ski’s Stage 6 cliff notes: Diggins lands 9th on the stage but retains the overall lead, Brennan falls out of overall contention, Bolshunov wins, and Schumacher pops a top-10 for 8th place. To round out the discussion today, we bring in ski and wax whisperer … and coach, Zach...
The Tour de Ski’s Stage 5 cliff notes: A feisty race from both Diggins and Brennan. Diggins places third, Brennan fourth. In the men’s race, Schumacher paces to 15th, and a wall of red as Bolshunov is simply peerless.
A big note upfront, in this episode we review a video when Devon was relegated for obstruction during a World Cup sprint. So, if you have a phone or other device handy, here’s the link to the video. That’s Devon on the outside…coming in hot. Take a look, because we’ll get into this pretty deep in the episode. And …. we’ll chat the racing of the day, Stage 2 of the 2021 Tour de...
Let’s cut to the chase … this will be a long long 10 days of race coverage here at FasterSkier. Those 10 days include eight stages and two rest days. Phew. Today, Friday, January 1, saw Val Müstair, Switzerland host a stout skate sprint. Two laps of curves and whoops and hills at some altitude. Kershaw brings us into the action and susses out the trends. One major trend coming into the day, Rosie...