At the far end of a fjord in southwest Norway, a handful of the world’s best cross country skiers gathered on Thursday to race each other up 7.5 k of winding road on rollerskis. Hundreds of spectators lined the last few meters of the Lysebotn Opp with to cheer on their favorite athletes in the first race of the 2012 Blink Festival. In the women’s race the Norwegian fans were not disappointed. Therese Johaug (NOR)...
Just when you thought the ski season was over, Norway hosted one of the world’s biggest ski marathons, the 38 k Skarverennet, on Saturday morning. About 12,220 skiers competed in the race that runs from Finse to Ustaoset, high in the mountains. Therese Johaug won in 1:41:33, defeating Norwegian teammate Marit Bjoergen by 19.8 seconds. Martine Ek Hagen took third, one-tenth behind Bjoergen. Johaug took it out hard up a long incline out of Finse, and Bjoergen...
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of Complete Results Matt Voisin contributed reporting.
All 2012 FIS World Cup Finals coverage is brought to you through the generous support of Complete Results Matt Voisin contributed reporting.
Norway’s Therese Johaug notched her fourth individual World Cup win of the season on Saturday in Lahti, Finland, skiing to a comfortable 10.8-second win in the 15 k skiathlon. She won a the 10 k pursuit race there last year. Johaug led a top-four Norwegian sweep; Marit Bjørgen led the chase pack to finish second, Heidi Weng notched her first career individual World Cup podium in third and Kristin Stoermer Steira was, once again, fourth. Just...
In what couldn’t have been a better-scripted home-coming, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) blew the World Cup women’s field off the tracks with an uncontested win in the 10km classic in Szklarska Poreba, Poland. Kowalczyk has singlehandedly put cross-country skiing on the map in Poland, establishing herself as one of the all-time greats with three consecutive World Cup titles and the same number of Tour de Ski wins. She is known for her massive training volume and...
As the sunlight sliced through rows of majestic trees in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic, Sunday around noon, a few of the Norwegians could have afforded to soak up the scenery in the women’s 4×5 k relay. They probably didn’t, though. Marit Bjørgen finally lifted her head to look around as she entered the stadium to seal the Norwegian win. With a nearly 40 second lead, Bjørgen as the Norway I anchor threw up...
The Marit Bjørgen (NOR), Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), and Therese Johaug (NOR) show continued in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, as the three packed the podium once again, this time in the 15km classic mass start. The recipe is simple, and easily repeatable. Take the three women listed above, mix together well in any type of distance race format, add in a hearty shake of snow, and bake for 15 to 45 minutes. The result will be...
At the start of Sunday 15 k skiathlon in Rybinsk, Russia, all eyes were on two women: Marit Bjørgen, the Norwegian who had dominated the 10 k mass start on Saturday and taken over the lead in the World Cup rankings, and Justyna Kowalczyk, the Pole who had won the Tour de Ski and held the World Cup lead until Bjørgen took it over. “It has turned out to be a lot of Marit and...
During the early part of the season, Marit Bjørgen (NOR) skied with a simple strategy—go fast from the start, gap the field, and win by a ridiculously large margin. But with some setbacks due to illness and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) rounding into form, a different approach became necessary. Bjørgen skied a more tactical race in Rybisnk, Russia, letting others drive the pace on a frigid day and attrition slowly whittle down the field. By the...
For the past few years, the World Cup in Rybinsk, Russia has been the weekend frequently skipped over by national teams and various individuals. With the overall World Cup title a focal point this season and no major championship to save up for, however, the expected fields are nearly double what they’ve recently been, in spite of the handful of athletes who have decided not to race in the extreme cold. The forecast initially looked...
Two weeks after claiming her third Tour de Ski title, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) shows no signs of slowing down. A day after winning the classic sprint, Kowalczyk, racing in her preferred classic technique, took a page out of Axel Teichmann’s book, mirroring the notoriously slow starter’s strategy and dominating the second half of the 10km individual start in Otepaa, Estonia. Marit Bjørgen (NOR) was runner up for the second time this weekend, with teammate Therese...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – If an instant can last a lifetime, Marit Bjørgen (NOR) had more than enough time to watch the 2012 Tour de Ski slip away. Locked in a battle with rival Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) for eight races, Bjørgen matched the Pole stride for stride on the lower part of the final climb up the Alpe Cermis. An then, in that interminable moment, Kowalczyk was gone. The two-time defending Tour champion accelerated,...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – The bell lap of the 2012 Tour de Ski kicks off on Sunday with the famed climb up the Alpe Cermis, and after a decisive victory over Marit Bjørgen (NOR), Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) will start with an eleven second lead. Kowalczyk demonstrated that she may have been down for a few days, as Bjørgen won four consecutive stages, but she was certainly not out. Back in her preferred classic technique...
TOBLACH, Italy – Cross-country skiing has plenty of unlikely alliances, from Norwegians running the Swiss national team to an American heading up the Canadian coaching staff. But few alliances were more curious than the one forged on Thursday between Marit Bjoergen (NOR) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL). In Thursday’s Stage 7 of the Tour de Ski, Bjoergen outsprinted Kowalczyk on the homestretch here to win by two seconds, taking her fourth straight victory and her third...
TOBLACH, Italy – With consecutive Tour de Ski stage victories, Marit Bjoergen (NOR) is pounding on Justyna Kowalczyk’s (POL)_door, looking to serve an eviction notice for the top of the Tour podium. Kowalczyk still holds the overall lead in her quest for a third Tour de Ski title, but with a win today in the 3-kilometer classic prologue, Bjoergen not only crept closer, but also showed a form that has been missing since illness took...
OBERSTDORF, Germany – Over the past two years, Norway’s Marit Bjørgen has gotten used to her spot at the top of women’s cross-country skiing. Collecting win after win, and paycheck after paycheck—and backed by her deep-pocketed Norwegian national team—Bjørgen has become skiing’s version of the one percent, firmly ensconced at the top of her sport and showing little interest in spreading the wealth. Since December 29th, however—the first stage of the 2012 Tour de Ski—Bjørgen...
After struggling to match her form from last winter, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) was finally back on top of the World Cup podium on Saturday in Rogla, Slovenia for the 10 k mass-start classic distance. Throughout the beginning of the five-lap race, Kowalczyk traded the lead on and off with Therese Johaug (NOR), who ended up fading to second at 22.1 seconds back. Her teammate Vibeke Skofterud (NOR) made a late-race challenge for silver, but ended...
Davos, Switzerland – There is no doubt that the Norwegian women’s ski team is currently the best in the world. On Saturday morning, during the 15 k individual start freestyle in Davos, Switerland, they absolutely dominated the leader board, putting six women in the top ten, and taking the first four places. Surprising no one, Marit Bjoergen (NOR) crossed the line with the fastest time, leaving Vibeke Skofterud the silver medal, 41.8 seconds back. Therese...
After packing seven women into the top 10 on Saturday, it was undisputed that Norway was the team to beat in Sunday’s 4×5 k women’s relay. And the Norwegians showed no signs up letting up, starting four teams that all contained talented skiers. However, it was obvious that only one was a clear standout – Norway I. Featuring the same quartet — Vibeke Skofterud, Therese Johaug, Kristin Stoermer Steira, and Marit Bjoergen — as they...