Where Sophie Caldwell lacks in international experience she made up for in poise, adaptability and sheer speed on Thursday in the World Championships classic sprint. After “squeaking” into 30th by 0.12 seconds in the qualifier she raced as if she belonged in the heats, placing fourth in the quarters to finish 20th overall.
It was a feel-good day for the top three in the men's 1.5 k classic sprint at World Championships on Thursday, with Russian Nikita Kriukov claiming his first gold and Norway's Petter Northug and Canada's Alex Harvey making the podium in second and third, respectively.
The Queen is back — as new snow fell in Val di Fiemme, Italy, on Thursday, Norwegian superstar Marit Bjørgen won the classic sprint by over two seconds to claim her ninth career World Championships gold medal. Ida Ingemarsdotter took silver and Maiken Caspersen Falla was third; Justyna Kowalczyk left the venue empty-handed after a disastrous fall in the final.
What would a Fairy Tale ending mean at these World Championships for the top teams? Just in case you were wondering...
The Canadian World Cup Team's journey through the season hasn't been as picture-perfect as last year, or even 2011 when Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey won gold in the team sprint. Aiming for the podium in Val di Fiemme, they have two World Championships medals in mind and reason to believe they can achieve at least that.
WIth a more experienced team than they've had before the Americans are approaching the next six races at World Championships more calmly than they have in recent years. On the eve of the classic sprint Kikkan Randall said she wants to perform well on Thursday, "but there’s not really big expectations on it. I’m feeling excited to race and see what’s in the tank."
Val di Fiemme’s no stranger to World Championships. The winter-sports mecca located in the heart of the Dolomites in northeastern Italy has been around the block a time or two, and is about to host its third FIS Nordic World Ski Championships.
The sun was out for the final training day of the 2013 World Championships, creating a perfect setting for the cross-country, nordic combined and ski jumping events that will take place in the valley throughout the next few weeks.
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association named seven women and six men to its 2013 World Championships cross-country team on Saturday, which begin in Val di Fiemme, Italy, on February 20.
If you thought the Americans had to wait a while for the naming of their World Championships team, which is supposed to be announced by the end of this week, try being Canadian. Domestic racers up north won’t find out until at least Monday, Jan. 28, who made the cut for the World Ski Championships from Feb. 20 to March 3.
The 2013 World Championships begin on February 20th in Val di Fiemme, Italy, and if you think this has been an exciting season so far, think again. With the U.S. selection period now closed and team naming expected by the end of the week, we consider criteria, rankings and results.
With four women starting in the top top ten spots in the 10 k classic mass start, Norway seemed to have an opportunity - albeit a slim one - to steal at least some bonus seconds from Justyna Kowalczyk. But it was to no avail as the Polish star cruised to another victory and more or less sealed her Tour title. Kikkan Randall, meanwhile, is in seventh and hoping for a better climb than she's had before.
Note: This preview has been updated to include comments from Billy Demong and Johnny Spillane. The way U.S. Nordic Combined Head Coach Dave Jarrett sees it, why tweak something that works? Last year was a success by many measures with four athletes interchangeably placing in the top 20, some often in the top 10. Olympic gold medalist Billy Demong hit the podium in his comeback season after taking some time off to raise a baby,...
The U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team strives for a lot of things – medals, depth, continued improvement – but flying under the radar isn’t one of them. Anyone who followed the team and one if its racers, Taylor Fletcher, for the past 10 days in Europe could tell you that. The younger of two brothers on the team, Taylor, 22, ran around in a full-body Captain America costume throughout the trip from Oct. 15-25, which...
Aino-Kaisa Saarinen’s got a lot on her plate. Finland’s celebrated cross-country skier is currently on Eagle Glacier with the North American Women’s Training Alliance, a group of about 20 women from the U.S. and Canadian national teams. A multiple world champion with three Olympic medals, Saarinen, 33, has been in Alaska for more than two weeks, staying with U.S. Ski Team member and World Cup sprint champion Kikkan Randall during the first part of camp...
It’s easy to get caught up in busy work. Torin Koos has plenty between taking two summer courses toward his master’s at Westminster College, fitting in workouts and writing features for a ski website he and seven others took over June 1. The three-time Olympian has website-usability tests to prepare for, professional and technical writing work to do. His site, his blog, Koos reflected on two notable races at Norwegian nationals in March. First, he...
When Friday didn’t go according to plan for all of the Americans on the Nordic Combined World Cup, they were happy to have Saturday to shoot for better results. When the team sprint went better on the second day of competition in Val di Fiemme, Italy, with the two U.S. teams cracking the top 10, the four members were even more excited for Sunday. If trial and error told them anything, they figured they’d have...
VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – If anyone wanted a preview of how next season’s World Championships here might unfold for American skier Kikkan Randall, they had to look no further than the women’s lead pack in Stage 8 of the Tour de Ski on Saturday. For half of the race, a 9 k mass start classic competition, Randall skied at the front with big names like Marit Bjoergen (NOR) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL)—and even led...
The Final Stage of the FIS Tour de Ski 2010/11, the infamous Alpe Cermis in Val di Fiemme (ITA) will be very special this time around. Traditionally, the Final Climb features the overall decision in one of the season’s main highlight events in Cross-Country Skiing. This year, a popular race for a limited number of starters will be organized that will follow the same course as the stars including Petter Northug, Charlotte Kalla, Lukas Bauer...
The Organizing Committee of the 2013 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships welcomed the members of the FIS Coordination Group in their new office building in the heart of Cavalese, Val di Fiemme (ITA) on 26th October 2009. Already now, at the 3rd meeting of the Group, the Organizing Committee was able to present a highly developed organization chart where each person has detailed responsibilities. The majority of the members have been involved in the previous...