November 19, 2011 (Sjusjøen, Norway) – The 2011/12 Viessmann FIS XC World Cup Series got underway today in Norway despite some curve balls from Mother Nature and the North Americans were out in force with some skiers scoring personal bests as they made their mark.

Canada’s Alex Harvey served notice he’s in shape and ready to challenge for the podium placing 5th in the men’s 15km freestyle while  the USA’s Kikkan Randall nailed her best distance race to date finishing 8th in the women’s 10km. Liz Stephen from Montpelier, VT, was also on form matching her career best ending up 18th even enjoying a short stint in the “hot” seat.

Norwegian star Marit Bjoergen kept the pressure on with a convincing win while Johan Olsson (SWE) was untouchable in the men’s competition with a 30-second margin over Petter Northug (NOR).  Here’s a selection of great photos and quotes for an inside look at today’s races…

Alex Harvey – Team Canada
I’m super happy with today and even a little surprised. A 15-kilometre individual start is a black horse for me. I really had a goal of getting into the top-10 today, but my skis were awesome so I’m very happy.

Normally in a long skate my legs get cramping at about 10 kilometres. We worked very hard in our camps in Maui and Park City doing lots of climbing because these races are very important – especially the final race on the Tour de Ski. Today shows me that hard work is paying off.

I am now really confident and looking forward to getting to Kuusamo next weekend after today. One of the first goals of the season was to podium at the mini-tour there, and I believe I can do that.

Kikkan Randall – US XC Ski Team
Pretty fun way to start the season and get my first race under the belt!  Especially after almost 8 months away from the circuit! The plan going into today was to just put a bib on and race, and not think too much about it. Both Erik (my coach) and I looked at this first race as a chance to get the engine going and test out a faster pace from the start. All I wanted to do was start hard and try to maintain it.

I did end up starting my first lap pretty aggressively.  The course was deceptively hard because although the hills weren’t so long, there really wasn’t a lot of rest out there – you had to be working the whole time.  The snow was really fast and I think our skis were incredible today.  A little icy and hard to balance in places but overall the snow was in great shape considering the lack of natural stuff!

Results-wise I wanted to be close to or a little ahead of where I was at this point last season, knowing that I usually get stronger as I race.  So it’s nice to be ahead of that goal, and right in where I would like to be racing the whole season.

I had a feeling that my summer and fall preparation had gone really well this year and so it’s nice to get the confirmation that those inklings were correct!  Since we don’t have nice lap times to compare with like in running on the track, it’s always hard to know where you’re at until you race.

Great to see Liz [Stephen] and Holly [Brooks] ski strong today as well.  Really bodes well for our relay tomorrow and we’re all psyched!!

Marit Bjoergen – Norway
I’m really happy with my race today. I was nervous before the start. I did not know how my shape was. The track fit me very well and I kept very good speed all the way. I also had a good last lap. Conditions in Sjusjoen were great – they did a very good job.

Johan Olsson – Sweden
I had some luck today. I had really good skis and I had always some good company all the way. I did not expect anything today and felt little bit bad yesterday. In the relay we will fight with the Norwegians like always. My biggest wish is simply to stay healthy.

Petter Northug – Norway
It was tough race today. I had the feeling that it was tough to make a podium. In the last lap I heard it was pretty tight between the racers so I was fighting on every uphill and also on the easy terrain. I tried to give it all towards the end. I’m happy to be second. It was a tough course and you need to work all the way. You also had to work during the downhills where you can gain some seconds…. and you don’t get rest too much on this course.

Liz Stephen – US XC Ski Team
Thanks for contacting me!  It was a good day here, great to get the season started on such a positive note with a couple personal bests! Results are just part of the whole equation, but it’s always a nice way of being reassured after a long, hard summer of training that your work was done the right way and that you are making progress.

It is so much work and it is a long time between competition seasons so the nerves tend to always be a bit higher for me before the opener, as it’s the first real test. It’s also just the opener, and there is a long season ahead still, so many more chances to improve, even if today was not your day.

I had a really fun last two laps as I had a Norwegian, Astrid Slind, skiing right behind me – really pushing me. It is always much better for me when it is not just me by myself on a lonely ski track. It makes the race feel more real and more exciting and I get fired up. So that was great. I can’t believe how supportive and excited the ski community has been already, too.

I must have gotten 50 tweets of fired up people, e-mails, phone calls, texts. It’s really exciting to have a nation of people that are really coming together and backing each other. I am really happy with how today went and am really looking forward to our relay tomorrow!!!

Holly Brooks – US XC Ski Team
It was a decent start to the season. I can’t say that I’m ecstatic but I’m not disappointed either.  World Cups in Norway tend to the deepest fields, especially for women. So I’m a bit happier with my placing considering that fact that there were 14 Norwegians ahead of me (and I believe they are typically only allowed 9 starters…?).

I was only nine seconds out of the points and that tells me that I should be gunning to be in the points every single day, every time I toe the start line. I’m excited for the next couple of weeks as I have many race starts ahead of me! Aside from my own race, I’m also really pumped for my teammates, many of whom had their best season openers ever – Kikkan with her best distance result and Liz with hers as well. (regular WC). The relay tomorrow should be fun!

Sadie Bjornsen – US XC Ski Team
I was pleased with my race today, results aside. I started mixed in the red group, so I got the opportunity to ski a few minutes with some of the best skiers. That is the sort of race you learn a lot from.

I have always been one to start my season slow and then race into it by mid-season, which is why I chose to start my season racing at the World Cups this fall. A year like this is the perfect opportunity to work on this weakness. I had a good feeling today and hope to just increase my speed with each race.

Unfortunately, the day before I left, I lifted some heavy stuff the wrong way and I have been struggling with my back all week, trying to decide if it’s smart to race this early in the season with such a problem. Luckily the Canadians were beyond generous, and their PT [physio therapist] has been working on me when he has time which I am so thankful of, because I don’t think I would have been able to race today otherwise.

It was a great start to the season, mostly because of the US motivation that came out of today. I have been training and doing practice races with Holly and Kikkan this fall, so it was beyond exciting to see some of our girls sit so high in the results. I think it will be the perfect motivational push to start our season out!

Lenny Valjas – Team Canada
Coming off a pretty good distance result for me last weekend [in Bruksvallarna, SWE] I was really hoping for a top 40 today. Unfortunately I wasn’t feeling it out there today. The first two laps were hot garbage for me. It felt like I was trying too hard to go fast, I needed to relax and let my skis just glide out there. But the last two laps really went well, I was skiing much more relaxed and my lap times improved big time. Overall I am not too upset about this result, for a tough 15km course it went well for me.

We are all happy with the start of the season, even though some of us did not have the best day, we are still much improved from the start of last season. I am so pumped for Alex, that is a huge result considering he has never cracked the top 30 in an individual start WC. I am not surprised whatsoever, after watching him train in Quebec all fall, I knew he was in ridiculous shape this year.

I am looking forward to Kuusamo next Friday, I am very happy with my shape and I can’t wait to sprint!

Graham Nishikawa – Team Canada
The snow and course in Sjusjoen were amazing, unfortunately I had a horrible race. My legs felt like bricks right from the first km. The season is long so I will shake this on off and get ready for next weekend.  On the bright side, Alex showed he is in amazing shape.

Andy Newell Newell – US XC Team
Today wasn’t a great race for me but it was a good chance to put a bib on and go hard. I haven’t done anything close to a ski race since the Climb to the Castle [in September], just mostly intervals and stuff. The course was really rolling which meant you had to be working the flats so if you weren’t able to recover well while free skating it was a tough day.

Matt Whitcomb – US XC Team Coach
Kikkan and Liz were each happy with their races today. It was a career best distance race for Kikkan – only 25 seconds out of the medals, and Liz tied her best results from La Clusaz last season – just 18 seconds out of top 10.

It’s also very promising to see Holly skiing competitively in this first race. We’ve worked hard this year to build our U.S. women’s team presence, and Holly finishing 36th and only narrowly missing the points shows we are ready to do business.

Having five girls on the road gives us some exciting options for relay teams as well. While Sadie will sit out tomorrow to recover from a sore back, we are able to turn to Ida to ski a classic leg. Relays are a big focus for this team, and I know these girls take a lot of pride in their teammates and skiing hard for one another.