February 15, 2015 (Ostersund, Sweden) – Finn Hagen Krogh (NOR) grabbed his first World Cup distance victory in the men’s 15km FR on Sunday following his sprint victory yesterday marking back-to-back wins in Ostersund, Sweden for the rising Norwegian star. France’s Maurice Manificat took second while local favourite, Swede Marcus Hellner, was third.

Finn Haagen Krogh (NOR) © Nordic Focus

The distance race in Ostersund marked the return of American Noah Hoffman to the World Cup circuit following his recovery from surgery to his ankle resulting from a nasty crash at the season opener in Ruka, Finland back in late November – read more here. Hoffman was led the North Americans in 38th followed by Canada’s Ivan Babikov in 49th, Erik Bjornsen (USA) in 60th, Michael Somppi (CAN) in 69th, Matthew Phillip Gelso (USA) in 71st, and Kyle Bratrud (USA) in 84th.

SkiTrax caught up with Hoffman to find out about his ankle and his form. “Today was a good return to racing. It was a little foreign feeling to be out there in a World Cup, but I’m happy with the way I executed my plan. I started hard to get my feet under me. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t skiing like I was still at 9,000 ft, the altitude that I’ve at been at for the last two months.

Noah Hoffman (USA) © Nordic Focus

“After the fast start I settled in to a good pace then I caught a good ride with Ivan Babikov as he started his race and I lapped through after 5 kilometers. I was able to hold on to Babikov for the rest of the race. Finishing in 38th place is a good sign that I’m where I need to be, and I expect to be better next week for the world championships.

“My ankle felt great today. I didn’t notice it at all. My skis were excellent. The wax staff did a great job this weekend. I’m hoping to race the four distance races in Falun.

“The course here was exciting, flowed really nicely and was fun to ski. It was also in great condition after some warm weather because the organizers did a ton of work to make it perfect. I was really impressed,” Hoffman told Trax.

Ivan Babikov (CAN) © Nordic Focus

Canada’s Babikov was not too pleased with his result…”Not very happy with my result today. These were very fast conditions, you can tell by the time… winners skied the 15km in 32min, so not my forte. My skis were good,  it just was like a sprint out there and at the moment I don’t have the speed to compete with that pace. Trying to stay positive and looking forward to the Skiathlon in Falun,” shared Babikov.

Alex Harvey did not race today as previously announced but Canada’s Devon Kershaw missed both days and we wondered about his status. “Tor Arne [Hetland] and Devon decided he would be more fresh and better off for the sprint in Falun if he didn’t race today. He would have sprinted yesterday, but we didn’t have the quota. He is healthy and ready to go,” said Head Coach, Justin Wadsworth.

“Devon is healthy and ready to race in Falun. Shape is good and he is hungry. Perianne was good. Len was in very good shape,” commented Canadian World Cup coach Hetland. “We are ready to give our best in Falun. We are on Monday in Falun with complete team. We have rented three houses with chef so we will have good days.”

Results here.

M podium © Nordic Focus