August 16, 2012 (Davos, Switzerland) – The defending FIS Tour de Ski Champion and FIS Cross-Country World Cup winner is getting ready for the coming season at home, in Switzerland. After a few days at his home place Davos, Cologna started a high altitude training block in Engadin and Flüelapass. “I spent a great week with Curdin in Engadin. We trained together very well and he showed me some great tours in his home area,” Dario Cologna wrote on his website.

After the week in Engadin Cologna returned back to Davos “I am sleeping at Flüelapass in 2382 m but mainly do the training down in the valley in Davos. Together with Toni Livers we will carry out running tours at the Flüellapass,” Cologna adds.

Cologna’s training program is full packed for the rest of the month. “On Friday we are having an Odlo bike tour. On Sunday I am taking part in the roller skiing competition in San Bernardino. At the end of the month we are travelling to Oberhof where we will be training again on snow,” Dario Cologna revealed plans for August.

Find out more about Dario Cologna:
Website: www.dariocologna.ch
Twitter: twitter.com/dariocologna
Facebook: www.facebook.com/

January 19, 2012 (Davos, Switzerland) – Check out this great highlight video from the 2011 Red Bull NordiX competition in Davos last April. Harvey, along with other stars of the cross country ski world, compete on a roller-coaster sprint course in which the races are typically won and lost on the downhills rather then the uphills. Every race is filled with action and surprises!

Watch the video HERE.

December 27, 2011 (Davos, Switzerland) – When the Canadian XC squad was in Davos for the FIS WCup earlier this month, new CCC sponsor One Way organized a photo shoot for the country’s top skiers. Check out the pics and put on your shades for the ones where the team is decked out in their “yellow flash” parkas!

December 16, 2011 – The exciting new season continues! First off a skate sprint weekend along the Rhein river in Düsseldorf, Germany. In the individual sprint, I started off the day with a 10th in qualifying and then battled my way through the rounds on the narrow course to make the final. In the final, there was some bumping early on in the race, but I was able to stay on my feet and make a free-skating charge at the end to take the win.

In the next day’s team sprint, I lined up with my APU teammate Sadie Bjornsen and made it through to the finals.  On the first lap we had some bad luck and got stuck behind a fall, dropping us to last.  We never lost faith however, kept charging and on the last lap I was able to make up a few spots and get us into the silver medal position.  The first ever team sprint podium for a US sprint team!

The next weekend took us to Davos, Switzerland where the snow finally arrived and we got to contest a 15km skate on a 7.5km loop (a rarity on WC these days), and a skate sprint.

In the 15km, I had a good start early but then faded through the race, just managing to stay in the points at 27th place.  It proved to be a great warm-up for the sprint however, and I was able to qualify 1st and lead through the quarters and semis to make the final.

In the final I took the lead midway through and made an aggressive acceleration over the top of the hill to break up the pack. I ended up breaking away for the win.  I also got to wear the red Sprint Leaders jersey through the day, which was pretty fun!

Now we’re on to Rogla, Slovenia for the last weekend of Period 1.  There’s not much snow here but the organizers are working hard to put on some good races.  We’ve got a 10km classic mass-start and a skate sprint coming up!

Quote of the Day
“We all shared in the success and it made it so incredibly special! ”

What’s Coming Up
– Dec. 17/11 – 11 Rogla WC – 10km C Mass-start
– Dec. 18/11 – Rogla WC – Sprint F
– Dec. 29/11 – Tour de Ski – Oberhof Prologue
– Dec. 30/11 – Tour de Ski – Oberhof 10k C H
– Dec. 31/11 – Tour de Ski – Oberstdorf Sprint C
– Jan. 1/12 – Tour de Ski – Oberstdorf 10k Skiathlon

The Full Report
Hello everyone!  It’s been another couple of exciting weeks!  I have to admit that I’ve been having so much fun celebrating the good races and hanging out with my teammates that I’ve been a little delinquent in getting my Race Tails out.  Here is a quick recap of the last two weekends.

Following the mini-tour in Ruka, Finland, we headed down to Central Europe to the sun!  Winter had not arrived yet here either, and the first few days of training were confined to 1-3km loops of man-made snow on top of green grass!

Düsseldorf Sprint Weekend
Once in Düsseldorf, the scene was pretty much the same as the previous years.  Except, this time in the giant stadium attached to our hotel, the soccer field was covered with a car racing track.  We got to watch the drivers test out their cars and I have to admit it was pretty fun to see them sliding the corners and revving their engines.

On Saturday morning we awoke to pouring rain.  Luckily I had all my stuff this year and packed my bag with just about every piece of ski clothing I had brought!  The most exciting thing was that I had female teammates this year, three of them, which meant that we could actually ski in the team sprint for the first time!

Individual Skate Sprint
For the qualifying round I was given bib #1 for the 2nd week in a row, so with a fresh course before me, I set off around the 750m loop!  I came around the first corner so fast that I almost lost my balance.  Luckily, I stayed on my feet and made it around the course in less than two minutes.  It was a solid burn but over so fast!  I ended up qualifying in 10th position.

Thankfully the rain stopped in time for the heats.  In the quarters and semis, I had decent starts, worked my way up through the pack on the back stretch and used strong finishes each time to advance.

In the final, I did not get a good start and ended up bumping skis with a couple competitors down the first straight away.  After a few more bumps coming up to the first turn with fellow NA racer Chandra Crawford, I decided to settle back in the pack.  As we approached Mt. Düsseldorf I noticed a narrow opening in between Chandra and the Russian, Matveeva.  I went for it.  A few more bumps.  Over the top I managed to get myself into 2nd position.   As we came off the final turn, I worked an aggressive free skate and swung wide into the outside lane.  Skating low and without poles, I managed to sneak into the finish lanes just ahead of Matveeva and secured the win at the line.  I let out an ecstatic yell!

Düsseldorf has one of the most fun awards presentations after the race, up on a big stage next to the course.  They blasted techno music while they called up the top ten and I couldn’t help but do a little dance.  After the awards were presented, they played the US National anthem and it was incredibly special to hear it out loud. I sang every word.

Right away we had another important race to focus on, the team sprint.  It was decided that Sadie Bjornsen and I would team up on the first team, and Holly and Ida would team up for our second team.  We were all pretty excited to get in the mix!

Team Sprint
The next day we awoke to clearer skies and less wind.  While the snow was much dirtier than the day before, the course was holding up well.  We did some jogging to warm-up and then hit the course for a short window of ski testing before the race.  I found my legs to be quite tired from the full day before.

In the semis, Sadie skied our lead off leg.  Over the first few laps, we just hung contently in the pack and tried to avoid all the chaos.  The exchange zones were war fields every time but we managed to make it through unscathed and in good position going into the final lap.  I was able to pass a couple teams in the finish stretch to automatically advance us to the final.  The pace had been fast and furious and we both hoped we had more left in the tank for the finals.

Sadie and I hung out together in the wax trailer during the short break between rounds.  Sadie played it pretty calm, but disclosed to me later that she was really nervous.  The funny thing is, I was too.   Although, I did manage to drift off to sleep for a few minutes and dream about Santa Claus of all things.

For the finals Sadie again skied the lead off leg.  She got off to a fantastic start and was near the front when suddenly, just past the exchange zone, she got caught up behind a fall and dropped to the back.  Not panicking, I chased hard once I got the tag and over the next couple laps we just tried to get back in contention. Sadie skied a fantastic last leg and got us back on to the back of the lead group, we were in 9th.

Once I got the final tag, I decided to go for it.  I went wide up the first rise and around the corner and made up a couple places.  While everyone seemed to relax a bit on the back stretch, I again worked the wide lane and by the time I got over Mt. Düsseldorf, I was in 4th.  When we came off the final turn, I free skated like crazy again and headed for the far wide lane.  This time I did manage to use a couple of pole plants and somehow managed to get us into 2nd place by the time I hit the line.  Podium #2!

Sadie immediately ran over and gave me the biggest hug.  A wave of emotion surged over me.  We jumped up and down together and then our other teammates and coaches, who had been yelling like crazy for us, came over and we had a big group hug.  We all shared in the success and it made it so incredibly special!

We got to go up on stage for the awards ceremony and dance some more.  We did a special tribute dance to our teammates back in the US and took in all the atmosphere.  It was pretty fun to be watching Sadie do all this for the first time!

On Monday we packed up and headed back to Davos, Switzerland.  A little bit of natural snow had started falling and through the week, it would start to look more and more like winter.

I was pretty bagged for the first couple days and took it nice and easy to recover.  Davos is one of my favorite places in Europe.  Not only is the skiing (usually) amazing, but the town is really welcoming and cozy, and there is an incredible coffee shop called ‘Kafe Klatsch’ that is great for meeting up with our international friends.

Midweek activities included a Secret Santa poem night with our team, where we all had drawn a collegue’s name out of a hat and then wrote a poem about that person and gave them a small gift.  It was good for a plethora of laughs and team bonding!

The other highlight of the week was getting a fika (coffee date) with our Swedish friends Anna Haag and Charlotte Kalla.  We were discussing the early season success of the Norwegian women’s team and decided that if we were able to displace some of them from a podium spot during the weekend, we would spray champagne at the flower ceremony to celebrate.

15km Individual Freestyle
The first race of the weekend was the 15km skate individual start.  Earlier in the week when it looked like there wouldn’t be enough snow, the race was going to be shortened to 10km.  But the organizers did an amazing job and got the 7.5km loop ready in time for the longer distance.  Over the past few distance starts here in Davos I have really struggled.  So I was hoping a longer event on a slightly different course might help me break my Davos distance curse.

My plan was to start aggressive, which had worked well in Sjusjoen, and then try to maintain a steady but solid pace through the race.  Without really noticing, I managed to hit this strategy right on and at the first split at 2km, I was leading the race with 49 racers through.  The pace felt reasonable and I was feeling confident that I could build speed through the race.  But then, only a kilometer later, as I made my way to the high point at 4km, I began to unravel.  My body felt stiff and my focus started to waiver.

I kept fighting, reminding myself to work the gradual terrain, bend my legs and keep my tempo up, but I was really struggling to kick myself into the next gear.  Skiing totally alone, I had to keep trying to coax myself to stay on pace and dig deeper.   When I crossed the finish line, I was definitely exhausted, yet didn’t have that flop-on-the-ground, totally dead feeling I had wanted to achieve.  In the end I had to settle for 27th place.

While it was my worst race of the season so far, it was still a big improvement over my other distance results here in Davos, it was still in the points and only 13 seconds out of the top 20, and I had great results from my teammates (Holly in 13th and Liz in 21st) to celebrate.  I crossed it off as a successful day and turned my attention to the next day’s sprint.

Individual Skate Sprint
This time, I did not draw bib #1 for the qualifier.   But I did get to wear the red Sprint Leader’s jersey for the first time this season.  The sprint course would be two laps of a 600m loop and required the right pacing.

During the warm-up my legs felt pretty heavy and I was anxious about the 15km’s effects on my energy reserves.  Once I started the qualifier however, I could tell the feelings were good and I set off on an aggressive first lap.  As I came through the stadium for the lap, I could feel the burn setting in.  I dug down and pushed hard through every transition, not letting up until I slid my foot across the line.  The announcer immediately called out, “And now Randall has the new best time.”

When all the racers had finished, I had managed to stay atop the leader board by 0.11 seconds!  This was the first time that I had ever qualified first and it almost made me a little more nervous than usual.  I finished my cool down and then made my way into the athlete’s tent.  Many of the other teams had their massage tables out with therapists working on their athletes. Meanwhile, I laid on a foam stretching mat on the floor, covered myself in jackets and fought off shivers for the next 45 minutes.

Thankfully I was able to warm myself back up again pretty quickly in time for the quarterfinals.  I got off to a good start and controlled the pace from the front.  I put in a little extra push over the top of the last hill and stayed in the lead to advance to the semis.  The effort was hard however, and I wondered if I could handle such a pace for two more rounds!

In the semis I got off to a good start again and led the race.  This time I was able to relax a little bit more on the flats and then put in another good push over the top of the climb to keep my lead and advance to the final.
The sun was just setting as we lined up for the final introductions.  Just happy to be back in the final again, I gave an excited double wave to the camera and to the crowd.  Then we crouched…set…BANG!

I had a decent start and came out pretty even with the other girls.  We all spread out and I gradually worked my way up towards the front, but then let Matveeva take the lead around the first corner.  I followed her up and over the hill.  My skis were fast and I glided up next to her as we came back into the lap lane.  For a second, I thought I would try and tuck in behind her, but then I got the urge to take the lead.  I V2’d powerfully up alongside and as we approached the hairpin turn, I got into the lead.  I took one more second to relax and then accelerated coming out of the turn.  I jump skated like crazy and made sure to push over the top.

As we glided back down into the stadium, I took a quick glance over at the jumbo tron.  I saw three dark figures coming down the hill together and figured that was the other skiers right on my tail.  So I kept hammering, determined to stay in front.

When I burst onto the homestretch I opened up into a tall V2 and imagined the others shadows coming up beside me at any second.  Finally, when I got a few meters from the line I realized there was no one coming up and got to raise my arms in celebration across the line.  Another thrilling day!

I was immediately just so happy to have put together such a solid day, feeling strong through four rounds.  Once I caught my breath, I did a quick interview for the TV cameras and then got to exchange hugs and high fives with my team.  Suddenly I remembered that I had made that bet with Anna and Charlotte about champagne on the podium.  I asked Grover if he could try and find some at the last minute and he set off on a mission.

Just before the flower ceremony, Grover reappeared with a bottle of champagne.  So after they presented the flowers and the medals and our official photos were snapped, Grover snuck the bottle (slightly shaken and the cork poised) to me on the podium and I popped the cork and sprayed the champagne around.  I had always seen the alpine skiers do this on the podium and I was proud to show that the cross-country skiers can celebrate a good day too!

That evening I got to share another champagne toast with my team.  They really did a fantastic job of making sure all I had to think about was racing fast.  I’m so grateful to have such a hard working team behind me and it is the best thing to celebrate all together!  Later I got to share another toast with my Swedish friends, Anna Haag and Emil Joensson (who was also on the podium) and their families over dinner.  It was a great night.

All of the hard racing and emotion caught up with me the next couple days however and I was pretty bagged again.  So I just took it easy, enjoyed the good skiing, took long naps and did some Christmas shopping.

One little thing I decided to do, in celebration of the team’s great results so far this season, was to buy a small espresso machine for the team.  Already it’s getting a lot of use and makes us feel a little more at home in our hotel rooms!

Yesterday we said goodbye to Davos after a very delightful early morning ski and headed on to Rogla, Slovenia for the final stop of Period I.  Upon arrival, it feels like we’ve gone back to September again.  It was pouring rain here today and there was even thunder and lightning this afternoon.  The organizers are busy trying to piece together a course and we’re hoping the temperature will drop back below freezing!

We’ve got a 10km classic mass-start on Saturday and another (third in a row!!) skate sprint on Sunday.

More reports to come in a few days!!

I’m posting daily updates of my training on my SkiTrax Daily training rap which can be viewed here:  Kikkan’s Daily Training Rap

And you can also follow me on Facebook and on Twitter.

Cheers,

Kikkan

December 08, 2011 (Davos, Switzerland) – Thanks to positive snow conditions and heavy snowfall yesterday, the Organizing Committee of Davos together with FIS has made the decision to return to the original distances 15 km ladies and 30 km men on Saturday. A course of 7.5 km will be prepared from tomorrow on.

“We are pleased that we finally could decide to have the individual races over the long distances of 30 km and 15 km on Saturday,” said Jürg Capol, FIS Race Director Cross-Country. “The OC and TV showed a great flexibility this morning to change the plannings and we will be back on the old traditional course.”

Check out this video about the announcement. It features interviews with some of the world’s top skiers, including Canada’s Devon Kershaw.

December 07, 2011 (Davos, Switzerland) – I just returned to “home away from home” Hotel Kulm from an exciting, high-paced World Cup weekend in Dusseldorf, Germany. While the weekend’s racing format didn’t explicitly compliment my skill set it was a great experience and more importantly, I was there to witness my teammates stand on a World Cup podium.

If you’ve been living under a rock (or perhaps you aren’t a ski news junkie and that’s perfectly okay)  Kikkan and Sadie won a silver medal in the team sprint yesterday on the city streets of Dusseldorf, Germany.  Ida Sargent and I teamed up for the sprint as well and unfortunately we were 2 seconds from making it through to the finals as “lucky losers.”  Although I was disappointed, it provided us with great viewing and cheering opportunities for the other girls.  Funny thing was, amongst the crowds, Sadie and Kikkan both said they could hear us screaming for them on course!!!!

Yesterday was an incredible day for my teammates and for all of US Skiing.  Once again, we have shown the Euros that WE can be in there.  That we are competitors, and even though we live out of a suitcase for months on end to do it, they should not discount our fitness, courage or tenacity.

I have to admit, when it comes to taking pictures, I have no problem pushing to the front of crowds and getting my canon “powershot SD1300” out there amongst the 3-foot long lenses.  Also, perhaps I’m a horrible person for doing this but I may or may not have stepped in front of a small child to get some great shots! I couldn’t help it – how often do the girls you roller ski in the rain with (while everyone else is still sleeping off hangovers) stand on World Cup podiums? I mean, really?! Can you say Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center ROCKS?! I can!

While it’s easy to give all the congratulations to Kikkan and Sadie – and of course they deserve every ounce of it….. I’d like to acknowledge the coaches and particularly one person, Erik Flora for helping make this happen.  As a competitor that’s also been a coach and a wax tech, my perspective stems from all angles.  While there were only two people standing on the podium yesterday in D-dorf, Erik Flora has  gone above and beyond to make that silver medal possible, not to mention, my success over here too….

I don’t know anyone else in the world that loves skiing more than Erik does. The guy could literally inspire a rock to get up off the ground and do some burpees. (A really hard exercise that combines a push up and a jump.)  He is a student of the sport spending his night-time hours watching the latest video, corresponding with other coaches from around the world on theories, testing our skis by headlamp once everyone else has gone home….. some may say he’s crazy but isn’t there some kind of saying that says something like, “Great things happen when people break the norm” or something to that effect?

In 2006, the APU program was in transition.  Erik saw the opportunity to create a World-class ski team in a setting where the time was right.  He seized the opportunity.  Since then, everyday for the last five years he’s been working 12-23 hours a day to make us fast.  To make us competitive. To give us every advantage he possibly can.

Erik turns any hardship into an opportunity (it may be white-out fog and blowing wind but THIS could be CHAMPIONSHIP conditions one day!) and exudes the excitement of a 6-year old on Christmas morning on a DAILY basis.  His work ethic and his dedication to the betterment of the sport and to the athletes he coaches is impressive and admirable. When times are tough and confidence is low he has a special ability to find the bright side of any situation. He never underestimates anyone or tells them they can’t or they won’t or they shouldn’t.

Yesterday, when I was standing in the crowd looking up at my teammates on the podium I was envisioning three people up there: leg one and two of the team sprint relay along with their coach who had the biggest grin from ear to ear that you’ve ever seen.

Thanks to Erik Flora for his dedication and to all the coaches and support stuff out there that help athletes realize their dreams and inspire others to do so as well.

Oh – and here are a couple of other shots from D-Dorf…. the Germany Christmas bazaar was amazing! I wish I had more than 1/2 hour to check it out.

Thanks for reading and thanks again for the words of support and encouragement!

Holly 🙂

September 20, 2011 (Davos, Switzerland) – Already last winter discussed Swedish and Swiss national teams they could do something together. “We talked with Guri Hetland, sports manager of the Swiss Cross-Country team, and all the pieces fell into right place. I think both teams will have the pleasure of training with each other in Davos and its fantastic environment,” says Swedish coach Joakim Abrahamsson.

The Swiss team is well known and is led by reigning World Cup champion Dario Cologna. He, Remo Fischer, Curdin Perl and Toni Livers romped to first ever Swiss World Cup victory in the relay in La Clusaz last winter.

Swedish team left Livigno, Italy on Sunday after a wonderful week with various dry-land workouts in perfect weather. “The sun was shining all the time, we had optimal conditions there and we could carry out the whole training plan we had prepared,” Joakim Abrahamsson says.

Davos has been Swedish favorite resort for a long time. The town lies in a valley with Flüelaschwarzhorn as the highest point, 3146 meters above the sea level. The town itself lies in 1260 meters above sea level.
“We are confident that in Davos we will perform great workouts. Anna Haag and Emil Jönsson have been here, and Guri Hetland lives in Davos and the surrounding area is great,” Joakim Abrahamsson says. Anna Haag and Emil Joensson bought an apartment in Davos.

Unfortunately, neither Johan Olsson nor Marcus Hellner will team up with the Swedish squad in Davos. The two Olympic relay heroes have not fully recovered from their injuries.

“Johan needs more time to heal his shoulder bu he can do alternative training. The same applies for Marcus. At first he was slightly cold, and then he stretched his knee,” Joakim Abrahamsson revealed.

May 12, 2011 – The start of May also signifies the start into the new season – summer preparations have now begun for most Cross-Country World Cup teams. For the coming season, some changes in the coaching structures have taken place. Below a summary of some that have come to the attention of the FIS so far:

In France, Christophe Deloche will be responsible for the men’s team in addition to being the head coach. As his assistant, Patrice Paquier will join the team and work as a conditioning coach. The newly introduced sprint team will be led by Matthieu Fort. Anael Huard will take over the role of the ladies’ coach while former world champion, newly-retired World Cup racer Vincent Vittoz will be responsible for the U-23 team.

In Norway, Åge Skinstad has been appointed Head of Cross-Country Skiing and will be responsible for the national team, recreational Cross-Country and marketing. Vidar Løfshus will move to Skinstad’s former position as head coach. After the retirement of Morten Aa Djupvik this spring, the position of the men’s coach is still open. Meanwhile Roar Hjelmeset (33) will become new coach for the female sprinters succeeding Jon Arne Schejtne who stepped down after last season. Roar is the younger brother of Odd-Bjoern Hjelmeset who retired in 2005.

In Germany, the coaching structure for the national team stays the same with Jochen Behle in the lead. Bernd Raupach will be returning to Germany after a spell in Austria to lead the training base in Ruhpolding. Norwegian Guri Hetland has extended her contract as the Swiss head coach and World Cup distance team coach whilst her husband Tor Arne Hetland stepped down as the sprint coach for the Swiss team. Christian Flury, who was coach of the ladies’ team last season, has become new head of the National Cross-Country Performance Center in Davos and will coordinate the training base there.

In Canada, head coach Justin Wadsworth continues in his role as does Finnish head coach Magnar Dalen. The Swedish coaching trio, Joakim Abrahamsson, Rickard Grip and Arild Monsen, will work at least another year together. The Czech team remains in the hands of Miroslav Petrasek.

In several countries, negotiations are still underway and new appointments will be announced shortly. For the latest updates, visit www.fiscrosscountry.com

December 17, 2010 – If you’re Marit Bjoergen, you’re on top of the world… and the women’s world cup points standings, too. Let me hasten to remind you that she has won nine world cup races in a row (the final two in Falun last year and seven this year) and has no plans of slowing down. She has crushed the field like a styrofoam cup so far.

Bjoergen is clearly the class of the women’s field. She notched her 41st world cup win in the 10km classic race in Davos. Marit is now only one win short of former teammate Bente Skari in the all-time victory record books for women – and apparently wants to beat legendary compatriot, Bjorn Dählie’s, men’s record of 46 wins as well. She also told Norwegian media this week she’ll take a pass on the grueling Tour de Ski to keep her focus on the Nordic Worlds in Oslo.

It’s the second straight podium for Kikkan Randall this past weekend, after finishing third in the freestyle sprint at Davos. The Alaska miss is currently ranked third in sprint cup points. She plans to stay in lovely Davos to train for the upcoming Tour de Ski and will enjoy the Yuletide there with her husband Jeff Ellis.

Randall will not be on the start line tomorrow for the USA in the women’s 15km freestyle according to coach Matt Whitcomb. “She was feeling ragged following the races last weekend. We have decided to play things conservatively. It’s a long winter.” Whitcomb also reports 18 inches of new snow on the ground in La Clusaz today.

Expect Liz Stephen and Morgan Arritola in the women’s race for the US. For the men’s 30km look for [Kris] Freeman (who had a cold recently), and Noah Hoffman as the male starters for the Americans.

Two top Swedish women return to action this weekend in France after skipping Davos due to illness. You might watch to see how Charlotte Kalla and Anna Haag do following their break. Still on the injured list is Johan Olsson, who’s been having breathing problems and is back home in Sweden recovering.

People’s heads turned as a result of the surprise winner of the men’s 15km classic in Switzerland – big props to Alexey Poltoranin of Kazakhstan all of 23 years old winning his first time world cup.

It was another great race last Sunday for Sweden’s Emil Joensson winning a tight one over Russia’s Alexei Petukhov. Joensson continues to hold the leader’s bib for sprint world cup points.

I must say that the big surprise in the men’s sprint was the performance of “Look at that Time”S.Federico Pellegrino from Italy. His qualifying time was the best of the day. We will see more of him.

Canada Beat
In an email from head coach Justin Wadsworth, the Canadian squad plans to ski Devon Kershaw, Ivan Babikov, Lenny Valjas and Brent McMurty in the 30km in La Clusaz. His plan is that everyone will do the 30km except perhaps Lenny, who may only ski the relay. They stayed in Davos as well, where conditions are perfect.

Alex Harvey checks in to say he will fly into Geneva on Thursday from Montreal. He will travel to the French race with head wax technician Yves Bilodeau. Harvey has been home writing important exams since Kuusamo and has logged some great training in Quebec and some fine intensity sessions. Both Chandra Crawford and Daria Gaiazova have returned home following the Davos races.

Talking to Jack
I caught up with follow Trax columnist Jack Sassville – we go way back to the days of Tony Wise’s Gitchi Gami Games in the 1970s. Looking to this weekend he had some promising words for the Canadian team.

According to Jack Saz – “I think Devon has proven that he is in the top tier of skiers. He now can finish consistently in the top 10 to 15. The next step for him is to get a podium in a distance race. Alex Harvey has shown that he belongs, too. This guy is the most talented male skier to come along in Canada, sinceShis dad.” How about Len Valjas? “Len did nothing as a junior, but moving to a training centre was the best thing that ever happened to him. He has a great head for racing and I think that his height – 6 ft, 5 inches tall – is actually an advantage to him in sprinting. He can create a lot of power through his long levers and he is hard to get around.”

The Weekend in La Clusaz
La Clusaz announcer, Christophe Sevessand (he did Biathlon at Vancouver 2010) will have a busy weekend at La Clusaz also producing the live show on-site. He recently reported thatS.”It’s cold this morning with -15C, but it’s nice in the stadium area with the sunshine. We had great snow but lost it to heavy rains last weekend. We expect snowfall on Friday (it did), and at the moment the snow guns are working well….”

We understand that French star, Vincent Vittoz will remain sidelined this weekend at home. It’s a pity. He has gone thru MRI exams and the injury to his left thigh – which happened in Gallivare – is stilled not fully healed. Vittoz said he would resume some light skiing and running this week.

On Saturday xc skiers will contest a mass start 15/30km freestyle race in La Clusaz and on Sunday it’s back to more exciting relays – 4x5km for the women and a 4x10km for the men. The Clusaz venue is the proposed site for France’s bid for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Jumping News
High winds in Harrachov forced the cancellation of both days of ski jumping last weekend. Austria’s Thomas Morgenstern remains the leader of the jumping world cup overall standings, as the flyers travel to Engelberg, Switzerland this weekend for a tournament. FIS says it will move the Harrachov event to Engleberg.

Women’s jumping of late has been dominated by the Austrian skier, Daniela Iraschko. The USA women have also been on a hot streak with the fine skiing of Jessica Jerome, Lindsey Van and Sarah Hendrickson. Jerome is second overall behind Iraschko, Van is in third, and Hendrickson is fourth. The COC tour takes two separate paths this weekend with the men heading to a new facility in Turkey, while the women will jump in Norway.

We also hear sad news from Austrian ski jumping that star performer Gregor Schlierenzauer fell in a training jump at Seefeld – high above Innsbruck – on the 75 HS jump. According to FIS he has pain in his right knee, and an MRI was done. They also say that the first reports indicate a possible partial rupture of the right collateral ligament. This might well take him out of the famed 4 Hills Tournee, which kicks off in two week’s time.

Nordic Combined – Lodwick Returns to Europe
US Nordic Combined Head Coach, Dave Jarrett, checked in about this coming weekend. They’re sending Todd Lodwick, Eric Camerota, Nick Hendrickson and the Fletcher brothers (Taylor and Bryan) to Ramsau, AUT for the next world cup. Billy Demong will stay stateside while he and his wife await the birth of their first child. DJ reports that depending on how things unfold Demong may stay home and train until Oslo. Lodwick will stay in Europe to compete in Seefeld (AUT) and Chaux Neuve (FRA).

See you on the trails… there’s great snow across the country now.

December 16, 2010 (Davos, Switzerland) – My first few days here in Switzerland were pretty sweet. The sun came out, there were perfect tracks and settling in at the Hotel Kulm felt a little like home. It was nice to relax for a couple days, absorbing the excitement from my podium in Dusseldorf and getting ready for another big weekend of World Cup racing with a 10km classic and a skate sprint. Quote of the Day “It was pretty cool to be back on the podium for the 2nd time in a week, and a nice redemption after the rough classic race!” What’s Coming Up 12.25.10 MERRY CHRISTMAS! 12.31-1.9 Tour de Ski – GER/ITA For more news and photos check out the new: www.kikkanrandall.com The Cliff Notes: It’s been a week full of the highs and the lows here in Davos! In similar fashion to last year’s races in Davos, we raced distance on Saturday and a skate sprint Sunday. While I had hoped and expected to put in a strong performance in Saturday’s 10km classic race, I was again disappointed with a lackluster result of 47th place. I struggled in the snowy conditions and ended backing off in the final kilometers to reserve some energy for the sprint. Thankfully, day two provided some redemption. I started off the day with 8th position in qualifying. I used fast finishes in both my quarterfinal and semi-final to advance to the final. In the final, after sitting in fourth for most of the race, I was in position to challenge for second place on the homestretch when Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk suddenly changed her trajectory and blocked my momentum. I ended up finishing 4th. A few minutes later however, Kowalczyk’s move was ruled as obstruction and she was relegated to sixth, moving me into third position. So I got to stand on the podium for the second week in a row! I had planned to race in France this coming weekend but due to some sickness this week I have decided to stay in Davos to get healthy, enjoy Christmas, and prepare for the Tour. I’ll be back in action on New Year’s Eve for the start of the Tour de Ski. Until then, Merry Christmas everyone! The Full Story: It’s been quite a week! Here is the update from Davos… 10km Classic Going into the classic race, I had confidence and optimistic expectations. Even with heavy snow falling the morning of the race, I felt I would be able to conquer the course and race to a solid result. I even got a little pre-race advice from Bjorn Daehlie. My plan was to attack the flats, ski with a light and quick tempo, and approach the climbs with a little reserve to be able to come on strong on the 2nd lap. By the middle of the first lap however, I was struggling with the glazed track and the effort was already feeling hard and heavy. Midway through the 2nd lap I was fighting myself physically and mentally. I knew I had already lost too much time for a good result, and with the sprint the next day, I opted to ease off a little and save that extra “dig” for the sprint. It’s never an easy decision to let up and it haunted me for the rest of the day. In the end I was 47th place and a whopping four minutes off the lead. Doh! While I didn’t have the distance performance I had wanted of myself, I knew from experience to just put the disappointment behind me and focus on the next opportunity, Sunday’s skate sprint. To help keep myself in a positive mood, I watched a couple episodes of Glee. 1.4km Skate Sprint The sprint day was going to be a long one. Qualifying didn’t begin until 12pm and the heats wouldn’t go off until 3pm, so the morning was a long, anxious wait. I definitely had some butterflies in my stomach this time. The sprint course here in Davos has changed every year and this time we would be racing two laps around a 700m loop. As I warmed up on the course, doing a couple laps at level 3, I felt heavy and labored. This was going to be a tough one! Since each racer had to complete two laps, that meant the starters were sent out in blocks of 5 racers at 10-second intervals, with 2 minute holds in between. I was able to watch several racers complete their qualifiers before I started and noticed that many went out aggressive on the first lap and then seemed to fade on the 2nd lap. So when I got on course, I thought about being quick and relaxed and worked on building speed through the two laps. Coming through the lap lane, I was feeling strong and picked up the tempo. I hammered up the big climb and had good energy over the top. I came out of the final turn and really built speed over the last 100m. When I crossed, I was in sixth position. After all had finished, I was 8th fastest. A good sign! Walking out of the finish area, I marveled at how good I had felt compared to my feelings from the warm-up. The day was off to a better start than I thought! I got a quick laugh when the coaches told me they had been a little concerned watching my first lap only to be relieved with I turned it on for the 2nd lap. There was a long 2.5hr wait until the heats started. Fredericka, our PT, gave me another good rub-down and I waited out the rest of the time bundled in my parka, listening to my iPod, and going over strategy in my head. Eighth position in qualifying put me in quarterfinal heat #5 for the second week in a row. I watched a few of the other heats go and noticed that some of the early leaders faded at the end. There was a pretty stiff headwind blowing through the stadium, so I decided I would try to draft. In my quarterfinal I got off to a good start and right away Kowalczyk bolted to the front. Perfect! I tucked in right behind her and skied the wide line up the steep climb to hold my position. I followed her around the 2nd lap as well and when we came off the final turn I shot wide and turned on the jets. I was able to overtake Kowalczyk before the finish line and win my heat. To my surprise, the semi-finals played out exactly the same as the quarters, I was able to draft Kowalczyk, and come off the final turn with a lot of speed to take the lead. I was feeling stronger every round and was psyched to move on to the final! There was just 15 minutes in-between the semi and the final, and it was quickly turning to dusk. The final was stacked with an accomplished field: Bjoergen-multiple Olympic medalist, Follis-World Champion, Me-World Championship silver medalist, Majdic-Olympic medalist, Kowalczyk-multiple Olympic medalist, and Jacobsen-World Champion. Unlike the final in Dusseldorf, this time I got off to a good start and came out of the double-pole lanes even with the others. With a couple of strong skates I was in good position. But I didn’t want to take the lead, so I backed off and Follis and Majdic squeezed me into fourth. Going up the steep climb I took the outside lane and came over the top side-by-side with Bjoergen. She had faster skis though and pulled in front of me on the downhill, and so I remained in fourth as we came through the stadium. I was able to match the pace of the others just fine but was tentative to go around. Majdic was leading across the flat, but then Kowalczyk made a big move, coming from fifth to go around Majdic on the right. At the same time Bjoergen and Follis made a move to the left. I followed Follis and as we came into the tight turn I was able to just sneak ahead of Majdic. I again went to the outside lane on the uphill, following Follis, while Bjoergen and Kowalczyk broke right. At this point I was hoping to make a move with my V1 climbing speed, but then, “oh no!” I was trapped by Follis!! Still stuck in fourth over the top, I was barely able to sneak back in front of Majdic going into the tuck. In a tight pack we all sailed through the s-turn and I crouched for the final turn. Bursting onto the homestretch, Bjoergen had gotten away but Kowalczyk, Follis and I were in a battle. Follis went left, Kowalczyk appeared to be going toward the middle and so I went for the open lane on the far right. I built speed quickly and was gaining on the others when all of the sudden Kowalczyk changed her trajectory and came right into my path. I tried to fight her off but she forced me towards the fence. I tried to double-pole for a second but realized I would never get past and had to slow up and switch directions to the left. I made a few quick strides in an attempt to get past, but having lost all my momentum, I came across the line in fourth. My first reaction was disbelief and instant remorse for having just missed the podium. I had seen my open lane and had the speed to challenge for 2nd before being suddenly blocked. Unbelievable! Darn!! Oh well, that’s the unpredictability of sprinting! “Next time I’ll just have to put myself in a better position coming into the finish,” I told myself. I shook hands with everyone, offering my congratulations and walked over to where the coaches were standing with a can-you-believe-that-just-happened look on my face. So close, ahhh! It wasn’t until Grover asked me what had happened with Kowalczyk that I realized that something potentially unjust had possibly occurred. A few minutes later, a FIS official came up to me announcing that Kowalczyk had been disqualified for obstruction and I was being upgraded to 3rd position. OMG! Another unbelievable turn of events!!

While being accompanied by a doping control chaperone, I quickly changed clothes and prepared for the flower ceremony. It was pretty cool to be back on the podium for the 2nd time in a week, and a nice redemption after the rough classic race! The rest of the evening went by pretty fast. I had to report to doping control shortly after the flower ceremony for blood testing. Then we got the word that the Polish team would be appealing the disqualification and there was a chance I would be dropped back to fourth. That decision however wouldn’t come for a week, so I decided to just enjoy the podium for now since I felt I deserved it. Part of the team was leaving for the airport, so we got to enjoy a quick champagne toast and then said goodbye. I didn’t get out of my ski clothes until 10pm after catching up with everyone on the phone. It was a whirlwind day! My intention had been to race the 15km mass start skate this upcoming weekend in France to close out Period I. However, I’ve been fighting some sickness over the last few days post sprint, and yesterday I decided to stay in Davos to get healthy and rest up for the Tour de Ski. My husband will be here in a few days and with a successful few weeks of racing under my belt, I can now take a little break and enjoy the Christmas holiday. Thanks to everyone for the notes and encouragement, and for all the support that helped me kick off this season with a bang! I wish everyone a very merry Christmas, and I’ll be back to you in the New Year with some more action! Cheers, PS I just received word that Poland’s appeal was denied and therefore my third place stands. Whew!

December 11, 2010 (Davos, Switzerland) – Canada’s Devon Kershaw had another great day on snow leading the North American men with a 9th place finish in the men’s 15km classic individual start as Kazakstan’s Alexey Poltaranin was the surprise winner on Saturday in Davos to claim his first world cup win. It was a tight race as only six seconds separated the top five finishers with Kershaw 21s behind the winning time of 40:03.5.

American Kris Freeman was on pace but blew up in the last 4km to finish 23rd while Canada’s George Grey regained his form and was just out of the points in 32nd. Fellow Canuck Ivan Babikov, a late arrival in Davos, was 38th, followed by Stefan Kuhn in 67th, and Calgary’s Brent McMurtry in 75th. American Noah Hoffman placed 69th also having a tough day on his first crack at the grueling Davos course.

The 23-year-old Poltaranin had the 10th best time at the 1.6 km mark and increased his speed steadily remaining in the top 3 by mid-race holding off challenges by Russia’s Maxim Vylegzahnin who faded on the final leg and world cup leader, Alexander Legkov (RUS), who had the best intermediate time but lost it on the final leg losing to Poltaranin by 0.9s.

“Today I claimed my first World Cup victory and had my best race ever. I felt strong and my skis were very good as well. I did not change my summer training too much. My coach and I focused more on classic technique and also introduced some new elements to my training. On Monday we head to La Clusaz [France] where I would like to have a good result in 30km race,” said Poltaranin.

Lukas Bauer (Cze) surged in the latter part of the classic race to claim third edging out local Swiss star Dario Cologna by a mere 0.2s. Norway’s Petter Northug, at his first World Cup this season, was as high as 5th but faded near the end to finish 13th.

While the snow had stopped for the start of the men’s race, and the course was re-groomed following the women’s event earlier in the day, it was still a challenging day for the wax technicians with temperatures just below zero (-1C) on new snow. Canada’s Kershaw had nothing but praise for the Canadian wax crew.

“It was an interesting day in Davos – as the 50 or so centimeters of snow that fell over the past two + days made for some stressful times,” said Kershaw. “Yet, the course directors here in Davos are used to dealing with huge Swiss Alp dumps, and they did a great job getting the course ready – they even re-groomed directly after the women’s race – which helped things out for sure.”

“Our Canadian technicians did another outstanding job – staying calm and delivered the goods to get the job done,” he continued. “I can’t imagine that today was easy for them. They crank out such big hours working tirelessly for us, it’s really outstanding. Yves [Bilodeau head wax technician] is all heart and believes so much in Canadian skiing. And the tech I work with closely [Micke Book] is just such an outstanding guy as are all the guys – Joel K, Joel J. Jonathan, Peter Thor – none of us would be anywhere without their help.”

Kershaw had moved up to 15th by the 5km mark and made steady advances to sit in 10th by the 11.6km interval and still had something in the tank to take him to the finishline.

“Devon executed as planned and had energy at the end for a final kick,” commented Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth. “He trained well in Livigno [Italy] and rested up before race day knowing the altitude and tough course. Conditions were crazy for waxing – people were trying zeros and hairies – and it looks like we hit the mark.”

The USA’s Freeman, who was just getting over a cold, was not far behind Kershaw but his tank ran dry after being passed by Vylegzahnin as he tried to stay with him. “It was a tough day for waxing but my skis were good and the course was mostly ok as they groomed it after the women’s race,” said Freeman.

“I was pacing well until Vylegzahnin passed me and I tried to match his speed but that did me in – with 4km to go I blew up and was pushing hard just to stay in the top 30. I caught a cold just after Kuusamo and yesterday was my first intensity training so it was tough to find my top gear today.” Freeman was confident he could have made the top 20 and will race the skate sprints on Sunday.

We caught up with Ivan Babikov who had his best race so far yet still falling short of what he’s capable of. “So far today was the best race  this season for me. Not exactly were I’d like to be but there more races ahead,” explained Babikov. “The conditions were tricky, especially for kick wax, but I think our wax techs did a very good job.”

“Davos is a very hard course with a lot of double polling, and I’m never good at that. Overall I think the team did pretty good. Devon had a very good one, 9th, and George [Gray] was only one second out of the points – we’re looking forward to La Clusaz.”

The USA’s Hoffman is taking his World Cup experience in stride, “It was just a tough day all together. I’m really struggling with my classic skiing right now, and didn’t show any improvement today. I’m a little disappointed – the conditions were tough but our coaches and techs did a great job with our skis. I’m looking forward to next week.”

US head coach Chris Grover knows his crew was disappointed but also knows they’re resilient. “Bird was doing well but lost it near the end still he held his composure and ended up with an average result. Noah had a tough day in difficult conditions with a couple of crashes and struggled to find his rhythm but he’s learning and gaining the experience he needs to move up. Andy [Newell] skipped today’s sufferfest to prepare for Sunday’s sprints which should be good for him and Kikkan.”

The stage is now set for Sunday’s freestyle sprints and the forecast is for colder weather… stay tuned for more coverage.

Full results HERE.