February 18, 2013 (Otepää, Estonia) – Simen Oestensen of Norway and Sweden’s Sandra Hansson won the 2013 men’s and women’s 63km CT Tartu Maraton in Otepää on Sunday. Conditions were ideal, with temperatures of -4 C at the start, no wind and a beautiful 63km long track through the Estonian woods.
The race ended in a bunch sprint, with 17 racers finishing within 10 seconds of one another! The elite skiers tried to break the group up on the long and steep climb at Harimägi, about 16km after the start, but it didn’t work out as planned. So the big group stayed together, and only in the last 15km did the race get faster and faster, but still 17 racers fought for the finish sprint. Oestensen was the fastest and scored the win. This victory is his first ever FIS Marathon Cup victory! Behind him, last year’s winner Jörgen Brink (SWE), got his foot across the finish line for second place, right in front of Anders Aukland (NOR), who also previously won the Tartu Maraton.
On the women’s side, it was a lonely race for Hansson. The first woman to cross the finish line led the women’s race from start to finish, only experiencing a challenge in the first 15km, in which she was followed closely by Tatiana Mannima (EST), who would pay for the high pace and the energy used to obtain it. Stephanie Santer (ITA) and Ursina Badilatti (SUI) chased the Swede, but with over five minutes advantage, Hansson’s victory was never in question. Even though Santer and Badilatti were in the same group, it was not a “girls ski out”. Both fought hard with Badilatti, having the better skis in the downhill sections, always passing Santer but having to let her go when it pointed uphill again. In the
end, Santer was able to gain an advantage, pushing her skis to finish second ahead of Badilatti.
Aukland, with his third place today, is now the new leader of the overall FIS Marathon Cup with 220 points. Sergio Bonaldi (ITA) and Benoit Chauvet (FRA) are now tied in the second place with 166 points each (having finished in the exact the same places). Two Norwegians are following in third spot: Joergen Aukland and Petter Northug both have 160 points apiece.
On the women’s side, the ranking is much clearer: Tatiana Manimaa (EST) is enlarging her lead in the overall with her fourth place today. She now leads with 293 points in front of Seraina Boner (SUI, 240 points) and Stephanie Santer (ITA,222 points).
QUOTES: Simen Oestensen (NOR):
I knew from training that I am fast, but I couldn’t really show it in competitions until now. So I am really happy that it finally worked out! Anders and I talked a bit during the race and we tried to ski very hard from around km 15/16. But it didn’t really work out so we all stayed together. Already about 15km before the finish I knew that it would be a finish sprint so I prepared for that and it worked! I am really happy! Now I will prepare the Vasaloppet and then I hope that I can do the World Cup in Lahti.
Joergen Brink (SWE):
Well, Simen was just faster today, I would say! Surely I wanted to repeat my victory from last year, but I now happy with the second place! Tartu Maraton is really on of the best long distance races … I really like the track! It’s not completely flat but a lot of up and down.
The conditions were really good today but a little snow on top of the track made it very difficult. The two Russians and Team Xtra made a lot speed in the beginning, but then we became a big group again and it was not worth trying to get away. I am happy that in the end it worked out with the second place in the finish sprint!
Anders Aukland (NOR):
I am really happy that I could make the podium today. With a finish sprint it’s not that obvious – everything can happen! We tried to break the group from the big climb on, which was not long after the start, but it was easy to close the gap for the others and so we were a big group again and the race turned out to finish with a finish sprint.
Sandra Hansson (SWE):
It’s wonderful to be back finally! And to win for the 4th time here in Tartu is really something special! I really like this track – the Tartu Maraton is one of my favourite races! The track profiles demands a lot of double poling which I like and the uphills are not that long which is great!
Stephanie Santer (ITA):
Wow, that was a hard race! My skis didn’t glide that perfectly so I had to push pretty hard the whole time. But of course I am really happy that in the end it worked out with the second place. At around km 25 I caught Tatiana and then I knew that something might be possible and I just kept pushing.
Ursina Badilatti (SUI):
YES! Finally a podium! That is just so great! It was a hard race but I had great skis! I tried to stay with Stephanie who was always a little bit in front of me. When we caught Tatiana I knew I had to keep pushing to make sure that this would end with a podium for me today! I am really really happy. It’s a great feeling that finally all the work pays off!
April 23, 2012 – Although support is still strong for him in many quarters in Estonia, disgraced two-time skiing gold medalist Andrus Veerpalu will lose out on state funding for a while – the stipend that the Cultural Endowment pays all living Olympic champions.
Veerpalu, who tested positive for doping last year, is not among this year’s recipients of the benefit, which consists of semi-annual payments of 1,150 euros each.
Secretary General of the Olympic Committee Toomas Tõnise said Veerpalu’s name could not be proposed this time as it would have gone against international anti-doping rules, which forbid sanctioned athletes from receiving public sector money…
January 22, 2012 (Otepaa, Estonia) – It was a great day for Canada’s Devon Kershaw in Otepaa with a bronze medal performance in the men’s 15km classic and yet another podium for the Canadian team in as many days. In fact it was Kershaw’s best-ever distance result in a non-Tour de Ski World Cup commented Justin Wadsworth, Canadian Head Coach.
The Sudbury skier was in the zone and lead at both intermediate splits on the Otepaa course, arguably one of the toughest cross-country ski courses on the circuit. But in the last portion of the race he was overtaken by Lukas Bauer (CZE) who surged near the end, and eventual winner Dario Cologna (SUI).
“I went out really hard today. I went for the win and I don’t regret it,” said Kershaw in a team release. “It has been a hard couple of weeks for me personally and I didn’t know what to expect coming off the Tour. Today I was able to mentally switch off the brain and focus on skiing which felt amazing.”
“The climbs out here are are relentless and punishing. They are so long which we don’t normally ski,” added Kershaw. “The Estonians know how to set up a course to ensure the strongest man wins.”
This was his first weekend of racing since his remarkable fourth overall at the grueling nine-stage Tour de Ski that ended Jan. 8. The team jetted to the Canary Islands for a break after the Tour which may become more popular with WCup skiers given Kershaw’s medal performance today and his teammate, Alex Harvey’s 4th place in the CL sprints yesterday.
Harvey finished 19th for a solid effort and was followed by the USA’s Kris Freeman (USA), the top American in 22nd place – his best distance result so far this season. Noah Hoffman (USA) also had a strong day scoring points and a personal best World Cup classic distance result, with a 26th-place finish (he was 25th in the pursuit in Whistler at the pre-Olympics).
“The race today felt really good. I went out focused on starting under control. The course was incredibly difficult, possibly the hardest I’ve ever raced on, but more than that I didn’t want to repeat my mistakes from the 15km at US Nationals,” Hoffman explained to SkiTrax post-race. “I executed that part of my plan pretty well. I also had great skis and good energy. I was happy with the way things went. I’m looking forward to building on this result for the rest of the season.”
Canada’s Len Valjas crossed the line in 31st just out of the points coming close to his best-ever World Cup finish in a distance event which was 29th in Kuusamo.
With today’s result Kershaw is now 5th overall in the World Cup ranking while Harvey sits eighth overall. Harvey was impressed with his teammate’s skiing saying, “Just so everybody knows Devon Kershaw is the man. Third place in Otepaa but special mention for gutsiest skiing!”
For Kershaw his stellar day didn’t quite erase his disappointment at placing fourth at the Tour de Ski but he’s stoked with the Canadian team’s overall performance season
“Finishing fourth has been tough to take and it was at the Tour. It is heartbreaking, but that is the thing about cross-country skiing – there is always more,” said Kershaw. “The biggest factor for me is that I’m now feeling much stronger and more comfortable every race because of the people I’m surrounded by on our team.
“We have had an athlete in the top-five at every World Cup stop this year, which I think is a credit to the athletes we have on this team, and the support from our wax techs and coaches. Mentally it is so good for me.”
Results HERE.
Results detail HERE.
World Cup Overall HERE.
January 19, 2012 – Petter Northug (NOR) will skip this weekend’s Otepaa, Estonia World Cup, along with three members of the German National Team.
Northug intends to take one extra weekend off after Tour de Ski, where he finished third behind Dario Cologna (SUI) and Marcus Hellner (SWE).
He has been on the roster for the upcoming World Cup weekend in Otepää, but after a discussion with the head coach Trond Nystad on Wednesday, it became clear that Northug will get a permission to skip the Estonian World Cup.
Northug’s priority is to resume training and to take part in the 15 km free technique at the Norwegian nationals in Voss on Thursday on January 26, which will be his only show up at the national championships.
The day after the 26-year-old World Champion is traveling to Italian Val di Fiemme to take part in the famous Marcialonga on Sunday 29.
Only Ten Germans to Start Otepää
Germany’s national coach, Jochen Behle, travels to Estonia with a team struck by illness. Only ten Germans are to start on the upcoming weekend in Otepää.
Due to health problems, Behle is traveling to Estonia with a smaller team. Both Axel Teichmann and Hanna Kolb have been on antibiotics. Steffe Böhler is skipping the coming World Cup weekend as she has not come over aftereffects of a flu infection. Hannes Dotzler will make his debut in the World Cup instead. The youngster from Sonthofen could not show up in the World Cup this season due to broken leg.
Three German ladies are lined up for the World Cup weekend in Otepää will take start both in the sprint and distance competition. For the men’s sprint Behle will count on Heun, Wenzl and Wünsch. Angerer, Filbrich, Dotzler and Eisenlauer will be racing for Germany in the distance competition on Sunday.
Women
– Nicole Fessel (SC Oberstdorf)
– Denise Herrmann (WSC Erzgebirge Oberwiesenthal)
– Katrin Zeller (SC Oberstdorf)
Men
– Tobias Angerer (SC Vachendorf)
– Hannes Dotzler (SC Sonthofen)
– Sebastian Eisenlauer (SC Sonthofen)
– Daniel Heun (SKG Gersfeld)
– Jens Filbrich (SV Eintracht Frankenhain)
– Josef Wenzl (SC Zwiesel)
– Oliver Wünsch (SV Großwaltersdorf)
May 10, 2011 – The defense team for Andru Veerpalu, the Olympic medal winning cross country skier who tested positive for HGH and retired suddenly on the eve of the 2011 World Championships in Oslo, requested an extension that has been granted by FIS in order to prepare their case, reported ERR News. Veerpalu’s defense stated the 10-day extension will be sufficient. The new deadline is now May 20. This extension does not change Veerpalu’s hearing date on June 5.
April 29, 2011 – Andrus Veerpalu (EST), the two-time Olympic gold medal winner who retired from competitive cross-country skiing on the eve of this year’s World Championships in Oslo, recently tested positive for Human Growth Hormone – both his A and B sample – and is now slated to appear at a FIS Anti-Doping hearing on June 5, according to ERR News.
Veerpalu is expected to dispute his positive test findings for HGH. In order to do so, he must submit his explanations and scientific defense material by May 10. Veerpalu is strongly backed by the Estonian Skiing Association.
April 15, 2011 – Mati Alaver, Estonian Ski Team coach, has refused to accept the job of Russian Ski Team Coach offered by the Russian Ski Federation according to ERR News. Alaver states that his priority is to help prove that Estonian skier Andrus Veerpalu is not guilty of doping despite his B Sample positive test for HGH on April 6.
The Estonian coach added that if Veerpalu is cleared, he will continue his position with the Estonian Team. But Russian Ski Federation President, Yelena Vyalbe, is trying to recruit Alavar, who coached Veerpalu a 2x Olympic and 2x World Champion, along with world championship bronze medalist, Jaak Mae.
Vyalbe, a former cross-country skier herself, with three Olympic gold medals to her name, maintains her confidence in Veerpalu’s innocence and Alavar’s integrity as a coach.
Read the ERR News articles HERE and HERE.
Read previous coverage about the Veerpalu case HERE and HERE.
April 08, 2011 – Andrus Veerpalu’s B Sample has tested positive for Human Growth Hormone, finally confirming the rumours of alleged doping that first began to circulate about the Estonian when he retired from the sport on the eve of the Oslo 2011 Nordic World Championships, according to ERR News.
The announcement was made by the Estonian Ski Association yesterday. At the press conference, the two-time Olympic Champion maintained his innocence and denied knowingly taking any banned substances.
February 15, 2011 – Sure I’ve raced in the States and I did race the classic sprint at last year’s Canmore World Cup, but Estonia was my first real taste of international racing. It marked my first trip overseas for racing and I’m thrilled to report it was everything I dreamed it to be.
Only three days after arriving in Vierumaki, Finland it was on to Otepaa, Estonia. Two days skiing on the race courses and on my sixth day in Europe I was racing a Classic 15km Individual Start World Cup on what is touted as one of, if not the, hardest race courses on the World Cup circuit. That distance course was the hardest race course I have ever done. The majority of the course was very flowing, with challenging climbs but nothing ridiculous aside from one monstrous climb. This particular climb started at the base of the Otepaa ski jump hill and ended right at the top. It was so steep even the best World Cup athletes were forced to step out of the track and herringbone. The boisterous crowd and TV cameras lining the side of the entire climb were intimidating and acted as motivators to get up that mountain of a climb as fast as possible. With 3 laps of the 5km course my lower back was left aching for 6 days afterwards. Even that didn’t stop me from smiling once I cross the finish line. In my mind, I just conquered the hardest World Cup course; what else do I have to be afraid of now? I finished 62nd out of 75 competitors. Not exactly a note worthy result, but hey, I’ve got to start somewhere right?
The next day I managed to climb out of bed and race the Classic Sprint World Cup. The race course was much tamer and had some cool elements with bridges and laps through the stadium (which by the way is massive). My race again was nothing spectacular, finishing 66th out of 77 competitors. At least I wasn’t last! It was impressive watching Daria Gaiazova race to a personal best 8th place, huge props to her for an awesome race. Daria on the big screen duking it out in her semi-final.
With only 4 days until my next race and the major focus of my trip, the World U23 Championships 15km Skate Individual Start, it was time to utilize all the recovery techniques available to me, the cold tub, sauna, stretching, foam roller, and Normatech and rest up.
Thursday was the big day, the Skate 15km. My lower back was still aching however I did my best to forget about it and focus on racing. Thankfully the race organizers did not include the monstrous ski jump climb in the Junior/U23 race courses so the 3.75km race course for Thursday was much more manageable. I started strong up the first climb out of the stadium then settled into my race pace. The individual start format made it easier for me to dissociate from where and who I was racing and focus on myself. By the 3rd lap I was struggling to maintain a high pace. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Kevin Sandau blew by me at the start of the final 3.75km lap. I knew this was a decisive moment in my race and my competitive instincts kicked in, go with Kevin. It was exciting skiing behind Kevin who was getting splits that he was challenging for a medal. I was careful not to step on his skis or poles because every second counted for him. We came into the finish with the cameras trained in on us. I crossed the line and was surprised to see 7th place beside my name. I knew 15 fast guys were still coming behind me… how many would beat my time?
When all was said and done, I finished 14th place! Big props to Kevin for a very impressive performance finishing 5th. It was a bittersweet result for me as the Cross-Country Canada selection criteria states you need to place top twelve to qualify for the National Team and I was only 10 seconds from 12th. Initially I was somewhat disappointed. Afterwards I took as step back and I realized I have to be satisfied with all I have accomplished this season. 14th in the world isn’t too shabby. I mean I was super pumped just to qualify to race here. I had never really given much thought to what my goals would be if I happened to actually make Canada’s U23 Team.
I was exhausted after the race. Completely wiped. Though I desperately wanted to race the classic sprints, I knew one day off wouldn’t be enough to recover and race fast again. So I made the decision to skip the classic sprint and focus on the 30km Pursuit. It was exciting watching the U23 guys and gals duke it out in the sprints. Congrats to Jess, Lenny and Allyson on their awesome races, finishing 6th, 7th, and 12th respectively.
After 3 training days I was feeling very good again and ready to race fast Monday. I hopped on my warm-up skis and headed out on the Tartu Loppet trails to start warming up. The tracks were rock hard. The day before the classic tracks were soft and dry with no moisture. How did they firm up so much in one night? Surely I thought with how little moisture was in the snow on Sunday the track would still break down on race day. I was wrong. I had picked the wrong skis. I should have picked a soft, easy kicking ski to race on, not a stiffer, soft track ski. After testing my race skis and confirming I had no grip, my next plan was to load up on grip wax. Surely with enough grip wax I would still be able to kick them and at least get by in the classic portion of the pursuit. Nope. After plenty of layers of kick wax my grip was only slightly improved and to make matters worse the sun came out and the classic tracks started to marginally glaze over.
I’m not going to go into detail about the race [30k Pursuit]. Let’s just say it was a long day and I would rather remember my 14th place result in the skate than my 40th place in the pursuit. I crossed the finish line pale white and feeling sick with disappointment. It seems for every high moment in racing a low moment emerges to bring you back to reality.
Besides the pursuit race my European racing experience was phenomenal. The team was great and the coaches were very helpful. My first taste of international racing was a delicious one and I’m craving more.
After a brief training period here in Thunder Bay I’m off to race the Eastern Canadian Championships on Feb. 11th – 13th.
February 07, 2011 (Barrie, ON) – What would happen if you held a World Cup and nobody came? Well, you would call it Rybinsk, Russia and there would be free world cup points for just about everyone who was there.
This past weekend there were three – yes three World Cup races on the calendar, a distance pursuit, an individual sprint and a team relay. For the distance race there were only 33 men (11 Russian) and 30 women (11 Russian). It didn’t get much better for the sprints with fields of 54 men (15 Russian) and 34 women (16 Russian). The relay for women had 7 teams (4 Russian) and 10 for men (again 4 Russian).
This is brutal. There has got to be something wrong with the schedule to have so few skiers in a World Cup in the first week of February. When there have been World Cups in Canada the last few years they have been better supported. The Ontario Masters Championship in Parry Sound had almost as many skiers! This has to be an embarrassment to the FIS Cross Country Committee.
Now, I’ve been to Rybinsk and it is not that bad there. I know that some countries were having National championships, but that should be no excuse. In fact, I don’t think that this should be allowed to happen either. We have the same problem in North America, but we still send our best skiers to compete at the World Cup.
Meanwhile, it should be no surprise that the Russian skiers dominated the result list for these races – at least for the men. Alexei Pethukov won the sprint, Ilia Chernousov won the distance race and the Russian 1 team won the relay.
It shows how far the Russian women have fallen when they cannot win a race with at home against such small fields. They couldn’t even win the relay with 4 teams out of 7 in the field – the Italian women beat them. Katja Visnar and Vesna Fabjan of Slovenia were 1st and 2nd in the sprints and Justina Kowalczyk of Poland won the distance race and was 3rd in the sprints. She has pretty well cemented the overall World Cup title for this season as the only person who could beat her, Marit Bjoergen was at home, once again, in Norway training for the World Championships in March.
In the 1990’s the Russian women were unbeatable. Of course, we now know why. A good, structured, well organized doping program will do that for you. Now they are ordinary and need to get their act together quickly in order to have a decent showing in Sochi in 2014.
There’s a two-week break in the schedule before the World Cup resumes in Drammen, Norway on February 19-20 with a short distance race and individual sprints. Hopefully we should see full fields for this event and truly have a “World Cup” race.
I can’t close this week without some commentary on the World Junior and World U23 racing from Otepaa, Estonia last week. In my opinion, a finish in the top 10 at either level is a great indication that a skier has the talent and potential to be a consistent point scorer (top 30) at the World Cup level.
A good way to look at it is to look at junior and professional hockey in North America. If a junior hockey player is drafted in the first round by a professional team then they have a good chance of becoming a National Hockey League player. Not all of them do, of course, and there are players who are not drafted in the first round who make it. I think that less than 5% of junior hockey players ever play in the NHL.
Most of these junior players who are drafted end up playing for a year or more in the AHL – kind of the equivalent of the U23 level in skiing. Not all players in the AHL make it to the NHL – again a small percentage and only the best move on. Some of the very best junior players go right to the NHL, but they are the exception.
When I look at the North American results from Otepaa I see the same thing. Alex Harvey is World Champion at U23 and finishes consistently in the top 20 on the World Cup. He was on the podium a number of times as a junior, as well. In hockey he would have been a top draft pick as a junior and would likely have been in the NHL in his first or second year as a pro.
The other skiers that finished in the top 10 – Kevin Sandau, Jesse Cockney, Len Valjas, Jessie Diggins and Noah Hoffman all have a shot at a career as a World Cup skier. Emily Nishikawa, Michael Somppi, Alysson Marshall and Sadie Bjornsen had top 20 finishes – kind of like being drafted in the 2nd round of a hockey draft. They have shown some talent, but there is still a lot of work to do.
Don’t get me wrong, there are no guarantees that any of these skiers will make it on the World Cup (except Alex Harvey – he is already there). It also doesn’t mean that the skiers who were there from North America but outside the top 10 or top 20 (or those who didn’t make the trip) will not make it eventually, but it is going to take them much more time and work.
Malcolm Gladwell in his great book “Outliers” told us that the difference most of the time between those who “make it” and those who don’t is not talent but work and opportunity. He points out that it seems to take 10,000 hours of work for someone to be the best in just about anything.
At an age of 22 or less, all of these skiers have not put in the time yet to know if they are going to make it. They also need to continue to have the opportunity to race and train with the best in the world. I hope that the USST and the Canadian NST continue to give these young skiers as many opportunities as possible to do this.
February 02, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Holy cow, today’s been an absolutely huge day! With 4 races going on I have no idea how the coaches and wax techs kept up with it all! First we had the junior women’s 4×3.3km relay, in which we finished 7th. I’m so totally excited because we moved up a place from last year!
The relay went like this: Amy Glen scrambled (classic) and tagged off to Kinsey Loan, who then tagged of to me for the skate half of the relay. I tagged Joanne and she anchored us for a solid 7th place. I’m also extremely excited about finishing second for lap splits to Heidi Wang (Norway) by 5.4 seconds. It was definitely a successful day – and we definitely had some crazy fast skis (yeah Salomon!)
After the relay, we travel waxed our skis, packed out bags and set out for a long day of spectating! And we did some HARD CORE cheering. We had numerous US flags and signs, and I do believe we also had the loudest voices on the whole course.
The junior men’s 4x5km relay went second, and they ended up finishing 10th in a close sprint with Canada. Then a short while later, the women’s 15km pursuit race set off, and Sadie led the US with a 17th place finish.
The last race of the day was the men’s 30km pursuit, and it was so much fun to cheer as the sun came out and it was an absolutely gorgeous day!
Noah led the US men with a 22nd place finish, but the coolest part of the whole day was seeing Alex Harvey crush it today and WIN THE WHOLE DARN RACE!!!! It was totally inspiring to hear an anthem other than Norway being blasted in the stadium.
I’m giving a huge shout-out to all the coaches and wax techs for all their hard work and patience in dealing with US. And thanks also to NCCSEF for all the support. It wouldn’t have happened without you!
So now I’m headed over to Madona, Latvia, with the Scando Cup team… and pretty much the only thing I know about Latvia is that car-jacking is basically a sport. The next week should be very interesting!
January 30, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – If you looked closely at today’s results for both men and women at the World Junior Championships in Estonia, Sunday was a fine day for the young junior skiers coming from Germany that is rebuilding its program – the men’s event especially so.
Joining the exclusive club of world junior winners was Germany’s Markus Weeger who took the gold medal in the 10km+10km Pursuit event and finished with a lead of 19.5 seconds over runner up Konstantin Kuleev of Russia. The talented Perttu Hyvarinen of Finland scored the bronze medal with a brilliant skating leg. Weeger’s time was 53:31.1.
The top North Americans in the field were Andy Shields of Canada in 31st in 56:29.0, with the USA’s Scott Patterson in 35th in 56:40.0.
Weeger, who skis for the strong and long-respected Nordic club in Hirschau, has had an impressive week indeed, winning silver as well at this week’s JWC in the 10km free race.
As the race got underway the field remained close together for nearly the entire 10km classic leg. About 20 athletes came into the exchange zone with nearly the same time.
In the first loop of the 3.3km skating leg Weeger tested his opponents daring them to match his tempo, and on the second loop he attacked on an uphill and no one was able to respond to his torrid pace. He continued to build precious seconds all the way to the finish line to take the win.
The battle for second and third was another matter entirely. Thomas Wick (GER) tried to make a break and was chased down, while Slovenian Rok Trsan pushed the pace as well. Then the Finn Hyvarinen moved up and gained ground, settling into a battle with Russian Kullev. At the finish Kuleev had just enough left to take second.
Weeger told the FIS Press Service that he felt very good today. “The wind was very strong, but the race was amazing. The win was a surprise for me, I didn’t (really) understand how I won. I didn’t have any tactics for this race. I just wanted to see, how does it go and now I am a champion.”
Rounding out the North American finishers included Russ Kennedy (CAN) in 42nd, George Cartwright (USA) in 43rd, Andrew Dougherty (USA) in 51st, Tyler Kornfield (USA) in 56th and Canada’s Jordan Cascagnette in 70th. Patrick Stewart-Jones did not finish for Canada.
January 30, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – The Norwegian duo of Heidi Weng and Martine Ek Hagen scored first and second on Sunday in a strong display of power in the Junior women’s 5+5km Pursuit at the FIS Junior World Championships in Estonia. Weng, a star performer who had not yet won a gold at the championships, pushed hard past Hagen in the home stretch to claim the title. Helene Jakob of Germany, who is one year younger then the both of the Norwegians, surprised many in taking the bronze medal.
The USA’s Jessie Diggins, a CXC skier who hails from Afton, Minnesota once again led the North Americans in 12th place in 31:50.2 despite a crash early in the competition. Fellow American Joanne Reid was a solid 24th. The top Canadian woman was Annika Hicks in 31st on fresh packed snow and in windy conditions.
“Today was a solid day for the US junior women,” Diggins told SkiTrax post-race. “We had a 12th (Diggins), 24th (Reid), 40th (Glen), and 50th Heather Mooney – with 78 girls racing, I’m proud to have all our girls in the top 50.
“I’m also super excited because the US women rocked the pit exchanges in the pursuit,” continued the rising US star. “We’ve been practicing and it’s exciting for me to finally have a good equipment switch under my belt because I haven’t had much luck in the past – it was a mental road block I had to get over. But after I crashed and broke a pole at the start of the race, I relaxed a lot more and decided to just try to have a technically good race and see how far I could pull myself back up. So I was thinking a lot more instead of being in the lead pack and letting adrenaline take over, which I think helped me ski smarter.”
Diggins was grateful as she was given a pole by a Canadian coach following her crash.
“I’m also extremely grateful to the Canadian team; I was given a pole a little farther down the trail by one of their coaches. North Americans have each other’s back!”
Other North American finishers included Canada’s Janelle Greer in 36th, Amy Glen (USA) in 40th, Heather Mehain (CAN) in 43rd, Heidi Widmer (CAN) 47th and Mooney in 50th.
Team USA’s Reid was pleased with her 24th place finish: “It went really great today, all the girls were especially happy with our exchanges, we all stayed pretty calm and did good work in the pits. It was really sweet to be skiing with Amy and Jessie and Heather. There was a point in the race that we were all skiing together before Jessie took off and got after it. I ended up right next to Amy for a while and we worked together but I lost her when we went through the exchange,” said Reid.
“Mass start was hectic, no surprises there. There were more falls in it than in a rodeo, and Jessie took a bad one, ended up with a German on top of her and snapped her pole. I was really happy with my race, obviously you always want to try to get a better place than the year before, which I didn’t quite manage, but I certainly can’t complain! I’m a lot stronger at skate than classic so it was a relief to finally get into those skis and leave my striding ones behind,” she added.
Weng and Hagen, who are neighbors in Norway, know each other well having been in the same class at school. Today it was their day in the pursuit. The starting field remained compact after two 2.5km classic laps. Following the ski exchange Weng lost a bit when Elena Soboleva and Anna Scherbinina pushed hard and created a gap.
Weng came charging back in the second uphill. Then Hagen moved in front and accelerated on the final lap. Weng seemed to have some difficulty to follow but hung in with Hagen and the Norwegian duo appeared together in the stadium. In the finishing straight Weng summoned what power she had remaining and sprinted ahead of Hagen to take the win.
Germany’s Jakob was sixth after the classic part and was in contact with the lead group. During the free technique leg she dropped the Russian girls in her group and posted the second fastest time skate time to take the bronze medal.
As for Weng, it marked her second championship medal after placing third in the 5km individual start competition. “Everything was fantastic today and went as I planned,” Weng said in a FIS Press interview. “During the last lap I got really tired and I was very close to let Martine go. I thought about the gold medal in this race but I didn’t believe I could win it.”
As for her long-time friend Hagen the event was great. “The race was fun. I had a very good feeling through the whole race and I enjoyed it a lot. I didn’t expect two Norwegians to be on the podium. I expected only Heidi to win but not me. She is in a very good shape.”
This marked the second to last day of the Junior Worlds in Otepaa.
January 29, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – The powerful Olympic silver medalist from Vancouver, Alexander Panzhinskiy (RUS), was dominant today in Otepää and took the gold medal in the men’s 1.4km U23 sprint classic picking up where he left off last season on the tracks at Whistler Olympic Park.
Panzhinskiy was strongest in the qualifications but the Canadian men loomed large, especially so with Hardwood’s Len Valjas, perhaps the tallest international skier of the day, with an impressive second behind the Russian. What’s more Jess Cockney qualified on the bubble in 30th, only a scant .21 seconds of being out of the big show. The lanky Valjas brings to mind images of the 1960s Norwegian star Harald Gronningen, a giant of the sport for Norway who had five OWG medals.
Timo Andre Bakken of Norway finished second and secured the silver medal. Magnus Moholt of Norway was fighting hard in the finishing straight with Dietmar Noeckler of Italy but Moholt edged out the Italian and captured bronze.
Overall it was a great day for the Canucks with Cockney of Canmore and Valjas, who hails from both Estonian and Swedish heritage, finishing sixth and seventh respectively. Looking back a year ago, Valjas was sixth in the U23 Championships in France. The top American today was Fairbanks, Alaska’s Reese Hanneman in 24th, who went out after the quarterfinals after qualifying in 29th. Canada’s Michael Somppi (CAN) did not start.
Following the race SkiTrax spoke with Valjas who commented about his race. “I felt Super good today out there. It was hard to get by the leaders in the heat because there was only one good glazed track to ski in, around the course. The rest of the tracks got completely filled in with windblown snow from the 40km/h wind. In my semi I came into the last 200 meters with the leaders, but I was forced into the very left lane which no one had skied in all day and it was filled with snow. I really didn’t have any other option out there. I had to break trail in the final sprint while the other guy beside me skied in a fast glazed track. I am very disappointed with my result today. I had the fitness to finish top 3 today, but ran into some bad luck.”
Cockney, who was second in his quarter final round losing out to Russian speed king Panzhinskiy, advanced to the final via a fast semi taking one of the lucky losers spots. SkiTrax caught up with the elated Canuck post race.
“Today was a mix of very different feelings for me and thankfully it ended with pure joy,” said Cockney. “I skied very poorly in the qualifications and I consider myself very lucky to have even made the heats. From then on I felt like I was playing with house money and figured the best thing to do was relax and ski my ass off in the heats.
“I am generally a smart heat skier and my goal is always to move higher in position than my qualifying result. This worked out and I was able to move from 30th qualifier to 6th overall on the day. This is a very new feeling for me as the last time I qualified for heats in Europe was two seasons ago in a German OPA race. Needless to say I’m ecstatic with how the day ended and I am already looking forward to next season and doing what I can to put up a better fight in the A final,” added Cockney, who skis out of the Foothills Nordic Ski Club.
Canadian coach Eric de Nys was happy with his young racers. “A great day for us today. Jesse had strength, speed and LUCK on his side today. He had a very strong quarter final just being nipped at the line by the Olympic silver medalist Panzhinskiy. Then in his semi, a Swedish athlete was DQ’d for a technique violation which moved Jess up to 4th. His semi ended up being quicker than semi number 2 in which Len placed third but lost the lucky loser spot to Jesse. Len had an amazing qualifier and first heat that he won easily.
“In his semi the cards didn’t fall Lenny’s way with two places on the track where he was forced to ski, not by choice. The clutch was the finishing stretch where Len was forced into the third track which no one had skied all day. He was strong enough to hold his own but not strong enough to get by and with the wind and falling snow, this track was a clear disadvantage but overall still a good day,” de Nys told SkiTrax.
January 29, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Finnish ace Kerttu Niskanen won the gold medal in the 1.2km sprint classic final at the U23 World Championships on Saturday morning. She started the day as the top qualifier and went on to dominate every heat on her way to the final. It was Niskanen’s second U23 Worlds gold – her first was in a 10km classic at Hinterzarten, Germany.
Niskanen came home with a clear margin in the A-Final to secure her victory. In the battle for silver and bronze Norway’s Britt Ingunn Nydal edged out Sweden’s Jennie Oeberg by a toe length to claim the silver.
“It feels great to be a U23 World Champion,” said Niskanen in a FIS post-race interview. “I wanted to win and this was a very good day for me. I was feeling very good during the whole race. My tactic today was to go as fast as possible after the shot. I had some problems to ski always in front because it was snowing.”
It was a solid day for North American skiers with six women advancing to the quarterfinals as the USA’s Sadie Bjornsen led the charge in 11th followed by Canada’s Alysson Marshall in 14th, Jennie Bender (USA) in 18th, Canada’s Emily Nishikawa in 19th, Ida Sargent (USA) in 21st and Sara Hewitt (CAN) in 30th. Canada’s Erin Tribe was 31st at 2s behind Tribe while Rebecca Rorabaugh was further back in 36th – only the top 30 advance.
Marshall was the only skier to make it through to the semis placing second in her quarter final but faced a fast and very close semi-final round ending up in 6th to finish 12th overall.
“My qualification round felt messy but I still had a decent time. I felt really strong and controlled in my quarter- final and finished in 2nd spot,” Marshall told SkiTrax post-race. “My semi-final was very fast and close. I fought the whole way but didn’t quite have the double pole strength left in the finishing stretch and I finished in 6th.
“It was a tight finish with all six of us crossing within 1.3 seconds. It was also 7 seconds faster than the other semi-final so my time in 6th spot was faster than the winner of the other semi-final. I am happy to be top-12 but I was disappointed to miss out on the final in such a tight finish,” she added.
Canadian coach Eric de Nys commented on Marshall’s performance: “Alysson Marshall skied strong all day. She was second in her quarter final and just got out-muscled in the finishing stretch in the semi, but it was a fight to the end. She should be happy with this result.”
The USA’s Bjornsen ended up 17th, Bender was 21st while Ida Sargent was 23rd. Taking 22nd overall was Nishikawa with Hewitt ending up in 30th.
January 28, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov won the gold medal in the Junior men’s 1.4km classic sprint over Norwegian Sondre Turvoll Fossli, while Russia took third place with Gleb Retivykh winning the bronze.
American Erik Bjornsen of the Methow Valley, WA, lead the way for the North Americans as the lone qualifier with a strong 10th place. Canada’s Andy Shields in 31st narrowly missed advancing to the quarter finals by .19s as the two skiers ahead of him tied in 29th. Bjornsen was 4th in his quarterfinal heat and did not advance as a lucky loser finishing 14th overall.
The men’s final told the story featuring only Russians and Norwegians. In the qualifying round Fossli was the class of the field but in the end Ustiugov had more power. It was a great battle between the pair as Fossli was leading from the start but Ustiugov was close behind with epic doubling poling and made his move to pass the Norwegian. Fossli was unable to counter and down the final stretch the Russian won by about a ski length.
Ustiugov was thrilled with his race, telling the FIS News Service, “This was a special day for me, because this is the first time I have beaten Gleb. This track was very difficult for me. I saw the race where the Russian girl crashed and I was really disappointed about it. It added strength to me because now, I had to bring the medals to the team.”
Fossli, was gracious and looked at things with perspective saying, “I felt pretty good out there today, but Sergey was just faster than me. I am not disappointed at all, because this is my first year at the junior championships. I am very satisfied.”
Other North American men who did not advance included Skyler Davis (USA) in 35th, Patrick Stewart-Jones (CAN) in 36th, Tyler Kornfield (USA in 38th, George Cartwright (USA) in 49th and Canada’s Jordan Cascagnette who was 73rd.
January 28, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Germany’s Lucia Anger claimed the Junior Women’s classic 1.2km sprint title as the two leading skiers Elena Soboleva (RUS) and Germany’s Hanna Kolb crashed over the final hill in the final leaving the door open for Anger. Norway grabbed the remaining spots with Kari Oeyre Slind taking the silver medal, while her teammate Ragnhild Haga won the bronze.
Canada’s Janelle Greer and Heidi Widmer both qualified but did not advance past the quarter finals and finished 21st and 28th respectively. American Heather Mooney (USA) missed qualifying by 0.29s, placing 31st, followed by Amy Glen (USA) in 42nd, Heather Mehain (CAN) in 45th, Izzy Caldwell (USA) in 57th, Kinsey Loan (USA) in 58th and Canada’s Annika Hicks who placed 61st.
“It was a disappointing day for me today,” said Widmer. “I was hoping to improve on last year’s 15th place qualification and 22nd overall sprint results but I just didn’t have access to those top gears today. In my qualifier, I skied the first half with decent speed, but during a transition on one of the small climbs, I wasn’t aggressive enough with my kick which cost me.”
“I quickly put the mediocre qualifier behind me and set my sights on the afternoon heats. I lost contact with the group on the second climb and made up some time on the descent thanks to some fast skis finishing 28th. Today taught me a lot and reminded me that I still have a long journey ahead and I’m excited to see what the future has in store,” added Widmer.
Kolb, the fastest qualifier, was the favourite and she and Soboleva advanced to the final winning their quarters and semis. The dramatics for the women’s Junior World title unfolded during the final match up as Soboleva was leading with Kolb right behind and Anger in tow as the others trailed.
Over the final uphill Kolb tumbled and took out Soboleva. That’s when Anger, reacting to what happened made her move and burned it to the finish line to take the win. The Norwegian Slind also came up from behind and finished 0.3 seconds back. Haga, the winner of the opening junior 5km free race, was third.
Anger basked in the spotlight saying, “I had hoped to win a medal in a competition here, but the sprint gold is a surprise for me. My tactics were to go as fast as I could. I saw what happened when the crash took place. I looked that I could pass them from the left and it was very close for me as well.”
Slind was happy with her finish. “The crash is part of the game, but I feel lucky. I passed them and did not get involved in the accident….you just have to be a little lucky to get there.”
January 27, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Coline Mattel brought home the gold for France at the Junior World Championships in Otepää on Thursday after placing second last year and third the year before. Leading after the first round Mattel was in a tight race with Spela Rogelj (SLO) for the top spot besting her by a slim margin of 3.5 points followed by Japan’s Yuki Ito only 5.5 points back.
It was Rogelj’s first podium at a COC or World Championship event. Ito had the longest jump of the day at 99m for a career-best result.
“I am very happy, because I jumped well and even if I was nervous I knew that a lot of people were expecting me to win, because of the last year and year before that,” said Mattel in a FIS interview post-race. “The competition was difficult because of the wind. I think I was very nervous and maybe I didn’t jump as well as I am capable of. It was nice competition because everyone was fighting for the win.”
Sarah Hendrickson (Park City, UT) was the top U.S. finisher in 18th Hendrickson’s score of 205.0 with jumps of 86.5 and 84.1 meters was followed up by fellow Americans Nita Englund (Iron Mountain, MI) in 18th, Avery Ardovino (Park City, UT) in 37th and Nina Lussi (Lake Placid, NY) in 38th.
Top Canadians were Taylor Henrich (Altius Nordic Ski Club) in 25th with a score of 188.5 followed by Charlotte Mitchel (Altius Nordic Ski Club) in 29th with 175.5.
The FIS World Junior Ski Jumping Championship men’s HS 100 is scheduled for Friday.
January 27, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Johannes Rydzek is the first Nordic Combined winner at the FIS Nordic Junior World Ski Championships in Otepää (EST) today. The German athlete won the Normal Hill/10 km event in front of Marjan Jelenko (SLO) and Kaarel Nurmsalu (EST).
Clifford Field (USA) was the top Team USA skier in 19th place and Sebastien Dandurand (CAN) was the top Canuck in 34th. Other American finishers included Nick Hendrickson (Park City, UT) in 22nd, Michael Ward (Aspen, CO) in 36th and Erik Lynch (Steamboat Springs, CO) in 42nd. Canada’s Chanon Pretorius did not finish.
Nurmsalu won the ski jumping portion on the Tehvandi hill (HS100.0m). The athlete of the Skiclub Telemark jumped 96.5 m for a total of 128.0 points and relegated Germany’s Johannes Rydzek (93.5 m/121.0 points) on the second and Marjan Jelenko (SLO/93.5 m/120.5 points) on the third place.
Therefore, Nurmsalu, who has gotten first place at a COC competition in Klingenthal recently, started with an initial advantage of 28 seconds in front of Rydzek and 30 seconds in front of Jelenko. Japan’s Reruhi Shimizu was already 44 seconds behind, and the gap of fifth placed Manuel Faisst (GER) was more than one minute (1:06). Ole-Christian Wendel from Norway, 27th at half-time, trailed by 2:40 minutes.
As expected, Rydzek and Jelenko closed the gap to the leader; after 2.5 km, Nurmsalu’s advantage was just 7 seconds. In the second lap, a trio led the race. Then, Rydzek increased the speed. First Nurmsalu, then Jenko weren’t able to follow the strong German.
At the finish line, Rydzek was the new World Champion, 47.8 seconds in front of Jelenko and 1:02.5 minutes ahead of Nurmsalu. Fourth place went to Wendel who had an impressive cross-country race. He delivered the fastest time (25:18.3)
Rydzek’s victory is the 17th Junior World Championships Gold Medal for Germany (including GDR and FRG) in Nordic Combined since 1968 (when this competition was held for the first time) and the first since 2007, when Eric Frenzel won the Sprint competition. Former and current World class athletes like Ulrich Wehling, Hermann Weinbuch or Bjoern Kircheisen have won this competition before Rydzek did it today.
QUOTES
Johannes Rydzek
When I competed last year (in Hinterzarten, Germany) I was really nervous, because everybody was looking at my performance and so I couldn’t handle the pressure. This year I was better prepared, especially mentally. I showed my best performance today. I tried to make my race to get Kaarel and then see how strongly I can go. It worked very well for me.
Marjan Jelenko
My tactic was to be with Johannes as long as I could. I was really satisfied with my performance. I think when I do my best jump at the next race I can get the podium again.
Kaarel Nurmsalu
I am very happy, my job is done now. I got the medal. I know that Johannes is very good skier and he started with Marjan so I expect that they would catch me and if it’s possible I go with them. But it wasn’t possible. All the time I got information about who is following me and I expected medal. And I got it. Of course I got nervous when Christian got closer and closer, but after third lap I was 90% sure that I would get the medal.
January 27, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Canadian National Team skier Kevin Sandau wanted to be in the top 10 in today’s men’s 15km Free Race at the U-23 World Championships in Otepaa, Estonia, and when the race was over he had turned in a stellar performance finishing 5th with a time of 36:04.8. Mission Accomplished!
”My goal today was a top 10, so I’m ecstatic about the result,” Sandau told SkiTrax post-race. “I started out the race conservatively so I could really push the final lap and finish strong.”
The USA’s Noah Hoffman also skied well today making the top ten finishing in ninth. The Aspen, CO native turned in a time of 36:42.4.
It was a Russian podium sweep as Evgeniy Belov took top honours as expected in today’s race, claiming the victory in 35:26.3, a comfortable 16.1 seconds ahead of his teammate Pavel Vikulin. Completing the hat trick for Russians today was Raul Shakirzianov placing third at 23.4 seconds behind Belov.
For Belov this marked the best day of his career so far after he was second last year in the interval start event at the FIS Junior Worlds. Reflecting on his win he told the FIS Press Service, ”My classical technique is better than my free, so I was prepared for a tough fight today. I had to speed up at the finish. All four laps were good for me. I want to win more medals here in Otepaa.
“I am familiar with this track because we have had training camps here,” he added. “And I also competed here last week at the World Cup.”
Another wonderful story played out with the skiing of the UK’s Andrew Musgrave. The hard-working athlete who has been training in Norway had the fastest time in the first lap but then lost some time to the Russians. At day’s end Musgrave had turned in an admirable performance finishing sixth one spot behind Sandau.
Demonstrating both smart and savvy skiing Calgary’s Sandau was very impressive. The skier-based out of Canmore-who grew up on the trails in Kananaskis Country told SkiTrax described his race.
“My first splits were top six, and by the half way point I was skiing around third. I still felt pretty fresh, so I was able to maintain and push myself further. I caught teammate Michael Somppi on my final 3.75km lap and he stuck with me until the finish, so he really pushed me till the end.”
Reflecting on an exciting, motivating day Sandau added, ”Before coming here I had my sights set on a strong pursuit race, so I’m really hoping for a podium spot on Monday.” The way he’s skiing that could well become a reality.
“The race today was hard. The course was technical and demanding,” the Hoff related to SkiTrax by email. “You had to constantly be working. I didn’t feel great, and I had a tough second lap.
“Then the German Andreas Katz caught me, and I was able to hang on him for the rest of the race. We caught Tad [Elliott] and the three of us skied together. It was really helpful to be able to follow Katz. I’m looking forward to watching some sprint races over the next couple of days. I think there is potential for some great results. Then the pursuit on Monday should be fun as well.”
Other North American finishers included Michael Somppi (CAN) 14th in 37:03.7, Tad Elliott (USA) in 19th with a time of 37:18.3, Jesse Cockney (CAN) in 27th stopping the clock at 37:36.2; in 32nd place was Graeme Killick (CAN) in 37:48.6, the USA’s Alex Treinen placed 35th in 38:04.9, and David Norris (CAN) in 39:03.0 was 46th.
“Awesome day for Sandau,” said an elated Eric de Nys, Canadian coach, “He skied consistent and strong. Michael Somppi and Emily Nishikawa also had very strong races which was great to see. Overall, today was a fabulous day and we know we have our strongest races still to come so we’re looking to build on these results.”
January 27, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Using her experience as a former Junior World champ, Finland’s rising star Krista Lahteenmaki dominated Thursday’s U-23 10km free technique in Otepaa. Her winning time of 26:33.3 was one minute ahead of runner up Mariya Guschina of Russia while third place went to Norway’s Hilde Lauvhaug.
Lahteenmaki, recently a remarkable 8th overall at this year’s Tour de Ski, controlled the race from the start. On the 3×3.3km course she was in the lead after every lap. The talented Swede Hanna Brodin was not far off her Finnish rival’s pace on the first lap, but the sprinter who was impressive this past weekend in Otepaa finishing second claiming her first world cup podium, paid the price for starting too fast on the challenging course and finished 14th.
Lahteemaki was pleased with her effort today. “I am happy about the victory – the feeling of being the U-23 World Champion is nice. The weather was very cold, but everything else was very good. My skis were good, the track was good. It’s a demanding course here in Otepaa. Now I will concentrate on my next race.”
For the North Americans, it was Canada’s Emily Nishikawa leading the way with a top-20 results placing a strong 16th in 28:41.5. Sadie Bjornsen was the top US skier in 23rd in 29:31.1 followed by Canuck Alysson Marshall in 25th with a time of 29:34.5.
“I was pretty happy with how things went today,” Nishikawa told SkiTrax. “I started off pretty smooth and relaxed, then on my 2nd lap I caught a sweet ride from a German girl who was just starting. I felt strong, pushed my hardest, and I paced it pretty well so I’m really happy with this race.
“It was pretty cold today, but being from the Yukon I’m used to it and prefer racing at colder temps. I’m looking forward to the rest of the week, it should be really exciting,” added Nishikawa.
“I had a decent race today. I was careful not to start too hard and I focused on being strong and relaxed throughout the race,” Marshall told SkiTrax by email. “The course had some difficult climbs but there were downhills after which allowed for some recovery.
“A Norwegian passed me about 1.5km before the finish and I stayed with her into the stadium so I got a good ride up the last couple climbs. I am excited to race the classic sprint on Saturday!”
Caitlin Patterson (USA) who was recently on the podium at collegiate races in Lake Placid was 26th in 29:34.8. Sara Hewitt (CAN) finished in 28th, Becca Rorabaugh (USA) was 29th and Erin Tribe (CAN) placed 36th.
January 26, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – While it was a mixed nation podium today in the men’s junior 10km free race, the top step again belonged to Norway. On a cool day with powdery snow conditions the winner delivered a world cup worthy performance. The victor was Sindre Bjoernestad Skar of Norway with a time of 24:05.2. Second place went to Markus Weeger of Germany, who was back 16 seconds while third went to Perttu Hyvarinen (FIN) at 17.5 seconds.
While the course is getting positive reviews, it is a tough one. Following the event Skar said, “I knew this race was my best chance at Otepaa to be the champion. I knew I had to fight from the very first 100 meters to the end. It am very happy to be the champion. That’s amazing,”.
Weeger was not disappointed by winning the silver medal. “I began this race slowly (and built into it)….My skis were very fast. I didn’t expect to be on the podium,” he commented.
The top American was Alaska skier, Scott Patterson, now racing for UVM, in 28th. Head coach of the US Junior Ski Team squad in Estonia, Matt Whitcomb, described Patterson’s race to SkiTrax in a phone interview. “I just talked with him,” said Whitcomb, “Scott said he felt off the mark in today’s race. He said he went out poorly, it was cold and that he felt flat. But, I’ll tell you, to be flat and off the mark and still finish in the top thirty is pretty good. He can be in the top ten in this event.”
Denver’s Andrew Dougherty placed 49th, Erik Bjornsen from Mazama, WA was 57th and George Cartwright (NMU) was tied in 76th.
Andy Shields from Waterloo lead the Canadian men in 49th with a time of 26:20.3, followed by Canmore Nordic’s Russ Kennedy in 50th, Jordan Cascagnette (Team Hardwood) in 64th, and Adam Gillmor from Rocky Mountain Racers in 68th.
“Overall, I think our men had an average day,” Canadian coach Eric de Nys told SkiTrax by email. “There are tough shoes to fill with our last crop of juniors and the likes of Alex Harvey and Fred Touchette. Our target is still the podium but we’re not at that point yet.
“Andy started very fast but just couldn’t maintain the pace. After skiing the 17th fastest on the first lap, he started to fade and ended up 49th and wasn’t happy with his effort. His favourite race is the pursuit and he’s looking forward to it. Russell skied consistently and overall was happy with his effort while Jordan said he felt okay about his race. Aaron wasn’t overly pleased with his day and feels he can do better. The focus now is the upcoming races.”
Thirty-five nations are taking part in the FIS World Junior and U-23 World Nordic Championships. This year’s championships mark the first time they have live television coverage on EuroSport 2.
January 25, 2011 (Barrie, ON) – It was so good to see a “traditional” cross-country ski race on Saturday from Otepaa. The 10 and 15km individual start classic races were great to watch. I grew up with this form of racing and it’s what attracted me to the sport in the first place. For me racing against the clock and yourself with no one to help you is the purest form of racing. I used to argue with cycling road racers about the merits of racing by yourself or in a pack, and we agreed that it takes a different kind of mentality to do these two types of races.
You can really see this in Petter Northug (NOR). He’s a pack racer and a sprinter with the perfect mentality and physiology for those types of races. He’s not nearly as good as an individual start competitor. His 8th place on Saturday in Otepaa was actually a good race for him. I believe that 20 years ago, he would not have nearly as many good results that he has achieved when most of the races were individual starts. I also do not believe that his compatriot, the great Bjoern Dahlie, would have been as good back then if they were using mass starts because he did not have a very good sprint. Most of his races were won long before the final 200 meters.
However the same cannot be said for Norway’s queen, Marit Bjoergen. She is the best at everything. She can win an individual start by over 30 seconds like she did on Saturday and also win mass start races and sprints. She is just so dominant that it has become a surprise when she does not win. Once again, on Sunday in the individual sprints, for the second week in a row she had problems with another skier and did not make it into the final.
The distance course in Otepaa is a very tough course. The 5km loop is very hilly with one big hill that goes up beside the ski jump seemingly from the bottom to the top. The last 200 meters feature 13%-plus grade and all of the skiers had to herringbone. To win on a course like this you need great fitness, great technique, great mental strength and you need to pace properly. Bjoergen had all of these and won easily.
Justyna Kowalczyk (Poland) and Teresa Johaug (Norway) also showed great skills. Kowalczyk is in great shape and very strong mentally and Johaug is the best female climber in the world. That these three women finished one, two, and three is no surprise.
The men’s 15km race was won by Elder Roenning because he paced it better than anyone else, especially fellow Norwegian Martin Johnsrud Sundby who was the leader at 10km but faded to 7th. Daniel Rickardsson of Sweden and Maxim Vylezghanin of Russia also showed great fitness and pacing to finish 2nd and 3rd. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Andrus Veerpalu finished 5th on his home track even though he is 40 years old. He is the master of the 15km classic having won two Olympic gold medals at that distance. He also does not like the mass start races with a sprint at the end and I’m sure that this race format was set up especially for him.
While the individual distance course was a true test of the skiers the classic sprint course from Sunday was not. There were not enough hills in this course so instead of watching a classic sprint race we got to watch a double pole sprint race. Yuck! I hate it when this happens – it’s like going to watch a hockey game and all they do is fight.
So, once again, with all six men in the final only double poling someone you have never heard of before – Eirik Bransdal of Norway won. Back in 2008 the same thing happened in Canmore where Bjoern Naess from Norway won. FIS tried to fix this by forcing race organizers to change the courses (they added a big hill in Vancouver to the sprint course) and we’ve never heard of Naess since. It’s a shame, really, because Otepaa obviously has the hills to make a good course. The ironic thing is that the Norwegians have been trying for years to preserve classic technique from the onslaught of skating and you would think that the head of the World Cup committee, Vegard Ulvang, who is Norwegian, would not want to have double pole only classic races. The other ironic thing is that Norwegians keep winning these kinds of races.
The female sprinters used all of the classic techniques in their race and the best classic sprinter in the world – Petra Majdic of Slovenia – won convincingly over last year’s World Junior champion, Hanna Brodin from Sweden, and Maikan Falla of Norway. Brodin will be staying in Otepaa for another week to contest the U23 World championships and she has to be the favourite to win the sprints next weekend.
Dasha Gaiazova had the best result of her career finishing 8th. She continues to improve, especially in sprinting and she has taken over the #1 spot on the Canadian women’s team. Chandra Crawford finished 27th after qualifying 17th. Her qualifying time was almost 3 seconds closer to the top time than what she did in Vancouver, so she is improving. However, she is still 6 seconds slower than the best classic sprinters so there is still plenty of room for improvement.
There were no Americans at Otepaa this weekend and the rest of the Canadian skiers were all young skiers who were there for experience and to race on the same courses that they will use next weekend for the U23 World Championships. The best results from these young skiers were the 31st place by Len Valjas (he missed qualifying for the heats by .02 seconds) and a 33rd by Alysson Marshall, also close to qualifying in the sprints.
There are no World Cup races next weekend because of these U23 World Championships which held in conjunction with the World Junior Championships. Both Canada and the United States have full teams at these events. The World Cup continues on February 4-6 in Rybinsk, Russia with a full weekend of pursuit, sprint and relay races.
January 24, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – The past week in Finland has been great; good snow, good trails, good lodging…but now it’s time to get to Estonia, where the races are! After driving down to Helsinki, we boarded a ferry that took us across the Baltic Sea and docked in Tallinn, Estonia.
I’m actually pretty disappointed that they didn’t at least stamp our passports! But there was absolutely no boarder control – I guess it’s not that big of a deal in Europe.
We played some epic games of Wii bowling and golf, and were joined by a little Finnish girl that took it very seriously.
There were also some… uh… dancers on the boat. Cartwright expresses his opinion below:
Sadly, the fun and games ended after a couple of hours. We docked at Tallinn, and drove our cars off the ferry.
Since I’ve still got the tail-end of a cold, I was relegated to the cargo van for the drive to our hotel (the Waide motel), which is a very nice place about a half hour away from the race venue in Otepaa.
Hopefully I’ll kick this cold for good in the next few days. Now there’s nothing to do but explore the nearby towns and get amped up to race!
February 18, 2013 (Otepää, Estonia) – Simen Oestensen of Norway and Sweden’s Sandra Hansson won the 2013 men’s and women’s 63km CT Tartu Maraton in Otepää on Sunday. Conditions were ideal, with temperatures of -4 C at the start, no wind and a beautiful 63km long track through the Estonian woods.
