January 08, 2015 – Sharon Firth is involved in a program to support active living that produced Walk to Tuk, one of six finalists in a contest, and the winner receives up to $1 million from the Government of Canada – read more on the Firth’s here.

I just wanted to thank you again for your support and participation in the taping of the Play Exchange show. The show is airing tomorrow at 7:00pm on CBC and the voting starts at 4:00pm.  You all have great cameos in the footage and you all look great!

Thanks again and feel free to share the info below with all your northern and southern contacts! As you know we are up against all southern initiatives and could use all the help we can get.

We need your support!

The NWTRPA’s Walk to Tuk is a finalist in the Play Exchange, a national challenge to find and support groups that are promoting active living across Canada. Out of 422 entries, we were selected as one of six finalist – but now we need your help!

The next step of the challenge is the voting stage, where Canadians like you will select the winning idea. The winner of the Play Exchange will receive an investment of up to $1 million from the Government of Canada.

Help us rally support by voting and spreading the word!

Here are some ways you can help:

1. Watch the Walk to Tuk be featured on CBC at 7:00pm this Friday January 9th
2. Vote! It’s easy and only takes a minute here.

Voting takes place as of 4:00pm this Friday January 9 – 16, 2015

3. Share our story, videos, photos on Twitter and Facebook!

Thanks for all your support! Let’s share this northern program with the nation!

Cheers

Sheena Tremblay
Active Communities Coordinator
NWT Recreation and Parks Association

January 08, 2015 (Toronto, ON) – We are excited to present the standings of our 7th annual international SkiTrax FIS Fantasy Tour de Ski 2014/15 Contest after round four in Toblach, Italy. Team USA’s Sadie Bjornsen was the top North American finisher in the women’s 5km CL race in eighth place (read our coverage here) and Canada’s Alex Harvey skied to 14th position in the men’s 10km CL (read our coverage here).

The contest lead changed hands again, with team 2015 TdS WINNERS taking back the top spot with 452 points. Team DJN has moved up a spot into second with 448 points, while team ofsss’s hero moved into third place with 444 points. With over 400 teams entered from around the world the 2014/15 edition of our contest competition is proving to be a good battle.

For the contest standings after Toblach pls click HERE.

Good luck to all contestants and thanks to all of our great sponsors, including Madshus, Nipika Mountain Resort, Rudy Project, Bjorn Daehlie, Yoko, Supercamp, Stoneham, Cross Country Canada, One Way and High Peaks Cyclery.

SkiTrax Fantasy FIS TdS 2014/15 Contest Prizes

* 1st Prize – Madshus Redline Carbon Skate skis, Super Nano Skate boots, Nano Carbon Race 100 UHM poles (value $1,815)
* 2nd Prize – Nipika Mountain Resort – 2 nights lodging in fully equipped cabin incl. all amenities (value $875)
* 3rd Prize – Rudy Project Sunglasses For Sport Agon + For Life Spinhawk (value $450)
* 4th Prize – Bjorn Daehlie XC Ski Suit (value $300)
* 5th Prize – Yoko  9100 poles (value $299)
* 6th Prize – Supercamp 2.5-day weekend camp w/coaching, lunches, trail passes etc. (value $275)
* 7th Prize – Stoneham First Cut Jacket (value $249)
* 8th Prize – Cross Country Canada package Sweater/Gloves/Touque (value $210)
* 9th Prize – One Way Pro Team Day Bag (value $100)
* 10th Prize – High Peaks Cyclery Gift Certificate (value $100)

SkiTrax is North America’s leading Nordic skiing publication and the official magazine of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) and Cross Country Canada (CCC).

January 06, 2015 (Houghton, Michigan) – Snowy conditions and +5 degree temps saw Rosie Brennan and Becca Rorabaugh give APU Nordic Ski Center a 1-2 top podium finish in the women’s A-Final Classic Sprint CL on Day 2 of the 2015 U.S. Cross Country Championships. Craftsbury Green Racing Projects Liz Guiney claimed the final podium spot while Katharine Ogden (Stratton Mountain School) won the B-Final.

“It was definitely a tough day with a heat taking somewhere over 5 minutes in some cold, slow snow, but I had some rocking boards and was feeling fit so I just kept pushing,” said Brennan.

Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) proved to be unbeatable again in the men’s race as Benjamin Saxton (SMST2/USST) took second with top qualifier, Haakon Hjelstuen (Lyn Ski) Michigan Tech Huskies, a U23 skier from Trondheim, Norway in third. Logan Hanneman (University of Alaska Fairbanks) was the fastest man in the B-Final.

“I’m excited about today,” said Blackhorse-von Jess. “This was always part of the plan, to win this while ramping up to be ready for the World Championships in February. This wasn’t the focus, but I knew I could do this and I’m happy I did.”

“I look at things differently, since missing out on the Olympic Team. I was very reflective about returning to skiing again this year and I did because I know I can be in the top thirty in the world, I ski with Simi (Hamilton) and Andy (Newell) enough during the year that I know I can ski with them and I know they are top thirty in the world skiers,” he added.

“It’s always exciting to win but this is my second championship and the goal is to put myself in a position to make the World Championship team and to win the sprint Super Tour to compete with the best in the world.”

Second place finisher Saxton said: “I did everything I could to win today. But I didn’t get out well at the start of the final and that was on me. Overall I have to be happy as I skied well, my skis were amazing, the coaches did a great job and I gave it everything I have.”

 

Top Juniors today were Zak Ketterson (Loppet Nordic Racing) in the men’s race and Ann-Cathrin Uhl (University of Alaska Fairbanks) in the junior women’s competiton.

Qualifications here.
Full Senior results here
Full Junior results here

January 06, 2015 (Val Mustair, Switzerland) – Simi Hamilton scored a strong 8th as Italy’s Federico Pellegrino delivered a knockout punch besting Norway’s Petter Northug and Martin Johnsrud Sundby at the line in the men’s 1.4km Sprint FR turning the tables on Norway’s stronghold at the Tour de Ski. The feisty Italian came from behind as Sundby faltered and Northug was ready to pounce as he out-dueled them both by boot with a well-timed final lunge.

Hamilton raced well to finish third in his quarterfinal advancing to the semis as a Lucky Loser where he ended up fourth behind Evgeniy Belov (RUS), Calle Halfvarsson (SWE) and Maciej Starega (POL). His 8th place result is his best this year as Switzerland has been good to him – he won his first stage World Cup sprint at the Tour last year in Lenzerheide.

“For the most part, I’m happy with how the day turned out”, said Hamilton. “I didn’t feel great in the qualifier and a crash on one of the extremely icy corners didn’t help too much. But I knew that on such a long course, I still had a chance of making it through to the heats if I focused on getting up as fast as possible and skiing as hard as I could all the way through the line. It was bittersweet to actually make it through in the top 30, knowing that Andy’s [Newell] fall was what most likely kept me in there….”

“My body felt better once I started the quarters, but I definitely just felt a little flat all day. On such a long course, I chose to kind of hang in the back of the pack through 1+ laps and then put in a surge the second time up the steep climb to try to pick off some of the more tired guys in my heats. It worked better in my quarter than in my semi… I was running out of steam in that semi and with such icy corners from the top of the course to the finish stretch, it was nearly impossible to pass anyone in that last 800 meters,” recounted Hamilton.

“Obviously I would have been much happier with the day if it had ended like the race in Lenzerheide last year, but like I said, ski racing and courses are always different and you just have to pull out the positives from every day you’re out there. I feel like my fitness and speed are only getting better as we get closer to Falun, I’m healthy, and I’m really looking forward to getting in a few more sprints in the next couple weeks before we head into our Davos training camp pre-Ostersund and World Champs,” he added.

Canada’s Alex Harvey was next in 16th as he looked destined to make the semifinal but was pipped at the line by Simon Andersson from Sweden and did not advance. Teammate Devon Kershaw also qualified but finised 5th in his heat ending up 22nd while Len Valjas, who has been battling a cold all week, skied to 28th spot. Harvey now sits fifth overall.

“It was good to qualify for the heats, but I wanted a little more,” said Valjas, who has decided to pull out of the remaining four races on the cross-country ski grind through Europe. “I went out really fast today, and just had nothing left up the final hill. I just didn’t have the energy today, but I gave it all I had.”

The USA’s Erik Bjornsen was 59th, Ivan Babikov (Can) finished 73rd and top sprinter Andy Newell (USA) was an uncharacteristic 83rd due to a big crash that took him out of the running. According to U.S. XC Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover, “Andy [Newell] fell on a corner on the second lap. Very disappointing because he was running fifth in the qualifications at the 1/2 way mark.”

We caught up with Newell later and he told us, “Yeah saying the Tour has been tough on me would be an understatement. The body has been feeling pretty crappy and I really struggled with crashes and skis in the first two stages. Even when I’m not feeling great sprinting tends to still go well so I was pumped to get a shot in the skate sprint but ended up crashing out (apparently with a top-5 time at the time of the crash). So it has really been frustrating for me.

“Regardless of any results this past week, something just isn’t working. I’ve been struggling with an allergic reaction the past few months and also a little sickness over Christmas so it’s hard to tell what kind of effect that might be having on my body while racing. But I haven’t felt good in a distance race in quite some time. Hoping to straighten things out before the next few sprint weekends,” he concluded.

Qualifications here.
Final results here.

January 05, 2015 – Every year, the U.S. Cross Country Skiing Championships, often called “Nationals” plays host to the skiers not racing in Europe, skiers making a jump to the next step, beyond racing in the U.S. to international competition and a global ski career.

“A popular question is, ‘How do we obtain International success in Cross Country skiing?’,” explains U.S. Ski Team Development Coach, Bryan Fish, “Obviously, it takes hard work and well-planned consistent training, however success also stems from knowing the key opportunities as an upcoming skiers.  These opportunities are both domestic and abroad.”

The 2015 US Cross Country Skiing Championships January 2-10 on at Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center in Houghton, Michigan is that opportunity. These are the events that are measured as key pillars in becoming a World Class skier. “ALL athletes need a FIS license for these trips.  Some/parents/ coaches encourage their athletes to not purchase a FS license until they qualify for the U18 trip for example.  This however means they go into these races with no FIS profile and hence poor starting positions at the races. FIS licenses are good to have in advance for this purpose.”

So athletes need a FIS license, a Passport, but what of the trips? What are the details? Here are the basic sketches of the NNF funded, USSA sanctioned devo trips at the US Cross Country Skiing Championships. Skiers will be competing for berths in the following three critical international development teams. Selection for the teams is competitive and spots are limited.

– The U18 Trip – Often called the Scando Trip, this competition is geared for 16 and 17 year old athletes en route to a career of international racing. An annual two week trip focused on raising the level of skiing awareness for developing Americans this event focuses athletes by exposing them to stronger competitive events, skiing clubs and programs in Scandinavia.
Details: Feb 1-11 Örnsköldsvik, Sweden (Trip total: 12 athletes – 6 female & 6 male)

– The WJC / U23 Championships – Internationally recognized as a stepping stone to World level skiing, racers who go on to World Cup success often have posted results in the top ten at World Junior competitions (for athletes under 20 years old) or the U23 World Championships (for athletes under 23). The NNF funds the majority of this trip, subsidizing the individual costs for those that qualify through strong domestic racing.
Details: Jan 28 – Feb 9 Almaty, Kazakhstan (22 athletes – Juniors  = 6 female & 6 male; Under-23 = 5 female & 5 male)

– The World Cup/ World Championships (Double points for US Champs to name SuperTour Leaders & compete for World Champ berths) – Skiing’s highest level of competition, young skiers have the capacity to make this leap early if talent allows. (Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen are examples of women who raced from a young age at the World Championships.)
Details: Based off points selections. Numbers will vary.

Each of these teams builds towards the next team, the next level, the next caliber of racing.  Success requires step-by step-opportunities to allow the athletes to grow and improve their skiing. Lastly, all of this takes money and the USST does not provide funding. The National Nordic Foundation was founded by Reid Lutter for this very reason back in 1995. The NNF funds the majority of the expenses associated with these events as NNF Pillar Projects.

“Step one for every developing skier is taking part in events like the US Cross Country Skiing Championships,” Fish continued. “You have to toe the start line and compete for a position to qualify for one of these teams. “

For more information on the U.S. Cross Country Skiing Championships, visit here.

For more information including the criteria in determining each of these teams, log onto the USSA website here.

To learn more about the National Nordic Foundation, visit here.

January 05, 2015 (Obertsdorf, Germany) – Canada’s Alex Harvey executed a near-perfect race yesterday in the men’s 15k CL pursuit, Stage 2 at the Tour de Ski in Obertsdorf, Germany to capture a close silver, only 0.6s behind winner Petter Northug Jr. (NOR). Fast skis and good sensations indicated to the young Canadian that it was going to be a good day and he was able to put it all together and nab a podium at the prestigious Tour de Ski 2015, despite many challenges at the front from other race favourites. Read our race coverage here.

January 04, 2015 (Houghton, Michigan) – Cold and windy conditions greeted skiers for the opening of the 2015 U.S. Cross Country Championships with the 10/15 km FR race. Snow conditions have be great in Houghton, Michigan which was a welcome sight for the nearly 400 athletes who have converged here for the coveted titles on Michigan Tech’s renowned Nordic ski trails.

Kyle Bratrud (Northern Michigan University), 21, took home the first national title besting Kris Freeman (Freebird) in the men’s 15km FR contest by a comfortable margin with Patrick Caldwell (Dartmouth College) edging out Matthew Gelso (Sun Valley SEF) for the final podium spot.

“My goal coming into today was to get a top ten,” said Bratrud. “Coming from NMU, I ski this course all the time and I know it pretty well and I was excited when I saw this snow.”

Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus), fresh off the period one World Cup schedule, raced to victory in the women’s 10km FR contest with APU Nordic Ski Center’s Chelsea Holmes taking second followed closely by her teammate Rosie Brennan in third – check out our pre-race interview with Brennan here.

“It feels absolutely great to come back to the U.S. and race so well at the national championships. The race today was hard and I had to fight the whole way! I am so grateful for the awesome support from the U.S. Ski Team while I was over in Europe this fall on the World Cup,” commented Gregg.

“The race was quite tough,” said second-placed Holmes. “The nature of the course and the cold snow meant there was no rest out there.  I am happy with the effort I gave, it was a great way to kick off the week!”

Due to forecast sub-zero temperatures the classic sprints has been moved back one day and will now be held on Jan. 6 with the same timing as originally planned on Jan. 5.

Results

Men

1. Kyle Bratrud (Northern Michigan University) 42:01.6
2. Kris Freeman (Freebird) 42:51.6
3. Patrick Caldwell (Dartmouth College) 42:54.3
4. Matthew Gelso (Sun Valley SEF) 42:54.4
5. Fredrik Schwencke (Northern Michigan University) 43:13

Full results here.

Women

1. Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus) 30:31.5
2. Chelsea Holmes (APU Nordic Ski Center) 30:43.6
3. Rosie Brennan (APU Nordic Ski Center) 30:44.2
4. Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) 31:03.2
5. Jessica Yeaton (APU Nordic Ski Center) 31:03.8

Full results here.

January 04, 2015  (Obertsdorf, GER) – Norway’s Marit Bjoergen stamped her authority once again on the Tour de Ski extending her margin over her closest rival to 1:01.2 as she claimed the women’s 10km CL pursuit today in Obertsdorf. Completing the Norge podium were Heidi Weng in second and Therese Johaug in 3rd. Sweden’s Stina Nilsson cracked the top 5 with the 4th fastest time of the day.

The USA’s Sadie Bjornsen and Liz Stephen continued their charge at the front landing 14th and 15th respectively while their teammates were further back as Ida Sargent was 40th and Kikkan Randall was 44th followed by Sophie Caldwell in 55th and Jessie Diggins in 56th.

“My goal for today was to stay focused on my performance and my competition. I had perfect skis and very good grip on the climbs,” commented Bjoergen.

We caught up with Bjornsen while she was en route to Switzerland, “On the road. What a fun race to experiment with different paces and strengths. Things were spectacular until 5k, when I had to start hanging on for dear life.

“As the tracks fell apart, I found myself stiffening up to try to find some kick- so I wasn’t able to keep up the “dream race”. It is coming though…this tour business is pretty fun!! Off we go to Switzerland!

For Stephen it was another satisfying day as she loves the Tour and is ready for more giving us an inside look as some of the other issues besides the weather that can plague organizers.

“I was feeling quite good going into today’s race. It’s fun to be starting so far up in the front for a race like today, and my body recovered well after yesterday.

“The conditions were definitely tricky, as it poured rain and was super windy from noon yesterday until about 4 this morning so the organizers had a lot of work to do putting the course back together again after such a tough night.

“Banners were blown away, tv camera stands blown down and cameras broken beyond repair, not to mention bows and debris in the trail. It’s amazing that the race conditions were as good as they were today. Again, my skis were amazing and I was able to ski the way I wanted to.

“I’m definitely happy with my result. It’s a long Tour still ahead and a lot can happen, but I am really happy with my first two stages for sure. Really fun to have Sadie to ski with too,” she told Trax by email.

US star Randall had a tough second lap and struggled to finish ending up an uncharacteristic 44th but says she’s moving in the right direction and looks forward to the sprint in Val Mustair. Time will tell for defending Sprint Cup globe champ who has not come close to her results in previous years.

“I went into today’s race feeling optimistic about building off of yesterday’s good start.  With the tight start times, I knew it would be a good chance to ski with strong classic skiers.

“I had a solid first lap, moving up a couple places.  But heading into the 2nd lap i wasn’t able to hold the same pace and started slipping on the climbs.  It was a struggle then until the finish. 44th place.

“I was hoping to be stronger today.  I was mostly focused on the effort and pace over the results and I ended up a little below my expectations.  However, I know that today’s race was a good workout that will help me keep moving forward.  Just have to be patient.

“I’m really looking forward to the skate sprint on Tuesday in Val Mustair, our next race race after tomorrow’s rest day. It is a good course for me and I’ve heard they’ve added a jump! My skate sprinting has been feeling stronger and stronger! The tour is all about racing and then moving right on to the next day.  So, on to Switzerland,” wrote the triple globe winner.

Full results here.

December 31, 2014 – There were many memorable moments during the year of 2014. Check out a collection of images by Nordic Focus capturing many of those great memories. To see all the images click here to see the album on our Facebook page, or in the photo gallery at the bottom of the FIS Cross-Country homepage at fis-ski.com.

December 30, 2014 (Alaska) – This past Dec. 22nd, 150 bright-eyed kids got a chance to ski with 23 top US athletes at the 4^th Annual Lickety-Splits camp for kids.  The camp offered the opportunity for kids to spend the afternoon playing games and learning to ski from some of the best skiers in the country.

Tyler Kornfield, the founder of Lickety Splits, noted “This year’s camp was the best yet. Since the beginning, we have had between 100 and 140 kids [per year] and this year, we had a record of over 150.”

The Lickety-Splits camp is a way for elite Alaskan athletes to give back to the community and get kids excited about skiing, Kornfield explained.   “Among the coaches, eight ski professionally, 19 skied or are skiing in college, and they represent many of the ski clubs in Alaska.”  Kornfield himself is a two-time US National Champion and professional athlete with the Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center.

Konfield noted “The priority of the camp was to get the kids outside and having fun while having solid role models to look up to.”  The camp was free to attend, and open kids ages 7-13.

Lickety splits focuses on a younger age range than Fast and Female, and unlike Fast and Female, is open to both boys and girls.

“When I was planning and starting Lickety Splits, I based a lot of it off of Fast and Female because they do an amazing job. The priority of my camp was to get the kids outside and having fun while having solid role models to look up to.”

At the camp, the kids practiced technique, played games, and even participated in a mini race.  Lex Treinen, also an athlete with APUNSC, was the coach of the uphill/downhill station where kids learn basic climbing technique and practiced slalom turns on the descents.

“My favorite part of doing this is meeting all the kids, seeing their excitement for skiing, and helping inspire the next generation of athletes”

Kornfield’s goal, ultimately, it to get more kids interested in skiing early on.   “This is a crucial age group for getting them excited to ski before moving on to middle school and high school.”

Kornfield himself followed that path, skiing with Alaska Winter Stars, UAF, and ultimately APU.  “We designed the camp to connect kids with more athletes like me who came up the same pipeline.”

The camp is slated to be held again next year in mid-December.

December 29, 2014 (Baie-Saint-Paul, QC) – Our friends at Le Massif Ski Resort have informed us of a light rail train shuttle service running along the Saint-Lawrence River between the town of Baie-Saint-Paul and Le Massif, home of the Sentiers des Caps cross-country ski area at the Summit at an altitude of 700-800 metres.

The round trip takes 45 minutes and features an apres-ski snack and drink service, which includes alcoholic beverages. The route also treats riders to the beautiful scenery of the region.

Read the recent lapresse.ca feature article about the train service here (French).

More info about Le Massif here.

More info about the Sentiers des Caps cross-country ski area here.

December 28, 2014 (Val di Fiemme, IT) – Last year on the World Cup circuit less than 1% of the accredited coaches and staff were female. In the business world of Fortune 500 companies, 14.6% of women in 2013 held executive officer positions. Currently, cross-country skiing has 13.6% less women working at the top level than North America’s Fortune 500 companies.

Historically World Cups have involved a few female staff, but their participation is as limited as it has been intermittent. In 2013/2014, regular female staff on the circuit included three regular staff: Guri Hetland working for the Swiss team, Kazimiera Stroliene on behalf of the Lithuanian team and Italy’s Valentina Vurich working as a serviceman [the European term for wax technician] for the Polish team. Elena Vaelbe is officially the head coach of Team Russia, though as the president of the Russian Ski Association, FIS points out this is more a titular position.

As it stands, the 2014/2015 season shows no sign of improving, as both Hetland and Vurich have moved away from their direct coaching roles. This means that out of the average 250 accredited staff in next year’s World Cup, only one (Stroliene) will be female.

It is with these statistics in mind that FIS hosted its first-ever coaching seminar for females Sept. 7-10 in Val Di Fiemme, Italy. Vegard Ulvang, the FIS cross-country chairman, stated, “We [cross-country skiing] need more women as coaches and leaders. We cannot ‘order’ more female coaches, but we can motivate nations to give them more opportunities.” Ulvang endorsed the seminar as a first step toward addressing the gender gap, saying, “The best thing we can do is bring women together.”

For Gabriella Paruzzi, chair of the FIS Women’s Committee, the absence of females in leadership positions within the sport is something that needs to be addressed directly by all of those involved: “If we don’t do something for our world, the sport and female world, it will not improve. It’s about building the base from the ground up,” she says.

The three-day conference brought together 18 women from nine different countries. Of these women, less than a third had World Cup coaching experience, most working with junior and younger club-level athletes.

At 25, Katherina Milazzi is one of the first female coaches in Austria. She says breaking into the male-dominated culture of cross-country ski coaching in Austria has been an isolating experience. “I have to work twice as hard and know twice as much as the male coaches. When I get feedback, it’s people screaming with their fingers pointed saying, ‘No, you are wrong.’ It’s horrible.”

Brit Baldishol is a trailblazer in the world of women in coaching. With roughly 25 years of coaching experience in Norway, her resume is staggering. With an education in sport sciences, Baldishol has worked as a club coach, as the Norwegian Junior National team coach, has attended four World Ski Championships and four Junior World Ski Championships. She is now the chief of development for cross-country skiing in Norway.

Baldishol’s opening statement to the coaches gathered in Val Di Fiemme is a bold one. “Despite the fact equality has come a long way, we’re not there until the expectation on men and women are equal. Right now, there is still the expectation from society that women become wives and mothers first.”

While her coaching career has been successful, Baldishol is quick to point out that it has not been easy. “When I started in 1996, I asked, ‘Is this position possible for a girl?’ and the answer was ‘no.’ She says the profession of coaching is still primarily structured to accommodate “fit single young men.”

Baldishol believes the qualities of a good coach cannot ultimately be defined by gender, but she does note that female coaches bring unique and valuable elements to a team. “I think because we are women we have another insight. I think that’s a good part of it. I’m always looking out for the athletes and their well-being. I talk to them differently than some of the boys. Maybe the athletes tell me more things because I am a woman.”

Dr. Fulvio Cuizza, sports psychologist to the Italian Nation Ski Team, has made a living studying the inherent differences between men and woman. In his experience, these fundamental differences must be considered both when working with athletes and when selecting team staff.

“You can motivate a male towards a specific goal and expect him to succeed regardless of his environment,” he says. “But in my experience, woman must give meaning to what they are doing. As a coach, you must take care of relationships and the general environment to help motivate women, to train and produce results. Men are much more simple.”

Cuizza believes that by creating a sustainable environment female athletes will stay in the sport longer and produce more consistent results. “I saw women killing themselves because there weren’t good team relationships. This is directly connected to how long a career can be. If it’s not a healthy, meaningful environment that gives sense to the whole life, it can be a big problem to go on training and racing.”

In explaining the hardwired psychological differences between males and females, Cuizza points to the unique acute-stress response commonly known as the fight-or-flight response. Under stressful circumstances, either physically or mentally, the sympathetic nerve system responds immediately.

“The male reaction in this circumstance is fight-or-flight. This is something ingrained over five million years. You fight or you escape.”

The female response to acute stress, however, is described as tend-and-befriend. “This is a pro-active, pro-social response to stress. I think we need more of this in sport. It is for this reason I think all staff should contain a mixture of both males and females.”

Here Cuizza touches on one of the broader themes of his presentation; that in order to create a healthy, fully functioning team environment, female coaches must be part of the equation. “What I see in male coaches [is that] they’re mostly technical guys. They lose 90% of the battle. I’ve followed fantastic guys, but they’ve lost the concept of team completely because they didn’t understand what was going on within the group. Women bring 360 attention to the fact there’s a person and an athlete.”

In the end, Cuizza’s recommendations when working with teams echo his findings: “My experience is always that you must have a winning atmosphere first. . . . Women can enrich all the world of sport if they become part of staff at higher levels.”

Whether or not female coaches will begin to populate high-level senior coaching positions around the world has yet to be seen. In Austria, coach Milazzi is not optimistic. “It’s hard,” she says. “Most athletes have never seen successful high-level female coaches. Inside, they don’t believe it’s possible or even important.”

Kikkan Randall is the FIS athlete rep. From her perspective, engaging more women in leadership roles in cross-country skiing is a high priority. She has some recommendations for sport organizations to help improve the profession for women.” I think sport organizations could work to make the schedules more balanced for time on the road and time with the family. Also, women are more social, so building a network of support and collaboration will also encourage more women to stay in the sport.”

When asked to reflect on her own extremely successful World Cup and Olympic ski career, Paruzzi herself is unsure whether women will ever break into high-level senior coaching positions. “I don’t know,” she says, sighing. “In my experience, I always looked towards the men. . . . Maybe it’s because we are not used to seeing [women] . . . but maybe by promoting [women] from inside, maybe we can open another world.”

December 26, 2014 – After thorough discussions with Local Organising Committees and having taken in consideration the last weather forecasts, the international Ski Federation (FIS), German Ski Association, Swiss Ski, and Italian Winter Sport Federation are happy to confirm that the 9th edition of the Viessmann FIS Tour de Ski performance by Craft Sportswear will be carried out as planned from 3rd – 11th January 2015.

Until today mild weather has allowed only limited snow production in Oberstdorf, (GER). However, temperatures are expected to drop below zero during the upcoming weekend. The LOC of Oberstdorf will utilise all available snow production resources to prepare the competition courses for the next week.

December 25, 2014 (Toronto, ON) – We are excited to announce that the 7th annual international SkiTrax FIS Fantasy Tour de Ski 2014/15 Contest is now live for team registration for contestants worldwide with over $4,000 in prizes up for grabs. This year the Tour de Ski runs from Jan. 3-11, covering 9 days with the first event kicking off in Obertsdorf, Germany.

Here’s how the FIS Tour de Ski 2014/15 Contest works
Register your team of unique individual skiers including four (4) men, and four (4) women plus two (2) Outlaw Skiers (one male and one female) not in the top 15 of the FIS World Cup overall rankings. The menus for all skiers are at registration as well as a link to the FIS World Cup Ranking where you can find more details on each skier.

Deadlines, Points, Prizes
The deadline to register your FIS Tour de Ski 2014/15 team, or to make any changes, is 10pm EST on Jan. 2 – the day before the TdS launches. Earn bonus points such as Kick and Glide or Val Climb Points along with other opportunities to score points – all contest rules and information are available at TdS registration.

Please NOTE – the skier lists are the preliminary team submissions by participating countries and are not complete at this time. Participating nations may also revise their team until Jan. 2, the final day prior to the Tour de Ski. We will do our best to update and inform all contestants of any changes – pls check frequently.

Points will be awarded following each TdS stage based on each skier’s performance and published regularly at skitrax.com so you can follow your team’s progress and see how you compare with other players and the actual TdS standings.

Register HERE.

Good luck to all contestants and thanks to all of our great sponsors, including Madshus, Nipika Mountain Resort, Rudy Project, Bjorn Daehlie, Yoko, Stoneham, Cross Country Canada, One Way and High Peaks Cyclery.

SkiTrax Fantasy FIS TdS 2014/15 Contest Prizes

* 1st Prize – Madshus Redline Carbon Skate skis, Super Nano Skate boots, Nano Carbon Race 100 UHM poles (value $1,815)
* 2nd Prize – Nipika Mountain Resort – 2 nights lodging in fully equipped cabin incl. all amenities (value $875)
* 3rd Prize – Rudy Project Sunglasses For Sport Agon + For Life Spinhawk (value $450)
* 4th Prize – Bjorn Daehlie XC Ski Suit (value $300)
* 5th Prize – Yoko  9100 poles (value $299)
* 6th Prize – Stoneham First Cut Jacket (value $249)
* 7th Prize – Cross Country Canada package Sweater/Gloves/Touque (value $210)
* 8th Prize – TBD
* 9th Prize – One Way Pro Team Day Bag (value $100)
* 10th Prize – High Peaks Cyclery Gift Certificate (value $100)

SkiTrax is North America’s leading Nordic skiing publication and the official magazine of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) and Cross Country Canada (CCC).

December 24, 2014 – The recent news about allegations of widespread, systemic, and apparently state-sponsored doping in Russia as portrayed in a recent German TV documentary (see link below) created a lot of furor with WADA announcing an investigation supported by the association’s Athlete Committee Chair, Beckie Scott. The documentary claims that current Russian sports practices are simply continuing the doping practices common under the former Soviet Union (USSR) and one person is not surprised – Marty Hall.

In fact, Hall, who coached both the US national Nordic ski the Canadian national Nordic team, has been complaining about this situation since the 1970s when athletes from the USSR and other communist countries were dominating podiums.

We caught up with Hall who sent us clippings from the Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun dating from 1988 in which he is quoted as complaining that the east bloc country athletes were doping. Often described as “opinionated and controversial” Hall almost lost his coaching job for being so outspoken about doping during the 1988 Games in Calgary; he hasn’t changed in that respect. “I don’t care what happens to me,” Hall, now in his mid 70s, told this reporter.

“Pierre Harvey [Canada’s brightest XC hope in the late 1980s and father of Alex] in 1988 should have been in top 5; instead was in top 15,” gripes Hall about the 1988 Calgary Winter Games. Hall reveals that Harvey almost quit the sport after those disappointing Olympics on home soil, but Harvey’s wife encouraged him to go back to Europe for two more World Cups. He took home the 30 km CL victory in Falun, Sweden and the 50km CL in Oslo, Norway at the famous Holmenkollen. Harvey holds the distinction of winning Canada’s first-ever World Cup in 1987 at Falun in the 30km FR.

A recounting of the top finishers at the Calgary Olympics is dominated by red flags of the former Soviet Union and other east bloc countries with a sprinkling of western European flags. The US team won 8th place in the 4 X 5km relay while no Canadian flags are to be seen in the top results (as reported by Wikipedia – see link below).

Red flags, of course, have a double meaning and also denote signs that something can be horribly wrong. Hall recounts an earlier period at the 1974 Worlds when he coached US skier Martha Rockwell. “Of the first 12 finishers, only three were not from Communist countries. What about the Norwegians and Swedes?” he asked, referring to the nationalities which normally dominate Nordic skiing. His insinuation is that when nationalities without a strong tradition in the sport begin dominating, there are red flags with those results.

Hall is not naïve to suggest doping is absent in the West, but points to a case where a US coach turned in one of his skiers for doping. He uses this anecdote to illustrate the integrity of the US and Canadian systems.

“But the people who piss me [off are the ones in positions of power who did nothing]. They didn’t want to embarrass the sport or lose sponsors!” says Hall. He spoke at length about the lack of will from leaders of the sport’s international governing bodies – the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) and past presidents of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Those who followed the Lance Armstrong doping scandal will be familiar with allegations of complicity on the part of the UCI, cycling’s governing body. Hall’s comments suggest the same in cross-country skiing – is it the same in soccer, running and other sports where high profile doping cases have been exposed ?

There is one name at the top whom Hall speaks well of – Canadian Dick Pound. “He used to be [a big guy with the] IOC; then he went to start the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA); that screwed him up back at the IOC! He was a dedicated enemy of the druggies.” Pound twice served as VP of the IOC and was a former candidate to become president there. Hall insinuates that the IOC wouldn’t want a president who would take such a hard line against dopers.

Hall’s criticisms of the former Soviet Union go beyond simply doping; he accuses those involved of trying to intimidate non-Soviet athletes and recalls travelling to the region with sisters, Shirley and Sharon Firth, who dominated the Canadian women’s cross-country skiing scene from 1972 to 1984. The two sisters told Hall they were told “…you’ve got to be with us” basically the whole time that they were in the USSR.

Hall remains well-connected and is on top of what is going on elsewhere in the sport, noting that the situation has improved in some countries. “They got the Italians to stop [doping]; it’s now a felony there. Italians joke: ‘We don’t dope anymore because we could go to jail!’”

Hall recounts Canadian Beckie Scott’s now famous bronze at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City that became gold two years later. The initial gold and silver winners – both Russians – slipped away on a snowmobile before they could be tested for doping but they were caught later and disqualified. “Now skipping a test is the same as failing it.”

Apart from legal sanctions, Hall advocates more “No notice testing.” He mentioned the case of Austrian Johannes Duerr who tested positive for EPO around the time of the Sochi Olympics after multiple negative tests. Hall claims that traces of EPO only remain in the body for half a day and complains that if authorities always test athletes at the same time of day, doping athletes can quickly figure out how to avoid getting caught.

“The good guys have made a lot of gains since 1988,” replies Hall when asked if he is generally more optimistic or pessimistic about the outlook for stamping out doping.

Marty Hall coached the US ski team from 1969-78 and then coached the Canadian team from 1982-1992. He developed the trails and stadium used for the 1995 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Thunder Bay, ON. In the 1970s, he designed and oversaw construction of the American Birkiebeiner Trail in Cable WI.

SkiTrax’s previous article on doping in Russia here.
Nordic results from 1998 Calgary Olympics (Wikipedia) here.

December 23, 2014 (Park City, UT) – Happy Holidays! The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association is proud to present to you our 2013-14 Annual Report. This is an opportunity for us to share with you the accomplishments the USSA achieved this past year and to provide an update on the state of your organization. We are also taking this opportunity to look ahead and share some of our plans for this current season.

Our biggest success this past year came during the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Our athletes walked away with 17 medals, including eight individual gold medals – the most in our organization’s history.

We achieved historic television growth last season, with over 50 hours of broadcast from 23 World Cup and Olympic Qualification events. This year, we are going even bigger with more live coverage of events than ever before. You can find the complete broadcast schedule for this season in the Events section of the report.

Programs such as Team Sochi and the Gold Pass program brought our fundraising success to new heights last year. We sold out the Gold Pass program, raising $4 million net for athletics. Your support of these programs directly contributes to the success of our athletes in Olympic years and beyond.

This past year, our Sport Education and Membership departments unveiled new aspects of their programs aiming to better serve our members and clubs. The new Club Development program certified 10 clubs at the gold and silver levels. Over 20 clubs are in the process of completing certification during the 2014-15 season. The membership department debuted two new membership categories, allowing people involved with USSA clubs at every level to take advantage of a full USSA membership.

The 2013-14 Annual Report is a great resource to review and relive all of the success our organization experienced last year. It is also a great way to learn about what the USSA has planned for the future and look forward to what is already looking to be an amazing 2014-15 season. I hope you enjoy it.

Tiger Shaw

December 22, 2014 – As officially announced in late November, the IBU pro-actively decided to re-analyze some samples that showed atypical results in the previous seasons and were therefore stored for potential future analysis. As a result, five samples were reported positive for recombinant EPO from the WADA laboratory.

Three of the samples belong to two athletes who were already suspended by the IBU’s Anti – Doping Hearing Panel on July 14th 2014, namely Ms. Ekaterina IOURIEVA (one re-analyzed sample) and Ms. Irina STARYKH (two re-analyzed samples).

Ms. Ekaterina IOURIEVA was found to be ineligible to compete for a period of eight (8) years, commencing on December 13th 2013 and Irina STARYKH was found to be ineligible to compete for a period of two years, commencing on December 23th 2013.

Both athletes waived the B sample analysis of the re-analyzed samples.

Ms. Irina STARYKH’s re-analyzed sample was collected in Oberhof (GER) on 2 January 2014 and Ms. Ekaterina IOURIEVA’s samples for re-analysis were collected in Östersund (SWE) on 28 and 29 November 2013. The samples were taken by IBU.

The IBU Anti – Doping Hearing panel has now to decide about the possibility of increasing the period of ineligibility for both athletes.

Moreover the IBU implemented two new provisional suspensions effective as of November 25, 2014 and one effective as of December 15, 2014. The details with regard to the two latter cases will be communicated as soon as this is legally possible.

December 22, 2014 (Ripton, VT) – Rikert Nordic Center and host club, Frost Mountain Nordic pulled out all the stops to put on an amazing race on a pristine day at the Breadloaf campus of Middlebury College. The trails were beautifully groomed, the conditions were impeccable, and the sun decided to show its face as well, making for a lovely day of skiing and a fun time for all.

The races today started off with a 5-kilometer classic individual start for the U16 boys. Next up were the women, who skied a 5-kilometer classic individual start as well, and finally, the men, who did a 10-kilometer classic individual start. Stratton Mountain School and the SMSt2 Team combined for a Stratton sweep of the top step of the podium to kick off the 2014-15 EasternCup campaign.

Adam Witkowski (14:28) and Russell Boswell (14:31) combined to open the EasternCup season with a one-two punch for Stratton Mountain School, edging third place, Adam Gluek (14:35) from Ford Sayer in the boys U16 race. Katherine Ogden (14:55) of Stratton Mountain School set the pace in the Women’s field, with Middlebury’s Heather Mooney (14:59) skiing to second on her home course ahead of Erika Flowers (15:18) of SMSt2. In the men’s race, U.S. Ski Team and Stratton t2 Team member Andy Newell (24:44), skied to the top of the podium ahead of Craftsbury Green Racing Project’s Gordon Vermeer (24:57) and David Sinclair (25:04), skiing for Green Mountain Valley School.

It was a great day for racing, with blue skies, temperatures around 25 degrees, and the sun keeping everybody who was spectating nice and warm. Bill Rogers put it nicely. “How could anyone be disappointed in today, with sunshine all day, beautiful snow for late December skiing, and really first-class competition!”

There were two racers who joined the ranks from the SMS t2 team, Andy Newell and Erika Flowers. Erika seemed pretty excited to have joined in on the race today. “The course today was pretty awesome, it was fast which made for a quick race, it was pretty speedy out there and sunny, there was definitely some ice around those corners, so you had to ride it on the outside, but it was good practice, and made for a fun day!”

Katharine Ogden from Stratton Mountain School and the winner of the women’s 5k classic had a great race. “My skis were awesome, thanks to and incredible crew of Stratton wax techs and it was just really awesome to ski on the beautiful Rikert trails on a perfect day!”

Thanks to all the volunteers and race coordinators for a wonderful first day of races!

Results

Women and U16 girls here
Men here
U16 boys here

Link to full results here (scroll down on this page to find results links).

More photos available here.

Day 2

On day two of the NENSA Eastern Cup Opener, the courses at Rikert Nordic Center were fast and covered with a dusting of fresh snow. The day was chilly, with temperatures at 25, and flurries throughout the morning and into the afternoon, causing racers to whip out their glasses to see through the snow.

The Bill Koch League racers got to lead the packs today and they competed in freestyle races, the first of the day. Highlighting the BKL events, and indeed the day, was Olympian and USST member Andy Newell of Stratton t2 handing out the BKL awards. The other racers participated in mass start freestyle races. First, the U16 girls, then the U16 boys competed in a 5-kilometer race, and then there was the 10-kilometer race for the women, and finally, the men, whose race was 15-kilometers, finished off the day.

Mae Chalmers (14:23) of Stratton Mountain School set the pace for the U16 girls who raced first for the day, with Kirsten Miller (14:27) a close second, and Alia Sanger (14:49) bringing in the bronze. The U16 boys were again dominated by Stratton Mountain School, with Russell Boswell (12:22) in first and Adam Witkowski (12:24) in second, and Walker Bean (12:26) from Green Mountain Valley School in third. Katharine Ogden (25:43) from Stratton Mountain School again topped the podium for the women, with Erika Flowers (25:48) of the SMS t2 team in second and Jennie Bender (26:18) of NE Nordic finishing in third place. Finally, Patrick Caldwell (33:07) of Dartmouth cleared the way for the men’s race, with Gordon Vermeer (34:24) of Craftsbury Nordic and Jack Hegman (34:27) of UVM taking second and third, respectively.

Although each mass start race tends to be a little hectic, it was definitely rather chaotic for the men’s and women’s races, with pile-ups in both as the racers headed down the first hill.

Paddy Caldwell avoided these tussles, and ended up winning the men’s race by a long shot. “It was really fast skiing out there, the fresh snow didn’t slow it down at all, it was a fun race and a good crowd, and fun to have almost 200 people start at once!”

“What a great weekend to kick off our 2014-15 EasternCup Series!” said NENSA executive director, Zach Stegeman. “We enjoyed two days of tremendous racing. We had deep an talented fields across the board, and Saturday’s exceptional men’s field boasted impressive points and the unque opportunity for our New England athletes to race with Olympian, Andy Newell. The Rikert Nordic Center crew did an outstanding job preparing the race courses. If you listened to Pete Davis interview Andy Newell this morning, Andy talked about Rikert having some of the best skiing anywhere right now – coming from the World Cup circuit, that is saying something! Frost Mountain Nordic were terrific hosts, putting on an event as sweet as those maple syrup prizes from Sunrise Orchards. All in all, this sets the stage for a great season of racing ahead.”

Mike Hussey, the director of Rikert Nordic Center did a great job helping to put on the race at Rikert. “The race went great! Thank you Santa Claus for bringing a weekend of great weather and we might have even had a record number of racers for an Eastern Cup Opener, and everything went really smoothly thanks to the Frost Mountain crew, the NENSA crew, and the Rikert crew, and all the volunteers who helped put this on. It was a huge effort, and it was really well done, so thank you all!”

Results

Women here
Men here
U16 girls here
U16 boys here

Links to full results here (scroll down page).

December 21, 2014 (Davos, Switzerland) – The USA’s Kikkan Randall looked like her old self leading four teammates into the heats but crashed out in her semi final in the women’s 1.3km FR Sprint today in Davos as Marit Bjoergen of Norway took her 84th career World Cup victory. Sweden’s new speed queen Stina Nillson claimed 2nd with Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg of Norway third.

Sophie Caldwell also impressed with some fine skiing advancing to the semis as a Lucky Loser but ended up 6th as Randall was 5th following her crash. Jessie Diggins looked strong as well but ended up 5th in her heat as did Ida Sargent. Randall described her semi final race and how she crashed…

“In the semis I came out of the lanes in a good position but got stuck behind in the first stretch.  I came over the top of the hill near the back but was looking to move up on the tricky corner.  I had a nice wide line in the first half of the turn and just as I started cutting to the inside, I looked up for a split second to find which side to go for and then hit a patch of ice and my feet slipped out from under me.  I got up quickly but had lost all my momentum.  So I skied the rest of the lap as hard as I could and was able to catch up to Sophie.  We had a good battle to the finish,” commented Randall.

Caldwell is starting to feel like her old self and skied the first half of her quarter final in second place behind Oestberg but faded on the second lap as Charlotte Kalla (SWE) caught her – yet the Vermont skier was in one of the fastest heats nabbing one of the Luck Loser spots.

“My elbow has been feeling really good. Today was a great day for me and a big step in the right direction. My goal for the quarter was to stick with Ingvild for as long as possible. I ended up getting tired on the second lap, but I knew her heats tend to be really fast, so I still advanced as lucky loser!

“In my semi I tripped on the first uphill and that was the end of the heat for me. It was unfortunate, but I was happy to have made the semis,” she told Trax.

For Randall it was a chance to redeem herself from last weekend’s sprint at Davos. “It’s not too often that we get the chance to repeat the exact same course in two weekends, so I was pretty excited to have another shot at this Davos course. This time around the feelings and performance once again took another step forward, a big step. I was really satisfied with how I felt in the qualification, much more sharp and powerful than I’ve been yet this season.

“In the quarterfinal I had a good start and skied near the front for the whole round.  I had to make one tricky move on the 2nd lap to get to the outside before the climb. My energy was strong to the finish and I was really happy to advance to the semis.  I was able to push much harder than the previous week,” commented the Alaska skier.

The semi final was unfortunate but Randall says she’s back on track and looks forward to the upcoming holiday break before tackling another Tour de Ski.

“It was a real bummer to fall [in the semi] because I think my gears were there to stay in the mix and both lucky losers to the final came from our heat.  But I’m at least happy that the feelings today were much stronger and more like my normal sprint self. I’m on the upward trend!

“You never know how bad you’ve been feeling until you start to feel good I guess! With Christmas break coming up, today is a good indicator of getting back on track. Looking forward to getting in some training now before the Tour.

“Everyone else on the World Cup is headed home for Christmas but I will be rocking the holidays here in Davos with most of the U.S. Team and a few Canadians that will do the Tour de Ski.  My husband is here and it will be nice to enjoy a couple weeks away from racing before we gear up again in the new year.

A big thanks goes out to my team today, we had great skis and awesome support.  A huge thanks also goes out to the Davos organizing committee for putting on a 2nd week of racing to save us from races having to be cancelled.

Merry Christmas to all,” she concluded.

Qualifications here
Final results here.

December 21, 2014 (Pokljuka, Slovenia) – Calgary’s Nathan Smith, 28, missed one shot in each of his first and final stops at the range en route to a 9th-place finish in the men’s 15km mass start race won by Russia’s Anton Shipulin with one missed target.

France’s Martin Fourcade claimed second, also with one penalty only 1.2s behind, in a battle with Austria’s Simon Eder at 1.4s back and Fredrik Lindstroem (SWE) at 1.5s for an exciting finish to the weekend of racing in Pokljuka (SLO).

The USA’s Bailey had two penalties and moved up from 26th place to 19th but fell back to 22nd after a miss in the final stage to finish at 1:34.6 behind Shipulin. Bailey’s teammate Tim Burke had a tough day on the range with six penalties ending up in 27th.

“I was actually pretty satisfied with most of my race today,” said Bailey. “I felt better on the ski course and the shooting was pretty decent. The only issue was early on in the first prone stage. I had some trouble with my rifle and probably lost an extra 25 seconds getting that figured out. This made it pretty hard to recover and catch the rest of the pack. Other than that, I’m satisfied with the race and looking forward to the Christmas break.”

Full results here.

December 20, 2014 (Davos, Switzerland) – The USA’s Liz Stephen skied to a solid 12th-place finish in the women’s 10km FR as the World Cup returned to Davos and Marit Bjoergen (NOR) stamped her authority once again with a 19.9s margin for another resounding victory on her resume.

Germany’s Nicole Fessel took the bronze earning the second World Cup podium of her career with Heidi Weng giving Norway a second podium spot. In the points for the USA were Jessie Diggins in 27th and Sadie Bjornsen in 29th as Canada’s Emily Nishikawa finished 49th and American Caitlin Gregg was 54th.

“I’m feeling good overall and happy to see the results moving in the right direction as well as the feelings in the body,” Stephen told Trax. “The course was tough today in places. Certainly some very fast and icy downhills as well as a bulletproof stadium, but the top 1/2 of the course skied really nicely, fast and easy to get an edge on.

“It has been really helpful being here for a solid two weeks and having a full week of skiing solely on this race course to feel like I know it like the back of my hand and paced it the way I wanted to. I guess I’ll know it even better after spending the next 10 days over Christmas here too.”

Diggins was hoping for better but feels her form is also moving in the right direction.

“I felt like I had better energy going into today’s race, but also an extreme amount of nerves. I wanted to have a really good one today with my family here and it being our second skate distance race! I think the amount of V2 and workable downhills suited me, but today the course was really icy and hard to balance on, which really didn’t suit me at all!

“I tried my best, and was focused the whole time, pushing for those seconds. I think that top gear just wasn’t there today, so it was an ok race but not a great one. I paced it better than in past years, but I definitely wasted some energy on the icy rock hard stadium area, bobbling around trying to ski smoothly and not fall.”

For Bjornsen it was great to test her skating skills and technique and still land in the points.

“First off, I am pretty excited there was a race held today, because as you can see, there is not much snow over here in Europe these days,” shared Bjornsend. “It was fun to have another opportunity to try some skate skiing before the holidays… skating at altitude is another test of my fitness and my improvements, so I was pleased to squeak into the points.

“Another try at a sprint race tomorrow, and then it will be great to have a little mental break with my boyfriend in France to find a good place in my mind and come back ready to take another step in the Tour.”

U.S. Coach Matt Whitcomb was pleased overall and commented on Stephen’s performance in a team release. “In 2013 she was 15th and the same time back (~1 min) in this same event in Davos, and finished just eight seconds off the podium two weeks later at World Champs. This will give her confidence as she heads into her training preparations for the Tour de Ski. That is a big focus for her this season. She’s on track.”

Full results here.

December 20, 2014 (Pokljuka, Slovenia) – Rosanna Crawford delivered another strong result claiming 7th with two penalties in the women’s 10km pursuit at 1:20.7 behind winner Darya Domracheva of Belarus who one missed target in the final standing session. Series leader Kaisa Makarainen trailed at 10s with one penalty as well for second followed by the Ukraine’s Valj Semerenko at 36.8 seconds back also with one penalty.

Only two athletes shot clean Nadezhda Skardino (Belarus) in 6th and Canada’s Megan Heinicke in 14th who had a stellar day as well moving up from 41st to the top fifteen. The USA’s Susan Dunklee had a tough day on the range with five penalties finishing 28th while teammate Hannah Dreissigacker was 56th with six penalties.

“Tough skiing for me, but happy to hold onto a top 10 with 7th place in today’s Pursuit race! Mass Start tomorrow then home for the holiday,” tweeted Crawford.

In a post-race team release she added, “I didn’t get too nervous until right before breakfast when it slowly started to sink in. I wanted to bring high focus right from the first shots in zero and carry that through the race. Unfortunately I think the pressure still got to me for the first shooting, and I missed one left, one right then the hits were all centre, so it was all me. I used that information for my next prone where I was more settled and focused for each shot.

“The pace was fine. My legs weren’t as good as on Thursday, but I just tried to work with the girls around me. Darya came out flying on the first loop. I stayed with her for a bit, but the pace was too fast for me. I found I’d lose the group on the long uphill at the two-kilometre mark, but would catch up coming back towards the range. I skied along a lot today.”

Dunklee who’s been under the weather commented, “I’ve been fighting a sore throat and my head feels foggy from a cold, so today was a struggle. My goal was to ski efficiently, earn a few more points and secure a spot in tomorrow’s mass start. It wasn’t my prettiest performance, especially with some struggles in the last shooting stage, but I will get another chance tomorrow.”

Full results here.

December 20, 2014 (Obertilliach, Austria) – Calgary’s Scott Gow, 24, delivered perfect shooting to take home the bronze in the men’s 10km Sprint IBU Cup at round #3 in Obertilliach, Austria on Friday – his best result at this level. He was only 1.6s behind winner Baptiste Jouty (France) who also cleaned, as Germany’s Florian Graf took second with one penalty at only 0.3s behind the winner.

Gow led three other Canadian men on the start line including his brother Christian in 17th at 55.3s with one penalty, Macx Davis in 53rd at 2:29.1 behind with two standing penalties, and Carson Campbell who finished 83rd with four penalties at 3:37 back.

Fellow Canuck Audrey Vaillancourt also shot clean for a strong 7th place result finishing at 20.7s behind winner Iryna Varvynets (Ukraine) who cleaned as well, followed by Italy’s Federica Sanfilippo in second at 4.6 seconds back with one penalty. Russia’s Anna Nikulina suffered one penalty to take 3rd at 10s behind.

Canada’s Julia Ransom shot clean to finish 18th at 1:01.1 behind the winner while Zina Kocher was 25th with two penalties and Emma Lunder finished 60th also with two penalties.

Men’s results here.
Women’s results here.

December 19, 2014 – Fill your coffee cup because this is long…. Or just scroll through the pictures 🙂 – 12 days, 8 airplanes, 92 kilometers of racing in three days….. What a trip! When I was first designing this trip it almost felt silly to travel thousands of miles for one small race weekend. But, I decided that I couldn’t afford to miss the “kick off” to the marathon season and didn’t want to spend the entire winter trying to play catch up in the chase for FIS Marathon Cup points. Plus, who wants to wait until January to start racing?

The trip turned out to be absolutely perfect and I am SO glad that I went. It was just enough time to get “my feet wet” and build a ton of confidence for my next trip over the pond.  Many of the logistics were downright impossible to figure out from home and now, having made this trip I can put faces to names – I joined a team (!) and I feel really good about my return in January. I am ecstatic to spend my first Christmas at home in a long time and by the end of my break, I’ll be chomping at the bit to put a bib on again. The plan couldn’t be better!

There were many times this fall that I had night mares about getting to the start of a race and not having my skis or coming up to a hill that was too steep for me to ski up. I had a lot of conscience and subconscious anxiety that I was carrying around. However, the optimist in me prevailed because in the back of my mind I knew that somehow, someway, it would work out – and it did.

But not everything was stress free and smooth. Thursday night, the day before the skate race I went to the team captain’s meeting to find out what was going on. At 6pm I still didn’t have anyone to wax my skis!!!! Compared to the last 4 years where I’ve had a personal tech this was a huge transition.  (Sure, I could have attempted to wax them myself but at this level you really need someone who knows what they’re doing to be competitive.)

Spending the first couple days in Davos at Markus and Maurus’s house was absolutely perfect. Arriving in Davos I felt like I was coming home. I got to see many of my World Cup friends and I knew were to stock up on toothpaste. (It’s the small things matter!)  Then, Thursday morning we drove over Fluela Pass yet again and arrived in Livigno to meet Max and Johannes.  I was dressed ready to test skis immediately and was pleasantly surprised to find that our hotel balcony looked directly over the racetrack! It was a busy day testing, doing race prep, moving in, getting my bib, and attending the team captain’s meeting, finding someone to wax my skis…

Read more here.

December 19, 2014 (Toronto, ON) – We are pleased to announce the leaders of the SkiTrax FIS Fantasy World Cup Contest after round three of the 2014/15 Viessmann XC FIS World Cup season at Davos, Switzerland. Canada’s Len Valjas turned heads back home qualified top North American (10th) and finisher (13th) in the 1.3km FR Sprint (read our coverage here). Ida Sargent was the top North American women’s qualifier in 19th, her best sprint qualification ever – she finished third in her quarterfinal and did not advance to the semis, ending up 16th (read our coverage here).

After round three, team ShoSho IL Skrim 3000 continues to lead with 599 points, while team Redjacket has moved into second with 584 points. Matcerslo is a close third with 583 points. TomaszB Team holds onto fourth place with 581 points, and Uber Guber Super Duber is fifth with 567 points.

View the full contest standings after Davos HERE.

These are the only FIS Fantasy Nordic contests of their kind worldwide so don’t miss your chance to enjoy fabulous top level XC ski racing and the chance to win fabulous prizes.

Thanks to all of our great sponsors, including Fischer, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Rudy Project, High Peaks Cyclery, Bjorn Daehlie, Yoko, One Way, Madshus, Concept2 and Buff.

SkiTrax Fantasy FIS World Cup 2014/15 Contest Prizes

* 1st Prize – Fischer Carbonlite Package Skis, Boots, Poles and Xcelerator Bindings (value $1,550)
* 2nd Prize – Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise – 2-night luxury package w/breakfast & Spa (value $850)
* 3rd Prize – Rudy Project Sunglasses For Sport Agon + For Life Spinhawk (value $450)
* 4th Prize – High Peaks Cyclery Backcountry Day Trip for 2 people incl. Pro guides, equipment (value $400)
* 5th Prize – Bjorn Daehlie XC Ski Suit (value $300)
* 6th Prize – Yoko 9100 Poles (value $299)
* 7th Prize – One Way Cata Pro Jacket (value $260)
* 8th Prize –Madshus Kit w/Ski Bag, Waist Belt Bag, Headware (value $130)
* 9th Prize – Concept2 Goodie Duffle Bag (value $100)
* 10th Prize – Buff Merino Wool China Blue Dye (value $42)
* WCup Breaks – SkiTrax 1-yr Subscription

SkiTrax is North America’s leading Nordic skiing publication and the official magazine of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) and Cross Country Canada (CCC).

December 17, 2014 (Toronto, ON) – We are excited to announce that the seventh annual international SkiTrax FIS Fantasy Tour de Ski 2015 Contest is coming soon for contestants worldwide with thousands of dollars in prizes up for grabs, including the grand prize, a superb Madshus package including Redline Carbon Skate skis, Nano Carbon Skate Boots and Nano Carbon Race 100 UHM poles valued at $1,815 US.

This year the Tour de Ski runs from Jan. 3-11, 2015 covering 9 days with the first event kicking off in Oberhof, Germany. Registration will be opening soon as countries are still finalizing their rosters, so stay tuned to skitrax.com for updates.

Here’s how the FIS Tour de Ski 2015 Contest works
When registration opens, you’ll have a chance to submit your team of unique individual skiers including four (4) men, and four (4) women plus two (2) Outlaw Skiers (one male and one female) not in the top 15 of the FIS World Cup overall rankings. The menus for all skiers will be available at registration as well as a link to the FIS World Cup Ranking where you will find more details on each skier.

Points will be awarded following each TdS stage based on each skier’s performance and published regularly at skitrax.com so you can follow your team’s progress and see how you compare with other players and the actual TdS standings.

Good luck to all contestants and thanks to Madshus all of our great sponsors to be announced shortly.

SkiTrax is North America’s leading Nordic skiing publication and the official magazine of the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) and Cross Country Canada (CCC).

December 16, 2014 (Quebec City, QC) – The 11th edition of the Pentathlon des neiges presented by MEC will be held on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City from January 31 to March 1, 2015. Last year, the event attracted a record 5,338 participants, from 2 years old to 81 years young, including several Olympians. The International Triathlon Union (ITU) has in fact qualified the Pentathlon des neiges as the world’s biggest winter multisport event.

Fun… to the power of 5

The Pentathlon des neiges includes four weekends of activities where families, children, leisure sportsmen and sportswomen, and high performance athletes are invited to discover and delight in the joys of winter. The program includes several challenges where participants can compete solo or in teams of two to five participants in five disciplines: biking, running, cross-country skiing, skating and snowshoeing. Aside from the pentathlon activities, a few triathlon competitions – snowshoeing, skating and cross-country skiing – are scheduled as well as the presentation of the World Snowshoe Championships.

For full details on the program, go here.

December 14, 2014 December 14, 2014 (Hochfilzen, Austria) – Canada’s Rosanna Crawford nailed a career-best 5th place finish with only one penalty in four rounds of shooting in the women’s 10km pursuit IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria on Sunday.

Starting in 34th the two-time Olympian had huge ground to make up and fed off confidence gained from a strong day of shooting and good skiing in the previous day’s relay. She finished 7s off the podium as Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen took the win also with one missed target while Russia’s Ekaterina Glazyrina was second at 34.4 (1 penalty) and Anais Bescond (France) rounded out the podium in third at 46.5 also with one penalty.

“Today was a great day. Good, quick shooting really helped me today,” said Crawford, whose previous best was an eighth place finish. She also has an historic finished fourth place finish with her teammates in a World Cup relay last year.

“It was too bad that Friday’s skiing wasn’t that good, because I had a lot of work to do today. I felt much better than in the sprint, but hitting 10 for 10 yesterday in the relay really gave me confidence going into today’s race,” said Crawford. “My skis were great today. Our wax techs did a really good job and I can’t thank them and the coaches enough.”

“This summer was a really good period of training, and I felt like I made some big gains,” said Crawford, whose sister Chandra won Olympic gold in cross-country skiing in 2006. “I knew after last weekend that a podium is definitely a possibility. I’ve been building off each race and gaining more confidence each week.”

The USA’s Susan Dunklee finished 27th with four penalties while teammate Annelies Cook had a strong day, hitting 18 of 20 targets and moving up 17 positions from the start to place 33rd.

In the men’s 12.5km pursuit the USA’s Tim Burke was the top North American finishing 25th with 5 penalties while his teammate Lowell Bailey was 32nd with 4 penalties. Nathan Smith was the lone Canadian finishing 49th with two missed targets.

Martin Fourcade (France) shot clean to win the men’s race with a time of 32:53.7 besting Germany’s Simon Schempp who also hit all targets to take the silver at 4.1s behind. Slovenia’s Jakov Fak also cleaned to take the final podium spot at 10.9s behind the winner.

Women’s results here.
Men’s results here.

December 14, 2014 (Vuokatti, Finland) – Oksana Masters (Louisville, Kentucky) won her first International Paralympic Committee Nordic Skiing World Cup event as she took gold in the women’s 1-kilometer cross-country sprint on Sunday in Vuokatti, Finland.

Masters, a three-time Paralympic medalist in Nordic skiing and rowing, was dominate throughout the day as she recorded the fastest time of the field in the qualifying round and easily won the semifinal round to secure her place in the finals.

In the finals, Masters faced stiff competition from Marta Zaynullina of Russia who won each of the previous days of world cup competition and from reigning Paralympic champion Mariann Marthinsen of Norway.

“Going into the final turn I was nervous and I knew I was going to have to have a good line to be able to hammer to the finish. I was telling myself to stay calm,” Masters said. “I could see [Marta] Zaynullina coming up next to me, and I went back to what I learned this fall and skied with relaxed, powerful poling.”

Masters effort proved to be enough as she crossed the line first, with Zaynullina less than a second behind.

Masters win today follows her second place finish in Saturday’s 5-kilometer cross-country race.

On the men’s side, 2010 Paralympic medalist Andy Soule (San Antonio, Texas) recorded the fastest time in the qualification. Soule was joined by teammate Aaron Pike (Park Rapids, Minnesota) in the first men’s semifinal. Going into the final turn, both men were in the top-three; however, a crash on the final turn resulted in Soule falling and Pike breaking a pole. Soule and Pike finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

Competition concludes on Tuesday, Dec. 17 with the middle distance biathlon race. More information and complete results are available here.

December 13, 2014 (Davos, Switzerland) – Norway’s Therese Johaug dominated the women’s 10 km classic in Davos with a 42-second margin over teammate Marit Bjoergen as Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen rounded out the podium in third.The USA’s Liz Stephen led a trio of Americans in the points finishing 20th as Jessie Diggins was 21st and Sadie Bjornsen followed in 22nd. The big story from the Canadian camp was Emily Nishikawa, of Whitehorse, 25, who earned her first World Cup points with a career-best race finishing 29th.
Despite tough weather conditions organizers ralleyed with a massive effort bringing truckloads of snow from the nearby Fluela pass to stage the event. Due to the lack of snow the 15/30 km interval start classic races were reduced to 10/15 km.

“The conditions were great, especially when you consider that on Monday the stadium had green grass,” said Stephen. “The course is a challenging one for me with lots of double pole and kick double pole and gradual terrain. Therese’s win is even more impressive on a course like this one as it really does not suit her strengths and she killed everyone. Quite amazing.

“I was focused on working each section the best I could and skiing aggressively and with a distinct plan and pointed motivation. I am really happy with the way I was able to set my goals and stick to achieving them in the ways I thought I could. I am happy with my top 20 finish as I have not been able to achieve too many points races here in Davos before, and never in a classic race here, so I am quite happy with today and yes, I have a sprint spot this year because of my super fast teammates so I get to start tomorrow,” she concluded.

Diggins was happy with how her day ended up as well. “I paced it a little too conservatively on the first lap, but this is the first time racing here in Davos that I haven’t gone out too hard and blown up by 5km. So, I learned a lot from today that I can use going into next weekend’s 10km here on the same course. The organizers did a fantastic job getting snow on the trails, and it wasn’t even rocky! It was great skiing out there with hard tracks and great kicking.

“My skis were great, and I had awesome kick and really pushed hard on the flats and gradual downhills where I knew I could get a lot of time if I worked them well. I want to say a huge thank you to our staff and techs for working so hard to get us skis.”

Sadie Bjornsen was hoping for a better result. “Solid race, but really missed the picking of my skis, so I was struggling quite a bit. More days to come. Haven’t seen results yet, but sounds like a great day for North America! So fun to see!!! So happy for Nish! I knew this was coming for her. She has been looking amazing.”

Nishikawa, who has been on a steady development over the last two years, was skiing in the middle of the pack for the first two kilometres of the race before cranking up the pace to crack the elite top-30 for the first time in her life.

“I’m really happy to score my first ever World Cup points today,” said Nishikawa. “I’ve had a really great start to my season, and I’m just looking to build off of this and keep improving throughout the year. I’ve been feeling really strong on classic lately and I’ve felt better and better with each race.”

Justin Wadsworth, Head Coach Cross Country Canada told us, “Emily has been consistent with her classic this year, and good for her to know she can be in the points. Hopefully she can build on this for the future with some gained confidence.”

Full results here.

December 13, 2014 (Hochfilzen, Austria) – Team Canada matched their best-ever men’s 4×7.5km relay 6th place finish using 10 spare rounds as Russia ran away with the victory with near perfect shooting using only one spare round. France got the upper hand over Norway on the final standing session to take the silver at 20.2s using four spares as the Norwegians settled for third with 10 spare rounds at 27.9s. Austria claimed 4th over Germany in 5th.

Ideal conditions saw the Canadian squad of Nathan Smith, Brendan Green, Marc-Andre Bedard, and Scott Perras deliver their best race of the season at 2:55.4 behind the winners. The USA’s Lowell Bailey, Tim Burke, Leif Nordgren and Russell Currier ended up being lapped in 14th overall

“I got off to a rocky start in prone on the first leg, but had my best skiing of the year and solid standing to bring us back up into top-six contention when I handed off to Brendan,” said Smith. “ This result especially means a lot because it is really boosted our team’s morale after yesterday’s disappointment in the sprint.”

“It’s been a frustrating start for most of the men. Today we were focused on doing our job during each leg and racing to the best of our abilities,” said Green who skied second. “It was solid racing by all of us, and is a definitely a confidence booster for the team. We’re starting to feel stronger and hopefully will continue to improve, and find our stride as the season progresses.”

The lead changed several times as Norway started strong with the Ukraine taking over as France battled with Austria, Germany and Russia as Canada remained in contention. The deck shuffled again as Russian shooting ruled the day with the Ukraine faltering as Austria and Germany trailed the three leaders.

Anton Shipulin (RUS) cleaned both sessions to clinch the victory as Norway’s Tarjei Boe faltered on the final standing session and was out-dueled by France’s Martin Fourcade. Behind Austria’s Dominik Landertinger got the better of Germany’s Simon Schempp taking 4th to the delight of the partisan local fans.

Full results here.

December 13, 2014 (Vuokatti, Finland) – Once again USA and Canadian paranordic skiers were on the podium as Day 3 of the IPC World Cup unfolded in Vuokatti, Finland. In the women’s 5km sitting American  Masters (15:59.1) was second, edging out Maria Iovleva (16:06.8) in third as Marta Zaynullina (15:49.9) claimed her second win in three events. It was the closest race of the day, with less than 17 seconds separating the top three.

Paralympic champion, Chris Klebl of Canmore, Alta., powered his way to a bronze (28:24.2) in the 10-kilometre men’s sit-ski competition won by Ivan Golubkov (27:22.6), who finished second in Wednesday’s biathlon sprint. He easily took the win ahead of his teammate Aleksandr Davidovich (28:14.1).

“The first race of the year is always an interesting one. My training indicators have been positive, and I’ve been healthy and motivated since Sochi,” said Klebl. “It is always good to get positive feedback via results in the first race. I am looking forward to continuing to develop my fitness, and fine-tuning my races.”

The Canadian Para-Nordic Team also discovered another weapon in its arsenal as Brittany Hudak, of Prince Albert, Sask., skied to her first IPC World Cup podium with a bronze of her own in the women’s five-kilometre standing class. Oleksandra Kononova (16:06.2), a bronze medallist in this event in Sochi, topped the podium ahead of teammate Liudmyla Liashenko (16:46.9).

Discovered recently while working in a Canadian Tire store by Canada’s Paralympic cross-country ski legend, Colette Bourgonje, the 21-year-old Hudak had the race of her life while posting a time of 17 minutes, 28.2 seconds.

“It was a stellar day and start to the season for our team,” said Robin McKeever, head coach, Canadian Para-Nordic Ski Team. “It was a great result for Brittany. She has worked hard and trained well with the goal of being a medal contender in 2018. She now needs to continue to develop her technical ability.”

“It’s a pretty exciting day being on the podium for the first time in a World Cup,” said Hudak, who was born missing part of her left arm. “The race felt great for me. I was pushing hard and able to keep my mental focus. It just felt great to see an awesome result at the end of the race! A big thanks goes to my coaches, Own the Podium and Cross Country Canada for the amazing support to get me here.”

Para-biathlon specialist, Mark Arendz, also had a solid outing finishing fifth in the men’s 10-kilometre standing division. Arendz, of Springton, P.E.I., clocked a time of 28:52.2. Ukraine’s Ihor Reptyukh won the division with a time of 27:04.9 beating Sochi bronze medallist Vladislav Lekomtcev (27:18.9) who finished second with teammate Aleksandr Pronkov, Russia’s Sochi 2014 Paralympic champion over this distance, in third.

In the day’s four other races, Russian athletes dominated taking eight of the 12 podium positions. The men’s visually impaired 10km was won by the Sochi 2014 silver medallists in this event Stanislav Chokhlaev and his guide Evgenii Fatkhullin (28.17.6). The pair finished ahead of France’s Thomas Clarion and guide Julien Bourla (28:54.5) in second, whilst Vladmir Udaltcov and guide Ruslan Bogachev (29:20.1) were third.

Having won Wednesday’s women’s 6km visually impaired biathlon sprint, Iulia Budaleeva and guide Tatiana Maltseva (16:19.2) again took top spot, this time in the cross-country. Behind them in second were teammates Elena Remizova and guide Maksim Pirogov (16:39.3) whilst the Ukrainian pair of Oksana Shyshkova and guide Lada Nesterenko (17:28.4) completed the podium.

Results here.

December 13, 2014 (Hochfilzen, Austria) – Germany took home the women’s 4x6km relay victory today by a healthy margin using eight spare rounds at the IBU World Cup #2 in Hochfilzen in Hochfilzen, Austria. Belarus, with 10 spare rounds, finished second at 21.1s in a battle against the Czech Republic, who used 9 spare rounds, taking third at 22.2s back.

The Canadian quartet of Megan Heinicke, Rosanna Crawford, Sarah Beaudry and Audrey Vaillancourt were just outside of the top 10 using seven spare rounds at 2:11.1 behind. This was Beaudry’s, 20, IBU World Cup debut following her double victories in Canmore at the Youth/Junior Worlds Trials in early Dec. The USA did not field a team.

“Today was a decent result for our team, we had two legs with some scary standing, but no penalty loops is great! A few less spares and we could have been top 10. We were trying a different order today and it seemed like it worked out pretty well. Megan did a great job at the start of the race,” commented Crawford, “So excited for men’s team, they’ve had a bit of a bumpy start and not performing like they were hoping for. A top 6 is a great way to build some confidence into the rest of the season.”

Russia squandered their lead as Germany moved into second place coming into the final leg. German anchor Franziska Preuss shot clean in prone while Russia’s Ekaterina Glazyrina suffered a penalty and it was game over. Preuss needed one spare round in the final standing session as Darya Domracheva (BEL) and Veronika Vitkova (CZE) matched her with Domracheva getting the better of her Czech rival. Italy and Norway followed in 4th and 5th with Russia ending up 8th.

Full results here.

December 12, 2014 (Hochfilzen, Austria) –  American Tim Burke shot well with only one penalty in the men’s 10km Sprint to finish 13th at round two of the IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway shot clean on his way to victory over Germany’s Simon Schepp who also shot clean in second at 14.3s followed by teammate Andreas Birnbacher at 17.9s.

Conditions were sunny with temperatures just above the freezing mark. A lack of snow earlier in the week forced race organizers to move snow onto the course for this weekend’s events, but the conditions on Friday appeared close to ideal.

“Today was one of those classic biathlon days where it’s hard not to ask the ‘what if’ question,” said Burke in a team release. “I’m happy with how I executed during the race today besides the last shot. That last shot probably cost me a podium but other than that, it was another solid performance. Most importantly, I am not far behind for the pursuit, so a top result is still possible Sunday.”

Burke’s teammate Lowell Bailey shot clean finishing 57.6 seconds behind Boe and tied for 17th with Bulgaria’s  Krasimir Anev.

Canada’s Nathan Smith finished 44th (3 penalties) at 1:57, Brendan Green (Can) placed 49th (2 penalties), Leif Nordgren (US) was 51st (1 penalty), Russell Currier (US) was 61st (3 penalties) and Scott Perras (Can) finished 100th (6 penalties).

Makarainen Again 

Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen took her second consecutive victory in the women’s 7.5km Sprint suffering one penalty in prone on her way to victory over Italy’s clean-shooting Karin Oberhofer in second with Norwegian, Tiril Eckhoff, on the podium in third also with one penalty at 29.9s behind the winner.

The top North American was Susan Dunklee (USA) in 29th with 2 penalities at 1:29 behind Makarainen. Rosanna Crawford (Can) followed in 34th at 1:33 with one penalty with Team USA’s Annelies Cook Cook in 50th (1 penalty), Canada’s Megan Heinicke in 61st (3 penalties), Sarah Beaudry (Can) was 63rd (1 penalty), Quebec’s Audrey Vaillancourt placed 66th (1 penalty), Hannah Dreissigacker (USA) crossed the line in 78th (7 penalties) and Zina Kocher (Can) finished 82nd. (5 penalties).

Men’s results here.
Women’s results here.

December 12, 2014 – “Finally!” That’s what Benoit Chauvet (FRA) has certainly thought when he crossed the finish line of this year’s edition of La Sgambeda. After 42km skied in the freestyle technique, the Frenchman had taken his chance in the finish sprint – normally not his thing – and this time, he made it. The hard fought second place went, after consultation of the fotofinish, to Petr Novak (CZE). The third on the podium was another French, Robin Duvillard.

As almost every year, the race, which winds along the valley of Livigno, started under bright sunshine and temperatures of around -9°C – perfect conditions for the 25th edition of La Sgambeda. Not everywhere, people can enjoy such great skiing possibilities at the moment as in Livigno. Even though most of the snow on the track was artificial snow, a real winter feeling was guaranteed.

When the big pack took off, later winner Chauvet was only among the first 60. The favourites then quickly changed the pace and already drew away from the big group. After the first loop, a group of only eight racers were leading, in the end, four more athletes caught up with them and fought for the first places.

On the women’s side, Riitta-Liisa Roponen (FIN), the winner of the last two editions of La Sgambeda, showed right from the beginning, that she is there to win again. She quickly established a more then 2minute lead over the later second Holly Brooks (USA). The American, a member of the American National Team until last season and a participant of the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi last year, decided to focus on long distance skiing this season and will race the whole FIS Marathon Cup. Behind her, the fight was on long time, but in the end it was Ekaterina Rudakova (BLR), who made the difference and took third place.

Almost 1000 skiers took part in today’s race which took place on the unusual day of Friday and enjoyed perfect skiing conditions.

Chauvet now leader of the overall FIS Marathon Cup – the same goes for Roponen
With their victories in today’s race, Benoit Chauvet as well as Riitta-Liisa Roponen are both leading with 100 points in the respective overall FIS Marathon Cup ranking. Petr Novak and Holly Brooks are second with 80 points and Robin Duvillard and Ekaterina Rudakova are third with 60 points.

The complete result list from today’s race & the actual overall FIS Marathon Cup standings click HERE.

Quotes from of the top 3 Men

1. Benoit Chauvet (FRA):
I am so happy! Yesterday I felt good but when I got on my skis today, I thought that this will be tough as I didn’t feel very strong and good. I stayed behind in the beginning and tried to avoid any falls. Straight from the beginnig the speed was pretty high and we quickly became a smaller group until we were only eight at the end of the first loop. Robin tried to speed up a couple of kilometres before the finish to break up the group but it didn’t really work. I knew that it will come to a finish sprint. About four km before the finish I had a fall which hurt quite a bit, but I tried not to think about it and to just go on. I positioned myself well for thi last couple of hundred metres and then just pushed as hard as I could. And finally the luck was on my side and I could finish first. It’s the perfect start into the season as my main goal is to finally win the overall this time!

2. Petr Novak (CZE):
After not having skied a lot of long distance races last year as I focused on the Olympic Games in Sochi, I am really happy to be back. I just love the atmosphere you have at these races. Today, it was a really nice race. I hoped to be in front and I am really happy with me second place today.

3. Robin Duvillard (FRA):
I haven’t raced here before but this is a really beautiful area and a really great race. I really enjoyed sking here today. Ok, it’s not the most demanding course which makes it difficult to get away from the others, but we achieved at least to break up the big group from the start right at the first uphill. It was a fast race and I hoped to be in front. It all came down to the finish sprint and there Ben was the strongest today. I am really happy to be on the podium today.

Quotes from of the top 3 Women

1. Riitta-Liisa Roponen (FIN):
I can’t believe it – I did the hat trick! I am really satisfied with today’s race. I really like skiing here – it’s a wonderful race. I just kept on skiing in my pace as I was in a good group with some men. I always got the information where the others were so I knew that I had to keep on pushing. Let’s see what I can do this year in the FIS Marathon Cup.

2. Holly Brooks (USA):
My first time here in Livigno, racing La Sgambeda and my very first time that I wasn’t with a team. In a way, everything was new, but it all worked out fine and I am very, very happy to have been able to start the season like this. The race went very well and it is so great to hear all the people cheering for you. Everybody is cooperating in such a long distance race, when you are in a group, you take turns for leading. But as it is pretty flat here, it’s pretty difficult to close a gap, especially when you try it alone. So I wasn’t able to get to Riitta-Liisa, but I am really happy with my second place. I am already looking very much forward to my next race.

3. Ekaterina Rudakova (BLR):
I didn’t expect anything today as I had a back injury lately. I just wanted to have a good race and get back into the feeling of skiing a race. However, when I heard in the end that I wasn’t that far off of the second place, I was a little bit disappointed nevertheless. I will surely come back here next year again, but for now, I am focusing on the preparation of the World Ski Championships in Falun (SWE).

December 11, 2014 (Vuokatti, Finland) – Russian athletes showed no traces of a hangover from the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games on Wednesday (10 December), dominating the first day of biathlon competition at the IPC Nordic Skiing World Cup in Vuokatti, Finland.

In Sochi, Russia won 12 of the 18 biathlon titles available and in Wednesday’s sprints, they stood top of the podium in four out of the six races.

In partly cloudy conditions, clean shooting was the order of the day in the men’s standing, with four out of the top five finishers not dropping a shot.

Leading the way was Russia’s Paralympic champion Vladislav Lekomtcev (18:46.2) who claimed victory in the 7.5km three lap race ahead of Norway’s Nils Erik Ulset (19:29.4). Had he not dropped four shots then Ukraine’s Ihor Reptyukh (19:41.9) may have finished second. Instead wayward shooting meant he had to settle for third, edging out his teammate Grygorii Vovchynski (19:43.3) by the narrowest of margins.

In the absence of six-time Sochi Paralympic champion Roman Petushkov, who did not start in the men’s sitting, teammate Aleksandr Davidovich (21:46.0) topped an all-Russian podium in the closest race of the day.

Despite dropping one shot, the 30-year-old, who won two bronze medals in Sochi, finished ahead of Alexey Bychenok (22:01.0) and Ivan Golubkov (22.03.1).

The men’s visually impaired race was won by France’s Thomas Clarion (20:01.4) and guide Julien Clarion. Second was Russia’s Stanislav Chokhlaev (18:54.1) and guide Evgenii Fatkhullin whilst third was Ukraine’s Iurii Utkin (20:18.0) and guide Vitalii Kazakov.

In the women’s 6km sitting sprint, Germany’s Paralympic champion Andrea Eskau was absent opening the door for her rivals.

Russia’s Marta Zaynullina (19:47.1), a fifth place finisher in this event in Sochi, shot clean to take full advantage and claim victory. Teammate Svetlana Konovalova (20:52.8) took second just like she did in Sochi, whilst Belarus’ Lidziya Hrafeyeva (20:54.9) was third.

There was a small shock in the women’s standing when Russia’s Paralympic champion Alena Kaufman (20.29.3) could only manage a third place finish. Victory went to Oleksandra Kononova, Ukraine’s Paralympic champion over the 12.5km biathlon, whilst Maija Jarvela (19:35.5) claimed host country Finland’s only podium finish of the day in second.

Rounding off a productive day for the Russians, Sochi 2014 silver medallist Iuliia Budaleeva (19:08.5) and guide Tatiana Maltseva led home the field in the women’s visually impaired. Her teammate Elena Remizova (20.09.5) and guide Maksim Pirogov was second and Ukraine’s Oksana Shyshkova (20:16.3) and guide L Nesterenko third.

More than 100 athletes from 12 countries are in Vuokatti for the first World Cup event of the 2014-2015 season. Competition will continue on Thursday with the biathlon individual and all races will give a good indicator of form ahead of the 2015 IPC Nordic Skiing World Championships which will take place in Cable, USA, between 23 January and 1 February.

Results

Women’s Sprint 6k/6k here
Men’s Sprint 7.5k/7.5k here

All the results from IPC races can be found here

December 08, 2014 – SkiTrax caught up with Canada’s new World Cup team coach, Tor Arne Hetland from Norway, after round two of the 2014-15 FIS WCup in Lillehammer, Norway, this past weekend. In his interview Hetland says the focus is on podiums and talks about the team’s performances while commenting on what still needs to be done: “Overall, the athletes are racing up to their maximum level and it only has to come out in the correct way… that will come.”

December 07, 2014 (Lillehammer, NOR) – Canada’s Alex Harvey rebounded with the seventh fastest time in Sunday’s 15km CL Pursuit to finish 10th overall as the season’s first mini tour wrapped up in Lillehammer, Norway. Local star Martin Johnsrud Sundby captured his 4th consecutive Tour victory in a battle with teammate Finn Haagen Krogh who settled for 2nd, with Sjur Roethe (NOR) claiming 3rd for another Norwegian podium sweep.

Harvey’s teammate Ivan Babikov bolted up the standings with the 10th-fastest time of the day for one of his best classic ski results of his career moving up 28 spots to finish in 28th overall. The top American was Erik Bjornsen in 39th.

“Overall I had two out of three good races this weekend so I have to be happy,” said Harvey, who now sits in seventh spot in the overall World Cup rankings. “During these stage races, at some point your body dictates how you are going to feel. You have to focus on recovery so last night I just did all the proper things to allow my body to recover overnight and I felt really good and strong today. I guess I’ll have to work a bit on my skate-skiing but overall I am pleased.”

Babikov was really pleased with his classic effort today. “For me to finish top-10 in a classic ski race is very special,” said Babikov while hopping on the Canadian bus en route to Davos, Switzerland for the next stop on the World Cup. “I worked really hard this summer on double poling and I think that helped today. This course was extremely tough with lots of hills, which is right up my alley. I had a good group of guys around me to work with, the skis were fast and my body felt great all day.”

Sudbury’s Devon Kershaw also wasted no time making up ground on the field. Starting in 66th place, Kershaw started fast to pick off 25 spots on the field and finish with the 28th fastest time of the day.

“I started too hard and with all the traffic around and trying to move around, it cost me some energy. That became apparent on the 2nd lap up the giant hill in the back of the course when I was started running out of gas – fast. The last lap ended up being better so I was happy with that. It was an awesome day for my teammates. for both of them. Very solid start for Alex and Babs was beastmoding out there, and that was great to see. Really happy for him,” commented Kershaw.

For American Bjornsen it was a solid start to the World Cup for the rising US star. “Today’s race was great for me! I love classic skiing especially when I get skis that run and have good kick – today was one of those days. The body felt great too! I was able to hammer every hill, and then recover on the downhill. I also had one of the best finishing kicks that I’ve had in a while. It would be cool to see a split from just that stadium hill, I think I would have been up there.

“I’m happy with how this weekend went. Of course I would like to see a better result but this is a stiff field and this is my first time racing here. I’m really happy with my fitness right now. I hope I can continue to improve through the season and get closer to the top guys,” he concluded.

We caught up with Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth as well for his take on the weekend. “Solid for Alex and Ivan for sure. Devon not bad – anytime you’re in the top 30 in a WC you’re skiing well, so although it wasn’t as good as last week, it was still competitive.

“Emily is going OK, and Peri’s plan was to do the sprint and 5k, and be ready for great training leading into Davos. This plan for her is based on her physiology, and even though she could have skied the 10k today it really wouldn’t have served her well for what she needs to become faster in sprints,” he commented.

15km CL Pursuit here
Mini Tour results here

December 07, 2014 (Lillehammer, NOR) – Norway’s Marit Bjoergen and teammate Therese Johaug delivered an exciting battle to the line as Bjoergen pipped her feisty rival by a mere 0.6s to claim yet another mini-tour victory – her 5th consecutive according to FIS XC. The day belonged to Johaug with the fastest time with fellow Norge Heidi Weng second fastest on the day and third overall for another Norwegian sweep.

Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk had the 4th fastest time advancing 20 spots to 10th overall. The top North American was Sadie Bjornsen in 18th overall finished 21st on the day. Joining her in the points was Liz Stephen who is picking up steam finishing 29th overall. The top Canadian was Emily Nishikawa in 46th as Kikkan Randall (USA) was an uncharacteristic 58th.

We caught up with Bjornsen, Randall and Stephen for their comments on the first mini-tour of the season and their respective starts to the 2014-15 season… including coach Matt Whitcomb.

Sadie Bjornsen (USA)

Another solid race. I had some goods and some bad points out there. One of my high points was hanging on to Justyna for about a kilometer – and one of my bad points was the epic explosion that followed – but I was able to pull it back together.

Conditions were tricky, but I had some awesome skis – so it was perfect.

I am happy with my race today, and happy with the weekend. While it may have been one place worse than last year, I am much more confident with my fitness this year. I am happy to not be feeling on cloud nine at this time of the year, but feeling like I have some opportunities to really keep building… so I am quite pleased that it looks about the same on paper as last year.

My plan from here is to head to Davos tomorrow and see what sort of excitement that brings. As I am sure you have heard, there is no snow in central Europe, so this most likely will mean that I am doing lots of running… and hopefully a little skiing!

Kikkan Randall (USA)

Update from today’s World Cup 10km classic in Lillehammer, race 3 of 3 in the mini-tour.

Conditions were great for classic skiing today.  While the sky was overcast,  the tracks stayed in pretty firm and the snow and fog mostly held off during our race.

It was nice to start in a pack of skiers and have lots of people to ski with today. I got to put in another hard effort to bring me closer towards better race shape. I had some strong sections out there, especially climbing, and moved up a few places.

Looking forward to getting a boost from three days of racing and taking one more step next week in Davos.

Hope everyone is doing well and getting into the holiday spirit!

Elizabeth Stephen (USA)

I am definitely happy with today’s race.  It was a great day for me, skis were amazing, they felt like roller skis up all the climbs so I was able to ski how I know I can ski when the energy and kick are both good. The climbs on this course are really hard, but it skis really well and gives you some recovery so you can hammer where you want to.

(We asked Stephen about her injury) No one has been able to give me a specific answer as to what exactly my injury was as so many muscles and things seemed to be involved including the first and second ribs being out of place for about a week. I stayed home an extra 10 days and skipped our Muonio camp to get back to where I needed to be to travel and train and compete.  I had help from an awesome osteopath in Montpelier named John Peterson who helped my ribs get back into place and then my mom was my PT and an awesome MT named Emily Gatewood who works in Montpelier so I had great help and resources in my community in Vermont. We have a great PT on the road with us here too named Pete Dickinson and he has brought me back to 100% again so that’s been amazing.

We head to Davos tomorrow night and we will piece together some skiing where it can be had between now and then.  Sounds like there are some good options not too far away, so we will make good training happen for sure. One last ski in Norway, though, tomorrow morning!

Matt Whitcomb – US Women’s Coach

We had some ups and downs during this Lillehammer Triple. I was satisfied with our women’s 5k skate in which Jessie, Sadie, and Liz finished 15-20-22, respectively, and the final result for Sadie (18th) and Liz (29th) was strong.

Yesterday’s race was a best-ever skate result for Sadie, and very close to where Jessie and Liz will need to be skiing for relay success in La Clusaz. There is work to be done, however. On the whole, our team is not yet firing on all cylinders. We’re bouncing back from a couple injuries this fall as well as a cold that has latched onto three of the women in the last week.  We do feel like we have a good purchase on the direction each athlete needs to take to make progress as we move into the second half of Period 1.

We saw a few familiar faces in the crowd this weekend waving Old Glory, and we truly appreciate all of the fans that reach out to support these athletes. Egil Christiansen’s (Norway’s Women’s Coach) wife was even wearing a U.S. Ski Team hat yesterday.

The waxing has been tricky this weekend, but on Saturday and Sunday we feel like our team had some of the best skis in the field.

10km CL Pursuit here
Mini Tour results here

December 07, 2014 (Ostersund, SWE) – Canada’s Nathan Smith was the top North American again finishing 16th with three penalties in the men’s 12.5km Pursuit on the final day in Ostersund, SWE as Martin Fourcade (France) proved unstoppable claiming another victory despite four penalties.

Anton Shipulin (Russia) shot well with only one penalty in tough conditions that featured swirling winds finishing 10 seconds behind the winner while Norwegian star, Emil Hegle Svendsen, had two penalties placing third at 26.3 seconds back. American Lowell Bailey moved up six spots from his 23rd position at the start to place 17th with three penalties.

Smith was on pace with the leaders mixing good ski speed with perfect shooting until his final stop at the range where he missed three shots.

“I knew to be competitive today I would have to shoot nearly flawlessly.  While my skiing had been decent this week, it is still not on par with the best I’ve done,” said Smith. “Pursuits are also really a shooting-dominated event.  Even though I was ranked mid-pack in ski speed, thanks to fast range times and accuracy I managed to stay in the mix until the last standing shooting.

“Even though I’m pretty disappointed about the final shooting, I’m actually very pleased with the overall race.  It was another chance for me to experience a high pressure situation where a medal is possible.  My skiing still has a little ways to go, but shooting feels crisp and confidence inspiring.”

Bailey cleaned both prone stages, and missed two shots in the first standing shoot and one at the last standing. “It was a challenging race, quite a lot of wind to deal with. I had a gameplan to stay aggressive in the range and not waste a lot of time. I knew the field as a whole would be missing a good deal of shots, so I planned to not wait out the gusts and go for it,” he commented.

The USA’s Tim Burke was 35th with six penalties after starting 17th while Leif Nordgren moved up to 46th after beginning in 51st suffering four penalties.

Fourcade told Biathlonworld.com that the competitions answered some questions for him. “The most important thing I am taking away from here is confidence; I wanted some personal answers and now I have them. We are supposed to be the best skiers in the world, so we should be able to deal with these conditions.”

Makarainen Wins – Crawford Solid 14th

Rosanna Crawford of Canmore, Alta., delivered another consistent World Cup finish placing 14th at 1:48.3 with four penalties behind winner Kaisa Makarainen from Finland who had three penalties. The real battle was for the silver as Valj Semerenko, of Ukraine (4 penalties), edged out Italy’s Dorothea Wierer who also missed four shots and settled for the bronze a mere 0.4s behind Semerenko.

“Missing one target isn’t that bad, but when you miss one every time it can be pretty frustrating. In 20-shot races – you need to shoot 85 per cent if you are starting behind,” said Crawford who also finished 16th on Thursday to start the World Cup season.

“My legs were tired from four races this week. It always takes a bit to get used to racing this much,” added Crawford, who sits in 12th overall. “Overall I’m happy with how the week went. I know there is so much potential this year so I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season.”

Susan Dunklee was the lone American and had an exceptional race, moving up 22 places from her 41st starting position to finish 19th at 2:30.1 with three penalties. She posted the 10th-best net time and sixth-best course time, the fastest of any athlete in the first lap. Dunklee went clean at the first prone to move up to 25th. After two misses at the second prone, she dropped to 31st but climbed back to 25th after the first standing with just one miss. After going clean in the last standing, Dunklee jumped up to 19th and held that position through the finish. She is now 22nd in the overall world cup ranking.

“I wasn’t very nervous going into today,” Dunklee said after the race. “I was starting a lot further back than I would have liked and I didn’t feel much pressure. I knew it would be a fun race. I love chasing people down. I wanted to move into 30th place by the first shooting and skied like crazy to do so. There was significant wind today, but the leftmost shooting points are protected by a big wall. Shooting on point 30 rather than point 1 was a worthwhile advantage; I cleaned my first stage. I couldn’t maintain that first-loop pace for the rest of the race, but I still turned in a great ski time and the shooting felt more normal and in control today. I’m already looking forward to Hochfilzen next week.”

Men’s results here.
Women’s results here.

December 07, 2014 (Bozeman, Montana) – Canada’s Patrick Stewart-Jones (AWCA) earned his first USSA SuperTour podium as he topped the field at Bohart Ranch in the men’s 1.5km CL Sprint on Day 1 of the second stop of the SuperTour Series held in Bozeman, Montana yesterday. Warm conditions made for soft and slushy tracks.

The USA’s Ben Saxton (Stratton Mountain School) settled for second in the close A-final with Sun Valley SEF’s Matthew Gelso taking 3rd, veteran USST team member Kris Freeman (Waterville Valley BBTS) in 4th, Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) 5th and Rune Odegaard (NOR, University of CO) in 6th.

Top women’s qualifier Rosie Brennan (APU Nordic Ski Center) continued her winning ways besting Jennie Bender (Bridger Ski Foundation) in second with Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Nordic) earning the final podium step. The top Canadian was Alysson Marshall (AWCA-NST) finishing 5th after qualifying second in a field of 63 skiers.

Qualifications here.

Women’s Heats – Final Results

Men’s Heats – Final Results

December 06, 2014 (Lillehammer, NOR) – Following the women’s 5km FR at round two of the FIS WC Lillehammer mini-tour won by Therese Johaug we caught up Kikkan Randall, Sadie Bjornsen and Liz Stephen for an inside look at today’s race which saw USA’s Jessie Diggins as the top North American with a strong 15th place finish – results here.

Kikkan Randall (USA)
Quick update from today’s 5km individual start skate in Lillehammer, race 2 of 3 for the mini-tour…today was a small step in the right direction. It was a challenging course with lots of climbing. I felt like I skied the first half of the race stuck in a low gear but was able to find a better gear up the major climb around 3km.

My body felt one step better and closer to racing form than in yesterday’s sprint.  The skis were great today and it was fantastic conditions for racing, hard and fast, and bright and sunny.

A much better day for our whole team. I am definitely inspired and encouraged with Jessie Diggin’s 15th pace and Sadie and Liz also in the top 25.  It’s a good sign that everyone is beginning to find their race gears.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s 10km classic as a chance to go head to head and take my form one more step forward.

Sadie Bjornsen (USA)
Another really fun day in Lillehammer. With a clear morning, the tracks were hard and fast- which made for a really fun 5k Skate. In the past few years, I have struggled with my skate skiing, preferring the classic technique. This summer I worked especially hard in skating, trying to keep it more even with my classic skiing. Today was the first time that has happened in years!

Lillehammer is unique because of its hard and extremely long climbs, so today made the legs truly burn! I had great skis, there was a great crowd, and I finished with a smile.. one more day to go for this mini-tour.

I am really looking forward to the last race of the tour tomorrow, the 10k classic, one of my favorite races!

I do always enjoy racing in Norway, in fact it is my favorite place to race! I don’t know if it is the long connection back to my family roots…. or just the fact that these people live and breath ski racing…. but the vibe is always amazing!!

Liz Stephen (USA)
Thank you. Yes, a better day for the team as a whole I would say. I am happy with the progress I am feeling from just a week ago in Kuusamo, when my body felt really out of shape and flat and I can feel all of that coming around now.  For this point in the season, I am happy with the direction I seem to be heading with my fitness and energy levels.

5k is a weird distance, but it is relay distance, so that is how I ski it. I ski it as if it was relay day and it makes me perform better than I would think I could if I was just racing the clock. Relay day is when you race for your team and that is how any 5k skate race feels to me, as if I am on the relay team and skiing for us all.

The conditions were fast and cold today. It was a beautiful, sunny day here in Lillehammer and with an early start, at least compared to what we are used to with World Cup racing, it was very solid tracks, which made for a very fun course to ski, but also a very fast downhill from the top of the long climb all the way back into the stadium. I love the uphills, but I am working on my fear of high speeds, especially in tracks around corners (which there were today on that downhill) and so I know I lost some time coming down that, which I am disappointed in myself about, but I get two more chances to practice it tomorrow.

It is early in the season, but I am being patient this season after staying home an extra 10 days to rehab a displaced 1st and 2nd rib and some tight, muscles, so I feel really good about each race feeling better and better.

Pick off as many people as possible and get into the points!

December 06, 2014 (Lillehammer, NOR) – Norway continued to dominate as Therese Johaug tipped the scales in her favour by a mere 0.3s winning the women’s 5km FR at round two of the FIS WC Lillehammer mini-tour besting her teammate Marit Bjoergen in second with Heidi Weng 3rd. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla in 4th was the only skier to challenge the red Norge juggernaut that claimed the top seven spots in cooler conditions at -2 degrees.

The USA’s Jessie Diggins was the top North American with a strong 15th place finish leading Sadie Bjornsen in 20th who had another solid race, and Liz Stephen looking better in 22nd, all in the points.

The rest of the NA field was much further back with Caitlin Gregg (USA) 62nd, Kikkan Randall (USA) off form in 63rd, Emily Nishikawa (Can) in 67th, Perianne Jones (Can) in 71st followed by Ida Sargent (USA) in 79th and Sophie Caldwell (USA) in 84th.

Bjoergen continues to lead the mini tour with Bjornsen the top NA skier in 17th.

Women’s 5km FR HERE.
Mini Tour results HERE.

December 05, 2014 (Lillehammer, NOR) – Canada’s Alex Harvey continues to deliver with consistent race performances no matter what the distance or discipline as he took home 5th in the men’s 1.5km FR Sprint in Lillehammer at the first mini-tour of the season won by Norway’s Paal Golberg. Russia’s Alexey Petukhov skied to the silver medal, while Finn Haagen Krogh won the bronze.

Harvey who was third overall last season sits 8th but his skiing ability and record is tough to match. Only a handful of skiers are looking better as the season gets underway.

“I’m really happy today and it is setting me up for a good weekend,” said Harvey. “The qualifier I really didn’t feel well and I just found I was lacking snap on the steep terrain. I started to feel a bit better and it came around in the heats.”

The 26-year-old advanced twice as a lucky to the final as he struggled to match stride with the frontrunners in his quarterfinal finishing third.  Leading for most of the heat in his semifinal faded a bit near the end but again took 3rd which put him on the start line in the final.

The final saw Harvey mid pack but he couldn’t keep pace when it picked up. “My plan was to just approach that hill with good energy but going up against those sprinters that are going 100 per cent, I just wasn’t able to respond. It is a good start and I’m looking forward to the weekend now.”

US speed king Andy Newell was a surprise non-qualifier including Simi Hamilton. “Aside from one or two crashes I’ve been top 30 in every sprint since 2006, so today felt a little strange for sure,” confided Newell.

“I felt pretty decent out there and maybe didn’t nail the qualification but felt like I would have been in there. Everyone on our team was a few seconds back from where they should have been so we think it just wasn’t our day with the skis. I’m not too bummed, qualifying is definitely something I’ve taken for granted over the years and this just reminds me to make sure everything is dialed and to stay on top of it.”

Marit Bjoergen led a Norwegian sweep in the women’s 1.3km FR race with Celine Brun-Lie in second and Heidi Weng in third. It was a tough day for the North American women as the USA’s Sadie Bjornsen was the lone NA qualifier for the women – sprint ace and reigning Sprint Cup 3x crystal globe winner, Kikkan Randall, did not qualify. Perianne Jones (Can) just missed out advancing as she placed 33rd.

“I was looking forward to today’s race as the first skate sprint of the season.  Unfortunately my race shape is not quite 100% yet, and, in combination with battling a cold this week and possibly some tough skis for our team today, I missed advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time since spring of 2009 (I believe),” commented Randall.

Bjornsen is feeling strong and eager to hit the start line again. “It was a fierce and fun start to the three day mini tour here in Lillehammer Norway on some of the hardest courses of the year. I had a good qualifier to start the day off, and entered into the heats, ready to fire away. Unfortunately, I had a slower start, so wasn’t able to find the gap and opportunity to really punch to the front.

“Sprint racing is a sport of its own. There are so many tactical and physical skills – that can only be mastered with practice! Sometimes I wish that I could just practice it every single day, and really get it figured out! But, I had some great skis, and there was a great crowd out there – so I had a fun time!

“I am looking forward to the 5k skate race tomorrow, a race I haven’t gotten to do in several years. We only get a couple 5k races per year – so I am ready to try it out!! There are some mean climbs out there, so I am hoping to find a way to float right up them!

The big news for the US camp as the return of Sophie Caldwell who has been recovering from a second broken elbow suffered during a fall at a training camp. Caldwell was 61st on the day but things are looking up for the Vermont skier.

Women’s Qualifications here – full results here.
Men’s Qualifications here – full results here.

December 05, 2014 (Sun Valley, Idaho) – The SVSEF Cross Country Ski Team will conduct a Trail Dedication in Memory of SVSEF Team Alumni Torin Tucker on Saturday, December 27, 2014 , 10.00 am at the Lake Creek Ski Trails. Torin passed away suddenly last winter while participating at a cross-country ski race in Craftsbury, VT where he was racing as a member of the Dartmouth College Ski Team.

The SVSEF will be renaming a trail in Torin’s honor with the new name being Torin’s Tuck’er. The trail is the biggest, toughest uphill and the fastest most challenging downhill on the Lake Creek system, which exactly fits Torin’s spirit of embracing adventure and challenge. Please plan to ski out to the ceremony; it is a 5-minute easy ski. After the ceremony, the SVSEF will be hosting a fun family ski event called the Holiday Relays so feel free to participate or cheer. See you there.

December 04, 2014 (Ostersund, SWE) – Canada’s Megan Heinicke had the race of her life placing 12th in the women’s 15-kilometre individual competition with one penalty at the IBU World Cup season opener in Oestersund, Sweden. Her teammate Rosanna Crawford also had a strong start placing 16th with three penalties at 3:52, while Susan Dunklee was the top American in 21st at 3:59.1 also suffering three penalties.

Belarus star Darya Domracheva held on to take the victory despite missing one shot in each of her final two stops at the range. Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen was second at 27.9 behind also with two penalties  (0+1+1+0), while Valj Skardino, of Ukraine, shot clean for the bronze at 38.1 behind.

Heinicke, a 26-year-old two-time Olympian from Prince George, B.C., was solid in the soft, slushy snow and challenging downhills.

“I was able to race the IBU Cup last weekend which gave me a chance to test the waters and get the feel for racing again,” said Heinicke, who crushed her personal best barely cracking the top-30 in individual racing throughout her career. “The course was difficult today. There wasn’t a lot of rest for the legs in today’s race.”

“The key to success was being relaxed, not feeling any external pressure and truly being focused on a few key factors shooting,” added Heinicke. “I took my time in the shooting range, and just had one of those days where I was able to block out everything except for my keyword when I was standing on the mat. I’m heading into this season more relaxed and just thankful I’m able to pull together good performances.”

Crawford was excited with her result. “My skiing was a lot better than I expected. I was aiming for a top-30 today, so I’m pretty excited to finish in 16th. Shooting is always important in an individual with one minute penalties. Unfortunately my brain got in the way on my last standing and I missed the first two shots. I’m looking forward to the weekend.”

The USA’s Dunklee who landed her first podium at the end of last season, had the seventh-best course time. “We had really tough conditions in our race today – deep slush over patches of ice,” said Dunklee. “I tried to stay focused on whatever hill or corner was immediately ahead of me. I didn’t feel smooth or efficient on skis, but I knew no one would in these conditions. Today was a solid start with valuable World Cup points, but I also know I can improve going forward.”

Team USA’s Annelies Cook Cook finished 73rd (4 penalties), Zina Kocher (CAN) was 76th (7 penalties), Quebec’s Audrey Vaillancourt placed 81st (4 penalties) and Hannah Dreissigacker (USA) crossed the line in 86th (7 penalties).

Full results here.

With files from US Biathlon and Biathlon Canada.

December 04, 2014 (Vail, CO) – USST skier Noah Hoffman, 25, is heading into surgery today following his horrific crash on Sunday in the men’s 15km CL race at the 2014/15 FIS World Cup #1 season opener in Ruka, Finland. “The Hoff” crashed into a fence on an icy corner near the end of the race and broke his fibula also tearing one of the ligaments that connects the fibula to the tibia. He is slated to have surgery today in Vail, CO. It’s a tough break for the rising star who recently recovered from a shoulder injury and subsequent surgery two years ago.

With the help of US team staff, teammates and his support crew back in the USA, the Hoff hopes to be back racing at the Nordic Worlds in Falun, Sweden (Feb. 18-Mar. 1). Here’s a brief recap of what happened with help from Hoffman’s popular and detailed blog (links are below).

The Crash as Hoffman describes it on his blog:
“The corner that I crashed on is definitely challenging. It’s a sharp right hand bend at the bottom of a straight fast downhill. It’s blind so you can’t see where you’re going, and it gets really icy with lots of traffic; yesterday was no exception. All that being said, I’ve skied the corner dozens of times in the years I’ve been skiing in Kuusamo. It doesn’t scare me and it should not be that challenging for me. When I went down the hill on my third lap yesterday there wasn’t anybody around me. I wasn’t trying to be super aggressive; in fact, I maybe should have tried to carry more speed through it.

I’m not sure exactly what happened. I slid on the ice, went into the snowy berm, lost control and slammed into the fence. The fence was made of alpine netting, but the bottom half of it was covered with some sort of solid paper or plastic. One of my skis snapped in half when it hit the fence and the other punched a hole in the solid material and went through the fence. I believe that my right ski was the one that snapped and my left ski was the one that went through the fence. I hurt my left knee and ankle as I kept sliding and my leg got torqued from the ski that was caught in the fence.”

Apparently, Canada’s Alex Harvey came through the same corner soon after and almost hit a snowmobile that was part of the rescue team transporting Hoffman off the course on a stretcher… Harvey described the corner as “super icy”.

After X-rays and a diagnosis in Ruka it was quickly decided that Hoffman fly back to the USA for medical treatment, but there were problems rebooking his ticket that was through Munich. As a B-team member of the US squad he has to pay for his flights and through a bit of a fluke, he found a rewards ticket option from Lulea, Sweden leaving the next morning.

We contacted US Coach Matt Whitcomb who told us, “As a B Team member Noah is responsible for his flights. This includes ticket changes. We are supported by Global Rescue, an entity that assists our team in case of a medical emergency in a foreign country. For GR to cover his flight, he needed to spend a night in a hospital. Noah was fortunate in that he found a business class ticket for 50 bucks and 70,000 miles. We spent a couple hours on several phones and computers with flickering internet last night making these arrangements.”

Teammates pitched in to help pack his gear etc. and fortuitously, team wax technicians JP Laurin and Oleg Ragilo were already driving the cargo van to Lulea; they quickly made room for Hoffman. Not only did everything fall together like magic, but Hoffman also benefited from the luxury of a business-class Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Denver.

“The route Noah took to get home was based on safety and comfort as well as speed.  With the world cup in town everything from nearby airports were booked. He was fortunate to be able to find a cozy business class ticket on only 70k miles – a ticket that otherwise runs thousands of dollars. It was an unlikely discovery that got him back to Denver just 30 hours after his accident,” added Whitcomb.

But it was not all smooth sailing. “At the airport I went to check in and the Scandinavian Airlines computer system didn’t have my ticket number. I had to spend half an hour on the phone with United to get it figured out. I almost missed the flight,” wrote Hoffman in his blog.

Back home the Hoff’s network kicked in again. “When I arrived I was met by a very charismatic wheelchair driver. She took me through customs, helped me collect my bags and pushed me all the way to the car that was waiting for me. The car was parked at the airport for me by my girlfriend Emilia Wint’s incredible family. Not only did they do me the huge favor of driving Emilia’s car down from Breckenridge so I could take it back up, they also left a “Get Well” goody basket for me. I was well fed and hydrated on the drive to Breckenridge!”

He hooked with his pals Tad Elliott and Sylvan Ellefson while waiting to see Dr. Thomas Clanton, the director of Foot and Ankle Sports Medicine at The Steadman Clinic.

“This morning I drove over Vail pass to go to the world-renowned Steadman Clinic. Before going to the hospital, I went out to breakfast with my former teammate and good friend Tad Elliott. Tad just got back from competing in the opening U.S. Super Tour races in West Yellowstone, Montana. He’s returning to racing after a year of battling mononucleosis, and he skied to an impressive fifth place finish in the distance race. I hadn’t seen him in a while, and it was really fun to catch up.”

The decision came quick from Dr. Clanton… “Dr. Clanton looked at my MRI and X-rays. He saw two good reasons to do surgery. First, the part of my fibula that’s broken is displaced by 4 millimeters. He doesn’t like to let any displacement over 2 millimeters heal naturally because there is an increased risk of arthritis and other issues. He’ll set the broken bone with a plate and screws. Also, the MRI showed that I completely tore one of the ligaments that connects the fibula to the tibia. It needs to be surgically repaired. So, there are two reasons to do surgery. It’s a no-brainer.

Incredibly, Dr. Clanton will operate on me tomorrow (Dec 4). I am checking in at 6 a.m.

Read more on Hoffman’s blog:
Dec 1 – Broken Fibula
Dec 2 – No News Yet
Dec 3 – Surgery Tomorrow

SkiTrax joins the XC ski community in wishing the Hoff a speedy recovery in time for Falun 2015.

December 03, 2014 (Ostersund, SWE) – US Biathlon’s Tim Burke, a three-time Olympian, was just outside the top 10 claiming 11th with three penalties in the men’s 20-kilometer individual start won by convincingly by Emil Hegle Svendsen who was the only competitor to shoot clean. Serhiy Semenov (UKR) was second at 1:17.6 with one penalty and Michal Slesingr (CZE) was third at 2:08.3 also with one penalty.

Burke had the eighth-fastest time on the course and shot clean at the last standing session. Today’s strong performance follows Team USA’s impressive seventh-place in the mixed relay on Sunday.

“I am happy with my 11th place in today’s race,” Burke said. “Going into the season, I felt like my shape was at a good level, but you never really know until you start racing. The 20k course here is known as being one of the toughest on the World Cup and the wind and warm snow only added to that today.

“It was nice to get this one done with and I am looking forward to the races this weekend. While I was happy with the result today, I definitely still have some areas that I will be looking to improve on in the next races.”

Burke’s teammate Lowell Bailey, who looked poised for a top-10 finish until the last shooting stage where he missed two shots, was 20th also with three penalties. Canada’s Brendan Green was 49th (4 penalties), Nathan Smith was 54th (7 penalties), Marc-André Bedard placed 61st (4 penalties) and Scott Perras was 73rd (6 penalties). The USA’s Leif Nordgren was 71st (4 penalties) and Russell Currier was 74th (7 penalties).

“It was challenging, for sure,” said Bailey about Wednesday’s conditions. “The weather warmed up quite a bit before the race which made for some pretty icy, mushy downhills and the track deteriorated pretty quickly. And the added wind made it even more challenging on the range. I couldn’t hold it together in the wind there. I thought I could wait it out but you never want to miss that last shot when you wait 10 or 20 seconds for the wind to die down. All is all I’m happy with the race and it was a solid start to the season.”

Complete results are available here.

December 03, 2014 (Ruka, Finland) – SkiTrax caught up with Team USA’s Erik Bjornsen after he competed at the 2014-15 season opener Ruka FIS World Cup #1 in Finland, his first. He finished 52nd in the 15km CL event and tells us about how he feels at the start of the new season, his thoughts on summer training, as well as his goals.

What are your thoughts as you start your season?
Erik Bjornsen: I’m really happy with how my summer training went and I can already feel it paying off. Last year I made the easy mistake of training way too hard in November and this year I tried to be a little more conservative. I feel very lucky and happy to be starting my season over here and I want to make the most of all the WC starts I get. Coming into it I knew that these first two world cup weekends were going to be some of the hardest for me. Not only are they in Scandinavia, which means lots of fast national group skiers, but I also tend to start off the season a little slow.

How did you feel out there?
EB: I was surprised with the race feelings the last couple of days. The body has felt pretty good even though it has been a little flat the last couple weeks. I can tell that the fitness gains I made this summer are going to pay off. Today’s conditions (15km CL) were quite tricky for me. I did a lot of running outside the tracks and hard double poling. I’m working with a new tech and a new fleet of skis so it’s going to take a couple of weeks to get it all dialed, luckily both are top notch!

Today I started the race VERY slow. Last weekend in Muonio I made the mistake of starting the men’s 15km CL time trial too fast and it hit me hard on the second loop. I guess I was a little gun-shy this morning. It’s all about finding the sweet spot, I thinking I’m narrowing down on it. I haven’t done much racing in the last six months and the body feels a lot different then the last time I raced. I was able to push hard today and recover on the downhills.

Are you happy overall?
EB: In general I’m happy with where the body is at.  I’m sure nobody back home is impressed with my results but don’t worry guys, I promise you it’s coming! 🙂

What are your goals this season?
BB: My goal this season is to get as many World Cup starts as possible and to learn from each of them. In a year or two I would love to start consistently scoring points in sprint and distance races. Now is the time to learn all the venues and the flow of things over here on the World Cup. I want to go home next summer knowing exactly what it takes to ski with the best in the world.

Thanks for your comments and good luck this season.
EB: Thanks for the interview.

November 29, 2014 (Kuusamo, Finland) – American Ida Sargent delivered a personal best 5th place finish as she put the USA in the women’s 1.4 CL Sprint final today at the Ruka season opener 2014-15 FIS XC World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland. Marit Bjoergen (Nor) claimed her 67th victory as Norway swept the podium.

Sargent, who qualified 27th, skied well advancing as a Lucky Loser to both the semis and the finals. Here teammates Kikkan Randall and Sadie Bjornsen, who qualified 12th and 18th respectively, were in the same quarterfinal heat and did not advance. Canada’s Perianne Jones was 48th and American Jessie Diggins in 64th (crashed) did not make the heats.

Canada’s Alex Harvey led the North American men in 14th overall as he finished third in his quarterfinal after qualifying 17th and did not adance. Americans Simi Hamilton and Andy Newell, who qualified 16th and 24th respectively, finished their quarterfinal heats in 6th and also did not advance. Hamilton finished 26th and Newell was 28th.

Norway swept the podium again with Erik Brandsdal outpacing Petter Northug in the final with Sondre Turvoll Fossli taking the final podium spot as Russian’s Alexey Petukhov and Sergey Ustiugov ended up 5th and 6th behind another Norwegian Finn Haagen Krogh in 4th.

Canada’s Lenny Valjas was 39th while the USA’s Erik Bjornsen was 56th followed by Devon Kershaw (Can) in 57th with Reese Hanneman (USA) 67th.

Results

Women

1. Marit Bjoergen (Nor)
2. Katja Visnar (Slo)
3. Maika Caspersen Falla (Nor)

5. Ida Sargent (USA)

Full results here.
Women’s Qualifications here.

Men

1. Erik Brandsdal (Nor)
2. Petter Northug (Nor)
3. Fossli (Nor)

14. Alex Harvey (Can)

Full results here.
Men’s Qualifications here.