May 19, 2013 – At a press conference last week Norway’s cross-country skiing superstar Petter Northug Jr. announced he is leaving the national team to prepare for the Olympic season on his own. “I want to control my everyday life a little more. For me it is important to find every day new motivation and I believe this is the right thing for me,” said Northug.

Northug stressed that the decision was not based on dissatisfaction with the management of the national team. “I had fantastic years on the team, one dream everyday, and it is by far the best place to develop as a skier. There have been good years, and I am very grateful for them,“ he continued.

Norway’s cross-country boss Åge Skinstad feels sorry about Northug’s choice and says he can come back when he wants. “I think it is a pity. I hoped that Peter would continue to be part of the national team this season. At the same time I listen to what Peter says about the reasons for his decision. I am also very glad that we have a common goal, Olympic Games in Sochi, the Tour de Ski and World Cup. The most important thing is that Peter is in great shape when the season starts,” said Skinstad.

He pointed out that Northug’s choice means that all support from the Norwegian Ski Federation, both financial and in terms of support, stops immediately. “However, when we come to competitions in Kuusamo, Peter will get the same support from us as the others,” he claimed.

May 17, 2013 (Montreal, QC) – Drug testing is not working due to a lack of willpower claims Dick Pound, the former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reports AP. In a report presented to WADA, Pound suggests that increased numbers of test and scientific advances in testing are being negated by “human and political factors.” As a case in point, Pound points to American Lance Armstrong who was not caught despite being drug-tested more than 300 times during his cycling career.

“There are clearly many systemic, organizational and human reasons why the drug-testing programs have been generally unsuccessful in detecting dopers/cheats,” reads the report. “There is no general appetite to undertake the effort and expense of a successful effort to deliver doping-free sport.” Pound presented the report to WADA’s executive committee and foundation board in Montreal last weekend.

Read full article here.

May 16, 2013 – Blog. Wednesdays…Why Wednesday? Why should you believe me that I will stick to the schedule of updating the ye ol’ blog weekly – and midweek for that matter? Those are all great queries. 1) To quote George Mallory – because it’s there (Wednesday that is). 2) You shouldn’t believe me (I cannot totally and utterly promise you’ll find terribly written skier stream of consciousness every Wednesday – but it’s my intention to fill you all in weekly – starting now). And 3) today happens to be a Wednesday – which also happens to be midweek. Shocking I know.

The idea may have spawned out of a fleeting feeling of motivation to update, but when I stop and think about it – Wednesday is a perfect day to update a blog. It’s the middle of the working week – so something to look forward to for those of you that drive a desk for a living. Also, for the retired set (ie. Jamie), PGA golf tournaments start on Thursdays, so prior to hunkering down and watching 8-10 hours of sports on tv (not Jamie, more the Big Guy…), the stress might be a little higher than normal to get a bit of a sporting fix – if you could call this website that – which of course I must caution you of.

Since you last stumbled upon this blog, forgive me for leaving you with a bit of a depressed mood. I admit it. I was not a happy camper after a tough season on the skinny skis. I then perhaps made it worse by posting a plethora of photos of ski touring and beautiful mountains. You can say it – not cool. Ok, I apologize for that too – but being out in nature always makes me feel better – and playing in the snow with great friends is my prescription for the “racing season blahs” and perhaps you could look at it another way and you found it motivating, got after it yourself, or at least enjoyed the photos? Either way – April is so necessary to every successful ski racer – and this April was fantastic and I am feeling much, much better and definitely super motivated.

You are really going to be upset then when you scroll down a bit to the photos (which I’m sure 83% of you that visit here have already done by this point) and see the second tier of my April recovery/regeneration plan. Maui.

It was amazing. I can’t lie. The weather turned out to be perfect, +30 everyday and not a drop of rain. Kristin and I enjoyed the tropical island – doing the Maui thing – eating stunningly tasty fish everyday, surfing, enjoying the sun, some sunburning – sure, but also great swimming, snorkeling, waterfall explorations, some actual training too (since we were there as the “official” training season began and we brought our running shoes and road bikes), and I left with a sizable canker – caused by excessive “Maui Gold” pineapple consumption – so I was happy.

To lessen the “we just left paradise depression” that is inevitable after being in Hawaii for any amount of time, we flew from Maui to Vancouver to spend the weekend there with some friends, drink some awesome espresso, check in with the hipster scene (still alive and well by the looks of things) and catch a playoff game – Game #2 in the now over Canucks/Sharks series – which we saw with a great buddy of mine that lives in Van – Brady Dunne. Ladies of Vancouver – he’s single, and a great dude. Just saying.

I digress… The long and short of it was that we enjoyed an awesome weekend of running in the North Shore, sun, the hockey game (even though they lost?!) and spending time in the most beautiful home with some fantastic people (thanks Bob and Kim!!) as well. Did I mention sun? God, Vancouver is such a stunning city and it showed off in a big way while we were there!

Since returning to Canmore, Everything can be summed up in one word: sore. From frolicking like a drunk-pigmy-sunburned-mentally ill dolphin in the south seas to running 20 odd km a day, and lifting what they call “weights” has been a rough transition on the body. In the words of one of my best friends – Hullsy – I’ve been “shocking the body” which apparently is a fitness strategy in office circles. The premise is simple. “Just get after it.” Wow. What we do for training as cross-country skiers is both beautiful and well, hard. My calves have been feeling like that water logged wood I stepped over on Kits beach and let’s not even talk about my traps – which have seemingly moved permanently close to my ears – as if in a constant state of shrugging –not by choice – they are that sore.

Still – like Maui and Vancouver before it – Canmore has been strutting its stuff too lately. The weather has been excellent, the trails in the valley have cleared of snow, and I’ve already hit some of my favorite running trails with huge smiles in tow despite the rocked body (Highline trail, some Nordic Centre loops, and the Alpine Club/Montane Traverese trails). If you live around Canmore – get out and enjoy. What a place to live.

I’m off to Bend this Saturday for our team’s first training camp of the year – which I am definitely looking forward to. What a place to train in May – great skiing up on Mt. Bachelor and stunning dryland training in the afternoons down in and around town. The coffee is excellent (wow. I am so addicted. Thanks Kristin…), the river, the trails… There’s a reason my coach (Justin) never stops smiling when he’s down there in his happy place. It’s a great place to be as an xc skier. As anybody actually.

That’s this Wednesday’s news. See you next Wednesday.

Listening to anything interesting? Here’s what I’ve been grooving to (albums that is, yes, I am old and just love a great album still) – if that’s even a word anymore.

–       Passion Pit’s Gossamerz
–       Pheonix’s Bankrupt
–       Alt J’s An Awesome Wave
–       Cut Copy’s Zonoscope

I’m sure there’s more – but if I blow through everything in the first Wednesday I’ll be left stuck next week, haha.

Email me if you’ve got some new tunes that are must-listen-to’s.

Peace,

Devon.

May 16, 2013 (Park City, Utah) – USA Ski Jumping (USASJ) announced today the 2013-14 USA Ski Jumping National Team from it’s Park City, UT headquarters. In making the announcement USASJ Athletic Director Alan Johnson called the athletes a strong and balanced group.

“From our top team with skiers like Peter, Anders and Nick (Alexander) to a growing and talented Development Team, we believe these athletes have what it takes to achieve international excellence and we are really pleased to see their dedication to the sport. We are pretty excited about the future.”

Named to the National “A” Team are returning athletes Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, NY), Anders Johnson (Park City, UT) and moving up from last year’s Development Team is Nick Alexander (Lebanon, NH). Frenette, who grew up jumping in Lake Placid scored World Cup points last season placing a fine 20th in Sapporo, JPN., while he also placed 12th overall in the FIS Summer Grand Prix. Alexander placed third in a COC in Germany delighting US jump fans. Five USASJ jumpers scored COC points last season in a fine display of growing American depth.

Selected to the National “B” Team are Chris Lamb and Nick Fairall, both of Andover, NH. Named to the National Development Team are Brian Wallace (St. Paul, MN), Nick Mattoon (Eau Claire, WI), Alex Haupt (Park City, UT), Christian Friberg (St. Paul, MN), Will Rhoads (Park City, UT), Kevin Bickner (Wauconda, IL), and Miles Lussi (Lake Placid, NY).

The new season approaching – including the upcoming 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the first camp for the team will be the annual physical testing and training camp, complete with team meetings and media training will begin June 8-12th at the Alpine Clinic in Franconia, NH.

The USASJ’s Rex Bell echoed Johnson’s comments about the newly named teams noting, “Our USASJ community is working hard – pulling out all the stops – to make this program be all it can be. The athletes show true commitment to excellence and are making solid progress, and we see quantitative progress. This is a tribute not only to the athletes and coaches, but also to the jumping community and our sponsors and venues, clubs, coaches, officials and friends of the sport that are deeply committed to our mission. We are very encouraged about our direction.”

Former USA ski jumping Olympian Clint Jones begins his fourth year at the helm as the USA Head Jumping Coaching, while Blake Hughes has recently been tapped for an development position on the coaching staff based in Park City in a partnership with Utah Olympic Park, along with a yet-to-be named coach to be based in Europe.

May 10, 2013 – In this edition of Talkin’ with the Gravy Train, famous sports commentator and journalist Peter Graves chats with Dave Knoop, the Director of the National Nordic Foundation (NNF), for an inside look at the history of the organization and how it is able to provide over $150,000 to support Nordic skiing. Knoop speaks about the mission of the NNF, the all-important pillar projects, the Nordic community and the future in general – here is Part 1.

Knoop is passionate about the sport of cross-country skiing. A dedicated runner, he got into the sport in his early-to-mid 30s while raising a young family and building a successful insurance career. He saw it as a great family activity and a healthy lifestyle.

By his early 50s, with many of his professional career goals accomplished and his family grown, he thought about how to give back to the sport he’d grown to love and help the next generations of skiers. Spending time at numerous USSA/USST meetings he got a better understanding of some of the many challenges that developing skiers face. He also raced at many Euro Loppet and Worldloppet races to appreciate what it is like to race as an outsider in foreign lands with little support.

Knoop decided that his best contribution to the sport would be to lend his business/marketing experience in a way that would help the U.S. Nordic community help themselves. Coincidently he was informed that the NCCSEF (National Cross Country Ski Education Foundation) had just gone dormant after many years of success under it’s founder Reid Lutter.

Hence NCCSEF was reborn which morphed into the NNF changing the name and bringing Nordic Combined into the NNF family as well. Both Lutter and Knoop have run this non-profit organization as unpaid volunteers.

Knoop travels frequently to many ski communities across the U.S. to participate in races, as well as to meet local leaders in the ski community, to understand their role in the development pipeline and the sport in general.

Interview w/David Knoop

May 10, 2013 – Fast and Female is very excited to announce our new partnership with Canadian Wintersports (CWS). When CWS owner Peter Rozmovits approached us with the idea of making hot pink F1 Sprint Skate rollerskis in support of Fast & Female, we were absolutely on board and totally blown away by CWS’s enthusiasm and generosity in making it happen.

At Fast & Female we are dedicated to promoting empowerment through sport for girls aged 9-19. While we have branched out into many different sports both summer and winter, cross-country skiing remains our keystone sport. Hot pink rollerskis will be a fun way to get girls more pumped about summer training while increasing the visibilty of Fast & Female. The F1 sprint model is already the standard ski choice for athletes across Canada and Fast & Female couldn’t be prouder to be offering our very own edition of them!

Like everything in Fast & Female’s retail program, all proceeds will go towards getting more girls involved and inspired through Fast and Female programming.

You can find the skis for sale online at www.fastandfemale.com or at retaillers across Canada.

May 10, 2013 (Alaska) – This summer APU is hosting a masters on-snow ski camp at the Thomas Training Center on Eagle Glacier. Come experience glacier training like APU and US team athletes Kikkan Randall, Holly Brooks, Erik and Sadie Bjornsen, who use the method to extend their on-snow seasons.

“Skiers are made in the Summer”

The camp is coached by APU Elite coach Erik Flora, Dylan Watts, and Calisa Kastning. Flora has coached at Olympic and World Championship levels, including the 2011 and 2012 Overall World Sprint Champion. Watts is long time APU Master ski coach and overall winner of the Tour of Anchorage. Kastning is an APU Master ski coach and coach of the APU Women’s Master program. Snow camp will be from June 29 to July 3, including 5-6 ski sessions.

Camp includes classic and skate techniques. There is opportunity for participants to ski a lot, plus take part in technique discussion and video review. Cost $750. Includes skiing, coaching, housing, and food. Space is limited. Additional fee for helicopter transport.

Please contact Dylan Watts (dwatts@alaskapacific.edu) for registration and further information.

May 08, 2013 (Hayward, Wisconsin) – The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) has appointed Ben Popp as its new Executive Director. Popp will replace Ned Zuelsdorff who has served as Executive Director for eight years and announced his retirement earlier this year. Popp will be leaving his current position as Executive Director of the SISU Nordic Ski Foundation, based in Willernie, MN. He assumes the ABSF position on June 1, 2013.

“We are thrilled to have Ben on board. His Nordic skiing background and experience are a great fit for the Birkebeiner organization. We’re confident Ben’s leadership, creativity, and passion will help us advance our goals and meet the challenges ahead,” said Sue Scheer, Board President, American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation.

Popp has been instrumental in building the SISU Foundation, also a non‐profit centered around Nordic skiing and promoting an active, outdoor lifestyle. Under his leadership, SISU has grown rapidly, in part through a combination of expanded programming, hosting a variety of races and events, and building community relationships. Popp brings to the American Birkebeiner his experience in marketing, fundraising, sponsorship, programming, and project management.

Originally from northern Wisconsin, Popp has been involved in American Birkebeiner events since the late 1970s. “Having grown up participating in North America’s greatest ski race, I’m excited to join the ABSF team and continue the tradition of excellence, hosting quality events and getting people involved in an outdoor lifestyle,” said Popp. “My family and I are looking forward to becoming a part of the Northwoods community.”

May 06, 2013 – Here are the final USSA SuperTour standings and Grand National Champions for the 2012/13 season. Rosie Brennan (APUNSC) and Michael Sinnott (Sun Valley SEF) are the women’s and men’s overall SuperTour winners. Brennan also secured the women’s sprint and distance standings. On the men’s side, Sinnott scored top spot in the sprint rankings, while Erik Bjornsen (APUNSC/USST) cleaned up in the distance rankings. The Grand National Champion title went to Sadie Bjornsen (APUNSC/USST) for the women, while Torin Koos (Bridger Ski Foundation/Rossignol) earned the crown in the men’s contest.

Women’s Overall Leader
1. Rosie Brennan (APUNSC) 654 points
2. Sadie Bjornsen (APUNSC/USST) 507 points
3. Kate Fitzgerald (APUNSC) 362 points

Women’s Sprint Leader
1. Rosie Brennan (APUNSC) 232 points
2. Sadie Bjornsen (APUNSC/USST) 207 points
2. Jennie Bender (CXC) 207 points

Women’s Distance Leaders
1. Rosie Brennan (APUNSC) 422 points
2. Sadie Bjornsen (APUNSC/USST) 300 points
3. Caitlin Gregg (CXC) 254 points

Women’s Grand National Champion
1. Sadie Bjornsen (APUNSC/USST)
2. Rosie Brennan (APUNSC)
3. Kate Fitzgerald (APUNSC)

Men’s Overall Leaders
1. Michael Sinnott (Sun Valley SEF) 474 points
2. Erik Bjornsen (APUNSC/USST) 445 points
3. Torin Koos (Bridger Ski Foundation/Rossignol) 334 points

Men’s Sprint Leaders
1. Michael Sinnott (Sun Valley SEF) 200 points
2. Dakota Blackhorse (Bend Endurance Academy) 167 points
3. Erik Bjornsen (APUNSC/USST) 138 points

Men’s Distance Leaders
1. Erik Bjornsen (APUNSC/USST) 307 points
2. Michael Sinnott (Sun Valley SEF) 274 points
3. Brian Gregg (CXC) 249 points

Men’s Grand National Champion
1. Torin Koos (Bridger Ski Foundation/Rossignol)
2. Erik Bjornsen (APUNSC/USST)
3. Tad Elliott (SSC Vail/USST)

Women’s Final USSA SuperTour Rankings HERE.

Men’s Final USSA SuperTour Rankings HERE.

USSA Grand National Champion Rankings HERE.

*The tie on the Grand Nationals Champion document is denoted in yellow and tie breaker in blue.

May 02, 2013 (Yellowknife, NWT) – Shirley Firth Larsson, a veteran of four Winter Olympics, succumbed to cancer on Tuesday at age 59. She died at home in Yellowknife, NWT, surrounded by family and friends. Firth Larsson, a member of the Gwich’in First Nation, along her twin sister, Sharon Firth, were the first aboriginal women to represent Canada in cross-country skiing.

The two sisters participated in four Olympics: in 1972 at Sapporo, Japan; in 1976 at Innsbruck, Austria; in 1980 at Lake Placid, New York, USA; and in 1984 at Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.

Among her accomplishments, Firth Larsson won 42 Canadian national championship medals (29 gold, 10 silver & 3 bronze) and was also inducted into the Order of Canada in 1987. She is survived by her husband, Jan Larsson, and three daughters.

“I remember a WC trip Shirley and I did – just the two of us to Furtwanen, Germany – not a very big support group (just me) and I ran my butt off all over that loop as Shirley was having a really good race,” commented Marty Hall, a former XC Ski Head Coach for both the U.S.A. and Canada.

“I think I was more tired than she was – she was happy after the race coming in 9th. Into the car right after the race we high-tailed it to Zurich to catch the plane back to Canada.

“The two broke barriers that no other Canadian skiers before even came close to and it took 20 years for people to set new personal and Canadian bests after they were done. The number of Canadian National Championships they’ve won will stand for ever – never to be beaten by Canadians of the future,” commented Hall.

Shirley and her sister were known the world over their xc ski accomplishments and their rich legacy will be felt for years to come. “It was fitting that the sisters had time to be together over these last few years – a chance to talk, remember and re-live the past and those special days,” added Hall.

SkiTrax joins the Nordic community in extending condolences to the family and friends of Shirley Firth Larsson.

Cross country Canada release HERE.
CBC North article HERE.
Native Communications Society of the NWT HERE.
Pavlina Surdrich blog entry on Shirley Firth HERE.
Canadian Ski Museum Hall of Fame HERE.
Canada Games archived content HERE.

May 02, 2013 – The FIS anti-doping programme focus turns from the post-competition tests to a substantial out-of-competition testing programme in order to maintain the fight against the use of doping in skiing and snowboarding.

During the 2012/2013 competition season, FIS performed as many as 2,170 out-of-competition tests, including blood (246) and urine tests (498, whereby 291 with EPO analysis) as well as blood passport samples (1,426).

These numbers include the pre-competition blood controls that were carried out at the FIS World Ski Championships and FIS Junior World Ski Championships.

Additionally 643 in-competition urine tests were completed by FIS at World Cup and World Championship events, whereby 205 samples were additionally analysed for EPO. Furthermore, a small number of blood samples were collected (35 blood, 14 blood passport samples).

In addition, a large number of doping controls were carried out by the National Anti-Doping Agencies both in- and out-of-competition.

For detailed year-by-year statistics click HERE.

April 30, 2013 (Craftsbury Common, Vermont) – The Craftsbury Green Racing Project is excited to welcome a new crop of skiers to the team this year. With a strong pool of applicants, and limited slots, the decisions were tough.

At the full Green Racing Project level, we’ll be joined by Liz Guiney, Andrew Dougherty and Pete Hegman.

Liz spent her junior years skiing for the Utah Nordic Alliance and Park City Nordic Ski Club; raced at numerous Junior Nationals, and was part of the 2009 US J1 Scando trip team. She then did her college racing for UNH, qualifying for NCAA’s in the past three years. She represented the US at U23 World Championships this past winter.

Vermonter Pete Hegman came up through the Mansfield Nordic program and Mt. Mansfield Union High School, where he had a couple of state championship titles. He was on the NE team for Junior Nationals, and then raced all four years for UVM.

Andrew Dougherty grew up ski racing in Alaska, including many years on the Alaska Junior Natonal team, and then did his college racing for Denver University. He represented the US at the 2011 World Junior Championships and has since been a two time NCAA All-American. Along with Liz, in 2009, he was a member of the US J1 Scando Trip team.

Returning GRP skiers are Alex Howe, Gordon Vermeer and Patrick O’Brien on the men’s side, and Clare Egan, Ida Sargent, Caitlin Patterson, Hannah Dreissigacker and Susan Dunklee for the women. Clare will be focusing on Biathlon this year. Ida has been named to the USST A Team; while Hannah and Susan have been named to the USBA A Team.

This year’s training group will also include several former Craftsbury skiers and biathletes who are returning to the club after finishing college. They will join GRP as Provisional members. This includes Jake Barton and Alex Schulz for Nordic, and Michael Gibson and Ethan Dreissigacker for Biathlon. Jake had a strong collegiate career with the Colby Mules until a thumb injury sidelined him for the latter part of this past season. Alex has had a number of top finishes in the sprints at Junior Nationals, and did his college skiing for Dartmouth. Mike, a UVM grad, has had several national podiums in Biathlon. And Ethan was a 5-time member of the US Jr Biathlon Team.

Congratulations and welcome aboard to all the GRP athletes!

As always, you can follow the exploits of the ski team (and their rowing counterparts) via the team website, Facebook page or Twitter stream.

The Green Racing Project is a venture of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center made possible through the generous support of Concept2, Ibex, Rudy Project, Podium Wear, Sauce Headwear, and Brighter Planet.

April 30, 2013   – I haven’t had many years during my career that I finished the season when snow was still covering the ground and conditions for skiing were still very good. Actually when I think about it, I think this year is the first. Usually I chase after any available races after the World Cups are done, and try to make some money for our family vacation.

This year I just went straight to vacation mode, without even finishing the Canadian Nationals. I was exhausted mentally and physically, the tank was empty, no juice left – you can call it whatever you want, and you’ll be talking about me.

Saying all that, I can’t complain about my season. It actually turned out the best ever, scoring points in pretty much every World Cup race before Christmas, an awesome result at Tour de Ski, and 4th place at the World Championship 15km skate race, which let me finish in top 20 in the World Cup Overall.

But then spring came….and most of the time after the World Champs in Val Di Fiemme I was struggling with my health. It seemed like I just didn’t have enough energy to fight that virus, and I was getting ill week after week. My morale was getting low, and I didn’t feel like skiing at all, instead I just needed to go back home and spend some time with my family because I hadn’t seen them for most of the winter. (Thankfully there is a Skype)

In the end, it was a fun winter. You know, it always fun when you’re getting a good results, and enjoying yourself. Talking about joy, after some time off and short but nice vacation, I feel like I’m myself again. I want to ski again, play soccer, and start training for the Olympic season. I feel very excited and it gives me shivers when I think about the Games next year…

For the first training camp of this summer, we’ll be returning to Bend, OR so stay tuned for more.

Thanks for reading

For more on Ivan Babikov check out his blog.

April 29, 2013 – Even though the white gold of winter has not yet parted everywhere in the Northern hemisphere, it’s time to look back to the winter season 2012/13. It has not only been a sensational winter concerning snow heights and skiing days, but also a great winter when it comes to the number of participants in Worldloppet races. The Worldloppet Ski Federation announces happily a new record number of participants for the winter 2012/13 after numbers were already increasing for several consecutive years.

135.000 racers – over 800 new passports sold
With almost 135.000 participants – having completed their race – in all Worldloppet races, the races could increase the participation by almost 10.000 participants in comparison to last year. Also the number of sold passports has been increased. For the second time after 2008, more than 800 passports have been sold by the 16 Worldloppet races during the winter season 2012/13. Another record for this superb winter season 2012/13 which does not want to end since new snow has arrived in the Alps last weekend!

Decision to invest in a media strategy pays off
This increased interest in long distance skiing shows Worldloppet that its decision to develop a media strategy including more TV presence through high class footage of Worldloppet’s own elite cup, the FIS Marathon Cup, has been right. The next steps for this campaign will be discussed during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which will be held this year in Cable, Wisconsin (USA), hosted by the American Birkebeiner, from June 13 to 16.

Important Dates

June 13-16: Worldloppet Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Hayward (USA), hosted by the American Birkebeiner

August 24: Kangaroo Hoppet (AUS), 42km FT

Please note that many of the Worldloppet races have summer events in mountainbiking, road cycling, running, trail running, rollerskiing and / or inline skating. For more information, please have a look on the respective race’s web page.

Worldloppet – The World of Marathon Skiing!!!
More information: www.worldloppet.com
Visit also the official Worldlooppet Facebook Page HERE.
Never miss an info about the world of marathon skiing – follow @WLandFISMaCup

April 25, 2013 – Canadian National Cross Country Ski Team Head Coach, Justin Wadsworth is taking the plunge and shaving his head to show support and raise funds for the Kids Cancer Care Foundation. Kids Cancer Care (KCCF) is a charity in Alberta supporting kids with cancer and their families by providing clinical support, research, community programming and camps.

Last year, friends of Justin`s in Canmore lost their little boy to cancer, and his goal is to raise $2,000 for the organization that provided Ryan and his family so much assistance and support through the most difficult of times.

Approximately 1,500 kids in Canada are diagnosed with cancer every year, so please help him help the Kids Cancer Care Foundation, and donate. If everyone gives just a little, he’ll easily reach his goal, help out a great cause and inspire a new look!

When Justin shaves his head, we`ll share proof with you!

Click here to pledge…

Donating is fast, easy and secure. Within minutes of pledging online, you’ll receive a charitable tax receipt.

April 23, 2013 (Steamboat Springs, CO) – World Champion Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, CO), who set the pace for the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team over more than a decade, is closing the chapter on an historic career that saw him win a World Championship and three Olympic silver medals. After 13 seasons, Spillane made the retirement decision this spring to spend more time with his family in his native Steamboat Springs home.

“What I’ll take away from this career is that I was a part of something special,” said Spillane. “We committed as a group to becoming the best and doing everything we could to achieve that. I’m really proud of what our team has accomplished while I’ve been a part of it – whether it was a teammate or myself.”

Spillane was part of a nordic combined incubator in Steamboat Springs in the 1990s under the leadership of coach Tom Steitz. He made his World Cup debut in the 2001 season. Two years later he opened the 2003 campaign with three straight podiums in Trondheim, Norway.

That February he became the first American to win a World Championship in nordic combined, taking gold in the sprint event at Val di Fiemme. In Vancouver, he worked with teammates strategically and took America’s first nordic combined Olympic medal with silver, going on to lead the team to silver in the relay and backing up Billy Demong’s gold with silver to give the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team an unprecedented four medals in 2010.

But as Spillane reflected on his career, one of his most notable memories was when he paired with teammates to win the team event at the 1999 FIS Junior Nordic World Championships in Austria (silver a year later). “That started us off and put us on the map as a team,” he reflected.

Just nine months before Sochi, Spillane is putting his family on top and looking forward to spending time at home around the Colorado cowboy town. “Basically every spring I reevaluate where I’m at,” he said. “I just got to the point where I didn’t want to be away from home anymore. There’s so much travel involved in what we do and I just didn’t like being away from my girls and watching them grow up on a computer. I’m really happy to be home now. I’m very satisfied with my career and now it’s time to do something else.”

“Johnny believed in himself and believed in our ability and his ability to the point where he was able to break through barriers that Americans had never broken before,” said Olympic champion and teammate Billy Demong. “He paved the path for the rest of us to have the same success. His retirement is bittersweet. For sure I’m bummed that we’re not going to be together at the Olympics next winter. But, at the same time, I’m excited for him and I know that he’s moving forward in his life plan and taking a chance, taking a step forward in following another dream.”

“Johnny’s been a great teammate,” added Demong. “Not only did he lead the way for a lot of our success, but he’s always been one to do whatever he can for his fellow teammates, even when he’s hurt or struggling skiing to be able to lead and help out.”

Spillane’s leadership was echoed by his former teammate and now nordic combined Head Coach Dave Jarrett. “For me, the biggest thing with Johnny has been his leadership by example. He’s always the first guy in training and last guy to leave. He was always prepared. He was ready to go to work every day, every competition, every training session. He was willing to do everything and do all the work, to suffer, to go out in the rain, to go out in the cold, to go out in the snow – whatever it took.”

One of the hallmarks of Spillane and his teammates is their motivation to keep the spirit alive. “To younger athletes, I want to say anything is possible as long as you’re willing to do the work and give yourself every opportunity to succeed by training hard and solely committing to what you’re doing,” said Spillane.

“I’ll always be involved in Nordic Combined in some shape or form. It’s a big passion in my life. I want to thank the U.S. Ski Team and all of my teammates, coaches and technicians for doing such a great job over the years and really being behind allowing us to compete. Also, I want to recognize the support that people around the world gave me.

Johnny Spillane Timeline
1999 – Junior Worlds Gold, team event, Saalfelden, Austria
1999 – First World Cup B win, Klingenthal, Germany
2000 – Junior Worlds Silver, team event, Strbske Pleso, Slovakia
2000 – Debut World Cup, Kuopio, Finland (Dec. 2, 2000)
2002 – First World Cup podium, Trondheim, Norway (three straight podiums)
2003 – World Championship Gold, Val di Fiemme
2010 – World Cup win, Oberhof, Germany
2010 – 3 Olympic Silver, Vancouver
2013 – Retires as one of U.S. Ski Team’s most decorated athletes

Johnny Spillane By the Numbers
158 World Cup starts (individual events)
9 Olympic starts (3 medals)
8 World Championship teams
6 World Cup podiums (including one win)
4 Olympic Winter Games teams
3 Olympic medals

April 20, 2013 (Afton, Minnesota) – Well…that’s that! It’s over. I am back home now, super excited to get some quality time with my family and friends in Minnesota! It was a long, long season, with so many awesome memories and experiences (see the “here’s what I think about the last 5 months” post for more information on a season-wrap up).

We ended the season with a crazy hard race – the 30km classic mass start, in sunny temps above 50 degrees F and slushy snow that got softer and slower each lap! And I’m famous for overheating in races, so although I wore only a t-shirt and had no hat or gloves, I had to get ice water sloshed on me to survive the last lap. In a way, it was very fitting to have such a tough race at the end of a long gritty season, just to end it right.

The race was made tactically challenging by having ski exchanges. You could change twice if you wanted/needed to, but the penalty was about a minute, because it was an extra loop to get to the pits. The podium finishers (Liz, Kikkan then Rosie) didn’t change, and skied away from the rest of the field in an impressive race! It would have been smarter not to change, but after two laps I felt like I didn’t have a choice as the kick was wearing down. So I made the exchange with 10km to go, getting dropped from the pack I was skiing with in the process. It took me the entire rest of the race to fully catch up, and in a sprint off I just barely snagged 4th place. So I suppose there may be hope for me as a classic sprinter…as long as there are 29km beforehand!

Then the next day us SMS ladies went out to cheer for the boys and man the feed station in the woods. We got a real kick out of how much thought our boys put into marking their feed bottles: either they wanted to make it REALLY easy for us, or they didn’t trust us to put the right mixture in. Hah!

Tahoe Donner put on one last BBQ, and it was really bittersweet for me to see all my ski buddies one last time before going home. I was so darn ready for some chill time, but at the same time, these guys are my family too, and it’s going to be weird not having them around for the next month.

Good thing the next season training starts in only 4.5 weeks…

April 20, 2013 – Concussions have become a very important issue in all sports. We are seeking your involvement in this project because your opinions about concussions are important, and will help to shape and evaluate national programs to raise awareness about sports-related concussions.

This is the second phase of a national project around concussions. You may have completed a similar survey a few months ago but we want your follow-up opinions and are seeking your input into some new issues on this phase.

If this is the first time you are doing this survey – we really want to see your opinions.

The survey should take no more than 15 minutes of your time. Feel free to pass this survey on to friends and colleagues.

At the end of the survey, you will have the opportunity enter a contest to win a 16GB iPad with Retina Display, Wi-Fi + Cellular with an approximate retail value of $629.

This contest is open to residents of Canada who are over the age of majority in the province or territory in which they reside at the time of the contest entry.

The Survey continues until 11:59 pm on Sunday, May 5.

Survey HERE.

April 19, 2013 (Dalhousie, NB) – The names of the six new members who will be inducted into the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame later this year were recently announced. “These inductees are true role models, not only as athletes, but as human beings, and are most deserving of this prestigious recognition,” said Healthy and Inclusive Communities Minister Dorothy Shephard, who is responsible for sport and recreation.

“By inspiring others to participate in sport, more New Brunswickers will be able to enjoy some of the many benefits and contribute to rebuilding stronger, healthier communities.”

The members will join the hall when it holds its induction ceremony at Dalhousie Regional High School on June 8. The inductees will bring the total number of honourees to 231.

“We are proud to announce that these six distinguished athletes and builders are to be inducted into the hall of fame,” said Jean-Guy Poitras, chair of the hall’s board of governors. “We are also excited to have Dalhousie host this year’s event and look forward to honouring these worthy New Brunswickers.”

George LeFeuvre of Jemseg has been involved with the sport of Cross Country Skiing for nearly 40 years. He is recognised internationally for his talent for trail-grooming and track-setting and has participated in the preparation of six Olympic Games (Calgary, Albertville, Lillehammer, Salt Lake City, Torino & Vancouver), eight FIS Nordic Cross Country Ski Championships in addition to many National and Provincial Championships.

He is so highly regarded in his field that he was asked to help improve the JACA tracksetter snow grooming machine, the world standard for the preparation of international events. Always willing to share his vast knowledge, George regularly travels to give training clinics and seminars of his craft. In 1999, George was awarded the Dave Rees Award by Cross Country Canada for his long-term contribution to the sport of Cross Country Skiing.

Full list of inductees HERE.

April 12, 2013 (Truckee, CA) – Kris Freeman powered away from his competitors at the end of the men’s 50km CL Distance National Championhips, besting teammate Andy Newell, to win the coveted 2013 U.S. title in Lake Tahoe following the USSA SuperTour Finals. In this video, Martha Bellisle recaps the race with some great action footage and catches up with Freeman, Newell, and third place, Norway’s Einar Ulsund, for their comments on the race – full report and results HERE.

April 12, 2013 – Asiago, Italy, home of Rode Wax, world-famous cheese and the 2013 Masters World Cup! Between February 15th and 22nd, 103 Canadians were among the 1,173 skiers from 25 nations who competed in the annual event which is open to athletes aged 30 and older. Skiers race in 5 year age categories – in 2013 the oldest woman was 86 and the oldest man 89. (In 2011 when the Masters World Cup was hosted by Sovereign Lake Nordic Club in B.C., the oldest competitor was a 93 year old American man). Competitors can choose to race classic or freestyle in each distance, which varies from 5 km to 45 km, depending on age and sex.

Asiago lived up to its reputation and hosted a lively and unforgettable event, under sunny skies on immaculately groomed tracks. Spectators lined the course to cheer on the participants and the multi-lingual announcers kept up a lively commentary in the stadium. A large refreshment tent served hot meals, baked goods and lashings of coffee and hot chocolate, and prior to each race competitors energetically prepared their skis in the crowded wax tents. Old friends greeted one another – many of the same racers attend the World Masters every year and lasting friendships are formed even if the only form of communication is a broad grin and a hug or a handshake.

Canadians did well in podium results, winning 6 gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze medals. This was one of the largest Masters World Cup Canadian teams for a European venue – usually the number is between 30 and 50 when the competition is held in Europe. Included in this year’s team was Pierre Harvey, who finished 4th in the Men’s 45 km classic race. Complete race results can be found at www.mwc2013.com

The Masters World Cup (MWC) in cross country skiing is actually a Canadian invention. It became an outgrowth of the masters movement in Canada – the Canadian Masters Cross Country Ski Association and the Canadian Masters Cross Country Ski Championships – initially conceived and formalized by Bill Gairdner of Ontario. Bill was the first president of the Canadian association and very quickly took the masters cross country skiing concept to the world stage to form and lead the World Masters Cross Country Ski Association which is now responsible for ensuring that an annual MWC happens.

The first MWC was held in 1980 at Morin Heights, Quebec and was organized principally by Jan Hansen of the Viking Ski Club. The following year did not see a MWC as the FIS (International Ski Federation) sorted out what to do with the demands of this bunch of old skiers who wanted a World Championship. However in 1982, after the FIS agreed to a “World Cup” concept, Sweden stepped into the breach and the MWCs have been held annually ever since.

April 11, 2013 (Lake Tahoe, CA) – U.S. Ski Team member Kris Freeman and three-time Olympian captured his 16th national title on Thursday when he skied away from the lead group on the last lap of the men’s 50km Classic race to win the final event of the 2013 Distance National Championships and defend his 50km crown for the third consecutive year.

The 32-year-old Freeman, who skis for the Maine Winter Sports Center, covered five laps on the 10-kilometer course at Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Center near Lake Tahoe, in 2 hours, 24 minutes and 52 seconds.

Freeman’s U.S. Ski Team teammate Andy Newell, a sprint champion who said he has only skied a 50-kilometer race four times during his racing career, kept pace with Freeman throughout most of race and finished a close second, 50+ seconds back.

“Me and Bird (Freeman) skied together the whole race except he got away going over the top of the hill on the last lap,” Newell told Trax post-race. “He kind of broke away and we weren’t able to catch up to him.” Norwegian Einar Ulsund, racing for the University of Utah, finished third.

“Kris skied away on a climb on the last lap,” Ulsund, 24, said after the race. “He was just stronger than us. So then me and Newell skied together, just changing the lead until the last long hill. I was just so tired had to focus on getting to the finish line. I was like cramping, and was just empty. I was done.”

Newell dropped Ulsund near the finish. “We skied the downhill together and we were at the low point with about 3-K to go and I took over the lead to just take the pace down a little bit more and I looked back and didn’t see him.”

Just after Ulsund finished, U.S. Ski Team member Tad Elliott approached the stadium just in front of Canadian Knute Johnsgaard who skis with the Yukon Elite Squad. But as they rounded the last corner and headed into the final stretch Johnsgaard passed Elliott and took fourth.

Jack Novak of Alaska Pacific University, won the 20-kilometer Junior’s Distance National Championship. Adam Martin of Central Cross Country Ski Association came in second and Patrick McElravey of Auburn Ski Club was third.

A week of sunny, warm weather was quickly melting away the snow pack and volunteers had to spend hours shoveling snow onto the course to cover open ground and wet spots. Freezing temperatures overnight kept the snow firm for the 9 a.m. start and cloud-cover during the first hour of the race kept the tracks in shape.

But the snow was pretty dirty. Pine needles and tree-debris collected on the sticky ski wax, making the glide slowly disappear as the day wore on.

Racers had the option of  changing their skis twice for a new pair. But doing so would mean losing their position in the race. A ski change could take about 50 seconds to complete. Newell said the three leaders only made a change once.

“We changed skis on the second lap [at 20km],” Newell shared with Trax. “I was thinking about going three (laps before changing) but when I saw Kris head in to change, I decided to follow him because I figured he was a good person to try to ski with. So we all changed once on the second lap. I think it was a good strategy to just change once. Otherwise it takes too much time. Our skis definitely got slow toward the end with only one exchange. I think it was worth doing.”

The 168 racers, including 16 juniors racing 20-kilometers, skied in a tight line on the first lap until the 2-kilometer climb just before the finish. Freeman kept up a hard pace at the front and slowly pulled the line apart. Going into the second lap, a lead group of about six had formed.

That group included Freeman, Newell, Ulsund along with Patrick O’Brien, Tad Elliott and Erik Bjornsen. Elliott went off the front of the group when Freeman and Newell stopped to switch skis, but he was quickly caught.

The snow remained solid in many shaded spots through the second lap, Sylvan Ellefson, with Ski and Snowboard Club Vail Team Homegrown, slid off the trail at the bottom of a fast downhill and landed in a tree-well.

“He was rounding the corner at the bottom of a big hill,” said Dr. Nina Winans, who saw Ellefson crash. “He laid there for about a minute, but he finally got up and kept racing.” His arms were covered in road-rash and suffering a few cuts as well, Ellefson quit the race soon after.

As the lead group dwindled from six to three skiers and headed into the final lap, Freeman led the group through the flat section and then attacked on the first climb, successfully dropping Newell and Ulsund. After the race, Freeman said that was his strategy all along.

“The way the course played out today it was really hard to get away,” he said. “Two people were way faster than one person because they could sling-shot each other on the downhills. And also, because of the way it was melting as the day went on you could find faster parts of the track and with two people looking you could find the faster parts [more easiy]. When you were by yourself you didn’t really know if you were in the mushy part or the icy part.

“So what I tried to do was just make it as uncomfortable as possible for the other guys around me on the uphills. And eventually after attacking on the uphills a couple times I was able to get a significant break. That was what I had to do.”

Freeman made his final attack at 2-kilometers into the last lap and skied about 8-kilometers by himself to finish for the victory and his fifth 50km title. Next up, Freeman said, is rest and then begin training for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games, where he said he hopes to have a personal-best performance.

“Our team has made incredible strides in the last 10 years and I’m just hoping I can have one of my personal-best performances,” he said at the SuperTour Finals. “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to do that at the Olympic Games. I had a couple of [good performances] World Champs but the Olympics is what really matters.”

Martha Bellisle is an investigative reporter for the Reno Gazette-Journal. She has been cross-country ski racing at Truckee-based Far West Nordic events for almost 10 years. She won two silver medals and one bronze in three U.S. Masters Nationals Championships and has raced in two World Cup Championships.

Full results HERE.
More photos HERE.

April 05, 2013 (Truckee, CA) – Kris Freeman and Kikkan Randall were unstoppable today at the Auburn Ski Club Training Center…check out these hightlights from today’s races as Martha Bellisle catches up with Andy Newell and Erik Bjornsen, Kikkan Randall, Liz Stephen and Kris Freeman…

April 05, 2013  (Truckee, CA) – The nasty weather that soaked racers and spectators at the SuperTour Prologue on Day 1 of the  USSA SuperTour Finals was just a bad memory as skiers warmed up under sunny skies for Friday’s 10-kilometer and 15-kilometer Classic races at Auburn Ski Club Training Center.

Veteran Kris Freeman, a three-time Olympian and U.S. Ski Team member was an easy favorite, given his strength in the 15km classic event. The Andover, NH skier made his intentions clear that he would go out hard and fast, and he did not disappoint riding his speed to lead all the way to the finish line for the win.

In the women’s 10km race, Sprint Cup winner, Kikkan Randall surprised herself with an early lead that carried throughout the race taking her to victory as well.

The solidly built Freeman bounded off the start line with powerful double pole that propelled him out in front of the 100 competitors on the start line.

Sylvan Ellefson, of Ski and Snowboard Club Vail Team HomeGrown, said he was behind Freeman as the lead group began climbing the first big hill on the first lap of three. He recalled that Freeman took off and no one could match his pace.

Ellefson said he watched as U.S. Ski Team member Tad Elliott tried to stay with Freeman, gaining some time on a chase group that included himself, Andy Newell and Thursday’s Prologue winner Erik Bjornsen. “Elliott blew up in his effort,” Ellefson told Trax…and the chase group quickly caught and then dropped him.

Meanwhile Freeman and Co. skied on, with the tracks all to himself.

Newell said he assumed Freeman was just going for the cash preems offered for the winner of each lap and he expected the chase group would slowly catch the distance specialist. But Freeman was in a zone of his own.

“Bjornsen broke away from me as we crested the last climb, and I didn’t have it me to stay close enough for a final sprint,” Newell shared post-race.

Freeman crossed the finish line with a time of 38 minutes and 31 seconds, now with a 15-second lead in the SuperTour mini-tour. Bjornsen came in second with a time of 39 minutes, 19 seconds followed by Newell in third at three seconds behind Bjornsen.

By the time the women lined up for their race at 10:30 a.m., the sun was high in the sky and many racers stripped down to short sleeves. Waxing crews said they were grateful for the change in the weather, although the granular snow broke down as skiers raced over the course. Few complained of slow skis but some took some nasty spills along the way.

Randall continued her dominance in the SuperTour Finals moving to the front of the 60 racers in the pack on the first big climb. The Alaska skier had the second-fastest time of the day in Thursday’s Prologue and was taking no prisoners.

Liz Stephen, Randall’s teammate on the U.S. Ski Team, said she and Lisa Larsen of Sweden, tripped each other up toward the top as they tried to catch Randall and could not recover fast enough to put on a strong chase.

“She broke away from us there and she was just stronger all-around today,” added Stephen.

Teammate Sadie Bjornsen, who was third in Thursday’s Prologue, said the chase group sought to keep their momentum up on the hills without blowing up.

“I just kept telling myself ‘go hard but don’t kill yourself’ because there’s a big downhill on the other side and you can lose a lot of time if your legs are too shot,” she told Trax.

Bjornsen managed to pull away from the chase group before the final twisty descent into the stadium and finished a comfortable second. Stephen came in close behind her for third, and collapsed after crossing the line.

“It’s so high and hard here,” she said after the race, referring to Auburn Ski Club’s 7,000-foot elevation that can zap the strength and air out of the strongest of athletes. She added that the tracks and snow were beautiful on Friday, “and yesterday’s rain made it even better.”

Stephen describe this year’s race season a “dream come true” as the U.S. Ski Team turned heads and made history more than a few times in Europe, where Randall and Jessie Diggins won Team Sprint gold at the Nordic Worlds – a US first.

“Each race was somebody’s best result,” she said. “The whole season has been a high every day.”

Speaking after the race of his hopes for the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Freeman the U.S. Ski Team has made incredible strides in the last 10 years and he hopes to have one of his personal-best performances at the Games.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been able to do that at the Olympic Games,” he said. “I’ve raced at a couple of World Champs but the Olympics is what really matters.”

The SuperTour Finals continue on Saturday with CL sprint races at Auburn Ski Club and then on Monday with a hill climb at Sugar Bowl Ski Resort.

Women’s results HERE.
Men’s results HERE.
More Photos HERE.

Martha Bellisle is an investigative reporter for the Reno Gazette-Journal. She has been cross country ski racing Truckee-based Far West Nordic events for almost 10 years. She won two silver medals and one bronze in three U.S. Masters Nationals Championships and has raced in two World Cup Championships.

April 04, 2013  (Truckee, CA) – World Champion Kikkan Randall said before the SuperTour Finals Prologue that she was not sure she had anything “left in the tank” after her successful and demanding World Cup season that recently ended in Sweden. But her first-place finishing time of 7:57 would have placed her second in the men’s race.

Randall’s gold-medal World Championship Team Sprint teammate, Jessie Diggins, earned the silver in Thursday’s 3.2 kilometer race at Auburn Ski Club in Truckee, Calif. U.S. Ski Team member Sadie Bjornsen took the bronze.

In the men’s 3.2km contest it was Erik Bjornsen who had the fastest time of the day at 7:47. Knute Johnsgaard of Canada took the silver at 14.5s while APU’s Mark Iverson tied with Sun Valley’s Michael Sinnot for the bronze at 15.7 seconds behind the Alaskan winner.

The first day of racing dawned to heavy rain and wind, not the best conditions for a World Class cross-country ski race, and not the sunny California spring weather most racers expected.

August Teague, SuperTour chief of competition, said they salted the trails overnight and restricted access to the race course to ensure it stayed in good shape.

Skiers started solo at 30-second intervals on the 3.2-kilometer prologue course at the top of a hill, but headed straight into the rain and wind. After taking a sharp left at the bottom of the hill, racers started the first climb, but were protected by the forest for the rest of the course. That is until they dropped back down into the stadium where they again had to ski into a fierce wind to the finish line.

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) SuperTour cross-country ski race series began in November at Yellowstone and typically concludes with the final rounds at the National Championship distance races. With only nine months to go until the start of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the top racers in the country are hoping to do well in this Olympic-qualifying event.

The Tahoe area in California is hosting the four-race SuperTour finals which are drawing members of the U.S. Ski Team and other top teams from across the country with 200+ skiers on hand. The finals run through Monday at Auburn Ski Club and Sugar Bowl. The week of racing finishes with the 30-kilometer and 50-kilometer distance races at Royal Gorge Cross Country Ski Center next Wednesday (April 10) and Thursday (April 11).

Sixty women lined up for Thursday’s race, that began in a full downpour that slowly turned to sleet. Randall’s time on the 3.2-kilometer course — 7.57 minutes — not only beat her 59 female competitors, but also would have placed her 2nd in the men’s race as Bjornsen came in with a time of 7.47, while Johnsgaard was second with a time of 8:01.

Randall said the course was generally fast and in good shape but crossed the finish line looking like she gave it her all. Second place Diggins said she was able to find firm snow along the edges of the track, which helped her keep her speed high.

Diggins said her goal for the race series is to “have fun” and to “have an awesome time with my teammates and to leave it all out there.”

Veteran U.S. Ski Team member Andy Newell, a two-time Olympian, had a strong World Cup season finishing 29th overall to make the elite Red Group. Before today’s race he said he often feels pretty tired by this time of the racing season, but told us this was the first time he ever felt great.

“I’m excited to actually feel good for once in the spring and race some fast U.S. competitors,” he told Trax.

But just as the men’s race started, the rain turned to snow. Many who had tested skis and waxes in the wet, rainy conditions faced slower skis when the snow covered the track which was Newell’s fate.

He finished a disappointing 35th, saying his skis felt slow and he struggled with the 7,000-foot elevation on Donner Summit. If he has hopes of winning the mini-tour he’ll have to make up a total of 37 seconds over the three upcoming races that he lost to Bjornsen today.

Fellow veteran U.S. Ski Team member Kris Freeman also crossed the line disappointed. He finished 11th and 25 seconds down.

Randall and Bjornsen, will start Friday’s classic races in the yellow, race-leader’s bib. The men will contest a 15-kilometer mass-start Classic race with the women completing 10km. Time will tell what’s still in the tank.

Full results HERE.
More photos HERE.

April 04, 2013 – Rising US star Noah Hoffman recently returned from racing in Europe and had surgery to repair a re-occuring injury to his shoulder and will miss the 2013 USSA SuperTour Finals and Distance Nationals running from April 4-11. The Hoff is also looking for sponsors – see below and read more about his surgery and recovery here…

Sponsor Search and Shoulder Follow Up
I am trying to use the plethora of down time I have to strengthen my relationships with my existing sponsors. I would love to find additional sponsors, particularly a title sponsor to fill the vacant advertising space on my hat. (The space on the hat above the U.S. Ski Team shield is the only place that athletes are allowed to sell.

All the other spaces on our uniforms are sold by the U.S. Ski Team.) As far as I know, just from asking around and looking at my competitors’ hats, I am one of the best ranked skiers in the world without a sponsor on my hat. This may not be a fair conclusion as the hat space isn’t available to all athletes; in some countries it is sold by the national teams to generate revenue.

Having asked around, many of my teammates who are close to my level are receiving between $5,000 and $15,000 per year from their title sponsors in exchange for the advertising on the hat, advertising on their website and various other exposure and appearance benefits throughout the year.

Noah Hoffman’s blog here.

April 02, 2013 (Truckee, CA) – Check out these great vids courtesy of Martha Bellisle/RGJ.com of US stars Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins who have returned from racing in Europe and have landed in Truckee, CA for the 2013 USSA SuperTour Finals and Distance Nationals on from April 4-11. Randall and Diggins met up with local fans for some pre-race activities…

March 26, 2013 (Whistler Olympic Park, BC) – Following today’s races SkiTrax caught up with winners Daria Gaiazova and Brent McMurtry who took home the titles in the women’s and men’s 10/15km Individual Start CL races today at the 2013 Haywood Ski Nationals in Whistler B.C. Plus we spoke with silver medalist Perianne Jones – Jones and Gaiazova are best buds having scored third in the Team Sprint at the Sochi World Cup in February… report and results from today’s races HERE.

Daria Gaiazova

Brent McMurtry

Perianne Jones

March 24, 2013 (Falun, Sweden) – The USA’s Kikkan Randall accomplished what no other American female skier has done before, placing 3rd in the overall World Cup standings as she clinched the final podium spot with her 7th-place result on Sunday in the women’s 10km FR Pursuit.

It was one of her best distance results this season and the second fastest time of the day meaning another podium finish for the Alaskan queen. Randall had to place 15th or better given that Marit Bjoergen (NOR) was the likely winner of the final Mini Tour of the season which she claimed today. The US star puts on another hat tomorrow for a Fast and Female event in Falun where 90+ young female skiers get to rub shoulders with the stars.

For a switch we caught up with Jeff Ellis, Randall’s husband – the main man behind the main woman so to speak – for his take on today’s outcome…

“Today was Kikkan’s best distance result since before the Tour de Ski. A great way to finish the season. She knew she needed to be top 15 to stay in the Top 3 in the overall and I think it was the motivation she needed to dig deep and produce a result like we saw today. World Champion, World Cup Overall Sprint champion, and third in the Overall World Cup….check, check, check. Quite a season,” commented Ellis.

Matt Whitcomb, US Women’s Coach was on cloud 9 as well… “It’s unbelievable. It’s so cool that she had both distance and sprint podiums and be able to finish it with what’s rumoured to be a podium time today [it was]. It’s just a great way to finish it having one of her strongest races and performances to complement the other great results.”

Full interviews with Randall and Whitcomb plus final report to follow…

Women’s 10km FR Pursuit results HERE.
Women’s 10km FR Pursuit finishing times HERE.
Mini Tour results HERE.
World Cup Distance Overall HERE.
World Cup Overall HERE.
BMW Overall HERE.
Prize Money HERE.

March 23, 2013 (Whistler Olympic Park, BC) – Crowds of spectators turned out on a bluebird day to watch the 2013 Haywood Ski Nationals’ first race, the team sprint, at Whistler Olympic Park in Callaghan Valley, and they were not disappointed. There were a total of 173 teams of two racers across six categories.

Four rising stars in the sport of cross-country skiing captured the first titles of the weeklong Haywood Ski Nationals on Saturday at Whistler Olympic Park.

Jesse Cockney, of Canmore, Alta., joined forces with Calgary’s Brent McMurtry to successfully defend their title in the men’s skate-ski team sprint. Calgary’s Marlis Kromm and Heidi Widmer, of Banff, Alta., paired up to win the gold in the women’s team sprint race.

The 23-year-old Cockney and McMurtry, 26, had their hands full in the men’s final, but picked a line down the finishing stretch and held on to win for the second straight year.

“Brent was the key to the victory today. He skied so strong,” said Cockney. “You have to really stay calm and relaxed in the team sprint because you are going six rounds before it is done. This is a great way to start Nationals.”

The Alberta boys were sandwiched between two teams from Whitehorse on the men’s podium. David Greer and Knute Johnsgaard locked up the silver medal. Colin Abbott and Graham Nishikawa skied to the bronze.

Meanwhile, two of Canada’s top skiers on the Haywood NorAm circuit, 22-year-old Heidi Widmer, of Banff, Alta., and Calgary’s 23-year-old Marlis Kromm, got off to a perfect start at the National dance, winning the women’s team sprint crown.

“The team race can be hard for sprinters (because of the distance) so you have to ski good technically and efficiently,” said Widmer. “The conditions were good but they were getting soft. The volunteers did a great job today.”

The Alberta duo plans to build on this strong performance. “Our big goal today was to start under control and punch it on the second and third rounds,” added Kromm. “We are going to race everything this week. This was a great start.” Ontario’s Mary Thompson and Erin Tribe celebrated the silver, while Alberta’s Michaela Howie and Zoe Roy rounded out the women’s podium in third.

Earlier in the day the Canadian College and University Championship team sprint began the competitions. Thirteen women and men’s teams raced the course with a win for Lakehead University in both categories.

Alannah Maclean and Andrea Lee won the women’s side with a time of 15 minutes and 31 seconds. Silver went to Catherine Auclair and Myriam Paquette of L’Universite Laval in a time of 15:33. Carleton University’s Ingrid Hagberg and Kendra Murray took bronze in a time of 15:36.

On the Men’s side, the University of Augustana’s Ragnar Robinson and Lukas Mark blocked a podium sweep by Lakehead University by sliding into bronze with a time of 16:22.9, just .5 seconds behind Scott Hill and Leif Lennie, who took silver. Lakehead’s Victor Hopper and Harry Seaton won the gold in a time of 16 minutes and 16 seconds.

The Haywood Ski Nationals continue on Sunday with the short distance races.

Complete Haywood Ski Nationals results HERE.

March 23, 2013 (Falun, Sweden) – Marit Bjoergen lead another Norwegian podium sweep in the women’s 10km CL at Falun but Kikkan Randall’s strong 19th place today solidifies the American’s 3rd place in the overall WCup standings for what might be another historic finish. But with 200 points up for grabs on Sunday the pressure is on.

“Today was a decent race for me but I’m not quite back to the form I had at the beginning of the season. The conditions were really nice and my skis were awesome today. The pace was quite high from the start. I was planning to try and hang near the top 10 but I didn’t do a good job of covering the surges at the end of the 1st lap and found myself back in the 30’s instead,” Randall told Trax post-race.

“It was really helpful for me to ski with Liz during the 2nd and 3rd laps. I had really good kick on the uphills, which really came in handy towards the end of the race – I still had good power in the movements and skiers were starting to come back to us.”

The US star’s performance today strengthened her grip on her 3rd place in the overall standings as she bested her closest rival today, Kristin Stoermer Steira (NOR). But she’s not out of the woods yet and with double points on tap tomorrow – the win is worth 200 – she has to be wary of Bjoergen and Heidi Weng as well, who were both on the podium today and not far behind her in the overall standings.

Bjoergen is feeling great and wants to win on Sunday, and with 948 points to Randall’s 1,118 points the American needs over 30 points to land on the final podium and would need to finish 15th or higher to keep third overall. If there’s a tie, the individual with most World Cup wins will prevail, meaning Bjoergen.

“It was kind of nice to be racing alongside Steira today, knowing that she wasn’t scoring a bunch of more points over me.  It’s going to be a real battle tomorrow for me to score enough points to stay ahead of both Bjoergen and Weng.  I would love to hang on for third place overall.  I must fight for every place tomorrow,” added Randall.

Randall’s teammate Liz Stephen just behind her in 21st and the two skied together most of the race. Stephen is 20th overall compared to 42nd last year and sits 15th overall in the Distance rankings compared to 28th last year, a big upswing for the from East Montpelier, VT skier. Randall is 10th overall in the Distance series.

“The race went out hard, as par for a women’s world cup race, so I wasn’t in a great position in the first lap. However, each lap I moved up a bit more and it was really fun getting to ski with Kikkan for the last 2 laps of the race,” said Stephen in a post-race interview.

“We would have both been psyched for one more lap, though, I think, as we were really catching people that last lap. I am happy with today’s result and I am really looking forward to tomorrow’s pursuit start race, as I think they are my favorite kind. Tag. I’m feeling physically good going into tomorrow, so we shall see how it goes! Last World Cup race of the season!

Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) has already won the overall Distance and WCup series titles and apparently is not racing on Sunday deciding to head home early.

Ida Sargent finished in the points in 29th, Jessie Diggins was 38th, Holly Brooks finished 39th while Continental Cup leader Rosie Brennan was 43rd. Emily Nishikawa led the Canadians in 46th with Daria Gaiazova in 50th.

Women’s results HERE.
Mini Tour standings HERE.
World Cup Distance Overall HERE.
World Cup Overall HERE.

March 22, 2013 (Falun, Sweden) – Kikkan Randall is one busy woman. The US XC Ski squad’s team leader is also the FIS Athlete’s Rep and she spent most of Thursday talking with fellow athletes and the powerbrokers at FIS regarding safety issues with the courses in Falun – until 11:30pm. She got up on Friday morning to good news about the course modifications and turned her focus on the 2.5km FR Prologue where she podiumed. We caught up with Randall for the inside scoop on her podium, the course controversy, and her stint on the popular Norwegian TV show Late Night w/Thomas & Harald with Canada’s Alex Harvey…

Kikkan Randall Interview

March 22, 2013 (Falun, Sweden) – Norway’s Petter Northug Jr. edged closer to his final goal this season – to take home the men’s overall FIS World Cup Series crown – as he lead a Norwegian podium sweep in the men’s albeit shortened 2.5km FR Prologue. Three more Team Norge skiers landed the top ten showing the depth of the squad as the last minute course modification seemd to favour Northug.

Leading the North Americans was the USA’s Andy Newell in 16th with teammate Torin Koos claiming 25th, Canada’s Len Valjas in 27th and Alex Harvey also in the points in 30th. Fans will remember that Harvey made history here last year winning his first individual WCup gold.

“The plan was not to go out too hard in the first kilometre because people tend to pay at the end. I wanted to carry high speed downhill into the finish,” Northug told FIS XC as he plans his strategy against Alexander Legkov (RUS) and Dario Cologna (SUI) threatening his WCup plans. “Tomorrow I will try to stand in the front and go for bonus seconds. I have a comfortable lead but will watch out for Alexander and Dario.”

Legkov was 9th today and Cologna finished 11th as Northug extended his lead overall lead to 56 points over the Russian in second with Cologna at 69 points behind in third.

Canada’s Devon Kershaw, also on the podium with Harvey here last year placing third (a Canadian WCup first), finished 32nd today while fellow Canuck Michael Somppi was 44th, Noah Hoffman (USA) was 51st and Ivan Babikov (CAN) was 52nd.

“This was such a good race for us last year and we were trying to get revved up thinking about that success, but the bodies just aren’t there right now,” said Justin Wadsworth, head coach, Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team.”We have analyzed things really well as a team, and reflected on what went wrong for us. Those five weeks at the beginning of the season were just too much.

“We are expecting more because expectations are different now. We have to continue plugging along and stay positive. We’ll keep our spirits up to the end of the season and learn from this.”

Full results HERE.

March 22, 2013 (Falun, Sweden) – USA’s Kikkan Randall is storming strong, even as the end of the World Cup season quickly approaches. Only days ago, she successfully defended her World Cup Sprint crystal globe, but the Alaskan star is not resting on her laurels.

Today in the 2.5km free technique event, Randall snapped up a bronze medal only 6.6s behind Norwegian powerhouse Marit Bjoergen and 2.2s behind second place, Charlotte Kalla (SWE).

“The times were really tight out there and I’m happy to be on the podium. I think we had great skis today and I’m really psyched for our performance as a team. Two more races to go now, hope we can keep this momentum rolling! The course was short but challenging. The downhill turn that everyone was concerned about was definitely a little wild but safe enough,” said Randall in a team release.

“It’s been an interesting last 24 hours here in Falun, but with a seemingly happy ending. Yesterday after previewing the course there were concerns from several athletes that the new technical downhill section was going to be unsafe. We called an athletes meeting and went back and forth with the jury to try and find a compromise on a safer course. For me, as the athlete rep, it was a lot of running around yesterday. But in the end I’m glad we found a good solution and everyone agreed to start today.”

USA’s Holly Brooks had a great race, finishing seventh, while teammate Jessie Diggins also made the top-10 with a strong eighth-place finish. Other North American results include Liz Stephen (USA) in 20th, Ida Sargent (USA) in 38th, Emily Nishikawa (CAN) in 41st, Rosie Brennan (USA) in 46th, and Dasha Gaiazova (CAN) in 47th.

“It felt good to race a skate prologue – I really like this distance. It was also nice to get a good race feeling back! I had been feeling really tired and pretty done after World Champs, but today my body was ready for one last race series as we finish World Cup Finals,” commented Diggins. “The coaches did a fantastic job on the skis and it’s really exciting to have three girls in the top eight! It really boosts confidence and it’s always nice to end the season on a high note.”

After significant athlete protests, the infamous Mördarbacken (Murder Hill) hill was cut from this weekend’s race courses. Read more about it in our coverage here.

Women’s 2.5km Free results HERE.

March 21, 2013 – IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist knows time is running out but according to a CBC.ca interview he’s vigilantly retesting samples for banned substances from the Torino 2006 Winter Games with more advanced techniques and “No samples are immune,” says Ljungqvist. According to the report athletes will be retroactively disqualified and stripped of any medals if they test positive – read more here.

March 21, 2013 (Canmore, AB) – Cross Country Canada will ski into communities across the country with a one-of-a-kind marketing campaign that showcases the universal appeal of the sport to Canadians of all ages and abilities in an effort to drive participation.

The innovative campaign showcases the many advantages of cross-country skiing by directly targeting other sports with catchy slogans, including:

“The cross-country ski community in Canada lives and breathes the sport’s unique characteristics, but we want the rest of the country to realize how fun, cool and edgy our sport really is,” said Alex Harvey, the two-time World Championship medallist who is featured in one of the ads and whose fan base in Nordic communities around the world rivals some of the world’s hottest rock stars.

“This campaign highlights not just what makes cross-country skiing so great, but that it is accessible for nearly every man, woman and child in the country. We believe the sport of cross-country skiing has finally arrived in Canada, and it is time for the sport to take its place,” added Harvey.

The initiative was created by Brandhealth Communications, an independent marketing agency based in Peterborough, ON that specializes in health and well-being.

“We wanted to give cross-country skiing the ‘cool factor’ that it deserves. Cross-country skiing is unlike any other sport. It’s completely pure. There is something about being in a forest in the middle of winter gliding across the snow that refreshes your body and mind. Are other sports envious of cross-country skiing? We think so,” said Rick Kemp, creative director at Brandhealth.

The campaign has two primary goals: first, it will promote and grow the profile of the sport across Canada, providing messaging and branding that CCC and its 330 member clubs around the country can use to grow membership and participant bases. Second, the campaign will help celebrate and draw attention to the National Ski Team’s journey to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games as they travel the globe in search of medals on the FIS and IPC World Cup circuits.

“Feeding off the success of our National Ski Team, there has been increased interest in our sport across Canada – both through public attention and participation on ski trails in all provinces,” said Matthew Jeffries, director of business development, Cross Country Canada. “The more people we expose to the sport, the better the nation’s chances are at finding, fostering and developing Canada’s next Olympic and Paralympic medallists. Working with our member clubs, this unique campaign will play a key role in helping us accomplish our goals.”

The campaign will be rolled out to ski clubs and provincial associations in the coming months through a mix of print, online and social media platforms. CCC- licensed merchandise bearing some of the campaign’s messaging will also be available for purchase through the CCC online store (www.cccski.com) and at select CCC events across the country.

Earlier this year, Cross Country Canada also introduced the organization’s first-ever mascot. Symbolically created to support the sport’s introductory Jackrabbit ski programs, Klister, an oversized Jackrabbit, makes regular appearances at Cross Country Canada events and races across the country in a continued effort to inspire kids to get involved, have fun, and enjoy the sport.

“Cross-country skiing has evolved so much at the elite level to be more spectator-friendly with lots of action and excitement,” said Jefferies. “The sport is exciting and fast and has no boundaries for age or skill. Our goal is to feed that excitement to the grassroots level. You never know what corner of the country Klister may be able to find Canada’s next Olympic or Paralympic champion.”

March 20, 2013 (Stockholm, Sweden) – The USA’s Kikkan Randall came to Stockholm knowing she had successfully defended her Sprint Cup title and looked forward to receiving the Crystal Globe from the King of Sweden once again. With three individual WCup victories this season, Team Sprint WCup gold, two Tour de Ski stage wins, along with the first US gold at the World Championships in the Team Sprint… it was memorable year for the Alaskan star. Here’s her take on taking home her second Globe.

“Since this was the last world cup sprint of the season, I had high expectations to improve upon my previous best finishes here in Stockholm and make the final.  I’m still chasing after my first classic sprint podium.  The conditions on the course were some of the toughest I’ve experienced here.  The manmade snow was breaking down and turning to sugar on the first uphill while freshly fallen snow was getting drifted over the top and really slowing it down.  It was a big challenge to find skis that had kick in the sugary snow but weren’t too slow in the windblown.

“I felt like I had good energy in the qualification but didn’t kick very well up that first uphill.  It was good enough however and I was looking forward to the quarterfinals.  In my quarterfinal heat I got off to a great start and had the lead going around the 1st corner.  I struggled to kick up the hill unfortunately and dropped to fourth over the top.

“Coming into the 180 turn, I got pushed wide by Dotsenko and did my best to get back in line and draft behind her. But I was having trouble keeping up in the double pole.  Going into the last uphill I lost that adrenaline surge of being right in the pack and kind of seized up.  Even though we had a fast heat, I was disappointed to have not been fully in the mix and to have had my day end so soon.

“They handed out the overall sprint cup awards after the race finished.  It felt a little strange to be going up on stage after going out in the quarterfinals today but still a nice recognition for the culmination of the season’s sprint races.  I am honored to win the overall sprint title for the second year in a row.  When I was injured this fall, I didn’t know if I would be able to be in contention for the globe again this year and I’m so grateful to have recovered and to have been competitive the whole season.  The feeling of the second one is definitely different than the first.

“Last year, I felt so wide eyed and giddy.  This year feels a little more familiar and a nice validation that last year wasn’t just a fluke.  It was great to have the King of Sweden present the awards again and it’s always an amazing feeling to hear our national anthem played out loud.  I just wish I could bring all of our coaches, staff and my teammates up on that podium to share the moment with me.  A bunch of my teammates stayed a couple extra hours after their races to be there for the awards presentation and I am so grateful for their support.

“I’m looking forward to be bringing another globe back to the US (although it came in a ridiculously large carrying case, so I’m not sure how fun it’s going to be trying to fit it into the overhead compartment!),” concluded Randell.

March 17, 2013 (Whistler, B.C.) – It was a day of familiar faces making their way to the podium at the North American and Canadian Biathlon Championships on Sunday in Whistler, B.C. Quebec’s Audrey Vaillancourt backed up her sprint victory with another win in the women’s 10-kilometre pursuit. Calgary’s Kurtis Wenzel took advantage of a 30-second penalty by Nathan Smith to win the men’s 12.5-kilometre pursuit.

Vaillancourt, who won three junior titles at the 2012 National Championships, fired to her second straight senior title on Sunday with the victory in the women’s 10-kilometre pursuit. The 21-year-old missed four shots in as many rounds of shooting to post a winning time of 31:43.4.

“It was really exciting at the beginning of the race, and that’s what I love about the pursuit is you are with people all the time,” said Vaillancourt. “Our wax techs were pretty incredible today. I had really good skis today and yesterday. I don’t know how they did it.”

Julia Ransom, of Kelowna, B.C., finished well back in second +1:18.8 (0+0+2+1), while Megan, Heinicke, of Prince George, B.C., held on for third place at +1:45.9 behind after a difficult day of shooting where she missed seven targets (1+0+5+1).

Quebec’s Rose-Marie Cote also won for the second straight day in the junior women’s category. Cote clocked a golden time of 34:18.5 (0+0+3+0) in the women’s 7.5-kilometre pursuit.

Sarah Beaudry, of Prince George, B.C., also wrapped up her second straight title in the youth women’s 7.5-kilometre pursuit race with a time of 28:23.5 (0+1+3+1).

Meanwhile, Kurtis Wenzel capitalized on a starting error by frontrunner, Nathan Smith of Calgary, to win the men’s 12.5-kilometre pursuit. The 22-year-old Wenzel had a stellar day on the range, shooting clean to post a winnig time of 32:16.1.

Starting with the lead based on Saturday’s sprint results, the 27-year-old Smith could not overcome a 30 second penalty for jumping the start gun, but maintained second position.

“I don’t think I have ever started a pursuit in first so it was a little different today,” said Smith. “I skied conservative the whole race, but after I missed my second shot in standing, I realized I had a 30 second penalty for starting to early and I upped the pace for the final lap.”

Raleigh Goessling, of the United States, missed one shot to finish 1:22.5 seconds behind Smith to grab the bronze medal.

Macx Davies, of Canmore, Alta., also won his second straight junior men’s title after posting a golden time of 33:32.5 in the junior men’s 12.5-kilometre event. Brett Davie won the youth men’s 10-kilometre pursuit after stopping the clock at 30:32.3 (1+0+2+1).

Morning results HERE.
Afternoon results HERE.

March 17, 2013 (Oslo, Norway) – Sarah Hendrickson (Park City, UT) flew 133.5 meters to her fourth World Cup win for a historic victory at the women’s large hill debut and season finale at the legendary Holmenkollen. Hendrickson jumped 133.5 and 129.0 meters and, with her more polished telemark style on landing, won over Japanese rival Sara Takanashi’s distance.

Hendrickson ended up second in the World Cup overall standings behind Takanashi (1,297-1,047), while Lindsey Van (Park City, UT) placed eighth and Jessica Jerome (Park City, UT) ninth. For the second year in a row, Women’s U.S. ski jumping clinched the women’s nation ski jumping World Cup title.

HIGHLIGHTS

– Sarah Hendrickson (Park City, UT) flew to her fourth World Cup win at the women’s large hill debut and season finale at the legendary Holmenkollen.
– It was the women’s first time on the large hill and Hendrickson and Japanese rival Sara Takanashi consistently jumped to the bottom of the 134-meter hill.
– Hendrickson jumped 133.5m and nailed a perfect telemark landing while Takanashi went out to 134.0m but had a weak landing with no telemark.
– In the second round, Takanashi went before leader Hendrickson and flew out to 133.5m.
– Hendrickson jumped quite a bit shorter at 129m, but much better style points and less wind compensation earned her a winning score.
– Lindsey Van (Park City, UT) was fourth after her first 122.5m jump and Jessica Jerome (Park City, UT) was 9th, but they both dropped in second jump to seventh and 10th respectively.
– Alissa Johnson (Park City, UT) and Abby Hughes (Park City, UT) finished 19th and 28th.
– Sunday’s event was the first time that men and women jumped together on the same hill and alternated rounds, which worked out great for the crowd on hand.
– Holmenkollen is one of most legendary and prestigious jumping venues in the sport.
– Hendrickson won four World Cups this year, including one of the Sochi test events.
– She won back-to-back World Cups this week in Norway, Trondheim on Friday and Holmenkollen on Sunday.
– Hendrickson ended up second in the World Cup standings behind Takanashi (1,297-1,047), while Van placed eighth and Jerome ninth.
– Women U.S. ski jumpers clinched the women’s nation ski jumping World Cup title for the second year in a row, winning the title in each of the two years that the sport has been a part the World Cup.
– Hendrickson will be honored by Utah Governor Gary Herbert as Olympian of the Year for 2012 on April 16.

QUOTES

Sarah Hendrickson
We put on red lipstick to celebrate the season final and show that we’re girls and we’re proud of it. We’ve come a long way with women’s ski jumping. It’s a historical day for us jumping the big hill and we’re proud of it.

Winning here just increases the love I have for ski jumping. Every day I just show up to have fun and to have so many people out here to watch the girls competing on the big hill, it’s just awesome.

Jumping here today, I can hardly put into words. I love jumping big hills. We’ve been able to train on big hills for the past couple weeks at home, which is what I love. The bigger the hill, the better, for me. Then jumping in front of so many people and with the guys. It’s an amazing experience and I love ski jumping more and more every day. Yeah, wonderful day to remember forever.

Yeah, Sara (Takanashi) had wonderful jumps today, as always. Luckily I was able to squeeze it out with style points.

Official Results
Official World Cup Standings

March 17, 2013 (Khanty-Mansiysk, RUS) – The USA’s Tim Burke narrowly missed his third podium of the 2012/13 season as he battled with Norwegian star, Emil Hegle Svendsen, on Sunday in the men’s 15km Mass Start race settling for 4th at only 0.3 seconds behind Svendsen.

Burke, was almost perfect on the range missing only one target as did the other top 6 finishers at 17.6 seconds behind today’s winner Martin Fourcade of France. Dominik Landertinger from Austria claimed second at 13.6s behind Fourcade.

This result in the Khanty-Mansiysk Mass Start is the fourth time Burke has placed just off the podium.  The Paul Smiths, NY biathlete has had numerous top five finishes during his career as well, but has yet to nail the elusive top step of the podium at a World Cup event.

“Today was a great way to cap off a memorable season,” said Burke in a team release. “Of course I wanted that podium so bad today, but I did everything that I could, so I am happy with the effort. I was very tired before the start of the race, but I actually felt pretty good once we got started. Unfortunately, the last loop turned into a lot of tactics because it was so windy and no one wanted to lead. I don’t normally like sprint finishes but I had no choice today.”

Burke is pleased with his season as he commented, “I achieved all of my season goals with getting back to the podium, winning a World Championship medal and finishing in the top 10 of the overall. Now I am already looking forward to next year’s Olympic season.”

Conditions were challenging with a temperature of -6.3 °C and snow falling making the powder ski conditions very challenging.  Fourcade hammered to his 24th career World Cup victory in a time of 41:51.4 with one penalty with enough time to snag the French flag in celebration as he crossed the line.

With his victory in the Mass Start, Fourcade clinched all four individual crystal Globes.  He told biathlonworld.com that this was his best race of the season. “We all knew it was the last race of the season and wanted to do well…I am very happy to join this great champion Raphael Poiree, my idol as a youth as the only person to win all of the globes.”

Burke’s teammate, Lowell Bailey, also had a solid finale to the 2012/13 World Cup season by finishing 14th today at 1:02.8 back with three penalties. “It was a tough race today and I tried to stay in it until the end,” said Bailey. “The conditions were similar to yesterday with deep drifting snow, slow conditions, and snowfall throughout the race. My skiing pace was fine but the two penalties in the last two stages put me off of the lead pack. Still, I’m happy to finish out the year with a strong World Cup in Siberia, and looking forward to a little rest and recovery in Lake Placid when I get home.”

No Canadian men were on the start line today as they returned home for the 2013 North American and Canadian Biathlon Championships in Whister, BC.

Women’s 12.5km Mass Start
In the women’s 12.5km Mass Start, the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Soukalova went three-for-three in Khanty-Mansiysk on Sunday by shooting clean and finishing in a time of 38:22.4 to score the hat-trick victory.

With her second silver medal of the season, France’s Marie Dorin Habert was 11.2 seconds back with 1 penalty while Kaisa Makarainen of Finland finished in 3rd at 22.9 seconds back with two penalties. No North American women were on the start line of the Women’s Mass Start.

In the chase for the crystal Globes it was Norway’s Tora Berger who dominated all season long and, like Fourcade on the men’s side, captured the Sprint, Pursuit, Individual, and Mass Start globes.

Men’s Mass Start results HERE.
Women’s Mass Start results HERE.

March 17, 2013 (Oslo, Norway) – The USA’s Liz Stephen dug deep for a spectacular day in the famed Holmenkollen placing 9th in women’s 30km FR for her first top-10 result at this distance. Therese Johaug was on fire again giving local fans a memorable day with a superb performance to claim gold with a 46.6-second margin over Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) in second with Russia’s Yulia Tchekaleva in third.

The race started under overcast skies and a temperature of 2 degrees C with Johaug leading at the front and Kowalczyk close behind. Stephen quickly manoeuvred herself to the front as well. At around 8km Johaug decided to stretch her legs and broke the race wide open quickly distancing herself from Kowalczyk with a 15-second margin that became 27s by the 10km mark.

Behind Kowalczyk was on her own realizing she didn’t have the fight in her and at the 11.8km mark she was 48s down and soon to be caught by Charlotte Kalle (SWE) along with Stephen and four others as a 6-strong chase group formed behind Johaug.

At 13.3km Johaug changed skis but Stephen, Kristen Stormer Steira (NOR), Nicole Fessel (GER) and France’s Anouk Picon kept going and closed the gap to 24s, whereas Kowalczyk, Kalla and the others all changed skis. But Johaug was in charge and continued to expand her lead over Stephen’s group as Kowalczyk and Japan’s Masako Ishida along with Heidi Weng (NOR) lead the charge back.

At 16.3km the gap to Steira at the front of the chase pack was up to 54s as fans screamed wildly for Johaug while Kowalczyk’s group of five skiers were now only 16s back from the lead chase group. Around the 18.3km mark the four lead chasers were caught and now nine skiers advanced on Johaug who showed no signs of tiring.

Meanwhile top Swede Kalla was struggling and dropped back to lead a second chase group another 20s back. Then Fessel ran into trouble as she had to change skis at 21.6km while Johaug and the others pressed on.

Behind the USA’s Jessie Diggins and Holly Brooks kept fighting in the 30s as Canada’s Perianne Jones was having a rough day and joined some of the skiers who abandoned.

As Johaug kept the pressure on the chase group was whittled down to six with Stephen taking her turn at the front as Kowalczyk planned her attack just before the final Helmenbakken climb. At the 26.6km mark she moved to the front and was gone with a 10-second gap leaving the remaining group to fight for third.

Rising to the occasion was Tchekaleva as Weng tried to contain her while Stephen was nearly spent with Ishida and Steira also struggling. At less than 1km to go the Russian was looking strong for third.

As the finish approached Johaug grabbed a Norwegian flag, albeit what seemed a bit too early with 500m to go, as she crossed the final roller bridge into a sea of screaming fans for another huge win and an audience with the King, while Kowalczyk took the silver and Tchekaleva held on for the bronze.

Stephen gave up a bit of ground near the end to finish a stellar 9th for a remarkable day and a personal best result while Diggins also earned her best 30km result landing in the points to finish 30th. Holly Brooks sailed in soon after in 35th as the American camp was once again proud of their skiers in one of the sport’s most renowned settings.

“Yep, this is a PB for world cup 30kms (it’s also only my second one, so that makes a personal best a little easier to get!),” commented Diggins post-race. “My goals were to have fun and stay relaxed – in the spring world Cups the field is SO tough and the pace is hard from the get-go, I wanted to not worry about the field stringing out and not bury myself in the first lap. But I also wanted to enjoy the Holmenkollen experience, because it’s really one of a kind. There’s thousands of fans camped out along the course, all cheering and screaming. It’s so awesome!

“I lost the most time between 5km and 15km, but in that stretch I switched to a faster pair of skis, got with a group of two other skiers, and we worked together the rest of the race. It was super cool – we traded pulls and stayed at a really good pace.
I was psyched to get a point in a 30km race – I’m happy with the result and mostly psyched that I was able to have fun out there and truly enjoy the experience.”

While happy overall Coach Matt Whitcomb conceded that the decision to not to change skis at 13.3km came back to haunt Stephen near the end and  may have even have cost her podium. “It was a great day for Liz in many ways. She’s in top form and skiing well…but in other ways it was a bit disappointing as her body was capable of a podium but near the end her skis weren’t.

“In hindsight she’d like to have made a ski change at 13km but she took a chance and thought she could do it on one pair of boards today… overall we’re happy with 9th. Her confidence has taken a step forward and she’s made a nice jump this year. Diggins also had a good day… she’s been a little tired with distance racing and today was intended to enjoy herself at the special Holmenkollen venue. She worked hard to finish in the points and I’m proud of her performance today.”

Full results HERE.

March 17, 2013 (Fairbanks, Alaska) – Here’s a recap of the final day of racing at the 2013 U.S. Cross Country Junior Nationals where the 10/15km Classic OJ and J1 races plus the 5km J2 races were held as Fairbanks, Alaska hosted fabulous competitons with spectacular racing as new champions were crowned.

Winners Pushed to the Finish Line by Good Friends in OJ Races
Ben Saxton and Hannah Boyer couldn’t coast to the finish in their wins of the Older Junior races in the 2013 Cross Country Junior Nationals. They had fierce competitors on their tales who also happened to be their friends.

Saxton, of Midwest, and second-place finisher Hanneman, of Alaska, are good friends and were teammates at the World Juniors. But it was Hanneman, a Fairbanksan, who won the other three golds at these races. Saxton finished second in each of those races, including an incredibly close final sprint finish on Thursday, and he didn’t mind taking one from Hanneman.

“It was a pretty great feeling to finally come out on top,” Saxton said.

Boyer had to out-climb and out-double pole good friend Felicia Gesior, of Great Lakes, who is also a teammate with Boyer at Northern Michigan University. Knowing her competitor so well made Boyer nervous about the close finish.

“She’s one of the best double-polers on our team,” Boyer said of Gesior.

TWO SPRINTS DECIDE FIRST THROUGH FOURTH PLACES IN MEN’S OJ RACE
In the men’s OJ race, things really started to heat up in the third lap after the South Tower climb.

“It was super-fun because we were just chillin’ the first two laps,” said Hanneman. “Then Ben and I on the third lap were just dueling it out on every hill.”

With less than three kilometers left of the 15-kilometer race Saxton and Hanneman were leading and skiing side-by-side. “I was hoping to be able to drop him on the hills before, but coming up out of White Bear I couldn’t get rid of him,” Hanneman said.

That’s when Saxton knew he had a chance to win it.

“When he didn’t lose me there, right then I could tell he was kind of tired on the switchbacks,” said Saxton. “It happens every time, no matter what the race, the hairs kind of stand up on the back of your neck, and you’re like, ‘All right, I can take this.’”

That’s where the race for third place really started to heat up, too. With just over a kilometer to go as they dropped into Sidewinder, Eli Hoenig was leading Jack Hegman, both of New England. When they dropped into Warm-up with less than a kilometer to go Saxton and Hanneman were still neck and neck, but Hegman had pulled ahead of Hoenig.

As the leaders came climbing up Warm-up hill into the final stretch, Saxton pulled a little ahead of Hanneman and kept the lead as they double-pole sprinted to the finish.

“We both just launched it up the last hill, but he had a little bit more punch left up and over, so I couldn’t close it,” Hanneman said.

“The guy’s a killer sprinter,” Saxton said of Hanneman. “I fully expected him to come up and we would just go as hard as we could all the way to the line. That’s what we did, I just got a little bit on him before we got there.”

Saxton finished in 44 minutes, 13.5 seconds, just over one second ahead of Hanneman. Hegman and Hoenig were 30 seconds behind but they also had to sprint to the finish with Hegman winning third place by just three-tenths of a second.

By taking second Hanneman just missed out on sweeping the gold medals at this year’s Junior Nationals, a feat last accomplished four years ago by Hanneman. But he wasn’t upset. “Three out of four isn’t too bad,” he said, adding that he saw benefit in losing.

“It’s also probably pretty good to not necessarily win on the last one because then it makes you hungry for training for the next division,” he said.

BOYER COMES FROM BEHIND TO WIN HER LAST JUNIOR NATIONALS RACE
In the women’s OJ race, Gesior pulled ahead of the lead pack of seven skiers during the South Tower climb in the second lap of the 10-kilometer race.

“I didn’t know where anyone was, so I just went for it,” she said. Boyer saw Gesior and Sarah Friestone, of Alaska, pull ahead, but Boyer was behind three other racers. “I got trapped on the top of tower,” Boyer said. “I couldn’t get around them.”

Eventually, Boyer did get around them and Friestone, but by then Gesior had a sizeable lead. With less than three kilometers to go she had a 20-30 meter gap on Boyer, who was leading the now stretched-out pack. Boyer started to close that gap by the time they reached Sidewinder about 1.5 kilometers later. Friestone led a pack of four skiers chasing Boyer.

As they dropped into Warm-up for the last descent and climb, Gesior still had the lead but only by about 5-6 meters. “I knew she was coming, so I just tried to keep ahead of her,” Gesior said.

When they came back into sight climbing Warm-up hill with just over a 100 meters left, they were side-by-side. Boyer took the lead in that final stretch and opened enough of a gap to win by just over one second at 34 minutes, 26 second. Gesior was second at 34:27.1, and Friestone finished 20 seconds back at 34:46.3.

This is the last Junior Nationals for Boyer, who is from Fairbanks, so the win in her hometown was especially sweet. “I really wanted to end this on a good one,” she said.

AMERICANS KEEP NORWEGIAN GUEST SKIERS FROM J1 PODIUM SWEEPS

Once again the Norwegian skiers dominated the Junior 1 races in the 2013 Cross Country Junior Nationals, but the American racers didn’t let their guests take all the podium spots.

Keegan Swirbul, of Rocky Mountain, took third overall in the men’s race, which was good for the top American spot, and he finished just one second behind Norwegian and second-place finisher Sjur Slettom. “I was surprised I was that close,” Swirbul said.

Far West’s Peter Holmes, taking fourth, and New England’s Jack Schrupp, in fifth, both finished ahead of Norwegian Martin Thon to take the second and third American places. “It’s fun. They’re fast,” said Holmes.

In the women’s race, Marion Woods, of Alaska, reeled in Lisa Kvamme, of Norway, to take third place and the top place for the Americans in the women’s race. “I’m so glad they’re out here,” Woods said, adding that they helped increase the overall competition.

The Norwegian skiers also include twins Tiril and Lotta Weng, who took first and second, respectively, in the women’s race, and Mattis Stenshagen, who took first in the men’s race. The Norwegians are racing as guests as part of an effort to give American racers a taste of what’s possible with enough work and the right training and attitude.

Intermountain’s Lizzie Gill, who took fifth overall and the second American spot, likes the competition. “My dad always tells me that I should try to be skiing like Jessie Diggins,” said Gill, smiling, “but now he tells me to ski like Norwegians.”

The Norwegians are also learning from their experience over here, especially how to race on tight, curvy racecourses. “In Norway there are not so many corners,” said Stenshagen. “I like it.”

Slettom agreed. “I like trying something else,” he said, “not just climbing and sitting on the downhills.”

WOODS BREAKS AWAY TO TAKE THIRD AND AN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP IN WOMEN’S J1 RACE

The Norwegians looked to put the women’s J1 race away early. They started strong, all three pulling slightly ahead of a group of American skiers, led by Marion Woods. Kvamme fell back a bit by the third kilometer but was still ahead of a large pack of Americans, still led by Woods, as they charged through the Stadium on to their second lap of the 10-kilometer race. Woods was less worried by the leaders than who was behind.

“Going from the bottom of Warm-up to the top of Tower, I knew that something was going to happen,” said Woods. “There was a pretty large pack of girls behind me. Having led for a couple of K I knew that they could make a breakaway at any moment.”

During the second climb of South Tower, both Woods and Lizzie Gill were the ones to make a breakaway. They reeled in Kvamme and were ahead of her with less than three kilometers to go. Several more Americans caught Kvamme, but by the climb to Sidewinder, about 8.5 kilometers into the race, Kvamme had pulled back into fourth place.

That’s when Tiril Weng made her move, pulling about 10 seconds ahead of her sister, Lotta, in less than a kilometer. Woods was still in third followed by Gill, but Kvamme was starting to gain on her. A pack of Americans, led by Amy Bianco, of Midwest, followed and Woods knew they were back there.

“Going up the last hill. I never knew what was really behind me,” said Woods. “I knew that really at any moment they could come on and pass me.”

That pack of Americans never caught Woods, but they started to gain on Gill coming up the Warm-up hill right before the finish. “I definitely died a little at the end, but they were right behind me and they kept me going, so, yeah, that was pretty fun,” said Gill.

Tiril won the race in 33 minutes, 47.3 seconds, 16 seconds ahead of her sister, who finished in 34:03.7. Woods finished third at 34:26.9 and Kvamme finished fourth at 35:09.0, but it was close as Gill finished just under a second behind. Nicole Bathe, of Midwest, took sixth as the third American, just beating Bianco by less than two seconds.

SWIRBUL USES SIDEWINDER MOVE TO TAKE AMERICAN J1 MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP

In the men’s J1 race, the Norwegians also pulled ahead early, but several Americans including Cal Deline, of Rocky Mountain, Thomas O’Harra, of Alaska, and Peter Holmes, of Far West, were hot on their tail.

By kilometer four of the 10-kilometer race, O’Harra and the three Norwegians were leading a pack that included Deline, Swirbul, and Eric Backstrum, of Alaska. As they climbed out of Warm-up into the Stadium for their second lap, Norwegians Stenshagen and Slettom had pulled ahead by a few seconds. Close on their tails was Swirbul, Deline, and Norwegian Thon. O’Harra had fallen back to about ninth place.

Stenshagen really started to put the hammer down on the second climb of South Tower. He pulled about 10 seconds ahead of Slettom, who was followed closely by Swirbul and Holmes.

“We knew the Norwegians were going to go in the second lap and they went right where I thought,” said Swirbul, “so I was just trying to conserve as much energy on the first lap and do a 5k time trial.”

Holmes said the hardest part of the race was increasing the pace up the second climb of South Tower. He wasn’t sure he could hang on. “I was a little iffy about it, but I’m glad I did,” he said.

With about two kilometers to go, Stenshagen had increased his lead to about 20 seconds over Slettom, who was still followed closely by Swirbul, with Far West’s Holmes a little farther back.

“We just skied together, me and the Far West guy, and then I tried to put a move on him on Sidewinder and it worked real well,” said Swirbul.

Not too far behind was Jack Schrupp, of New England. Stenshagen increased that lead to about 30 seconds with a kilometer to go, while Swirbul had reeled in Slettom, with Holmes just a few seconds behind.

Stenshagen easily won first by 30 seconds with a time of 29 minutes, 17 seconds. The race for second was much closer, but the last sprint to the finish proved decisive as Slettom pulled away, beating Swirbul by just one second. “He had a way better double pole than I do, but I was thankful to be that close to him,” said Swirbul.

Swirbul, with a time of 29:49.7, took third overall and first for the Americans. Holmes came in about eight seconds later, taking the second American spot, with Schrupp about four seconds after that, wrapping up the third American spot. Thon finished about nine seconds later, taking sixth place overall.

J2 WOMEN – KERN, OGDEN FINISH 1-2 FOR NEW ENGLAND

Just a little over two kilometers into the J2 women’s race, favorites Kern, Ogden, and Lydia Blanchet, of Alaska, were leading a large pack of racers. After the climb up East Ramp about 2.5 kilometers into the race, the lead pack dropped to five skiers, with Hailey Swirbul, of Rocky Mountain, and Leah Lange, of Intermountain, making up the rest of the pack.

As the racers came out of White Bear with just over a kilometer to go, five skiers still battled it out with Kern leading, but Swirbul was challenging. Ogden had fallen back a bit and Blanchet and Lange had fallen back even further.

“I saw the fourth place girl from Alaska, and she started fading up on what we call whoop-ass hill,” said Swirbul. “I got around her and went for it. Super-painful, but it’s all worth it now.”

With less than a kilometer to go, the pack was starting to get spread out. Kern and Ogden led, followed by Swirbul, Blanchet, and Lange, each a couple of seconds behind the other.

Kern clearly held the lead climbing out of Warm-up into the Stadium, but she was followed closely by Ogden and a little farther back by Swirbul.

Kern kept the lead and finished first in 16 minutes, 37.7 seconds. “I knew I was doing well, but I wasn’t for sure until I was in the finish straightaway,” she said.

Ogden claimed second, just under three seconds behind. “I’m not a very strong double-poler, especially compared to her. I’m a little bit scrawnier,” Ogden said. “I would have had to be in front earlier.”

Swirbul, whose brother won the J1 American men’s race, took third in 16:48.7. “It’s a good day for both of us,” she said.

J2 MEN START WITH FAST PACE, END WITH CLOSE FINISH

With just five kilometers to race, the J2 men started with a fast pace. “The first hill the pace went out really fast. I was barely hanging on to the back of the lead group, but I knew I had to fight to stay with that lead group if I wanted to have a chance on the podium. That was really hard,” Gordon said.

Halfway through the course a lead pack of seven skiers, led by Zak Ketterson, of Midwest, Jake Bassett, of Alaska, and Max Donaldson, of Alaska, kept up a steady pace.

The group also led at about kilometer 3, but by the climb out of White Bear at just over 3.5 kilometers into the race, the pack was down to four, Ketterson, Donaldson, Gordon and Bassett.

“That’s when the race starts to get really tough with a lot of big climbs and a lot of tough transitions that you have to keep skiing strong,” Gordon said.

Those four were close together as they headed down into the Warm-up Loop with less than a kilometer to go. The last climb out of Warm-up was critical. “It was pretty tight the whole race, so it was decided in the last 400 meters,” Donaldson said.

“Everyone was so dead and that’s such a hard hill. That was truly a test of manliness,” Ketterson said. Gordon was able to pull out the win with a time of 14 minutes, 50.4 seconds, just over one second ahead of Ketterson. “There was a ton of energy from all the fans coming into there. It was really empowering coming up that last hill,” Gordon said.

But Ketterson isn’t sad about taking second place. “Based on my other races this week I was kind of down, so I wasn’t getting as high as I wanted to, but this is a great way to finish off the season. I’m really excited right now,” he said.

Donaldson was also happy with his race, finishing third almost 6 seconds back with a time of 14:56.2. “I did what I could in that race. In the final 200 meters they had the sprinting left in them,” Donaldson said, adding that he doesn’t consider himself much of a sprinter. “I just did what I could to stay in third.”

Bassett fell to fifth, being outsprinted by a half-second by Bill Harmeyer who finished in 15:12.4

Videos by Kirk Nichols HERE.
See all the race results HERE.
Read more on the championships HERE.

March 16, 2013 (Khanty-Mansiysk, RUS) – With packed powder ski conditions, relatively mild temperatures around -5.6 °C and bountiful snow falling, American Lowell Bailey captured his third top-ten finish of the 2012/13 season with a 10th place finish on Saturday in the men’s 12.5km pursuit. Bailey, who only missed one shot in four rounds, finished at 1:34.0 behind eventual winner Christoph Sumann of Austria.

“Today was brutal from the start,” said Bailey. “It started dumping snow about an hour before the race and it just got stronger as the race progressed.I had a lot of problems with my rifle – loading rounds, getting snow stuck in the sites, etc. – but from talking to the other competitors, I think a lot of guys had the same type of problems.

“Given the conditions, I just tried to take each shot on its own, without trying to shoot with my normal rhythm. Today it worked and I’m really happy with the top-10, and looking forward to one more race tomorrow.”

Sumann, a veteran of the World Cup circuit, claimed his first victory of the season and the 6th of his career by finishing in a time of 34:47.9 shooting clean with no penalties. France’s Simon Fourcade took home the silver finishing at 35.7 behind of Sumann after shooting clean. His brother Martin, the World Cup leader, ended up in a tie for 3rd at 40.4 seconds back with five penalties.

Michal Slesingr of the Czech Republic with three penalties shared the third step on the podium with Fourcade as the jury ruled that Slesingr lost 25 seconds due to Andi Birnbacher (GER), who cross-fired on Slesingr’s target in the first standing stage, resulting in the lost time.

“This is a big surprise because I had a lot of troubles in the last weeks,” Sumann told biathlonworld.com. “I started on the podium in Östersund and everything in between was not so good. I was thinking about quitting. It is a big surprise! It is big motivation to train hard one more year and then finish after Sochi.”

The USA’s Tim Burke finished 15th with a time of 36:29.7 and four penalties. “We had some really tough conditions today with heavy snow falling for the entire race,” said Burke. “I think everyone had a hard time keeping the rifles working. I struggled a bit with this and had a hard time finding my rhythm on the range today. I will try to make those adjustments for tomorrow because it looks like we will be racing in the same conditions.”

Other North American results include Leif Nordgren (USA) in 35th, lone Canadian Scott Gow was 54th while American Russell Currier finished in 55th place.

Full results here http://services.biathlonresults.com/Results.aspx?RaceId=BT1213SWRLCP09SMPU

March 16, 2013 (Oslo, Norway) – With the Sochi Games around the corner, Alexander Legkov gave Russia one of its most prestigious wins as he powered to victory on the final climb into the famed Holmenkollen stadium to claim the Men’s 50km FR crown. Norway’s  Martin Johnsrud Sundby took second while Ilia Chernousov (RUS) recovered to grab the final podium spot giving Russia more shine at this signature race as the 2012-13 season comes to a close.

Petter Northug (NOR) was contending early on but at the halfway point of the 6×8.3km race was sitting 25th. The USA’s Noah Hoffman, who had been looking strong at the front for much of the first half of the race, was then in 30th with Canada’s Alex Harvey, Devon Kershaw and Ivan Babikov all just behind him, followed by American Kris Freeman in 39th.

An early break by Anders Soedergren (SWE) and Simen Andreas Sveen (NOR) created a little scare in the group but they were caught at the 11.3km mark. Switzerland’s Curdin Perl, Remo Fischer and Michail Semenov (CZE) caused a second scare when they didn’t change skis at the 16.2km mark and gained a 28-second lead. But Legkov and Norway’s Sjur Roethe brought back the pack.

It was until after the half way mark that a serious 7-skier break lead by Sundby formed at 27.9km including World Cup leader Dario Cologna (SUI). Northug fought back from 25th to catch back on by the ski change at 33.3km with help from teammate Tord Asle Gjerndalen.

Italy’s Roland Clara was looking strong as he and Legkov pushed the pace soon dropping Northug and Cologna, who had been sick prior the race and was now suffering as well. The chasing pack with the North Americans was fast falling out of contention.

A lead group of five with two Norwegians, two Russians and Clara forged ahead at 36.3km almost seeming to give Northug a second chance for a short time, but when Legkov got wind of the Norwegian’s troubles behind he upped the pace with Clara. With one lap to go Norway’s Petter Eliassen and Sundby took to the front but they were dogged by Legkov and Clara as the chasers tried in vain to bridge while Chernousov began to suffer with the pace.

On the final climb into the stadium Legkov knew where he wanted to be on the inside lane passing Sundby and Eliassen forming a gap that he carried over the roller into the finishing lanes to claim the victory for Russia over Sundby in second as Chernousov  regrouped to claim third.

Legkov adds this huge victory to his Tour de Ski win and takes over the World Cup overall lead (1,233) from Cologna who is now third (1,218) behind Northug in second (1,231) – only 15 points separate the top three.

Hoffman regained some form moving up to finish 24th as the top North American for a solid day at the office followed by a stronger looking Kershaw, who has struggled this season, but had a decent day finishing in the points in 29th. Hoffman skied smart to claim bonus points moving into into 47th overall in the World Cup standings to advance to the finals in Stockholm and Falun, Sweden (at the start he in 51st just outside of the cutoff point for the finals).

“Big day for Noah Hoffman. He needed some points in order to move into the World Cup top 50 and make the World Cup Finals. So he set out on a mission to grab those sprint bonus points and he did it, going through the bonus in fourth, fourth, and sixth on the first  3 laps. Now he is 47th overall and headed to Sweden for finals. He continues to demonstrate that he can ski with the best men in the World, and each race he gets a bit more comfortable doing it,” commented Chris Grover, US Cross Country Head Coach.

Canadian Ivan Babikov was 33rd, Freeman finished 36th, Tad Elliott (USA) was 53rd, Graeme Killick (CAN) was 55th, Michael Somppi (CAN) placed 57th and Bill Demong (USA) was 58th. Canadians Jesse Cockney and Alex Harvey did not finish.

“At the start I didn’t know what to expect, I was sick full week before that,” Babikov told Trax post-race. “Conditions were very with fresh, dry snow over night but the pace was very fast from the start (at least it felt like that), and I didn’t feel comfortable at the beginning.

“I tried to stay with the pack for as long as I could but at the end of the 4th lap my legs started cramping pretty bad, so I had to slow down to be able to finish the race. It’s hard to say at this moment but after being sick I just wish to get back in that racing shape that I had in early season and hopefully score some points in Falun and stay in top 20 overall.” (Babikov is currently 16th overall)

“It was a rough day unfortunately,” said Justin Wadsworth, head coach, Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team. “We had some problems with our skis and they were a bit on the slow side today. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose in the game of ski selection and preparation. Everyone was really focused and ready to go to so there was no issue in being mentally and physically ready. Sometimes it is frustrating when the bodies feel good, but you just don’t get the result.”

Full results HERE.
World Cup standings HERE.

March 14, 2013 (Khanty-Mansiysk, RUS) – Sunny skies, a light wind, and cold temperatures greeted athletes for the final round of the IBU World Cup series. Taking her second victory of the season was Gabriela Soukalova of the Czech Republic who shot perfectly en route to gold and a time of 21:25.6 in the women’s 7.5km Sprint.

Andrea Henkel of Germany also shot clean to claim second at 17.2 seconds back, while her teammate Miriam Gossner was 3rd, suffering one penalty to finish at 23.6 seconds back.

“I did not expect it; this is wonderful. I do not sleep very well; my body is on Czech Republic time,” Soukalova told biathlonworld.com.  “This morning I went for a short walk to breakfast and told one of my teammates that it was so cold that I did not want to race. She said, ‘you’re going to win,’ and I told her she was crazy!”

Team USA’s Susan Dunklee was the top North American finisher with two penalties, at 1:52.3 back of Soukalova.  “Even though it is the final stretch of our season, I am still experimenting with different ways to pace my race,” said Dunklee in a team release. “Today I learned a little more about when and where to push over the tops of the hills. I had a great ride behind Tora (Berger) during my second loop, and that helped me stay focused after a disappointing first shooting stage.”

Fellow American Annelies Cook finished 36th at 2:14.4 back also with two penalties commenting that the cold temperatures can be tricky. “Today was the first really cold race of the season, but I managed to stay warm so I am glad of that,” said Cook. “It’s always so tricky to try and keep your fingers warm enough to feel the trigger.”

Rounding out the North American results was American Sara Studebaker who finished 3:28.1 back with two penalties. “Today was a tough race for me. I’ve been struggling a lot at the end of this season, and though I’m bummed to finish on this note, I am looking forward to making changes and getting it right so I can come back stronger for the Olympic year ahead,” said Studebaker.  “The cold was especially tough today as our last race was closer to +10C and today it was around -12C at race time.

“That always makes things more complicated for biathlon – dealing with cold hands and staying warm in zero.  It’s been nice not to have to deal with much this year, but we got a reminder that this is indeed a winter sport today!”

No Canadians competed as they returned to Canada for the 2013 North American and Canadian Biathlon Championships:
March 15-20 at Whistler Olympic Park. Competition continues from Khanty-Mansiysk Friday with the men’s 10km Sprint.

Full results HERE.

March 14, 2013 – Petter Northug – Say or think what you want about this guy, he is one hell of a racer and he is totally focused on maximizing his effort in every race. The stunt he pulled off in Drammen, double-poling the sprint course four (4) times, may not have been an option for very many of the other racers. Which also surprised me, that more skiers didn’t go to double poling the course once they went into the heats. It was cool to watch his strategy play out in the last heat as it came down to the last few hundred meters – his skis gave him the decisive advantage He wins the 50km this weekend in Oslo.

Babikov – his last race at the Worlds, a DNF in the 50km, and then off to Canada to be with his family for a week and a few days…and now back for the 50km in Oslo this weekend. Oh, just happened to be sick while he was home in Canmore. Is this a DNS or a DNF weekend in Oslo – it’s just his kind of race – tough course, mass start and skating technique. Those 8-hour jet lags will kill you. Hope he isn’t going to wreck a great season!

Koos – That’s Torin Koos, the outlaw skier, who has had international success over the years, a bit spotty, but has now re-inserted himself into the USST sprint team considerations for the Sochi Olympics next year, with his 18th place finish in Drammen on Wednesday. He and Newell would make a good sprint relay team – top 5 easily. Now it is up to Koos to keep it going straight ahead – he tends to be his own worst enemy in being focused on one goal. In his favor is that he can go fast when he gets it together and will make the squad a better team.

Impessive in Drammen – Kowalczyk’s footspeed – if any of the other ladies want to beat her in a classic sprint this is definitely an area they’ll have to improve in. Northug’s double pole – when he puts that pedal down all the other guys can just step aside and watch.

Not Impressive in Drammen – The course…yet the two Eurosport announcers, Dave Goldstrom and Mike Dixon, declared the course as being one of the better, if not the best, sprint course on the WC circuit. It can’t be much of a classic sprint course if the winner just double pole his way around the whole course. Also, who was the genius who came up with the sharp little hill at the finish line. That created a mess a number of times and may have influenced the actual out come of some of the heats. Quite the log jam – or should that be ski jam.

If this was an experiment – it was a failure – not to be done again.

Kikkan Randall – has managed her way through a rough patch quite nicely these past couple of weeks – some sickness, wearing down- but was more than capable of finishing off the Sprint Cup again for this year and sneaking herself into 5th place in Drammen. Do we see her in the 30km this weekend in Oslo?

Talk to You Soon!

misterxc@aol.com

March 13, 2013 (Drammen, Norway) – Petter Northug Jr. delivered a knock-out punch in the men’s 1.3km CL sprint as he claimed his first victory in Drammen to the delight of the partisan crowd. Northug is an icon in Norway and celebrated his victory lap with flag in hand while sharing the win with fans with ski-by handshakes.

Choosing no-wax skis he landed on the top spot of the podium with an amazing display of double poling through all heats battling with Alexey Poltoranin (KAZ) in the final as he relegated the Kazah to second with Sprint World Champion Nikita Kriukov (RUS) in third.

“After the semi-final I was quite tired but I am very motivated to win the Overall World Cup,” Northug told FIS XC. “I was happy when Alexey took it out quickly in the finals and was really happy to be able to win today.”

Toronto’s Len Valjas, 24, was the top North American in 16th while teammate Alex Harvey was 20th. Both advanced to heats but missed out with Valjas coming third in his quarter final and Harvey fourth. Back in the mix was Sudbury’s Devon Kershaw who did not advance placing 49th in the qualifications. Kershaw has not found his form of last year which earned him second overall in the men’s WCup final standings. Jesse Cockney, of Canmore, Alta., was 67th and Graeme Killick, of Fort McMurray, Alta., qualified 71st.

The USA’s Andy Newell had a solid qualifier in 10th and looked strong in his quarter final skiing at the front for the first half almost breaking away. Then suddenly Newell was on the ground when his skis gave way as it looked like a pole may have landing on his ski in the tight quarters causing the mishap – he finished in 27th.

“It was frustrating for me because of the crash. I’ve been feeling great the last two weekends but it’s always tough to have two bad results in a row. I was feeling strong and double-poled the qualification,” Newell explained to Trax post-race.” My double pole has been feeling great and Drammen is usually a sweet venue for me so I was excited to make it through to the finals.

“I tired to make a move over the top of the climb during my heat to get some separation from the racers on skate gear. Unfortunately across the flat after the downhill a Swedish skier [Johan Edin] came up next to me and poled hard right on top of my ski.

“It put a hole through my ski and hammered me to the ground pretty quickly. It was a bummer, but there’s not a lot you can do about it. Because of today I dropped a lot on the sprint standings but will have to fight back with half points in Stockholm.”

Teammate Torin Koos qualified 26th and also looked strong in his quarter final as well but couldn’t match the blistering pace in the finishing stretch and was fourth ending up 18th. Not advancing today were Simeon Hamilton (USA) who placed 59th in the qualifications while teammate Dakota Blackhorse-Von Jess was 65th.

Men’s Qualifications HERE.
Final results HERE.

March 13, 2013 (Drammen, Norway) – It was mission accomplished for Polish star skier, Justyna Kowalczyk, who stamped her mark in Drammen taking the women’s 1.28 CL FIS World Cup city sprints while securing the FIS Cross-Country Overall World Cup title. It was Kowalczyk’s first-ever victory in Drammen and local fans applauded her like one of their own.

Heidi Weng (NOR) made a bid to challenge Kowalczyk in the final but she was out-classed in the finishing straight settling for second – still a personal best for Weng. Teammate, Ingvild Flugstad Oestberg, landed on the podium in third for her first WCup podium as she out-sprinted Russia’s Evgeniya Shapovalova of Russia.

American star Kikkan Randall, who clinched the Sprint Cup title in Lahti last weekend, keeps upping her classic game as she advanced through the semis to the finals as a Lucky Loser finishing 5th on the day – her best-ever Drammen finish and her best classic finish this season.

“I’ve done this Drammen classic sprint six times now. The first four times I did not manage to make it past the qualification.  Last year was a breakthrough for me when I made it to the semi-finals,” shared Randall post-race. “This is probably one of the deepest world cup fields during the whole season. Norway had 22 women starters today and all the continental cup leaders are here in addition to every nations sprint quota.”

Canada’s Daria Gaiazova, 29 from Banff, Alta., qualified 16th and was having a superb quarter final until a little contact in the sometimes tight quarters lead to some shoving and she bobbled losing her momentum.

She tried to regain her position but ran out of time in the heat, ending up fourth. “Wow that was a hard effort,” said Gaiazova. “My arms and lungs are toast now, but I’ll take a 15th place result in a World Cup.”

Rising US star Sadie Bjornsen was the only other North American skier to qualify placing 26th. She skied well in her quarter final with Gaiazova but ended up 6th at the finish and was 30th on the day.

Meanwhile Kowalczyk was all smiles telling FIS XC.com, “It is my first victory in Drammen. I felt strong and could enjoy the race when I had secured the Overall World Cup.”

Randall likes the Drammen city sprint but wasn’t happy with her qualification and told us more about how her day went. Looking ahead she’ll skip the long distance race in Oslo in favour of resting up for the final races in Falun, Sweden.

“The Drammen race is always one of the funnest atmospheres on the whole World Cup circuit.  It’s an exciting course and people are just packed around the fences the entire way. They always have a band playing live on a stage right next to the trail, and you can feel the bass in your chest when you ski by. Probably one of the nicest weather days I’ve ever seen in Drammen.  It was sunny all day but the air stayed cold and kept the snow stable and in decent shape.

“I was a little frustrated by my qualification, I felt like I could not make full use of my capacity and power.  But thankfully I just snuck through to the quarterfinals in 29th position.  I got another chance!  In the quarterfinal I made a real push with 200m to go and went from 5th into the lead.  The semi-final was more spread out but I also had a strong finish and managed to grab the last Lucky Loser spot into the final.

“In the final I had a decent start but didn’t ski the bottom half of the course smart enough nor aggressive enough.  I left too much work to do and was only able to pass one skier before the finish line.  I ended up 5th place.  It’s my best ever Drammen finish and certainly my best classic finish of the season.  I was hoping to challenge for the podium once I got in the final today but I guess that is a goal I will just have to keep chasing.

“The feelings today were really good and I feel like my full race gear is coming back.  Classic sprints are always challenging for me to get the body, the technique and the skis just right.  It was challenging today to keep the skis fast in the sugary snow.  Our guys worked really hard and I think we had competitive skis in the rounds.

“It was really fun to have a strong performance in a classic sprint and I am already looking forward to another chance one week from now in Stockholm. I am not planning to race the 30km this weekend in Holmenkollen.  My distance shape is just starting to come back and I would like to be fully prepared for the World Cup finals.  I will compete in a show sprint of 100m on Monday in the Bislett Track stadium here in Oslo,” concluded Randall.

Americans Holly Brooks, Sophie Caldwell, Ida Sargent, Rosie Brennan, Jessie Diggins did not advance, finishing 34th, 35th, 48th, 52nd, and 55th, respectively. Canada’s Perianne Jones and Emily Nishikawa also did not make it through to the heats with a 45th and a 63rd place.

Women’s Qualifications HERE.
Final results HERE.

March 12, 2013 (Fairbanks, Alaska) – The Norwegians got flowers and glory for sweeping the podium of the Junior 1 division. They won’t get medals, however, nor will they get points in the team standings at the U.S. Cross Country Junior Nationals, since those are reserved for American skiers.

In the 10K interval-start freestyle race that kicked off the competition at Birch Hill Recreation Area on Monday, Mattis Stenshagen, Martin Thon and Sjur Slettom — all members of the NTG Lillehammer Club — claimed the top three spots in J1.

Stenshagen, 16, even bested all the older Junior competitors (ages 17-19) with time of 26 minutes, 34.2 seconds. Logan Hanneman, representing Team Alaska, won the OJ and placed second overall at 3.2 seconds behind Stenshagen.

“We hoped (for a sweep), but it’s a little bit surprising,” Stenshagen said. “The first 8K was very good but the last 2K was not so good.”

Stenshagen, as a B-seeded skier, raced without the benefit of getting splits, unlike the 30 skiers in the top-seeded A group. Thon was seeded in the C group and Slettom started even earlier in the D group. Stenshagen said the seeding did not matter. “I just think about myself,” he said.

Team Norway head coach Per Ola Gasmann explained that juniors and seniors generally race together in Norway, making it tougher to place high and gather a favorable FIS ranking. “It is much easier to get low FIS points in the U.S. than in Norway,” Gasmann said.

Six Norwegians — all J1s — are competing at the Junior Nationals as part of an exchange with the American National Nordic Foundation after a dozen U.S. skiers participated recently at the Norwegian junior championships in the Olympic town of Lillehammer.

Hanneman welcomed the extra competition. “I think it’s really awesome. We’re getting an international racing experience without going anywhere,” he said.

Hanneman, a sophomore skier at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, only returned from the NCAA Championships in Vermont at 11 p.m. Sunday. He didn’t fall asleep until 2 a.m. and got maybe six hours of rest before Monday’s competition.

Hanneman, 19, said he felt “pretty terrible” but managed to pull off a solid race by not starting too aggressively. He skied a slightly faster second of two loops than Stenshagen but was not quite able to erase a seven-second deficit from the midway point.

“If you go out too fast it bites you in the second lap,” he said. “The race doesn’t start until the second time going up Tower Direct.”

Ben Saxton of Midwest was the runner-up OJ and fourth overall while Eli Hoenig of New England completed the OJ podium.

In J1, due to the Norwegians’ domination, Ian Torchia of New England missed out on the flower ceremony podium but will collect a gold medal for being the top American.

With relatively slow snow and a temperature in the teens, skiers were challenged by a course that featured 580 feet of climbing per lap, much of it on the Black Funk and Tower Direct ascents.

But they were also required to execute high-speed cornering on a black-diamond downhill in the opening kilometer. More than a few racers were unable to negotiate a sharp left-hand turn and crashed. Organizers even added padding to a ditch where several skiers wound up. Two skiers broke pole handles and another made a dramatic recovery after losing his balance on the turn, only to wipe out on an ensuing downhill. The area was popular with spectators seeking entertainment.

J2 winner Max Donaldson of Team Alaska managed to emerge unscathed. “It’s not worth it to crash or take it too quick,” Donaldson said. “Otherwise you can be in the woods and lose 30 seconds.”

Boosted by cheering fans on his home trails, Donaldson, the recent Alaska High School Skimeister, powered his slight frame to a convincing 5-kilometer win in 13:30. “I’ve never raced these guys. I was definitely hoping for top three,” Donaldson said.

Koby Gordon of New England placed second in 13:47 while Jake Bassett of Alaska notched third in 13:57.

With six of the top seven spots in J2 going to skiers from Alaska and New England, those teams are perhaps setting up a showdown in the 3X3-kilometer relay on Tuesday.

In the Alaska Cup team competition, Alaska is also looking to unseat New England, the four-time defending champion.

Videos by Kirk Nichols HERE.

Full results by class HERE
Full results by gender HERE

March 12, 2013 (Whistler, BC) – From March 15-30 of 2013 Whistler Olympic Park (WOP) will host the “Sea to Sky Nordic Festival,” a ski event that will exceed the size and scope of the nordic events of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The Festival is comprised of the National Ski Championships in the four nordic disciplines of cross-country, biathlon, ski jumping and nordic combined and will welcome hundreds of athletes to the Sea to Sky community.

For the first time in Canadian history, the four disciplines’ championships will be carried out together at one venue. The spectacular winter season finale will bring over 800 athletes in attendance. In February of 2010 there were just over 600 competitors in the four Olympic disciplines; the Festival will host 600 athletes in the cross-country competition alone. The Festival will include 111 medal events- more than four times the number from the Olympics- with 60 events in cross-country (including 12 para nordic events), 40 in biathlon and 11 in ski jumping and nordic combined.

Spectators can look forward to top-class performances much like the 2010 Winter Games and what is expected at Sochi 2014. “Canada’s elite athletes will be competing in each discipline. It is anticipated that cross-country World Champions Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw, para nordic Gold medallist Brian McKeever, Canada’s biathlon star Scott Gow,  and rising stars like female ski jumper Atsuko Tanaka will be competing,” promises John Heilig, Sport Manager at WOP.  Not to be missed are the senior and open men and women’s classes which will include National team athletes, world cup winners, and world championship medalists. Mark your calendars for the biathlon sprint and pursuit events March 16 and 17; the cross-country individual sprint March 28; and the large hill ski jumping competition on March 30th. If you can’t make it out to WOP to check out the action live, race results can be found on the event website HERE.

Access for spectators is free throughout the competition, and designated spectator viewing areas have been established for each event (please note that dogs are not permitted in event and spectator areas). Carpooling is recommended as parking availability will be limited as a result of the scope of the event.

Avid nordic enthusiast or snowshoer? Almost  90 percent of the venue’s 90 kilometers of cross-country trails and over 30 kilometers of snowshoeing trails will remain open for the public during the event from 9:00am- 4:30pm daily (weekends 8:30am-4:30pm). For specific trail closures and recommended alternate routes click HERE.

For more information on the event and volunteer opportunities click HERE.

Schedule & Race Information: Sea to Sky Nordic Festival

2013 North American and Canadian Biathlon Championships:
March 15 – 20, 2013

2013 Haywood Ski Nationals:
March 23 – 30, 2013

2013 Aviva Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Nationals:
March 28 – 30, 2013

More info and event schedule HERE.

About Whistler Olympic Park
Whistler Olympic Park is operated by Whistler Sport Legacies, a non-profit organization responsible for Whistler Olympic Park, the Whistler Sliding Centre, and the Whistler Athletes’ Centre.  Each facility plays a unique role in inspiring sport excellence for the benefit of athletes, residents, and visitors.  Participation in WOP’s recreational activities helps support the growth of Nordic sport in the Sea to Sky corridor.  For more information, visit whistlerolympicpark.com and facebook.com/whistlerolympicpark.

About Ski Callaghan
Ski Callaghan is a joint venture between Whistler Olympic Park and Callaghan Country Wilderness Adventures to offer Nordic enthusiasts one pass at one price for endless recreation.  Ski Callaghan is now North America’s most extensive Nordic experience!