March 27, 2012 (Craftsbury, Vermont) – Canada’s Chandra Crawford put on a clinic in the women’s 1.6km classic sprint event at the USSA SuperTour Finals today in Craftsbury, Vermont, winning both the qualifier and the final in convincing fashion.

After crushing the field in the morning qualification – her closest rival by nearly 7 seconds was Sadie Bjornsen (APU/USST) – Crawford went on to win the final handily. Young American phenom, Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST) was second, followed by her CXC teammate Jennie Bender.

World Cup overall sprint champion Kikkan Randall (APU/USST), fresh off the plane from competing in the Red Bull Nordix competition in Oslo, Norway, qualified third and finished fourth in today’s final.

Crawford is coming off of one of her most successful seasons yet, finishing 7th in the World Cup sprint rankings. Not previously known for her classic sprinting prowess, Crawford has made major improvements in the discipline this year and recently achieved a personal best in classic sprinting on the World Cup circuit, including making her first final in Drammen, Norway, earlier this month, where she placed 5th.

Crawford is also fresh off a victory in the classic sprint event at the Canadian Championships in Mont Ste. Anne, Quebec, last week.

Randall was upbeat about her return to competing on home soil: “It feels SO good to be back in the US!!,” she told SkiTrax by email earlier today. “You never realize how much you miss it until you come back!!”

“It was great to see everyone today and mix it up out there,” Randall continued, “it’s encouraging to see everyone still fired up at the end of the season and we’ve got many great performances from across the board to celebrate come Saturday!”

Diggins loved the competition as well. “I felt like the qualifier went by a little too fast…I should have pushed harder sooner! But it was amazing to be out racing with such talented women. Chandra blew us all away today, and it was so fun to try to keep up!

“I think everyone’s a little tired for sure, but it’s cool to see such enthusiasm for racing even at the end of the season. The final was really cool because there was such high quality of competition; the bar was up there! It’s always great to get to race with those girls.” she added.

Randall admitted to having caught a cold in transit from Oslo, which affected her somewhat in the early stages of the day. “Unfortunately I picked up a cold last week and woke up today without much of a voice.  I still wanted to give it a try however and was optimistic about my feelings today during the warm-up.  I felt okay in the qualifier but definitely a little heavy after the travel.  The quarterfinals probably felt the worst for me and then I felt a little better in the semi and final.”

Randall also paid tribute to the performance of Crawford, a friend and periodic training partner. “I did some classic intervals with Chandra a few weeks ago and she was on fire. She was super strong in Drammen and Stockholm as well, and it seems she has found another gear in her classic sprinting.

“So it was no surprise that she lit it up out there today. Sadie has also been skiing really strong this last month  and it was great to see her lay down a good one. This all bodes well for our North American Women’s Training Alliance (NAWTA) training camps this summer!”

The US Super Tour Finals competition continues tomorrow with the 6km hill climb competition up Jay Peak.

Qualifications HERE.
Sprint result brackets HERE.

March 27, 2012 (Toronto, ON) – We are excited to announce the final standings for the SkiTrax FIS Fantasy WCup 2011/12 Contest after the WCup in Falun, Sweden along with the final overall contest winnners following the Doping De-points rule.

The 2011/12 season was historic for both the U.S. and Canadian squads, with Kikkan Randall (USA) picking up the crystal globe in the women’s Sprint discipline and Team Canada taking home a boat-load of medals, led by Devon Kershaw’s second place overall in the WCup.

The winner of the SkiTrax FIS Fantasy WCup 2011/12 Contest is Team FxG, who racked up 2,260 points to grab first place and take home 1st Prize – a  Fischer package, including 11/12 Carbonlite Hole Skis, Xcelerator Bindings, Carbonlite Poles (value $1,100). The maximum number of points after Falun is 2,376.

Second Prize goes to Team JOlca2 trailing by a single point with a total of 2,259 points, receiving a fabulous pair of SkiGo Carbon 780 Roller Skis (value $580). 

Third Prize went to Team Jcas from Canmore, AB who wins a pair of Alpina ESK Ski Boots (value $449).

We congratule all contest winners and would like to thank the many teams from around the world for participating in the SkiTrax Fantasy FIS World Cup 2011/12 Contest.

Thanks as well to all of our great sponsors, including Fischer, SkiGo, Alpina, Bjorn Daehlie Clothing, Sporthill, Fresh Air Experience, High Peaks Cyclery, Rottefella, Bliz, Concept 2, Auclair, and Buff.

For the complete SkiTrax FIS WCup Fantasy Contest standings after Falun, click HERE.

SkiTrax Fantasy FIS World Cup 2011/12 Contest Winners

– FxG – Felix Gervais – Laval, QC
1st Prize – Fischer 11/12 Carbonlite Hole Skis, Xcelerator Bindings, Carbonlite Poles (value $1,100)

– JOlca2 – Jolanta Dudzinska – Tarnow. Poland
2nd Prize – SkiGo Carbon 780 Roller Skis (value $580)

– Team Jcas – Jordan Cascagnette – Canmore, AB
3rd Prize – Alpina ESK Ski Boots (value $449)

– Eurostile – John Swain – Saint Paul, MN
4th Prize – Bjorn Daehlie Exclusive US XC Ski Suit (value $300)

– Guacamole – Ian Lennie – Ottawa, ON
5th Prize – Sporthill XC Pants/Tights and Glacier Top (value $220)

– daviking – Rob Moeller – London, ON
6th Prize – Fresh Air Experience or High Peaks Cyclery Gift Certificate (value $150)

– Cole – Cole Hetherington – Vernon, BC
7th Prize – Bliz Proflip Visor (value $129)

– Dynamo – Leberecht Lugosi – Dresden, Germany
8th Prize – Rottefella Xcelerator Skate/Classic Bindings (value $120)

– SlickXC2012 – George Visser – Montreal, QC
9th Prize – Concept2 Goodie Duffle Bag (value $100)

– Christo – Christopher Carlyle – Sault Ste. Marie, ON
10th Prize – Auclair Micro Mountain Olympic Gloves + Earbags (value $65)

– Siggy’s Speedsters – Craig Cardinal – Northfield, MN
– 3LIT3 – Andrew Pfeiffer – Evanston, IL
– Sssssspandy – Andy Shields – Thunder Bay, ON
WCup Break – Buff Headware (value $23) to top 3 contest leaders before the Tour de Ski

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

March 26, 2012 (Falun, Sweden) – Following her historic crystal globe presentation in Falun, Sweden, Peter Graves caught up with the USA’s biggest XC ski sensation of the last three decades, FIS World Cup Sprint series winner Kikkan Randall. Randall reflects on her incredibly successful World Cup season in which she placed fifth overall in addition to her Sprint Cup title victory. She was finally awarded the crystal globe on Sunday, March 18, and was awed by the trophy’s sheer weight.

Randall is the first American women to win a World Cup overall title ending a 30-year drought as the last time the US won a World Cup title was when the legendary Bill Koch captured the men’s overall in 1982. But her season is not quite over yet. The shining star stayed in Scandinavia a little longer to compete in some invitational sprints such as the Red Bull Nordix and returned home this past weekend to race in the USSA SuperTour Finals and 30/50km National Championships on from March 24-31 in Craftsbury, VT…

Kikkan Randall

March 26, 2012 (Toronto, ON) – We are pleased to announce the winners and final standings for the inaugural SkiTrax Fantasy FIS Marathon Cup 2011/12 International Contest after an exciting marathon season that wrapped up with the 54km CL Birkebeinerrennet in Norway on March 17.

Team marko16 finishes in first place with 976 points and takes home the 1st Prize – a OneWay package including Premio 10 WCup Skis, Diamond Storm Premio 10 Poles, and SNS Premio Pilot Bindings. (value $1,350). The maximum number of points after the Birkebeinerrennet is 1,092 points.

Second prize goes to Team bondin from France winning a fabulous Nipika 4-night package for 2 people in a luxurious cabin, including Trail Fees (value up to $1,160). Finally team Sampo from Minnesota won the third prize, a pair of Alpina ESK Ski Boots (value $449).

Congratulations to all winners and thank you to the many teams from around the world for participating in the inaugural SkiTrax Fantasy FIS Marathon Cup 2011/12 International Contest.

We’d also like to thanks to all of our great sponsors, including One Way, Nipika, Alpina, Halti, Fischer, Cross Country Canada, Fresh Air Experience, High Peaks Cyclery, Rottefella, Auclair, and Buff.

For the final full contest standings after the Birkebeinerrennet click HERE.

FIS Fantasy Marathon Cup Winners

– marko16 – Marko Liiva – Otepaa, Estonia
1st Prize – OneWay Premio 10 WCup Skis, Diamond Storm Premio 10 Poles, SNS Premio Pilot Bindings. (value $1,350)

– bondin – Alex Moiroud – Montalieu, France
2nd Prize – Nipika 4-nights for 2 people in luxurious cabin, including Trail Fees (value up to $1,160)

– Sampo – Jonathan Rova – Grand Marais, MN
3rd Prize – Alpina ESK Ski Boots (value $449)

– demino worldloppet – Dmitry Artamonov – Moscow, Russian Federation
4th Prize -Halti XC Race Suit Hemmo Set (value $269)

– Jetlow – Justin Tetlow – Washington, DC
5th Prize –  Fischer RCS QF poles  (value $225)

– littlebig – Nadine Moiroud – Montalieu, France
6th Prize – Cross Country Canada e-Store Gift Certificate (value $200)

– Team Northug – Antoine Briand – Sept-Iles , QC
7th Prize – Fresh Air Experience or High Peaks Cyclery Gift Certificate (value $150)

– rgsnow – Guillaume Ruet – Fleurie, France
8th Prize – Rottefella Xcelerator Skate/Classic Bindings (value $120)

– Alberta Gold – Darrell Goldsack – Red Deer, AB
9th Prize – Auclair Micro Mountain Olympic Gloves + Earbags (value $65)

– anty ski – Andri Milov – Pärnu Estonia
10th Prize – Buff Headware (value $40)

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

March 26, 2012 (Mont Ste-Anne, QC) – She was into every high school sport, yet she was usure which one would become her passion. The teenage Robbie Weldon was also a speed-hungry Alpine ski racer and instructor in Thunder Bay. Even as she noticed her eyesight was becoming problematic, Weldon never tried out for a team she didn’t make.

“I played First Division soccer while I was in Brantford,” said Weldon, who, by the time she was 18, was in Brantford during the summer at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), learning how to adjust to a life with macular degeneration disease.

Like her Para-Nordic teammate, Brian McKeever, who lives with the same disease and sees only peripherally, Weldon didn’t let losing her eyesight be a barrier – in fact more opportunities opened to her. She played able-bodied soccer while competing for Canada in blind power lifting, setting records in the squat, bench press and dead lift.

In 2002, she started cross-country skiing recreationally, mainly because it was healthier than Alpine skiing and brought her into the natural world she loved. By then, she had established her career as a recreational therapist, and one day in 2006 at a work meeting, a colleague gave her a copy of “Abilities Magazine.” Cyclist Brian Cowie and his tandem pilot were on the cover, blowing away the competition at 60kph. “That’s what I want to do,” said Weldon to her colleagues.

“It was so weird, because on the way to the meeting, CBC Radio was announcing that Canada’s Paralympic Team was looking for athletes. I wondered, ‘Am I too old?’” She was 31 – the ideal age for endurance sports like Nordic skiing and bike racing.

Weldon watched the Canadian Cross-Country Ski Championships that year, because her home club of Lappe Nordic was event host, but tragedy hit the next day. “My father died at the workplace. They hadn’t secured a gate, and as a millwright, he was working and fell.” The Weldon family fell into the nightmare of challenging the safety standards of a huge corporation. “He wasn’t the only one to die at that site, or have a serious injury. We live without my father because of the negligence of a corporation.” The tragedy hit hard for Weldon.

In her work as a recreation therapist, at least 70% of her clients have brain or spinal cord injuries. She teaches them how to integrate themselves into the community; relearn how to take public transit, shop for groceries, and get into sports. Many para-athletes are disabled because of workplace injuries as a result of the negligence of their employers and Weldon would soon be skiing and cycling internationally with many of them.

Weldon attended a Para-Nordic ski camp in Canmore, AB, in August of 2006 and she was instantly hooked. She headed west again in late fall for the Nor-Am’s at Soverigen Lake, BC, and Canmore, and didn’t look back as she went on to compete in World Cups, World Championships and the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. It turned out cycling would be her forte, however, and when she teamed up with former Olympian Lynne Bessette as her pilot, the sky was the limit.

In May 2010 Weldon was at the University of Calgary for physiological testing. Bessette waited in the wings, but only for an athlete who could generate the wattage necessary for world podium finishes. When Weldon cranked out the requisite watts, a winning team was born and the duo competed at the Canadian Championships in June.

“The day before the race, we rode for an hour. We won the 20km time trial and the 70km road race,” said Weldon. At the World’s that year, Weldon and Bessette were 2.7s off gold in the time trial and won the 80km road race. In Sydney, Australia, they took double gold at the World Cup and repeated the performance in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the World Championships and ParaPan Am Championships; they are the top team heading into London.

After winning two golds and a silver at the Canadian Para-Nordic Cross-Country Ski Championships, Weldon boarded a train to Montreal and then a flight to Florida to join the cycling team for a pre-Paralympic training camp. The London 2012 Summer Paralympic Games commence August 29, 2012 and the Canadian duo of Weldon and Bessette are undoubtedly the team to beat.

March 26, 2012 – Here are the USSA SuperTour standings after the Mass Start Classic events in Craftsbury, VT. Jessie Diggins (USST/CXC) leads the women’s rankings with a total of 520 points, followed by CXC team mates Jennie Bender in second, with 500 points, and Caitlin Gregg in third at 545 points. In the men’s rankings, Sylvan Ellefson (SSC Vail) tops the list with 367 points. Karl Nygren (CXC) is in second with 319 points, and Michael Sinnott (SVSEF) is third with 284 points.

Women’s USSA SuperTour standings HERE.
Men’s USSA SuperTour standings HERE.

March 25, 2012 (Craftsbury, Vermont) – Kris Freeman (Team HomeGrown/USST) didn’t let a recent illness or the rainy conditions at the Craftsbury Outdoor Centre get in the way of victory in Saturday’s men’s 15km mass start classic race at the USSA Super Tour Finals.

While today’s field was a virtual who’s who of the U.S. domestic circuit, only Freeman’s teammate, Noah Hoffman, could match the veteran’s pace in the closing kilometres of the race. Freeman and Hoffman duelled it out to the finish, with Freeman taking the win by a mere 1.6 seconds.

APU’s Erik Bjornsen crossed the line in third at 15.5 seconds behind Freeman, followed by Simi Hamilton (Sun Valley/USST) and Tad Elliott (Vail/USST). Bryan Cook (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) rounded out the top six.

A group of five skiers, including Freeman, Hoffman, Bjornsen, Hamilton and Elliott opened a gap on the field by the end of the second lap. With Hoffman doing much of the donkey work to push the pace, Hamilton and Elliott eventually dropped off the back of the group. Bjornsen, who also took a few pulls at the front, but also fell behind when Freeman eventually took command.

The race came down to a sprint to the line between the two USST teammates, who spent much of the winter together on the World Cup circuit, with Freeman out-kicking Hoffman by a few strides.

With Freeman and Hoffman dueling up front, Bjornsen focused on the battle for third and was eventually able to pull away from Elliott and Hamilton, who were lurking close behind.

Despite earning his second Super Tour podium in as many days, Hoffman was  disappointed with his race. “The race today was tough,” he told SkiTrax, “My plan was to go out fast and try to put as much time on people as possible. I did not want to have an easy race where we finished with 10 guys. I felt pretty good, but it was hard to get away from people. I am a little disappointed with the way the race finished up. I need to beat Kris.”

Bjornsen, for his part, was delighted with his third place finish. “Today was also a really good race for me,” the APU skier said to SkiTrax, “I can tell I’m in good form right now, so I just tried to stick with the lead pack and ski the most efficient of those guys. I took a couple of short pulls at the front when Hoff and Bird didn’t want to lead.”

“After my second time leading,” Bjornsen continued, “Hoff and Bird jumped up front and exchanged a couple of words and I new what was going to happen next. The next time we hit the steep hill they went for it, this was with a lap and a half to go.

“They gained about 10m by the top and then continued to go until out of sight. Then Tad and I skied most of the last lap together. I decided to put the hammer down about a kilometer from the finish and was able to open a 15-second gap on Tad and Simi and I was about the same distance from Noah and Bird.”

Full results HERE.
Full results w/splits HERE.

March 25, 2012 (Craftsbury, Vermont) – Sadie Bjornsen (USST) lead her APU teammates Rosie Brennan and Holly Brooks (USST) to a sweep of the podium in Saturday’s women’s 10km classic race at the US SuperTour Finals at the Craftsbury Outdoor Centre in Craftsbury, Vermont. Liz Stephen (Burke Mountain Academy/USST) was fourth, while Becca Rorabaugh (APU) and Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST) rounded out the top six.

After capturing bronze in Saturday’s prologue, Bjornsen roared off the start line in Sunday’s mass start classic race, leading more or less from start to finish in slow snow with warm and slushy conditions, rain on and off, temps in the 40’s, and a large crowd of spectators. “I pretty much went from the gun without realizing it,” Bjornsen told SkiTrax earlier today, “I wanted to get those preems and then I decided since I had already made a gap, I should just go with it.”

Bjornsen eventually started to pay for her early efforts and by the end of the third lap was beginning to fade. She credited team mate Rosie Brennan with giving her a boost of energy that enabled her to hang on for the win by just 5.7 seconds over Brennan.

“I started to die at the end of the third lap,” she explained, “and by that point Rosie Brennan, one of my best friends and teammates, pulled up beside me saying ‘C’mon Sadie, we can do this’. I knew people were gaining on us from behind, so at that point Rosie took the lead and I held on by my fingernails. At the last hill, I just got this second wind and managed to get by her, but I have Rosie to thank for keeping my head going.”

Bjornsen wasn’t bothered by the tricky snow and waxing conditions at Craftsbury, where it had rained earlier in the day. “The course was pretty broken down by the time we started,” she said, “just like the Oslo Holmenkollen 30km, so I almost felt right at home. It really didn’t bother me at all. My skis were fast and I had great kick.”

Bjornsen was impressed with how well the trails were standing up given the conditions, and credited the Craftsbury organizers and volunteers for keeping things in shape: “Hats off to them, they are truly pulling it off”.

Brennan, for her part, had a poor start, but managed slowly to work her way through the pack to the front, where she briefly took the lead from Bjornsen near the end of the final lap.

“I had a pretty bad start,” Brennan told Ski Trax, “[and] I found myself further back than I was comfortable with on the first lap. I was able to work my way through the pack slowly and just started picking people off one by one.”

“Eventually, going into the last lap,” she continued, “I caught Holly and realized we had an APU sweep going and that was really something exciting, and something I could get myself to dig a little deeper for.”

“Then I caught Sadie, who is one of my best friends and teammates and I could not have been more excited to be skiing with her. I told her we could do this if we just pushed it a little harder to the finish. I was feeling good up that last big hill so I took the lead, but Sadie is a very tough racer and she hung with me and pulled herself away from me up the hill into the stadium.”

Both skiers were thrilled with the APU podium sweep. “It’s so fun to be back with the APU group,” Bjornsen said, “I have absolutely loved having a women’s team over in Europe where we are all pushing each other and working hard – so it’s fun to come back and share that with my home club team. It’s so cool to see how these girls have stepped it up and are throwing it out there already this week.”

“An APU sweep is not surprising to me at all,” Brennan added, “our women’s team is just full of very talented athletes, I just never expected myself to be part of the sweep.”

The US Super Tour Finals continue with Tuesday’s grueling hill climb event.

Full results HERE.
Full results w/splits HERE.

March 25, 2012 (Oslo, Norway) – Sharp turns, high and long jumps and an aggressive herringbone was on the menu between the start and finish of Red Bull NordiX at the Holmenkollen yesterday afternoon. Qualification was on the program on Friday, Saturday was featuring 1/16 finals and 1/8 finals, before it was time for the quarter-finals, and then respectively the B and A finals.

Among men Ånund Lid Byggland won the Red Bull Nordix 2012 ahead of Swiss Philip Furrer Sweden’s Markus Svelander claimed third place. Marcus Hellner and Robin Bryntesson had to settle for a place in the B final, where Bryntesson fell immediately after the start. Petter Northug was eliminated already in the quarterfinals.

Ludmila Horka of the Czech Republic surprisingly won the Red Bull Nordix over Bettina Gruber and Laurien Van Der Graaff of Switzerland. American Sprint World Cup winner Kikkan Randall finished in fourth place.

Final Results

Women
1. Ludmila Horka, CZE 1:15.02
2. Bettina Gruber, SUI 1:17.41
3. Laurien Van Der Graaff, SUI
4. Kikkan Randall, USA

Men
1. Ånund Lid Byggland, NOR 1:08.44
2. Philip Furrer, SUI 1:12.84
3. Markus Svelander, SWE
4. Adam Johansson, SWE

March 24, 2012 (Mont Ste-Anne, QC) – The Junior/Elite Women’s Classic 20/30km race is up next on the final day of competition at the 2012 Haywood Ski Nationals in MSA. The Elite women will complete six (6) laps for 3okm while the juniors will start 5min after the senior women and complete four (4) laps of the 5km course for 20km. Weather: a beautiful sight, the sun is peaking through, but cloud cover keeps temperatures just above zero at +1, with the wind picking up slightly.

Lap 1
Good start for the women as Dasha Gaiazova – last year’s 30km skate champ – heads out across the stadium in lead position. A red wave with two Norwegians in the lead pack is just behind and several Canadian national team uniforms are there all double poling in synch.

Notes: skiers have learned some tips from the men’s race – the tracks on the uphills are all erased, and downhills remain fast while the corners are starting to break up.

Junior Women have now started after a 5-minute break skiing behind the seniors for four laps around the same 5km course.

Lap 2
The Senior Women complete the first lap in 15:50.48. The new leader is Chandra Crawford, followed by Gaiazova then Perianne Jones and the two Norwegians – all within 3.5 seconds.

Junior Women – just finished lap 1 in a tight pack of 8 led by Maya McIsaac-Jones and Anne Marie Comeau in a time of 17:06

The are being followed closely by Frederique Vezina, Rebecca Reid, Janelle Greer, Dariah Beatty, Centrine Brown, and Michelle Workun-Hill – all within 3 seconds

Lap 3
Gaiazova is back in the lead as they start the third of six laps in 31:35 with a lap time of 15:44. Crawford remains in second followed by Peri in third and the two Norwegians.

Emily Nishikawa is racing on her own at 1 min 10 sec behind – then it’s Kate Brennan and Zoe Roy another 20 seconds behind. Conditions should be stable out on the course, as the temperature is steady at +1, and the course is well skied in.

Junior Women – starting the penultimate third lap it’s Rebecca Reid, Maya Macisaac-Jones and Anne-Marie Comeau in the lead with 12 seconds over Dahria Beatty and Janelle Greer both of Whitehorse followed closely by the youngster Frederique Vezina and Michelle  top group all within 20 secs.

Previous lap time was 17 minutes for a total of 34:07

Lap 4 – Final Lap for the Juniors
Senior women are coming thru to finish their third lap and begin lap 4 lead by Crawford and Gaiazova, and the two Norwegians Ragnhild Haga and Britt Ingunn Nydal. Perianne Jones has dropped back with about 30 seconds to catch up.

Crawford came thru with a lap time of 16:07 on lap 3 and a total running time of 47:43.

Macisaac-Jones in a Rocky Mtn Racer blue/yellow racing suit is wearing the Leader’s bib and is now out front skiing on her own. She is being followed by Rebecca Reid (#216) and Anne-Marie Comeau (#214).

The pack is splitting up beind – still within two minutes of the leader are Greer (#215) at 1:16, Workun Hill (#213) at 1:36 then Beatty and Vezina.

Notes: of key interest in this race is that the leaders are very young. Macisaac-Jones was born in 1995, thus technically is a Junior Girl; and Anne Marie Comeau is a Juvenille Girl. Also racing up front is a Norwegian Junior Girl (#220) Marte Haakenstad Braaten presently in 12th position.

Bow Valley skier Macisaac-Jones entered the stadium all on her own with a time 1:08:39.84. The Alberta skier has already one gold and one silver in her 2012 Nationals collection. No other skier was in sight as she crossed the line – a brilliant week for Maya.

Rebecca Reid from Black Jack, BC scored her third silver medal while Anne-Marie Comeau, technically a Juvi girl, was third today.
Fourth goes to Janelle Greer, 5th to Michelle Workun Hill, 6th to Dahria Beatty and 7th to Frederique Vezina.

Unofficial
1. Maya Macisaac-Jones (Rocky Mountain) 1:08:39.84
2. Rebecca Reid (Black Jack) 1:09:35.25
3. Anne-Marie Comeau (M.S.A.) 1:09:55.29

Lap 5
The Senior Women’s four leaders – two Canadians and two Norwegians – have completed lap 4 with Norwegian Ragnhild Haga now leading with a chip of 16:43.92 for the lap and a running time of 1:04:29.36 as they start the penultimate lap with Gaiazova in 2nd, Crawford 3rd and Ingunn Nydal in 4th

Perianne Jones is in 5th skiing her own race, a first for this Sprint specialist who has had her strongest international racing year this season.

Speaking with Peri last evening she really didn’t know what to expect and was looking forward to today capping off a fantastic international racing season. She plans to spend next week catching up with family and friends in Ottawa and Almonte, Ontario, before heading back to Canmore, her ski home with boyfriend and National Team wax guru Joel Jacques. Then it’s off to Corsica, for fun in the sun and a ‘whole’ body tan 🙂

Coming up…the finish of the Junior Women’s race (see above).

Lap 6 FINAL
Going into their last lap the Senior Women are getting serious and really working hard. Crawford crossed the chip timing just ahead of Gaiazova, who’s skis look to be slipping slightly. The two Norwegians are three ski lengths behind in third and fourth.

Crawford’s lap time was 16:43.32 with a running total at 1:21:13.

Crawford attacks and has broken away from the group – she’s an Olympic Sprint gold medallist so she knows how to lay down a top result. If she wins this race it will be her first distance gold National title…

Crawford comes in alone for the WIN.

Second is not even in sight… it’s Norwegian Britt Ingunn Nydal in second with Ragnhild Haga third and Gaiazova in the slip stream of the lead pack in 4th taking the championship silver with Nakkertok’s Perianne Jones earning the bronze.

Unofficial
1. Chandra Crawford (Canmore) 1:36:51.66
2. Britt Ingunn Nyda ((Njaard) 1:37:05.40
3. Ragnhild Haga (Heming IL) 1:37:46.08
4. Daria Gaiazova (Rocky Mountain) 1:37:52.51
5. Perianne Jones (Nakkertok-ON) 1:42:18.66

March 24, 2012 (Mont Ste-Anne, QC) – It’s the final day of competition at the 2012 Haywood Ski Nationals in MSA and the Junior/Elite Men’s 30/50km classic race is underway. The juniors will complete six (6) laps of the 5km course while the Elite men will complete ten (10) laps. Weather: – 3, light cloud cover, little wind from the west.

Lap 1
The race started on time – at 2km the pack order is Kevin Sandau (#4), Alex H, Drew G (#10), Devon (#2).

Junior Men started 5min wave afterwards.

Lap 2
First lap through stadium, lead by Kevin Sandau – fast lap at 13:28, Drew Goldsack, Devon Kershaw, Gerard Garnier (younger racer from the Alberta World Cup Academy), Alex Harvey…

Note:  Justin Freeman of the USA team is racing today sitting in 28th position. The US SuperTour Finals and XC Nationals begin today at Craftbury Common, VT and run Mar. 24-31 – and have been battling with warm conditions but everything is a GO – read more HERE.

Junior Men came through stadium, tight pack with both Norwegians in the lead five.  Lap time: 14:08 of the leader Sindre Bjornestad Skar (Norway).

Order: Skar, Alexis Turgeon(QC), Colin Ferrien (BC), 98 Simon Lapointe (QC), Nyenget (NOR),

Senior Men new leader is Graham Nishikawa (#6) at 26: 52. Pack still tight.

Lap 3
Senior Men at 12km – Michael Somppi is now leading followed by Ivan, Devon, Drew, Alex, Sandau, Brent Mc – still tight pack

Junior Men – Norwegians are racing their own race, coming through stadium to complete lap #3 – half way. Faster pace than Sr Men at 40:29 = 20 seconds faster. The juniors last lap was 13:28 = to the Sr Men’s first lap.

Lap 4
Babikov starts the fourth of ten laps in the lead with – the time is 40:49 – then Somppi, Kevin Sandau, Drew G, Matthew Wylie, Brent Mc, Graham Nishikawa, Garniew.

Sr Men at 17km – Ivan, Devon, Alex, Nishikawa, Brent, Sandau, Drew, Somppi

Jr Men – pack is thru stadium and start fourth lap – lap time = 14:15. The Norwegians are off the front w/2 minute lead over chasers lead by Zack Holland, Turgeon, Johnsgaard, Lapointe, Couturier, Sander-Green, Lapierre, Richards, Carlyle, Ferrie

Norwegians are working together, Skar and Nyenget switching places in their signature red suits still 15 seconds faster than the Sr Men’s pack at 17 km.

Lap 5
The Elite men start their 5th lap lead by bib#2 Devon Kershaw, Alex, Nishikawa, McMurtry, Ivan, Sandau, Somppi, Drew, Cockney,

Pace has picked up – lap time was 12:51 – total time 53:55 – skiing single file now.

Junior Men are now thru stadium lead by the two Norwegians (#92 and #91). Lap time = 13:21. Total time = 53:51 (still 4 seconds faster than the Senior Men’s overall time).

The Canadian juniors lead by Raphael Couturier are now 3:09 off the Norwegians – following behind are Johngaard, Turgeon, Lapierre, Holland, Sander-Green, and Lapointe  lap time for the 4th lap for Couturier was 14:28.

The two Norwegians racing here today are the top two Juniors in the World having gotten most of the medals at the 2012 Junior Worlds in February in Ezurum, Turkey.

Sr Men at 22km – Alex and Devon have broken from the pack and have a strong lead over Ivan, Nishikawa, McMurty, Sandau – then another break before Somppi skiing on his own, followed in the distance by Drew and Cockney.

Lap 6 – Final Lap for Juniors
Harvey and Kershaw are working together coming thru the stadium with a 43-second lead over the pack. Lap 5 was skied at a pace of 12:53 for a running total 1:06:48. They’re now half-way thru the 50km classic ski race…

Mini pack behind is lead by McMurty (2nd in last year’s 50km FR in Canmore), Ivan, Nishikawa, Sandau with a lap time of 13:33.

Michael Somppi is skiing on his own, but the bigger group behind is catching him.  Third pack now lead by Cockney, Goldsack, and Seaton catching on.

Junior Men – the Norwegians come through stadium and head out on their final lap of 30km. Lap time was 13:28 – very consistent lap times, skiing noticeably smooth and elegant. Total race time now is 1:07:33 (now 45 seconds behind the Sr. Men leaders of Kershaw and Harvey).

Junior Cdn men ski through stadium lead strongly by Couturier wearing the Leader’s Bib with a lap time of 14:28 and a total time of  1:11:41 (now at 4 minutes behind the Norwegians).

Norway’s Sindre Bjornestad Skar (#91) wins in 1:20:04.40 beating out his team mate Martin Loewstroem Nyenget by only a few metres with a time of 1:20:04.78.

1. Sindre Bjornestad Skar (NOR) 1:20:04.40
2. Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR) 1:20:04.78

Junior Cdn Men racing for the podium are coming into the stadium – two skiers racing for gold  are Knute Johngaard of Whitehorse out-sprinting Stefan Sander-Green of Kimberley, B.C. by 0.37 seconds.

The bronze medal was also a tight race between Simon Lapointe of Quebec grabbing the final championship podium spot by 0.43sec over Geoffrey Richards from Black Jack, B.C. Yannick Lapierre of the Quebec contingent from the Nakkertok Ski Club was fifth and Colin Ferrie was sixth.

Following within one minute were nine Canadians:  Sebastian Townsend in seventh, Raphael Couturier in eighth, and Alexis Turgeon in ninth.

Unofficial
1. Sindre Bjornestad Skar (NOR) 1:20:04.40
2. Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR) 1:20:04.78
3. Knute Johngaard (Whitehorse) 1:24:58.99  Gold
4. Stefan Sander-Green (Kimberley, B.C.)  1:24:59.36 Silver
5. Simon Lapointe (Skinouk) 1:25:08.35 Bronze

Lap 7
Kershaw and Harvey begin lap 7 of 10  – no one else in sight coming into the stadium.  Crowds cheering these guys are smiling and loving it.

Mini pack chasing is the same and they’re working together with Ivan B leading and a lap time of 13:40 – now at 1 minute 14sec behind the leaders.

Bib #11 still skiing his own race is Michael Somppi who comes thru at 2:09 behind the leaders. Lap time has slowed to 14:16.
The bigger pack is now thru with Colin Abbott +2:48 of leaders.

Lap 8
Canadian superstars, Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey are skiing their own race starting their 8th lap with a total time of 1:26:55.55… they completed Lap 7 in 13:22. Now less than 15km to go.

The mini chase pack with Brent McMurtry, Ivan Babikov, Graham Nishikawa and Kevin Sandau is working together and trading lead positions completing the last lap 7 in 14:02 for a total time of 1:07:32.04  was .

Michael Somppi is still on his own… lap time of 14:22 and slowly being caught by the bigger pack behind now at 37 seconds.

Lap 9
On the penultimate lap it’s Alex Harvey skiing around the Stadium bend passing other skiers on the curve with Devon Kevon matching skis with him stride for stride as they begin their 9th lap. Side by side they ski out of the stadium looking comfortable.  Their lap time was 13:31 with a total time of 1:38:01.30.

Mini pack came thru and Jessie Cockney has caught up with Michael Somppi.

Lap 10 FINAL
The two leaders complete the ninth lap with Harvey leading Kershaw by a ski pole – they come thru the stadium with spectators cheering louder now as they head out for the final lap. The lap time slowed slightly (13:59) and they’ve been out skiing for a total of time of 2:00:52 – maintaining a pace of 22km an hour – WOW !

The chasing mini pack is down to three with Babikov, Nishikawa, and Sandau still pushing ahead as they’ve dropped McMurtry now dangling of the back…lap time was 14:27 at 3 minutes 20 seconds behind the leaders.

Next wave: Cockney is skiing just ahead of Somppi at 4 mins 20 sec behind the leaders.

The race to the finish won’t be given up easily to the local superstar, who’s name graces the stadium banners well as Trail #33 now named the Harvey trail… Alex and Devon are neck in neck entering the stadium side by side – but they chose to be friends for life, and are ARM in ARM crossing the line in synch – the crowd loves it:

It’s a TIE…

Out on the course Ivan Babikov attacks and has made his move skiing 100m ahead of Nishikawa at 47km.

Unofficial
1. Alex Harvey 2:14:45
2. Devon Kershaw 2:14:45
3. Ivan Babikov 2:17:33
4. Graham Nishikawa 2:17:22
5. Kevin Sandau 2:27:42

March 23, 2012 – Despite missing prize money from the Nordic World Championships, cross-country athletes earned a large amount of money this season. Marit Bjoergen won a total of 388,125 CHF – 11,250 CHF less than Justyna Kowalczyk last season and 77,875 CHF more than she did in 2010/11. Kowalczyk collected the Tour de Ski win and 11 podium places to net a total of 305,595 CHF.

On the men’s side, Dario Cologna is leading the prize money ranking. The Tour de Ski winner earned 339,555 CHF while the runner-up, Petter Northug (NOR), won 156,375 CHF.

In comparison to athletes from the other FIS disciplines, cross-country athletes are not far behind. Only Lindsey Vonn (USA, Alpine) and Marcel Hirscher (AUT, Alpine) earned more than the top cross-country skiers. Vonn collected 552,994 CHF while Hirscher won 460,688 CHF. Gregor Schlierenzauer, who is leading the ranking for Ski Jumping, took in 165,700 CHF during his successful season. In Ski Jumping, the distribution of prize money includes more athletes than in the other disciplines.

Overview of FIS prize money ranking
1. Lindsey Vonn (USA) 552,994 CHF
2. Marcel Hirscher (AUT) 460,688
3. Marit Bjoergen (NOR) 388,165
4. Dario Cologna (SUI) 339,555
5. Ivica Kostelic (CRO) 324,357

Overview of the Cross-Country prize money ranking
1. Marit Bjoergen (NOR) 388,165 CHF
2. Dario Cologna (SUI) 339,555
3. Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) 305,595
4.Therese Johaug (NOR) 175,740
5. Petter Northug (NOR) 156,375

March 22, 2012 (Mont Ste-Anne, QC) – On Wednesday the Para Nordic athletes contested the 0.8km sprints for national titles. Here’s a brief recap of the sit ski and standing competitions held at Mont Ste-Anne during the Haywood Ski Nationals.

Men’s Sit Ski
Quebec’s amazing athlete, Yves Bourque of Mauriski, took yet another gold in the 0.8km sprint in a time of 0:02:56:0 – Bourque is three for three coming off the Para World Cup circuit this season after less than five years in the sport. Next up was Wostawea’s Shane Dunnett at 1:19.2 minutes back.

“The sprint was challenging. There was a final hill before you got into the the stadium that was banked incorrectly… meaning that coming down the hill no matter which track (inside or out) or even if you stayed in the middle skate ski area once you got near the bottom, when you needed to turn left, it shot you straight out towards woods. So caution was needed,” commented Dunnett after the race. Bourque had been nice enough to warn him about it.  “Last thing I wanted to do was crash on the hill or go off course into the woods.

“Yve has great technique, coaching and the time he has under his belt makes him an exceptional racer. I can see that his level jumped up a notch since the 2011 Canada Games in Halifax,” added Dunnett.  “For myself I need more races, more time on the snow training along with coaching.

“I’ve been skiing competitively for just over a year now; doing the Canada Games in Halifax 2011 and this past Nationals. I’m also still trying to find my sweet zone in the sit ski I have – meaning I’m still making adjustments to it so it fits better and I feel at one with the sit ski.”

The bronze went to Highland Trailblazer’s Adrianua Geeve at 1:59.2 behind with Marc Leblanc of Bathurst, New Brunswick in fourth at 2:09.6 behind the winner.

Women’s Sit Ski
Skibec’s Christine Gauthier won gold in 4:29.2 followed by Walden’s Tanya Quesnel at 2.5 seconds back. Christy Campbell of Waterloo Region took the bronze at 26.8 seconds back while Jamie Triskie of Kenora, Manitoba, was the fourth skier across the line in at 1:31 behind Gauthier.

Men’s Standing
Temiskaming’s Gabriel Denis was the gold medalist in 2:42.3 followed by Highland Trailblazer’s Jerry King who was a mere 0.2 seconds faster, but when the disability handicap was factored in he ended up with the silver medal. Athletes with a less severe disability are given a time handicap to allow for a level playing field so races are as fair as possible.

Women’s Standing
Kanata’s Margarita Gorbounova took gold in 2:37.8 followed by Lappe Nordic’s Robbie Weldon who actually skied faster with a 2:31.4 but was awarded the silver medal when her disability handicap factored in. The bronze went to Whaleback, Newfoundland’s Erica Noonan who crossed the line in 2:45.7, only 0.50 seconds faster than Walden’s Christine Henry who had to settle for fourth. Caroline Bisson of Kanata actually had the third fastest time in 2:42.8 but was placed fifth, because like Weldon, her time was increased by the disability handicap factor.

March 20, 2012 (Mont Ste-Anne, QC) – Emily Nishikawa flew around a soft course as the Open Women were last to race on a day that was better suited for bike racing. After hundreds of skiers and brilliant sunshine the race track was likened to mush. Still Canadian U23 Team skier, Nishikawa, who hails from Whitehorse, beat a posse of Canadian, American, Norwegian and Brazilian national team athletes chasing her down, with a time of 32:03.0 in the Women’s 10km Freestyle Interval Start.

The silver medal went to Larch Hills skier, Alysson Marshall, just back from her first WCup stint, at only half a second back, while third went to Ragnhild Haga of Norway’s U23 team at 8.1 seconds behind. The next Canadian, and therefore the bronze medalist of the day, was Perianne Jones of Nakkertok, at 11.0 seconds back.

American Caitlin Patterson of the University of Vermont raced to fifth spot at 49.1 seconds back and Brazilian skier Jaqueline Mourao surprised the field with a sixth place time at 55.2 seconds behind Nishikawa. National team skier, Chandra Crawford, who arrived in Quebec City late the night before, took 7th at 1:11.0 back.

“Winning today was really special for me. I’ve been looking forward to this race for a while. I’m really happy with how things worked out,” Nishikawa told SkiTrax. “My grandma is here watching me race for the first time, so it was awesome to have her and my parents out cheering today.”

When asked about how the slow snow and warm weather affected her Nishikawa responded, “I’m glad I didn’t overheat in the race! I’m looking forward to the next two races of the week.”

The first Junior woman to take the gold medal was Maya MacIssac-Jones of Rocky Mountain who was tenth overall at 1:24.8 minutes back. Grabbing the silver was Rebbeca Reid of Black Jack in 11th at 1:31.3 behind the winner – two very strong finishes in a field of over one hundred skiers. Janelle Greer of Whitehorse scooped the bronze finishing in 19th at 2:32.6 in an incredibly tight race for the final spot on the podium.

Julia Ransom from Canmore, of Junior Biathlon fame winning silver at the IBU Junior Worlds, finished 4th at 2:33.7 while fifth went to Frederique Vezina at 2:33.9 back. Less than one and a half seconds separated the three athletes racing for the bronze. Cendrine Brown of Fondeurs-Laurentides took the sixth spot, 3:18.1 minutes back.

Full results HERE.

March 20, 2012 (Mont Ste-Anne, QC) – After five months on the World Cup circuit, and fourteen World Cup medals – a stunning amount given the incredible international competition – Canada’s national cross-country ski team, both men and women, finally was able to come home.

Their flight was eight hours late and they hardly slept but they showed up at the start line the next day and proved why they are who they are. Alex Harvey raced on his home course to the delight of fans from across the country and took the gold on a warm and wet course in 40:54.1.

Harvey’s National teammate, Ivan Babikov, who had come home earlier as he had battled illness during the WCup season, earned the silver (adding to his gold from the classic race the day before), at 32:9 seconds back.

Despite a broken pole Devon Kershaw, who made history as the first Canadian to finish second overall on the World Cup, skied to take the bronze at 1:44.8 minutes back. The crowd could not have asked for more, but they go it anyway.

Skibec’s Marc-Andre Bedard was fourth, much to the delight of the Quebecois fans while David Greer of Whitehorse was fifth at 2:37.3 back while Foothills’ Brent McMurtry was sixth 2:42.3 back.

“It was hard out there because the snow was so soft,” said Harvey. “But it was super fun. I heard my name lots throughout the course and it was just so much fun to be racing here at home at the Nationals.”

Young skiers had waited patiently for Harvey and the rest of the National team to race and the significance of what they represent was not lost on him. “I am really happy that all of the World Cup Team was able to make it here this year,” said Harvey. “It is super important. I remember the first time I saw Beckie Scott and Sara Renner… it was at Nationals in Charlo, N.B. I was so excited to see them that I missed my start time by 10 seconds.

“I hope these kids here this week are just as psyched to see all of our World Cup medalists this week. Hopefully we can motivate them to train more this summer and race hard next year.”

The Junior Men’s race saw American David Sinclair from Dartmouth Outing Club cross the line first, 3:49.7 behind Harvey to finish 12th overall. Geoffrey Richards of Black Jack Club in B.C. was the first Canadian and took the title right behind Sinclair in 13th at 4:14.4 back.

They had a significant lead on the rest of the field as the silver medal went to Dominique Monclon-Groulx of Nakkertok at 5:14.8 back while Knute Johnsgaard of Whitehorse took home the bronze at 5:16:0 back.

Fifth went to Norwegian national team skier Martin Lowestroem Nyengt, 5:31:0 back, which meant Alex Mahoney of Rocky Mountain was the fourth Canadian skier at 5:46:1 back. Banff Ski Runners’ Zach Holland was fifth, 5:48:9 back and Riel Allain of Skinouk took 6th, 6:08:3 minutes back.

It was glorious end to a fabulous home-coming for Canada’s top WCup skiers, who made their mark on the world stage, and continued the charge at the Haywood Ski Nationals in Mont-Ste-Anne, Quebec on Tuesday afternoon.

Full results HERE.

March 20, 2012 – The inaugural NNF CUP will be awarded at the completion of Super Tour Finals next week. The NNF Cup was launched to increase the awareness of America’s premier cross country club programs as these clubs provide daily support and motivation to tomorrow’s stars today.

The final week of racing will determine the final podium placing for the Cup. CXC has a clear lead but APU and SVSEF still have a mathematical chance of winning the title. Can the return of APU’s World Cup stars including Kikkan Randall allow them to challenge for the title? Or will CXC with their own World Cup star in Jessie Diggins continue to pile on the points and claim the inaugural cup?

While Nordic is considered an individual sport, no athlete can go it alone. The club programs develop and support athletes from first time skiers until they retire from the sport decades later. These clubs are the athlete’s teams and the athletes wear their club colors proudly. The competition between clubs to be the best is raising the level of support and success for the nation as a whole. A rivalry between clubs makes everyone try harder. It starts the first time a young skier dons his club jacket that is most often two sizes too large. It continues at JO qualifiers and the Junior Olympics where athletes cheer for their teammates as much as themselves. And now an ever expanding support to expand post JO support is pushing this club rivalry (and our national aspirations) to the next level. NNF Cup Rules: For more details and to see the entire points list click HERE.

1. Athlete score points for one club.
2. Use existing Super Tour races.
3. Score top 3 members of the club who finish in the top 10 using Continental Cup scoring
4. Have three team standings: male, female and overall.
5. Overall winner will win the NNF Cup and be awarded a traveling trophy.

Support Tomorrow’s Stars Today
The National Nordic Foundation exists to help America’s young, dedicated, and driven Nordic talent realize their, and America’s, long term potential in sport and in life. The biggest hurdle facing American Nordic racers is gaining consistent access to international quality coaching, training, and racing experiences from ages 15 through 25. Providing future generations of U.S. Nordic athletes earned access to a progression of high-quality international competitions, their life enriching lessons, represents this nation’s greatest Nordic development opportunity and funding need. The National Nordic Foundation and its Pillar Projects exist to fulfill this need. Please donate to the National Nordic Foundation and support tomorrow’s stars today as their quest for athletic accomplishment on the trails prepares them to achieve their potential in life while inspiring others to do the same. Please Donate $25 or $2500 Here Now!

March 18, 2012 (Falun, Sweden) – While all eyes were on Norway’s Marit Bjoergen today as she took home the World Cup crown and final Mini Tour title, the prime focus for US fans and North Americans at large was Kikkan Randall, who made history becoming the first American women to win a World Cup overall title, and finally lay claim to the Sprint Cup Globe after a stellar season. She also ended a 30-year drought as the last time the US won a WCup title was when the legendary Bill Koch won the men’s overall in 1982.

“I feel like it’s just right. It’s been an incredible season,” said an elated Randall post-race.”It has been really really fun and challenging. I feel like this is the perfect cap to end it. I’m looking forward to taking a little break and letting it all sink in.”

Bjoergen sealed her victory in the 10km freestyle handicap start defeating arch rival Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland by over a minute, with a decisive win in today’s last race of the season and in doing so won the over World Cup Globe to go with her Distance Globe that she locked up in Oslo.

Kowalczyk, who started today’s handicap stage race just 6.4 seconds behind Bjoergen, charged hard from the gun to close the gap to Bjoergen within the first kilometre. The effort appeared to cost her, however, as she began to lose contact with Bjoergen soon after, especially on the downhill after the infamous Mordarbacken climb.

Bjoergen would go on to victory by a 46-second margin over teammate Heidi Weng, who bested Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla and Norway’s Therese Johaug in a three-way sprint for the silver medal. Kalla treated local fans to an exciting photo finish beating Johaug for the bronze.

Kowalczyk, who was passed by the hard-charging threesome in the final kilometre of the race, faded but was able to hang on for 5th place losing over a minute to Bjoergen at the finish.

The American women’s team continued its stellar 2012 season by placing three in the top 20 overall at this year’s final race. Randall finished the day in 8th place overall, followed by team mates Jessica Diggins and Liz Stephen in 15th and 18th, respectively.

“I knew it was going to be a challenging race today,” continued Randall. “I felt like I had a good chance to catch number six right in front of me. And I knew the two right behind me were coming on strong so I tried to put a good effort out there and make them work hard to catch me and then I was trying to latch on and ride them for the rest of the race.

“I was able to hang on a little bit but they put a strong move on leaving the stadium and I couldn’t quite hang in there. It definitely was a hard race but that’s how you want to finish the season.”

Diggins had the 9th fastest time of the day and was happy to finish the season strong following a bout of sickness that kept her out of contention temporarily.

“I had really fast skis. My strength is in transition zones on the course so I would lead on the flats and descents while others would lead on the climbs. We worked together and reeled in the group ahead. On the final hill I hammered but wasn’t able to open up a gap and was doing all the work and then got passed at the end.

“I had nothing left for the sprint at the finish but it was totally worth the try. I’m so happy. It was a great race to end the season on. It felt like a good hard effort. It was great to be able to end the year with a race where I felt like I hung in there.”

Two Canadian women also raced today as Chandra Crawford finished 31st and teammate Dasha Gaiazova finished in 41st. Both will head back home to compete in the Haywood Ski Nationals in Quebec City, site of next year’s World Cup.

For Randall the day was even more special as she locked up 5th overall in the overall World Cup standings doubling up over last year when she was 10th. With Sochi around the corner it seems that the Alaska native is just getting warmed up…

“The sprint globe was my big goal all season but to finish in the top 5th overall is an incredible step forward from where I’ve been. It’s a huge accomplishment. It’s what I’ve wanted all along – to be a contender in every discipline. So it’s been really fun and I hope I can continue to make jumps forward.”

“We are all so proud of Kikkan. She has been working hard for many years to get to a place where she could win a crystal globe.  Through the years, she has demonstrated an immense amount of patience and professionalism,” commented Chris Grover XC Head Coach U.S. Ski Team.

“She had chipped away at the results, each year getting better and better. With immense talent, a positive attitude, and an incredible work ethic, she has set an example for U.S. women in terms of what is possible.

“We are also very proud of this women’s team; they have pushed each other along and supported each other throughout the season. One of our goals will be to win medals in the team events over the next few seasons. The women know that if they are to make this happen, they will all need to take another step forward with fitness and experience, but all of them are committed to this process.”

Women’s 10k FR handicap results HERE.
Mini Tour Overall HERE.
World Cup Final overall HERE.

March 18, 2012 (Falun, Sweden) – The distinct red-white w/bright yellow leaf Canadian kits were ever-present once again at the final World Cup race of the season in Falun, Sweden, the men’s 15km freestyle handicap start, as three Canucks landed in the top 15 of the Mini-Tour final standings. Devon Kershaw finished 2nd overall, just 23 seconds behind the overall winner, Dario Cologna of Switzerland, while teammates Alex Harvey and Len Valjas placed 6th and 14th, respectively.

It was a fitting end to a stellar season for the Canadians who seemed to turn heads with each successive race landing podiums with style and precision skiing – 14 in total smashing their season goal of 10 medals.

Starting 3rd in today’s handicap race, at 46 seconds behind Cologna, Kershaw quickly caught and passed team mate Len Vajas, who started second at 36 seconds behind the race leader. After dropping Valjas, Kershaw skied alone the rest of the race and finished 23 seconds behind Cologna who won the mini-tour, adding to his massive season of 20 podiums.

“I crossed the line and thought ‘Thank God it is done,’ but I was also so proud right away of our entire team,” said Kershaw in a team release. “This last month I had a lot of nervous energy, but finishing second at the World Cup Finals was another huge goal this year. That is about as good as it gets.”

Behind Kershaw a battle for third place unfolded amongst a chase group of eight skiers that included teammate Alex Harvey, who started  in 9th, along with Roland Clara (ITA), Evgeniy Belov (RUS), Jean-Marc Gaillard (FRA), Niklas Dyrhaug (NOR), and Petr Sedov also of Russia, among others.

Clara and Belov attacked with 2km to go but couldn’t shake the group and it came down to a sprint at the line with Dyrhaug taking the bronze medal in the mini-tour. Harvey, who finished 6th overall, ended up skiing the second fastest leg on the day, just 10.4 seconds behind Sedov – that’s another podium for Canada.

Rookie Len Valjas, the surprise third-place finisher in yesterday’s 15km classic race, hung on for 14th place overall, finishing 2:06 behind Cologna. Other North American men racing today included Canada’s Kevin Sandau, who finished 37th (+5:43) and the lone American on the start line, Andy Newell, who finished in 32nd (+5:07).

Today’s race wrapped up the 2012 FIS World Cup season and Cologna was the clear overall World Cup winner with 2,216 points, followed by Kershaw in second with 1,466 (he was 8th last year), and Norway’s Petter Northug in 3rd with 1,199 – Kershaw was also second behind Cologna in the Distance overall. Harvey moved up from last year (10th) as well claiming 6th overall while Valjas finishes the season ranked 28th overall, but 12th in the sprint events.

Kershaw became the first Canadian male cross-country skier to finish second overall on the World Cup adding a silver lining to his historic, stellar season that culminated in Falun, Sweden.

“To be second in the overall is crazy awesome and I’m just so proud and happy of what we accomplished as an entire team,” added Kershaw. “I’m not sure how many skiers – cross-country or alpine – have ever been second overall in history. But it is not perfection. My dream is to have one Canadian male skier on the Olympic podium. I don’t care who it is. I just want it to happen.”

Canadian Head Coach, Justin Wadsworth, was thrilled with the team’s performance over the course of the season, and with the team’s having achieved almost all of the goals set back in the fall. “It feels amazing,” he told SkiTrax by phone, “The athletes work hard, the waxers work hard, the staff in the office work hard, and the coaches work hard – you don’t get that many things in life where you can really grasp and see your hand work paying off like is has for us. The whole team really buckled down and now we’re reaping the reward. It feels pretty damn good.”

15km FR Handicap results HERE.
Final Mini-Tour Overall HERE.
Final World Cup Overall HERE.

March 18, 2012 (Khanty-Mansiysk, RUS) – Canadian Zina Kocher ended her 2011-12 World Cup Season with a strong top-ten result in the 12.5km Mass Start event on Sunday finishing 9th place with 4 penalties as Darya Domracheva (BLR) scored a come-from-behind victory over Norway’s Tora Berger in 2nd and third place finisher Kaisa Mäkäräinen of Finland.

It was an emotional day for all skiers knowing this was the last hoorah of the season with legendary Magdalena Neuner hanging up her skis following an incredible career along with other top biathletes like Helena Ekholm from Sweden.

Neuner is the most successful woman of all time at the Biathlon World Championships and is a two-time Olympic gold medalist as well. This was her third overall WCup victory and she takes home the Sprint Globe as well – read more on Neuner here or on her official web site here.

Canada’s Kocher was pleased with her final race and her season as she caught up with SkiTrax. “I’m really happy with today. I felt great skiing today, better than yesterday and my skis were flying,” commented Kocher.  “The snow pack was better, hardened up and more my type of condition.”

Shooting is critical in the mass start event, and Kocher was fighting for a top-8 finish. Her prone sessions on the range started our well with zero misses, however, she suffered a setback with two penalties in the 1st standing round of shooting, “Those two misses in the first standing cost me,” she admitted.

The other North American in the field on Sunday was USA’s Susan Dunklee who finished her rookie World Cup season in 28th spot with a time of 43:10 suffering seven penalties.“I had been hoping to finish my last race on a more spectacular note, but I am proud to have given it my best effort,” Dunklee told SkiTrax. “My skiing felt strong and our wax tech wizards gave me some of the fastest skis in the field, but my shooting wasn’t there today.”

Today’s result for Dunklee was humbling and a reminder of just how challenging and difficult the sport of biathlon really is. But her spirits are high as she closes the season finishing 34th overall in the World Cup ranking. “I’ve achieved far more than I dared to dream and I’m going home happy.”

Kocher feels that this has been a great season – one of her most consistent. “I’ve never finished this high in overall world cup points (19th) and so I’m very satisfied.” This has been the Canadian’s best season since 2006-07, and although she did not achieve her goal of a podium finish this year, she was fighting for it every single race.

“My physical shape in skiing was awesome and I am confident I can improve once again for next season,”  she added. With today’s result, Kocher finishes the 2011-12 season 19th overall in World Cup points.

With the Mass Start victory by Domracheva she clinched her second crystal globe of the 2011-12 season, having locked up the Pursuit crystal globe earlier. “All I was thinking about on the last loop was another crystal globe,” said the talented Belarus biathlete in a biathlon.com interview. “I had one last year and two this year, which is progress for me. It was very good season.”

Domracheva finished 2nd overall in the WCup rankings with 1,188 points to Neuner’s 1,216 with Tora Berger in third overall.

Full results HERE.
Final WCup Overall HERE.

March 16, 2012 (Falun, Sweden) – It was Canada Day in Falun, Sweden, as Alex Harvey entered the record books nailing his first World Cup gold, while team mate Devon Kershaw grabbed third as he clinched second place overall, for a historic first-ever men’s WCup podium featuring two Canucks.

The feat was even more special for Alex, 23, as his father, the legendary Pierre Harvey, who won his first of three WCups in Falun in 1987, was on site to watch his son race and win in Europe for the first time.

“It’s really a special day for me – everything was perfect. Winning my first individual World Cup on the same course where my dad’s first win was in 1987 is a dream come true – and to share it with Devon on the podium you couldn’t ask for more,” said an ebullient Harvey post race. “We train together every day. We share rooms together on the road, and we are great friends. We are never satisfied and always want more. It is just really special.”

Kershaw was somewhat speechless at first recognizing the huge goals the team has achieved this season starting with his team mate’s first World Cup win. “We knew it was coming… I’m really happy for Alex. He’s only 23-years-old with a huge career ahead of him.

“For me to clinch second overall still hasn’t quite sunk in. Dario Cologna (SUI) has had a season like never before with 19 podiums, it’s never been done before and to be second behind him…I’m lost for words which is rare for me.”

The Canucks have been on fire this season now with 12 podiums rivaling 2006 when Beckie Scott and Sara Renner lead the team and lit up the Canadian sky with 17 podiums (15 WCups + two Olympic medals). Scott is the only other Canadian cross-country skier to finish in the top-three in the overall World Cup standings when she also finished second in 2006.

Then it was the women, now it’s the men a testimony to a strong and evolving Canadian program that is recognized world wide as an emerging powerhouse.

“The team has come together so well this season – this is as good as it gets,” said Head Coach Justin Wadsworth. “it’s so rewarding to see everyone pull together. When Devon and Alex had tough days recently Len [Valjas] came to the table with two medals and the women’s team have also won medals and are skiing hard.”

Pierre Harvey was basking in a father’s glory revisiting the site of his first World Cup victory and meeting old friends who have followed his son’s success.

“For sure it’s a proud feeling to see Alex win. We didn’t know and of course I’m here hoping for it but it’s like that every race no matter where he is,” Harvey Sr. explained. “Every weekend he’s racing we think maybe it’ll be this one. With so many guys wanting the same thing we know it’s not easy and you have to be patient… now it’s happened and I’m lucky to be here to share it with him and the team.

“The Canadian program has come a long way. Having two Olympics in Canada has helped bring money and strength to the sport with solid coaching and support. We’ve seen great things from the women Beckie, Sara, Chandra and now it’s the men’s turn – two Canadians on the same podium and Devon second overall is unbelievable. I always tell Alex he’s lucky to be on the team now with such a great program and talented team mates. They’re all fighters.”

The gold medal winner Harvey from St-Ferréol-les-Neiges, Que., was so pumped when he found out he won that he ran over and hugged his dad, “… and Devon who was also right there. The wax techs were all there and the whole team was so excited. It is so special.”

The gold was Harvey’s sixth medal in his career and the third this season – he won silver in the 15-kilometre classic-ski race at the Tour de Ski in January and bronze earlier this month in the WCup Skiathlon in Lahti, Finland.

In a recent interview with Trax Harvey talked about the ups and downs during the season. “I felt great before the 50km CL in Oslo but on race-day my legs were heavy, yet just the previous week I was third on the podium. It’s hard to know how you’ll be on race day so you just keep going and going for it.”

Today was clearly Harvey’s day. “I have had some great races this year, but also some real challenging one’s too,” said Harvey. “I always believed in myself and believed I could win.”

The 29-year-old Kershaw has earned two gold and three bronze medals for a remarkable season to date and unofficially has second-place locked up making him the most successful Canadian men’s cross-country skier in the history of the sport.

“Alex winning today just made this a magical day all-around for our whole team. To be second in the overall is hard for me to process right now with two races still to go,” added Kershaw. “But it’s a testimony to our great team and Justin and everyone who has believed in me.

“One day a Canadian will win the overall. Success breads success and another dream I’d like to see come true is a Canadian man standing on an Olympic  podium.”

Sochi is not for away…

Full results HERE.
Results detail HERE.
WCup Overall standings HERE.

March 16, 2012 (Falun, Sweden) – Team USA lead by Kikkan Randall tackled the Mördarbacken climb – or “murderbacken” as the athletes call it – in Falun, Sweden contesting the 2.5km FR Prologue with three Yanks in the top 15 as Randall claimed a personal best 7th, Jessie Diggins rocketed to a stellar 8th and Liz Stephen rocked in 13th.

Only Norway had more skiers in the top 15 lead by winner Marit Bjoergen as she tightens her grip on the overall World Cup crown over her closest rival Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) who could only mustre 4th on the day. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla measured up to claim 2nd and is now only 3 points behind Randall in the overall race, while Norway’s Marthe Kristoffersen took the bronze. Bjoergen hasn’t quite clinched the overall globe but the windows of opportunity for Kowalczyk are closing fast

“I didn’t feel so spunky in training yesterday or in the warm-up before the race,” Randall told Trax post-race. “But I was happy to have good energy during the race. I had good spring in my legs and felt like the power was there. Our techs really nailed the skis today!”

We asked Randall if the killer Morderbakken gets easier over time and here’s what she said – listen up…

“The Morderbakken is a tough hill but when you’re feeling good it’s actually pretty fun to ski.  The pitch changes several times on the way up and I especially like the steep pitch near the top. You’ve got to keep the tempo up and just dig down into the muscles and it’s a cool feeling when you can do it.”

It was signature Diggins back on form after being sick and rebuilding. The Afton, MN skier was 20th at the 1.2km mark and had a phenomenal second half to land 8th overall on her first ascent of the famous Mördarbacken climb.

“It felt really good. The skis were really fast. The hill is really hard to keep your tempo up it just kind of pitches up. I feel like maybe there were a few places where I could have tucked a little lower, or just not rocked back on my heels,” said Diggins. “But I feel like I gave it everything I had. It was really cool to try because I’ve always heard about the “murderbacken” [Mördarbacken] and how’s it’s the demon hill. So it was really cool to just be here and give it a try and race against such amazing people.”

Stephen showed us how much she loves steep on Alpe Cermis on the final stage at the Tour de Ski where she was 8th. Today was more vintage Stephen…”I was really psyched for today because this is a big hill and if any prologue course is going to be good for me, it’s one with a hill like this.

“I wanted to go out and go as hard as I possibly could. It’s one lap so you can’t blow up and if you do it’s like you’re going to go just as slow as if you didn’t blow up. I just wanted to go really hard and see if I could get a top-10 or top-15 today. Doing a few hill climbs this year has helped. I think I skied well. I felt good and I still have some energy in the tank for the next couple of days.”

Canada’s Daria Gaiazova from Banff got on the scoreboard as well leading the Canucks with a top-30 effort finishing 27th. Chandra Crawford, of Torino Olympic fame placed 45th while Alysson Marshall from Salmon Arm, B.C., finished 49th.

When asked if she was satisfied with her race Randall was quick with her answer. “I’m pumped with 7th place today, and especially all three of us American ladies in the top 13. I’m satisfied with my race, I had good feelings out there, so I know my shape is in a good place, and I fought hard when the effort got tough.  The times were super tight and it was fun to be in the top ten today.”

The challenge from Kalla just got hotter but Randall has a strong spent a lot of time training in Sweden and feels at home which helps as she has a strong following there as well.

“Charlotte is definitely making a strong effort and she seems to be feeding off the home crowd’s energy. So I have my work cut out for me!  I also feel pretty comfortable here in Sweden and feel like the crowd is really behind me too. The atmosphere on the course today was really fun. Lots of fans cheering loudly all the way up the hill.

Results HERE.
Results detail HERE.
WCup Overall standings HERE.

March 16, 2012 (Stockholm, Sweden) – This week on March 14 at the World Cup in Stockholm, Sweden, Canada’s Lenny Valjas turned heads yet again as he landed on the podium grabbing the bronze over top Norwegian sprinter, Ole Vigen Hattestad. A week earlier to the day in Drammen, Norway, the 6’6″ Valjas raised the bar claiming his first World Cup podium scoring silver against a star-studded field. These are heady times for the Team Hardwood skier and Peter Graves caught up with Valjas after Stockholm for an insider look at the young phenom who is gaining confidence and headlines.

Lenny Valjas Interview

March 16, 2012 (Toronto, ON) – Here are the standings for the SkiTrax Fantasy FIS Marathon Cup 2011/12 International Contest after the 42km FR Engadin Skimarathon, the penultimate race of the FIS Marathon Cup, held in Switzerland on March 11th. With one more race to go Team marko16 may hold on for the victory.

The top three positions remained unchanged as Team marko16 continues to lead with 743 points and a 25-point lead over bondin in second with 718 points while Team Sampo  sits in third with 693 points. The maximum number of points after the Engadin Skimarathon is 854 points. The final race in the series is the 54km Classic Birkebeinerrennet in Norway on March 17.

For the full contest standings after Engadin click HERE.

FIS Fantasy Marathon Cup Prizes

* 1st Prize – OneWay Premio 10 WCup Skis, Diamond Storm Premio 10 Poles, SNS Premio Pilot Bindings. (value $1,350)
* 2nd Prize – Nipika 4-nights for 2 people in luxurious cabin, including Trail Fees (value up to $1,160)
* 3rd Prize – Alpina ESK Ski Boots (value $449)
* 4th Prize –Halti XC Race Suit Hemmo Set (value $269)
* 5th Prize –  Fischer RCS QF poles  (value $225)
* 6th Prize – Cross Country Canada e-Store Gift Certificate (value $200)
* 7th Prize – Fresh Air Experience or High Peaks Cyclery Gift Certificate (value $150)
* 8th Prize – Rottefella Xcelerator Skate/Classic Bindings (value $120)
* 9th Prize – Auclair Micro Mountain Olympic Gloves + Earbags (value $65)
* 10th Prize – Buff Headware (value $40)

Thanks to all of our great sponsors, including One Way, Nipika, Alpina, Halti, Fischer, Cross Country Canada, Fresh Air Experience, High Peaks Cyclery, Rottefella, Auclair, and Buff.

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

March 16, 2012 (Khanty-Mansiysk, RUS) – North American biathletes, both men and women, had terrific results on Friday at the 7.5km/10km Sprint competition with multiple top ten finishes.  Leading the way in the men’s 10km race was the USA’s Tim Burke just off the podium in 4th with Canada’s Jean Philippe Leguellec in 8th. Following in the wake of his victories at the IBU Worlds in Rhupholding, Germany, was France’s Martin Fourcade adding another gold to his resume.

American Burke posted a time of 27:03.6 with one shooting penalty to finish 23 seconds behind the Frenchman. “I am very happy with my race today.  I felt that I was still in good shape after World Championships and I have always liked the tracks here in Russia,” Burke told SkiTrax.  “I think the course suits my strengths well with lots of gradual climbing and little recovery.”

In the women’s 7.5km Sprint Canadian Zina Kocher grabbed 9th while American Susan Dunklee was back on form in 10th place.  Gemany’s Magdalena Neuner rebounded after a lacklustre IBU Worlds to claim the victory in the women’s event.

Canadian Kocher, finished 1:02.4 behind Neuner with a time of 23:13.9, despite suffering two shooting penalties in standing. “I just felt awesome skiing today,” said Kocher. “I had so much to give and was able to really fight hard on the steep climbs here. I was relaxed but ready to go for the last sprint of the year.”

Women’s 7.5km Sprint results HERE.
Men’s 10km Sprint results HERE.

March 15, 2012 (Park City, Utah) – This week Peter Graves chats with the USA’s Sarah Hendrickson who made history in Olso, Norway, this past weekend at the famous Midstubakken hill, taking home the inaugural FIS Women’s Ski Jumping WCup Series title. Hendrickson, 17, topped the overall rankings with nine World Cup wins as she claimed the famed crystal globe.  The talented U.S. Women’s Ski Jumping Team also finished the season in No. 1 by more than 600 points over Germany and won the Globe team trophy.

More than a year ago in Oslo, women ski jumpers from around the world fought through nearly impossible conditions of thick fog and unpredictable wind at the 2011 World Ski Jumping Championships to prove to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that they belonged in the Olympic Winter Games. The women will jump at the Games for the first time in Sochi, Russia, in 2014 – read more here.

Sarah Hendrikson Interview

March 15, 2012 (Ottawa-Gatineau) – A large part of Canadian cross-country ski history was destroyed Saturday, March 10, when the forty-year-old Nakkertok Ski Club cabin, dubbed Ostromhus, by their north trails in Val-des-Monts was burned to the ground by trespassers. The rest of us can only offer condolences for the 1,400 members of the club who collectively have thousands of wonderful memories of the cabin.

As Sue Holloway, whose family helped build the hand-hewn building, commented, “What? Why would you do this? It just makes no sense and it’s just so pointless and so sad.” The cabin had a new woodstove and an upper loft so up to twelve people could sleep there. “It was a beautiful building. It was a favourite place to stay over on special occasions, birthdays, and that sort of thing,” Holloway said. “We have wonderful memories of it.”

Each log had been stripped by hand and there was a collection of antique skis that also went up in smoke. Empty beer bottles and ATV tracks were found at the cabin and the smaller cabin next door had been broken into and trashed. It too was surrounded by beer bottles and ATV tracks. Nakkertok’s classic north trails are more rugged than their super-popular south trails. They also extend to a point that connects with the south trails creating a 25km less-traveled path.

Everything about the north trails and cabin remind us of the earlier days of cross-country skiing, before skating, before technologies that replaced everything wooden with synthetics. Holloway’s family and the Weber family were two founding members of Nakkertok who built the club up member by member and log by log with respect to the cabin. Thea Holloway and Meg Weber were two skiing pioneers when few women would have been allowed to hold leadership positions in sport.

The north trails were on land bought by Thea and Meg for the benefit of others, and in keeping in that tradition, Nakkertok always held Thea’s Race in the first week of March to commemorate International Women’s Day. While the classic race was open to everyone, the funds it brought to the club were given to a local women’s organization that desperately needed financial help. You could almost feel Thea and Meg carting the cash off to women less fortunate than themselves. I raced the exciting course in 2009 and remember gathering outside of the cabin for the awards afterwards. Prizes were handcrafted and painted pottery medals. Beautiful.

When I compare the compassion, commitment and generosity of the Nakkertok club, not only as hosts of Thea’s race, but as one of the most important influences in cross-country skiing in Canada to the senseless destruction of their beloved cabin and memories, I shudder. Let us hope such disrespect and hatefulness never happens again.

March 15, 2012 (Toronto, ON) – We are pleased to announce the SkiTrax FIS Fantasy WCup 2011/12 Contest standings after the WCup in Olso, Norway where Canada’s Devon Kershaw moved into second place in the overall WCup rankings – read more HERE. 

Team JOlca2 continues to lead the contest standings with 1,633 points followed closely by Siggy’s Speedsters with 1,631 points. In third within striking distance is FxGo with 1,610 points. The maximum number of points after Olso is 1,712.

For the complete FIS WCup Fantasy Contest standings after Olso click HERE

The FIS WCup moved to Stockholm yesterday and we’ll have the standings shortly.

SkiTrax Fantasy FIS World Cup 2011/12 Contest Prizes
* 1st Prize – Fischer 11/12 Carbonlite Hole Skis, Xcelerator Bindings, Carbonlite Poles (value $1,100)
* 2nd Prize – SkiGo Carbon 780 Roller Skis (value $580)
* 3rd Prize – Alpina ESK Ski Boots (value $449)
* 4th Prize – Bjorn Daehlie Exclusive US XC Ski Suit (value $300)
* 5th Prize – Sporthill XC Pants/Tights and Glacier Top (value $220)
* 6th Prize – Fresh Air Experience or High Peaks Cyclery Gift Certificate (value $150)
* 7th Prize – Bliz Proflip Visor (value $129)
* 8th Prize – Rottefella Xcelerator Skate/Classic Bindings (value $120)
* 9th Prize – Concept2 Goodie Duffle Bag (value $100)
* 10th Prize – Auclair Micro Mountain Olympic Gloves + Earbags (value $65)
* WCup Break – Buff Headware (value $23) to top 3 contest leaders before the Tour de Ski

Thanks to all of our great sponsors, including Fischer, SkiGo, Alpina, Bjorn Daehlie Clothing, Sporthill, Fresh Air Experience, High Peaks Cyclery, Rottefella, Bliz, Concept 2, Auclair, and Buff.

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

March 14, 2012 (Stockholm, Sweden) – Len Valjas advanced Canada’s tally to 10 medals this season as the rising rookie star skied from fifth to third in the men’s final 1.0km sprint, passing Norwegian star Ole Vigen Hattestad, to claim the bronze in Stockholm on Wednesday for the second WCup medal of his young career.

“I’m still a little shocked because I didn’t expect this finish, but I am really happy,” said Valjas in a team release. The lanky skier at 6’6″ barely qualified placing 30th, but switched to wax skis for the heats and then rose to occasion. “I made a little mistake double poling in qualifying, but I was lucky to squeak into 30th. I had to dig deep, but it made it pretty fun to be able to move from 30th to the podium today.”

The sprint day belonged to Norway despite the presence of the Swedish king, as Eirik Brandsdal followed up his Drammen victory with the Stockholm WCup under his belt as well. Men’s Sprint Cup winner Teodor Peterson from Sweden could not contain his Norwegian rival settling for second.

Top Swedish sprinter Emil Joensson, who was leading his semi final but pulled out over the first climb with an injury speculated  to be an injured hamstring.

The USA’s Andrew Newell put in another fine classic showing and looked good to advance past his quarter final but was pipped by Alexey Poltoranin (KAZ) at the line. The Lucky Loser gods were smiling as Newell got to the semis where his day ended in 7th overall as he was outlunged at the line.

“Today was fun, I felt great so it would have been awesome to race the final but I just missed out with a lunge in the semi. During the qualification I felt a little sluggish, either because I was still feeling a little tired from the 50km or because I didn’t warm up enough,” Newell told SkiTrax. “I went on DP gear and made it in, but didn’t crush it.

“For the heats I switched over to classic skis and felt better and better each heat. In the semi I tried to relax and then really attack on the last hill which I was able to do and came up to second place in a hurry but just didn’t have enough track left to get in. It was a close lunge but not close enough. Either way it was a sweet last sprint. Stockholm is one of my favorite sprints. I’m still feeling good so I’m looking forward to the rest of the mini tour,” he added.

Canadian studs, Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey, were out early again similar to Drammen as both made the heats but failed to put it together to advance into the semis. Harvey ended up 14th while Kershaw was 19th and remains 2nd in the WCup overall standings.

“We knew Len was capable of these performances. He trains alongside Devon [Kershaw] and Alex [Harvey] every day so we know his speed is there,” said Justin Wadsworth, head coach, Canadian Cross-Country Ski Team via the team’s release. “Len is a very smart skier and knows where to make his move which is huge in sprint racing. It is amazing for sure to do this now, especially on courses in Scandinavia. It is pretty incredible.”

One Canadian fan quipped about Valjas’ sprinting prowess telling us it was as if Kershaw had been enlarged 150%. Valjas is certainly coming through and filling some big shoes on team.

“I think my size definitely helps with having a fast stride up the hills,” said Valjas, who also had a top-five finish in Finland earlier in the year. “This course was similar to Drammen which I really like. In each heat I was able to make my move up that final climb and it worked out. I had confidence from last week, and this definitely reassures me that I can do it [get on the podium].”

Qualifications HERE.
Final results HERE.
Sprint Cup final overall HERE.
World Cup overall standings HERE.

March 14, 2012 (Stockholm, Sweden) – Kikkan Randall was hoping to challenge for her first classic sprint podium at the final sprint of the season in Stockholm, around Sweden’s Royal Palace, but the 2012 Sprint Cup winner was knocked out in her semi and finished eighth overall as Norwegian star Marit Bjoergen laid down another top performance for the gold.

“I looked at today as another opportunity to have a good sprint result,” Randall confided to SkiTrax. “I am still chasing after a podium in classic sprinting and that is what I was shooting for today. It was helpful to have already wrapped up the sprint title leading into today just so that I could focus on my performance without the added pressure of the overall.  The other day in Drammen was much more emotional and I think Sunday when I get presented the globe will be as well!”

Joining Bjoergen on podium was Russia’s Julia Ivanova who skied a spirited final challenging Bjoergen, while Maiken Caspersen Falla gave the Norges the final spot as Sweden’s top sprinters were shut out – Charlotte Kalla was 4th, Ida Ingemarsdotter was 10th, Hanna Brodin finished 17th, and Anna Haag was 29th.

Randall, ever the optimist, put things in perpective given her stellar season as she also sits fourth in the World Cup overall standings with two skate races and one classic race left on the calendar.

“My first impressions of my day were disappointment for not making the final. Yet when I take a step back, 8th today is a new personal best for the Stockholm sprint and especially considering that there were a couple years when I didn’t even make the top 30 here, it’s still a step in the right direction,” Randall continued.

“I’ve been spoiled by podiums and final appearances in classic this season and now that is what I want every race. I’ve come a long way this season but I still need to be patient.”

Pundits were expecting a slug-out match-up between Bjoergen and Justyna Kowalczyk but the Polish superstar took a spill in the final round and could not catch on again. Bjoergen has all but sealed up the overall title with only three races to go – the points are there for the taking and the ball is in Kowalczyk’s court.

Kalla made some headway in her chase to catch Randall in 4th in the overall WCup standings but the American is still bullish on her chances to hold her own and keep Kalla at bay.

“Yeah, she’s putting up one heck of a fight! My strategy for the freestyle Prologue on Friday is to just go for it. I’m excited that it’s a skate Prologue this year after two previous years of classic as I think skating suits me better on these courses. I want to go into these final three races ready to ski aggressively and use up whatever is left in the tank,” added Randall.

Meanwhile the Canadians qualified three skiers as Chandra Crawford and Daria Gaiazova continue to impress with their classic skiing. They were joined by fellow Canuck Alyson Marshall, who had a breakthrough sprint, making the heats for a personal best qualifying in 29th.

“I am really happy that I finally made it into the top-30! We had great skis. I got a cold on the weekend and didn’t do any training on Monday or Tuesday so I wasn’t sure how my body was going to respond in the sprint,” Marshall told SkiTrax. “Luckily it was a short course and I was able to keep my speed up in the qualifier. I died in on the last hill in my quarter-final but it was still fun to race against some fast girls. Stockholm was amazing, it was fun to race in front of the Palace and I really like the city.

Gaiazova drew a very tough heat against Bjoergen and Kowalczyk and was eliminated finishing 12th overall as Marshall was also dispatched in her 1/4 final. But Crawford showed good form and smarts advancing to the semis but the final was out of reach this time as she finished in 12th.

As the day ended and the teams made their way to Falun for the final three races the final sprint was somewhat anti-climactic for Randall as she shared her final thoughts on the day with Canada’s Len Valjas adding another podium for the North Americans in the men’s sprint…

“I haven’t actually received the globe today, the official presentation will be on Sunday after the final race.  So today was a little anticlimactic.

“The decision to stay in Europe for the full winter has paid off for sure. Since Alaska is so far away, it just didn’t make sense for me to go home. A few of the Canadians went home for short breaks, and that seems to have worked well for them.  So we’ll just have to see depending on what the big goals are in the future.

“I’m just honored to be among such fine company! It really makes race days fun when there are multiple performances to celebrate and seeing the other North Americans race well continues to inspire me to be even better.”

Qualifications HERE.
Final results HERE.
Sprint Cup final overall HERE.
World Cup overall standings HERE.

March 10, 2012 (Midway, UT) – Here are the full results and a selection of photos from the 3x3km Freestyle Relays on the final day of racing, at the 2012 US Junior XC Ski Nationals at Soldier Hollow in Utah courtesy of Gunther Kern – plus two great videos courtesy of Bill Harmeyer.

MJ2 Relay 2012 Soldier Hollow 2012 from Bill Harmeyer on Vimeo.

FJ2 Relay 2012 Soldier Hollow UT from Bill Harmeyer on Vimeo.

Full results HERE.

March 12, 2012 (Oslo, Norway) – Following the men’s 50km Classic WCup in Oslo on Sunday won by Norwegian classic specialist, Eldar Roenning, in a thrilling sprint against WCup leader Dario Cologna (SUI) we caught up with Canada’s Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey and Canadian Head Coach Justin Wadworth. Kershaw finished 10th, considered a stellar result some years ago, but now, “… I’m not super happy with” said Kershaw, as the Canadians are getting more used to being on the podium.

Meanwhile Kershaw earned enough points to surge past Norwegian stud, Petter Northug, into second in the overall standings. Kershaw had two key goals this season – to finish on the final podium at the Tour de Ski (he was 4th overall), and on the final WCup overall podium. With only four WCup races to go Kershaw’s poised to make good on his second goal…

Oslo Alex

Oslo Justin

Oslo Devon

March 12, 2012 (Switzerland) – Winter was back during the 44th edition of the Engadin Skimarathon! After the warm temperatures last week, and even +7 degrees in Oslo (NOR) during the 50km classic race this weekend on the famous Holmenkollen, the -6°C at the start on the lake in Maloja (1820m) felt pretty chilly. After cold nights and some fresh snow on Monday, the conditions for this 44th edition of the Engadin Skimarathon were perfect. The lakes had at least 40cm of ice on which a wide track was perfectly groomed for the more than 10.000 starters.

Having passed the first sprint in St.Moritz, the field settled in and soon a group of 30 to 50 racers became the leading pack. At La Punt, it was the French Louis Deschamps who tried to break away but was caught only some kilometres away from the finish. He had to pay for his attack and finished 33rd in the end.

Even though the record time of 1h24min was not reached, this year’s race was pretty fast. After 1h31min21sec, the winner was crowned! However, it was a close match between Roman Furger (SUI), who finally had some centimetres advantage, and his colleague and local hero Curdin Perl (SUI). Third became Cristian Zorzi from Italy, who could climb on the podium for the first time this season.

Not long after the men did the first women come into the finish. Leading already several times during the race but having been interrupted by a broken pole, Anouk Faivre-Picon (FRA) could finally make her move and finish first in front of the two Swiss girls Seraina Boner from Davos and Natascia Leonardi Cortesi.

Perfect sunshine followed the racers the 42km from Maloja to S-chanf. Only after the first were in the finish, the clouds came in, however leaving always some wholes for the sun to shine on the racers who were still on the track.

Stanislav Rezac (CZE) – men’s overall FIS Marathon Cup leader with 405 points
Stephanie Santer (ITA) – new leader of the women’s field!

Stanislav Rezac (CZE) is still leading the overall FIS Marathon Cup with 405 points in front of Joergen Aukland (NOR, 282 points) and Jimmie Johnsson (SWE, 275 points). On the women’s side, there’s once again a change in the lead: After today’s Engadin Skimarathon, it’s now again Stephanie Santer (ITA) who leads the overall FIS Marathon Cup ranking with 431 points in front of Susanne Nyström (SWE, 410 points) and Seraina Boner (SUI, 385 points). A fourth place today was enough for Santer to take over the lead in the overall FIS Marathon Cup.

The next and last FIS Marathon Cup race will be the Birkebeinerrennet (NOR), 54km classic technique, on March 17.

For the results of the elite athletes visit HERE.
Full results will be put online as soon as possible HERE.

The statements of the best three:

Roman Furger (SUI):
It’s unbelievable! I still haven’t realised it! I really won the Engadin Skimarathon!! It’s a dream since I was a child as the Engadin Skimarathon is THE race for a Suisse to win, that’s for sure! From St.Moritz on I even didn’t feel very well and I had heavy legs. So I just stayed behind some guys and tried to recover. That worked pretty well and since I was still in the leading group I thought I will then also have to push as there might be a good place for me still. But I never thought that I could win!!! The way to the finish was very long…and hard since the wind blew pretty heavy. Curdin fought pretty hard, too and I was just lucky to get my binding over the finish line first. Well, I am just so happy!!

Curdin Perl (SUI):
I didn’t feel well at all at the start. I abandoned the 50km classic at Holmenkollen yesterday because I just couldn’t go any further. After the long trip here, I would not have put 5 Euros on me and a podium place today!!! But somehow I felt better and better during the race, however, my head was still not sure about the whole thing. Only in the stadium I thought that a podium was maybe possible. . The Engadin Skimarathon is always a very special race. If you ski thoughtfully, you can save a lot of energy and might be able to finish on a very nice spot! As my season didn’t go as planned, I am happy to finish it now on a good note!

Cristian Zorzi (ITA):
I am very happy and satisfied! To be back on the podium is great! It’s the first one for me this season, so it feels very good!! We were a large group until the end and I didn’t think that I would be able to make it to the podium but suddenly I found myself just behind the two Swiss guys and here we go…I was third!

Anouk Faivre-Picon (FRA):
I am soooo happy!! For sure, I came here to win – if you start somewhere not wanting to win, there is something wrong. But you cannot plan a victory! I broke a pole just after the first big lake but luckily I got a new one straight away as I was on the side of the pack. This victory was surely very important for me and will definitely stay in my memories for ever! I really like skating races and the Engadin Skimarathon is a special race with a special race track. When I saw the track yesterday when driving by by car, it looked so long, but today, I was in St.Moritz before I even realised it. The hard bit came around 5km before the finish when the other girls were suddenly pretty close and I had to push really hard! But the
victory pays for all efforts!!!

Seraina Boner (SUI):
The speed of the race was not very high during most of the race, therefore we girls were in a huge group with a lot of men and you had to be focused all the time. You had no time to relax as you had the react immediately when a racer before you did a move you did not expect. Before the finish we were five girls, but with all the men around, a real finish sprint was very difficult. Therefore I am happy about my second place. I was pretty tired at the beginning of the week as the Vasaloppet was pretty exhausting, but now I felt good again and ready to attack. I am now looking forward to the Birkebeinerrennet next week.

Natascia Leonardi Cortesi (SUI):
I am very happy with my third place. Sure, when you have won the Engadin Skimarathon already, you want to win it again, but one race is never as the other and so I am very satisfied. It was hard as with the wind, the whole group stayed together and with all the men around, it was sometimes not easy to race. I fought hard on the last metres and was lucky to win the photo finish against Stephanie Santer!

Pictures from the race on facebook

More information on the race:
– Engadin Skimarathon: HERE
– Next & last FIS Marathon Cup: March 17 – Birkebeinerrennet (NOR), 54km classic technique

March 11, 2012 (Oslo, Norway) – There was no stopping Marit Bjoergen (NOR) in the famed Holmenkollen on Sunday as the Norwegian superstar put on a show for the fans and the King taking the gold in women’s 30km CL in convincing style while clinching the overall distance crown as well.

Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) was no match for Bjoergen, who strengthened her grip on the overall WCup title, and came dangerously close to being overtaken by Norway’s Therese Johaug but the Polish star prevailed at the line taking the silver and Johaug the bronze.

The USA’s Kikkan Randall was as high as 12th but struggled near the end still managing a strong finish in 21st and holds on to 4th overall (1,163 pts) as Charlotte Kalla (1,136 pts) placed 9th to gain some ground on the American star. Not far behind Randall was Liz Stephen with a solid 24th place finish followed by Sadie Bjornsen in 40th, Jessie Diggins in 45th and Ida Sargent in 51st.

All skiers took advantage of the opportunity to exchange skis with Japan’s Masako Ishida, who finished a stellar 5th on the day, one of the lone racers to make a switch after the short 5k-loop at the start. Conditions and the length of the race made for a challenging day for all techinicians.

Not surprising Bjoergen, Kowalczyk and Johaug dropped the rest of the field in short order and by the 10km mark it was Johaug’s turn to get dropped. Kowalczyk took the first two preems with Bjoergen just behind in second, but the Norwegian returned the favour, and then some, in the second half.

At the 15.5km mark Bjoergen attacked and built a 20-sec advantage over a labouring Kowalczyk, that she would not relinquish, with Johaug another 25s behind. As Bjoergen extended her lead thru the second half an emboldended Johaug tightened the gap on Kowalczyk making it a race for second.

Behind the shattered field did it’s best to put on a race face with Kristin Stoermer Steira duking it out with Ishida for fourth. Randall marked Kalla trying to contain her in vain as the rest of the field battled to keep pace.

But Bjoergen was untouchable today soloing in for the win. A feisty Johaug caught and passed Kowalczyk who countered to regain the lead only this time she was determined not to let Johaug out-manoeuvre her again. Still it came down to the final sprint as Johaug gave it her all before settling for third.

Post race we caught up with Randall, Stephen, Bjornsen and Diggins to get their take on one of the toughest days at the office they’ll ever spend…

Kikkan Randall (USA) 21st
Definitely feeling a little tired and achy after the tough effort today, but also satisfied. I was aiming for the top 15 today and was skiing right in there through about 23km, but began to struggle after my last ski exchange from the combination of some heavy cramping in my arms and a little slicker skis. It was frustrating because I could feel that the energy reserves where still there, but I couldn’t seem to kick my skis well enough to stay with the group up to 12th place.

I went out more aggressively in this race.  The pace was really fast out of the start but I pushed myself to try to stay closer to the top 10 over the first half than I did in the 30km here last year.  I think it paid off because I was skiing in a strong group for most of the race. The main difference today was that I couldn’t finish the race technically well enough to keep my position.  Last year, although I had cramping on the last lap, I was able to dig down and use all I had.

My classic has definitely been improving this year, but today felt like a step backward. Soft slushy conditions have typically been a challenge for me, and I definitely struggled in the conditions today. There were some good sections out there and I felt like my double-pole was stronger. But slushy striding, especially at the end of the race, still needs some work!! Something I will be working on this summer on the glacier.

Conditions were better for us today than the guys had yesterday.  It did get quite warm and some sections were quite slow, but the skiing  was relatively good and consistent through the race.

My skis were great at the beginning and really good when I made a ski exchange at 13km.  The 2nd time around the 8km lap my skis were kicking effortlessly and fast on the downhills.  When I switched back to my original pair for the final lap, they were a little slicker.

The ski exchanges do add an exciting element to the race!

30km is a huge mental game and one I’m still figuring out.  With the pace so fast at the beginning, I really had to focus on pushing myself to stay in a quick rhythm. In the end, when everything is feeling so tired, the key is convincing yourself to dig in and find a little bit more.  I just try to stay focused on the trail right ahead of me and not let my mind wander too much.

Liz Stephen (USA) 24th
I have been feeling pretty tired this week leading up to the race, so I was really happy with the result from today.  My goal was to have as good a race as I could have with the body feeling the way it did.

I had the best start I have ever had in a World Cup! It was awesome! I was in a great position off the line and decided that, though the pace felt like a 5km pace I had to hang as long as possible. It is crazy how quickly the gaps open up in the front. I always wonder how the pack gets away so quickly in the beginning and the start is very easy place to pick up or give away 30 seconds. It was really fun to be on the front end of those 30 seconds this time.

Kikkan and I were skiing together for the first 15km or so, and then I lost the pack on the downhill from the top of the course and couldn’t catch back up.  It was really fun to ski with Kik though for a bit. It is just really comforting to have a teammate there to ski with, just because we do so much training together and know each other so well, it’s really nice to get to ski together in a race.

The first lap was pretty fast, but as the sun hit for longer and longer the tracks got super slushy and really slow.  The boys had a real deal happen to them yesterday. Wow. It is a long way to go when the conditions are so slow.

Skiing at the Holmenkollen is awesome!  There are tons of fans, cheering and excitement.  It is definitely the coolest World Cup to experience.  The only thing that beats the atmosphere of the WCup at the Holmenkollen is the World Champs here last year.

Sadie Bjornsen (USA) 40th
Today was most definitely the hardest thing I have ever taken part in. The tracks were so warm, and a the girls went out at my 10km race pace. At 5km I got a bit panicked, already feeling the burn big time and knowing I had a long way to go. Eventually I got outside of my head though and just worked away.

I managed to ski all the way through 23km in and around the 32-34th range. I was feeling strong, and had the feeling I was going to be able to hold it together for another 8km. Then I switched my skis, and they happened to be a pair that was much too soft in the slush fest out there… so I dropped back a few places that last lap. I was a bit bummed because I had the feeling I could catch up to the pack in front of me and keep moving forward.

Regardless, it was so much fun – I’m so happy I got to do it. I think that is quite possibly the hardest 30km you could take part in. An incredible opening pace, super hilly course, and the slowest conditions and sooo hot out there!! But the crowd and atmosphere was incredible. It seriously kept me going!!

The techs were great, the boys giving us feeds were great, and the many Norwegians chanting my name. What a day!!

Let’s just say it was a nice note to end on. I think my 30km has some work, but I have never been one for this event, in fact it was my second 30km ever, so it will be fun to work on improving it. I think this year’s World Cup season for me was one big learning experience, and I am so happy I spent the time over here working through those rough and good times.

From here I head to Toblach for the OPA Finals for one more series of races. Then to Vermont, and then home!! Haven’t slept in my bed for five months, so that is going to be nice!!

Jessie Diggins (USA) 45th
My body wasn’t feeling it today and although I tried to do a good job fueling up beforehand my muscles just didn’t have enough in them today.

The 30km in the Holmenkollen was a lot different than at the US Champs in Sun Valley as this course was much, much harder altho’ it wasn’t at altitude. Comparing this to the 2011 Worlds, I didn’t race the 30km there, so I can only compare it to the 15km and sprint, but it was pretty similar.

My goals for this race were just to go out and try to have some fun – it’s the end of the season, and you can’t really change anything except race it out with what you’ve got left. I was able to test skis without stressing about the challenging kick conditions, so I was happy with it.

The conditions got really slow and slushy, and on the steeper hills the tracks got wiped out by all of the herringbone. I fell three times on the downhill corners after getting a tip hooked in the slush! I made the mistake of not switching skis again before the last lap since the pair I was on was kicking ok, but dirt was coming up through the snow and the skis really slowed down so I lost a couple places on the downhills.

The coaches were doing a good job prepping the skis and using the feedback we’d give during the race, but it was hard to make a call when I knew the pair I was on were kicking ok. But now I’ve learned more about switching skis in a 30km and how to pace, since this was only my second 30km ever!

The atmosphere here was simply amazing; there were so many fans, and they knew my name and would be chanting it and “USA, ALL THE WAY” up all the hard climbs, which helped a lot for sure. It wouldn’t have been as much fun without such amazing crowds! And of course having my friends and teammates out cheering and giving feeds was also great, it really made a difference.

Full results HERE.
Full results detail HERE.
WCup Overall Standings HERE.

March 11, 2012 (Ruhpolding, GER) – The low hanging clouds and light rain did not to hamper Tora Berger’s performance, as the Norwegian skied a near perfect race to claim her 2nd individual gold medal and 4th medal of the IBU World Championships in a time of 35:41 with one shooting penalty – she won medals in both Relays, gold (mixed) and bronze (women’s).

The talented Berger finished eight seconds ahead of the silver medalist, Marie Laure Brunet of France, and 13 seconds ahead of the 2011 overall WCupwinner, Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen.  Like Berger, both Brunet and Mäkäräinen suffered one shooting penalty.

Two North American women qualified for the women’s Mass Start on Sunday. American Susan Dunklee, coming off her stellar 15km Individual result, finished her championships placing a strong 16th with only one penalty as well, at 1:28 behind Berger. Top Canadian Zina Kocher became the first Canuck to contest an IBU World Championship mass start but had a tougher time on the range with four penalties placing 23rd at 2:30 off the pace.

“I felt more tired today and was not skiing as smoothly and snappy as I had earlier in the week,” Kocher told SkiTrax. “The weather and soft snow made it feel even more of a slog out there.

“Shooting was very important today due to the conditions. It was a day that needed a 90% shooting for a top result because it was a perfectly calm day. I lost the main pack after the one miss in the first prone, and this cost me a few places,” she added.

While there is room for improvement, Kocher is satisfied with her results as, “…these World Championships have been my best ever in terms of consistency and placing in the top 26 every race (18th, 26th, 26th and 23rd). And it’s the first time I’ve ever made a World Championship mass start – a first for a Canadian woman.”

World Cup leader Magdalena Neuner (GER) had a surprisingly poor day with six penalties ending up 10th while Darya Domracheva (BLR) also shot poorly suffering five penalties but regrouped to finish 5th overall.

Berger lead the race early as she was among the top 11 skiers who left the stadium after going through the first round of shooting clean, and she continued to push the pace despite the challenging conditions. With the air temperature a plus 4 degrees Celsius and the light rain, the track was very difficult due to the rain. Some spots were very soft while others were hard and almost icy, making it tricky to balance and transfer weight.

Coming into the final shooting round it was Mäkäräinen and Brunet at the front, but they both faltered with one shooting penalty while Berger went through clean and started the final loop in front, with Mäkäräinen and Brunet close behind.

“I was sure that I was second but found out quickly as I left the shooting range that I was first,” Berger said in a biathlonworld.com interview.  “On the last loop, I had no plan, I was very tired today and just tried to do my best. I knew I had to fight on that last loop.” Berger sits third in the overall standings.

As the 2012 IBU World Championships came to a close, athletes will soon begin their preparation to compete in the final World Cup of the season starting on March 13th in Khanty-Mansiysk, RUS.

Full results HERE.

March 11, 2012 (Ruhpolding, GER) – France’s Martin Fourcade roared back from two mid-race shooting penalties to capture his third gold medal of the 2012 IBU World Championships in the Men’s 15km Mass Start event on Sunday. Fourcade finished a mere three seconds ahead of Sweden’s Bjorn Ferry and Fredrik Lindstrom. Ferry shot clean to capture the silver while Lindstrom missed two targets on his way to the bronze.

Above zero temperatures and a light rain made for challenging racing conditions and a conservative approach to shooting was taken by the lead group, as 13 men lead by Fourcade exited the shooting range together for the second loop.  In each of the second and third rounds of shooting, Fourcade suffered a penalty, and he had to use his fast skis to make up the difference. In the final round, he shot clean and closed the gap to the leaders, as six men left the final round of shooting within six seconds of each other, to set up an exciting finish.

As the finishline approached for the finale, it was Ferry and Fourcade duking it out for the gold. With 1,100m to go Fourcade attacked with the surge to create the gap he needed to seal the deal for his third gold medal of the championships.

Only two North American’s qualified for Sunday’s Mass Start, both from US Biathlon, but it was not their day as Tim Burke finished 23rd at 1:42 back with four penalties, while his teammate, Lowell Bailey placed 25th at 1:52 back suffering five penalties.

“The Mass Start was not such a good race for me. I started off with two penalties in the first shooting so I was pretty much out of the race from that point. I was able to climb up a few spots in the last few laps but overall I was not so happy with my 23rd place,” Burke told SkiTrax.

“Overall these championships were a little disappointing for me. I was happy with my 10th place in the sprint, but other than that I was not satisfied with the results. I knew coming into these Championships that it would be tough for me here because Ruhpolding is by far my least favorite course on the World Cup.

“But in the end, it was my shooting that held me back. Now I am looking forward to Russia and the last few races of the season. I really like the tracks in Russia and I feel that I am still in good shape so I am hopeful that I can end the season on a high note this week.”

In a biathlonworld.com interview, Fourcade spoke about  how he knew what he wanted from Sunday’s race. “I went hard from the start today and never slowed down. My only goal was to win…I was a bit stronger than Bjorn on the last uphill and that was the only difference.”

“This was more than I expected in my life. It is wonderful, I know that my performance in the World Championships is a very big thing; not many sportsmen will ever do this. It was wonderful to compete in front of all of these fans this week,” said Fourcade in a post-race interview. “I think we will have to wait for another World Championships like this one.”

Full results HERE.

March 11, 2012 (Oslo, Norway) – Holmenkollen fans were treated to a thrilling finish in the men’s 50km Classic on Saturday as Norwegian classic specialist, Eldar Roenning, delivered them hard-fought crowning victory as he bested WCup leader Dario Cologna (SUI) at the line for the win and an audience with King Harald. Adding luster to the Holmenkollen race was Martin Johnsrud Sundby finishing third giving Norway to spots on the final podium.

For Canadian fans it was a monumental day as talented Devon Kershaw finished tenth on the day earning enough points to surpass Petter Northug and move into second overall in the World Cup standings behind Cologna.

“I’m a little tired for sure but no so bad after 50km in the slop. I’m a bit disappointed with 10th as I was going for a podium but I cramped up at the end and couldn’t transfer any power to my skis – a lot can happen when you’re skiing hard for 2.5hr.

“It’s hard to complain with 10th overall. I was able to pick up a couple of preems near the end as they came easy so I went for them,” he continued.

His team mate Alex Harvey was further back in 29th but it wasn’t the Quebec skiers day as he struggled for most of the race and fell of the pace near the end.

“It was tough out there. I was fighting the whole way. It’s strange because I felt good leading up to the 50km and was looking forward to it – the skis were good but the body wasn’t there today,” Harvey told Trax in a phone interview.

“The pace was slow so I was able to hang in for most of the race but near the end it was harder. It’s always great to race at the Holmenkollen with lots of great memories racing here and of course I thought about my dad’s win here years but today it wasn’t happening for me.”

As Harvey explained about 35 skiers were together at the front for most of the race as any attempts to escape, like Norway’s Petter Eliassen which gave local fans reason to cheer, were soon run down.

One of the skiers in that mix was American Kris Freeman who had a strong race, in the teens for a good portion of the race, just slipping back a bit near the end in a photo finish with Swedish star, Anders Soedergren, to place 22nd on the day.

Freeman has had a noticeable much better second half to his season and was reasonably pleased with his day at the office.

“The race felt good today. I felt comfortable with the pace but I was still working hard the whole way. I put everything I had into the last few K’s but it wasn’t enough to stay with the leaders. I ended up twenty four seconds back,” Freeman told Trax.

“Given how my season has gone it was a solid effort. I’m happy to end on a satisfactory note.  As always Holmenkollen is really loud. It makes it hard to hear your coaches but the fans here have a one-of-a-kind enthusiasm.”
Freeman’s team mate Noah Hoffman was near the front as well at times and sat 10th overall at the 36.6km mark but couldn’t keep pace when things heated up and finished 39th overall.

“Today was a really hard race. The conditions were very slow. It was incredibly warm and a really painful race. I learned a lot and am happy with the way I skied, for the most part. My goal was to be aggressive. I think I accomplished that, however I need to be able to finish the race, not ski a good 40km,” wrote the Hoff by email.

“It was fun to be mixing it up with the best skiers in the world. I am looking forward to the remaining races this year and especially being back on the World Cup next season. My skis were good today, especially my “B” pair. I believe they were one of the best skis in the race. Holmenkollen is an incredible venue. The fans are amazing. It is one of my favorite places in the world to race.”

Other North Americans racing included Canada’s Ivan Babikov who abandoned early and according to Canadian Head Coach Justin Wadsworth…”He felt like he had a piano on his back.” Lenny Valjas grabbed some early preem points and then also left the race as planned while NorAm star Kevin Sandau in 47th.

Racing for the USA was sprint star Andy Newell who continues to up his distance game placing 46th, Sylvan Ellefson was 54th, and Michael Sinnott was 60th.

The WCup countdown begins with the Stockholm sprints on March 14 followed by the final three races in Falun this coming weekend. The word is 50-50 that Northug will show but one skier isn’t buying it.

“He’ll be there,” said Kershaw.

Check back for audio interviews with Kershaw, Harvey and Wadsworth later today.

Full results HERE.
Full results detail HERE.
WCup Overall Standings HERE.

March 10, 2012 (Oslo, Norway) – The USA’s Bryan Fletcher from Steamboat Springs, CO capped a breakout season with a career-first victory in the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup season finale at Holmenkollen in Oslo.

“This is a dream come true. To win in Holmenkollen is every Nordic combined athlete’s dream. To have it be my first makes it even better. After having such a great season and for this to be the stamp to it is amazing,” said Fletcher, “Just going into today I was thinking that the only goal I didn’t accomplish this season was a podium. I spoke too soon! This is unbelievable.”

The Holmenkollen Ski Festival Nordic Combined World Cup is considered the most prestigious in the sport – the Super Bowl of Nordic combined also known as the King’s Cup.

He is the fourth American to win the King’s Cup (Billy Demong 2009, Kerry Lynch 1983, John Bower 1968). Fletcher also became the fifth American to win a Nordic Combined World Cup (Billy Demong, Johnny Spillane, Todd Lodwick, Kerry Lynch).

“I gave it all I had and left it all out on the course. The race was brutal. The first couple of laps I was trying to stay controlled and by the third lap I was hurting really bad and I was hoping I could hang on to it for the fourth lap,” explained Fletcher. “When I got halfway through the fourth lap and started to realize there was a possibility of being on the podium, there was even more motivation to make it a win.

“I went out after the jumping knowing I could be on the podium with a good race. I also knew with a really good race I could win and Bill (Demong) kind of encouraged me. He said, ‘Go out and just put your head down and go.’ He said the first win he ever received was after a fourth-place finish just recently so I kind of went with the same thing and put my head down and went. The motivation of winning in Holmenkollen, Oslo was enough and I was able to hang on.”

Fletcher, whose previous best came last month when he was fourth in Liberec (CZE), jumped to third and skied a strong and strategic cross-country race to take a 2.3-second win over Norway’s Mikko Kokslien.

Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) was fourth today as France’s Jason Lamy Chappuis held on to take the season title after a tough fight with Japan’s Akito Watabe. Fletcher’s win was the first for the USA since Demong at Val di Fiemme in January, 2010, and came at the Super Bowl of his sport.

“I was born and raised in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. I grew up there jumping and  sking just starting out as a hobby. I am a cancer survivor so for me Nordic combined was a thing to keep my mind off the chemo treatments when I was young,” added Fletcher. “I fell in love with it and have been doing it ever since and I don’t think I would change a thing about it.

“I really want to thank all of the supporters along the way. I have to thank Billy [Demong], Johnny [Spillane] and all my teammates for showing me the way, too. Because without them it would be impossible to get to where they’ve been.”

Bryan Fletcher Interview

Full results HERE.

March 10, 2012 (Midway, UT) – More champions were crowed as the classic stars strutted their stuff on Day 3 at the 2012 US Junior XC Ski Nationals at Soldier Hollow, where top junior skiers in the country battled the 5/10km CL races. Check out these photos plus a brief video of the J2 Girls 5km classic individual start finishwhere Julia Kern (CSU) tied for first place with APU’s Lydia Blanchet – full results HERE.

March 09, 2012 (Bozeman, Mont.) – Junior Miles Havlick claimed his first career national title in the men’s 20km classical race to help the University of Utah ski team maintain second place in the team standings after the third day of the NCAA Championships at the Bohart Ranch.

“Today was incredible. It was like a dream,” Havlick said. “Conditions were perfect. The sun was shining and my skis could not have been better. Huge thanks to Kevin [Sweeney] and Abi [Holt] for their hard work this week. This team has been unbelievable this season. Huge thanks to everyone for making it up to Bozeman and supporting us. It’s been an amazing week and season.”

Havlick earned his first career national title by 1.5 seconds over Montana State’s David Norris with UVM’s Franz Bernstein taking the final podium spot 15s later. This was Havlick’s second win of the season and the sixth of his career and he is now a five-time All-American. The Boulder, Colo., native has finished third or better 11 times this season and 19 times over her career.

“It feels amazing,” Havlick said. “It’s been a goal of mine for a long time.  I’m super psyched it happened today.  David [Norris] and I have been going back and forth all year and I went down at the end of the second lap and tried to work my way back up, stay relaxed and not freak out.  David had a great race, he had a little gap, I knew I had to get up to him.  I caught him with about 2km to go, we worked together until the sprint at the end and I was able to get it.”

“It was great out there today,” Norris continued. “The course is amazing and everything was really smooth, I skied how I wanted to.  With all my friends here and people traveling here, it’s fun having everybody cheer for you.  I tried to hammer up the big hill to see if I could pull away, but Miles hung on.  I knew if I was hurting, he was hurting.  I tried to get away but he hung on and then won the sprint.”

Both pulled away from Vermont’s  Bernstein, who rounded out the podium in a time of 56:40.8 while Dartmouth’s Eric Packer (57.05.2) beat both Middlebury’s Patrick Johnson (57:07.1) and Utah’s Didrik Smith (57:07.5) in a sprint.  Johnson and Packer earn first-team All-America with Smith earning second-team honors.

The west dominated the second team honors garnering four of the five.  After Smith, Colorado’s Rune Oedegaard took seventh in a time of 57:32.3, edging out Denver’s Andrew Dougherty (57:34.3) while Dartmouth’s Sam Tarling took ninth in 57:41.8 and Sjur Prestseater 10th in 58:00.4.

The Utes have scored 522 points in the meet and maintain their second-place position by 12 points over Dartmouth. Vermont is in first place heading into the final day with 614 points through three events, 98 points ahead of Utah.

Women’s Race

The women’s 15km classic was much more dramatic as Vermont’s Amy Glen duked it out with Dartmouth’s Sophie Caldwell. The two were neck and neck all the way to a photo finish that determined Glen as the race victor. The two colleges claimed the historic feat of securing the top six spots in a championship Nordic race between only two schools for the first time ever.

It was Glen’s second photo finish of the season as she was the runner-up behind teammate Lucy Garrec at the Dartmouth Carnival in similar fashion. But in this instance she was declared the winner by a margin of less than two inches in distance or the blink of an eye in time, for the first collegiate race victory of her career.

She attributed her success to more than just skill, hard work, and good equipment, “I got lucky, I guess. [This title] stands for my team. We definitely feed off each other, and it’s been awesome.” Caldwell showed no signs of disappointment in her second place result when she remarked, “I’m still really excited because it was a fun race, probably the most fun I ever had.”

Garrec was also pleased with her third place finish and ecstatic with the placement of her teammates as well as the three skiers from Dartmouth. She said, “We never know. We always think maybe we’re not skiing at the same level as the girls in the West. So you know you can be in the mix, but that doesn’t always mean third or fourth; it could also mean eighth.” Rounding out the historic top six sweep were Dartmouth’s Annie Hart in fourth, Vermont’s Caitlin Patterson in fifth, and Big Green skier Erika Flowers in sixth.

Highly favored RMISA athletes Maria Graefnings of Utah and Eliska Hajkova of Colorado both struggled and finished seventh and tenth, respectively.

Full results HERE.

With files from Utah Skiing, C.J. Feehan and Curtis Snyder

March 09, 2012 (Barrie, ON) – Back in 2002 Mike Badham and I created a set of goals for Team Hardwood. Our dream goal at the time was to put a skier on the 2010 Olympic Team. We just missed reaching that goal but with the result by Len Valjas this week it looks like we might just have a Team Hardwood skier on the Olympic Team in 2014.

Picture the scene in my office on Wednesday, March 7, as Ed Johnson, Len Valjas’ Jackrabbit coach, along with myself and some of the other staff Hardwood Ski and Bike staff stood around watching Len race in Drammen on my computer. Everyone was holding their breath on every corner watching him ski away from the best skiers in the world.

During the race the Eurosport commentator drew a big cheer from the group when he mentioned that Lenny skied for Team Hardwood. As he came up to the finish line someone yelled “He’s going to finish second”. I couldn’t say anything because I was crying.

To watch someone you have coached and worked with for years finish 2nd in a World Cup race and stand on a podium with the best skiers in the world is the best feeling in the world for a coach.  It makes you think back to all the times in the past when you worked together – the good days and the bad days.

Lenny’s story, from my point of view, is a good one to tell to all young skiers who have dreams of being, like him, one of the best skiers in the world. It is also a great story for coaches who feel that a skier who hasn’t made it by the age of 18 or 19 will never make it.

Lenny did not always have the best results when he was a junior. In fact, one skier at the training centre in Mont Ste-Anne once said to him that he would have quit skiing if he had the same results as Lenny when he was a junior.

Part of the reason is that he lived in Toronto and, for the most part, he only skied on the weekends in the winter. Skiing only 2-3 days a week and competing against skiers who can ski seven days a week is a distinct disadvantage. Roller skiing is close, but it’s not skiing.

The other reason that Len was not amongst the best is a little more complicated. Len is one of those people who doesn’t really like to train alone and who does much better when he can train with others.  His teammates at Team Hardwood come from all over Southern Ontario and no one lived close to Lenny so for most of the year he had to train alone or with his Dad.

This meant that his training was not very consistent. As a result, it wasn’t until Len first moved to the training centre in Thunder Bay and ultimately to the training centre in Mont Ste-Anne that he really began training full time. This move was crucial to his present success along with the great coaching that he has received from Louis Bouchard in Quebec and being able to train with other great skiers like Alex Harvey.

I can remember pushing really hard in 2005 to get Lenny into the training centre in Thunder Bay. I knew that in order for him to reach his full potential that he would need to train in one of these groups and that if he stayed in Southern Ontario he would not get what he needed.

This is also why we have created the Southern Ontario Training Centre here at Hardwood to help skiers like Lenny make the transition from club skiing to full time skiing.

Ironically Lenny did not make the qualifying standard for a training center that year until the last race of the season. He had to travel to Maine to ski in the US XC Ski Championships. He made the standard in the 50km race. Not bad for a sprinter.

Lenny always had “it” when it came to racing. I cannot really tell you what “it” is, but he had it. Lenny was always a great racer – whether it was in xc skiing or mountain biking, he would always be able to get the most out of himself. He never seemed to be too nervous before racing and that still shows now that he is racing at the highest level.

One of the biggest pitfalls for elite athletes is when they start to believe that because they’re better than everyone else in their sport, this makes them a better person. It is very easy for them to become “prima donnas” and to feel that they are entitled to special treatment because they can ski faster than everyone else.

This has not happened to Lenny. He has great parents who understand sport and life and at Team Hardwood we have always tried to make sure that our skiers stay grounded and that they understand that xc skiing is a team sport. Our skiers know that they cannot get great results without a lot of help from many others and that without this help they would not be able to reach their goals.

I think that it also helped that Lenny did not have great results when he was a junior. He was never the best skier as a junior and, as a result, he was not put on a pedestal as a great skier. It is a testament to Lenny that his teammates think that he is one of the nicest guys and that they all want him to succeed.

It is also interesting to me that Lenny has become a great sprinter. He did not show these skills as a junior either. In fact, he wasn’t even the best sprinter in our club as a junior. In 2005 at the Canadian XC Ski Championships in Quebec City he was not chosen for the top team for our club in the Sprint relays. At the time he was the third best sprinter in the club behind Harry Seaton and Steven Hart. They finished 3rd in that race while Len and his partner did not make the finals.

So the message to young skiers is to continue to dream big. The results that you get as a junior do not necessarily mean that you will be good or bad as a senior. Almost all of the skiers who beat Lenny as a junior are way behind him now or are not skiing any longer.

Keep training and trying to improve. Find the right training situation, the right coach and the right training partners. Perseverance is one of the most important mental skills for xc skiers. Maybe someday you will raise your arms in success at the end of a World Cup race.

For coaches the message is to let your skiers dream and never, ever, ever set limits for your skiers. At the time I didn’t know if Lenny would become a top World Cup skier or not. It’s not up to coaches to kill our skier’s dreams – it’s up to us to help them to achieve them. You never know who is going to make it and who will not and one of the worst indications of talent is race results when skiers are young.

Most of the time, the top midgets and juveniles do not become the best senior skiers. Allow for late maturing athletes and simply help every skier to be better than they were yesterday. You never know who will make it to the top. Regardless, success is measured in many ways, and the life skills they learn along the way will help them succeed in life and learn to love the great sport of xc skiing.

Race report and more photos HERE.

March 09, 2012 (Oslo, Norway) – The last time Sarah Hendrickson and her teammates ski jumped on the Midstubakken hill in Oslo, Norway, they had a job to do. This time, it was purely for joy. American Sarah Hendrickson, having already clinched the inaugural World Cup overall title last weekend in Zao, Japan, finished first in the final competition of the season, with jumps of 104 and 99 meters.

Hendrickson bested Japan’s Sara Takanashi (second) who set a hill record of 108 meters on her second jump. Norway’s longtime star Anette Sagen (third) just edged out fellow veteran Lindsey Van, USA, (fourth) for the podium. USA Teammates Jessica Jerome was 13th, Abby Hughes was 27th, and Alissa Johnson was 34th.

“Every jump is a blast,” said Hendrickson, the 17-year-old from Park City, Utah, who will come home with the coveted crystal globe trophy. “Sure, there’s always some pressure — it’s the World Cup — but everyone went into this last competition to have fun and do their best. I was relieved when I landed on the last jump and all of a sudden, the season was over just like that.”

More than a year ago in Oslo, women ski jumpers from around the world fought through the nearly impossible conditions of thick fog and unpredictable wind in the 2011 World Ski Jumping Championships. They had to prove to the International Olympic Committee that they belonged in the Olympic Winter Games. And they did. Women will ski jump in the Games for the first time in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.

This year, with the enormous pressure off and the politics set aside, the skies cleared slightly for the talented field of 47 jumpers.

“I definitely came here with a bitter taste in my mouth,” said Van, the 2009 World Champion, who didn’t perform to her potential last year in Oslo and finished 34th, not making the second-round cut for the first time in her career.

“I felt automatic relief after one of my training jumps Thursday, which was 27 meters longer than my jump here last year,” she quipped. “I didn’t have anything to lose, so I just put it out there and had a lot of fun jumping today (Friday). I’m happy with the way it ended. It was redemption for me, for sure.”

This season was even sweeter for the U.S. Women’s Ski Jumping Team, which finished the season No. 1 overall by more than 600 points over Germany.

“It hasn’t set in yet. It’s just really so cool, especially for ski jumping in the USA — we’re just not known for that,” Van said. “This is about an entire team’s results over the course of a season and I’m proud of our team for this victory.”

Women’s Ski Jumping USA International Coach Paolo Bernardi, is amazed by his team’s performance.

“I think that I’m going to realize this season in one month because I have too many emotions (now)…” he said. “This winter, everything was perfect – just perfect. And I want to enjoy this moment.”

Hendrickson won the World Cup opener in December in Lillehammer, Norway, and Friday’s first-place was her 9th win out of 13 competitions.

Arline Bownes, Hendrickson’s 81-year-old grandmother, was in the crowd Friday, watching her ski jump for the first time in eight years. Hendrickson was just 9 years old the last time her grandmother got to watch her soar on a jump — one that Hendrickson’s father, Bill, actually helped build in his youth in Plymouth, New Hampshire.

“It’s so memorable to have Sarah’s grandmother here,” Nancy Hendrickson said. “My father is gone, but I know dad has been on Sarah’s wings this whole season.”

Results
Women’s Normal Hill, HS106, K-point 95m

1. Sarah Hendrickson, USA, (104.0m 99m) 254.1 points
2. Sara Takanashi, JPN, (100.5 108.0) 250.7
3. Anette Sagen, (102.0 97) 236.2
4. Lindsey Van, USA, (97.5 98.0) 232.9
5. Daniela Iraschko, AUT, (101.5 96.5) 230.5
6. Jacqueline Seifriedsberger, AUT, (101.0 97.0) 229.5

13. Jessica Jerome, USA (92.5 90.0) 201.3
27. Abby Hughes, USA (86.5 91.0) 178.4
34. Alissa Johnson, USA, (83.5) 83.9

Full results HERE.

Overall Individual World Cup Standings 2011/2012
(points)

1. Sarah Hendrickson, USA, 1,169
2. Daniela Iraschko, AUT, 779
3. Sara Takanashi, JPN, 639
4. Ulrike Graessler, GER, 546
5. Lindsey Van, USA, 482
6. Anette Sagen, NOR, 454
7. Katja Pozun, SLO, 422
8. Melanie Faisst, GER, 409
9. Jessica Jerome, USA, 395
10. Coline Mattel, FRA, 328

25. Abby Hughes, USA, 109
31. Alissa Johnson, USA, 73

Full Overall Standings HERE.

Overall Nations World Cup Standings 2011/2012
(points, top 6)
1. United States, 2,228
2. Germany, 1,601
3. Japan, 1,251
4. Austria, 1,173
5. Slovenia, 934
6. Norway, 828

Final Nation Standings HERE.

Women’s Ski Jumping USA is the primary support group for the VISA Women’s Ski Jumping Team and aims to foster development level athletes throughout the U.S. WSJ-USA, a 501c3 foundation, also advocates for equality for women and girls in sports.

March 07, 2012 (Drammen, Norway) – The USA’s Kikkan Randall clinched the Sprint Cup globe on Wednesday in Drammen making history as the first American women to win a World Cup overall title also marking the first overall title for the USA in 30 years – since the legendary Bill Koch won the men’s overall in 1982.

“That’s before I was born,” quipped Randall, in a phone interview with SkiTrax.”For sure it’s a great day for me and the team and a celebration of how far we have come as a nation. I’ve seen the crystal globes over the years and watched others with them so it’ll be nice to finally hold one myself.”

It was a bitter-sweet day for the Alaska skier – “…more on the sweet side,” laughed Randall – as she suffered equipment failure in her semi final round that ended her day early.

“I was in a really low tuck, trying to catch back up to the leaders after getting blocked out of the track on the uphill by Jacobsen, and lost my balance for a second,” explained Randall. “When I went to catch myself, my binding just tore off my ski and I fell. With my binding totally disengaged, all I could do was pick up the wreckage and keep skiing on one foot.”

Randall added that prior to today she’d only seen this type of thing happen with a binding only once before. “It’s funny that the only other time I’ve ever seen this happen was during training prior to the WCups in Lahti this past weekend. It’s strange to see it happen twice so close together. It was a real bummer because I had really strong feelings today and I would have liked to have contended for the final!”

Still her 11th place finish was more than enough for the 29-year-old native of Anchorage, Alaska, and a lifelong Fischer skier, to secure the overall Sprint Cup victory and enter the record books.

Randall qualified 10th behind Canada’s Chandra Crawford in 9th and just ahead of Canuck Daria Gaiazova in 11th. It was also a great day for American Sadie Bjornsen who placed 16th. In fact all four women were destined to have best-ever results when the dust finally settled in Drammen.

The top qualifier Marit Bjoergen (NOR) was also primed to shine on this day as she won all of her heats and celebrated another WCup win while strengthening her grip on the overall title over Justyna Kowalczyk (POL).

Bjornsen was the first to get eliminated as she tangled with another skier in her heat and could not regain contact with the lead group, but earned her first CL sprint WCup points ever finishing 27th on the day. “The qualification went really well. I’ve been feeling fit and in a good place for a couple weeks now,” said Bjornsen. “I had great skis, racing on an entirely new pair I had never seen before. Unfortunately in my 1/4-final I got tangled with a Norwegian girl…regardless, I came away super happy because I got my first world cup point AND my teammate had secured the crystal globe.”

Gaiazova lined up against Bjoergen and Randall in her quarter final and grabbed third behind Randall with the Norwegian taking the win. This strong placement allowed her to advance to the semis as one of the Lucky Losers.

Meanwhile Crawford was turning heads with her race face on as she challeged Kowalczyk for supremacy on the course in her quarter-final yielding to the Polish star but advancing just the same.

Again Crawford drew Kowalczyk’s heat in the semis and again the Polish queen charged to the front taking no prisoners. But Crawford was not ready to be dispatched so easily and skied smart and strong to claim second behind Kowalczyk again to make the final.

Bjoergen, Randall and Gaiazova were a trio as well in their semi but fate was not in Randall’s favour as she found herself in need of a ski along the way while Gaiazova gave her all and came away with her best-ever classic-sprint race result finishing 8th.

In the final Bjoergen stormed the field as everyone gave chase. Kowalczyk was third as Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen followed Bjoergen in second with Crawford in fourth. Then suddenly Kowalczyk was down in a corner and Crawford was now in third. The Polish star scrambled to her feet and was soon back in the mix.

In the final corner before the finishing straight she caught Crawford who was running out of steam and regained third which she held to the end as Bjoergen claimed the win with Jacobsen second. Crawford finished the classic sprint with a career-best 5th.

“I was not expecting it to go that well,” said Crawford in a team release. “I have been relentless on improving my classic skiing. My stride has opened up and is much longer. I am very happy, but more excited to see Lenny get on the podium today. It couldn’t happen to a better guy and I’m so happy for our program.”

On a day that was record setting for the North Americans the big winner was the USA’s Randall who proved that staying over in Europe was the right decision so she could minimize travel issues and race in all of the WCup sprints.

“It was tough but I learned a lot and it was the right strategy to stay in Europe as the focus was the Sprint Cup and of course I’m happy that it worked out. Going forward with the World Championships and planning for the Sochi Olympics we’ll see what’s best,” said Randall.

We wondered how important it was for Randall to have a great team of US women around on the WCup scene with Liz Stephen, Jessie Diggins, Holly Brooks, Sadie Bjornsen, and Ida Sargent…

“It’s been really important to have a great team around me this season. Spending the whole winter in Europe, away from home has been challenging at times. But the girls have helped me keep it fun and positive and it’s been great to be able to celebrate some of their achievements as well.  I also have to credit the guys on our team and of course our staff.

“Everybody has worked incredibly hard and been upbeat through all the highs and lows. My team is my family on the road,” Randall told SkiTrax. “It’s also great to see the respect we receive as a team over here now.”

So how did her classic skiing get so much better over last year…?

“I really wanted to bring my classic sprinting up to the same level as my skate sprinting so I put some more emphasis in my training on double-poling and classic specific intervals. But I think just the general increase in my capacity and fitness this year is also really helping me,” she added.

Randall is also fourth overall in the WCup standings in a battle with Charlotte Kalla from Sweden. “Kalla and I are good friends now and it’s great to be in the mix for a top spot in the overall. We’re both looking forward to the next races.”

Speaking of family we caught up with Randall’s husband Jeff Ellis for his impressions of Kikkan’s stellar day. “It’s a relief,” Ellis told us. “It was her goal all year. She worked hard for this in the offseason. Incredible to see it pay off.”

For US Head Coach Chris Grover it was great to see Bjornsen and Randall attain even higher ground. “A breakthrough day for Sadie. Really cool to finally see her in the points. Of course she had some bad luck getting tangled up in her quarterfinal, but she skied really well for her first ever Drammen city sprint. We are excited to see what she can do at Holmenkollen on Sunday.

“Kikkan looked incredible today. She appeared to be on her way to the final when she got tangled up and broke her binding.  The fact that she has won the Sprint Cup globe has not quite sunk in yet.”

The final word on this memorable day goes to Bill Marolt, President and CEO of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, “Kikkan’s perseverance towards a goal over many years of hard training shows what a great athlete she is. At the same time she’s brought a great personality to her sport and served as a role model for young athletes.

“Our U.S. athletes across many sports are celebrating World Cup titles this month. This one is very special coming amidst rising results by Kikkan’s teammates who have been motivated by her success.”

Qualifications HERE.
Full results HERE.

March 07, 2012 (Drammen, Norway) – Canada’s Len Valjas was on top of the world on Wednesday as the Torontonian who skis for Team Harwood, claimed the first WCup podium of his young career placing second in the men’s 1.2km CL Sprint behind winner Erik Brandsdal (NOR) with fellow Norwegian Paal Golberg in third.

Valjas surprised the field, skiing in control and in command from the get-go, carrying the weight of the Canadian team – sporting new headgear in Drammen – on his shoulders as his accomplished team mates, Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey, were out early. Kershaw broke a pole in his quarter final while Harvey took a brief spill in his heat, on the popular, but congested sprint course, in Drammen.

Meanwhile Americans Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton also raced with confidence both advancing to the semis with Newell having his best result of the season making the final, finishing sixth. Hamilton, from Aspen, CO, placed 7th for his best ever classic sprint result.

It was a day for the North Americans as big names such as Jesper Modin (SWE), Italians Fabio Pasini and Federico Pellegrino, and Norway’s Ola Vigen Hattestad failed to advance.

“I don’t think it has sunk in yet, but it does feel pretty good,” said Valjas in a team release. The lanky 6’6” Canuck finished fifth at a World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland earlier this year. “I think I may be a little in shock.”

Valjas looked sharp winning his 1/4 final heat while Newell and Hamilton both finished second to advance to the semis. The Canadian had fast skis and skied smart positioning himself well to maintain a leading edge over his rivals.

The USA’s Newell also made it look easy skiing strong yet with finesse at the front and was just edged out at the line in his quarter final. His semi included Valjas and Hamilton making it difficult on North American fans but to their delight the three animated the heat with Valjas and Newell making a break on their own. Valjas took the semi in the final stretch over Newell with Hamilton bringing up the rear in third.

“I was happy to make the final today but really wished I could have put down a better sprint in the last 100 meters,” Newell told SkiTrax. “I was on the podium here two years ago in a classic sprint and I really wanted to repeat that, but have had a handful of 4th and 5th-place finishes in classic world cups over the years.

“The course today was the same as it always is with one long gradual uphill that you ski twice once out of the start and again for the finish. I like courses like this because of the uphill finishes.

“In qualification I chose to double pole which turned out to be a bad call. I think I was one of the few doublepolers to make the heats. The course just ended up getting too chewed up so it made it hard to get solid pole plants even with big baskets so doublepoleing definitely wasn’t faster. For the heats I switched over to wax and felt good in both the quarterfinals and semis.”

For Hamilton it was a good day at the office with his best classic sprint result. “I’m pretty psyched with how today went, especially with it being a flat classic sprint in really sloppy conditions.

“Drammen is a super-hard sprint day. It seems like there’s always about 1,000 Norwegians that can qualify, so I was definitely satisfied to slip into 18th for the qualifications. In my quarter, I really focused on getting into a comfortable place position-wise on the climb, and then hammered the 2nd half of the course.

“The skis were great. I didn’t have a great start in my semi and lost a bit of time in a slow track at the end. I felt good in the last 500 meters put in a surge that was good enough for 3rd. Unfortunately it was not good enough to advance as a lucky loser, but I was really psyched for Andy and Lenny making the finals”.

U.S. Head Coach Chris Grover was naturally pleased the team’s overall results in Drammen. “We had great skis all day.  It was challenging to find a wax with great kick and glide.  The snow was quite saturated and new snow mixed with rain was falling all day. Newell decided to double pole the qualifier since classic skiing didn’t feel fast enough at first, but he switched to classic gear for the rounds. Everyone else skied on classic gear all day.

“Drammen has been a great city sprint for Andy. He really knows how to make moves in the right places in order to pass other skiers. He knows when to relax and when to make a move happen. He was on the podium last time we raced the city sprint in Drammen (in 2010) so he knows how to get to the final.

” It was clearly a breakthrough day for Simi. His best classic sprint result yet. He had a rough start to the year with illness and a lot of near misses in sprint qualification, so it feels really good to see him coming into form now. He was very close to being a lucky loser and going through to the final. He has all of the right skills to be a star in the sport,” Grover concluded.

In the final it was Valjas, Newell, Brandsdal, Golberg, Alexander Panzhinskiy (RUS) and the legendary Emil Joensson from Sweden. From the gun Valjas established himself while Joensson and Newell seemed to struggle as the two Norwegians also came to the front with Valjas and soon it became a 3-horse race.

The 23-year-old Valjas raced like seasoned veteran taking the lead as he battled with Brandsdal at the front knowing Golberg was right behind. In the finishing straight to the line the Norwegian got the better of the charging Canuck but for Valjas it was the race of his life.

“I never would have thought I’d win a medal this early in my career, but to have the first medal come in Norway is really special. This country has been really good to me over the last couple of years,” continued Valjas. “I just wanted to get to the front and attack on the hills. I had great skis and was able to do that. I felt good all day.”

Canadian Head Coach Justin Wadsworth was suitably pleased with another podium medal in the Canadian Team coffers. “It’s great to see other team members like Lenny rise to the occasion and deliver in spades when our two big guns were sidelined. The team is really on a roll with well deserved celebrations with today’s performances by Len and Chandra.”

“Training with Alex and Devon has had a huge influence on me and me getting to the podium,” added Valjas. “Just watching how these guys train with such intensity is huge for me.”

Wadsworth pointed out that with Petter Northug (NOR) not racing in the men’s 50kmCL in Oslo this weekend it’s another chance for Kershaw to narrow the gap in the overall WCup standings. Both Kershaw and Harvey are podium threats in the 50kmCL slated for Saturday. Unofficially Northug might not race in Sweden either leaving the door open even wider for Kershaw.

Men’s Qualifications HERE.
Final Results HERE.

March 07, 2012 (Ruhpolding, GER) – American Susan Dunklee had the race of her life on Wednesday in Ruhpolding, Germany by finishing fifth in the women’s 15km Individual, only seven seconds off the podium.

Dunklee missed one shot out 20 as did the five top finishers and skied strong as well for the stellar result. Her previous best was 17th in the 7.5km sprint at Anholz, Italy, earlier this year.

Inspired by team mate Russell Currier’s 6th-place WCup performance only a few weeks ago, Dunklee told SkiTrax, “…that’s when I realized what was possible.”

Starting with bib #1, she was initially upset but then realized she had the advantage of firmer tracks. Heading out first forced her to focus on her own race. “My shooting felt entirely in the zone.  I wasn’t afraid of the targets,” Dunklee told us by email.  “The one target I missed shocked me as my shooting felt good – I think it was close.”

The top six skiers are part of the podium ceremony and Dunklee is motivated by her taste of success. “The awards ceremony tonight was a lot of fun and very emotional. What a wonderful moment to share with teammates, coaches, staff, etc.!”

For Tora Berger of Norway it was a special day as well as she captured the first IBU Worlds gold medal of her career, while France’s Marie Laure Brunet was 2nd, and Helena Ekholm of Sweden finished in the bronze medal position. Brunet was poised to threaten Berger’s grip on the gold but suffered a penalty on her final standing shot which cost her the gold.

IBU World Cup leaders, Magdalena Neuner (GER) and Darya Domracheva (BLR) were not able to challenge today placing a surprising 23rd and 25th respectively.

But Canadian Zina Kocher takes a measure of positive energy with her into the final weekend as she earned one of her best-ever IBU World Championship finishes placing 26th with four penalties. “It was not a terrible day but not fantastic either,” said Kocher in a team release. “I had strong skiing again and the race was going really well until the final standing. I knew I needed a clean standing for a top-15.”

Other North American results saw Canadian Megan Heinicke finishing in 30th, while American’s Lanny Barnes and Sara Studebaker placed in 37th and 38th respectively. Canada’s Megan Imrie finished 47th, while Annelies Cook of the USA was 66th and Yolaine Oddou of Canada finished in 97th place.

The IBU World Championships continue Friday with the Men 4×7.5km Relay event.

Full results HERE.

March 07, 2012 (Midway, UT) – On Day 2 at the 2012 US Junior XC Ski Nationals the top junior skiers contested the freestyle competitions. Here are the live results with splits for all categories.

In the FOJ freestyle race Sharmila Ahmed HMED (GoTraining) won the 10km FR with a comfortable +11.9s lead over Elizabeth Simak (F.A.S.T. Performance Training) in second with Stratton Mountain School’s Rachel Hall taking 3rd.

The MOJ 15km FR race was a tight race with Minnesota’s Ben Saxton (Minnesota Valley Ski Club) winning a squeaker over Black Jack’s David Palmer by only 0.4s. Silas Talbot from the Dartmouth Outing Club landed in third on the podium.

CSU’s Corey Stock won her second title of the championships taking the 10km Freestyle FJ1 race over Sloan Storey from Sun Valley SEF who battled with Alaska Winter Stars’ Marion Woods for second place edging her at the line by 0.9s.

Stratton Mountain School’s Patrick Caldwell was in charge in the MJ1’s 10km FR race besting Eli Hoenig from CSU by 27.9s in second as Hoenig pipped Fabián Stoek (Holderness Nordic) by 0.3s for the silver.

In the 5km FJ2 race it was Lydia Blanchet taking the win in 13:34.1 over yesterday’s sprint winner, Julia Kern (CSU), with Sisu Ski’s Alayn Sonnesyn placing 3rd.

Karst Hokanson (Wasatch) lead the field in the J2 Boys 5km FR race followed by Tanner Ramey (Alaska Winter Stars) in second at 9.7s back with Peter Holmes from Tahoe XC rounding out the podium in third at 11.7s behind the winner.

Results

MJ2 Live Results HERE.
FJ2 Live Results HERE.
MJ1 Live Splits HERE.
FJ1 Live Finish Results with Live Splits HERE.
MOJ Live Finish Results with Live Splits HERE.
FOJ Live Finish Results with Live Splits HERE.

March 07, 2012 (Bozeman, Mont.) – Utah’s Maria Graefnings successfully defended her individual NCAA Championship in the women’s 5km freestyle race, kicking things off on the right foot for the RMISA schools at Bohart Ranch on Wednesday in the first of four days of competition at the 2012 NCAA Championships.

In terms of team results, the day belonged to east schools Dartmouth and Vermont, but the RMISA still dominated the overall standings placing all six of its teams in the top nine of the standings after Day One of the 2012 NCAA Championships.

Dartmouth is the only team that racked up over 100 points in both the women’s 5K freestyle (110) and men’s 10K freestyle (104) races, finishing second on the women’s side and third on the men’s side to open up a solid 31-point lead over rival Vermont, who rests in second place. Dartmouth’s total on the day was 214 points to 183 for Vermont, who racked up an impressive 121 points in the women’s race.

Host Montana State took the men’s race with 106 points, followed by Utah’s 105 in a very closer race in the standings. That allowed the Utes to cut into Vermont’s lead after the women’s race and they’re just four points down on the Catamounts with 179 points while Montana State is just another three points back at 176. Defending NCAA Champion Colorado is tied with the central region’s Northern Michigan in fifth place with 154 points. Denver is in seventh (118), Alaska Anchorage eighth (112) and New Mexico ninth (74) to round out the RMISA teams. Middlebury from the east sits in 10th place.

Utah’s Maria Graefnings put in another solid performance as she has won three straight races, all on this Bohart Ranch course, this time she won with an impressive time of 14:05.9, with a 19.9-second gap over Vermont’s Caitlin Patterson (14:25.8). Dartmouth’s Sophie Caldwell rounded out the podium in a itme of 14:31.0, edging out Vermont’s Lucy Garrc by less than a second (14:31.8) while Alaska Anchorage’s Jaime Bronga rounded out the top five and first-team All-America selections with a time of 14:40.8.

“I tried to stay positive all the way, keeping my confidence up,” said Graefnings. “The NCAAs are the best time of the year, so you may as well enjoy it. I love this course, it’s challenging, it mixes everything. You have steep hills, flats, downhills that are tricky, it’s a good course. With all the people cheering, it’s so much fun.”

Graefnings is closing out a dominant career which began at Nevada and continued at Utah after the Wolfpack disbanded their program two years ago. In three years with RMISA she has never finished lower than ninth in 31 career races. In 2010, she won one race in the regular season at New Mexico and then turned it on at the RMISA Championships at Steamboat Springs, Colo., where she was second in the classic race and tied for the win in the freestyle race.

In 2011, she was dominant winning seven of eight regular season races before finishing second in both disciplines at the RMISA Championships and then winning the freestyle race at NCAAs and taking second in the classical race.

This year, she missed the first four races of the year while back racing in Sweden and in her first set of races in Alaska, she won a freestyle race and was second and third in the two classical races (she placed fifth in the other freestyle race). She then dominated both races here at Bohart Ranch at the RMISA Championships two weeks ago, winning the freestyle competition by 32.1 seconds and the classic race by 34.9 seconds.

Graefnings’ victory today gives her 13 career wins out of 31 races and she has hit the podium a total of 19 times with four runner-up performances and two third-place finishes. She now has two individual NCAA Championships to her credit and has won three individual RMISA Championships. The talented Swede is a five-time All-American with four first-team performances.

“National champion sounds great, hopefully I can hear it again,” Graefnings added. “My goal is to win, it’s a tough course, it should be good. At Regionals, the classic race was crazy, there was a ton of snow, hopefully it’s more like today this time.”

Another five athletes earned second-team All-America honors, which included Colorado’s Joanne Reid (14:48.4), Dartmouth’s Erika Flowers (14:50.9), Vermont’s Amy Glen (15:02.8), Dartmouth’s Annie Hart (15:08.1) and Northern Michigan’s Marie-Helen Soderman (15:10.5).

Men’s Race

In the men’s race, Northern Michigan’s Erik Soderman was the story of the day, coming from 17 seconds back after the first 5km loop to win the race by 25.0 seconds in a time of 25:20.2.  Utah’s Miles Havlick took second in 25:42.4 while Dartmouth’s Sam Tarling (25:53.6) earned the final podium spot by just two-tenths of a second ahead of Montana State’s Michael Schallinger (25:53.8). Colorado’s Rune Oedegaard took fifth just another couple of seconds back in 25:57.6 to round out the first-team All-Americans.

“It was tough today,” Havlick said. “Skis were really good, it was really tight. Everybody was within five seconds on the lap, you just had to finish strong on the last lap. Soderman was 17 seconds down at the lap and just turned it on, that’s ridiculous. We had two girls on our team get food poisoning, so it’ll be sweet to have an extra day off tomorrow and watch the alpine teams – we’ll be ready Friday.”

Havlick is also closing out his junior campaign Friday and has been one of the more dominant racers over the last two years. He was the RMISA Men’s Nordic MVP after he hit the podium in each of his eight regular season races. He was edged off the podium by his teammate Didrik Smith for the first time at the RMISA Championships, coming in behind his teammate by three-tenths of a second in a sprint to the finish in the classical race.

In 2010 as a freshman, he had 10 races with one win and five top 10 performances, including a sixth place in the classic race at the NCAA Championships. Since the start of the 2011 season, he has finished on the podium 19 times with five race victories over the last 21 races. Havlick is a four-time All-American including his race today with two first-team and two second-team performances.

Those earning second-team All-America honors were Utah’s Didrik Smith (26:03.1), Montana State’s David Norris (26:03.9), Dartmouth’s Eric Packer (26:09.9), Northern Michigan’s Kjell-Christian Markset (26:10.9) and Montana State’s Tyler Reinking (26:12.3).

The east took a slight lead over the west in terms of All-America honors, earning nine of the 20 total honors while the west had eight and the central region, all from Northern Michigan, had three.  The west, however, did have more first-team All-Americans on the day with five, while the east had four and central one.  Both the west and central had an individual NCAA Champion while the east had an edge on the podium with three to the west’s two and central’s one.

The focus now shifts about a half-mile south and 600 feet up to Bridger Bowl where the giant slalom races kick off the alpine portion of the championships. On Friday the action returns to Bohart Ranch with the classic races and then Saturday the NCAAs conclude the championship with the slalom races.

Other Notes:

• Colorado’s Joanne Reid earned her fifth All-America award in her fifth opportunity and she now has three first-team and two second-team honors.

• Alaska Anchorage’s Jaime Bronga continued her excellent season and looks to be back in top form after a little dip at the RMISA Championships, picking up a first-team All-America honor finishing fifth in the women’s race. The RMISA Women’s Nordic MVP, she had a fantastic regular season finishing in the top four in each of the eight races with two wins and two runner-up performances. After not participating in the freestyle race at the RMISA Championships, she placed ninth in the classical race.

• Montana State’s Michael Schallinger got the better of his men’s Nordic teammates today by taking home first-team All-America honors while the other two brought home second-team honors. MSU joins the Dartmouth and Vermont women in getting all three athletes in the top 10 to earn All-America honors. Schallinger along with teammate’s David Norris and Tyler Reinking have performed well all season, with Reinking taking fourth, Norris fifth and Schallinger sixth in the final MVP rankings. The three are taking full advantage of their home course – in the three races since the start of RMISA Championships they have yet to finish lower than 11th on this course with eight top-10 performances and four in the top five.

Full results HERE.

March 06, 2012 (Bozeman, Montana) – On the eve of the 2012 NCAA Championships running from March 7-10 at Bohart Ranch in Bozeman, Montana, Peter Graves caught with NMU Coach Sten Fjeldheim, and Dartmouth NCAA Champion, Sam Tarling, for their take on the upcoming championships.

Sam Tarling

Sten Fjeldheim

March 06, 2012 (Toronto, ON) – We are excited to announce the standings for the SkiTrax Fantasy FIS Marathon Cup 2011/12 International Contest after the the 50km Classic Finlandia Hiito in Finland and apologize for the delay. The inaugural FIS Marathon Cup contest continues to be thrilling as the top teams change weekly – it’s still anyone’s contest to win!

Team marko16 has jumped into first spot with 598 points, with bondin in second and only 11 points back (587). Team Sampo trails by another 10 points for third spot with 577. Note the maximum number of available points after Finlandia Hiihto is 710 points.

View the full contest standings after Finlandia Hiito HERE.

Note: We discovered errors in the standings after Tartu Maraton and have since corrected them with apologies. Pls view the corrected contest standings HERE.

FIS Fantasy Marathon Cup Prizes

* 1st Prize – OneWay Premio 10 WCup Skis, Diamond Storm Premio 10 Poles, SNS Premio Pilot Bindings. (value $1,350)
* 2nd Prize – Nipika 4-nights for 2 people in luxurious cabin, including Trail Fees (value up to $1,160)
* 3rd Prize – Alpina ESK Ski Boots (value $449)
* 4th Prize –Halti XC Race Suit Hemmo Set (value $269)
* 5th Prize –  Fischer RCS QF poles  (value $225)
* 6th Prize – Cross Country Canada e-Store Gift Certificate (value $200)
* 7th Prize – Fresh Air Experience or High Peaks Cyclery Gift Certificate (value $150)
* 8th Prize – Rottefella Xcelerator Skate/Classic Bindings (value $120)
* 9th Prize – Auclair Micro Mountain Olympic Gloves + Earbags (value $65)
* 10th Prize – Buff Headware (value $40)

Thanks to all of our great sponsors, including One Way, Nipika, Alpina, Halti, Fischer, Cross Country Canada, Fresh Air Experience, High Peaks Cyclery, Rottefella, Auclair, and Buff.

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

March 04, 2012 (Ruhpolding, GER) – Belarusian Darya Domracheva scored a decisive victory and the biggest win of her career on Sunday in the women’s 10km pursuit at the IBU World Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany. Domracheva finished 25 seconds ahead of yesterday’s gold medalist Magdalena Neuner from Germany, and 1:15 in front of Russia’s Olga Vilukhina who claimed the bronze.

After racing neck and neck for the first part of the race, it was Neuner who headed out on the fourth loop with a 12-second advantage, but it was Domracheva who stormed back with a clean final round of shooting while Neuner faltered with two penalties, giving Domracheva a lead that she held to the finish.

“On the shooting range for the last standing, it was only me and my targets, just like a tunnel,” said Domracheva to biathlonworld.com. “I did not know what Lena had shot, but when I left the shooting range, I saw she was on the penalty loop. Then I knew I could win.”

Canada’s Zina Kocher lead the North American women in the pursuit with a 26th place while American Susan Dunklee finished in 36th position – up from her starting spot of 55th.

“Today’s race went much as I hoped it would,” said Dunklee in a team release. “The tracks were much firmer today and I was able to work with many different skiers to move up each loop.  This was my first experience moving forwards (rather than backwards) in a pursuit race and it was exciting to catch so many people.”

Other North American results include Megan Imrie of Canada finishing in 39th place while USA’s Sara Studebaker was 41st, with Canadian Megan Heinicke placing 42nd overall.

The women have a two-day break from competition as racing resumes on Wednesday with the Women’s 15km Individual.

Full women’s results HERE