January 31, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Norway and Russia duked it out in a thrilling finish to the men’s 4x5km relay that saw Norwegian Sindre Bjoernestad Skar, winner of the 10km freestyle race, claw back a 15.5s deficit on the final lap to catch Russian anchor Denis Kataev with 1km to go and claim the gold by a 2.1s margin. Finland fought off Germany for the bronze.

Further back Canada and the US were having it out as Andy Shields and American Erik Bjornsen skied well on the final lap, with the 6th and 7th fastest times, moving up from 13th and 12th respectively. In the end Shields out-sprinted Bjornsen claiming 9th for Canada with the USA in 10th.

Norway opened strong in the first leg with Emil Iversen leading but Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov, the sprint champ, manhandled Norway’s Erik Bergfall Brovold on the second leg giving Russia a 20s lead. On the third leg Norwegian Mathias Rundgreen chased down Russia’s Konstantin Kuleev but only earned back 5s as Kuleev skied the fastest in their round.

Kuleev handed off to Kataev who was no match for Skar who blasted out with the fastest anchor time finally catching the Russian with 1km to go. Kataev wasn’t able to respond when Skar overtook him on the final slight downhill.

“In my last lap I think I was 6 seconds behind the Russian guy and I went for gold – silver wasn’t enough for us,” said Skar post-race. But the win didn’t come easy as Skar was pushed to the limit to catch his foe.

“My goal was to take the Russian. I knew I was better, but my legs were very tired on the last hill,” added Skar. “I was shaky and I didn’t know if I could sprint so well. My team is great, we have a strong team.”

German anchor Markus Weeger, the 20km pursuit champ, tried in vain to catch Finland’s Perttu Hyvarinen attacking on the final lap and reeling in 12 of his 20s-deficit but Hyvarinen held on to take the last spot on the podium.

Shields and Bjornsen worked well together on the anchor leg overtaking Japan, the Czech Republic, and Kazakstan as both North American teams improved over last year. Russell Kennedy, Patrick Stewart-Jones and Aaron Gillmor rounded out the Canucks who were 15th in 2010, while Tyler Kornfield, Scott Patterson, and Andrew Dougherty made up the rest of the US team who moved up from 12th last year.

Full results HERE.

January 31, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Norway took the victory over Russia in the women’s 4×3.3km relay with a comfortable 22s margin while Germany was 3rd bringing home the bronze. The US women claimed a strong 7th place finish followed by Canada in 11th.

The Norwegian team of Ragnhild Haga, Martine Ek Hagen, Heidi Weng and Kari Oeyre Slind were the favourites and up to the challenge with final time of 35:03.6. Germany was leading after the first leg with sprint winner Lucia Anger first off with a very fast lap, but Norway took over on the second leg and never looked back. Slind extended her 10s lead and soloed in ahead of Russia’s Elena Soboleva for a solid win.

The US team of Amy Glen, Kinsey Loan, Jessica Diggins, and Joanne Reid put in a very solid effort moving up one slot over last year to finish 7th at 1:39.5 behind the winners. Diggins posted the second fastest time on her leg giving the US team a boost.

“We finished 7th – I’m so totally excited because we moved up a place from last year,” wrote Diggins in her blog. “The relay went like this: Amy Glen scrambled (classic) and tagged off to Kinsey Loan, who then tagged of to me for the skate half of the relay. I tagged Joanne and she anchored us for a solid 7th place. I’m also extremely excited about finishing second for lap splits to Heidi Wang (Norway) by 5.4 seconds. It was definitely a successful day – and we definitely had some crazy fast skis (yeah Salomon!)”

Reid skied a strong anchor pulling away from Italy only 1s back and made a run for Slovenia’s Nika Razinger in 6th but couldn’t catch her.

“Amy and Kinsey started us out in a very solid place, which let Jessie dig in and rocket us up all the way to 8th place,” Reid told SkiTrax post-race by email. “Our skate skis were absolutely flying – and our tags all went super smooth because we practiced them in the warm up. I got to ski with a Slovenian and an Italian for half a lap until the Slovenian took off and I tried to follow. We ended up dropping the Italian, but the Slovenian dropped me, so I cruised through the finish on my own.”

Canada’s squad of Janelle Greer, Heather Mehain, Annika Hicks, and Heidi Widmer were just out of the top ten in 11th making gains over last year’s 14th-place finish.

Greer and Mehain brought Canada through the classic portion in 11th and Hicks moved Canada up to 10th on the first skating leg. Widmer skied well, but was overtaken by Kazakhstan’s Slonova who started in 12th but had the 2nd fastest anchor lap of the day to end up 9th.

Widmer was able to hold off other strong chasers and closed France’s 13-second gap down to 3s but could not catch Cella Aymonier and finished just over 2 seconds back in 11th.

Team Russia – Elena Serokhvostova, Anna Scherbinina, Anna Nechaevskaya and anchor Elena Soboleva – took home the silver as Germany’s anchor Hanna Kolb battled with Sweden’s Johanna Meyer on the final leg. Kolb attacked on an uphill and broke away to claim the bronze.

“Last year we were 5th and this year on the second place,” said Soboleva. “Next year we will catch the Norwegians and we will be the world champions.”

Norway has dominated the women’s relay since 2005 and their junior women have had a very successful championships this year. The last time their relay was beaten was in Stryn, Norway in 2004 where Russia took the title.

Slind skied the fastest anchor loop – the second fastest of the day second only Anger who raced the first leg.

“It feels incredible to be on the podium for the third time,” said Slind. “I didn’t expect to be on the podium for so many times, it is just amazing. The team feeling was very good and we had a very good start. I was very nervous during the race that Russia will come and get me, but we made it.

“The tactics was not to put the full power in the beginning of the lap, because when the Russia would have come and I had been tired, we wouldn’t have won. I’m going to celebrate this win with two pieces of chocolate.”

Full results HERE.

January 31, 2011 (Houghton, Michigan) – CXC’s Caitlin Compton and Garrott Kuzzy topped fields on the final day of the Michigan SuperTour winning the 10/15km skate races respectively with comfortable margins. In the women’s race Compton established herself early and hammered it out for the win by over a minute over her team mate Maria Stuber who won Saturday’s 5km classic individual start race. In third for her second podium of the weekend as well was Carolyn Freeman (UWGB).

Kuzzy lead a 5-strong group of CXC skiers all vying for the podium at the finish taking the win in 39:38.5 with a 10s-margin over Brian Gregg in second with Canadian spoiler, Adam Kates from Big Thunder, grabbing the 3rd spot on the podium. CXC’s Santi Ocariz was fourth, Matt Liebsch was fifth and Bryan Cook finished in sixth.

Michael Sinnott (SVSEF) was seventh and picked up more points as he closes in on Lars Flora (APU) for the SuperTour lead – Sinnott is now sitting with 274 pts. vs Flora’s 297.

Full results HERE.

January 30, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – If you looked closely at today’s results for both men and women at the World Junior Championships in Estonia, Sunday was a fine day for the young junior skiers coming from Germany that is rebuilding its program – the men’s event especially so.

Joining the exclusive club of world junior winners was Germany’s Markus Weeger who took the gold medal in the 10km+10km Pursuit event and finished with a lead of 19.5 seconds over runner up Konstantin Kuleev of Russia. The talented Perttu Hyvarinen of Finland scored the bronze medal with a brilliant skating leg. Weeger’s time was 53:31.1.

The top North Americans in the field were Andy Shields of Canada in 31st in 56:29.0, with the USA’s Scott Patterson in 35th in 56:40.0.

Weeger, who skis for the strong and long-respected Nordic club in Hirschau, has had an impressive week indeed, winning silver as well at this week’s JWC in the 10km free race.

As the race got underway the field remained close together for nearly the entire 10km classic leg. About 20 athletes came into the exchange zone with nearly the same time.

In the first loop of the 3.3km skating leg Weeger tested his opponents daring them to match his tempo, and on the second loop he attacked on an uphill and no one was able to respond to his torrid pace. He continued to build precious seconds all the way to the finish line to take the win.

The battle for second and third was another matter entirely. Thomas Wick (GER) tried to make a break and was chased down, while Slovenian Rok Trsan pushed the pace as well. Then the Finn Hyvarinen moved up and gained ground, settling into a battle with Russian Kullev. At the finish Kuleev had just enough left to take second.

Weeger told the FIS Press Service that he felt very good today. “The wind was very strong, but the race was amazing. The win was a surprise for me, I didn’t (really) understand how I won. I didn’t have any tactics for this race. I just wanted to see, how does it go and now I am a champion.”

Rounding out the North American finishers included Russ Kennedy (CAN) in 42nd, George Cartwright (USA) in 43rd, Andrew Dougherty (USA) in 51st, Tyler Kornfield (USA) in 56th and Canada’s Jordan Cascagnette in 70th. Patrick Stewart-Jones did not finish for Canada.

Full results HERE.

January 30, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – The Norwegian duo of Heidi Weng and Martine Ek Hagen scored first and second on Sunday in a strong display of power in the Junior women’s 5+5km Pursuit at the FIS Junior World Championships in Estonia. Weng, a star performer who had not yet won a gold at the championships, pushed hard past Hagen in the home stretch to claim the title. Helene Jakob of Germany, who is one year younger then the both of the Norwegians, surprised many in taking the bronze medal.

The USA’s Jessie Diggins, a CXC skier who hails from Afton, Minnesota once again led the North Americans in 12th place in 31:50.2 despite a crash early in the competition. Fellow American Joanne Reid was a solid 24th. The top Canadian woman was Annika Hicks in 31st on fresh packed snow and in windy conditions.

“Today was a solid day for the US junior women,” Diggins told SkiTrax post-race. “We had a 12th (Diggins), 24th (Reid), 40th (Glen), and 50th Heather Mooney – with 78 girls racing, I’m proud to have all our girls in the top 50.

“I’m also super excited because the US women rocked the pit exchanges in the pursuit,” continued the rising US star. “We’ve been practicing and it’s exciting for me to finally have a good equipment switch under my belt because I haven’t had much luck in the past – it was a mental road block I had to get over. But after I crashed and broke a pole at the start of the race, I relaxed a lot more and decided to just try to have a technically good race and see how far I could pull myself back up. So I was thinking a lot more instead of being in the lead pack and letting adrenaline take over, which I think helped me ski smarter.”

Diggins was grateful as she was given a pole by a Canadian coach following her crash.

“I’m also extremely grateful to the Canadian team; I was given a pole a little farther down the trail by one of their coaches. North Americans have each other’s back!”

Other North American finishers included Canada’s Janelle Greer in 36th, Amy Glen (USA) in 40th, Heather Mehain (CAN) in 43rd, Heidi Widmer (CAN) 47th and Mooney in 50th.

Team USA’s Reid was pleased with her 24th place finish: “It went really great today, all the girls were especially happy with our exchanges, we all stayed pretty calm and did good work in the pits. It was really sweet to be skiing with Amy and Jessie and Heather. There was a point in the race that we were all skiing together before Jessie took off and got after it. I ended up right next to Amy for a while and we worked together but I lost her when we went through the exchange,” said Reid.

Weng and Hagen, who are neighbors in Norway, know each other well having been in the same class at school. Today it was their day in the pursuit. The starting field remained compact after two 2.5km classic laps. Following the ski exchange Weng lost a bit when Elena Soboleva and Anna Scherbinina pushed hard and created a gap.

Weng came charging back in the second uphill. Then Hagen moved in front and accelerated on the final lap. Weng seemed to have some difficulty to follow but hung in with Hagen and the Norwegian duo appeared together in the stadium. In the finishing straight Weng summoned what power she had remaining and sprinted ahead of Hagen to take the win.

Germany’s Jakob was sixth after the classic part and was in contact with the lead group. During the free technique leg she dropped the Russian girls in her group and posted the second fastest time skate time to take the bronze medal.

As for Weng, it marked her second championship medal after placing third in the 5km individual start competition. “Everything was fantastic today and went as I planned,” Weng said in a FIS Press interview. “During the last lap I got really tired and I was very close to let Martine go. I thought about the gold medal in this race but I didn’t believe I could win it.”

As for her long-time friend Hagen the event was great. “The race was fun. I had a very good feeling through the whole race and I enjoyed it a lot. I didn’t expect two Norwegians to be on the podium. I expected only Heidi to win but not me. She is in a very good shape.”

This marked the second to last day of the Junior Worlds in Otepaa.

Full results HERE.

January 29, 2011 (Nove Mesto, Czech Republic) – Scott Gow, 20-years-old, led a group of young North Americans with a 16th-place finish in the Junior men 10km Sprint on Saturday won by Germany’s Tom Barth in 24:24.7, who went 1-2 as Johannes Kuhn scored the silver. France’s Ludwig Ehrhart took the final podium spot in third.

Gow, of Calgary, missed just two shots in his second trip to the range to post a time of 24 minutes, 54.8 seconds. He made the jump to Canada’s national senior development squad this year and was recently selected to carry the Alberta flag into the opening ceremonies of the 2011 Canada Winter Games, which will be held in Halifax next month.

Raileigh Goessling lead the Americans in 37th with in 59th and Benjamin in 71st. Canada’s Vincent Blais was 56th, David Gregoire was 65th, and Aaron Neumann, of Prince George, B.C., was 81st.

In the Youth men’s 7.5km sprint Macx Davies of Canmore, Alta., also found his way into the top-20 missing just one shot to finish 19h with a time of 21:43.0. Russia’s Maxim Tsvetkov took the win over Norway’s Vetle Sjastad Christiansen in second followed by Alexandr Loginov (RUS) in third.

For Canada Christian Gow, of Calgary, was 40th while Stuart Harden, of Canmore, Alta., was 44th and Quebec’s Albert Bouchard finished 66th. Sean Doherty lead the US in 50th with Casey Smith in 54th, Samuel Dougherty in 68th and Raymond Wonders in 77th.

Youth Men’s Sprint results HERE.
Junior Men’s Sprint results HERE.

January 29, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – The powerful Olympic silver medalist from Vancouver, Alexander Panzhinskiy (RUS), was dominant today in Otepää and took the gold medal in the men’s 1.4km U23 sprint classic picking up where he left off last season on the tracks at Whistler Olympic Park.

Panzhinskiy was strongest in the qualifications but the Canadian men loomed large, especially so with Hardwood’s Len Valjas, perhaps the tallest international skier of the day, with an impressive second behind the Russian. What’s more Jess Cockney qualified on the bubble in 30th, only a scant .21 seconds of being out of the big show. The lanky Valjas brings to mind images of the 1960s Norwegian star Harald Gronningen, a giant of the sport for Norway who had five OWG medals.

Timo Andre Bakken of Norway finished second and secured the silver medal. Magnus Moholt of Norway was fighting hard in the finishing straight with Dietmar Noeckler of Italy but Moholt edged out the Italian and captured bronze.

Overall it was a great day for the Canucks with Cockney of Canmore and Valjas, who hails from both Estonian and Swedish heritage, finishing sixth and seventh respectively. Looking back a year ago, Valjas was sixth in the U23 Championships in France. The top American today was Fairbanks, Alaska’s Reese Hanneman in 24th, who went out after the quarterfinals after qualifying in 29th. Canada’s Michael Somppi (CAN) did not start.

Following the race SkiTrax spoke with Valjas who commented about his race. “I felt Super good today out there. It was hard to get by the leaders in the heat because there was only one good glazed track to ski in, around the course. The rest of the tracks got completely filled in with windblown snow from the 40km/h wind. In my semi I came into the last 200 meters with the leaders, but I was forced into the very left lane which no one had skied in all day and it was filled with snow. I really didn’t have any other option out there. I had to break trail in the final sprint while the other guy beside me skied in a fast glazed track. I am very disappointed with my result today. I had the fitness to finish top 3 today, but ran into some bad luck.”

Cockney, who was second in his quarter final round losing out to Russian speed king Panzhinskiy, advanced to the final via a fast semi taking one of the lucky losers spots. SkiTrax caught up with the elated Canuck post race.

“Today was a mix of very different feelings for me and thankfully it ended with pure joy,” said Cockney. “I skied very poorly in the qualifications and I consider myself very lucky to have even made the heats. From then on I felt like I was playing with house money and figured the best thing to do was relax and ski my ass off in the heats.

“I am generally a smart heat skier and my goal is always to move higher in position than my qualifying result. This worked out and I was able to move from 30th qualifier to 6th overall on the day. This is a very new feeling for me as the last time I qualified for heats in Europe was two seasons ago in a German OPA race. Needless to say I’m ecstatic with how the day ended and I am already looking forward to next season and doing what I can to put up a better fight in the A final,” added Cockney, who skis out of the Foothills Nordic Ski Club.

Canadian coach Eric de Nys was happy with his young racers. “A great day for us today. Jesse had strength, speed and LUCK on his side today. He had a very strong quarter final just being nipped at the line by the Olympic silver medalist Panzhinskiy. Then in his semi, a Swedish athlete was DQ’d for a technique violation which moved Jess up to 4th. His semi ended up being quicker than semi number 2 in which Len placed third but lost the lucky loser spot to Jesse. Len had an amazing qualifier and first heat that he won easily.

“In his semi the cards didn’t fall Lenny’s way with two places on the track where he was forced to ski, not by choice. The clutch was the finishing stretch where Len was forced into the third track which no one had skied all day. He was strong enough to hold his own but not strong enough to get by and with the wind and falling snow, this track was a clear disadvantage but overall still a good day,” de Nys told SkiTrax.

Qualifications HERE.
Final Results HERE.

January 29, 2011 (Orford, QC) – Graham Nishikawa (Whitehorse Cross Country/AWCA) and junior Michelle Workun-Hill (Nakkertok) won the prologue opener on Friday as the Haywood NorAm resumed this weekend with a mini-tour in Orford, QC. Temperatures were -1 deg. C with hard packed tracks, ideal for racing.

Workun-Hill, still a junior, was the surprise winner in the women’s 2.5km classic race with a 7s margin over Brittney Webster (Highlands Trailblazers/CNST) in second with Camille Pepin (Club Nordique MSA/CNEPH) another junior in third. Pepin edged out Liz Stephen (Burke Mountain Academy/USST) who was a close 4th just off the podium.

Nishikawa won the 4km Open men’s prologue taking the victory by 4s over Stefan Kuhn (Canmore Nordic/CNST) in second followed by American Tim Reynolds from the Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club/CGRP scoring the bronze.

On Saturday the fields will contest a 10/15km classic interval start followed by a handicap-start 15/20km freestyle race on Sunday.

Women’s results HERE.
Men’s results HERE.

January 28, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov won the gold medal in the Junior men’s 1.4km classic sprint over Norwegian Sondre Turvoll Fossli, while Russia took third place with Gleb Retivykh winning the bronze.

American Erik Bjornsen of the Methow Valley, WA, lead the way for the North Americans as the lone qualifier with a strong 10th place. Canada’s Andy Shields in 31st narrowly missed advancing to the quarter finals by .19s as the two skiers ahead of him tied in 29th. Bjornsen was 4th in his quarterfinal heat and did not advance as a lucky loser finishing 14th overall.

The men’s final told the story featuring only Russians and Norwegians. In the qualifying round Fossli was the class of the field but in the end Ustiugov had more power.  It was a great battle between the pair as Fossli was leading from the start but Ustiugov was close behind with epic doubling poling and made his move to pass the Norwegian. Fossli was unable to counter and down the final stretch the Russian won by about a ski length.

Ustiugov was thrilled with his race, telling the FIS News Service, “This was a special day for me, because this is the first time I have beaten Gleb. This track was very difficult for me. I saw the race where the Russian girl crashed and I was really disappointed about it. It added strength to me because now, I had to bring the medals to the team.”

Fossli, was gracious and looked at things with perspective saying, “I felt pretty good out there today, but Sergey was just faster than me. I am not disappointed at all, because this is my first year at the junior championships. I am very satisfied.”

Other North American men who did not advance included Skyler Davis (USA) in 35th, Patrick Stewart-Jones (CAN) in 36th, Tyler Kornfield (USA in 38th, George Cartwright (USA) in 49th and Canada’s Jordan Cascagnette who was 73rd.

Qualifications HERE.
Final Results HERE.

January 28, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Germany’s Lucia Anger claimed the Junior Women’s classic 1.2km sprint title as the two leading skiers Elena Soboleva (RUS) and Germany’s Hanna Kolb crashed over the final hill in the final leaving the door open for Anger. Norway grabbed the remaining spots with Kari Oeyre Slind taking the silver medal, while her teammate Ragnhild Haga won the bronze.

Canada’s Janelle Greer and Heidi Widmer both qualified but did not advance past the quarter finals and finished 21st and 28th respectively. American Heather Mooney (USA) missed qualifying by 0.29s, placing 31^st, followed by Amy Glen (USA) in 42nd, Heather Mehain (CAN) in 45th, Izzy Caldwell (USA) in 57th, Kinsey Loan (USA) in 58th and Canada’s Annika Hicks who placed 61st.

“It was a disappointing day for me today,” said Widmer. “I was hoping to improve on last year’s 15th place qualification and 22nd overall sprint results but I just didn’t have access to those top gears today. In my qualifier, I skied the first half with decent speed, but during a transition on one of the small climbs, I wasn’t aggressive enough with my kick which cost me.”

“I quickly put the mediocre qualifier behind me and set my sights on the afternoon heats. I lost contact with the group on the second climb and made up some time on the descent thanks to some fast skis finishing 28th. Today taught me a lot and reminded me that I still have a long journey ahead and I’m excited to see what the future has in store,” added Widmer.

Kolb, the fastest qualifier, was the favourite and she and Soboleva advanced to the final winning their quarters and semis. The dramatics for the women’s Junior World title unfolded during the final match up as Soboleva was leading with Kolb right behind and Anger in tow as the others trailed.

Over the final uphill Kolb tumbled and took out Soboleva. That’s when Anger, reacting to what happened made her move and burned it to the finish line to take the win. The Norwegian Slind also came up from behind and finished 0.3 seconds back. Haga, the winner of the opening junior 5km free race, was third.

Anger basked in the spotlight saying, “I had hoped to win a medal in a competition here, but the sprint gold is a surprise for me. My tactics were to go as fast as I could. I saw what happened when the crash took place. I looked that I could pass them from the left and it was very close for me as well.”

Slind was happy with her finish. “The crash is part of the game, but I feel lucky. I passed them and did not get involved in the accident….you just have to be a little lucky to get there.”

Qualifications HERE.
Final Results HERE.

January 27, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Canadian National Team skier Kevin Sandau wanted to be in the top 10 in today’s men’s 15km Free Race at the U-23 World Championships in Otepaa, Estonia, and when the race was over he had turned in a stellar performance finishing 5th with a time of 36:04.8. Mission Accomplished!

”My goal today was a top 10, so I’m ecstatic about the result,” Sandau told SkiTrax post-race. “I started out the race conservatively so I could really push the final lap and finish strong.”

The USA’s Noah Hoffman also skied well today making the top ten finishing in ninth. The Aspen, CO native turned in a time of 36:42.4.

It was a Russian podium sweep as Evgeniy Belov took top honours as expected in today’s race, claiming the victory in 35:26.3, a comfortable 16.1 seconds ahead of his teammate Pavel Vikulin. Completing the hat trick for Russians today was Raul Shakirzianov placing third at 23.4 seconds behind Belov.

For Belov this marked the best day of his career so far after he was second last year in the interval start event at the FIS Junior Worlds. Reflecting on his win he told the FIS Press Service, ”My classical technique is better than my free, so I was prepared for a tough fight today. I had to speed up at the finish. All four laps were good for me. I want to win more medals here in Otepaa.

“I am familiar with this track because we have had training camps here,” he added. “And I also competed here last week at the World Cup.”

Another wonderful story played out with the skiing of the UK’s Andrew Musgrave. The hard-working athlete who has been training in Norway had the fastest time in the first lap but then lost some time to the Russians. At day’s end Musgrave had turned in an admirable performance finishing sixth one spot behind Sandau.

Demonstrating both smart and savvy skiing Calgary’s Sandau was very impressive. The skier-based out of Canmore-who grew up on the trails in Kananaskis Country told SkiTrax described his race.

“My first splits were top six, and by the half way point I was skiing around third. I still felt pretty fresh, so I was able to maintain and push myself further. I caught teammate Michael Somppi on my final 3.75km lap and he stuck with me until the finish, so he really pushed me till the end.”

Reflecting on an exciting, motivating day Sandau added, ”Before coming here I had my sights set on a strong pursuit race, so I’m really hoping for a podium spot on Monday.” The way he’s skiing that could well become a reality.

“The race today was hard. The course was technical and demanding,” the Hoff related to SkiTrax by email. “You had to constantly be working. I didn’t feel great, and I had a tough second lap.

“Then the German Andreas Katz caught me, and I was able to hang on him for the rest of the race. We caught Tad [Elliott] and the three of us skied together. It was really helpful to be able to follow Katz. I’m looking forward to watching some sprint races over the next couple of days. I think there is potential for some great results. Then the pursuit on Monday should be fun as well.”

Other North American finishers included Michael Somppi (CAN) 14th in 37:03.7, Tad Elliott (USA) in 19th with a time of 37:18.3, Jesse Cockney (CAN) in 27th stopping the clock at 37:36.2; in 32nd place was Graeme Killick (CAN) in 37:48.6, the USA’s Alex Treinen placed 35th in 38:04.9, and David Norris (CAN) in 39:03.0 was 46th.

“Awesome day for Sandau,” said an elated Eric de Nys, Canadian coach, “He skied consistent and strong. Michael Somppi and  Emily Nishikawa also had very strong races which was great to see.  Overall, today was a fabulous day and we know we have our strongest races still to come so we’re looking to build on these results.”

Full Results HERE.

January 27, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Using her experience as a former Junior World champ, Finland’s rising star Krista Lahteenmaki dominated Thursday’s U-23 10km free technique in Otepaa. Her winning time of 26:33.3 was one minute ahead of runner up Mariya Guschina of Russia while third place went to Norway’s Hilde Lauvhaug.

Lahteenmaki, recently a remarkable 8th overall at this year’s Tour de Ski, controlled the race from the start. On the 3×3.3km course she was in the lead after every lap. The talented Swede Hanna Brodin was not far off her Finnish rival’s pace on the first lap, but the sprinter who was impressive this past weekend in Otepaa finishing second claiming her first world cup podium, paid the price for starting too fast on the challenging course and finished 14th.

Lahteemaki was pleased with her effort today. “I am happy about the victory – the feeling of being the U-23 World Champion is nice. The weather was very cold, but everything else was very good. My skis were good, the track was good. It’s a demanding course here in Otepaa. Now I will concentrate on my next race.”

For the North Americans, it was Canada’s Emily Nishikawa leading the way with a top-20 results placing a strong 16th in 28:41.5. Sadie Bjornsen was the top US skier in 23rd in 29:31.1 followed by Canuck Alysson Marshall in 25th with a time of 29:34.5.

“I was pretty happy with how things went today,” Nishikawa told SkiTrax. “I started off pretty smooth and relaxed, then on my 2nd lap I caught a sweet ride from a German girl who was just starting.  I felt strong, pushed my hardest, and I paced it pretty well so I’m really happy with this race.

“It was pretty cold today, but being from the Yukon I’m used to it and prefer racing at colder temps.  I’m looking forward to the rest of the week, it should be really exciting,” added Nishikawa.

“I had a decent race today. I was careful not to start too hard and I focused on being strong and relaxed throughout the race,” Marshall told SkiTrax by email. “The course had some difficult climbs but there were downhills after which allowed for some recovery.

“A Norwegian passed me about 1.5km before the finish and I stayed with her into the stadium so I got a good ride up the last couple climbs. I am excited to race the classic sprint on Saturday!”

Caitlin Patterson (USA) who was recently on the podium at collegiate races in Lake Placid was 26th in 29:34.8. Sara Hewitt (CAN) finished in 28th, Becca Rorabaugh (USA) was 29th and Erin Tribe (CAN) placed 36th.

Full results HERE.

January 27, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Wednesday morning’s 5km Skate race was, as expected, a hammer fest. The course is not nearly as challenging as past years at the World Junior Championships, but nonetheless, it demanded every piece of you. I knew that the fastest girls in the world would be in the hunt today and I wanted to push the pace right from the beginning.

Blasting off from the start and hoping that my legs would hold on for the ride would have been ideal but my legs had other ideas. I finished today in 45th position, and although it is not the most impressive result, it’s my best 5km result in the last three years of competing at the World Junior Championships.

It wasn’t the best feeling race for me by any means, but I was happy with the way I skied it and I’m hoping this will serve as a good way to clear out my system before Sprint day on Friday.

Janelle Greer was our top Canadian in 35th position and commented, “I didn’t have anything left at the line today and was happy with how I skied my race. I’m excited for the sprint later this week.”

Heather Mehain was hot on my heels, only .5 seconds behind in 47th position as well as Annika Hicks finishing in 57th position. Jessie Diggins of the USA proved her fitness is enough to compete against the fastest in the World. Competing against her in Rossland, I’ve seen how strong and determined this girl is, so I’m so pumped to see her post a top 10 result.

The crowds were pretty weak in comparison to the World Cup on the previous weekend but let’s hope once this weekend hits, the people will come pouring back. In other news, we saw the sun and a glimpse of blue skies this afternoon! The first time I’ve seen that blazing sphere since we left Canada, this means the temperatures here are starting to drop.

January 26, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – The Junior World Championships kicked off today with the 5km/10km freestyle race. It was super exciting with all the athletes from every country here ready to rip around the challenging courses and kick some butt!

Going into today’s race, I was super nervous, and I had a ton of jittery energy because I was so excited. It had snowed the night before, making the course slower and more challenging, and there were already some long sustained climbs in the course. These are the kind of conditions I live for – where you have to be light and snappy!

Although Fasterskier gave me the best laugh I’ve had in a while when Nat hit it right on the head with “She still isn’t the prettiest skier – her energetic movements sometimes bubble into the occasional awkward angle and stray body part”. So true….so true. But in terms of a sweet course, good warm-up, encouraging and fun teammates, coach support and super talented wax techs, I was set up to have one of the better races of my life.

My plan was to take it out fast right from the get-go, and try to hold the pace until the last half a loop, where I’d try to ramp up the tempo and gun it to the finish. For the most part, I kept to my plan…although I’d almost forgotten how much it hurts when your legs fill with acid and I started to get a little clumsy with my technique. Looking back, I think I could have scrounged up a few seconds on some key transitions during the second lap where I was just too tired to think properly, but other than that, I don’t think I could have pulled any more from my body.

I was super proud of my teammates, especially since it was Kinsey and Izzy’s first time to Worlds! It’s a pretty exciting scene and Estonia really puts on a good race, with military members all over the course helping things run smoothly, a huge screen showing results up in the stadium, and full bleacher seating for the spectators. And the best part….it’s going to be televised! Today’s race wasn’t on Eurosport 2, but the rest of the races will be!

The schedule of events, with websites broadcasting live results, are linked HERE.
Full results from the women’s 5km skate are linked HERE.
Full results from the men’s 10km skate are linked HERE.

Our stay in Estonia has been sweet so far; we’re at the Waide Motel, and we take a 30-min shuttle to the race venue – no big deal since it’s a scenic ride and there aren’t any traffic jams in the countryside.

Aaaaaaand…..today, something amazing happened. THE SUN CAME OUT!!! I haven’t seen it in over a week, and the grey fog was starting to get depressing.

But now I’m set; got my vitamin D in for the day.

There were live results updating constantly on the website linked above, and we had a great time watching the junior men’s race from the dining room this afternoon. Although it would have been fun, we couldn’t stay all day to cheer in the snow since we’ve got more racing yet to come.

Tomorrow is the 10/15km skate for the U23 racers, and I’m super excited to see how they do! Hopefully I’ll get some sweet pictures of the venue to post up soon.

January 26, 2011 – Bill Koch has one more medal than most of us give him credit for. I found this out when I was researching the fact that Kikkan [Randall] is leading the FIS WC Sprint Classification after her recent win in Liberec. The Olympics held at Innsbruck in ’76 had a dual designation – not only did they count for Olympic medals, but they also counted as the World Championships, so officials at these Games were also handing out medals under the FIS designation for the Worlds – read more HERE.

So, Kochie won his Olympic silver medal and a World Championship silver medal in Innsbruck, and then his bronze in the 30km in ’82 in Oslo. Also, ’82 was the first year of the World Cup and he won the overall title. Bill has to feel good about this – the winner of the first overall World Cup – EVER!! Nobody really makes a big deal out of this – but this is important history. Other countries and programs would use this piece of history until it would make you sick – ask anyone you bump into after you read this and see if they know who won the first overall WC title.

Do you ski on a flat ski? This is a term you hear all the time in XC skiing that in my estimation is a real misnomer and I’m talking both techniques. The reason I bring this up is that the other day I was in Gatineau Park watching this lady trying to skate and she looked like she was moving her skis in mush and going nowhere and the tracks were firm. I asked her if she wanted some help – so I got to skate for the first time in three years, albeit on my classic skis.

I asked her what her focus was and she said she was trying to stay on a flat ski as that was what she remembered from last year’s lesson. This lady was sliding her skis sideways on the snow and was literally going nowhere. I said the flat ski exists, sort of, but in each technique it’s only for a micro second. I skated a couple of strides and asked her to show me the flat ski part of the track in the snow profile. From here on we made some progress with her technique – she was no longer working against herself and we did a couple of drills that let her create an edged platform to push off of.

Oh, yes we ski on the inside of the ski for better than 95% if not 100% of the diagonal stride – believe it! Just check out the tracks – they’ll tell you what is going on – especially post race.

Tell Me This Isn’t Cool! What a Great Tradition and I know, because I’ve been at many a feed station in so many Holmenkollen 50s way out in the back country. Just to ski out and see the camp sites, the festivities, the music, the bands and of course a few drunk ski acrobatics going for it – click HERE.

Otepaa and the Wrap up on Chandra Crawford’s half-weekend of skiing! First off, way to go Dasha, your best World Cup race ever (8th), after a not so stellar race on Saturday in the 10km classic World Cup. Love it when a skier shows the ability to fight back the next day like you did in a very strong field. Remember this effort – you’ll need it and more in Oslo – now you know you really belong.

Now to Chandra – she followed her usual script…skip the distance race to save yourself for the sprint. The old fashion way and the way not to try and be ready for the Worlds in Oslo in another month. That becomes the question – can her chances in Oslo be saved? So far, the coaching staff for the National Team has let her do it her way. When are they going to shut that door and get her on track? I would have had her stop in Orford, QC, on her way home from Europe for the Haywood series being held there this weekend – then go home to Canmore on her way to Kelowna, BC for the Haywood mini-tour there. Then back to Canmore for a training break and some altitude training before heading to Europe. Something as wild as that has to happen for her to have a chance at the Worlds.

Jask Sasseville said it in his SkiTrax on-line column – Dasha Gaiazova, is the new leader of this team!

One more thing… I think Crawford is a very talented athlete and can excel in both techniques – of course better in skating – but her classic could become top 10 also. But none of this happens doing it her way. Last year’s excuses are passe, she should be just plain doing better – talent a wasting. Too bad!

World Juniors and U23s are underway in Otepaa and the first reports in the Junior events are an outstanding 7th place by the USA’s Jessie Diggins – and nothing else from the men or the other women skiers in the first days events. Let’s hope for some updrafts in the next few days.

Talk to You Soon!

January 25, 2011 (Barrie, ON) – It was so good to see a “traditional” cross-country ski race on Saturday from Otepaa. The 10 and 15km individual start classic races were great to watch. I grew up with this form of racing and it’s what attracted me to the sport in the first place. For me racing against the clock and yourself with no one to help you is the purest form of racing. I used to argue with cycling road racers about the merits of racing by yourself or in a pack, and we agreed that it takes a different kind of mentality to do these two types of races.

You can really see this in Petter Northug (NOR). He’s a pack racer and a sprinter with the perfect mentality and physiology for those types of races. He’s not nearly as good as an individual start competitor. His 8th place on Saturday in Otepaa was actually a good race for him. I believe that 20 years ago, he would not have nearly as many good results that he has achieved when most of the races were individual starts. I also do not believe that his compatriot, the great Bjoern Dahlie, would have been as good back then if they were using mass starts because he did not have a very good sprint. Most of his races were won long before the final 200 meters.

However the same cannot be said for Norway’s queen, Marit Bjoergen. She is the best at everything. She can win an individual start by over 30 seconds like she did on Saturday and also win mass start races and sprints. She is just so dominant that it has become a surprise when she does not win. Once again, on Sunday in the individual sprints, for the second week in a row she had problems with another skier and did not make it into the final.

The distance course in Otepaa is a very tough course. The 5km loop is very hilly with one big hill that goes up beside the ski jump seemingly from the bottom to the top. The last 200 meters feature 13%-plus grade and all of the skiers had to herringbone. To win on a course like this you need great fitness, great technique, great mental strength and you need to pace properly. Bjoergen had all of these and won easily.

Justyna Kowalczyk (Poland) and Teresa Johaug (Norway) also showed great skills. Kowalczyk is in great shape and very strong mentally and Johaug is the best female climber in the world. That these three women finished one, two, and three is no surprise.

The men’s 15km race was won by Elder Roenning because he paced it better than anyone else, especially fellow Norwegian Martin Johnsrud Sundby who was the leader at 10km but faded to 7th. Daniel Rickardsson of Sweden and Maxim Vylezghanin of Russia also showed great fitness and pacing to finish 2nd and 3rd. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Andrus Veerpalu finished 5th on his home track even though he is 40 years old. He is the master of the 15km classic having won two Olympic gold medals at that distance. He also does not like the mass start races with a sprint at the end and I’m sure that this race format was set up especially for him.

While the individual distance course was a true test of the skiers the classic sprint course from Sunday was not. There were not enough hills in this course so instead of watching a classic sprint race we got to watch a double pole sprint race. Yuck! I hate it when this happens – it’s like going to watch a hockey game and all they do is fight.

So, once again, with all six men in the final only double poling someone you have never heard of before – Eirik Bransdal of Norway won. Back in 2008 the same thing happened in Canmore where Bjoern Naess from Norway won. FIS tried to fix this by forcing race organizers to change the courses (they added a big hill in Vancouver to the sprint course) and we’ve never heard of Naess since. It’s a shame, really, because Otepaa obviously has the hills to make a good course. The ironic thing is that the Norwegians have been trying for years to preserve classic technique from the onslaught of skating and you would think that the head of the World Cup committee, Vegard Ulvang, who is Norwegian, would not want to have double pole only classic races. The other ironic thing is that Norwegians keep winning these kinds of races.

The female sprinters used all of the classic techniques in their race and the best classic sprinter in the world – Petra Majdic of Slovenia – won convincingly over last year’s World Junior champion, Hanna Brodin from Sweden, and Maikan Falla of Norway. Brodin will be staying in Otepaa for another week to contest the U23 World championships and she has to be the favourite to win the sprints next weekend.

Dasha Gaiazova had the best result of her career finishing 8th. She continues to improve, especially in sprinting and she has taken over the #1 spot on the Canadian women’s team. Chandra Crawford finished 27th after qualifying 17th. Her qualifying time was almost 3 seconds closer to the top time than what she did in Vancouver, so she is improving. However, she is still 6 seconds slower than the best classic sprinters so there is still plenty of room for improvement.

There were no Americans at Otepaa this weekend and the rest of the Canadian skiers were all young skiers who were there for experience and to race on the same courses that they will use next weekend for the U23 World Championships. The best results from these young skiers were the 31st place by Len Valjas (he missed qualifying for the heats by .02 seconds) and a 33rd by Alysson Marshall, also close to qualifying in the sprints.

There are no World Cup races next weekend because of these U23 World Championships which held in conjunction with the World Junior Championships. Both Canada and the United States have full teams at these events. The World Cup continues on February 4-6 in Rybinsk, Russia with a full weekend of pursuit, sprint and relay races.

January 24, 2011 (Vuokatti, Finland) – Canada’s Mark Arendz captured his first IPC World Cup victory after winning the gold medal in a biathlon individual race on Sunday in Vuokatti, Finland on Sunday.

Arendz shot clean to post a winning time of 39 minutes, 35.9 seconds in a tight sprint to the wire with Norway’s Nils-Erik Ulset and Russia’s Oleg Balukhto who he has been fighting for the medals with all week in the men’s standing division – one of the deepest on the IPC World Cup.

“That was amazing,” said Arendz. “My first World Cup victory and to shoot clean – nothing feels better.”

Ulset settled for the silver medal at 40:52.1, while Balukhto was third (41:56.1).

It was the third medal of the week for the 20-year-old Arendz, of Springton, P.E.I. The 2010 Paralympian won a silver and a bronze in the biathlon sprint and pursuit races respectively.

“I think the two podium finishes this week definitely gave me the confidence to know I deserve to be here with these guys,” said Arendz. “I woke up this morning and felt ready to go and said this is my day. I couldn’t be happier.”

Results (brief)

1.Erik Bransdal, NOR
2. Ola Vigen Hattestad, NOR
3. Nikita Kriukov, RUS
4. Emil Joensson, SWE
5. Daniel Rickardsson, SWE

31. Len Valjas, Toronto
61. Jesse Cockney, Calgary
66. Michael Somppi, Thunder Bay, Ont.
69. Graeme Killick, Fort McMurray, Alta.

January 24, 2011 (Antholz, Italy) – Norway’s Tora Berger won her fourth consecutive individual competition on Sunday, netting the top podium spot in the women’s 12.5km Mass Start at the IBU World Cup in Antholz. Berger narrowly edged out Marie Laure Brunet of France to win by a mere .6 seconds after hitting 18 of 20 targets from the range.

“I left the stadium with Kuzmina and was only trying to be third,” Berger told Biathlonworld.com, “Then I was going so fast and saw the other two people in front of me. So I tried to fight the hardest that I could. . . I just fought with all I had at that point. I was strong enough.”

Brunet, who was chasing down her first ever World Cup win before Berger spoiled the party, settled for 2nd place after a one-miss performance. Bulgaria’s Darya Domracheva was the only racer to hit all 20 targets on the day, grabbing the last podium spot with a time of 34:02.1.

“This place seems to be lucky for me. I really like the nature and the tracks,” said Domracheva post race, “I was very happy with my shooting today, after five penalties in the sprint. But I was disappointed in my skiing. I did not have the best skis, as fast as some of the others.”

Laura Spector, the lone North American, finished 29th after a 5-miss performance that gave her a finishing time of 38:33.5.

“I felt so tired today, my legs were really heavy. I can’t believe that I missed the last shot, but that happens,” commented Spector in a US Biathlon report. “It’s really good to have a break now to recover a bit.”

The weather, which has been nothing short of perfect most of the week, continued to create a great environment for the racers. The skies were clear and the course was hard packed and fast.

Results HERE.

Results (brief)

1. Tora Berger, NOR (0+1+0+1) 33:56.3
2. Laure Marie Brunet, FRA (0+0+0+1) 33:56.9
3. Darya Domracheva, BLR (0+0+0+0) 34:02.1

29. Laura Spector, USA (1+1+1+2)

January 23, 2011 (Minneapolis, Minnesota) – CXC’s Caitlin Compton and Garrott Kuzzy measured up again to claim back-to-back victories in the 10/15km mass start classic races on day 2 of the SuperTour Mayor’s Challenge. Compton held court with a 20-second lead over Raphaela Sieber (UAF) in second with Maria Stuber (CXC) in third another 8s back. Sieber and Stuber swapped positions from yesterday’s 5/10km freestyle races.

Sieber took the Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) collegiate competition win over Christina Turman (NMU) in second (4th overall) and Theresia Schnurr (UAF) in third (6th overall).

Kuzzy was also untouchable again in the men’s race taking the win by 8s over a 5-strong group battling for the remaining podium spots as Chris Cook (Steinbock Racing) won the silver edging out Karl Nygren (CXC) in third followed by Bryan Cook (CXC) in 4th and Mike Sinnott (SVSEF) in 5th with Santi Ocariz (CXC) in 6th.

NMUs’ Martin Banerud (8th) and Andy Liebner (9th) were the top collegiate men with John Parry (UAF) in 10th taking the final podium spot.

UWGB team mates Kailey Mucha and Edward Gurney were the top Juniors while Benjamin Saxton (Nordicwerks) and Sharmila Ahmed (MVST) lead the the J1s.

Full results HERE.

January 23, 2011 (Chaux-Neuve, France) – Olympic silver medalist Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) jumped third and hung on in a hotly contested battle to finish eighth in a nordic combined World Cup in Chaux-Neuve in the Jura mountains near Geneva. All four U.S. skiers finished in the top-30 points as France’s Jason Lamy-Chappuis wrapped up the World Cup title with a dominating win.

While the podium still eluded the USA, it was another steppingstone event in the Team’s preparation for the World Championships which begin Feb. 23 at Holmenkollen in Oslo. Three-time Olympic silver medalist Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, CO) was 17th, just a week after returning to action following a six month rehab from a knee injury. Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) was 26th and Bryan Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO) 27th.

In the jumping round, Lodwick soared to a 114.5 meter jump to hold the lead for some time before finishing third. Lamy-Chappuis led the jump with a 115.5 meter ride to take a 37 second lead over Norway’s Haavard Klemetsen and 39 over Lodwick.

German Eric Frenzel flew to a hill record 120.0 meters, but had his score reduced as a part of the wind compensation rules. He was fourth in the jump.

“On the surface, four guys in the top 30 – we haven’t done that in a while,” said Nordic Combined Head Coach Dave Jarrett.

Little changed with the leaders in the early stages of the 10k cross country. Lamy-Chappuis extended his lead by a few seconds over the chase group of Lodwick and Klemetsen. But about 10 seconds back from the chasing duo a huge train was forming led by Austrians Felix Gottwald and Saturday’s winner David Kreiner along with Norwegian Mikko Kokslien.

At the midway mark, the drama began with the packs combining but still nearly 40 seconds behind the World Cup leader Lamy-Chappuis. Another chase pack had also developed another 15-20 seconds back, which included Spillane.

Despite the pulling power of Gottwald, Kokslien and Kreiner, the chase group could not advance on the leader. The pack slowly chipped away at his lead but was still nearly 20 seconds back going into the final kilometer. Lamy-Chappuis was able to cruise into the finish a winner, with Gottwald 7.2 seconds back, just ahead of Kokslien in third.

“It was certainly a much better jumping competition for Todd today – a solid competition for him,” said Jarrett. “He’s been battling a bit of sickness lately and it’s still bothering him a bit. What he managed to do with the group around him was great. He ran out of gas a little bit on the second half of the last lap and couldn’t quite match the pace.”

Spillane, who finished 17th, held his own in the second chase pack but was never able to bridge up to the front. But he continued to make huge progress in his cross country with the sixth fastest time. He also stayed tip to tail with Norway’s speed demon Magnus Moan most of the race.

“Johnny had a really solid race again,” added Jarrett. Ironically, in his three previous starts this season, Spillane had finished 33rd, 23rd and 13th. “Before the race, Johnny was joking that maybe with that sequence he would be third fastest today,” said Jarrett. The 2003 World Champion didn’t quite get there, but was close with his sixth fastest time.

Demong improved slightly from his jump Saturday but still was back in 43rd and skied the 15th fastest cross country leg to take 26th. Fletcher was in the points yet again in 27th.

“Bryan had another good race and skied with Johnny most of the way,” said Jarrett. “Today was one of those days where you really had to be the boss of your own personal space on the course. It was a good learning experience again for Bryan.”

The win gave Lamy-Chappuis a repeat World Cup title with just one event remaining, a mid-March competition in Lahti, Finland. The World Cup will now take a break until the World Championships, which begin Feb. 23. The opening nordic combined event is Sat. Feb. 25.

The U.S. Ski Team will train primarily in Park City, UT over the next month, with a special focus on jump training at the Utah Olympic Park. The Team will return to Norway a week before World Championships for training in on the Olympic venues in Lillehammer.

For complete results click HERE.

OFFICIAL RESULTS (brief)
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup
Chaux Neuve, France – Jan. 22, 2010
Large Hill
(jump rank/XC rank, time back)

1. Jason Lamy-Chappuis, France (1/26) 22:00.3
2. Felix Gottwald, Austria (19/1) +7.2 seconds
3. Mikko Kokslien, Norway (13/3) +7.4
4. David Kreiner, Austria (6/8T) +8.4
5. Tino Edelmann, Germany (11/4) +11.9
–
8. Todd Lodwick, Steamboat Springs, CO (3/21) +20.7
17. Johnny Spillane, Steamboat Springs, CO (36/6) +1:06.8
26. Bill Demong, Vermontville, NY (43/15) +1:38.2
27. Bryan Fletcher, Steamboat Springs, CO (34/20) +1:39.3

January 23, 2011 (Anholtz, Italy) – Germany needed just seven spare rounds to claim the top podium spot in Sunday’s 4×7.5km Men’s Relay in Antholz. The foursome, consisting of Stephan Christoph (0+1, 0+0), Daniel Böhm (0+0, 0+2), Arnd Peiffer (0+2, 0+0), and Michael Greis (0+0, 0+2), was dominant all day to finish in a total time of 1:10:17.2.

“I was warming up so I did not follow the whole competition before my leg,” Greis said at the post-race interview, “However, I realized that my teammates had done a very good job and it was up to me to finish the job.” Greis did just that, shooting clean in his final lap to bring home the victory.

For Team USA it was a solid day as Lowell Bailey, Leif Nordgren, Jeremy Teela and Tim Burke delivered a 9th place finish in a field of 21 teams who battled for the last relay podium before the 2011 IBU World Championships in Russia.

Second-place Italy, shot clean with nine spare rounds to finish 18.6 seconds behind the winners in front of the partisan home crowd. The team was led by Christian De Lorenzi, who used three spare rounds to shoot clean before passing off to Rene Laurent Vuillermoz. The three-time Olympian needed just one spare round to shoot clean in both laps before handing the reigns to Lukas Hofer. Hofer utilized three spares in his last lap before Markus Windisch closed out the race with a 2-spare performance and a total time of 1:10:35.8.

“It was great feeling to be on the podium with my teammates in my home stadium,” Hofer said, “Although we were almost first, we are very happy to be second.”

Norway rounded out the podium after a no-miss, 8-spare round performance. The squad started things off with Emile Hegle Svedsen, who is currently second in the World Cup standings. Svedsen used one spare round in each lap before handing things off to the legendary Ole Einer Bjorndalen.

The 92-time World Cup winner shot clean with no spares in both laps to boost the team into podium contention. Alexander Os raced the third leg, using just two spare rounds in his final lap before passing off to current overall points leader Tarjei Boe. But Boe faltered using four spare rounds to bring Norway across the finish line in 3rd place, less than 10 seconds back from Italy.

Team USA improved upon their 16th place effort at the Oberhof relay’s to finish with an overall time of 1:12:32.1. Bailey got things off to a fast start, using just one spare in his last lap to pass off to Nordgren in 2nd place behind Russia.

Nordgren used three spare rounds before tagging Teela, who missed one shot and used 3 spare rounds. “It was really fun to race here. I missed my first extra in prone, that wasn’t good, but beside that it was a great race, “ said Nordgren. “I was happy that I still had some energy left on the last loop and stayed up front there.”

Veteran Burke served as the anchor, also missing a shot and utilizing three spares to bring the team across the line in 9th. While Burke was a bit frustrated in the end both Bailey and Nordgren delivered performances that rank among their career best which augurs well with the next two World Cups coming to Maine.

“It was the best race of my life,” said Bailey in a US Biathlon report, “For sure I had better shootings before that, but my skiing was really good. I’m actually so happy, I can’t even talk”

Full results HERE.

Results (brief)

1. Germany (0+7) 1:10:17.2
2. Italy (0+9) 1:10:35.8
3. Norway (0+8) 1:10:45.4

9. USA (2+10) 1:12:32.1

January 23, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Norway’s young Eirik Brandsdal at 24 years old, won his first individual WCup in Otepaa on Saturday surprising some of the sport’s top sprinters as he bested team mate Ola Vigen Hattestad by a toe, with Russian fast man Nikita Kriukov taking the third spot on the podium.

Sweden was shut out despite having three top guns in the final as Emil Joensson settled for fourth, Daniel Rickardsson was 5th and Jesper Modin finished 6th. The lanky Rickardsson was truly lucky making both the lucky loser cut in the quarters and semis to end up in the final but that’s where his luck ran out. Joensson, who returned to the WCup after being sick, also made the final as a lucky loser, but failed to crack the podium as he tries to regain his form.

In what turned out to be a double poling “sprint fest” with most racers on skate skis, the Swedes looked strong in the final, with Modin active at the front. On the last downhill Joensson took over the lead heading into the finishing straight. But the World Cup sprint leader was spent as Hattestad and Brandsdal, in hot pursuit, overtook him with Brandsdal nipping the veteran Hattestad at the line while Kriukov pipped the tiring Swede for third.

Brandsdal, who had knee surgery seven months ago, qualified 3rd and recently shared the podium with his team sprint partner John Kristian Dahl (Norway II) as they claimed third in the 6×1.6km classic final last weekend in Liberec – Hattestad and Johan Kjoelstad (Norway I) won over Sweden I’s Modin and Mats Larsson in the exciting final match.

“I felt strong all the way. I cannot describe my feelings now,” Brandsdal told FIS XC post-race. “I feel great. It was a close race with Ola. It was very even. I pushed as much as I could and I was lucky to win today. I look now to two important races, which is the Norwegian championships and Rybinsk [WCup].”

Hattestad the top qualifier today was naturally pleased with a 1-2 finish for Norway. “I am really happy for Eirik. He had a lot of problems before the season with his leg. He worked a lot with upper body and improved a lot. Of course I was little bit disappointed that I did not win, but when you look at who beat me it was OK.”

Norwegian stud Petter Northug made it through his quarter final round placing second behind Brandsdal but lost out in the semis as he finished third behind Brandsdal who was bested by Kriukov. Northug echoed fellow Norwegian Marit Bjoergen’s performance in the women’s sprint as both top skiers missed the final.

Canada had four starters lead by Len Valjas who was stymied today placing 31st and missed out in the qualifying round by two tenths of a second. Jesse Cockney was 61st, Michael Somppi was 66th and Graeme Killick placed 69th.

Lenny Valjas
I felt really good today. This was a really nice course for a classic sprint. There were two gradual climbs and a long 250 meter double pole finish. I had good grip for this race but my skis were pretty slow. It was devastated when I looked at the result sheet and saw that I missed the heats by only 0.02 seconds. I am glad that my shape is coming around, I felt so much better than last weekend. I am looking forward to racing fast next weekend at the U23 World Champs. Congrats to Dasha for her top 10 performance today!

Michael Somppi
It wasn’t the best day for me today, but nevertheless it was a great experience. Dasha was amazing to watch, just barely missing out on the final. The course was fun and interesting, looping through the stadium midway with two decent climbs and a bridge crossing.  The temperature was a little cooler than Saturday’s race and the tracks were glazed. My result wasn’t stellar, however I couldn’t realistically expect much more. Saturday’s race was a tough one to recover quickly from and on top of that our team has covered a lot of kilometres this past week traveling from Canada to Finland, then Estonia. This weekend’s World Cup races were more of a learning experience for me and a tune up for the World U23 Championships.  I think they did exactly that.

Jesse Cockney
I felt pretty good during the race but was a bit disappointed with the end result of 61st. Going into that race I really felt like the top half at least was a realistic goal. That being said I am very happy with the chance to get some races in on these courses before the start of the U23 World Championships later this week. This experience should go a long way to being ready for both the 15km skate and classic sprint. Conditions were the same every day, around -7 C with a bit of falling snow and overcast skies. I’m not holding my breath to see the sun until I get back to Alberta.

Canadian Coach Eric de Nys
Lenny skied well and looked snappy but 30 other men were simply a little quicker today. That’s sprinting!  We’ll see great things from him in the future. It’s great experience for the all the guys to be out there.

Qualifications HERE.
Finals HERE.

January 23, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Petra Majdic (SLO) displayed her Tour de Ski form winning her quarter final and semi final rounds on her way to the finals and another big win in the women’s 1.2km classic sprint. Meanwhile Norway’s Marit Bjoergen showed she’s human once again getting hung up in her semi and missing out on the luck loser spot – as in Liberec – to finish 10th.

“It was really great victory,” said Majdic at the post-race press conference. “This season it is quite difficult for me. I come back after injury. I am happy I have collected three victories.”

In the final Sweden’s Hanna Brodin, the 2010 Junior World Skate Sprint Champ, grabbed her first WCup podium claiming second behind Majdic as Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla – a lucky loser after the semis – took third, edging out WCup overall leader Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) who was the other lucky loser making it the final.

It was Kowalczyk who had beaten out Bjoergen in the lucky loser battle following the semis as the Norwegian queen had a slow start and could not find the right gear, or the room, to finesse herself to the front as she finished an uncharacteristic fourth.

Despite ending up in the final Kowalczyk, the Polish powerhouse, did not have the gas to out-run Falla who earned her second WCup podium. She and Brodin are a sign of new challengers beginning emerge with the Nordic Worlds in Oslo around the corner.

Brodin usually takes a back seat to her team mate, Hanna Falk the top qualifier, but not today. “The final heat went very well for me,” commented Brodin. “I felt strong in the finish – I did not think I could be on the podium today. I will stay here in Otepää for the U23 Championships.”

Canada’s Dasha Gaiazova continued to turn heads qualifying in 21st and then advanced to the semis as she placed second behind Falk in their quarterfinal round. The 27-year-old Gaiazova came from behind with strong double poling reaching her first semi-final of the season.

But she and Falk both got dusted in their semi that was won by Majdic as Gaiazova finished 4th ending up with a career-best 8th. Her semi was slower than that of Bjoergen and Kowalczyk as the latter cashed in and made the final.

“Dasha was very strong today and skied to a personal best eighth place,” coach Eric de Nys told SkiTrax post-race. “It was nice to see and she is skiing better than she did last year where she skied to 12th a few times. Her form is on track and right where it needs to be heading to Oslo.”

Gaiazova’s team mate Chandra Crawford qualified in 17th but didn’t have it in her quarter final heat as she was 7s off the pace to finish 27th. Yet for Crawford the day had a silver lining…

“It depends how you define success,” Crawford told SkiTrax by email. “The absolute position number at the end of the day is the most important BUT an important measure of progress for me is time behind the winner – and today I had my best time behind ever in a classic sprint. From 9 seconds back at the Olympics last year to 6.34 seconds back today.”

Crawford added that her training is going well but… “I’m not a fan of a long double pole finish which should tell you something about what I need to work on in the training season.”

Gaiazova and Crawford matched up well in Liberec in the classic team sprint placing 5th. Gaiazova lead the pace but Crawford showed better classic form and fitness there – so does the 2006 Olympic gold medalist think more distance skiing will help her  sprinting?

“More racing in general all year long will probably help me be a faster and fitter skier, but it’s a question of going through the levels and progressing at the right time.

“From injured to healthy to sprinting to doing well in sprints… I’ve been doing well by being rested up for sprints and that’s still my approach this year and more distance racing will fit in when it works.”

Canada’s Alysson Marshall and Heidi Widmer made their Euro WCup debut in Otepaa in the classic sprint in preparation for the upcoming Junior/U23 World Championships but did not advance. Marshall was 33rd and missed qualifying by a mere .67s while Widmer was 50th. No Americans competed.

Qualifications HERE.
Finals HERE.

January 23, 2011 (Chaux-Neuve, France) – Bryan Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO) turned in yet another strong performance, moving up from 25th in the jump to finish 21st in a Nordic combined World Cup in France. Austrian David Kreiner spoiled the day for fans of French World Cup leader Jason Lamy-Chappuis as he took the win. Lamy-Chappuis was fourth.

The race also marked the return of Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) to action following the birth of his baby boy Liam a week ago. Demong struggled in the jump, finishing 49th, but blistered the 10k cross country with the third fastest time to finish 22nd.

Lamy-Chapuis continued his dominance on the jump, taking a 10 second lead over Finn Janne Ryynaenen. Within a kilometer, an Austrian pack started to develop first with Bernhard Gruber and Christoph Bieler chasing Lamy-Chappuis. Felix Gottwald and Kreiner soon joined the chase in a following pack about 25 seconds back and the race was on.

The packs joined forces after the midway mark with the Austrians taking a strong 1-2-3 position into the final kilometer Norwegian Mikko Kokslien, who had the fastest cross country time of the day, came on strong in the final stretch to move into second.

“Bryan is solid and it was tight today,” said Nordic Combined Head Coach  Dave Jarrett. “He jumped solidly and had four and a half out of five good laps and almost managed to stay in the top 20, which was the goal for the day. A few more meters on his jump and he could be challenging for the top 10.”

It was Fletcher’s sixth time in the points this year.

While Demong’s jump was off pace, he picked up great confidence in cross country.

“Bill had quite a bit more presence in the race and looked more and more like his normal self,” said Jarrett. “Today will make him feel better and more confident for tomorrow. At least on the cross country side he’s more like normal. That could take the pressure off on the jump.”

It was Spillane’s third event back from a knee injury and he, too, saw great strength in his cross country with the 13th fastest time. “Every race for Johnny is getting stronger and stronger,” added Jarrett. “Johnny is good enough in cross country and if he jumps well he can hold his own. He hasn’t been jumping that much since the comeback. He needs more consistent jumps to get into a rhythm and to feel confident.”

Between now and World Championships in a month the Team will spend much of its time in Park City training, with Demong and Spillane focusing on jumping at the Utah Olympic Park.

Action continues in Chaux-Neuve Sunday with another large hill event before the World Cup takes a long break for the World Championships which start in a month. The U.S. team will be named this week.

Full results HERE.

Results (brief)

1. David Kreiner, Austria (7/5) 21:59.2
2. Mikko Kokslien, Norway (17/1) +0.6
3. Felix Gottwald, Austria (16/2) +1.5

21. Bryan Fletcher, Steamboat Springs, CO (24/21) +1:13.8
22. Billy Demong, Vermontville, NY (49/3) +1:19.0
31. Johnny Spillane, Steamboat Springs, CO (42/13) +1:34.6
34. Todd Lodwick, Steamboat Springs, CO (37/27) +1:57.0

January 22, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – After last weekend’s Sprint World Cup in Liberec, CZE, Dasha [Gaiazova], Chandra [Crawford], and I had a long 18-hour travel day en route to Otepää, Estonia. The next morning we went for a ski on the beautiful Otepää ski trails.

They’ve had a record amount of snowfall for this time of year! It’s amazing, and it just keeps on snowing. It is such a fabulous race site and they recently built a brand new chalet with huge bleachers, as well as a new waxing complex for the races. They are ready for the massive Estonian crowds that love ski racing.

I’m especially excited to be back in Estonia because it’s my family’s homeland. It’s been a while since I last spoke Estonian so I was a bit nervous to give my first ever Estonian interview. I guess it went pretty well because it made it on National TV here!

This week I focused on improving my speed after my mediocre result last weekend in Liberec. I had some really good workouts filled with short sprints. I feel much better this week, my pre-race intervals felt much better than last week. I’m looking forward to the classic sprint on Sunday.

On Wednesday the rest of our team and wax techs arrived after spending the first half of the week training in Finland. I’m so happy to have the wax techs back as we’ve been waxing out own skis all week with no tools. We had to put klister on our skis with no heat gun or metal brush… it was messy.

The distance course for Saturday’s 15km classic race is one of the toughest 5km loops in the world. It has an enormous hill that climbs from the bottom of the ski jump straight up to the top. The four brave men that started the 15km classic were Graeme Killick, Kevin Sandau, Michael Somppi, and Jess Cockney. I had the boys tell me their thoughts on their first ever over-seas World Cup.

Graeme Killick
It was a tough course and I should have asked for more grip because I was unable to stay in the track for much of the course. Overall I think it will improve from here on in and I look forward to becoming competitive at this level.

Michael Somppi
We started off our trip in Vierumaki, Finland for a couple days of training on light rolling terrain. The Scandic Hotel was awesome and I visited the Peltonen factory!  Today was my first race in Europe and boy was it a challenging one on that course.  I’m excited to be here and can’t wait to race more.

Kevin Sandau
Today’s world cup was a really good primer for next week’s Under-23 Champs. The course was one of the hardest I’ve raced on and was really technically demanding, but I thought I skied it pretty well. There were a few sketchy moments on the downhills, and some very steep climbs, but I think it was a good opportunity to learn a few things. It really puts things into perspective skiing with the best, and I’m really looking forward to next week’s distance races.

There were a couple things I would have liked to have done better, but overall I’m very pleased with the race. Racing with the best really puts things into perspective, and there’s a lot for me to take away from this experience. This being my second world cup, it went much better than my first, where I got a bit antsy at the start and sprinted the first kilometer. It’s not hard to improve on last place…

Jess Cockney
Well, today was my first World Cup and mostly it was a good chance to get some experience on the trails we’ll be using next week at the U23 World Championships. As for the race itself I’m disappointed with the end result but I have a few positives to take from it and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s sprint race. I often race my best with lots of hard training and races under my belt so I’m hoping things just get better and better as we get closer to next week’s races.

—–

We caught up with Canadian Coach Eric de Nys for his impressions as well…
Today was good.  We had two men who started their first World Cup ever and all four men and one women started their first World Cup overseas. Kevin Sandau, Michael Sompii and Emily Nishikawa have raced the WC in Canmore but this was the first time away from home and it was an eye opener. But all starters had a great experience and will take away a lot heading into next week’s races, the rest of the season, and the rest of their careers!

All were nervous of course but excited to tackle what is arguably the toughest course on the World Cup circuit. I know they’re hungry for more and this will feed their desires to become the best in the world. Racing at the WC level from the NorAm’s is like going from grade school to high school. Coming out of grade school you quickly realize that you’re not what you thought you were…..but you adapt, gain perspective, and start to work harder to become that all-knowing Senior.

We are all looking forward to the sprint tomorrow.

date] (Otepaa, Estonia) – It was Norway again topping the podium as Eldar Roenning laid down the fastest time to claim a surprising victory over Sweden’s Daniel Rickardsson in second with Russia’s Maxim Vylegzhanin in third. Roenning’s last WCup win was in the classic sprint in Oberhof earlier this year.

He’s seen several firsts as part of Norway’s relay team, but his last distance race victory was in Cavalese, Italy, in 2007 when he won the 30km classic mass start.

Vylegzhanin was back in the field after high hemoglobin blood levels considered unsafe forced him out of the Tour de Ski on day one on Dec. 31. He was ahead of Rickardsson at the 5k mark but the Swede made progressive gains to overtake the Russian by 2s in the end to claim the silver.

“I’m very happy with my victory. It was a very tough race. I had a great feeling since he morning,” said Roenning at the post-race press conference. His team mate Martin Johnsrud Sundby set an early blistering early pace – with the only sub-12 min time at the 5km mark. He held his form until the final lap but then things began to unravel.

Only Petter Northug (NOR) and Vylegzhanin could come close to Sundby but even the mighty Northug was not up to the challenge as Rickardsson threw his hat in the ring for the podium with the 4th fastest time at 10km.

“It was the tough race from the start till the end,” said Rickardsson.  “I am happy I finished second. After the Tour de Ski I got sick and spent the first five days of the high altitude training in Livigno in bed. When I recovered I had a very good training camp.”

Local favourite Andrus Veerpalu had a strong performance as well finishing 5th. He took over the lead when he finished but it was short-lived, as Roenning, who was on course just behind him, quickly unseated the Estonian star.

“In Otepää you have to have excellent skis and I had them today,” added Roenning – and that he did – as he could not be assailed by the remaining top guns including Marcus Hellner (SWE) in fourth or Northug who ended up 8th.

Four Canadians debuted on the Euro World Cup scene in preparation for the upcoming 2011 Junior/U23 Worlds in Otepaa including Kevin Sandau in 53rd, Graeme Killick in 60th, Michael Somppi in 62nd and Jesse Cockney in 68th.

The Canadians are hungry for more said Canadian Coach Eric de Nys. “They were nervous of course but excited to tackle what is arguably the toughest course on the World Cup circuit. I know they’re hungry for more and this will feed their desires to become the best in the world.” – read more on the Canucks HERE.

For Roenning it was his 6th World Cup victory and his first podium of the season – good timing with the Oslo Worlds around the corner.

Full results HERE.

January 22, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Norway’s Marit Bjoergen continued her World Cup onslaught with a decisive victory on Saturday in the women’s 10km Classic individual start by a 32-second margin over World Cup leader Justyna Kowalczyk (POL).

Bjoergen’s team mate Therese Johaug finished third and is becoming a familiar face on the podium as she bested Aino Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) who’s making gains since her shoulder injury earlier this year, in fourth.

Bjoergen’s pace cannot be matched it seems and with the Oslo Worlds around the corner the odds favour her to win all six women’s events although she may take a pass on the team sprint. It was her 43rd WCup win and she has now topped fellow Norwegian, Bente Skari’s record of 42 World Cup victories for women – Skari was on site for the historic occasion as the TD for the race.

According to FIS XC Russia’s Elena Vaelbe has the most women’s WCup wins with 45 but Statistical Skier sheds some interesting light on these records as the criteria for wins is apparently not consistent – read more HERE.

Kowalczyk was leading at the 2.5km mark on the 5km course, but Bjoergen soon asserted herself and by the end of the first lap she had a 13-second lead as Kowalczyk faltered.

“I knew how Marit is skiing,” Kowalczyk told FIS XC post-race. “But there are tough uphills on the course and I am not the strongest there.”

Bjoergen never looked back once again trouncing the field altho’ she claimed to have been nervous about her first distance race since La Clusaz. “I was little bit nervous today. I have not done along distance race since La Clusaz and I was not sure about my shape.”

Canada’s Daria Gaiazova finished in 43rd while Emily Nishikawa, debuting at her first Euro World Cup in preparation for the upcoming Junior/U23 World Championships, placed 46th.

“Today’s race was a really cool experience, the crowd was so loud especially on the big climb which was awesome,” said Nishikawa by email. “The course was super tough and I’m still feeling the jet lag a little, but I was really excited to be out there. Today’s race was a great tune up for the U23 Champs, I’m looking forward to more racing next week!”

Kowalczyk remains the overall WCup leader with a sizeable lead over Bjoergen while Arianna Follis (ITA) is in third with Johaug in 4th. In the distance World Cup ranking Kowalczyk has a lead of 162 points over Bjoergen with Johaug in 3rd.

“It was a good race today,” said Johaug. “My shape is very good. The course here is very tough with many uphills. I had information about how Justyna was racing – in the end she was faster.”

Full results HERE.
Full results detail HERE.
Overall standings HERE.

January 21, 2011 (Antholz, Italy) – America’s Laura Spector placed 23rd in Friday’s 7.5km Sprint in Antholz, qualifying for her second consecutive mass start just a day after team mate Lowell Bailey accomplished the same feat. Spector, whose finish marks the second best of her career after a 19th place effort at this year’s Oberhof Sprint, shot clean for a time of 21:37.9 – just 0.3 seconds behind current World Cup leader Kaisa Mäkäräinen (SVK).  Tora Berger of Norway posted the best result of the day, hitting every shot to finish in a time of 20:08.1.

“It’s super exciting to race in the mass start again. At the end of three tough racing weeks like that I knew I had to relax a bit because it is mentally and physically exhausting,” Spector said in US Biathlon report, “So today I didn’t even think about the race and just treated it like normal training…I avoided getting nervous and instead just went out there and had fun”

Second place went to Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia, who won gold in the Sprint at the Vancouver Olympics. Kuzmina hit nine of her 10 targets to finish 29.1 seconds behind Berger. Olga Zaitseva captured 3rd place to post her best result since winning the Individual in last week’s World Cup in Ruhpolding. The Russian missed one shot to finish with a time of 20:44.5.

Haley Johnson of the United States missed a shot in each stage to finish 37th. Her time of 22:08.7 earned the biathlete her first World Cup points of the season. Sara Studebaker also missed 2 shots to finish 56th with a time of 22:46.5.

The Canadian Team is not present at the Antholz World Cup. According to the Executive Director for Biathlon Canada, Joanne Thomson, the Team has headed back to North America to get situated with the time difference in preparation for the US World Cup’s in Presque Isle, and Fort Kent.

Full results HERE.

Results (brief)

1. Tora Berger, NOR (0+0) 20:08.1
2. Anastasiya Kuzmina, SVK, (0+1) 20:37.2
3. Olga Zaitseva, RUS (0+1) 20:44.5

23. Laura Spector, USA (0+0) 21:37.9
37. Haley Johnson, USA (1+1) 22:08.7
56. Sara Studebaker, USA (0+2) 22:46.5

January 19, 2011 (Truckee, CA) – Be a part of history!  On Sunday, March 6, 2011 cross-country ski racers will gather to embark on the 35th annual Great Ski Race.  The Great Ski Race covers 30 km beginning at the Tahoe Cross Country Center in Tahoe City to the Cottonwood Restaurant in Truckee.  Race registration is available now at www.thegreatskirace.com  Prices go up on February 16th so sign up now!

The Great Ski Race is the main fundraising event for the Tahoe Nordic Search and Rescue Team, a non-profit all volunteer organization.  Team members, along with community supporters, organize The Great Ski Race, which continues to be one of the largest Nordic ski races west of the Mississippi. Race proceeds are used primarily to purchase equipment for the Team and to support winter survival and avalanche education programs sponsored and conducted by the Team.

The Great Ski Race has gone from 60 racers being manually timed in 1977, to more than 600 racers with electronic timing in 1985, to more than 800 racers in 2001. In 2005 all records were broken, with 1109 registered racers, 1029 finishers, and the fastest men’s and women’s times yet!  “The Great Ski Race has been a favorite event among Tahoe locals as well as Nordic racers since its inception,” said Doug Read, the Team’s Great Ski Race director. “The race is not only demanding, but also lots of fun for all participants. Don’t forget to save some energy for the big party that takes place at the finish line, complete with live music and dancing!”

Registration fees: $55 before February 15th; $65 February 16th-March 5th; $75 if registering on race day; and juniors 18 and under are $25.  The entry fee buys a pre-race package, a 5-color T-shirt, refreshments and a hot lunch at the finish, a chance to win one of numerous prizes – plus live music by Downbeat so you know there will be dancing at the finish! And, of course, donations above and beyond these amounts to the Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue Team are always appreciated. (All donations above and beyond race fees are tax-deductible; non-profit tax ID #94-2737988.)  All race fees are non-refundable.

2011 sponsors included Tahoe Cross Country, Northstar at Tahoe, Tahoe TV, GU and GU2O Sports Drinks, the Cottonwood Restaurant, Granlibakken Conference Center and Lodge, Jarco Commercial Real Estate, Sierra Nevada Brewing, Boulder Nordic Sport, Paco’s Ski and Sport, Sierra Nordic, Resort at Squaw Creek, Toko Wax, Sunnyside Steakhouse and Lodge, Adventure Sports Journal, Gensburg and Sons Construction, and Granger Excavating

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for 2011, visit the website at www.thegreatskirace.com for more information.

Conceived in 1976, the Team has more than 100 members who fulfill many different functions in the organization such as rescuing lost alpine and cross-country skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers, locating downed aircraft, rescuing stranded hikers and climbers, educating the public about mountain safety, and many other support functions.  For more information, contact Pam at 530-546-7393 or visit the race’s website at  www.thegreatskirace.com
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January 18, 2011 (Anchorage, Alaska) – The USA’s Kikkan Randall, won her second career World Cup this past  weekend in Liberec, Czech Republic, on the same venue where she took silver in the free technique sprint at the 2009 World Championships. With that win she’s now the overall World Cup sprint leader for the first time but noted in her blog, “It’s too bad I won’t be racing in Otepaa [Estonia] next weekend to actually get to wear the bib!”

Randall earned her first Word Cup victory in Rybinsk, Russia in December 2007. Following her second WCup win in Liberec – read more here – she returned to the US after being on the road for two months to recover and begin preparation for her biggest test this season – the Nordic World Championships in Oslo, Norway from Feb. 24-Mar. 6 – where she’ll face local star Marit Bjoergen, on the Norwegian’s home turf.

In this teleconference call Randall talks shop about her past, present, and future…how she got to top the podium again and about the upcoming battle with Bjoergen and the world’s best in Oslo…

January 17, 2011 – The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) announced today its Most Influential Women (MIW) List for 2010 to highlight the leadership, strength and accomplishments of Canadian women who made a significant impact in sport and physical activity in 2010. The objective of the MIW List is to inspire and motivate other women and girls to take leading roles in sport and physical activity – at the community, provincial, national or international level.

“This is the 10th time that CAAWS publishes its Most Influential Women List and with each edition we celebrate Canadian women who are making a difference,” said CAAWS Executive Director Karin Lofstrom (Ottawa, Ontario). “They are women who work in all fields, and come from all walks of life. This year the MIW List includes coaches, professors, athletes, administrators and volunteers. What unites these leaders is their passion for sport and physical activity and using it to improve the lives of all Canadians. They are women to be admired.”

The CAAWS Most Influential Women’s List for 2010 is:
(in alphabetical order )

– Stacey Allaster (St Petersburg, Florida / Originally Welland, Ontario) Chairman and CEO, Women’s Tennis Association
– Margarett Best (Toronto, Ontario) Minister of Health Promotion and Sport, Government of Ontario
– Sylvie Bigras (Ottawa, Ontario) Press Chief, 2010 Canadian Olympic Team
– Nathalie Cook (Toronto, Ontario) Vice-President, Marketing and Partnerships, Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium
– The team of Chandra Crawford & Marie-Hélène Thibeault (Canmore, Alberta) Founder of Fast and Female / Executive Director, Fast and Female
– Melody (Mel) Davidson (Calgary, Alberta) Team Canada Olympic Hockey Coach
– Martha Deacon (Oakville, Ontario) Team Canada Chef de Mission, 2010 Commonwealth Games
– Andrea Grantham (Ottawa, Ontario) Executive Director, Physical and Health Education Canada
– Nancy Greene Raine (Rossland, British Columbia) Senator, Officer of the Order of Canada, Olympic Ambassador
– Lindsay Hugenholtz (Halifax, Nova Scotia) Deputy CEO, 2011 Canada Winter Games
– Clara Hughes (Winnipeg, Manitoba & Glenn Sutton, Quebec) Olympian, Officer of the Order of Canada
– Nathalie Lambert (Montreal, Quebec) Team Canada Chef de Mission, 2010 Olympic Games
– Dominique Langelier (Mont Tremblant, Quebec) Olympic Snowboard Official
– Nanci Martin (Vancouver, British Columbia) 2010 Special Olympics North America Coach of the Year
– Chantal Petitclerc (Montreal, Quebec) Companion of the Order of Canada, Paralympian, Motivational Speaker
– Deborah (Debbie) Pyne (Richmond, British Columbia) Managing Director of Player Development, BC Golf Association, ProMOTION Plus volunteer
– The team of Joannie Rochette (Île-Dupas, Quebec) & Manon Perron (Boucherville, Quebec) Olympian, 2010 Terry Fox Award / Coach
– Tricia Smith (Vancouver, British Columbia) Member of the Order of Canada, Olympian, COC Senior Vice-President

The Women and Coaching Journal Advisory Board (Coaching Association of Canada), which consists of:
– Sheilagh Croxon (Toronto, Ontario) Consultant, Women in Coaching program, Coaching Association of Canada
– Guylaine Demers (Quebec City, Quebec) Professor, Laval University
– Gretchen Kerr (Toronto, Ontario) Professor, University of Toronto
– Dru Marshall (Edmonton, Alberta) Deputy provost, University of Alberta
– Rose Mercier (Kingston, Ontario) Consultant in leadership development and organizational transition
– Sheila Robertson (Manotick, Ontario) Editor, Canadian Journal for Women in Coaching
– Penny Werthner (Ottawa, Ontario) Professor, University of Ottawa
Lauren Woolstencroft (Vancouver, British Columbia) Paralympian, Engineer, Motivational Speaker

CAAWS also nominates women as Ones to Watch, and this year two outstanding young women have been selected:
– Mary Spencer (Windsor, Ontario) Athlete, Member of Motivate Canada’s GEN 7 program
– June Zimmer (Regina, Saskatchewan) Executive Director, Girls in the Game

“This year we are celebrating CAAWS’ 30th anniversary as an association. As we celebrate our many past successes, we are also looking to the future to supporting the development across Canada of more women leaders,” said CAAWS Past Chair Nicole Smith (Fredericton, New Brunswick). “The MIW List is part of CAAWS honoring role models. They are women who are influencing sport and physical activity in Canada by their work in boardrooms, fields of competition and physical activity. Every year, female coaches, administrators, athletes, volunteers, officials are taking on more leadership roles, but there is still a glass ceiling. We still have a long way to go to create a truly equitable system. This is why the CAAWS MIW List is important. “

Many of the women named to the MIW List were nominated by colleagues and the general public. The final list was compiled by the CAAWS selection panel from both public nominations and contributions from knowledgeable sport and physical activity leaders. The panel reviewed the submissions and based its decision on accomplishment and scope of activities in the 2010 calendar year.

The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to creating an equitable sport and physical activity system in which girls and women are actively engaged as participants and leaders. CAAWS provides a number of services, programs and resources to a variety of clients, including sport and physical activity organizations, teachers, coaches, athletes, volunteers, health professionals and recreation leaders. Since 1981, CAAWS has worked in close cooperation with government and non-government organizations on activities and initiatives that advocate for positive change for girls and women in sport and physical activity.
Full profiles and photos of all women on the MIW List can be found at www.caaws.ca

January 16, 2011 (Liberec, Czech Republic) – Unlike the women’s team sprint the men’s 6×1.6km classic final was sea-saw battle between defending World Champs Johan Kjoelstad and Ola Vigen Hattestad from Norway I and Sweden I’s Jesper Modin and Mats Larsson, the top team following the men’s semi finals. It was on this same course in Liberec back in 2009 that Hattestad and Kjoelstad won team sprint classic gold.

Each heat featured exciting skiing and it was unclear until the final leg who would take the victory as Sweden boldly challenged the World champs in a duel that forced the Norwegians to the limit.

But Hattestad was up to the challenge in the end making the final day in Liberec one of Norwegian red adding to the women’s earlier victory, with Norway II consisting of John Kristian Dahl and Erik Brandsdal taking the bronze for good measure.

Sweden’s Modin signaled the challenge from the get-go jumping into the lead as Kjoelstad and Erik Brandsdal (Norway II) marked him closely. Then Kjoelstad took over but Modin was not finished as Russia moved into second coming to the first exchange.

Larsson took over with Hattestad in tow as heat two got underway with Dahl near the front as well. As every move was marked the chance to escape would not be easy as the leaders charged ahead with Italy’s Renato Pasini flexing some ski muscle as well. Coming to the next exchange Dahl grabbed the lead but was quickly challenged by Larsson as the group remained intact.

Again Modin cranked it up with team mate Robin Bryntesson (Sweden II) in second but Kjoelstad saw trouble and countered keeping them in check and then attacked himself. The Swedes bided their time and soon Modin saw another opportunity and was back in front. Behind France, Germany, Italy and Russia seemed content to let Norway and Sweden duke it out and expend their energy.

As round four began Larsson kept the pressure on the world champion Hattestad with Sweden II in third – less than three seconds separated the entire field. Up the climb Larsson was still in charge as Bryntesson passed Hattestad while Dahl found himself mid-field behind Russia and France. On the descent Hattestad moved up into second as Russia’s Alexander Panzhinsky also gained some ground. As the next exchange approached it was Sweden I, Russia I, Sweden II and Norway I.

The Swedes looked sharp as the penultimate leg unfolded with Modin, an imposing skier at 6’6″, pressing the field to match his stride with Russia’s Andrey Parfenov in second and Kjoelstad now in third. Up the first climb Modin was followed by Kjoelstad now in second as the pace picked up. Over the next climb and down the descent Norway’s Kjoelstad made his move taking over the lead with Brandsdal attacking as well – coming into the exchange it was Norway I and II followed by Modin and Bryntesson.

Hattestad and Dahl took off as Larsson quickly joined them and quickly threw down the gauntlet up the first climb jumping into the lead. Cresting the hill only Hattestad could match him as the two opened a gap on Dahl and Calle Halfvarsson from Sweden II. Larsson continued to lead and his pace shattered the field, but the world champion would not yield and continued to close the gap on the Swede.

Up the final climb and down the chute leading to the finishing straight Hattestad came along side Larsson and took over the lead as they came around the final corner. Behind Dahl broke clear of Halfvarsson to sit third.

With 100m to go Hattestad was untouchable double poling his way to a decisive victory as he looked over his shoulder at Larsson knowing he had the clear victory with team mate Dahl claiming third.

For the World Champions it was a sweet victory. “I tried to get a gap to the others on my last lap,” Kjoelstad told FIS XC, “But I couldn’t get away – the Swedes were always behind. Ola did a great job on the last round and took the victory home for us. It is nice to come back to Liberec where we both have won together in 2009. I have to be strong next week to qualify for the World Championships in Oslo.”

For Larsson it was a good day at the office as he explained his strategy. “It was a good day for me. The first round was quite easy, in the second round I tried to force the speed a bit and then on my last lap I attacked on the first uphill to get a good gap to the others.

“It worked out but on the last uphill I was very tired when Ola closed the gap. He was super strong. I chose this tactic because I knew that I would not be able to follow Ola on the last uphill – so I decided to attack early at the start of the lap.”

The stage is now set for Oslo as the Swedes will have another chance to dethrone their Norwegian counterparts. But for now it’s all Norway as they painted Liberec red once again.

Full results HERE.
Full results detail HERE.

January 16, 2011 (Liberec, Czech Republic) – The Norway I team of Marit Bjoergen and Maiken Caspersen Falla dominated today’s FIS World Cup 6×1.3km classic team sprint in Liberec with a decisive victory over the Italy I team of Marianna Longa and Magda Genuin in second and Norway II (Kari Vikhagen Gjeitnes and Celine Brun-Lie) in third.

Team Canada’s Dasha Gaiazova and Chandra Crawford had a strong showing, finishing fifth, but put up a valiant fight for the medals throughout the race. On the menu for the upcoming Nordic Worlds in Oslo today’s race in Liberec is the final time that teams will meet before the Worlds signaling that Norway is clearly the front runner as other countries tweak their strategies for the remaining podium spots.

According to a CCC release the Canadian duo, who won bronze in the same race format in Dusseldorf earlier this year, were ready to feed off “Lay it on the Line” by Triumph – and that they did.

Canada’s Gaiazova had a great first heat, putting Canada in second behind Falla. Norway I began to open up a gap by the second heat as Bjoergen turned on the jets with Italy’s Longa taking over second, Sweden’s Falk moving into 3rd and Canada’s Crawford holding on to fourth.

The hand-offs in the transition went smooth and when Gaiazova’s turn came again on the third heat, she attacked to regain second spot as Norway I was off the front and building a commanding the lead. The battle for the rest of the podium was in full swing as Longa (Italy I) overtook Crawford for second in the fourth heat, while the Canadian fought hard with Brun-Lie from Norway II for third spot. Falk trailed behind in fourth as Bjoergen kept the pressure up skiing alone at the front.

Bjoergen tagged Falla with a comfortable 20-second advantage for Norway I on heat five with Italy’s Genuin defending second while Gaiazova resumed the fight for bronze with Norway II as she and Brun-Lie began to close on the Italian. Gaiazova took over third up the climb but couldn’t catch Genuin as she handed off to Crawford for the final leg.

By now Bjoergen was powering away securing the win for Norway I, as Longa held a tight grip on second while Crawford tried in vain to maintain third but Brun-Lie was too strong. Behind Finland’s Pirjo Muranen had taken over fourth from Falk as Sweden faltered.

As the field charged to the finish Bjoergen slam-dunked the win for Norway with Longa taking second and Brun-Lie grabbing Norway another podium spot. Muranen passed Crawford to claim fourth as the stalwart skier delivered Canada to a respectable fifth place.

“We’re both in good shape and we attacked well,” said Bjoergen in a post-race interview. “My goal was to give Maiken a good advantage after the first exchange and she had an amazing race increasing the gap.”

Canada’s Gaiazova who took a leadership role in the race told us by email that she “had a blast out there today.”  On their way to Prague by bus as they head to Otepaa the 27-year-old said their skis were perfect.

“We had fantastic skis today and great weather. I felt really good racing around the course. And it was a thrill to tag off to Chandra in medal contention every time. She raced really strong too, we both laid it all on the line today,” wrote Gaiazova.

Crawford heaped praise on her team mate. “Daria gets all the credit today. It was awesome to have a teammate handing off to me in strong position,” she said in the CCC release. Crawford went on to say that she’s been focusing on classic over the last four years in preparation for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games sprint event and the work has paid off adding, “Devon’s (Kershaw) success lately has been really good for the whole team and we are all feeding off it. It was an exciting race today.”

“Although my skate sprint was not so hot it was very cool to watch Kikkan dominate the sprint and score a big victory,” said Crawford by email. “In the sprint relay I have come a long way to be able to ski with those world cup girls but still have work to do to have the fitness to keep that pace up. My skis were amazing today and it’s been fun racing with Daria – we are both zany nutcases who love life and live loud. When we are working together I’m at my best.”

Full results HERE.
Full results detail HERE.

January 16, 2011 (Braunlage, Germany) –  Three U.S. women jumped into the top 10 as the U.S. women’s ski jumping squad continued to show stunning team depth in a FIS Continental Cup on the Normal Hill – HS100, in Germany on Sunday. Leading the way for the United States was reigning World Champion Lindsey Van (Park City, UT) in sixth, followed by Jessica Jerome (Park City, UT) in eighth and Alissa Johnson (Park City, UT) with a season best ninth.

Van led the U.S. juggernaut with jumps of 81.0 and 86.0 meters as the Americans put three into the top ten for a second straight day.

France’s 15 year-old Coline Mattel, continuing to improve at a rapid rate had a pair of jumps of 86.5 and 94.5 meters to take her third straight victory and sweep the weekend. Austrian powerhouse Daniela Iraschko was second but after 11 competitions continues to hold down the overall standings.

The Continental Cup will continue but the U.S. jumping women will return stateside for training prior to the FIS World Nordic Ski Championships Feb. 22-March 2, in Oslo, Norway on the newly rebuilt Holmenkollen jump overlooking the city of Oslo. The World Championship team will be named on Monday.

Full results HERE.

Results (brief)

1. Coline Mattel, France, (86.5, 94.5), 234.0
2. Daniela Iraschko, Austria, (87.5, 93.5), 228.5
3. Melanie Faisst, Germany, (87.0, 85.5), 209.5

6. Lindsey Van, Park City, UT, (81.0, 86.0), 199.0
8. Jessica Jerome, Park City, UT, (80.5, 84.), 192.5
9. Alissa Johnson, Park City, UT, (82.0, 81.5), 188.0
12. Abby Hughes, Park City, UT, (74.5, 82.0) 169.0

January 16, 2011 (Sapporo, Japan) – Teen Peter Frenette (Saranac Lake, NY) put down the best U.S. ski jumping performance in over seven years Sunday, finishing 18th in Sapporo in only his second World Cup.

With each passing ski jumping event, Frenette is showing continued improvement. He was 23rd following the first round Sunday and moved up to finish 18th. It was the best U.S. finish since Clint Jones – now his coach – was 13th at Kuusamo, Finland in November of 2003.

Frenette soared a 113.5 on his first ride, bumping it up a notch on his second flight good to 120.0 meters.

The winner of the second competition in Sapporo in as many days, was Austrian Andreas Kofler, who narrowly missed the podium Saturday. Kofler was the picture of consistency with a pair of long rides of 131.0 and 132.5 meters. German Severin Freund celebrated a sensational weekend with a second place. Overall World Cup leader Thomas Morgenstern of Austria placed third.

USA Ski Jumping coach Clint Jones said this was a big step forward for Frenette.

“This was a great day for Peter and our team,” said Jones. “With two good jumps and a little bit of luck, Peter scored his first World Cup points. This is such a positive step forward and should hopefully take some pressure off of Peter in upcoming competitions.”

Frenette had been second on the same hill in Sapporo earlier in the week in a Continental Cup. He set himself up well for the weekend, finishing 28th in qualifying to give himself a starting spot for the pair of World Cups. In Saturday’s opener, he was 33rd after the first jump – just missing the top 30 cut.

Next up for Frenette will by the FIS World Junior Nordic Championships in Estonia.

FIS World Cup Sapporo, Japan – Jan. 16, 2011
Large Hill – HS134

1. Andres Kofler, Austria, (131.0, 132.5), 232.9
2. Severin Freund, Germany, (134.5, 120.0), 224.7
3. Thomas Morgenstern, Asutria, (110.0, 136.5), 222.4

18. Peter Frenette, Saranac Lake, NY, (113.5, 120.), 159.1

Full results HERE.

January 15 (Liberec, CZE) – It was another historic day for the USA in Liberec as Kikkan Randall took charge of the women’s 1.3km skate sprint to claim her second career World Cup victory. The sprint course in Liberec has been good to Randall as the talented skier won her first Nordic World Championship medal – and first ever US women’s Worlds medal – back in 2009 when she won skate sprint silver here.

“It’s great to be back on top of the podium,” said Randall in a phone interview with SkiTrax. “The course held up well considering the warm weather here in Liberec. The organizers salted it and did a great job all round. I’m happy to see that the experience I’ve gained over the years is paying off.” Randall’s first WCup win was in Dec. 2007 in Rybinsk, Russia.

She was all smiles throughout the match exuding confidence while executing flawless skiing as she qualified third behind Hanna Falk (SWE) in second and race favourite Marit Bjoergen (NOR) in first. A match up with Bjoergen is what Randall was hoping for but fate had other plans.

The American star had just completed her first Tour de Ski while Bjoergen sat out preferring to save herself for the Oslo Worlds. The big question mark was how the grueling Tour would affect Randall – we would soon find out.

The women’s quarter finals were filled with drama as race favourite Marit Bjoergen (NOR) lead off in heat one with her trademark prowess taking the win over Katja Visnar (SLO) with Italy’s Magda Genuin in third. Petra Majdic (SLO) bested Randall as they shed top contender Arianna Follis (ITA) who settled for third as well – both Italians were now out.

Things looked good for Canada as Daria Gaiazova qualified in 12th and top sprinter Chandra Crawford was 19th but they were unlucky to be matched up in the same 1/4 final heat. On the start line with them was young Swedish sprinter Hanna Falk (SWE) who took the lead. Crawford was well-placed in second but suddenly one of her skis slipped out, she lost her balance and was forced to sit back on her skis. It was game over as Crawford couldn’t recover. Falk took the win as Gaiazova finished third behind Marianna Longa (ITA) and did not advance.

Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla and Celine Brun-Lie had the fastest quarter final and both advanced taking Laure Barthelemy (FRA) and Jenny Oeberg (SWE) with them as the lucky losers.

The semi finals unleashed more surprises as the number one seed Bjoergen tangled with Visnar midway through their heat and while neither crashed they were put off pace. Bjoergen scrambled back and regained some ground to finish third hoping to advance as a lucky loser but that was not to be – her winning streak had ended.

Randall and Majdic ramped up the pace in their semi knowing the stakes were high as the American returned the favour besting the Slovenian for the win a full 3s faster than Bjoergen’s heat meaning that Falk and Caspersen Falla, both in Randall’s heat, advanced as the lucky losers.

“We knew Bjoergen was third and had to pick up the pace,” said Randall. “I felt good out there and was able to keep setting up strong and adding to the load when I needed to get around people and be at the front.”

Was she disappointed that Bjoergen wasn’t in the final? “Definitely I was looking forward to a match up with her. It’s unfortunate but shows you that it can happen to anyone out there.”

The final saw Falk take the lead with Randall sitting mid field. She was third over the top of the first hill behind Brun-Lie with Majdic nearby. “I could feel Majdic was close so I kept the pace up and looked for room to get clear,” explained Randall.

Up the second climb Randall made her move on the outside, staying out of trouble while making gains. She pulled even with Falk on the downhill and passed her around the final corner as they headed into the finishing straight. From there she was home free as no one could catch her now.

Randall put the hammer down and won with a comfortable margin. “It was great to feel confident in the final and find that extra gear when I needed it.”

With her win Randall now has her third sprint podium this year and her second WCup win as the new leader in the WCup sprint standings. She’s come a long way since her first victory in Rybinsk.

“It’s a fabulous day for Kikkan,” said US head coach Chris Grover. “She knows the course here and she’s skiing smart and not getting flustered. She’s very consistent and her fitness is strong coming off the Tour de Ski. This is a great way to end this part of the season as she can now take a break and begin preparing for the Worlds.”

Randall heads to Prague and then back home on Sunday for a 3-week break before returning to action in Drammen, Norway on Feb. 19-20, just prior to the World Championships.

“I’ve been away for two months so I’m looking forward to the break. This is a great way to finish off and I’m taking home a lot of confidence in the lead up to the Worlds in Oslo.”

Full women’s sprint results HERE.
Sprint standings HERE.
Overall WCup standings HERE.

January 15, 2011 (Ruhpolding, Germany) – Just a day after Lars Berger won the IBU World Cup Sprint in Ruhpolding, his sister, Tora, followed suit, capturing gold in the Women’s 7.5km Sprint event on Saturday. The Berger duo became the first siblings in the history of biathlon to win the same event at the same World Cup.

“I was pretty impressed with my brother yesterday. He did a really good job in standing shooting – it was really exciting,” Berger said in a Biathlonworld.com interview, “So I had to do it on the same level today. We may have won the same competition in a Norwegian Cup at one time, but this is the first time in a World Cup.”

Berger won her second event of the season in front of a boisterous crowd of 21,000 fans, shooting clean for a time of 20:33.3. Germany’s Andrea Henkel, who medaled for the fourth consecutive race on Saturday, took home the silver after a 10 for 10 performance in the shooting range. Henkel finished just 1.1 seconds behind the Norwegian winner.

Magdalena Nuener, also from Germany, missed just one target to claim the final podium spot, finishing in a time of 20:49.1

Sara Studebaker topped the North Americans with a 32nd place finish in which she shot clean in both stages. Just seven seconds behind was fellow US teammate Laura Spector, who hit 9 of her 10 targets to finish 36th. Haley Johnson missed just one shot in her first lap to grab 44th place with a time of 22:55.0.

Zina Kocher put in the best Canadian result with a 53rd place effort in which she hit 7 of 10 targets for a time of 23:22.5. Rosanna Crawford, whose sister, Chandra, is a top national team xc ski skier on the World Cup circuit, had a perfect day in the range and skied to a 57th place finish. Second year World Cup competitor Melanie Schultz also had a perfect shooting day, placing 71st with a time of 24:01.1.

The weather conditions for Saturday’s event were by far the best yet seen in Ruhpolding. The absence of rain and wind made for a firmer course and straightforward shooting.

Full Results HERE.

Results (brief)

1. Tora Berger, NOR (0+0) 20:33.3
2. Andrea Henkel, GER, (0+0) 20:34.4
3. Magdalena Neuner, GER (0+1) 20:49.1

32. Sara Studebaker, USA (0+0) 22:35.3
36. Laura Spector, USA (1+0) 22:42.1
44. Haley Johnson, USA (1+0) 22:55.0
53. Zina Kocher, CAN (1+2) 23:25.5
57. Rosanna Crawford, CAN (0+0) 23:32.0
71. Melanie Schultz,  CAN (0+0) 24:01.1

January 15, 2011 (Seefeld, Austria) – Olympic silver medalist Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) returned to the World Cup Saturday, leading the USA in 23rd. France’s Olympic champion Jason Lamy Chappuis won the jump and held off the field in the cross-country ski leg to take the victory.

Bryan Fletcher led the way again in jumping, standing 14th with a 101.5 meter jump. Lodwick was tied for 17th at 99.5 meters. Lamy Chappuis all but clinched the win with a towering 113.0 meter leap to give him an almost unbeatable one minute, four second margin over the field going into cross-country ski section.

In the late afternoon cross-country leg, Lamy Chappuis set a moderate pace with Norwegian Magnus Moan putting on a herculean effort to come from 25th and nearly two minutes back to pull within 30 seconds of the Olympic champion by the finish to take second. Mikko Kokslien, who had led the Norwegians to a relay win on Friday, was third.

For the Americans, both Lodwick and Fletcher dropped back through the race but both tookaway points scoring finishes. It was the fourth time in the points this season for Fletcher, who has also cracked the top 10 earlier in the year.

Taylor Fletcher (Steamboat Springs, CO) had another good cross country outing – 24th fastest – to finish 34th, just out of the points. Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, CO) was 45th in his return to action after six months out with a knee injury.

Action will resume in Seefeld Sunday with another individual event before the circuit heads to France. Olympic champion Billy Demong, a proud new father of son Liam, will join the action action for a pair of World Cups in Chaux-Neuve.

Full results HERE.

Results (brief)

1. Jason Lamy Chappuis, France, 25:33.2
2. Magnus-H. Moan, Norway, 26:02.5
3. Mikko Kokslien, Norway, 26:06.1

23. Todd Lodwick, Steamboat Springs, CO, 27:30.4
28. Bryan Fletcher, Steamboat Springs, CO, 27:51.6
34. Taylor Fletcher, Steamboat Springs, CO, 28:10.2
54. Johnny Spillane, Steamboat Springs, CO, 29:04.0

January 14, 2011 – Cross Country Canada is pleased to announce that the following athletes have been selected to the 2011 World Cross Country Ski Championships Team competing in Oslo, Norway from Feb.22-March 6 – selection synopsis to follow.

– Devon Kershaw  (Ona-Wa-Su/NST)
– Alex Harvey (Club Nordique M.S.A/NST)
– Dasha Gaiazova (Rocky Mountain Racers/NST)
– Chandra Crawford (Canmore Nordic/NST)
– Stefan Kuhn (Canmore Nordic/NST)
– Perianne Jones (Nakkertok/NST)
– Ivan Babikov (Foothills Nordic/NST)
– Len Valjas (Team Hardwood/NDC Québec/NST)
– Phil Widmer (Canmore Nordic/NDC Québec/NST)
– George Grey (Blackjack/NST)
– Brooke Gosling (Foothills Nordic/CXC)

January 14, 2011 (Lake Placid, NY) – Lars Flora (APU) won the Men’s 10km classic race on Friday as Lake Placid SuperTour got underway, with a venue change as athletes competed at the Olympic Jumping Complex on a 2km loop with Noah Hoffman (Aspen/USST) gliding into second place 11s behind Flora, and Scott Patterson (UVM) in third at 20s back. Skies were overcast with great snow conditions and no snowfall or wind – final results HERE.

Unofficial (brief)

Men’s 10km Classic
1. Lars Flora (APU) 26.13
2. Noah Hoffman (Aspen/USST) 0:11
3. Scott Patterson (UVM) 0:20
4. Sam Tarling (Dartmouth)
5. Franz Bernstein (UVM)

January 13, 2011 (Canmore. AB) – The fifth ever edition of the Tour de Ski is over and done with. I am comfortably sitting in a “Nighbor driving” laid back position up in B-Class flying home after over two months of European racing and am still in disbelief… first how fast this first half of the season has blazed by, and second how great our team performed over the last 10 days in Germany and Italy.

The Tour de Ski is the most grueling race that we do all year. We race eight distinct competitions in only 10 days at four different venues. It’s a fast-paced, high-stakes week and a half and considering how I feel at the end of it, I cannot even imagine how it is for our staff who work so hard indefatigably all day, everyday to give us every opportunity to perform.

I’ll break ‘er down race by race since I didn’t update as I went along this year.

Day One: 3.75km Skate Prologue – Oberhof (Ger) – December 31st/2010
I was psyched to get my 5th Tour under way. Ivan, Alex and I did our finishing  touches on our Tour-prep enjoying Davos’ great skiing and stellar café over the holidays. Everything went quite well for all of us in the pre-Tour period and with the added bonus of Hutchdogg tirelessly working on us over Christmas we were all feeling strong and confident – and for the most part I had great workouts and life was grand.

When December 31st finally came, I felt ready but not 100%. One aspect still lingered – some heavy legs that settled in after my last long distance ski earlier in the week. My legs were stubbornly holding on to fatigue like a dog that just won’t release that tennis ball. Justin and I had planned to push for that optimal training load before backing off but as the race day came and I was still feeling slightly sub-par – oops.

The good news was that the first race is short. The prologue is under 8 minutes and the Tour is never won or lost on the first stage. I hammered the one lap course willing my body to empty the tank. It didn’t take long before I knew things weren’t going my way. Early in the race I knew my legs hadn’t came back in time. While I was happy that my energy was back to 100%, and my legs no longer felt heavy while pushing hard, I lacked punch/power and in such a short race that’s not good.

I pushed as hard as my flat-feeling body would go crossing the line out of the points in 37th – same finish as last year. I was pissed off. No denying. I’ve been very hot and cold with prologues in the last and while I was happy that the body felt better I wasn’t expecting to be so bad on day one. Being a Tour though I had very little time to feel sorry for myself as the next day the 15km classic pursuit was quickly approaching. I did wallow of course being the drama-queen that I am blasting some Band of Horses during a cold bath, and afterwards for about an hour before putting the race in the rear view mirror and refocusing.

Day Two: 15km Classic Pursuit Start – Oberhof (Ger) – January 1st/2011

I was fired up for this race. I always am. I love classic skiing, I love the course in Oberhof and I love pursuit starts where you’re chasing the leaders. It’s exciting, fast from the start and suits my strengths. It helps that the previous two years I had finished 3rd and 10th in the same race. It was a classic Oberhof day, foggy with slightly soft tracks. Warming up I felt great far better than just one day earlier and our skis were top shelf. I was nervous, but pumped.

Still, I had a lot of work and dudes to go through to catch back up to the front. I played it patiently, slowly working through the pack for the first six or so kilometers before making sure I was hanging out in the top 10-15 out of trouble and close enough to react if an attack went.

It was a tactical affair, some surging and some half-hearted attacks but none that stuck. Then, on the last lap Cologna went to the front to assert himself. I followed; just focusing on skiing as well I could technically. Next thing I knew I was in the front with about 2km remaining. I made a snap-decision that it was time to punch it and starting a long drive to the line in the lead. Coming around the last corner and into the windy finishing stretch I was still leading. I was double poling as hard as I could, but Dario came around me with 50m to go and passed me. I slipped right in behind him and crossed the line in 2nd place.

Needless to say, I was pumped. It was only my second-ever distance podium, and after not hitting the podium at all last year it felt so good to be back. It was a great race for me, best of the year and I posted the fastest time of the day, moving from 37th to 2nd. It also confirmed that Justin and I had in fact got the training right. It would have been awesome to win but Dario was just too strong for me and to finish only 0.5 seconds from my first win wasn’t bad.

Alex was 9th putting two Canadians in the top 10 for the first time this season which was sweet!

Day Three: 1.2km Classic Sprint- Obertsdorf (Ger) – January 2nd/2011
After packing up and showering it was onto our badass bus that Justin had organized (you’ve all seen the photos and read about it. The thing ruled for recovery!) as we rolled Southwest to the site of the 2005 World Champs Obertsdorf.

I love the sprint course in Obertsdorf. It was the first time I was ever top 15 internationally back in 2005 as a 22year-old, and I watched Sara Renner make history sprinting her way to a bronze medal there. I knew the course well, and was cautiously optimistic that I could get through the quarter-finals.

Well, it went far better than I could have ever imagined. Again our skis were fantastic and Alex and I qualified 6th and 7th. I felt amazing in all my heats and moved through to the final for the first time in my life in a classic sprint on the World Cup. I was stoked!

In the final I made a desperate attack up the last climb and came over the top with a gap. The meters were flying by and I was still in the lead down the finishing stretch.

I may have even thought about what my victory salute would be but Joensson had other ideas. With meters to go, he pulled even with me and it came down to an epic lunge for the line for the victory. After some tense moments, it was announced that no, for the second day in a row I had been beat at the line. I lost the race my 1cm or something ridiculous. Joensson described it as his tightest victory ever.

After hitting the podium the day before I was shocked to snag back to back silver medals. I was choked to lose such a tight race, especially after a gutsy move over the top that I believed was enough to stick, but Joensson is the best sprinter in the world, and to even be competitive with him was more than I ever expected. Alex finished an impressive 7th so back to back great days for Canada all around!

Day Four: 20km duathlon pursuit Obertsdorf, GER January 3rd/2011
The fourth race in a row was the also the longest. The course in Obertsdorf was the same 2.5km that they used for some races back in 2005 as well, whith consisted of flatter terrain and one huge hill per lap. The only difference is that they used the same course for classic and skate (just groomed in tracks on the side) and that made for a narrow/sketchy experience.

People were attacking all over the place going for early bonus sprints and launching for the finish line. It was very messy, lots of crashes, and just pandemonium in the pack to be honest. The course was silly.

I felt great but ended the day in 7th getting caught behind traffic up the final climb  but I was still happy with how the race played out. Alex and I both thought it felt more like a zone 3 workout because of all the bodies around. That was the one positive it didn’t take as much out of me as I would have thought.

Day Six: 1.3km skate sprint Toblach, ITA January 5th/2011
After another sizable trip, but on our sweet bus from Obertsdorf to Toblach, we had a rest day which we used to test skis and train on the long 35km stage. This was the best day to date in my ski career – I finally won a world cup! I felt so good today. I qualified in 14th, then moved easily through my final. Once again that was the main goal get through the quarters, so I was pretty relaxed for the remaining rounds.

In the final, I got off to my normal snail’s paced start, and was content to hang in the back part of the pack. Then, with two uphills remaining I just went crazy and launched an attack with everything I had. I kept the pressure all the way to the line, and while I had a big lead at one point Cologna almost came right back to me, but he ran out of real estate. At the time I could not and still cannot believe it.

It’s the best feeling in the world to be able to lift your arms in victory on the World Cup after working and dreaming about it for over 10 years. Haha, it’s almost embarrassing when I put it that way, but it finally happened. Our staff did such a great job, and everything just came together perfectly. I will never forget that race!

Day Seven: 35km skate pursuit CortinaToblach ITAJanuary 6th/2011
From an amazing race, to an extremely frustrating race was the transition between the two Toblach events.

In the long race, I started in 2nd place but alone to tackle the long/fairly flat stage over the Italian Dolomites. Cologna had amassed a big lead so I wouldn’t come back on him, but my goal was to stay away from the chase packs that were sure to form.

The course is 18km of gradual climbing, before descending gradually back to Toblach, and then a final show lap of 3.3km to finish off the spectacle. I felt good, started at a good/manageable pace. Still, at 13km Hellner who had started 30-odd seconds behind me swallowed me up. I tried in vain to stay with him, but he was on another planet. I just got popped right away, and had to settle to ski my own pace keeping him in my sights to make sure I still had a good pace.

I made it over the top of the hill, but even though I was going all out down the other side in 2km the large 11-dude chase pack caught me. I was so frustrated – like in cycling it is so much harder on easy terrain to stay away. Guys that started over 2.5 minutes behind me were safely in the draft of the pack and with them working together they made quick work of me.

What’s worse, is when they caught me nobody was willing to work together. We were chewing into Hellner who would have been caught for sure but then all of a sudden everyone was thinking of the bronze medal and things got tactical in a hurry.

I ended up finishing in the first chase pack good enough for 10th. All that hard work for the overall that I did early in the Tour was erased. I was (and still am) bummed about it. It’s a tough race, and without question the most important race of the entire Tour as far as the overall goes.

Day Nine: 20km Mass Start Classic Val di Fiemme, ITA January 8th/2011
After another travel day, and another rest day training and scouting the Val di Fiemme classic course we had finally arrived at the last venue.

I love Val di Fiemme, and I was really excited about this race seeing how I had been feeling so strong in classic this year. I knew it could be good.

Conditions were pretty standard klister skiing with warm temperatures greeting us in the Northern Italian venue. Here’s a strange fact about Val di Fiemme – it was the first time this year that we saw races above zero degrees which is extremely odd for Europe. It felt like Hawaii out there!

I tried going for some of the plethora of bonus seconds up for grabs early but soon realized that it was going to cost too much energy, and that Northug and Cologna had both amazing skis and were gunning for all of them. I changed my strategy mid-race and focused on attempting to win the competition.

I sat near the front and stayed out of trouble keen with being patient and hyper-aware with what was going on around me in the pack. There were some pace changes, but for whatever reason this year no one was able to really inflict big damage. On the last lap the Swede Rickardsson launched a move with 2 km to go that could have stuck but we all caught him on a big descent. Then I launched up the final climb (600m from the line) and over the top I was in the lead going for broke.

Still, it was too early and on the flats of the stadium I was caught and passed by Northug and Cologna. Again. I finished 3rd which was my 4th podium of the week. Unbelievable. It’s been just such a great week of racing!

Alex ended up in 5th meaning with one stage remaining we were 4th and 7th overall. It was going to be a dog fight as not much time separated 3rd to 10th and both Alex and I aren’t exactly gazelles up Alpe Cermis but we were excited to see how things went.

Day Ten: 9km Skate Uphill Pursuit Val di Fiemme/Alpe Cermis, ITA January 9th/2011
The last stage. Always tough, the 9km skate consists of 6km of gradual descending before meeting the walls of Alpe Cermis, an Alpine run close to the ski trails in Val di Fiemme.

As expected, it was a large group heading down to the climb. We worked well together, exchanging leads often but it wasn’t enough to keep a hard charging Lucas Bauer at bay who caught our group (3rd-9th) on the bottom slopes of the Alpe.

Things splintered early on the climb especially when Bauer caught us, and I settled into the best rhythm I could. I am no specialist at this unique uphill event and tried in vain to stay with Perl, Clara, and Gaillardall who are far better at this event than me. Gaillard and I were dropped by Perl and Clara and in a battle with my friend from the French Team, Jean-Marc beat me to the line after I tried to attack and blew up with only 300m remaining in the race.

The Tour was over, and I ended up 7th overall. Alex had a tough climb as well, slipping to 10th, but both of us were excited to have completed a solid Tour and to have two Canadians in the top 10 was a great achievement. Babs had the 6th fastest time up proving once again that the bulldog IS climbing boom.

What now?
After traveling and racing for over 2 months, and I am now at home. It’s so good to be back in Canmore and I am already looking forward to training with friends and sipping cappos in the afternoons as I recharge and begin to get ready for the World Champs in Oslo. I can confirm that nothing is as comfortable as your own bed and I slept like a log last night.

I was able to catch up briefly with Chandra in Munich for one night as our trips overlapped (Chandra heading to the sprint World Cups in the Czech and Estonia, while I head home to recover/train for Worlds). It was great to see her – however brief – after weeks away from one another but I am already missing her here in Canmore!

After an easy week this week to catch my breath it’s back on baby. We have work to do if we want to keep this party going. Oslo and the World Cups after it are the next objective. I cannot wait!

I want to extend heart felt thanks to everyone who supported me and our team: Mostly importantly is Chandra and my family!

Thanks to Justin who has proven to be such an amazing coach, and has shown stellar leadership all year. Our technical staff is some of the best in the business. All the boys – Sasha, Joel J, Joel K, Yves and Micke – you all rule. Micke thanks for sticking with me for the past few years and putting up with my sketchy self every weekend (and during the week, haha), you’ve made a HUGE difference!

Most importantly thanks to my teammates. I am so lucky to be a member of such a bad ass/awesome Canadian Team. We respect each other, push each other and celebrate each other’s victories. It’s a lot of hours together but damn it’s fun! It’s been a trip – one that will continue for years to come!

We couldn’t do it without our loyal team sponsors (the crew at Haywood, AltaGas, Statoil and Teck) and B2ten for the mad hook ups all year most recently being instrumental behind our big black rock and roll Tour de Ski bus. Your continued support means that our entire team can push the limits all year.

Lastly, my personal sponsors, guys like Jamie Coatsworth who makes such a difference and who believes not only 100% in me but all of Canadian skiing, Stephen Dent and the whole Birch Hill crew in T.O., Chris out in Vancouver with Teck and Allison and the Stoneridge crew, thanks to all of you. Support matters, from all levels. Family, friends, team, sponsors, it all helps make

January 13, 2011 (Ruhpolding, Germany) – Russia’s Olga Zaitseva battled through torrential rain and sloppy racing conditions on Thursday to win the women’s 15km Individual race at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding. Zaitseva, who was one of only three racers to shoot clean on the day, grabbing the ninth win of her career, and first of the season, in a time of 41:46.1.

“I felt very good today, [I] had a good performance today both on the shooting range and skiing,” said Zaitseva in an IBU report, “Starting early was a big help. It maybe was a little bit easier for me than some of the athletes who started later. I also had good skis for this kind of weather.”

The rain, which began early in the morning and persisted throughout the competition, made the snow incredibly slushy, namely on the downhill portion of the course.

“The downhill was not the best part of my race today,” said Andrea Henkel of Germany, “In the final loop, I went out with 6 seconds to make up. By the top of the hill, it was 5 seconds; I knew when I left the shooting range that if I did not have the lead by the top of the hill I would never have it.”

Henkel grabbed her second silver medal of the season, shooting clean in all four stages for a time of 42:00.6, and Sweden’s Helena Ekholm took the last podium spot also with clean shooting and a time of 42:23.5.

Megan Imrie of Canada posted the top North American result placing 35th – a career-best for the 24 year-old Alberta native who missed just one shot on her way to a finishing time of 47:17. “I knew shooting would be critical because of the difficulty of the course and the insane amount of water dumping from the sky,” said Imrie who hails from Falcon Lake. Man. in a Biathlon Canada release, “Shooting is always the difference for me. Finally today I realized I don’t have to think about each target, but I just have to see every target and it worked out.”

Melanie Schultz, also from Canada, placed 70th after a 2-miss performance, and Zina Kocher hit 11 of 20 to finish 82nd.

The top US biathlete of the the competition was Sara Studebaker, who made 17 of her 20 shots to finish 55th. Fellow American Haley Johnson finished 62nd with 4 misses and a time of 50:21.2, and Laura Spector, who is coming off a record performance in the previous world cup, placed 67th after hitting 15 of 20 in the range.

Full Results HERE.

Results (Brief)

1. Olga Zaitseva, RUS (0+0+0+0) 41:46.1
2. Andrea Henkel, GER (0+0+0+0) 42:00.6
3. Helena Ekholm, SWE (0+0+0+0) 42:23.5

35. Megan Imrie, CAN (0+1+0+0) 47:17.0
55. Sara Studebaker, USA (0+2+1+0) 49:14.7
62. Haley Johnson, USA (1+0+1+2) 50:21.2
67. Laura Spector, USA (1+2+0+1) 50:49.4
70. Melanie Schultz, CAN (1+0+0+1) 51:02.1
82. Zina Kocher, CAN (3+2+2+2) 54:27.6

January 13, 2011 (Montreal, QC) – The 45th Canadian Ski Marathon features adventure and camaraderie on cross-country skis with a 160km route over two days for 2,000+ skiers. First run in 1967 as part of Canada’s centennial celebration, the world’s longest ski tour follows a route just north of the Ottawa River in Quebec’s Western Laurentian Mountains – from Lachute just outside of Montreal, to Gatineau north of Ottawa, with an overnight in Montebello.

Ski the whole route or as many sections as you’d like – there are Tourer divisions and breakdowns for age and gender, as well as for families and teams. Or enter the Coureur des Bois category and ski the whole 9 yards – 160km.

This year, the Canadian Ski Marathon announced an alliance with the Canadian Birkebeiner in Edmonton, Alberta and the Canadian Armed Forces Personnel and Family Support Services for the first Annual Nordic Ski Day in Canada to be held on Saturday February 12, 2011.

The CSM and Canadian “Birkie” are inviting the men and women who proudly serve in the Canadian Forces to come and challenge themselves at either event. And the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of National Defence and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway, is the CSM’s Honourary President for the second straight year.

Register today HERE.
Read more HERE.

January 12, 2011 – Check out this great instructional video by SkiTrax technique columnist Keith Nicol on how to improve your 1 skate or V 2 skate – a popular cross country skiing technique. Nicol, a CANSI Level 4 instructor, demonstrates typical problems that skiers have with this skill and how to correct them. He also runs the winter outdoor pursuits programme at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Visit his web site HERE and for more information on CANSI click HERE.

January 12, 2011 (Thunder Bay, ON) – Here is another video  courtesy of Team Hardwood’s Graham Longford with highlights from the Classic Sprint heats and finals at the 2011 Haywood NorAm WJr/U23 Trials at Lappe Nordic Centre in Thunder Bay, ON last weekend. Brent McMurtry took the men’s win over Stefan Kuhn and Jess Cockney, who also snagged the U23 victory. In the women’s race, it was Dasha Gaiazova who chalked up another win to her name. NorAm leader Perianne Jones took the silver, while Alysson Marshall doubled as the senior bronze medalist and the best U23 – read more HERE.

January 11, 2011 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – Happy New Year everyone!  It’s been one heck of start to 2011 as I just finished my first Tour de Ski.  Eight races in 10 days, four venues, two countries, yeehaw! The highlights included a strong opening prologue in 16th, a 17th in the classic sprint, a 5th place in the skate sprint, and an overall result just 20 seconds out of the top 20 for 21st.

I also made it to the top of Alpe Cermis, one of the toughest races I’ve ever done. It’s been a great learning experience and I’m looking forward to coming back again next year.

But first, one more skate sprint coming up this weekend in Liberec and then home for a short break to prepare for the World Championships.

Quote of the day
“Completing that climb was one of the hardest physical challenges I’ve ever done.  I now have a much greater appreciation for it than what I had seen on TV!”

What’s Coming Up
– 1/15/11  World Cup – Liberec Skate Sprint
– 2/19/11-2/20/11 World Cup – Drammen, NOR
– 2/24/11-3/6/11 World Championships!!

Tour de Ski! – The Full Story
Hello everyone.  Happy New Year!  I am writing to you from Val di Fiemme, Italy where I have just completed my first Tour de Ski.   It has been a whirlwind last ten days with several back-to-back races, a lot of packing and unpacking, and some of the toughest ski racing I’ve ever done.  Now that the craziness is finished, here are some thoughts and details from the week…

For those not familiar with the Tour de Ski concept, here’s a little introduction.  It’s a unique event modeled after the Tour de France bike race, comprising of eight races in ten days in four different venues in two countries, overall leader and sprint jerseys, and a punishing final climb up the alpine runs of Alpe Cermis.

Going into this year’s Tour de Ski, I had never done so many races in such a condensed schedule and so I was anxious to see how I would hold up.  After spending a low-key and relaxed Christmas break in Davos, Switzerland, the US TdS contingent assembled in Oberhof, Germany on the 29th of December.  We had three athletes, four coaches/service men and a massage therapist.

Stage 1: Oberhof Prologue
The first stage of the Tour kicked off on my birthday (Dec 31) in Oberhof with a 2.8km freestyle prologue.  This is not a distance I race very often and I knew pacing would be critical.  I started about midway through the pack just as it started to snow.   My strategy was to start a little conservative and then attack the second half.  I paced it well but the final 1 km was really tough.  It was like doing a sprint qualifier that kept going.  The final 400m was into a headwind and it was a long fight to get to the line.  When I crossed, the announcer played a techno-version of Happy Birthday for me while I hung on my poles.  I ended up 16th fastest, 13 seconds out of the lead.  It was fun to get birthday wishes from everyone, although I didn’t stay up to ring in the new year, lots of racing ahead!

Stage 2: Oberhof 10k Classic Handicap Start
Immediately the next day, we did a 10km classic that was a handicapped start based on the first races’ results.  Since the previous day had been so short, the times were really close and it was basically a mass start.  We did 3 laps of a 3.3km loop.  The pace was furious from the start.  Despite not feeling great on the first lap, I warmed up through the race and got into a good pack for the final lap.  I felt really strong on the climbs, but unfortunately my skis were a little slow on the downhills and I ended up getting stuck behind some traffic at the end.  I managed to pull back a couple places on the finish stretch to finish 22nd.  Immediately after the men’s race we packed up and drove several hours to Oberstdorf.

Stage 3: Oberstdorf 1.2km Classic Sprint
For the second classic race in a row, we had to deal with snow flurries just below the freezing mark making for tricky waxing.   I struggled to find total confidence in my kick during the qualifying round and only managed 18th, frustrated that I wasn’t able to use all my power.  In the quarterfinals, I got off to a great start and was in 2nd going up the first climb.  But the pace was brutal and by the top of the 2nd hill I was hitting the wall and dropped to fourth.  I tried to fight back on the double-pole finish and narrowly caught the Russian Ivanova for third.  She ended up advancing to the semi-finals as a Lucky Loser as we had the fastest heat, while I just missed by .2.  Ah, so close!!  I ended up 17th for the day and moved up to 19th in the overall.

Stage 4: Oberstdorf 5km+5km Duathlon
The sun finally came out for our fourth consecutive race.  The men raced first and so I had to wait until late afternoon for the women’s start.   A miscommunication with the shuttle driver almost left me stranded at the hotel (a 30 minute drive from the venue) and I arrived with less than 1 hour until start.  This meant that I didn’t get a chance to test my skate skis and my warm-up was a little rushed.  By the time we started at 3:30pm, most of the course was in the shade and it got pretty cold.

This time I had good grip on my skis and got off to a good start. I narrowly avoided a big crash on one of the first downhills. The pace was furious but I felt strong, and for the rest of the classic portion of the race I was skiing up amongst the top 20 and feeling confident. When I switched to skating however, my legs tensed up and I couldn’t get comfortable on the icy and hard trail.  Several skiers came by me and I struggled to respond.  Going up the final climb I was finally able to dig in and I passed two skiers.  But I had just barely snuck into the points with a 30th place and had lost valuable time in the overall.  I was frustrated with my lackluster 2nd half.  No time to dwell however, as it was on to the next venue that night.

Rest day 1: Toblach
Now midway through the tour, we got our first rest day in Toblach.  It was nice to get a chance to check out the courses for the next two races and have a relaxing day.  I felt surprisingly good skiing around and it was hard not to test out the sprint course.  I spent the rest of the day exercising my mind with Scrabble and Sudoku on my iPad.

Stage 5: Toblach 1.3km Skate Sprint
Finally I got a crack at my favorite event, the skate sprint.  I was pretty nervous that morning, wondering how I would be able to perform after a rest day and with four races in my legs.  The course was on the long side too, so I knew it would require the right pacing.  In the qualifier, I maybe started a little too relaxed but still managed 16th place.

In the quarterfinals, I tucked in behind Charlotte Kalla of Sweden for most of the race and then used a slingshot move off the downhill to take the lead and advance.  In the semis, I again used a slingshot move off the downhill to move up and finish 2nd to move on to the final.  With each round, I felt better and better.

In the final I got off to a fast start and tucked in behind Majdic and Follis up the first hill.  But they surged right over the top, catching me sleeping, and I missed getting in their draft.  Thus I became the draftee and this time, two racers used the slingshot move on me and I was dropped to 5th.  This caused me to panic for an instant and so going up the steep climb, while I should have just patiently followed the main train on the left, I opted to follow Norgren of Sweden up the outside.  As soon as I shifted behind her I knew I had made a mistake, and just as I was about to accelerate, Norgren got her pole stepped on and fell, and I fell right over her.  We got so tangled that by the time we got up, the rest of the pack was gone.  I managed to win the cat-and-mouse game against Norgren for 5th place but I was so frustrated with myself for not skiing smarter.  I for sure felt strong enough to contend for the win, but took myself out of contention with the bad tactics and some bad luck.  5th just isn’t satisfying anymore.  At least I managed to move up to 17th in the overall.

A quick side note here. After two podium finishes already, Devon Kershaw (Canada) skied an amazingly bold and gutsy race to win the men’s final and take his first world cup victory.  As the Canadians are our fellow North Americans, it was incredibly emotional to see Devon win.  So glad I could be there live to see it!

Stage 6: Toblach 15k Free Handicap Start
While the men got to ski a point-to-point course from Cortina to Toblach, the women’s race was held on 3 laps of a 5km loop.  It was another afternoon start, so I spent the morning watching the men on TV and feeling anxious.  I was relieved to finally start my warm-up and I felt surprisingly fresh.  With the handicap start, I knew it was going to be a good day to try and hang with some faster skiers.

I started in the same second as Sarasoja from Finland, and had figured I would be trying to follow her.  But immediately out of the start she became my shadow and so I led off at a powerful but controlled pace.  Midway through the first lap we had caught a couple skiers that started ahead of us and had also been joined by some skiers from behind.  We formed a large pack and there were some overly eager racers in the group that kept squawking as we jockeyed for position.  I tucked myself in the pack, conserving energy and keeping a careful eye for any breakaway attempts.  It was a fast pace but I felt comfortable.

As we hit the climbs on the final lap, two Norwegians got to the front and I readied for the attacks to begin.  But after the first climb the pace remained the same and suddenly I felt the urge to attack.  I pulled to the front and upped my tempo.  The hill kept going a little longer than I remembered but I was committed now.  I battled Sarasoja up one more uphill section in a V2 sprint, but then let Saarinen take the lead on the next downhill so I could draft.  Just before entering the stadium, a Czech girl came out of my draft and I had to pass Saarinen to chase her.  We sprinted all out up the hill on the sprint course and then descended down into the stadium.  Norgren of Sweden got by me off the draft and I just missed pulling her back in on the final stretch.  I crossed the line in 15th position, less than 2 seconds out of 13th.

It was one of those sweet race days where I felt good, I could attack and leave it all out there.  I was pumped for the final 2 stages!  After the race we packed up and journeyed on to Val di Fiemme.

Rest Day #2: Val di Fiemme
For the second rest day of the Tour I tested classic skis with Peter and scoped out the classic course in the morning.  The kick was excellent and my impression of the course was that it would be a good one for my strengths.  In the afternoon we drove up to the top of the Alpe Cermis to scope out the final climb course by skiing down it.  It was definitely steep in parts, but not so bad, at least I thought!

Stage 7: Val di Fiemme 10km Classic mass-start
The women’s race was again held in the late afternoon.  Despite such nice conditions on the rest day, the track had degraded to a wet, sloppy mess.  We did our best to select skis with enough kick but it was impossible to avoid having some drag in the soft conditions.   Still I was excited and eager for the race, determined to see strong against the girls I was within seconds of in the overall.

The start of the race was promising.  I got up into the top 12 going up the first climb and although the pace was fast, I felt like I settled into a good rhythm.

Coming down off the high point of the first lap however, I began to lose places as girls whizzed past me on the downhills. I fought back up the next climb only to lose the ground again going into and through the stadium.   From there, the race began to fall apart and it was a battle both physically and mentally.  But I knew I had to keep fighting.  It wasn’t pretty but I made it to the finish in 27th place, although I lost a lot of time.  I was completely frustrated and disappointed.  To top it off, I had to report to doping control.  It was definitely one of my low points in the Tour.  I tried not to dwell on it, and focus instead on the one remaining race.

Stage 8: “Alpe Cermis” Final Climb (9km skate handicap start)
All the racers that were more than 7 minutes back from the leader got to start in a wave, which began with 15th place.  I was glad that I would have a good group of girls to duke it out with in the final race.  When the clock reached 7:00, the gun fired and we took off.  There was a small ceremonious loop around the stadium before we hit the 4km trail downhill to the base of the climb.  Everyone was pretty eager and there was a lot of jockeying for position.  I settled into the middle of the train and tried to conserve as much as possible.  When we hit the base of the climb, it was go time.

Immediately two girls in the train picked up the pace.  Not wanting to be complacent, I too increased my pace at the bottom of the climb.  The pack began to string out a bit.  I found a good rhythm and cruised by a couple girls.

Despite feeling good early on however, the effort quickly got really hard and I began to realize how difficult this was going to be.  In my course inspection I had remembered three step sections but in reality, those sections were much longer and harder than they seemed.  I tried not to think of how much uphill was left and just focus on the sections right in front of me.

Making my up through the steeps and then switchbacks around GS gates, my legs and lungs were screaming at me. At one point I thought I was near the top only to find a giant steep section looming in front of me.  People were lining the whole course and ringing cowbells and screaming in your face.  It was both exciting and annoying at the same time.

Up the steep sections, I had been leading a train of racers.  As we crested onto the last 600m, which was more gradual, that train started to come around me.  I was really struggling to keep my own tempo going and their surge caught me off guard.  I didn’t respond.  With about 300m to go I could almost see the finish and I finally got my tempo up.  I was able to pull back one skier just before the finish line and then at last I got to collapse into the snow.  It was the greatest feeling ever to lay there with my chest heaving.

Completing that climb was one of the hardest physical challenges I’ve ever done.  I now have a much greater appreciation for it than what I had seen on TV!

My climbing time hadn’t been spectacular, but I still managed to move up one spot to finish 21st overall, with the 23rd fastest time of the day.  My goal coming into the Tour had been to make the top 20 and I only ended up missing it by 20 seconds after 8 races.  Not a bad first try.

Conclusions:
Now having completed a Tour de Ski, I can appreciate this unique event.  It was such a valuable experience to race head-to-head with the world’s best skiers for so many consecutive days.  I had some good days and definitely some pretty tough days, but through it all I really learned a lot about what my body can handle and how to recover.  I know that the experience I gained from this rookie Tour will help me prepare and race even stronger the next time.

A big thanks goes out to my teammates and our staff!! The Tour is a big logistical challenge with all the different venues and the travel, but everyone worked incredibly hard to make sure we were feeling good and had the best skis possible.

I now have one more week left in Europe before heading home.  Andy and I will be competing in the World Cup skate sprint this weekend in Liberec, Czech Republic.  It’s the course where I won the silver medal at Worlds, and I am looking forward to another shot at the podium!

Signing off for now!

Cheers,
Kikkan

January 11, 2011 – The Russian Ski Federation confirmed today that cross-country skier Nikolay Pankratov has received a two-year ban from competition after he was caught with blood doping equipment on the Austrian-Swiss border in September – read more here – thus violating the FIS anti-doping code, reports Reuters.

The 28-year-old was a member of the silver medal winning 4x10km Russian relay squad at the 2007 World Championships and he also competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

In light of the long history of doping problems faced by the sport in Russia, along with the fact that the next Winter Olympic Games are taking place in Russia, FIS recommended that the country establish a new governing body for the sport and develop a clean ski team.

Read the full story HERE.

January 10, 2011 (Barrie, ON) – If I would have told you at any time in the past that Canada would have more men in the top 10 at a series of races like the Tour de Ski  than Norway, Italy, France, Sweden, Germany, Finland or Russia I am sure that you would have told me that I was crazy.

Canada has never been thought of as a men’s cross-country ski power. Sure there was Pierre Harvey in the distant past winning world cups, but one skier does not make a powerful team.

Of course, the Canadian women have had fantastic results over the past 10 years or so led by Beckie Scott, Sara Renner and Chandra Crawford.

This all started to change in Vancouver last winter. Multi top-10 results there were a step ahead of what had happened in the past.  But those results were on home soil and at the Olympics where the fields are not as deep as at a World Cup.

The results this past week at the Tour de Ski are another step even higher. With all of the best in the world racing Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey consistently skied at the front of the fields in almost every race finishing 7th and 10th overall. Devon was on the podium four – yes four times winning his first ever race. He also had the fastest time in another race, but there was no podium for this result as it was a pursuit. He is now in the top echelon of racing and should be considered a threat to be on the podium in every race.

Alex Harvey continues to improve. I believe that he will challenge for the overall World Cup title within the next couple of years. He is the complete package and will only get better.

Ivan Babikov had a poor Tour by his standards, but his 6th place in the final hill climb on the Cermis showed that he can still be at the top. Something has gone wrong in his training formula this summer and fall and he needs to sort it out so that he can get back to his best. He is 30 years old now and the clock is ticking.

The other North American man to finish the tour was Kris Freeman in 28th with a remarkable final stage. He did not show the same form that he had before Xmas and I am not sure that he has solved his diabetes/blood sugar/insulin challenge yet. He is charting new territory racing in a sport as physically challenging as xc skiing as a Type 1 diabetic.

Kikkan Randall also finished the Tour in 21st place. She is continuing to improve as a distance racer and an all-round skier. Her best results still come in the skating sprints but she is getting better.

Dario Cologna (SUI) showed throughout the Tour that he was the strongest skier. He has no weaknesses in any area and reminds me of Lance Armstrong in his ability to be at or near the top no matter the distance or the technique.

Petter Northug (NOR) is back. By the end of the Tour he was back to his dominant position in sprinting at the end of distance races – in the second last race in Val di Fiemme he won all 5 “preem” sprints and the sprint at the end of the race. He finished 2nd overall and looks to be ready to take a run at Cologna for the overall world cup.

Lukas Bauer (CZE) won the hill climb to move from 10th to 3rd overall. He showed his incredible fitness on that climb. He is not the best skier technically but he does have the fitness.

There is incredible depth in the men’s fields right now. There were skiers from eight different nations in the top 20 – this without anyone from Russia or Finland. Marcus Hellner (SWE) had one bad race and he dropped from 2nd at the start of the second last race right down to 14th by the end of the tour. This depth makes the Canadian results even more impressive.

The Russians, after rocketing out of the gate before Xmas, came back to earth in the Tour. Alexander Legkov (who chirped before Xmas that he wanted to meet Northug on the tracks during the Tour and beat him) left sick, part way through, along with Ilia Chernousov. Maxim Vylezghanin was not allowed to start due to high hemoglobin (I wonder how this happened). After being the best team in the world before the break, the best that they could do was Dimitri Japarov in 23rd. The Finns are also struggling – they had no men finish the Tour de Ski.

I’m discouraged by the lack of depth in the women’s fields. Without Marit Bjoergen (NOR) in the field there was no one to challenge Justyna Kowalczyk from Poland and for me the races were boring. Sure Petra Majdic (SLO) won a sprint and Therese Johaug (NOR) had a great hill climb on the final stage, but in general most of the races were a whole bunch of mediocre speed skiers chasing Kowalczyk. With the men you really didn’t know who was going to win any race and most finishes were pack finishes, but not so with the women.

This could be seen as good news for North American female skiers. There is room at the top right now and it will looks like there is a spot in the top 20 for anyone with the talent and opportunity to race. Keep working, ladies, now is the time to move up the ladder. I hope that the USST and CCC also see this as a great opportunity to put their female skiers at the top again.

The sprinters gather again in Liberec, CZE for a couple of races next weekend while the distance racers get a week off to recover before the first distance race in two weeks in Otepaa, Estonia. This is also the time period when many countries hold their national championships. For the skiers who completed the Tour it is a time for recovery and a return to base training for a short period of time before they hop back on the World Cup conveyor belt.

January 10, 2011 (Rumford, ME) – SkiTrax caught up with Torin Koos (Methow) , Saturday’s Freestyle Sprint champion, at the 2011 US XC Nationals in Rumford, Maine and USSA Nordic Director John Farra at the conclusion of the Nationals.

Koos expressed his excitement with posting three solid races at the weeks events, noting that there was “a lot of pride on the line.” The three-time Olympian also talked about his plans to train with the Swiss National Team in the coming weeks, before taking part in some Norwegian races.

Farra raved about what the volunteers were able to accomplish, given the challenging weather conditions. The former Olympian also talked about the electric atmosphere on what he called a “world class course,” saying these events were “one for the history books.”

January 10, 2011 (Oberhof, Germany) – Laura Spector continued her solid showing at the Oberhof World Cup by placing 25th in Sunday’s 12.5km mass start. Spector became the first US woman ever to compete in a mass start at the IBU World Cup, which features the top 30 biathletes from the sprint .

“Laura really made a strong impression today, especially in the first half of the race,” said U.S. Biathlon Head Coach Per Nilsson in US Biathlon release. “Two clean shootings at prone were really good in a race like that.”

Spector ended the day with just two misses in four shooting stages, finishing with a time of 43:28.8.

Helena Ekholm (SWE) grabbed her second win of the season adding to her World Cup pursuit victory in Hochfilzen. The Swedish biathlete shot clean for the day, finishing with a time of 39:22.9.

Ekholm said after the race that her plan was to simply shoot well and then let everything else fall into place. “I tried to stay back shoot well and then attack,” Ekholm told IBU, “Andrea [Henkel] and Svetlana [Sleptsova] were skiing well in the final loop, and I just stayed behind them. When we came up the final hill before the finishing straight, I felt that I had more power, attacked at that point, and it worked out.”

Henkel of Germany continued her solid showing in Oberhof by posting a 2nd place finish with a pair of misses, finishing just 1.6 seconds behind Ekholm. Russia’s Sleptsova was just one of two racers, including Henkel, to shoot clean on the day, grabbing the third place finish with a time of 39:28.1.

No Canadian women qualified to compete in Sunday’s mass start event. Spector’s result puts her 36th overall in the overall IBU World Cup standings.

Full results HERE.

Results (Brief)

1. Helena Ekholm, SWE (0+0+0+0) 39:22.9
2. Andrea Henkel, GER (0+1+1+0) 39:24.5
3. Svetlana Sleptsova, RUS (0+0+0+0) 39:28.1
4. Maria Laure Brunet, FRA (0+0+0+1) 39:43.2
5. Ann Kristin Aafedt Flatland, NOR (0+0+1+0) 39:49.6

25. Laura Spector, USA (0+0+2+2) 43:28.8