April 20, 2012 (Zürich, Switzerland) – At the Sub-Committee meetings for Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined in Zürich on Friday and Saturday one of the most debated topics was the jumping suit which had become a topic following some well-publicized disqualifications during last season.

In the season 2011/12, a total of 1781 suits were controlled and approved for competition – 738 in the men’s World Cup and Grand Prix, 428 in the ladies World and Continental Cups, 615 in the men’s Continental and FIS Cups. Of the 14 disqualifications in the men’s World Cup only eight were due to suit rule violations, in the men’s COC the figure was 39 out of a total of 60.

“The atmosphere between the controllers and athletes is very good,” tells Sepp Gratzer, who will begin his tenth season as equipment controller in the men’s FIS World Cup. “The athletes themselves want many controls – the more controls, the more fairness and more equal chances.”

Besides various criteria – e.g. length of arms and legs, collar, different parts and seams etc. – the current rules call for “body measures plus a tolerance of 6cm,” allowing up to 6 cm of “air” between the body and the suit.

Last week a new suit was presented in Zürich. Made of five rather than seven parts, it has fewer seams and the tolerance of the suit is planned to be reduced from 6 cm to 0 cm. Hence the body size equals the suit size and the suit will practically become part of the body. Only from the knee downwards the old rule will still apply so the boot still fits under the suit.

“We tested various materials and found fabrics that are elastic enough for the different positions during a jump,” Gratzer explains. Both men and ladies will benefit from the planned change.

In terms of calendar, the men’s Summer Grand Prix will start with two competitions in Wisla (POL) on 20th-21st July and end in Klingenthal (GER) on 3rd October. The 2012/13 World Cup season will not start in Finland this time, but in Lillehammer (NOR) on November 24th-25th. The competitions in Kuusamo will take place one week later. With competitions in Vikersund (NOR), Harrachov (CZE), Oberstdorf (GER) and the final in Planica (SLO) in late March, four ski flying weekends are included in the calendar.

Whilst the FIS Sub-Committee agreed to the proposals that also include the calendars, nothing is decided yet. Next the National Ski Associations are requested to submit their feedback, on which basis the Jumping Committee will discuss the proposals during the FIS Congress in South Korea in late May before submitting them to the FIS Council for final decision.

2013 Women’s Ski Jumping World Cup Finals on the Holmenkollen?
What is already a tradition for the men, might also apply to the ladies’ Ski Jumping from the upcoming winter: the Holmenkollen in Oslo could become for the ladies what Planica is for the men for many years to come – the location for the FIS ladies Ski Jumping World Cup final.

For the ladies this would also be a premiere, because so far the World Cup competitions are only held on normal hills and the Holmenkollen (HS 134) is a large hill.

A total of 17 events are planned in the ladies World Cup next season.

The Ladies’ Summer Grand Prix will begin on August 15th with competitions in the classic sites of Courchevel and Hinterzarten and also include the first mixed competitions with teams consisting of two male and two female jumpers in the Summer Grand Prix. The final events of the summer series will be two competitions in Almaty (KAZ) on September 22nd and 23rd.

March 21, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – Check out this great photo gallery of the action, drama, and emotion at Sunday’s Mass Start event, the final IBU World Cup of the season, in Oslo, Norway. Darya Domracheva (BLR) won the women’s 10km race – more here – while Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) took top honours in the men’s competition – more here.

March 09, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – Sorry for the delay but we ended up with very slow internet connections over the final few days of the Oslo competitions, and also traveling home made for more sketchy internet connections. Here are some last impressions about our final days in Oslo.

Women’s Relay – Day 9
Back to the races – on site! The end of the World Championships is approaching which means it’s time for the relays and the final “King” and “Queen” of the distance races. Over the past few days there have been some holes in the crowd as many fans have had to return to work or school but tickets are more or less sold-out for rest of the Championships and we expect some intense racing!

As mentioned before, we have observed great sportsmanship here and while skiers are certainly competitive and driven, they are also very gracious and dare I say “normal” people despite their status. As journalists here we have seen what’s been written and how it was written, as well as the athletes in action, on the trails, and at the press conferences and there is somewhat of a difference.

The headlines do not always give the true picture, though it seems that some controversy can be good for the sport since we seem to survive the headlines. It’s only natural that some characteristics of a skier are either highlighted or ignored and skiers sometimes exchange words with each other that seem unnecessary – but taken out of context these things are sometimes made into a bigger deal than the skiers themselves think they are.

Aside from watching the races and enjoying the incomparable level of energy in the stadium, after a “recovery” dinner, we ventured over to the Finnish Team’s hotel to have a celebratory piece of cake with the medal winners, their teammates, and the coaching staff – see more photos HERE.

We also caught up with Andreas Bennert from One Way:

Men’s Relay – Day 10
We thought yesterday was crazy and loud (Women’s Relay). But Wow – today was even louder. Are these Norwegian fans just getting “warmed-up”? Today’s racing was unbelievable!! (but you’re all aware of the results already, so I will not go into detail. Suffice it to say that this race also required spectators to go find recovery food and drink after the competition. Whew.

Before the race started a group of old guys walked into the stadium. They looked like they were familiar with all of the hoopla… in fact, they looked very familiar. They were none other than Oddvar Brå, Harald Gronningen, Tormod Knutsen, Gjermund Eggen, Odd Martinsen and Vladimir Smirnoff!

Those guys hold more medals than any group you could possibly find “by accident” on the race-course. This is definitely the mecca of Nordic skiing. Thomas Alsgaard was a regular commentator on NRK (Norwegian TV), Bente Skari was Chief of Competition, Yelena Välbe was seen regularly (she is coaching now), Björn Daehlie was hanging out… and this is just to name a few of the medal winners and former World Cup and Olympic skiers that were at Holmenkollen.

Here are some of the folks we sought-out/ran into today.

Finnish Member of FIS

Chief of Competition – John Aalberg

Catching up with Atomic’s Roman Toferer

Taking a look inside the Norwegian wax truck with Knut Nystad

Chatting with Marit Bjoergen’s personal wax tech

Wrap Up
The races were followed up with some Italian food with our cousin/niece. Ritva balanced out the racing excitement with a trip to a concert with her cousin (Tord Gustavsen – Norwegian jazz musician – if you like jazz, especially piano jazz, I recommend looking up this guy and/or his trio – the music takes you to another place).

The concert was held in Oslo’s Cathedral (more info HERE), which recently re-opened after some renovations. The church is beautiful, but the pews sure are hard to sit on after a day of running around Holmenkollen!

On Saturday morning, Ahvo returned to the US for the Junior Olympic action while I stayed in Oslo, but opted to stay in town and take in the excitement from another vantage point. Part of me wishes I had gone up to the race course as the sun finally came out but I opted to try something new. My flight on Sunday left early enough in the evening that I had to read up about the 50km later.

The trails will seem a bit quieter after this experience, but I think it is safe to say that both Ahvo and I have some really fond memories of this trip. I know that he has wanted to watch the Word Championships in Norway for a long time (15 or more years), and I decided that I wanted to watch the WC in Norway after watching his videos from the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994 and experiencing a little Nordic World Ski Championships in 1995 when the whole family went to the WC in Thunder Bay.

I am still trying to figure out if this want/need to go to Holmenkollen for the WC is a result of nature or nurture. I doubt that any country can stage the Nordic Worlds as well as the Norwegians can, and I have a hard time imagining that there could be a more ski-crazy nation. I also wonder who makes the Norwegian flags… they must have a pretty fat checkbook by now.

At this point I would also like to mention the hotel that we stayed at – the Hotel Guldsmeden Carlton Oslo (more info HERE). The hotel was on the smaller side and has only been open since about October. They are currently polishing off a spa in the basement and have very comfortable rooms, a tasty breakfast buffet and nice location not too far from the harbor, public transportation and Oslo center.

The staff were fantastic during our stay. I have never met a more hospitable and friendly group of hotel staff in all of my travels. Should you be traveling to Oslo in the near future, check this place out and say hi to the hotel manager Kim (who speaks impeccable English and is actually from Denmark).

For a quick look around the lobby with Kim, check out this video:

That’s it for now! We hope you all have enjoyed reading about our adventures (and secrets) and also hope that at least some of the excitement from this event has been transferred to you through our coverage here at SkiTrax. An event like this is an excellent reminder of the many positive things that can be experience and absorbed from our sport.

Keep on skiing!

March 04, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – Last night we decided that we would take in the WC action and Oslo from a different perspective if the weather was foggy again. Well, it was foggy. We spent the morning with my cousin (Ahvo’s niece) looking at the Oslo Opera House (some fantastic architecture), Akershus Fortress, Vigeland Sculpture Park and a local ski shop (that sells about 5,000 pairs of skis per year!!) before watching the team sprint on the Jumbotron downtown. View more photos HERE.

The Oslo Opera House is relatively new building – construction completed in 2007 – and is an architectural masterpiece. The building is situated on the shore of the fjord and is home to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet. Click HERE for more info.

Akershus Fortress is also situated by the fjord and can be seen from the Oslo harbor. The fortress is one of the oldest structures in Norway (dating back to 1299) and includes a church, as castle and a number of museums. The fortress is still a site for official government events and military guards still patrol the area. More info HERE.

Vigeland Park (also known as Frogner Park) is Northwest-ish of downtown and is made up of both bronze and granite sculptures designed by Gustav Vigeland. The sculptures depict men, women, and children at different stages of life and is definitely a must-see if you are a tourist in Oslo. Click HERE for more info.

We could see more from the Jumbotron than if we had been in the stadium today and it was one heck of a final (actually two)! As you have probably already read, Krista Lähteenmäki overpowered the Norwegian ladies to take silver behind a solid Swedish team and Alex Harvey axed the Norwegian men in the final stretch of the race.

Needless to say, downtown got pretty quiet. The Norwegians were clearly disappointed that they missed out on gold in back-to-back home-stretch sprints. The areas around the Jumbotron emptied quickly and quietly. A single shout of “Go Canada” was all that could be heard above Ahvo and myself shouting “Yes!!!” (which were admittedly preceded by “oh nohs” when the Finnish team slipped out of the medals… but these were drowned out by Norwegian fans having cardiac problems).

We found the source of the “Go Canada” when the park emptied before the flower ceremony (which we stayed to watch). It was from three Alaskans standing in the empty plaza who happened to be watching the race close by. We are a bit bummed that we were not near the finish line up at Holmenkollen for this one, but we think it is fate. Had we been up at the stadium, things could have been different and this was meant to be. Way to go Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey!

We did make it to the medals ceremony – got stuck in the back row, but were in the main area of the square – and got some comments from Canadians we met in the street.

Vigeland Park

Oslo Opera House I

Oslo Opera House II

Oslo Ski Shop

Canadian fan and Ahvo post-medals ceremony

Another Canadian fan (from Montreal) and Ahvo

February 28, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – At breakfast on Sunday morning, the sun started peaking from behind the clouds and by the time we got to the stadium, the sun was shining warm and bright (check out the interview with Peter Graves to see the sun).

As you can see from our photos though, the clouds started rolling in again and the sky was covered by the time [Petter] Northug made his final charge for the finish line. Thank goodness the jumbotron and stadium were visible today though, what a race!

The roar of the crowd when a Norwegian edged into the lead contrasted greatly with the hush of concentration, nervousness and anticipation when the skiers were out on the course and another nation’s skiers were making moves.

Northug gave us a peek at his cards each time the lead pack came into the stadium by making a quick move to the front as if to say, “Don’t worry, I’m here”, which was followed up by a cheer from the crowd. The emotions were palpable when, for example, [Alex] Harvey (CAN) took a 16-second lead during the skate leg, [Alexander] Legkov (RUS) took a spill prior to the final climb and when [Marcus] Hellner (SWE) made a charge in the final 2km and again in the stadium but could not break away.

The energy bursting from Holmenkollen when a Norwegian wins is unbelievable!

Northug’s win today was big for both him, and the crowd. He commented after the race that he had met his goal for this World Championships and that the rest of the medals he might win are just icing on the cake. No word yet on weather he will race all of the rest of the events or if he will sit out the individual start on Tuesday to “save” himself for the relay and the 50km.

World Champs and Waxing
Waxing and weather have been a challenge so far during these World Championships for skiers and wax techs alike. Saturday’s women’s pursuit race was, as some said, “Won by wax techs”. As you may have seen in yesterday’s interview with Krista Lähteenmäki, or as might be written about the Swedes in today’s race, you can’t hit it on the nose every time… even with a knowledgeable staff that has tested “everything”.

Waxing at this level takes time, effort, experience, and judgment skills. Each team is testing skis and different wax combinations throughout the day. Wax techs, coaches and skiers compare notes and work together to find their magic combination for the day, while wax companies also have technicians and testers that are reading weather reports, testing and conferring with teams. It is exhausting work, but at the end of the day, can make a difference between going home with gold or not.

The wax techs here have told us that stonegrinding immediately before a race is not a problem. While the average skier can spend hours waxing one pair of skis for an event, the wax techs here can prep a whole teams’ worth of skis in one day (or less, if they have to).

We’ve been told, for example, that some teams have all of their wet-snow skis stoneground before each use and if necessary a ski can be prepped quickly with just some base wax, fluoride graphite molybdenum mix and a little more base wax, prior to race waxing (powders/gels).

As you know, snow conditions can change in an instant, which might spell nightmare for the average skier, but wax techs are able to switch gears and change race wax in a matter of minutes, if necessary. Despite hours of testing and years of experience, tested wax doesn’t always work after the gun goes off, and there is no mathematical formula for the perfect skis.

We can let you in on a little secret about waxing at large events like this one. Each wax company has newly developed products that are not yet on the market but are in tubes and containers with hand-written codes on them that are passed discretely to team wax techs sometimes accompanied by whispers and a wink (“007” like moves).

That’s it for the secrets today because either a) one of our sources might read this and refuse to tell us/show us more, b) this website is open for the world to see – we wouldn’t want the information to fall into the wrong hands (just kidding?).
What Swedish Fans Predict

Interview with Emil Joensson’s Parents

Interview with Peter Graves

Interview with Sochi’s FIS study group

Interview with FIS CC Jury member

Interview with former Swiss President

February 26, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – The Marit Bjoergen magic worked again in the women’s 15km Pursuit (7.5km CL + 7.5km FR) even on slow, new warm snow, along with yesterday’s fog, as all of Norway showed up to watch the Queen of Holmenkollen triumph once more.

In total she blazed the course in 38:08 and is the nemesis of Polish star, Justyna Kowalczyk, who was 3.5 seconds back at the ski transition, and 7.5 seconds back by the finish for the silver. Bjoergen commented that she could see from the first skate downhill that she had faster skis than her Polish shadow. Thus made this part of her tactic in the second half, initiating her attack with just under one kilometre to go on the climb before entering the stadium. Her teammate Therese Johaug had a stellar race taking the bronze at 8.8 seconds behind.

These three leaders broke away during one of Bjoergen’s attacks on the climb during the skate leg. Sweden’s top distance skier, Charlotte Kalla, chased but could not connect and finished on her own in 4th 53:9 seconds back. Italian Marianna Longa and Sweden’s Maria Rydqvist had a photo finish for 5th at 1:08:8 seconds behind the winner.

US skiers were the first North Americans with Elizabeth Stephen in at 2:54.9 minutes back for a solid 24th overall – her strong fast time in the skate of 18:23.2 put her 18th in that leg. Holly Brooks was next in 25th at 3:21.9 behind, while junior Jessie Diggins put in another a strong performance at her first major international event placing 28th at 3:25.2 back, followed by Morgan Arritola in 43rd at 5:00:9 behind.

The lone Canadian skier, Brooke Gosling was 51st and seven minutes behind. It was Brooks, Diggins and Gosling’s first World Championships – quite the baptism considering the competition at the front of the pack.

American xc head coach Chris Gover was more than pleased as the team coped with unexpected deep snow, and promising results for the future. “Conditions were different than anything we’d seen so far and from what was predicted but the wax team adjusted quickly and we had a great skis. Different teams found different kick wax solutions,” Grover told SkiTrax. “I was proud of the effort of our young skiers. A great race for Liz. Holly’s first Euro WC points. A second day in the top-30 result for Jessie.”

Veteran Stephen agreed. “It was a great day for our team for the most part, with Holly, Jessie and I all in the top 30. That’s real progress for us as a country. The race was really fun and the tracks were super fast – I had awesome skis today, both for the classic leg and the skate.

“My race had some really good parts to it, including the classic leg, which may well have been my best classic race all year. I was able to ski hard, but relaxed and hang on to the pack enough so I could be in the mix with the skate race and go out feeling strong with a goal to catch as many people as possible. I skied a pretty strong skate leg, and feel like today was a really good tune up for the rest of the week.”

Diggins continued to perform after being called up from the junior ranks following her seventh place result in the 5km skate at the Junior Worlds with as fast or faster times than many seniors. Not only was this her first senior worlds, but it was her first pursuit ever and she couldn’t overstate her enthusiasm for the race and the entire experience.

“Today was a really interesting day with all the fog…it was crazy racing because going down the hills you couldn’t see the corners until you came right up to them! But the fans were great and all the cheering really helped,” said Diggins in a post-race email to SkiTrax. “I had a great start, but did a poor job keeping hydrated and hit the wall pretty hard around 6km, and felt pretty sloppy in the skate portion of the race.

“I also tried to get a feed…twice…and every coach in the world now knows that I had the worst feed in the world! I dropped the bottle the first time around and gave myself a Gatorade face-wash the second. How embarrassing! But I’m super proud of the US girls and the coaches gave us super fast skis. It was a good day!”

For the USA’s Brooks it was a day for the record books. “Yes it was a great day for the US – three women in the top 28 – and my first WC points in Europe. The past weekend at the WCup in Drammen I had a rough start in my weakest disciplines after not having raced in over a month.

“We had great skis – thanks to our techs and my coach, Erik Flora. The first time up the big sprint hill before entering the stadium I looked up and saw bib 6 – Italy’s Arianna Follis was in front of me. That was extra motivation to ski fast!  It was super fun to be skiing with the skier who took the silver medal only two days before in the sprint and I hope our momentum carries through to the guys on Sunday! Despite the fog, the crowd was fantastic.”

Arritola felt the stress of competition. “I had a rough day in the pursuit but I’m happy for my teammates who skied well. I just have to figure some things out and get ready for the 30km.”

Team leader Kikkan Randall was impressed with the US women in the 15km pursuit emailing SkiTrax her observations, “I’m super psyched and impressed to see three of our women in the top 30 today. It looked like a tough race and it’s great to see the shift in performance on our team.  We used to dream of one result in the top 30 and now we got three in. I know Morgan didn’t have her best day so she could have possibly been in there too. Jessie skied an impressive race, not afraid to go up and ski with some fast girls. I am really excited for the future of this group.

“I think my fall in the sprint the other day, while it was definitely disheartening, has made us all appreciate the hard work we’ve done together as a team to prepare for these championships and we know that the most important thing is to put ourselves out there and go for it.  The door has been opened on what is possible and we want more of it!”

We caught up Canadian Head Coach Justin Wadsworth for his take on the pursuit. “For sure it was a tough one out there for Brooke with the new (hard) courses here at Holmenkollen, and the huge crowds. This is a tough place to cut your teeth for your first high level racing in Europe. Brooke showed some guts out there on the skating leg today, so I look for better things to come from her as the championships continue.”

But not everyone was happy about that situation. Kowalczyk noted that on four different occasions Johaug blocked her from chasing Bjoergen. When asked whether she thought it was fair play, Kowalczyk replied, “It’s cross-country skiing.”

Johaug denied trying to block Kowalczyk and Bjoergen said she had no knowledge of it – as all had taken place behind her, but she was sure Johaug would not do that.

Instead, she said, her tactic to “…not do too much work in the classic part, but I was first in. Then I knew I had very good skis [in the skate leg] and Therese was in front; I wanted to be behind, because I knew I had better skis than Kowalczyk. I attacked and got a gap, and I knew I could go. I wanted Kowalczyk in front but Kowalczyk wanted Therese in front.”

Kowalczyk had little to say. It is difficult to ski against strong teams like the Norwegians, Swedes, Germans, Italians and Finns when the other members of the Polish team while good, were not there to work for her.

Bjoergen admitted Johaug played a part in her victory. “A big thank you to Therese who wore out Kowalczyk.”

Johaug, meanwhile, said the biggest “thank you” went to the “boys in the cabin” meaning the wax crew who waxed skis to perfection. “My goal was to reach an individual medal at these Games,” she said, “and now I have reached my goal. It was a big thing for me. The people in the track were great. At the last world championships I was 6th, so it is my best place at the world championships and the Olympics.

“I knew they [Bjoergen and Kowalczyk] would be strong in the end. I would fight to the last lap – all the way. When I was skating, I thought I could go hard all the time – I thought there was a chance. I did the best I could and it was a bronze today.”

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Norway commented, in a slight nudge to the competition and the rivalry between Norway and Sweden, “It is very typical Norwegian to perform as well as Marit Bjoergen did today.”

Full results HERE.

February 26, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – There was not so much action on the cross-country skiing side of things on Friday. Skiers were out training and technicians and coaches were testing waxes. The weather has changed from being coldish to being wet and a bit sloppy. We didn’t bring our rubber-boots, but probably should have… check out photos from our adventures today HERE.

The fog rolled in this morning and was so thick atop Holmenkollen that you could barely see 50 meters (if that)! This did not deter the ski jumping competitions (which are best watched on TV if you want to see anything more than the skier coming out of the clouds at the bottom of the hill), but it made things interesting for jumpers and spectators alike. More than one skier stated that they could not see a thing. (Our pictures barely do justice to the visibility; it got even worse as the day wore on).

At least one cross-country skier today briefly got lost while cruising the sprint course and the 5km (that skier’s name is name is Ahvo – but he found his way back to the wax cabins though).

Due to the fog and the lack of racing action on the cross-country side of things, today was a good day for checking out some history and culture in the area. We checked out the Edvard Munch exhibit located in Oslo’s center close to the medals plaza and hit up the Holmenkollen ski museum and chapel.

Edvard Munch, a famous Norwegian artist (more info HERE) born in 1863, has his artwork represented in eight sculptures made of ice and snow by internationally recognized artists featured in the city center.

The Ski Museum at Holmenkollen (more info HERE) is said to be the oldest museum in the world that specializes in skiing history. The museum was founded in 1923 at a location not far from its present location (since the 1952 Olympics) under the large jumping hill. The museum has exhibits about Norwegian explorers like Fridtjof Nansen (more info HERE) and Roald Amundsen (more info HERE) as well as a history of skis, ski making, Norwegian skiing heroes, and the royal family’s participation in ski sports.

The Holmenkollen Chapel is one of the most popular in Norway for weddings including baptisms, funerals, concerts, regular Sunday services and church festivals are also held there. The steeple of the chapel – when there is no fog – can be seen from the center of Oslo and is said to remind Olso and its visitors “of the self-expression of humanity and the joy of sport”.

The chapel was re-dedicated in 1996 and is similar to the previous chapel that stood in the same spot but was destroyed by arson in 1992. The construction method is traditional of Norwegian stave churches (more info HERE) from the 11th and 12th centuries and includes stained-glass windows a per the chapel brochure.

Tidbits for the day:
While Northug seems satisfied yesterday in the official press-conference after the sprints and even commented the better man had won, the Norweigan papers (like Aftenposten) reported this morning that Northug still says he is a better sprinter than Marcus Hellner in man-to-man races… but isn’t that what yesterday’s race was?

Marit Bjoergen is a tiger! After struggles in previous seasons, Bjoergen started working with a sport psychologist who told her to visualize herself as a hunting tiger out on the trails. The night before the sprint races she was frightened to find a tiger in her bed. It was only a stuffed animal (likely left by her sport psychologist) which startled her and then gave her a laugh (from yesterday’s press conference).

There was an interesting choice of photos for DagensNyheter (Swedish newspaper www.dn.se) with Petter Northug, Marcus Hellner and Emil Jönsson at the medal ceremony. Northug is clearly looking at the gold medal in Hellner’s hand. We suspect this picture was chosen on purpose… Norwegians and Swedes are a bit competitive. When we boarded the train this afternoon while chatting with a race volunteer, he was only able to whisper that a Swede and won yesterday.

Ahvo commented after the opening ceremonies and first medal ceremony that it seems that Norway has lost some of its Norwegian-ness. When he attended the Olympic Games in Lillehammer in 1994, the ceremonies were filled with Norwegian music and traditions whereas the flavor of these World Championships was much more international. Most music was in English and the show had a “Las Vegas-esque” feel.

Some videos from yesterday:
Chatting with a family in Oslo city-center about the sprints

Folk dance group gathered at Holmenkollen

Chatting with a family on the trail-side before the sprints

February 25, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – Greetings from Norway and our Day 2 insider report…Ahvo, coach of many successful international level Minnesota skiers and owner of FinnSisu Inc. in Saint Paul, MN, and Ritva Taipale, PhD student and club-level junior coach in Jyväskylä, Finland, are at the 2011 Nordic World Championships in Oslo, Norway – read on for more behind the scenes news from OSLO 2011… more photos HERE – Day 1 report HERE.

Some headlines from the papers today:

From Iltalehti
Timo Seppälä, the Finnish anti-doping expert states that 1 in 4 cross-country skiers at this event have used doping at some point in their career.

Sweden’s Emil Joensson is not feeling any pressure in today’s race. He just needs luck on his side and a good position in the start of the final sprint. (He was first in Drammen and is considered among the favourites today).

Matti Heikkinen has prepared for these World Championships in a different way than most athletes. His coach, Toni Roponen told Iltalehti that he has done 2-2.5km intervals at 95% heart rate max in the days leading up to the races. Some athletes have a “Mercedes diesel engine block, but Heikkinen’s body needs an extreme tune-up like a quick-firing Porsche gasoline engine”.

From yle.fi
Your dental hygiene is important for top performance! Martti Jylhä spent some of his preparation time for the Worlds in the dentist’s chair getting cavities filled. After Liberec, Jylhä found himself overly worn-out, so he went for a blood test and made an appointment with his dentist. Once the cavities were filled, his energy levels returned. He commented that not having taken care of his teeth was an “amateur” move. Your basic health, even your teeth, is important for maximum performance!!

Overheard…
Overheard on the press-bus up to Holmenkollen: Norwegian reporters are being modest. Not a single one would tell us who would win today. Upon further questioning, they admitted that they hope for some Norwegian gold… but the main thing is to have a good competition. Other Norwegian spectators that we talked to were also modest and careful not to be too exuberant about medal prospects today after memories of the Lillehammer relay and Marit Bjoergen’s set-backs a few years ago.

We also learned that:
1. Oystein Petterson is better liked in Norway for his personality and down-to-earth nature than Petter Northug
2. There is some controversy about the new Holmenkollen stadium. Some Norwegians think it is great, other think it’s ugly. Some Norwegians think that it’s too expensive and suggest that maybe plowing the side-streets in Oslo would be a better use of their krone.
3. The population of Oslo has increased by 12% during the World Championships.
4. Hot dogs are served in lefse (makes them easy to hold on to). Spectators even bring hotdogs in thermos bottles of hot water for lunch (Norwegian spectators are very well-equipped.)
5. The medals ceremony was held at the University Plaza in down-town Oslo. It felt like whole town and most of the country showed up to sing “Ja, vi elsker dette landet” (Yes, we love this country) with Bjoergen and friends.

And finally, Ahvo was going to have a night-cap, but it’s so expensive that he decided to stay up all night instead. Ritva’s going to get some sleep. Have a good night!

February 22, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – With light snow falling and the downtown area festooned with banners, flags and conviviality, the 2011 FIS World Nordic Championships are slated to begin Wednesday with qualifying rounds and gala opening ceremonies in downtown Oslo.

Light snow and -10 (C) temperatures greeted this journalist upon arrival in Oslo. The city is alive and you could feel it. For us Nordic fans, a return to this fabled venue is like coming home. The locals are very happy to welcome the world. I have long noticed that while the Norwegians like winning, they are very generous with their cheers for everyone.

I will be doing some PA announcing with friends Kjell Erik Kristiansen and Jens Aas in the stadium and I must say the mood is electric. As I look out from our broadcast booth I have a bird’s eye view of the stadium and the massive new ski jump at Holmenkollen. Many of the athletes are now out on the track here at Holmenkollen training and conditions are excellent. Many teams were wax testing for glide in the stadium.

NRK will be doing the world TV feed and I just looked at their camera positions and they will have 55 cameras out of the course, assuring that rights holders see nearly every meter of the course. Kristiansen, long time Olympic voice, called the course “very hard.”

I talked with Alex [Harvey] and Devon [Kershaw] today and they said the hills are “very tough”. So expect some great, and epic racing, along with superb Nordic combined and ski jumping on the new hill that is breathtakingly beautiful.

This is the first time I’ve seen the new ski jumping facility and while it is ultra-modern, it has sweepingly soft and elegant lines, or as one observer put it today  “imposing without being pretentious” – I liked that.

Following the races in Drammen, the North Americans have arrived with very strong teams and expectations are high. SkiTrax hopes to talk with the athletes on Wednesday, as Fischer will host a big press conference at 1:30pm local time.

Wednesday will really start things off and the locals think there will be snow and cold temperatures in the coming days.

That’s it for now – look for more from SkiTrax more tomorrow. By every standard it feels like we are on the brink of truly magical championships.