February 02, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Holy cow, today’s been an absolutely huge day! With 4 races going on I have no idea how the coaches and wax techs kept up with it all! First we had the junior women’s 4×3.3km relay, in which we finished 7th. I’m so totally excited because we moved up a place from last year!

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!)

After the relay, we travel waxed our skis, packed out bags and set out for a long day of spectating! And we did some HARD CORE cheering. We had numerous US flags and signs, and I do believe we also had the loudest voices on the whole course.

The junior men’s 4x5km relay went second, and they ended up finishing 10th in a close sprint with Canada. Then a short while later, the women’s 15km pursuit race set off, and Sadie led the US with a 17th place finish.

The last race of the day was the men’s 30km pursuit, and it was so much fun to cheer as the sun came out and it was an absolutely gorgeous day!

Noah led the US men with a 22nd place finish, but the coolest part of the whole day was seeing Alex Harvey crush it today and WIN THE WHOLE DARN RACE!!!! It was totally inspiring to hear an anthem other than Norway being blasted in the stadium.

I’m giving a huge shout-out to all the coaches and wax techs for all their hard work and patience in dealing with US. And thanks also to NCCSEF for all the support. It wouldn’t have happened without you!

So now I’m headed over to Madona, Latvia, with the Scando Cup team… and pretty much the only thing I know about Latvia is that car-jacking is basically a sport. The next week should be very interesting!

February 01, 2011 (Nove Mesto, Czech Republic) – Canada’s Scott Gow led the North American charge for the second straight day at the Youth and Junior Biathlon World Championships posting back-to-back 16th-place finishes.

Maxim Tsvetkov (RUS) earned the world title in the youth men’s 7.5km pursuit over Norway’s Vetle Sjastad Christansen in second while Tsvetkov’s team mate Alexandr Loginov was third. Johannes Kuhn (GER) seized the victory in the junior men’s 10km race,  with Ludwig Ehrhart (FRA) second and Tom Barth (GER) third.

Gow, a 20-year-old Calgarian, held his position in the pursuit competition. He missed three shots in his final two of four rounds of shooting at the range to clock a time of 37 minutes 27.7 seconds in the junior men’s 12.5-kilometre race. Fellow Canuck Vincent Blais finished 52nd.

Team USA’s Raileigh Goessling finished 53rd while team mate Eathan Dreissigacher (USA) took 56th.

Tsvetkov Wins Youth Men’s Title
Tsvetkov won the youth men’s 10km pursuit, his second World title. Vetle Sjastad Christiansen (NOR) was 30.3s behind for the silver medal, while Alexandr Loginov (RUS) took the bronze, only 32.7s off the win.

Stuart Harden (CAN) made up 21 spots in the standings with a strong pursuit race and finished 23rd with a time of 32:47.0. Christian Gow (CAN) also put in a solid effort, finishing 27th (33:02.7), while Macx Davies dropped to 29th at 33:06.2. Sean Doherty (USA) finished 37th with team mate Casey Smith (USA) in 54th.

Youth Results HERE.
Junior 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 27, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – Coline Mattel brought home the gold for France at the Junior World Championships in Otepää on Thursday after placing second last year and third the year before. Leading after the first round Mattel was in a tight race with Spela Rogelj (SLO) for the top spot besting her by a slim margin of 3.5 points followed by Japan’s Yuki Ito only 5.5 points back.

It was Rogelj’s first podium at a COC or World Championship event. Ito had the longest jump of the day at 99m for a career-best result.

“I am very happy, because I jumped well and even if I was nervous I knew that a lot of people were expecting me to win, because of the last year and year before that,” said Mattel in a FIS interview post-race. “The competition was difficult because of the wind. I think I was very nervous and maybe I didn’t jump as well as I am capable of. It was nice competition because everyone was fighting for the win.”

Sarah Hendrickson (Park City, UT) was the top U.S. finisher in 18th Hendrickson’s score of 205.0 with jumps of 86.5 and 84.1 meters was followed up by fellow Americans Nita Englund (Iron Mountain, MI) in 18th, Avery Ardovino (Park City, UT) in 37th and Nina Lussi (Lake Placid, NY) in 38th.

Top Canadians were Taylor Henrich (Altius Nordic Ski Club) in 25th with a score of 188.5 followed by Charlotte Mitchel (Altius Nordic Ski Club) in 29th with 175.5.

The FIS World Junior Ski Jumping Championship men’s HS 100 is scheduled for Friday.

Complete results HERE.

Results

1. Coline Mattel (FRA) (96.5, 98.5) 257.5
2. Spela Rogelj (SLO)  (96.5, 96.5) 254.0
3. Yuki Ito (JPN) (93.0, 99.0) 252.0

18. Sarah Hendrickson (USA) (86.5, 84.5) 205.0
25. Taylor Henrich (CAN) (81.5. 84.5) 188.5
28. Nita Englund  (USA)  (83.5, 76.5) 178.0
29. Charlotte Mitchell (CAN) (79.5, 80.0) 175.5
37. Avery Ardovino  (USA) (74.5) 76.5
38. Nina Lussi  (USA) (73.5) 75.0

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 26, 2011 (Otepaa, Estonia) – While it was a mixed nation podium today in the men’s junior 10km free race, the top step again belonged to Norway. On a cool day with powdery snow conditions the winner delivered a world cup worthy performance. The victor was Sindre Bjoernestad Skar of Norway with a time of 24:05.2. Second place went to Markus Weeger of Germany, who was back 16 seconds while third went to Perttu Hyvarinen (FIN) at 17.5 seconds.

While the course is getting positive reviews, it is a tough one. Following the event Skar said, “I knew this race was my best chance at Otepaa to be the champion. I knew I had to fight from the very first 100 meters to the end. It am very happy to be the champion. That’s amazing,”.

Weeger was not disappointed by winning the silver medal. “I began this race slowly (and built into it)….My skis were very fast. I didn’t expect to be on the podium,” he commented.

The top American was Alaska skier, Scott Patterson, now racing for UVM, in 28th. Head coach of the US Junior Ski Team squad in Estonia, Matt Whitcomb, described Patterson’s race to SkiTrax in a phone interview. “I just talked with him,” said Whitcomb, “Scott said he felt off the mark in today’s race. He said he went out poorly, it was cold and that he felt flat. But, I’ll tell you, to be flat and off the mark and still finish in the top thirty is pretty good. He can be in the top ten in this event.”

Denver’s Andrew Dougherty placed 49th, Erik Bjornsen from Mazama, WA was 57th and George Cartwright (NMU) was tied in 76th.

Andy Shields from Waterloo lead the Canadian men in 49th with a time of 26:20.3, followed by Canmore Nordic’s Russ Kennedy in 50th, Jordan Cascagnette (Team Hardwood) in 64th, and Adam Gillmor from Rocky Mountain Racers in 68th.

“Overall, I think our men had an average day,” Canadian coach Eric de Nys told SkiTrax by email. “There are tough shoes to fill with our last crop of juniors and the likes of Alex Harvey and Fred Touchette. Our target is still the podium but we’re not at that point yet.

“Andy started very fast but just couldn’t maintain the pace. After skiing the 17th fastest on the first lap, he started to fade and ended up 49th and wasn’t happy with his effort. His favourite race is the pursuit and he’s looking forward to it. Russell skied consistently  and overall was happy with his effort while Jordan said he felt okay about his race. Aaron wasn’t overly pleased with his day and feels he can do better. The focus now is the upcoming races.”

Thirty-five nations are taking part in the FIS World Junior and U-23 World Nordic Championships. This year’s championships mark the first time they have live television coverage on EuroSport 2.

Full results HERE.