March 22, 2013 (Falun, Sweden) – USA’s Kikkan Randall is storming strong, even as the end of the World Cup season quickly approaches. Only days ago, she successfully defended her World Cup Sprint crystal globe, but the Alaskan star is not resting on her laurels.
Today in the 2.5km free technique event, Randall snapped up a bronze medal only 6.6s behind Norwegian powerhouse Marit Bjoergen and 2.2s behind second place, Charlotte Kalla (SWE).
“The times were really tight out there and I’m happy to be on the podium. I think we had great skis today and I’m really psyched for our performance as a team. Two more races to go now, hope we can keep this momentum rolling! The course was short but challenging. The downhill turn that everyone was concerned about was definitely a little wild but safe enough,” said Randall in a team release.
“It’s been an interesting last 24 hours here in Falun, but with a seemingly happy ending. Yesterday after previewing the course there were concerns from several athletes that the new technical downhill section was going to be unsafe. We called an athletes meeting and went back and forth with the jury to try and find a compromise on a safer course. For me, as the athlete rep, it was a lot of running around yesterday. But in the end I’m glad we found a good solution and everyone agreed to start today.”
USA’s Holly Brooks had a great race, finishing seventh, while teammate Jessie Diggins also made the top-10 with a strong eighth-place finish. Other North American results include Liz Stephen (USA) in 20th, Ida Sargent (USA) in 38th, Emily Nishikawa (CAN) in 41st, Rosie Brennan (USA) in 46th, and Dasha Gaiazova (CAN) in 47th.
“It felt good to race a skate prologue – I really like this distance. It was also nice to get a good race feeling back! I had been feeling really tired and pretty done after World Champs, but today my body was ready for one last race series as we finish World Cup Finals,” commented Diggins. “The coaches did a fantastic job on the skis and it’s really exciting to have three girls in the top eight! It really boosts confidence and it’s always nice to end the season on a high note.”
After significant athlete protests, the infamous Mördarbacken (Murder Hill) hill was cut from this weekend’s race courses. Read more about it in our coverage here.
February 27, 2013 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – The USA’s Elizabeth Stephen raced to the best result of her career, finishing in 5th place, only 8.5 seconds off Russian bronze medalist, Yulia Tchekaleva, in women’s 10km FR Individual Start on Tuesday at the 2013 FIS Nordic World Championships in Val di Fiemme.
Taking the win was the diminutive Norwegian, Therese Johaug, who charged with her characteristic quick tempo to best her teammate Marit Bjoergen for the gold by 10.2 seconds. The win marks Johaug’s third career gold as super-star Bjoergen started to falter with fatigue in the latter stages of the race. Biathlete Miriam Goessner of Germany had an incredible day, missing the podium by only a half a second.
“I’d never skied the course as a skate course before. We always do it as a classic on the Tour de Ski, so I was psyched to be able to skate up those hills and just kept channeling the Tour de Ski energy and vibes,” said Stephen post-race. “Heck, it’s World Championships, there’s pretty good vibes here with Kikkan [Randall] and Jessie [Diggins] getting the win the other day. The mood of the team is outstanding right now – lots of energy kicking around.”
Teammate Jessie Diggins who placed 23rd, voiced her excitement to SkiTrax: “I am first and foremost super pumped for Liz! Nobody deserves it more and I’m so proud of her and excited to cheer for her at the awards ceremony tonight. As for my race, I definitely could have used an extra recovery day beforehand. The racing and emotion of the last two days has definitely left me without that extra gear, but I know I’ll be recovered in time for the relay.”
Kikkan Randall was disappointed with her 30th place, but expressed excitement over her teammate’s success. “Today was a tough one for me personally,” said Randall. “I felt like I was missing the power and capacity I had in my distance skating earlier this season. I was probably a little fatigued from the team sprint two days ago and since I haven’t done very much distance skate racing since the Tour, my aerobic system may have been a little asleep.”
“It was still, however, a spectacular day as my teammate Liz Stephen was fifth in the world, just eight seconds off the podium! I’ve been training alongside Liz for a few years now and have witnessed how hard she works. She has been reaching new levels this season, including skiing the second fastest time up the Alpe Cermis on the Tour’s final day, and she is so deserving of this amazing result. Her finish today is the best ever US women’s distance finish in a major championship. The whole team came out to the awards this evening to cheer her on.”
Coach Matt Whitcomb is pleased with Stephen’s success and after the gold medal performance by Randall and Diggins in the Team Sprint, and the team is moving ahead with excitement and confidence. “Today was just a perfect day for Liz, and one that makes pretty good sense given how our team works. Our athletes really get behind each other’s successes – they feed off of each other. And so with the gold medal from Kikkan and Jessie the other day you could feel the energy building. Liz skied an aggressive race under a lot of pressure to perform and she rose to the occasion.”
As for the Canucks, the top finish was Daria Gaiazova in 40th. “I really don’t have much to say today,” said Gaiazova. “It was not great, but I guess it was a good preparation for the relay, which I am really excited to do.”
Other North Americans included: Holly Brooks 27th, Kikkan Randall 30th, Daria Gaiazova 40th, Emily Nishikawa 57th, and Brittany Webster 68th.
The relay is up next for the women on Thursday. The Americans look to be positioned favorably. The foursome of Brooks, Diggins, Randall, and Stephen had already climbed on to the World Cup podium early in the season in Gaellivare, and they hope to carry that momentum towards World Championship gold.
December 24, 2012 – An abnormally high pulse in training Saturday morning prompted Norwegian Marit Bjørgen to go to the hospital, and on Sunday, the defending World Cup champion was discharged after being examined for cardiac dysrhythmia, also known as arrhythmia or irregular heartbeat.
Without knowing the full extent of her rhythmic disturbances, coach Egil Kristiansen said they wouldn’t be taking any chances.
“I can say for sure is that she is not going to the Tour de Ski,” he told NRK.no, adding that there’s no reason to worry about Bjørgen ending her career due to heart disorders.
The 32-year-old first detected an unusually high heart beat at practice Friday. She took another reading on Saturday and contacted a private physician, Hans Petter Stokke. Bjørgen was then admitted to St. Olav’s Hospital with what appeared to be cardiac dysrhythmia and spent the night there.
She returned home Sunday to her family with electrodes attached to her body for doctors to detect future abnormalities in her heart’s rhythm.
“The intention is to do research of heart rhythm disturbance while actually happening,” Stokke said.
“To my knowledge, there is no more serious than that she may soon start training again,” Kristiansen said. “But it’s important that she does not burden your body too much. Tour de Ski is a huge burden, so it goes without saying that she can not attend there.”
“She’s an incredibly tough lady, and there is no doubt that Bjoergen will come out stronger from this,” teammate Maiken Caspersen Falla told NRK. “I think she will use it as motivation towards the World Cup in February.”
Another young teammate, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, 22, said she was “very put out” by the news, but was glad everything turned out well.
“I have great faith that she comes back even stronger,” Østberg said. ”She is so strong both physically and mentally.”
“Fitness-wise, we live pretty similar lives,” Petter Northug said. “It is sad that she loses Tour de Ski, but when all is said and done it does not mean anything. It is health that is most important.”
December 05, 2012 – The World Cup passed through its second stop of the season at Ruka, which is just outside of Kuusamo in Finland, this past weekend and this is what I think I know after the three races that took place there:
– Marit Bjoergen and Petter Northug are the best skiers in the world right now. Bjoergen dominated winning all three races and is undefeated on the season in the World Cup. This comes on the heels of some talk in the Norwegian press that she was losing a step after having been beaten in some early season races. Northug did not win any of the races on the weekend – he was 2nd in the sprints to Russian Nikolai Kriukov and 2nd again to another Russian, Alexandr Legkov in the 10 km but he won the overall sprint at the end of the third race from another Russian, Maxim Vylegzhanin. He is now leading the World Cup overall.
– The Russian team is ramping it up in preparation for the Olympics in Sochi in 2014. In addition to the above mentioned men’s results they had 5 men finish in the top 10 overall at the end of the three days and that did not include their sprinters like Kriukov. The Russian women’s team is also getting better and better with Julia Tchekaleva 3rd in the 5km and Evgenia Shapovalova 2nd and Anastasia Dotsenko 3rd in the sprints.
– Justina Kowaczyk (POL) is still the 2nd best female skier in the world. She is starting to round into form after a very hard summer and fall of training and she finished 2nd to Bjoergen overall at the end of the weekend. She will be a force in the Tour de Ski after Xmas for sure.
– Kikkan Randall is the real deal in distance racing with a second podium finish in the 5km. It is interesting that she is doing better in distance than in sprints so far this season. She will challenge Bjoergen, Kowalczyk and Terese Johaug of Norway for the overall World Cup this year.
– The rest of the American women are also the real deal. Ida Sargeant had a career best 9th in the sprints and joins Kikkan, Holly Brooks, Liz Stephen and Jessie Diggins to make up one of the strongest women’s teams in the world right now. They should do very well in the Canadian World Cups over the next two weeks.
– Perianne Jones (12th)and Dasha Gaiasova (14th) had great sprint races but continue to struggle in distance races. Chandra Crawford is struggling everywhere and needs to get it together quickly if she is going to race well at home in Canada.
– Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey are starting to come out of their funk. Both had decent results over the weekend but it is nothing like how they finished the year last year. The pressure is on to perform in Canada, especially for Harvey in his hometown this weekend in Quebec City. I wonder what they will do?
– Noah Hoffman is starting to shine. As a junior he had a great engine but poor technique but it seems that he is starting to put it all together. Last year he was a medalist at the World U23 games and his 19th place in the 10km and 26th place overall shows big improvement over last year. The other men on the US team are still back in the pack and need to pick it up soon.
– Many of the top skiers will not be coming to Canada for the World Cups. Marit Bjoergen and Petter Northug stated after the races in Ruka that they would not attend. The Finnish team will only send 5 sprinters to Quebec City, but will send more to the distance races in Canmore including Aino-Kaisa Saarinen. This means that there will be more World Cup points available for North American skiers, as the fields will be diluted.
– Having World Cups in Canada is also a great opportunity for younger, less experienced North American skiers to show what they can do against the best. Careers can be jump started by having a great race over the next two weeks. These are the skiers that I will be watching closely. Now is the time for them to get on the “escalator” that will take them to Sochi in 2014. By skiing well now they will get more opportunities to ski at this level later on in the year which will give them more chances to qualify for their National Teams and for their Olympic Teams. It will be very hard for skiers who are not on the escalator now to make it to Sochi next year.
– All of the Canadian races will be shown on either CBC or Bold over the next three weeks. Consult your local listings for time and dates and set your PVR – there is going to be some great racing!
November 30, 2012 (Kuusamo, Finland) – USST’s Ida Sargent turned heads as the top North American with a breakthrough 9th in the women’s 1.4km CL sprint in Kuusamo today with impressive, smart skiing. The Dartmouth skier, on the Craftsbury Green Team, was also the fastest NA qualifier in 13th. Norway’s Marit Bjoergen was the undisputed winner claiming the second round of the FIS XC WCup after qualifying fourth and squeaking through to the final as a lucky loser.
Evgenia Shapovalova (RUS) stormed to second, followed by teammate Anastasia Dotsenko in third. Top qualifier Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), was a surprise non-finalist as she was eliminated in the semis and finished up in seventh.
The USA’s Kikkan Randall, who qualified 16th, had an auspicious start storming to second in her quarterfinal behind Kowalcyzk. Randall made her move on the final climb surging into first place but settled for second in the finishing straight. In her semi she started strong, but apeared to lose power on the hill as she used the same strategy fading to fifth to finish 10th on the day.
Dasha Gaiazova (CAN) was the top Canadian qualifier in 18th and looked very strong in her quarterfinal as set the pace taking the lead. As the group hit the climb she did not have the same kick and did not advance to the semis.
Her teammate Perianne Jones, qualifying 20th, had a strong 2nd place finish in her quarterfinal advancing to the semis. She was looking good until she was thrown off pace by a minor stumble and ended up last in her heat finishing the day in 12th, matching her career-best individual World Cup result.
The final was an exciting one, with Kowalczyk out and Bjoergen sneaking in. Katja Visnar (SLO) and Krista Lahteenmaki (FIN) both went down mid-race, while Bjoergen stormed away off the front.
Other North American results include Jessie Diggins (USA) 33rd, Chandra Crawford (CAN) 37th, Alysson Marshall (CAN) 38th, Holly Brooks (USA) 40th, and Liz Stephen 68th.
November 29, 2012 – So here we are – at the start of another World Cup racing season with the first races in the north of Sweden in Gällivare. Last season, when there were no Olympics or World Championships races on the schedule, the races on the World Cup were the most important contests of the season and no one was really peaking for any big event, other than the Tour de Ski.
But this season, many racers are taking a different approach to their training with the Nordic World Championships in Val di Fiemme in February. By focusing on peaking for these championships, many skiers plan to train hard right through the first races of the season before Christmas. As a result, you will see that some of the top skiers do not have very good results during November and December. The other side effect is that many of the top skiers will not travel to Canada for the World Cups before the holidays, preferring to stay at home where they can train more and have less fatigue from travelling.
This could be seen in the individual race in Gällivare in the results of some of the top racers – most notably Dario Cologna (Sui), Justyna Kowalczyk (Pol) and even, I think, in the results of Canada’s Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey. Cologna was 19th, Kowalczyk was 27th, Harvey was 36th and Kershaw was 44th in the freestyle races.
But it doesn’t matter what the racing program is, or whether you are peaking or not if you are as strong as Marit Bjoergen (Nor). She and her Norwegian country woman, Therese Johaug, finished 1st and 2nd, followed by American Kikkan Randall in 3rd. Bjoergen won the first race last year, too.
Randall was on the podium for the first time in a distance race – a sign that she is continuing to improve over her stunning season last year where she won the Sprint Cup and was 5th overall in the World Cup. Randall, who has been walking around in an air cast most of this summer and fall due to a stress reaction in the bones of her foot, must be relieved that this injury has not affected her results.
Her teammate, Holly Brooks, has also kicked it up a notch or two, finishing 5th. Brooks, who is on the US B Team and is primarily self-funded, started well last year too, but a wrist injury slowed her down at the end of the year.
The American women were the talk of the XC skiing world on Sunday when they finished on the podium for the first time ever in a World Cup relay, taking 3rd. As well as Randall and Brooks, Jessie Diggins and Liz Stephen skied great relay legs to nip the 2nd Norwegian team finishing behind Norway 1 and Sweden 1.
The Canadian women’s team results were disappointing for everyone on the weekend with a best in the individual race of 61st by Dasha Gaiazova and a relay finish of 14th out of 18 teams. Three of the four women – Gaiazova, Chandra Crawford, and Perianne Jones, are primarily sprinters, so the hope is that their results will be better in the sprint that is scheduled in Kuusamo, Finland this coming weekend.
In the men’s individual race, the surprise winner was 28-year-old Martin Sundby of Norway. This was his first World Cup win, but he did win all three races at the Norwegian Championships last winter and was on the podium at two World Cups last winter at the end of the year.
Sundby finished ahead of another surprising skier, Alexei Poltoranen of Kazakhstan, and Marcus Hellner of Sweden. Perennial favourite, Petter Northug was 7th. Poltoranen has a history of doing well in the early season races and I think that Northug likely falls into the group of skiers who are training very hard right now for big races later.
It was nice to see Canada’s Ivan Babikov finishing 14th in this race. Babikov has had a couple of slow years since Vancouver, but he has re-dedicated himself to training hard and it is showing. Kris Freemen had the best US team result at 33rd and I am sure that he is looking forward to going to Kuusamo this week where he has had great results in the past.
In the men’s relay the Canadian men finished a terrific 5th just 3 seconds from 2nd place. Norway, anchored by Northug won the race followed by Sweden and Russia who out-sprinted the Swiss and Canada for the podium.
There has been a change in the format of the men’s relay races on the World Cup level now as they have gone from 4x10km races to 4×7.5 km to make it more exciting for the fans and shorter for TV. This shorter distance will not change the results but it will get the races to the finishing sprint sooner.
Len Valjas made his World Cup debut this season in the first leg of the relay and met his goal of finishing within 20 seconds of the top skiers. Valjas skied with a cast on his hand after breaking a knuckle and should be very happy with his result.
The American men were a disappointing 15th out of 22 teams. There is a strange parallel between the US men and the Canadian women and the US women and the Canadian men. It will be interesting to watch if this changes over the winter.
So now it is off to Kuusamo in Finland for the next leg of the World Cup. There will be a 3-race mini-tour for the men and women including a sprint race, an individual start race and a pursuit race.
From there the World Cup comes to Canada for races in Quebec City on December 7 and 8 and in Canmore on December 13, 15 and 16. I am fortunate to be involved again in the broadcast of all of these races on CBC and Bold. All of the races will be telecast so check your local listings for viewing times.
November 01, 2012 – There are only 24 days left until the 2012/13 FIS Cross-Country World Cup season gets under way and the defending Big Crystal Globe winner Marit Bjoergen looks optimistic towards the winter.
“I’ve done a very good job in the summer and autumn and I cannot wait until the season starts,” she wrote on her website www.maritbjoergen.no.
The multiple Olympic and World Championships medallist says she has trained more than ever. “Every year has made me stronger and my body’s ability to recover has been better,” she claimed.
The Cross-Country season kicks off for Norwegian athletes in Beitostoelen on November 16-18 with the traditional Cross-Country and Biathlon opening. This time, the three days of competitions will be featuring 10/15 km free ladies and men, classical sprint and 10/15 km km classic ladies and men.
“Beitostølen is my favourite place and I enjoy the atmosphere of the national opening,” she revealed.
Cross-Country Skiing fans can still recall unforgettable moments from the last season when Marit Bjoergen and Justyna Kowalczyk challenged each other for the FIS Tour de Ski victory and the Big Crystal Globe.
Also this winter Bjoergen and Kowalczyk are expected to fight for top positions both in the World Cup, FIS Tour de Ski and the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. FIS Cross-Country World Cup season kicks off in Gällivare on November 24-25.
“It will be exciting to meet other skiers at the World Cup opening. Rumours say that Justyna is in a good shape and I am looking forward to meeting her on the World Cup circuit,” said Marit Bjoergen and continued: “Charlotte Kalla visited me in Oslo in the summer and there’s no doubt she will be a strong contender for all the Norwegian girls,” Bjoergen claimed.
April 16, 2012 (Røldal, Norway) – Kristin Stoermer Steira and Chris Andre Jespersen were the quickest in Saturday’s Haukelirennet over the 32km freestyle race. Steira won the competition in 1:21.05 and edged out the big Crystal Globe winner Marit Bjoergen and Therese Johaug.
On the men’s sides Chris Andre Jespersen was superior over Sjur Røthe and Martin Johansson.
On Sunday, April 15, an unconventional competition took place in Røldal, Norway. More than 3,000 fans turned out in the mountain resort of Røldal to see an event that combined giant slalom and then 4km free uphill climb.
Some of World’s best cross-country skiers showed up at the start, including Charlotte Kalla, Johaug, Bjoergen, Anders Gloeersen, Oeystein Pettersen, Jean-Marc Gaillard, and Petter Northug Jr.
Organizers reckoned with the advantage cross-country specialists might get, therefore 1-second behind in the giant slalom meant 20 seconds back in the cross-country skiing portion.
Former top alpine skiers Andrinne Flemmen and Lasse Arnesen won the first part of the competition. Right after the alpine leg it was time to change the skiing equipment and climb 4km up with a vertical gain of 240m.
Andrinne Flemmen kept the lead after the alpine section and came in first at the finish. Norwegian youngster Tuva Toftdal came second at 16 seconds back. As expected, Johaug was the fastest climber with 15:39.6.
On the men’s side, Nordic skiing specialists prevailed over alpine skiers as Gloeersen led the way with a 33-sec margin over Nordic Combined athlete, Mikko Kokslien. Chris Andre Jespersen had the fastest climb time of 13:54.8.
Results
Haukelirennet – 32 km free, 14. April 2012
Women
1. Kristin Størmer Steira, IL Forsøk 1:21:05
2. Marit Bjørgen, Rognes IL 1:21:19
3. Therese Johaug, Nansen IL 1:22:48
4. Martine Ek Hagen, BUL IL 1:23:00
5. Charlotte Kalla, IFK Tärendö 1:25:47
6. Pia Sofie Måbø, Stathelle og Omegn IL 1:35:39
Men
1. Chris Jespersen, Byåsen IL 1:17:19
2. Sjur Røthe, Voss IL 1:17:20
3. Martin Johanson, IFKMora ski 1:18:33
4. Vebjørn Turtveit, Voss IL 1:20:16
5. Gaute Kvåle, Røldal IL 1:20:21
6. Magnus Krog, Høydalsmo 1:22:03
April 09, 2012 (Budal, Norway) – The annual Marit Sprint took place in Budal, Norway recently. “It’s a true fun to see all the happy kids,” Marit Bjoergen told nrk.no. After the race, the roles changed for the 2011/12 Cross Country World Cup Crystal Globe winner. This time it was Bjoergen who was hanging medals and hanging them around kids’ necks after Marit-Sprint in South Trøndelag.
In total, 350 kids took part in the sixth edition of event. Some kids were not sure if it was the real Marit Bjoergen supporting them on the course. “They are used to seeing me on TV, so they did not think it was me,” Bjoergen laughed.
January 05, 2012 (Cortina, Italy) – Marit Bjoergen (NOR) finally claimed the red leader’s bib over her closest rival Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) on Stage 7 of the 2012 Tour de Ski, a 15km free race with handicap start. The two were tied at three wins apiece before the stage, but at the end of the day, Bjoergen edged ahead grabbing the win and the leader’s bib for the first time during the nine-stage contest.
While it’s a small margin of seven seconds it’s the first time Bjoergen has ever been the Tour’s overall leader. She is now poised to become the first Norwegian to win the TdS. Team mate Therese Johaug (NOR) raced in a lonely limbo, maintaining her third place ranking and finished +3:16.9 behind.
The USA’s Kikkan Randall had a solid day, finishing fifth after starting fourth. She didn’t have the best first half but as her engine warmed up she picked up the pace. Krista Lahteenmaki (FIN) caught and passed her on the second lap to claim fourth on the day and is now 4th overall. Randall won a hard-fought race for fifth in an all-out sprint with Marthe Kristoffersen (NOR) and Charlotte Kalla (SWE), who settled for sixth and seventh, respectively.
Temperatures on race day were a comfortable minus 3 C when Kowalczyk pushed off first, 4.8s ahead of Bjoergen, who proceeded to bridge to her. Together, Kowalczyk and Bjoergen maintained their head-to-head battle over the entire 15km distance, neither able to shake the other.
When Bjoergen launched an attack on the second lap, Kowalczyk responded, refusing to be shaken. The race was decided in the final metres, when Kowalczyk made a small technical mistake, allowing Bjoergen to surge away and gain precious seconds for the win and the overall lead.
Johaug, in third place overall, now trails the leader by 3:20 and will have a hard time making up lost ground on the final two stages of the Tour. Randall also has her work cut out as she is 15 seconds from Lahteenmahki in fourth but is being hunted closely by Kristoffersen at only four-tenths of a second behind. In fact, sixth through 11th place are all within a minute of the American.
December 29, 2011 (Oberhof, Germany) – Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland staked her claim to the women’s Tour de Ski overall crown with a win in today’s opening 3.1km Prologue stage in Oberhof, Germany. Kowalczyk bested World Cup overall leader, Marit Bjoergen (NOR) by 0.4 seconds over the 2.5km course. Sweden’s Hannah Brodin was third.
Among the American women, Kikkan Randall finished a solid 10th, with teammates Liz Stephen and Holly Brooks (who is suffering with an injured wrist – read more HERE) coming in 37th and 53rd respectively.
Meanwhile, Norway’s Petter Northug backed up his intentions to win the Tour this year with a win in the men’s 4.0km Prologue, beating Tour arch rival Dario Cologna of Switzerland by .7 seconds. France’s Maurice Magnificat finished third.
The Canadian men had an excellent day, with Alex Harvey finishing 6th and Devon Kershaw 12th. Ivan Babikov was further back in 38th position while Andy Newell had the top result for the US squad in 29th place, followed by Simi Hamilton and Kris Freeman in 63rd and 64th respectively.
Full women’s results HERE.
Full men’s results HERE.
November 25, 2011 (Kuusamo, Finland) – Teodor Peterson (SWE) and Marit Bjeorgen (NOR) were victorious in today’s classic sprint races in Kuusamo, Finland, the first of three days of racing in the first Viessman FIS World Cup mini-tour event of the season. North Americans had a decent day, with a handful qualifying for the heats and the USA’s Kikkan Randall and Canada’s Lenny Valjas making it into the finals. Norway’s Petter Northug, a threat in any race, was a surprise 16th, after failing to make it out of his quarter final.
Racing in icy conditions with fresh snow falling in the tracks as the finals got underway, Peterson notched his first World Cup victory with a convincing win over Russia’s Nikita Kriukov and Norway’s Oeystein Pettersen. Canada’s Valjas recorded a career best World Cup result, placing 5th in the closely contested final. Finland’s Anssi Pentsinen, something of a surprise winner in the morning’s qualifier, delighted the stadium crowd by making it into the final, in which he placed 6th.
Bjoergen, who qualified 5th, once again demonstrated her power, taking control of the women’s final at the halfway mark and never looked back. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla was second, with Vibeke Skofterud finishing third, just holding off the hard-charging Randall, who established a career-best in classic sprint result claiming 4th, and making her first World Cup final in the discipline.
A number of other North Americans qualified for the heats today in Kuusamo. Canada’s Chandra Crawford earned her way into the heats for the first time in five tries in Kuusamo, qualifying 10th, showing that her classic sprinting has come a long way. Crawford was eliminated in the quarters and finished 22nd. Her teammate, Dasha Gaiazova, shook off the jet lag from her recent arrival in Scandinavia to qualify in 12th overall before also being knocked out in the quarter-finals and finishing 14th on the day.
The USA’s Andy Newell qualified 19th and Canada’s Alex Harvey was 29th. Both were eliminated in the quarter finals, with Newell holding at 19th and Harvey moving up to 24th.
It was a tough day for Canada’s Perianne Jones and Devon Kershaw, both of whom failed to qualify. Jones finished 44th and Kershaw 56th in qualification.
Results
Women
1. Marit Bjoergen (NOR)
2. Charlotte Kalla (SWE)
3. Vibeke Skofterud (NOR)
November 21, 2011 (Sjusjoen, Norway) – Without a doubt, one of the most stressful weekends for a cross-country ski racer is the first meaningful race weekend of the year. All of the skiers have trained for six or more months and it is not until you race these first races that you know even a little bit about where you stand in relation to your competitors.
This is the nature of cross-country ski racing. There are no personal best times or world record times in this sport. You can do all the testing you want, and compete in roller ski racers or early season time trials, but the only way that you can really measure yourself is racing against your peers.
This is true at every level right up to the World Cup and if you read the quotes from the skiers from Saturday (link to this article) you will see that a common theme is that they didn’t know how they would do before the start and that made them nervous.
Here are some of my thoughts after the first weekend in Sjusjoen, Norway:
– I think that the Norwegian women are going to dominate all year long. They had seven of the top nine on Saturday and their relay teams finished 1st and 2nd in the relay on Sunday. Only Charlotte Kalla of Sweden and Kikkan Randall of the US were able to break into the top 9 – it looked like a Norwegian championship race.
– Marit Bjoergen has lost nothing since last year. She won by almost 30 seconds in a 24-minute race. If they had been racing a track and field event she would have almost lapped the whole field. Last year Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) won the overall World Cup because Bjoergen was concentrating on winning at the World Championships in Oslo. This year is going to be different.
– it’s clear that the USA’s Kikkan Randall is better than last year – 8th in a distance race is a fantastic result. Watch out!
– I also think that the US women’s team is really improving. With Liz Stephen placing 18th on Saturday and then having a decent relay on Sunday – and Randall’s and Brooks’ strong legs – the team is now showing just how much they have improved.
– Johan Olsson is one of the best technical skaters in the world and when he’s healthy he’s certainly one of the best. He had a tough year last year after two bronze medals in Vancouver but it looks like he is back now.
– I think that NO ONE – and I mean no one seems to be able to beat Petter Northug (NOR) in a sprint. It was sad watching the last leg of the relay on Sunday. None of the lead skiers was willing to put it on the line and go for the win except for another Norwegian Sjur Roethe. The lead group was going SO slow that he was able to come from 45 seconds back to pass all of them and take the lead in only 5km. It looked like Northug was just playing with those guys. He has an almost unbeatable formula now for distance races. All he has to do is hang around the leaders, never leading and then in the last km he moves to the front and wins the sprint.
– but Northug IS beatable in the individual start races, despite the fact that he’s getting better in these events as well. He was second on Saturday and is having a much better start to his season than last year when he over-trained and did not have any good results until after Xmas at the Tour de Ski. I also think that he is pretty well a lock to win the World Cup this year unless someone can figure out how to beat him in a sprint.
– that being said Canada’s Alex Harvey may be the one to beat Northug. His 5th place showed that he is in great shape and his sprint win in Oslo over Ole Vigen Hattestad to win the Team Sprint gold at the Nordic Worlds have shown that he has the fitness and the sprint speed to win. He has beaten Northug in a sprint in the past and even Petter has acknowledged that Harvey can beat him. I think that if Canada wants to do anything in relays they have to have Alex on the team as the anchor skier. This is the second relay in a row including the relay in Olso that Harvey did not race.
Next weekend the World Cup moves to Kuusamo, Finland for a three day mini-tour de ski. The skiers will likely have to race on icy, man-made snow again, but it will be colder and darker and the hills will be bigger and steeper. It will be the first chance for the sprinters to come out and play as well as the classic skiers. Should be a lot of fun to watch.
October 24, 2011 – The Bliz Active brand is continuing its rapid expansion and taking market shares in Sweden, in Scandinavia and in other countries. Since its inception in 2007, Bliz Active has been actively involved with the various ski associations, and has sponsored several members of the Norwegian and Swedish national cross-country skiing teams.
“The partnership with Norwegian skier Marit Bjørgen, as well as the national teams in general, is helping to establish Bliz Active at a deeper level and confirms our position as one of the absolute top brands in sports eyewear for cross-country skiers,” said Andreas Persson, Marketing Manager at Future Trading AB.
Marit Bjørgen, probably the best female crosscountry skier the world has ever seen, has decided to continue using Bliz Active as her sports eyewear supplier. Since the first contract was signed in 2008, she has been extremely pleased with the products and service provided by Future Trading, the company behind the Bliz Active brand.
Future believes firmly in the partnership with Marit Bjørgen, and is prepared to invest heavily in it. The sponsorship of Marit lends enormous credibility to the brand, and this will prove extremely valuable for the brand’s future expansion and sales.
Future’s objective is to move BLIZ forward by adding more technical and functional products for outdoor activities. At the same time, it is important that BLIZ maintains a price level which makes the brand accessible to a broad target group, which buys and uses our products”, says Jan Jonsson, CEO of Future.
The 3-year partnership and contract will cover competitions such as the World Championships in Val de Fiemme in 2013 and the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.
August 29, 2011 – Marit Bjoergen (NOR) has ruled out motherhood before she concludes her racing career, according to Langrenn.com. The 31-year-old XC skiing superstar has admitted she would like to have a family, but she aims to compete at the Sochi 2014 Olympics first.
“Sometime in the future, I feel like a family, but it does not happen before my career is over,” she told Langrenn. I think it would be difficult to combine children and elite sport.”
Bjoergen lives with former runner Fred Borre Lundberg. He is an Olympic champion and five-time World Champiom.
April 29, 2011 (Norway) – The end of the Cross-Country season is expected to witness 12,000 cross-country skiers at the start in Geilo, Norway for the season-concluding Skarverennet on Saturday, April 30th. For most of the participants, their race time won’t matter as they will enjoy the 38km race, stopping to picnic and enjoy the views.
Yet several World Cup stars are also expected to compete. Leading the way are Norwegian stars Marit Bjoergen, Therese Johaug and Petter Northug along with Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) and the Swiss Team head coach Guri Hetland. Last year’s champion Curdin Perl (SUI) will also be challenged by Jean Marc Gaillard, Vincent Vittoz (both FRA) and biathletes Tarjei Boe (NOR) and Michael Roesch (GER).
Warm temperatures and little snow in this part of Norway at this stage of the season have provided a formidable challenge to the organizers. In higher elevations, the tracks are still in a good condition, but in several other locations, snow must be transported and distributed. However, the organizers are determined to carry out the event, claiming that cancellation is not an option!
March 21, 2011 (Falun, Sweden) – If you missed the action at this past weekend’s 2011 FIS Viessmann WCup finale in Falun, Sweden check out this great photo gallery of some of the sport’s top skiers as the season’s final champions were crowned following the 10/15km Handicap start pursuit race. Norway’s Marit Bjoergen and Petter Northug won the final mini tour while Dario Cologna (SUI) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) were crowned the overall season champions – read more here and here.
March 17, 2011 (Stockholm, Sweden) – Here are some great photos from yesterday’s Royal Palace Sprint in Stockholm won by Petra Majdic (SLO) and Emil Joensson (NOR). With their victories, Joensson and Majdic sewed up the respective men’s and women’s 2011 World Cup Sprint titles, as the series now heads into the final weekend in Falun, Sweden. The USA’s Kikkan Randall claimed third overall in the women’s Sprint Series – read more here on the women’s race and here for the men’s race.
March 13, 2011 (Lahti, Finland) – Norway’s Marit Bjoergen was back on form on Sunday looking unbeatable again as she took the women’s 1.4km Classic sprint victory at the FIS World Cup in Lahti on Sunday.
On the flip side World Cup Sprint leader, American Kikkan Randall, had to deal with a topsy-turvey day as she qualified strong in 5th just behind Bjoergen only to meet disaster in her quarter final finishing 5th and was out early in the match.
It was a lucky loser day in the final as top qualifier, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (NOR), and Petra Majdic (SLO) both landed on the podium after advancing to the final as lucky losers. Jacobsen and Majdic were 3rd and 4th in the semi won by Bjoergen in a photo-finish over Follis. In final they both advanced one spot as Jacobsen claimed the silver and Majdic the bronze.
Majdic out-skied Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) for the final podium spot as Charlotte Kalla (SWE) ended up fifth and Arianna Follis (Italy) 6th. With her 60-point podium score the Slovenian star wrestled the Sprint leader’s jersey from Randall now third overall behind Follis in second.
The final series outcome will be decided on a shorter classic sprint in Stockholm, Sweden on Mar. 16.
The Lahti sprint course is one of the toughest on the circuit starting with a grueling uphill climb followed by a bit of downhill relief leading to a second smaller climb and then a fast dowhill with a challenging final right hand turn dropping skiers into the chute into the stadium to the finish. It was on this corner that the course delivered an unusual number of crashes throughout the day – moreso in the men’s race.
Randall, who began slipping after a strong start in the quarterfinal, could not keep pace and fell back to finish fifth. She wasn’t the only one who had difficulties with the tough snow conditions and demanding course as others like Bjoergen and Kowalczyk both experienced some slippage.
“It was a real bummer after a strong qualification,” said Randall in a phone interview with SkiTrax. “My skis were fine thru the qualification and start of the quarter final and I was in contention but soon after they slicked up – I was slipping with less glide than the others as well and lost ground. We think that perhaps my skis picked up some ice along the way that slowed them down.”
Randall concurred that the Lahti course is long and tough. “It’s precarious in some parts and perhaps has the most sustained sprint climb I’ve experienced. The qualification times were over 3:30 that tells you something.”
Four other North Americans did not qualify including Holly Brooks (USA) in 34th, Daria Gaiazova (CAN) in 48th, Chandra Crawford (CAN) in 55th and Perianne Jones (CAN) in 56th.
“Tough day today,” said Canadian Head Coach Justin Wadsworth in a brief email to SkiTrax. “Chandra and Dasha will head back to Canmore for XC Ski Nationals.”
dDespite the lackluster results for North America the day had some positives.
“Holly Brooks almost qualified for the rounds and Kikkan blazed her qualifier as if classic sprinting had been her strongest event. And perhaps it will be,” US Coach Matt Whitcomb told SkiTrax post-race.
“Kikkan struggled in her quarterfinal, finishing 5th. While her skis were great in the qualifier, they were not as competitive in the heats. The wax was the same as we used for Andy [Newell] who had great skis – both athlete and tech liked them in testing, but they didn’t roll as well as expected when the gun went off.
“It is classical racing in variable conditions. We own the choices we made and were confident in them, and own that it didn’t go as planned. When you miss by a little on the World Cup, you’re missing by a little against the best teams in the world.”
With only 29 points separating Randall from the Sprint jersey she’s keen to get another crack at it in Stockholm. “It felt good wearing it today and I’m looking forward to having the chance to take it back,” added Randall, who sits 10th in the overall WCup standings.
The US team heads to Stockholm on Monday and begins their final preparation for the remaining four WCup events in the series.
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.
February 28, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – Two days ago, I raced my first 15km pursuit ever… at the World Championships! Maybe not the ideal time to experiment with pacing, but it sure was fun while it lasted. It was an interesting day with heavy fog that made it hard on the spectators and racers alike; you couldn’t see the turns on the fast downhills till you hit them! I almost fell face-first a couple of times but managed to stay upright.
The crowds were fantastic; they lined the course and although 95% were totally intoxicated, the noise and enthusiasm really gave me a boost during the race. It’s impossible to give up when people are screaming “HI-YA!” at you! (it means GO! in Norwegian)
I had the best mass start I’ve ever been in, because I was situated #42, on the right outside track. I was able to hop out of the track and double pole up the outside while on the first hill out of the stadium people were going ballistic and tripping in the tracks. I snuck around the corner and caught onto the end of the big pack to be in the top 30. I was so excited because our skis were so fast – we had the perfect mix of good kick up the steep climbs and fast glide on the downhills.
However, I’d done a really poor job of hydrating and fueling up the days prior to my race, which proved to be a painful lesson to learn the hard way. I started to hit the wall at only 6km, and could taste iron in the back of my throat the rest of the race. I shouldn’t have needed a feed in a 15km, but the coaches had three stations ready, just in case.
And you know what? I missed all three! So embarrassing. I dropped the first bottle, and the second time around, I managed to grab the bottle… and gave myself a Gatorade facewash! So now every coach in the world knows that I had the worst feed in the history of world champs. What a prestigious title! To be fair, I’ve never tried to take a feed in a big race before. But now I’ve got good incentive to practice!
At the end of the day, Marit Bjoergen took the women’s title (surprise, surprise!) but the US women had a great day – Liz led the charge in 24th, Holly came in 25th, I finished 28th and Mo wrapped up our top 45 day in 43rd! Full results are linked HERE.
The next day was the men’s 30km pursuit, and Holly and I had a great time cheering them on. We got to be part of an international cheering squad as we hiked down a steep snowy hill to get right alongside the classic part of the course. It was really cool to see all the people camping in the snowbank; some had even shoveled out benches and settled down for the afternoon!
We hiked back to the stadium in time to see Alex Harvey of Canada pull the most ballsy move I’ve ever seen in a 30km pursuit – he broke the pack with like 6km to go and went off the front on his own! Sadly, his legs cramped up with about 3km to go and the pack sucked him back in. But it was super cool to see him off the front for a lap with a chase pack of 20 guys all scared to death that a U23 was going to beat them.
The men finished thus: Northug won, with Russians in 2nd and 3rd. Kris Freeman led the US guys in 29th, Noah Hoffman came in 37, Lars Flora finished in 53rd and Tad Elliott came in 55th. Full results are linked HERE.
Then we had a bit of a transportation snafu – due to the pedestrians crowding the street and the King of Norway getting back down the hill safely, they totally shut down the roads and we had to sit on a bus for an hour and a half before getting back to the hotel. It was a long day, but still worth it to see such an exciting race.
Today is the women’s 10km classic… and I’m headed out to cheer!
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.”
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 23, 2011 (Oslo, Norway) – The excitement is expected to build to a crescendo this evening, not far from the Royal Palace in downtown Oslo, as the 2011 FIS World Nordic Championships are set to kick off. Members of the Canadian and U.S. Cross -Country ski team made their final preparations on Tuesday on the perfect ski tracks at Oslo’s famed Holmenkollen venue.
With the trees laden with snow and with light snow falling, it made for the ideal scene set for these much anticipated championships to begin.
Kikkan Randall took her final tune up on the tracks and said she was ready. “I feel great and very energized following the Drammen races and I am set to go. The sprint course is really one I like very much, it has all the right elements,” said Randall who goes into the FIS Championships poised and confident following her second World Cup win this season in Drammen.
U.S. Head Coach Chris Grover also said his charges are ready, “We are all healthy and everyone is happy and ready”.
While we tested announcing systems today for the qualifying events, the top ten of each race of men and women will be able to ski in these championships. Among them was Dartmouth’s former star, Ben Koons, who is skiing for New Zealand here, along with brother Nils. Well-known Kenyan skier Philip Boit also took part, who is now coached by the legendary Norwegian champion Bjorn Daehlie, who came our booth today for a chat. There were big crowds on hand for these races today, as there was no charge to attend.
At mid-day SkiTrax attended a Fischer Press Event and the room was full of among the best-known Fischer athletes in the sport also among the favorites here in Oslo – here are some notes from the press Conference…
Petra Majdic started things off on a lighthearted note with a line about her fall at Whistler. “The organizers have told me all the “holes” on the course are all protected. In some ways it is still in my mind. But I am very happy with my win in Oberstdorf with my first victory. I am happy to be here in Oslo, I will do my best.”
She made her final preparations in Doblach for three weeks at high-altitude it was a little risky. “I was not fresh in Drammen, but I feel better now here. I like the tracks in Oslo because they are not the easiest and will give everyone a very fair fight. Some of the girls are more aggressive than I am; the three uphills aren’t too steep (on the sprint course). So the course should be good for me.”
Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla coming off a second place last weekend in the sprints told members of the press today, “I will start in every race except the team sprint, and my favourite race will be the last one… the 30km in skating.
“I also look forward to the relay. The World Championships are something I have looked forward to for a long time. Our team has had a great summer and fall, and there’s a lot of strong young girls coming up and this helps me to improve as well.”
Yet, current world cup points leader Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk will also figure in the mix, as will Arianna Follis of Italy. The Norwegians have a strong women’s squad and relative newcomer Maiken Caspersen Falla is primed and ready for action.
Among the women’s elite count Norway’s ski queen Marit Bjorgen as a huge favourite and likely to take several medals at these events.
And it goes without saying that Norway’s Petter Northug will be strong in all events, as will Swiss skier Dario Cologna along with Swedes Marcus Hellner and Emil Joensson. The Russians looked good today in practice as well.
Then it was time for Hellner. “We have the same great spirit like the women’s team in Sweden. I will compete Wednesday – I have been waiting for this championships to start and I am like a child before Christmas,” he said.
Lucas Bauer (CZE) said he was happy to be in Oslo adding, “it is much more easy for me to compete here than under the eye of the press. I like tough tracks, so it should be good for me here.” Bauer is a powerful, tough skier who seems to be always near the top for the Czech Republic.
Nordic Combined athlete Felix Gottwald of Austria spoke of the new hills in Oslo. “I didn’t jump so well today in training and that’s okay – but I do want to jump well on Saturday. ”
For the record, several USST combiners had a fine day of jump training with Todd Lodwick having one of the longest jumps of the day with a ride at 105.0 meters. Bill Demong and Bryan Fletcher all jumped beyond 100 meters in training as well.
Other combined picks must go to the highly regarded French skier, Jason Lamy Chappuis, born in Montana. Also watch for the pair of Norwegians Mikko Kokslien and Magnus Moan.
In ski jumping both Simon Amman of Switzerland and Andreas Kofler of Austria took part in the press function and appeared up beat and ready. They will face the likes of Tom Hilde of Norway and other top Austrians.
Team USA appears strong with a big women’s team here led by the current world champion Lindsey Van from Park City. But the local crowds will be behind another great skiing pioneer, Anette Sagen, who took the bronze medal at the last championships in Liberec.
It looks to many that both the US and Canadian squads are heading into Oslo with strong skiers, and we expect to see some improved performances over the Liberec Worlds.
Record crowds are expected to attend these championships, while many rabid fans have already been camping out in the nearby forests near the racing trails to cheering for their favourites.
Yes, it’s all good – xc skiing here is so much more than a sport, but truly “a way of life”.
February 07, 2011 (Barrie, ON) – What would happen if you held a World Cup and nobody came? Well, you would call it Rybinsk, Russia and there would be free world cup points for just about everyone who was there.
This past weekend there were three – yes three World Cup races on the calendar, a distance pursuit, an individual sprint and a team relay. For the distance race there were only 33 men (11 Russian) and 30 women (11 Russian). It didn’t get much better for the sprints with fields of 54 men (15 Russian) and 34 women (16 Russian). The relay for women had 7 teams (4 Russian) and 10 for men (again 4 Russian).
This is brutal. There has got to be something wrong with the schedule to have so few skiers in a World Cup in the first week of February. When there have been World Cups in Canada the last few years they have been better supported. The Ontario Masters Championship in Parry Sound had almost as many skiers! This has to be an embarrassment to the FIS Cross Country Committee.
Now, I’ve been to Rybinsk and it is not that bad there. I know that some countries were having National championships, but that should be no excuse. In fact, I don’t think that this should be allowed to happen either. We have the same problem in North America, but we still send our best skiers to compete at the World Cup.
Meanwhile, it should be no surprise that the Russian skiers dominated the result list for these races – at least for the men. Alexei Pethukov won the sprint, Ilia Chernousov won the distance race and the Russian 1 team won the relay.
It shows how far the Russian women have fallen when they cannot win a race with at home against such small fields. They couldn’t even win the relay with 4 teams out of 7 in the field – the Italian women beat them. Katja Visnar and Vesna Fabjan of Slovenia were 1st and 2nd in the sprints and Justina Kowalczyk of Poland won the distance race and was 3rd in the sprints. She has pretty well cemented the overall World Cup title for this season as the only person who could beat her, Marit Bjoergen was at home, once again, in Norway training for the World Championships in March.
In the 1990’s the Russian women were unbeatable. Of course, we now know why. A good, structured, well organized doping program will do that for you. Now they are ordinary and need to get their act together quickly in order to have a decent showing in Sochi in 2014.
There’s a two-week break in the schedule before the World Cup resumes in Drammen, Norway on February 19-20 with a short distance race and individual sprints. Hopefully we should see full fields for this event and truly have a “World Cup” race.
I can’t close this week without some commentary on the World Junior and World U23 racing from Otepaa, Estonia last week. In my opinion, a finish in the top 10 at either level is a great indication that a skier has the talent and potential to be a consistent point scorer (top 30) at the World Cup level.
A good way to look at it is to look at junior and professional hockey in North America. If a junior hockey player is drafted in the first round by a professional team then they have a good chance of becoming a National Hockey League player. Not all of them do, of course, and there are players who are not drafted in the first round who make it. I think that less than 5% of junior hockey players ever play in the NHL.
Most of these junior players who are drafted end up playing for a year or more in the AHL – kind of the equivalent of the U23 level in skiing. Not all players in the AHL make it to the NHL – again a small percentage and only the best move on. Some of the very best junior players go right to the NHL, but they are the exception.
When I look at the North American results from Otepaa I see the same thing. Alex Harvey is World Champion at U23 and finishes consistently in the top 20 on the World Cup. He was on the podium a number of times as a junior, as well. In hockey he would have been a top draft pick as a junior and would likely have been in the NHL in his first or second year as a pro.
The other skiers that finished in the top 10 – Kevin Sandau, Jesse Cockney, Len Valjas, Jessie Diggins and Noah Hoffman all have a shot at a career as a World Cup skier. Emily Nishikawa, Michael Somppi, Alysson Marshall and Sadie Bjornsen had top 20 finishes – kind of like being drafted in the 2nd round of a hockey draft. They have shown some talent, but there is still a lot of work to do.
Don’t get me wrong, there are no guarantees that any of these skiers will make it on the World Cup (except Alex Harvey – he is already there). It also doesn’t mean that the skiers who were there from North America but outside the top 10 or top 20 (or those who didn’t make the trip) will not make it eventually, but it is going to take them much more time and work.
Malcolm Gladwell in his great book “Outliers” told us that the difference most of the time between those who “make it” and those who don’t is not talent but work and opportunity. He points out that it seems to take 10,000 hours of work for someone to be the best in just about anything.
At an age of 22 or less, all of these skiers have not put in the time yet to know if they are going to make it. They also need to continue to have the opportunity to race and train with the best in the world. I hope that the USST and the Canadian NST continue to give these young skiers as many opportunities as possible to do this.
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 15, 2011 (Liberec, CZE) – Kikkan Randall (USA) won the women’s sprint final today at the FIS World Cup in Liberec, Czech Republic, earning her second career World Cup victory – her first was in Dec. 2007 in Rybinsk, Russia.
The women’s quarter finals were filled with drama as race favourite Marit Bjoergen (NOR) won her heat over Slovenia’s Katja Visnar while Petra Majdic (SLO) bested Randall as they shed top contender Arianna Follis (ITA) who settled for third and did not advance.
It was a tough day for Canada as top sprinter Chandra Crawford and team mate Daria Gaiazova both qualified but were matched up in the same 1/4 final heat. Crawford was well-placed in second behind Hanna Falk (SWE) but slipped up suddenly and lost her balance having to sit back on her skis. While she didn’t crash her race was done as Gaiazova finished third behind Marianna Longa (ITA) and did not advance.
The semis took their toll as Bjoergen tangled with Visnar midway through their heat, and while neither went down, both skiers did not advance. Bjoergen tried to regain some ground but ended up third to finish 7th overall – her winning streak ended.
Randall returned the favour to Majdic in their semi taking the win while Falk in third took advantage of the fast pace to advance to the final as a lucky loser.
In the end, the real battle came down to Falk and Randall in the final, with the US star coming out on top powering by Falk in the finishing stretch with a decisive victory. Celine Brun-Lie (NOR) took third while Majdic had to settle for fourth.
Liberec has been lucky for Randall, as it’s the site of her first Nordic World Championship medal – and first ever US women’s Worlds medal – where she won the skate sprint silver in 2009.
Full report and more photos HERE.
Full women’s sprint results HERE.
January 14, 2011 (Liberec, CZE) – Norwegian ski queen, Marit Bjoergen, who sat out the Tour de Ski to prepare for the Oslo Worlds, is coming back to the World Cup circuit, and nobody is happier to hear it than the USA’s Kikkan Randall. The World Cup resumes in Liberec this weekend for the sprinters with the individual freestyle races on Saturday and the Team Sprint Classic races on Sunday.
It’s no secret that Randall, who has had solid sprint results this year, is itching for another match up with Bjoergen since their last meeting at the World Cup in Davos, Switzerland. It was there that the US Olympian had a crack at beating the Norwegian star who has dominated the World Cup, only to have her hopes dashed in the final stretch when Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) jumped into her lane, slowing her momentum.
Randall, who netted third when Kowalcyk was relegated to 6th for the obstruction, conceded that catching Bjoergen at that race was unlikely. Kowalcyk, the current World Cup leader who is coming off her overall victory at the Tour de Ski, will not be present at Saturday’s 1.3km sprint qualifier, leaving the door open for another chapter in the Randall/Bjoergen rivalry – a prelude to the Worlds in Oslo. Unlike Bjoergen, Randall completed the grueling Tour becoming the first US woman to do so finishing 19th overall, so her fitness is there but the Tour is a grind and its affects on Randall will soon be known.
With 42 World Cup wins under her belt, Bjoergen is currently tied with former Norwegian great, Bente Skari, for the most WCup wins of all time for women. Bjoergen, who was the individual sprint champion at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, is also approaching the legendary Bjorn Daehlie’s overall record of 46 wins.
Canada will be represented by Chandra Crawford and Daria Gaiazova who are also returning to the World Cup (their last WCup race was in Davos) and they shared the podium not long ago at the Team Sprint freestyle race in Dusseldorf, Germany. Gaiazova recently claimed a couple of victories at the NorAm World Junior/U23 Trial in Thunder Bay while Crawford, the 2009 Winter Olympic skate sprint champ, has been training in Canmore. The duo will race in the classic team sprint on Sunday as well.
The Liberec field is leaner as some TdS skiers are taking a break, but the competition remains stiff as the seeded women’s field for Saturday’s event is teeming with gold calibre racers. Among the pack is Italy’s sprint specialist Arianna Follis. The two-time Olympian has seen success in Liberec, winning the individual sprint there at the 2009 FIS World Championships. Follis was second at the freestyle sprint in Davos.
Also among the competitors is Hanna Falk of Sweden, who has two World Cup sprint victories under her belt. Petra Majdic of Slovenia, who won both sprint events at the Tour de Ski, will also be vying for victory having accrued 22 World Cup wins in her 12-year career, including an Olympic bronze at the Vancouver 2010 sprints despite suffering severe injuries from her accidental fall during the warm up.
For the men Andy Newell will be the lone representative for the USA in Saturday’s 1.6km sprint in Liberec. The Vermont speed king will be looking for redemption and keeping the bad luck monkey off his back following two falls in the men’s classic sprint race at the TdS in Obertsdorf, Germany.
Newell is coming off an 8th place finish in the sprints at the Toblach TdS World Cup in Italy, and did not finish the Tour which means he should be rested up and poised to do well against a pool that is missing some of the world’s best such as WCup Sprint leader Emil Joensson (SWE).
Not missing on the start list, however, is Alexei Petuhkov who leads a strong Russian contingent including Olympic classic sprint gold and silver medalists Nikita Kruikov and Alex Panzhinskiy.
Norway is also fielding a strong team despite the absence of their leader, Petter Northug, who was second overall at the TdS and is back on form with the upcoming Worlds on his home turf. John Kristian Dahl will be on the start line and is always a threat in every sprint. Dahl is joined by sprinting powerhouse, Ole Vigen Hattestad, who has nine career World Cup sprint victories, along with Oystein Pettersen, who is coming off a bronze medal effort at the Dusseldorf WCup sprint.
Sweden’s Jesper Modin, Italian sensation Federico Pellegrino and teamers Fulvio Scola and David Hofer along with Germany’s Josef Wenzel will all be looking to mix it up and shooting for the podium. Many readers will recall that Wenzel and Dahl clashed in Dusseldorf in a controversial crash that took them out of the Team Sprint race.
Canada will be represented by lone competitor Len Valjas, who will be eager to improve on his stellar 17th place finish at the World Cup sprint in Dusseldorf. Valjas recently placed 5th in last weekend’s NorAm Cup sprint final in T-Bay.
We caught up with Canada’s Jeff Ellis, who is Kikkan Randall’s husband, and is waxing for the Aussies in Liberec who told us, “The weather is warm, dreary and wet here, It has been around 5-7 degrees each day with a light rain. There is lots of man-made snow, so there are no worries there.
“They salted the course for today’s training so conditions were quite firm considering the above freezing temps at night. There are lots of new faces from the crew that took part in the Tour de Ski. It’s a sprint weekend for sure!”
December 20, 2010 (Barrie, ON) – I don’t know about you, but I like dynasties in sport. I like it when teams and individuals dominate a sport for a number of seasons. I was a big fan of the Boston Celtics of the NBA in the 1960s, of UCLA and John Wooden in college basketball at the same time, and of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1970s and the Edmonton Oilers in the1980s for hockey (sorry I cannot be a fan of the Yankees, though).
There have been dynasties in cross-country skiing as well. In the 1980s it was the Swedish men led by Gunde Swan and Thomas Wassberg and Torgny Mogren. In the 1990s it was the Russian women led by Elena Valbe and the Norwegian men led by Vegard Ulvang and Bjorn Daehlie. This dynasty continued throughout the first decade of the 21st century.
The Norwegian women are the new dynasty for women’s skiing. Led by Marit Bjoergen they are beginning to dominate. On Sunday they showed this domination by annihilating the field in the relay. Bjoergen won her 9th World Cup in a row on Saturday and she has likely locked up the World Cup for 2011 already and it’s not even 2011 yet.
I thought that the Swedish women would give them a run for their money this year, but they have not delivered yet. They started well at home in Gallivare but faded throughout the rest of November and December due to illness. The Italian women have been strong in sprinting, and finished 2nd on Sunday in the women’s relay but they are a long way behind the Norwegians. The German, Slovakian, Slovenian, French and surprisingly the Russian women have been silent during this time.
Justyna Kowalczyk has been consistently 2nd to Bjoergen throughout this first racing period but she is getting closer and closer. On Saturday she lost in a sprint finish and I expect her to win the Tour de Ski after Xmas as Bjoergen will be at home in Norway.
Kikkan Randall has led the American women with two podium finishes in the last couple of weeks in skating sprints. She has solidified her place near the top in this discipline and is getting better in distance racing and classic. Morgan Arritola and Liz Stephen both finished in the top 20 on Saturday in La Clusaz for their best results of the campaign.
Dasha Gaiazova and Chandra Crawford were on the podium in Dusseldorf for the best result for the Canadian women. Canada’s women have been very strong for almost a decade and it looks like Chandra and Dasha are carrying the torch to the future. Chandra also had an 8th in Dusseldorf and Dasha scored points in a number of races. The downside is that there is not much depth in women’s ranks in Canada right now.
I believe that there is a dynasty brewing on the men’s side but it’s not where I thought it would come from at the start of the season. At that time I thought that the Swedish men would begin to dominate the podiums, which they did at the start of the season, but like the women they faded badly in December. The Norwegian men continue to struggle and they seem to be getting worse. The sprinters do not dominate like they used to and with Northug recovering from overtraining for most of the start of the season the distance men are also doing very poorly. Northug did come on strong on Saturday in La Clusaz for a 2nd place in the 30km free mass start race – so watch out for him after Xmas.
No, the new dominant men’s team are the Russians. Alexander Legkov is leading the World Cup standings but he is not alone at the top. Maxim Vylegzhanin won the 30km on Saturday doing something that few people have been able to do before this year – beat Petter Northug in a sprint finish. Lekgov was 3rd in this race and there were also two other Russian men in the top 11 on Saturday – and they finished 2nd on Sunday in the team relay to the suprising Swiss team.
They also have a very strong sprint group – remember that they were 1st and 2nd last year in Vancouver in the men’s individual sprint final. Alexei Pehtoukov and Nicolai Morilov are the best right now, but they have four or five skiers who can be on the podium. They have started again with new coaches and a new system and they are going to be a force in Sochi in four years.
The Swiss men surprised everyone by easily winning the Men’s Relay on Sunday. Dario Cologna has been one of the best skiers in the world for the past couple of years, but this result came out of the blue. The other three skiers – Toni Livers, Remo Fischer and Curdin Perl skied fantastic legs for the victory. Cross-country skiing is the poor second cousin to Alpine in Switzerland and in order to get press they need to win. This was a resounding win.
Emil Joensson of Sweden has shown that he is the best sprinter in the world. He has broken the Norwegian men’s domination – for now – but things can change quickly in sprinting. The Norwegians have a very strong sprinting program so look for them to be strong later on in the year.
Kris Freeman put together some great top 10 results in this period, but he was the only American male to do consistently well. Simi Hamilton who debuted on the European World Cup scene had a superb sprint race in Davos qualifying 11th and finished 16th which is a good sign of things to come. Veteran Andy Newell continues to disappoint by following the same pattern of qualifying well in the sprints but hasn’t put his game plan together well in the heats. And Euro World Cup newbie, Noah Hoffman, also showed signs of talent starting well for a rookie with a 31st placing in the 15km freestyle at the World Cup opener in Gallivare, Sweden, but struggled as the trip went on.
The Canadian men were all over the map with their results in November and December. Devon Kershaw showed flashes of brilliance, but in other races he was ordinary. The same is true for Alex Harvey. Ivan Babikov and George Grey were nowhere near where they finished in Vancouver. In total they were not as good as I thought that they would be based on their results in Vancouver last year and all of the positive statements coming from them this summer and fall about how good they were training and how things were going. I think that everyone was expecting them to take a step forward as a group and it looks like they have taken a step backward. Is it the post-Olympic blues or something else? We will know better at the Tour de Ski and the World Championships in March in Oslo.
One bright spot were the sprint results from Len Valjas and Phil Widmer in Davos where they both finished in the top 20 and qualified for the World Championships. Len is a rookie on the World Cup as well and this was a great result for him and it was a breakthrough for Phil who in the past had the speed to qualify well but like Newell he could not finish well in the heats.
Now it’s time to take a deep breath and get ready for the Tour de Ski that starts on December 31. Most skiers are at home while some of the Canadians and Americans have stayed in Europe. Not all of the top skiers will be in the Tour de Ski because it is very hard and difficult to recover from. Lukas Bauer (CZE) and Justina Kowalczyk (POL) were the winners last year and I believe that they will challenge for the top again this year.
Have a great holiday season everyone – ski as much as you can.
December 17, 2010 – If you’re Marit Bjoergen, you’re on top of the world… and the women’s world cup points standings, too. Let me hasten to remind you that she has won nine world cup races in a row (the final two in Falun last year and seven this year) and has no plans of slowing down. She has crushed the field like a styrofoam cup so far.
Bjoergen is clearly the class of the women’s field. She notched her 41st world cup win in the 10km classic race in Davos. Marit is now only one win short of former teammate Bente Skari in the all-time victory record books for women – and apparently wants to beat legendary compatriot, Bjorn Dählie’s, men’s record of 46 wins as well. She also told Norwegian media this week she’ll take a pass on the grueling Tour de Ski to keep her focus on the Nordic Worlds in Oslo.
It’s the second straight podium for Kikkan Randall this past weekend, after finishing third in the freestyle sprint at Davos. The Alaska miss is currently ranked third in sprint cup points. She plans to stay in lovely Davos to train for the upcoming Tour de Ski and will enjoy the Yuletide there with her husband Jeff Ellis.
Randall will not be on the start line tomorrow for the USA in the women’s 15km freestyle according to coach Matt Whitcomb. “She was feeling ragged following the races last weekend. We have decided to play things conservatively. It’s a long winter.” Whitcomb also reports 18 inches of new snow on the ground in La Clusaz today.
Expect Liz Stephen and Morgan Arritola in the women’s race for the US. For the men’s 30km look for [Kris] Freeman (who had a cold recently), and Noah Hoffman as the male starters for the Americans.
Two top Swedish women return to action this weekend in France after skipping Davos due to illness. You might watch to see how Charlotte Kalla and Anna Haag do following their break. Still on the injured list is Johan Olsson, who’s been having breathing problems and is back home in Sweden recovering.
People’s heads turned as a result of the surprise winner of the men’s 15km classic in Switzerland – big props to Alexey Poltoranin of Kazakhstan all of 23 years old winning his first time world cup.
It was another great race last Sunday for Sweden’s Emil Joensson winning a tight one over Russia’s Alexei Petukhov. Joensson continues to hold the leader’s bib for sprint world cup points.
I must say that the big surprise in the men’s sprint was the performance of “Look at that Time”S.Federico Pellegrino from Italy. His qualifying time was the best of the day. We will see more of him.
Canada Beat
In an email from head coach Justin Wadsworth, the Canadian squad plans to ski Devon Kershaw, Ivan Babikov, Lenny Valjas and Brent McMurty in the 30km in La Clusaz. His plan is that everyone will do the 30km except perhaps Lenny, who may only ski the relay. They stayed in Davos as well, where conditions are perfect.
Alex Harvey checks in to say he will fly into Geneva on Thursday from Montreal. He will travel to the French race with head wax technician Yves Bilodeau. Harvey has been home writing important exams since Kuusamo and has logged some great training in Quebec and some fine intensity sessions. Both Chandra Crawford and Daria Gaiazova have returned home following the Davos races.
Talking to Jack
I caught up with follow Trax columnist Jack Sassville – we go way back to the days of Tony Wise’s Gitchi Gami Games in the 1970s. Looking to this weekend he had some promising words for the Canadian team.
According to Jack Saz – “I think Devon has proven that he is in the top tier of skiers. He now can finish consistently in the top 10 to 15. The next step for him is to get a podium in a distance race. Alex Harvey has shown that he belongs, too. This guy is the most talented male skier to come along in Canada, sinceShis dad.” How about Len Valjas? “Len did nothing as a junior, but moving to a training centre was the best thing that ever happened to him. He has a great head for racing and I think that his height – 6 ft, 5 inches tall – is actually an advantage to him in sprinting. He can create a lot of power through his long levers and he is hard to get around.”
The Weekend in La Clusaz
La Clusaz announcer, Christophe Sevessand (he did Biathlon at Vancouver 2010) will have a busy weekend at La Clusaz also producing the live show on-site. He recently reported thatS.”It’s cold this morning with -15C, but it’s nice in the stadium area with the sunshine. We had great snow but lost it to heavy rains last weekend. We expect snowfall on Friday (it did), and at the moment the snow guns are working well….”
We understand that French star, Vincent Vittoz will remain sidelined this weekend at home. It’s a pity. He has gone thru MRI exams and the injury to his left thigh – which happened in Gallivare – is stilled not fully healed. Vittoz said he would resume some light skiing and running this week.
On Saturday xc skiers will contest a mass start 15/30km freestyle race in La Clusaz and on Sunday it’s back to more exciting relays – 4x5km for the women and a 4x10km for the men. The Clusaz venue is the proposed site for France’s bid for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
Jumping News
High winds in Harrachov forced the cancellation of both days of ski jumping last weekend. Austria’s Thomas Morgenstern remains the leader of the jumping world cup overall standings, as the flyers travel to Engelberg, Switzerland this weekend for a tournament. FIS says it will move the Harrachov event to Engleberg.
Women’s jumping of late has been dominated by the Austrian skier, Daniela Iraschko. The USA women have also been on a hot streak with the fine skiing of Jessica Jerome, Lindsey Van and Sarah Hendrickson. Jerome is second overall behind Iraschko, Van is in third, and Hendrickson is fourth. The COC tour takes two separate paths this weekend with the men heading to a new facility in Turkey, while the women will jump in Norway.
We also hear sad news from Austrian ski jumping that star performer Gregor Schlierenzauer fell in a training jump at Seefeld – high above Innsbruck – on the 75 HS jump. According to FIS he has pain in his right knee, and an MRI was done. They also say that the first reports indicate a possible partial rupture of the right collateral ligament. This might well take him out of the famed 4 Hills Tournee, which kicks off in two week’s time.
Nordic Combined – Lodwick Returns to Europe
US Nordic Combined Head Coach, Dave Jarrett, checked in about this coming weekend. They’re sending Todd Lodwick, Eric Camerota, Nick Hendrickson and the Fletcher brothers (Taylor and Bryan) to Ramsau, AUT for the next world cup. Billy Demong will stay stateside while he and his wife await the birth of their first child. DJ reports that depending on how things unfold Demong may stay home and train until Oslo. Lodwick will stay in Europe to compete in Seefeld (AUT) and Chaux Neuve (FRA).
See you on the trails… there’s great snow across the country now.
December 16, 2010 (Davos, Switzerland) – My first few days here in Switzerland were pretty sweet. The sun came out, there were perfect tracks and settling in at the Hotel Kulm felt a little like home. It was nice to relax for a couple days, absorbing the excitement from my podium in Dusseldorf and getting ready for another big weekend of World Cup racing with a 10km classic and a skate sprint. Quote of the Day “It was pretty cool to be back on the podium for the 2nd time in a week, and a nice redemption after the rough classic race!” What’s Coming Up 12.25.10 MERRY CHRISTMAS! 12.31-1.9 Tour de Ski – GER/ITA For more news and photos check out the new: www.kikkanrandall.comThe Cliff Notes:It’s been a week full of the highs and the lows here in Davos! In similar fashion to last year’s races in Davos, we raced distance on Saturday and a skate sprint Sunday. While I had hoped and expected to put in a strong performance in Saturday’s 10km classic race, I was again disappointed with a lackluster result of 47th place. I struggled in the snowy conditions and ended backing off in the final kilometers to reserve some energy for the sprint. Thankfully, day two provided some redemption. I started off the day with 8th position in qualifying. I used fast finishes in both my quarterfinal and semi-final to advance to the final. In the final, after sitting in fourth for most of the race, I was in position to challenge for second place on the homestretch when Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk suddenly changed her trajectory and blocked my momentum. I ended up finishing 4th. A few minutes later however, Kowalczyk’s move was ruled as obstruction and she was relegated to sixth, moving me into third position. So I got to stand on the podium for the second week in a row! I had planned to race in France this coming weekend but due to some sickness this week I have decided to stay in Davos to get healthy, enjoy Christmas, and prepare for the Tour. I’ll be back in action on New Year’s Eve for the start of the Tour de Ski. Until then, Merry Christmas everyone! The Full Story: It’s been quite a week! Here is the update from Davos… 10km Classic Going into the classic race, I had confidence and optimistic expectations. Even with heavy snow falling the morning of the race, I felt I would be able to conquer the course and race to a solid result. I even got a little pre-race advice from Bjorn Daehlie. My plan was to attack the flats, ski with a light and quick tempo, and approach the climbs with a little reserve to be able to come on strong on the 2nd lap. By the middle of the first lap however, I was struggling with the glazed track and the effort was already feeling hard and heavy. Midway through the 2nd lap I was fighting myself physically and mentally. I knew I had already lost too much time for a good result, and with the sprint the next day, I opted to ease off a little and save that extra “dig” for the sprint. It’s never an easy decision to let up and it haunted me for the rest of the day. In the end I was 47th place and a whopping four minutes off the lead. Doh! While I didn’t have the distance performance I had wanted of myself, I knew from experience to just put the disappointment behind me and focus on the next opportunity, Sunday’s skate sprint. To help keep myself in a positive mood, I watched a couple episodes of Glee. 1.4km Skate SprintThe sprint day was going to be a long one. Qualifying didn’t begin until 12pm and the heats wouldn’t go off until 3pm, so the morning was a long, anxious wait. I definitely had some butterflies in my stomach this time. The sprint course here in Davos has changed every year and this time we would be racing two laps around a 700m loop. As I warmed up on the course, doing a couple laps at level 3, I felt heavy and labored. This was going to be a tough one! Since each racer had to complete two laps, that meant the starters were sent out in blocks of 5 racers at 10-second intervals, with 2 minute holds in between. I was able to watch several racers complete their qualifiers before I started and noticed that many went out aggressive on the first lap and then seemed to fade on the 2nd lap. So when I got on course, I thought about being quick and relaxed and worked on building speed through the two laps. Coming through the lap lane, I was feeling strong and picked up the tempo. I hammered up the big climb and had good energy over the top. I came out of the final turn and really built speed over the last 100m. When I crossed, I was in sixth position. After all had finished, I was 8th fastest. A good sign! Walking out of the finish area, I marveled at how good I had felt compared to my feelings from the warm-up. The day was off to a better start than I thought! I got a quick laugh when the coaches told me they had been a little concerned watching my first lap only to be relieved with I turned it on for the 2nd lap. There was a long 2.5hr wait until the heats started. Fredericka, our PT, gave me another good rub-down and I waited out the rest of the time bundled in my parka, listening to my iPod, and going over strategy in my head. Eighth position in qualifying put me in quarterfinal heat #5 for the second week in a row. I watched a few of the other heats go and noticed that some of the early leaders faded at the end. There was a pretty stiff headwind blowing through the stadium, so I decided I would try to draft. In my quarterfinal I got off to a good start and right away Kowalczyk bolted to the front. Perfect! I tucked in right behind her and skied the wide line up the steep climb to hold my position. I followed her around the 2nd lap as well and when we came off the final turn I shot wide and turned on the jets. I was able to overtake Kowalczyk before the finish line and win my heat. To my surprise, the semi-finals played out exactly the same as the quarters, I was able to draft Kowalczyk, and come off the final turn with a lot of speed to take the lead. I was feeling stronger every round and was psyched to move on to the final! There was just 15 minutes in-between the semi and the final, and it was quickly turning to dusk. The final was stacked with an accomplished field: Bjoergen-multiple Olympic medalist, Follis-World Champion, Me-World Championship silver medalist, Majdic-Olympic medalist, Kowalczyk-multiple Olympic medalist, and Jacobsen-World Champion. Unlike the final in Dusseldorf, this time I got off to a good start and came out of the double-pole lanes even with the others. With a couple of strong skates I was in good position. But I didn’t want to take the lead, so I backed off and Follis and Majdic squeezed me into fourth. Going up the steep climb I took the outside lane and came over the top side-by-side with Bjoergen. She had faster skis though and pulled in front of me on the downhill, and so I remained in fourth as we came through the stadium. I was able to match the pace of the others just fine but was tentative to go around. Majdic was leading across the flat, but then Kowalczyk made a big move, coming from fifth to go around Majdic on the right. At the same time Bjoergen and Follis made a move to the left. I followed Follis and as we came into the tight turn I was able to just sneak ahead of Majdic. I again went to the outside lane on the uphill, following Follis, while Bjoergen and Kowalczyk broke right. At this point I was hoping to make a move with my V1 climbing speed, but then, “oh no!” I was trapped by Follis!! Still stuck in fourth over the top, I was barely able to sneak back in front of Majdic going into the tuck. In a tight pack we all sailed through the s-turn and I crouched for the final turn. Bursting onto the homestretch, Bjoergen had gotten away but Kowalczyk, Follis and I were in a battle. Follis went left, Kowalczyk appeared to be going toward the middle and so I went for the open lane on the far right. I built speed quickly and was gaining on the others when all of the sudden Kowalczyk changed her trajectory and came right into my path. I tried to fight her off but she forced me towards the fence. I tried to double-pole for a second but realized I would never get past and had to slow up and switch directions to the left. I made a few quick strides in an attempt to get past, but having lost all my momentum, I came across the line in fourth. My first reaction was disbelief and instant remorse for having just missed the podium. I had seen my open lane and had the speed to challenge for 2nd before being suddenly blocked. Unbelievable! Darn!! Oh well, that’s the unpredictability of sprinting! “Next time I’ll just have to put myself in a better position coming into the finish,” I told myself. I shook hands with everyone, offering my congratulations and walked over to where the coaches were standing with a can-you-believe-that-just-happened look on my face. So close, ahhh! It wasn’t until Grover asked me what had happened with Kowalczyk that I realized that something potentially unjust had possibly occurred. A few minutes later, a FIS official came up to me announcing that Kowalczyk had been disqualified for obstruction and I was being upgraded to 3rd position. OMG! Another unbelievable turn of events!!
While being accompanied by a doping control chaperone, I quickly changed clothes and prepared for the flower ceremony. It was pretty cool to be back on the podium for the 2nd time in a week, and a nice redemption after the rough classic race! The rest of the evening went by pretty fast. I had to report to doping control shortly after the flower ceremony for blood testing. Then we got the word that the Polish team would be appealing the disqualification and there was a chance I would be dropped back to fourth. That decision however wouldn’t come for a week, so I decided to just enjoy the podium for now since I felt I deserved it. Part of the team was leaving for the airport, so we got to enjoy a quick champagne toast and then said goodbye. I didn’t get out of my ski clothes until 10pm after catching up with everyone on the phone. It was a whirlwind day! My intention had been to race the 15km mass start skate this upcoming weekend in France to close out Period I. However, I’ve been fighting some sickness over the last few days post sprint, and yesterday I decided to stay in Davos to get healthy and rest up for the Tour de Ski. My husband will be here in a few days and with a successful few weeks of racing under my belt, I can now take a little break and enjoy the Christmas holiday. Thanks to everyone for the notes and encouragement, and for all the support that helped me kick off this season with a bang! I wish everyone a very merry Christmas, and I’ll be back to you in the New Year with some more action! Cheers, PS I just received word that Poland’s appeal was denied and therefore my third place stands. Whew!
March 22, 2013 (Falun, Sweden) – USA’s Kikkan Randall is storming strong, even as the end of the World Cup season quickly approaches. Only days ago, she successfully defended her World Cup Sprint crystal globe, but the Alaskan star is not resting on her laurels.
![(l-r:) Dario Cologna (SUI), Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Cologna-Kowalczyk-170311mf161.2.jpg)
![Bjoergen takes Falun mini tour. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Bjoergen200311mf584.3.jpg)
![Final WCup Sprint podium (l-r) Follis 2nd, Majdic 1st, Randall 3rd. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Sprint-Pod-200311mf539.21.jpg)
![Devon Kershaw (CAN) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Kershaw200311mf609.3.jpg)
![Goodbye Petra… Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Goodbye-Petra-200311mf585.jpg)
![Petter Northug (NOR) wins. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Northug200311mf620.3.jpg)
![Team Norway’s wax truck. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Johaug-Wax-130311al482.2.jpg)
![Alex Harvey (CAN) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Harvey200311mf613.2.jpg)
![15km men handicap start podium (l-r): Finn Hagen Kroch (NOR), Petter Northug (NOR), Dario Cologna (SUI) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Podium200311mf629.2.jpg)
![Emil Joensson (SWE) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Joensson170311mf198.21.jpg)
![Dario Cologna (SUI) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Cologna200311mf623.2.jpg)
![Kikkan Randall on the famous Mordarbakken climb. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Randall-200311mf577.3.jpg)
![USA’s Kris Freeman [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Freeman190311mf353.2.jpg)
![Marit Bjoergen (NOR) wins the 10km women handicap start race. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Bjoergen200311mf584.2.jpg)
![Johaug 3rd overall… [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Johaug200311mf587.3.jpg)
![Finn Hagen Kroch (NOR) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Krough200311mf622.3.jpg)
![Petra Majdic (SLO) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Majdic200311mf635.2.jpg)
![Team Norway’s wax truck. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Northug-Wax-130311al481.2.jpg)
![Petter Northug (NOR) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Northug200311mf594.2.jpg)
![Canada’s Babikov… [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Babikov-190311mf338.3.jpg)
![Emil Joensson (SWE) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Joensson200311mf595.2.jpg)
![Petra Majdic (SLO) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Majdic200311mf634.2.jpg)
![Kikkan Randall (USA) exhausted. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Randall200311mf571.2.jpg)
![Perianne Jones (CAN) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Jones200311mf582.2.jpg)
![(l-r): Kristoffersen (NOR), Fessel (GER), Randall (USA) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Randall-200311mf577.2.jpg)
![Petra Majdic (SLO) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Majdic170311mf187.2.jpg)
![Marit Bjoergen (NOR) wins the 10km women handicap start race. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Bjoergen200311mf583.2.jpg)
![Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Kowalczyk200311mf585.2.jpg)
![Petra Majdic (SLO) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Majdic-200311mf569.2.jpg)
![Charlotte Kalla (SWE) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Kalla200311mf589.2.jpg)
![Kikkan Randall – 3rd overall. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Randall160311mf013.3.jpg)
![Emil Joensson (SWE) wins. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Joensson160311mf069.2.jpg)
![Alex Harvey (CAN) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Harvey160311mf046.2.jpg)
![Petra Majdic (SLO) wins. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Majdic160311mf066.2.jpg)
![Andrew Newell (USA) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Newell2-160311mf126.2.jpg)
![Petter Northug (NOR) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Northug160311mf060.2.jpg)
![Perianne Jones (CAN) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Perianne-jones-130311al061.2.jpg)
![(l-r) Randall, Brun-Lie and Kylloenen (FIN) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Randall-160311mf090.2.jpg)
![(l-r): Majdic (SLO) leads Maiken Caspersen Falla (NOR). [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Majdic-160311mf131.2.jpg)
![Marit Bjoergen (NOR) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Bjoergen160311mf021.2.jpg)
![(l-r): Belov, di Centa, Northug, Newell. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Newell-Northug-160311mf128.2.jpg)
![Petra Majdic (SLO) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Majdic160311mf071.2.jpg)
![(l-r): di Centa, Northug, Newell, Brandsdal. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Northug-Newell-160311mf126.2.jpg)
![Devon Kershaw (CAN) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Kershaw160311mf107.2.jpg)
![(l-r): Cologna, Harvey, Kershaw, Eriksson [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Harvey-Kershaw-160311mf125.2.jpg)
![Kris Freeman (USA) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Freeman160311mf059.2.jpg)
![(l-r): Northug 2nd, Joensson 1st, Hattestad 3rd. [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/M-Podium-160311mf074.2.jpg)
![Petra Majdic (SLO) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Majdic-160311mf065.2.jpg)
![Emil Joensson (SWE) [P] Nordic Focus](https://skitrax.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Joensson160311mf070.2.jpg)
March 13, 2011 (Lahti, Finland) – Norway’s Marit Bjoergen was back on form on Sunday looking unbeatable again as she took the women’s 1.4km Classic sprint victory at the FIS World Cup in Lahti on Sunday.
