March 20, 2013 (Stockholm, Sweden) – Canada’s Dasha Gaiazova placed fourth in the Stockholm classic sprint qualifications led by Finland’s Anne Kylloenen. Fellow Finn Kerttu Niskanen qualified second, with Slovenia’s Katja Visnar in third. American results include USA’s Ida Sargent 11th, Kikkan Randall 22nd, and Holly Brooks in 26th. Jessie Diggins (USA), Rosie Brennan (USA), Liz Stephen (USA), and Emily Nishikawa (CAN) failed to make it through to the heats, placing 34th, 40th, 44th, and 47th, respectfully.

On the men’s side, USA’s Andy Newell logged the top North American time to qualify 10th with Norway’s Eldar Roenning leading the charge, followed by Russia’s Nikita Kriukov, and Emil Joensson (NOR) in second and third. Other top favourites, Dario Cologna (SUI) and Petter Northug (NOR) qualified fifth and seventh, respectively.

USA’s Torin Koos was the next-highest North American qualifier in 24th, while Canucks Devon Kershaw and Len Valjas managed to just squeeze into the top 30 in 28th and 30th, respectively. Alex Harvey (CAN) did not make it through with a 32nd place qualifier, along with teammates Michael Somppi and Ivan Babikov in 48th and 50th, respectively. USA’s Noah Hoffman was 52nd.

Women’s Qualifications HERE.
Men’s Qualifications HERE.

February 20, 2013 (Val di Fiemme, Italy) – Cross-Country stars Dario Cologna (SUI) and Marcus Hellner (SWE) will not contest the Sprint on Thursday, the opening round of competition at the Nordic Ski World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy, according to the German news site Handelsblatt.com.

Cologna, Olympic champion in the 15km distance, and Sweden’s Hellner, who won gold in the 30km event at the Vancouver 2010 Games, want to conserve their strength for the distance races, which begin on Saturday with the 30km Skiathlon. In the sprint competition, both had only an outside chance.

Read the original article HERE (German).

February 06, 2013 – Check out this great video of the FIS women’s 4×1.25km team classic sprint in Sochi, where Canada’s Perianne Jones and Dasha Gaiazova snapped up a thrilling bronze medal with an incredible surge in the final leg.

February 04, 2013 (Sochi, Russia) – SkiTrax caught up with Canadian Ski Team members Dasha Gaiazova and Perianne Jones after their bronze medal women’s team sprint effort in Sochi. It was a thrilling finish to the women’s 6×1.25km Classic Team Sprint as Gaiazova started the final leg in fourth, then stormed on to pass the USA’s Sadie Bjornsen in third, and then chased down Russia’s Natalia Matveeva to barely miss out on silver in a photo finish. Check out what the ladies had to say about their race.

Perianne Jones

Dasha Gaiazova

FIS video HERE.

February 01, 2013 (Sochi, Russia) – USA’s Kikkan Randall dominated the FIS World Cup women’s 1.3km free sprints today in Sochi, making her mark at the venue as the top contender for the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympic. The American team had a strong day overall, with five U.S. skiers qualifying for the heats. Read more here.

Randall started her day with a second place finish in the qualifier and then went onto win each of her heats, leading the final from start to finish for an undisputed victory over second place, Aurore Jean (FRA) who passed Norway’s Celine Brun-Lie near the finish to take the silver.

“I’ve been working really hard in my training to make every sprint course a good course for me so it was cool to get out there and see how it felt,” said Randall. “The course is deceptively tough and there’s not much rest out there outside of maybe 10 or 15 seconds on one downhill but you’re preparing for a turn so I think the weather conditions are really going to play in how the race goes but I think it’s a good course for me and I’m a strong finisher and it’s a really long stadium, so I like that. This is definitely a confidence boost for next year!”

Ida Sargent was the next-best American finisher with a personal best sixth after finishing second in her quarterfinal and then sneaking through in her semifinal as lucky loser to contest in her first ever “A” final.

“I like the course here,” Sargent told Trax. “It’s short but hard and technical and there isn’t much recovery out there so you’re working a lot. We had very fast skis today and I was 17th in the skate qualification which was a PB. In the rounds I tried to ski at or near the front and was very happy to make the final!  I was pretty tired by the time the final heat came around but it was still an awesome day for me.”

Jessie Diggins (USA) charged to third in her heat with Holly Brooks (USA) placing fourth in hers. Sadie Bjornsen (USA) was eliminated after her fifth-place quarterfinal. In the end, they ranked 15th, 16th, and 21st, respectively.

“I was disappointed to end the day after the quarterfinal, but considering that it was my best qualifier and my best sprint final place to date, I’m really happy,” said Brooks in a post-race email exchange with Trax. “It’s awesome to have a good experience at the Olympic venue, on the Olympic course … and be able to leave here with a great vibe. Kikkan [Randall] took the win easily which points towards success one year from now and Ida [Sargent] had her first appearance in the A-final!”f

Dasha Gaiazova was the top finisher of the two Canadian qualifiers, finishing 12th after she placed second in her heat and sixth in the semis. Perianne Jones (CAN) finished in 18th spot.

Elizabeth Stephen (USA) and Chandra Crawford (CAN) did not qualify, and finished 42nd and 51st, respectively.

Qualifications HERE.
Final results HERE.

January 14, 2013 (Liberec, Czech Republic) – Check out these audio interviews with Canada’s Dash Gaiazova and Len Valjas following the Liberec World Cup sprints on the weekend. Gaiazova had a stellar day on the 1.3 CL course, finishing just off the podium in fourth. In the team sprint, Gaiazova and Perianne Jones finished 11th. Gaiazova is coming off of recent podium finishes on the OPA Cup circuit.

Valjas was the top Canadian man of the day in Liberac’s 1.6 CL event in 10th place. It was the rangy Canadian’s first race back after the grueling Tour de Ski during which he delivered the country’s first World Cup medal of the season.

Gaiazova

Valjas

January 10, 2013 (Soldier Hollow, UT) – Check out this great video with athlete interviews and exciting race footage from the final day of competition by Willy Graves at the 2013 U.S. National XC Championships held in Soldier Hollow, Jan. 2-8 – plus more great photos courtesy of Ian Harvey from TOKO.

January 03, 2013 (Soldier Hollow, UT) – Here are some more great photos from the 2013 U.S. XC Ski Classic Sprint competitions at Soldier Hollow on January 2nd. Jennie Bender won the women’s crown, while Torin Koos snapped up the title in the men’s race. The 2013 U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships run Jan. 2, 4, 6 and 8. Day 1 report and results HERE.

January 03, 2013 (Solider Hollow, UT) – Check out these interviews with newly crowned U.S. XC CL Ski Sprint Champions Jennie Bender and Torin Koos. It was a spectacular finish for Bender in the women’s Classic Sprints, especially after coming off a summer of both mono and Lyme’s disease. Bender talks about acclimating to the altitude, returning to ski at Soldier Hollow, recovering from her double illness, and is looking forward to testing herself in the distance races. In the men’s competition, Koos qualified third and then led most of his heats to take the victory. Hear his thoughts on racing at Soldier Hollow and his excitement for the rest of the 2013 U.S. National Championships.

For the report, results and photos click HERE.

January 02, 2013 (Val Mustair, Switzerland) – Find out what the Canadian men’s XC squad had to say after stage three of the 2012/13 FIS Tour de Ski 1.4km FR sprint in Val Mustair and the first Canuck medal of the season, courtesy of Len Valjas. Valjas and his teammates Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw finally broke out of their shells on race day, with all of them landing in the top 15.

December 27, 2012 – Check out this great video featuring highlights from the inaugural FIS Quebec City World Cup sprints held earlier this month in the old city right by the Parliament buildings. The video was compiled by Zacharie Turgeon – it’s a must-watch!

December 14, 2012 (Pokljuka, Slovenia) – Canada’s Rosanna Crawford leaped up the field in the women’s 7.5k Sprint at the IBU World Cup in Slovenia today, cutting her PB result earned last weekend in half finishing a stellar 12th with a perfect shooting record to trail winner Gabriela Soukalova (CZE) by only 52.1s.

“Yep new PB!! I am really excited about todays results. It’s always nice to shoot clean, but to also place a personal best in the top 12 is fantastic! Shooting has always been my strong point. I am also pretty fast in the range, shooting time and getting in and out. I feel like this makes up a little bit for not being as fast on the skis,” Crawford told Trax.

“I didn’t feel very good in my warm up this morning so I didn’t go as hard as I normally would in my warm up. My first loop was pretty slow and I got faster as the race went on and had my best loop my last loop. The opposite to last weekend where it was really hard to get to the finish line!

“The snow was tricky, the track was much slower than it had been in training days, but it was pretty even for the whole field. The range was also pretty calm which was nice. Defiantly the shooting made my race for me. It’s hard to be in the mix for top 15 with missed targets,” she added.

Soukalova also earned a big PB – her career-first World Cup victory. She out-gunned second place, Miriam Goessner (GER), who faced two penalties in the second round of shooting, to win by 2.1s. Nadezhda Skardino (BLR) scored the bronze, accumulating zero penalties and trailing by 30.1s.

Susan Dunklee (USA) was the top U.S. finisher, placing 14th and 53.2s back. Teammate Annelies Cook was 40th. Canadians Megan Heinike and Megan Imrie finished 45th and 90th, respectively.

“Today was a great day for me and for the team.  We had three women not only qualify for tomorrow’s pursuit but also score World Cup points. After years training together and putting in lots of hard work, it is nice to see that pay off. There was heavy snow falling during the race making the skiing a little tough.  I didn’t quite have my highest gear, but I don’t think
most of the field did,” Dunklee told us.

“Hitting 90% of my targets was awesome.  I been struggling a lot on the range the last couple weeks but had a few really good training days earlier this week that helped me regain confidence.  Tomorrow is another day to practice what we do everyday- skiing and shooting.  I’m looking forward to it and we’ll see what happens,” she concluded.

For tomorrow’s Pursuit Crawford is optimistic but realistic… “For the pursuit tomorrow I am just going to take it one shot at a time! It’s supposed to snow 40cm over night which could make things even tougher tomorrow,” offered Crawford.

Results
1. Gabriela Soukalova (CZE) 22:09.8
2. Miriam Goessner (GER) 2.1
3. Nadezhda Skardino (BLR) 30.1

12. Rosanna Crawford (CAN) 52.1
14. Susan Dunklee (USA) 53.2
40. Annelies Cook (USA) 1:45.2
45. Megan Heinike (CAN) 1:57.9
90. Megan Imrie (CAN) 4:17.9

Full results HERE.

December 11, 2012 (Quebec City, QC) – SkiTrax caught up with U.S. skiing star Kikkan Randall after the press conference in Quebec City following her exciting FIS XC Ski World Cup team and individual sprint wins on the weekend – she is now leading the Sprint Cup which she won last season. Randall then signed autographs for her fans. The Alaska star is ramping up for Canada’s second World Cup stop, which takes place Dec. 13-16 in Canmore, AB.

December 10, 2012 – Really Quick Evaluation – If you weren’t in the top 30 in Sunday’s race and in the finals in the team sprint on Saturday, it’s time to look at what you are doing – really at what you aren’t doing. For the really young people – 22 yrs and younger, you most likely aren’t doing enough hours and not spending enough time on upper body strength.

Kikkan’s Weekend – and that is what it was – her weekend for sure. Right now in sprinting I think only Bjoergen has the strength and the power to compete with Kikkan. That sprint race was hers to win anytime she wanted to and it was fun to watch her pull away at the end.

Quebec City – couldn’t have come out better from the federal/provincial/city politicians support to the last person on a rake or shovel – pat your selves on the back. Now let’s get back on track for that OLYMPIC BID!!!

Jessie Diggins – has to love being Kikkan’s teammate!

Canadian Program – time to back-up all the talk – you have one more weekend.

Team Sprint – money only goes to 6 places. Why not have the semi-finals pare the finals down to 6 teams? Some day there is going to be a big train wreck and the course should help all teams to have a fair chance to win – the reason for the final to be 6 (SIX) teams.

Schedule Planner – not a friend of the organizers or the athletes with the loss of crowds at Friday’s race but a huge crowd on Saturday and would have been so on Sunday (when they should have had the 2nd race). What’s up with that thinking? Also, the schedule should have been Canmore the first weekend and Quebec City the 2nd weekend, for many reasons. Jet lag is easier going east to west, if QC was 2nd on the schedule the weather had a chance to be cooler with better snow – and you break up the travel flight back to Europe and cut the jet lag in half. Flying back to Europe from Calgary is going to be 7-8 hours of jet lag and 15-20 hrs of flying time – a real bitch. Help those skiers stay healthy, when their immune systems are really low after a weekend of three races.

Talk To You Next Time.
misterxc@aol.com

December 06, 2012 (St. Ferreol les Neiges, QC) – It’s December. I almost had to tell myself out loud of that fact this morning when I rollerskied through the ice and grime that covered the streets of St. Ferreol les Neiges hugging the tarmac like the hair on my upper lip this past November. I guess I also had to remind myself of the month – because it’s a rarity these days that I’m back in Canada during the winter months.

November is always a busy month – lots of racing, lots of travel all coupled with very little sunlight and culinary disaster. I’ve already raced three weeks this season, two of which were the first two World Cup stops of the 2012/13 year. I’ll take a moment to fill you in on the happenings of Northern Scandinavia – with some brief race reports from the opening weekends of racing this November.

It may sound like I’ve written this report before – and that’s probably because I have last year. The past few years our team begins our winter campaign smack in the middle of Sweden. In a slight plot twist, I traveled to Oslo November 2nd for a fabulous week in the Norwegian capital before meeting the team in the Jämtland capital of Ostersund for our annual pre-season on snow Euro camp.

Like last year, there was no natural snow, and my first ski in Sweden was an uninspiring burn around a 2.5min loop. The dizziness subsided every couple days as the loop gradually improved thanks to a wonderful group of passionate volunteers and staff of the Ostersund Ski Club – as they spread out the saved snow from last winter (like what Canmore does now with their “Frozen Thunder” project) to prepare the trails for the World Cup of biathlon season openers that take place there. By the time we left Ostersund they had 4km of great skiing available.

On the training side of things, November is a busy month – not only with racing but also with hours. To be ready and keep consistent in the meat of the season (January, February, March) we’ve realized that I need to log a decent amount of miles – short loops or not – so I trained quite hard both in Ostersund, and afterwards.

The “actual” racing season started over in Bruksvallarna (the site of the Swedish FIS openers – a 3hr drive West of Ostersund) and conditions there were fairly decent with thin natural snow cover, longer skiing options (for training), and great snow cover on the race courses – which are twisty with no real huge climbs or working sections. Think – ghetto amusement park rollercoaster.

After some discussion, Justin and I decided to compete only in the 15km skate (what I did last year) and like last year I was brutal finishing a disappointing 10th – blowing up fiercely in the last 3km of the course, where I gave up a whopping 50 seconds. Racing is hard – super hard – but at this time of year, it appears I struggle to digest the heavy load of training I’m under, leaving me feeling flat for some weeks. I guess it was a better outing than last November – when I finished outside the top 30 – but I was both exhausted physically at the end (the last tuck down the last hill made a bit of a buzz on Swedish blogs for my unorthodox tucking technique (think: hands on knees with straight legs trying as hard as I can to not just fall over) and obviously disappointed with the result.

Gallivare, SWE – World Cup Opener
While Ostersund can be grey and windy – the town itself is great and the giant/beautiful lake (5th largest in Sweden apparently) is stunning. It’s actually a beautiful little city all around with great little cafés, nice walking streets – a cool place to hang out. Gallivare by contrast is…well… different. For starters it’s dark. I mean, hella’ dark this time of year – the sky brightens for some hours between the hours of 10:30 – 13:30, but aside from that it’s like what I’d imagine living in a freezer would feel like. Sometimes there’s some light (when someone opens the freezer drawer), but for the most part in the late autumn it’s black and cold. The town itself is of course smaller, doesn’t have a lot going on – but that’s fine seeing how we are there for the specific purpose of ski racing – and it does have a great little café downtown with stellar espresso.

One thing Gallivare does have this time of year is natural snow, great skiing, and very enthusiastic volunteers and fans that love to cheer on their local hero, World and Olympic Champ – Marcus Hellner – who has lived there for roughly 10 years.

The weekend of racing got of to a bit of a rough start. The 15km skate on the Saturday wasn’t great. While I didn’t blow up – I was never able to get going – stuck in that threshold type speed. I started controlled, but I wasn’t able to convert later in the race (when I needed to change gears and start charging for the last 5km) finishing a distant 44th. Of course, I was pretty disappointed – but the beginning of each season seems to be a lesson in patience for me. Last season I was 37th in the same race (in Sjusoen, NOR), and the season before (in Gallivare), I ended up in the 50s – 58th I think. A far cry from the podiums I expect later in the year.

The bright spots of the weekend was Babs’ 16th place finish Saturday, and Sunday’s 4×7.5km relay. I skied the 2nd (a classic leg) leg and the feelings were much better. I still felt I lacked that punch/snappy feeling but better I moved well and made up some ground for our team. When it was all said and done, our team made some history with a Canadian World Cup best finish – 5th! We were only seconds from the podium and it gave us all a lot of confidence for the World Championships later this year. If we are all in good form, I really believe that we are capable of something really special.

The Ruka-Triple (mini-tour) – Kuusamo, FIN (2nd stop on the World Cup)
After Gallivare we all crammed into vans and rolled East into Finland – driving the 6 odd hours south(kind of)east through grey skies and hordes of reindeer that seem completely indifferent to traffic – like they are props in a Santa Claus parade instead of wild animals and have been told not to move for anything or anybody.

The Ruka triple consists of 3 races in 3 days – a classic sprint first (1.4km – on the Friday), followed by a 10km skate (Saturday) and finishing it off with a pursuit start 15km classic (Sunday) – the best cumulative time takes the win (like the Tour de Ski type format).

Day 1 was awful for the Canadian men. Ooohhhhh lordy, was it rough – I liken the speed to attempting to swimming through a pool of full-fat eggnog. No Canadian men qualified for the top 30, and I ended up a dismal 62nd place. Not where I wanted to be. I felt like there was just no power whatsoever in the body – especially in double pole. The bright spot was that Peri matched her best-ever result on the World Cup with a 12th place finish and Dasha with a solid 14th in the women’s race.

The following day – the 10km skate – was very similar to Gallivare’s 15km. I felt like I was stuck in zone 3. I started conservatively and when I willed my body to turn it over – again, there was no gears to switch into. I ended up 35th – again, not where I wanted to be. I was actually really, really disappointed with that one. I didn’t even check results when I finished and finished my cool down – instead I just ate lunch quickly and crawled into bed for a nap. It was a huge effort (the race), and I knew the velocity was too slow. I was so bummed out – and broke my “no being bummed out when you get back to the hotel from the race site” rule.

After an hour of sulking at a pretty extreme level, I re-focused on getting ready for the last day – Sunday’s 15km classic. After two not-so-great races I started further back in the order – 36th – compared to what I’m used to (in Falun last year by contrast in a similar style mini-tour I started the last day sitting 3rd…) and in the race itself worked through the field slowly but surely – finishing in 22nd overall. I moved up 14 places and had the 16th fastest time on the day – which was a solid step in the right direction. Again, the body felt heavy and again I lacked the power/snap and on the climbs (Kuusamo’s courses are notoriously steep and long) I felt terrible, but I stayed present as best I could and willed everything out of my body I could muster. Finally all our men were in the points (the top 30) with me finishing 22nd, Alex 23rd and Babs’ 25th in the overall standings. It’s coming.

The feelings I had for the first three weekends of racing are almost identical to how I felt last year – as are the results in those races. It seems the pre-Christmas races are a true lesson in patience and perspective. I know I’ve done a plethora of high quality work this year and I believe in our plan to be 100% ready to rock and roll come late February/March – but as a competitor it’s hard to unplug, be patient, stay positive and be good to yourself (ie. not beat yourself up too badly) when the results aren’t where you want them to be. Like a hockey player that grips his stick too hard – his once loose hands turning instead to concrete – it’s hard not to press and do what you know you need to do – mainly to “let go” knowing that as long as you give your full and absolute best effort race in, race out – the outcome will most definitely only get better.

I didn’t have a ton of time to dwell on November, as after the race on Sunday we flew to Helsinki to spend a (very) short night there in an airport hotel before we began the long journey back to Quebec on Monday – which is where I am right now.

It feels great to be back in Canada and I feel so grateful for the opportunity to race at home. I’m hanging out at Alex’s house (with Lenny staying here as well) in MSA, and while there is no snow on the ground, the vibe is awesome. We had such a great dinner last night when we arrived (thanks Alex’s awesome GF – Sophie!), and to be in a comfortable home instead of a hotel is a really nice change. Watching Monday Night Football last night was a pretty nice perk too I must say.

We don’t have a whole lot of time to enjoy “normal” life as this Friday the Quebec World Cups begin in the province’s capital. First up is the team sprint, which Alex and I are really looking forward to – followed by Saturday’s 1.7km individual sprint competition. While my body has been feeling sluggish and lacking power/snap which are both so necessary for sprint racing, I know that things can change fast. Regardless how the results end up – I’m so excited to race in Quebec and it’s hard to believe it’s the first time the province has held a World Cup competition. It’s going to be an amazing show and the support and passion in the province for cross country skiing is far and away the best in the country – so to race in front of so many fired up fans will be exhilarating.

That’s the long-winded news from me. As for now, I think I’ll retire to the couch with a glass of egg nog, watch a ski movie and then prepare an amazingly boss dinner of fresh halibut & scallops (Len will stick to steak) before hitting up a (hopefully) long, restful sleep.

On a completely non-ski related topic…

November I crushed three decent books – here’s what went down this month:

–       “1982” by Jian Ghomeshi. I thought the family history sections were great and entertaining. The word “David Bowie” was perhaps printed a thousand or so too many times, but enjoyable none-the-less. If you aren’t familiar with Jian’s CBC radio program “Q” – it’s worth checking out. Plus – 1982 was the best year ever. Just saying (thanks mom and dad).

–       “Hotel on the corner of bitter and sweet” by Jamie Ford. A story dealing with relationships during the Japanese internment of World War Two in Seattle. Pretty moving story, ok-written. A bit far fetched, and kind of a Romeo/Juliet thing going on (if you’ve read it you’ll understand that loose link) but it’s a novel after all.

–       “Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana de Rosnay. Another WW2 story – dealing with the Holocaust and the Vel’ D’hiv round-up in Paris in 1942. Again – I enjoyed it, I found it powerful, sad at times and again – decently written.

–       In addition to the books, I’m still on a diet of a New Yorker a week. Standard awesomely written articles – great for traveling.

Spinning in the headphones is the same tunes as normal. Back to listening to a lot of Wilco, Rural Alberta Advantage, Band of Horses, Shins, Radical Face, etc… I don’t know what it is about N. Scando – but I crush depressing music up there. As well, “This American Life” and “Planet Money” – both NPR podcasts that are always both entertaining and well done.

On the movie front – while I don’t watch many movies, shows, etc… very often on the road – preferring to scratch away very poorly on my guitar I lug around, read and listen to music – we have watched some of the latest ski movies released this autumn. We’ve gone through “Superheroes of Stoke, The Dream Factory and a Norwegian film “Being There (which I thought was really well done!)” and re-watching last year’s “All.I.Can” so far. Perhaps a little dangerous so early in the racing season – as I’m getting fired up for spring ski touring already – which probably isn’t the best seeing how December just begun, but what can you do. The powder will be there come April (at least that’s what I tell myself to fall asleep at night).

Rock and roll – if you’re in the Quebec City area come on out and watch the action Friday and Saturday (check HERE for all the info) and if you are in Canmore from December 13th – 16th (assuming the world won’t end of course the day before…) come on up to the Nordic Centre and watch. I mean, you won’t find a better World Cup venue on earth – their website for all the deets’ is HERE.

November 28, 2012 – SkiTrax recently caught up with Chantal Lachance, Vice President of Gestev Inc., organizer of the inaugural FIS Sprint Cup in Quebec, City. LaChance and Gestev President, Patrice Drouin, have been staging events at Mont Ste-Anne, QC, for over 20 years including two UCI Mountain Bike World Championships and countless UCI MTB World Cups. Gestev and their outstanding team are renowned for always putting on amazing events feature plenty of good fun and entertainment as well. This will be another world-class show, that promises to be too good to miss.

Everyone is thrilled and excited to come and watch this historic World Cup weekend in Quebec. How did you first go about getting the World Cup with FIS?
Chantal Lachance: At the annual FIS Congress in Sprint 2010, we had discussions with FIS and Cross-Country Canada in order to position Québec as a world cup stop. It’s important to mention that the success of this bid is a combination of many factors for Québec to host such an event – the track record of the city and the event producer Gestev, Alex Harvey performing on the international scene, the presence of legendary Pierre Harvey, and Gestev has been being staging events with FIS since 1997, etc. All of these factors had a positive influence on the decision by FIS.

You must be very proud to have secured the World Cup, but know that it represents a lot of work.
CL: Yes, one of the biggest challenges of this event is to be able to make enough snow in downtown Quebec City at the beginning of December. The clock is ticking as the snow making experts have been dealing with mild weather in order to achieve the 10,000m of snow needed to build the 850m long course. This past weekend however, we were able to meet our objective of snow making, which is great news. In case of milder weather, we have other options up our sleeve… but let’s see how fast winter will show up!

The venue seems incredible, a perfect place for racing – what do you think about it?
CL: It was designed with television very much in mind. Sprint Québec will wow crowds gathered in front of the National Assembly by the thousands, eager to see the 150 athletes from close to 20 countries in action. The pictures will really be something special with the National Assembly in the background. We also developed a step down of 30cm and we think that it will be a challenging feature on the course.

You must be expecting very big crowds, any idea how many might come for the weekend on racing?
CL: Yes, we are expecting more than 50,000 visitors on the Sprint Québec site from December 7 to 9. Fans will feel the action and speed that urban sprints deliver while enjoying the beauty of this unique patrimonial and UNESCO environment such as the Parliament hill along the famous Quebec fortification.

Chantal, with such a crowd, where will people park or access the venue each day?
CL: The visitors will park in the public parking lot as usual during the events in Quebec City. Of course we planned the track with the idea of allowing the crowd to see their champions close to the course and accessibility has been on our mind while thinking about the whole project.

Will there be ticket sales?
CL: All the events are free. People can come on site and watch the race and they can visit our Sprint Quebec Village for free and learn more about the cross-country skiing industry. But if someone wants to encourage local ski teams, there is the possibility to buy a ticket in the corporation lodge – all the info to come this week on our website).

What things might we expect at the venue such as amenities, entertainment, etc.?
CL: At 10 a.m. on Friday, December 7, the Sprint Québec Village at Place George V will open its doors to the public. Young and old will be able to meet industry specialists and winter sports fans and take part in a host of activities at the hydraSense Family Zone. Children age 9 to 12 can take part in free Iniski to learn the skating technique with Rossignol professionals. And local microbrewery Archibald will be there for adults in search of a refreshing beer. Then the weekend will end on a high note on Sunday, December 9 with the amateur event Sprint Québec Open fuelled by Chocolate Milk, the final event of the weekend with cross-country skiers of all stripes invited to tackle the World Cup course in a race against the clock. Divided into categories according to age and ability, the participants will get a chance to see how they do compare to their favourite athlete from the Canadian national team in the race of their lives!

Will you be having live TV or sending a broadcast overseas?
CL: Yes, TVA Sport will be live from 14h-16h on December 7 and from 13h-15h on the 8th. CBC and CBC Sports will also be live on site.  We will have more hours to come from CBC after the event. International TV is showing interest, but for now we don’t have confirmation of any crews attending. We will also provide the live feed to Infront, our distribution partner that will deliver the feed to broadcasters throughout Scandinavia and Europe – the world feed live for live or non-live broadcasts.

With the Canadian team doing so well the last years, and especially to have the great local skier Alex Harvey racing, it looks like it will be a great experience and one not to be missed.
CL: Exactly Peter.  Alex will have an incredible reception from his fans that’s for sure. Here is a what Alex said about the event. “It’s going to be a fun event, that’s for sure. I can’t wait to compete in front of my home crowd.”

I hear that given the closeness to Canada, many people from the USA are planning to attend.
CL: Yes for now we have a few media from USA that confirmed their presence during the event to follow the US Team.

Finally, how should we direct people who want more information about the big event?
CL: The public can visit our website www.sprintquebec.com and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/sprintquebec) and Twitter (twitter.com/sprintquebec)

Thanks so much Chantal and best wishes to you and the entire team on a great week of racing
CL: Thank you.

November 27, 2012 (Quebec City, QC) – The public will have the chance to see elite athletes up close at the FIS Cross Country Sprint World Cup Quebec, Monday November 26, 2012. “Just a few days from now, all eyes will be on Parliament Hill in Quebec City, where the course for Sprint Quebec, presented by Quebecor, is ready and waiting for the arrival of 150 or so athletes from all over the world for the FIS Cross Country Ski World Cup, as well as the thousands of spectators expected for this major, not-to-be-missed event in Quebec. From December 7 to 9, ski fans will have a rare opportunity to see the elite of the cross-country ski world, and even to be front row centre for the competitions. Better still, they can put their skis on and compete on the very same World Cup course as the athletes!

Get into the Heart of the Action in the VIP Zone
Above and beyond watching the individual and team sprint races from trackside, 450 people per competition day will have access to a platform set up right in the middle of the course, around the Tourny Fountain, in front of the Provincial Legislature. Tickets for this are still on sale, and can be purchased for a single race or for both. For more information on the VIP Zone, click HERE.

Quebec Open Sprint: World Cup Course Opens to Amateurs
And that’s not all: a maximum of 1,000 participants will have the chance to try out the World Cup course, in the Quebec Open Sprint, presented by Chocolate milk. On Sunday, December 9, all levels of amateur skiers can see how they measure up to their favourite National Team stars, such as Alex Harvey, Devon Kershaw and Chandra Crawford. This will be the final competition of the event, and the participants will be able to ski the 850-metre long World Cup course in a Time Trial format. Registration is still open HERE.

Meet the Athletes
To cap off the weekend in a great way, in the grand style of the Quebec Open Sprint, there will be an autograph session with the National Team athletes on the 9th of December, in the hydraSense Family Zone, from 10:30 to 11:00. This activity, which is open to the public, will be a chance for cross country skiing fans to get up close and personal with the stars of the show before they head off to Alberta to participate in the next World Cup on the FIS calendar, in Canmore.

To encourage the development of future athletes in the region, all profits from Corporate Zone ticket sales and from registration fees for the amateur races will go to three Quebec cross country ski clubs: Club Nordique Mont-Sainte-Anne, Skibec Nordique and the Pierre Harvey National Training Centre.

October 10, 2012 (Val Müstair, Switzerland) – On January 1, 2013, the FIS Tour de Ski will make its first stop ever in Switzerland. Val Müstair, the home valley of the triple FIS Cross-Country World Cup and FIS Tour de Ski winner Dario Cologna, will host the third stage of the Tour, a free technique sprint. Val Müstair lies close to the Italian border, approximately two hours by car from Innsbruck. It is situated between two passes, the Ofenpass from the Swiss side and the Reschenpass from Italy.

Picturesque Val Müstair
The Müstair valley is one of the most beautiful mountain valleys in Switzerland. It is acclaimed for two things. The world-famous Convent of St. John, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the Swiss National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. A cultural highlight and chief attraction, the Benedictine Convent of St. John is an idyllic alpine monastery which was founded by Charlemagne to whom it owes its distinction. Built in the 8th Century the convent church houses the world’s richest and best preserved series of figurative Romanesque murals, with impressive Carolingian frescos. The new “Planta Tower” museum gives insights into the cloister life.

Sporty Val Müstair
In the summer, Val Müstair offers a wide range of holiday experiences. Hikers can explore the valley, the Swiss National Park and the nearby Ortler mountain region. Trails are well marked, and for both beginners and experienced cyclists there is an extensive network of paths and mountain bike trails.

Skiing, snowboarding, cross-country – for those who want a classic winter sports holiday, Val Müstair is the perfect place. The Minschuns ski area is family friendly and the cross-country trails are everything you could wish for. There is also the opportunity for ski touring and snowshoeing.

FIS Tour de Ski in Val Müstair
Cross-Country Skiing has a long tradition and histors in the valley. Most importantly, Dario Cologna was born in St. Maria, which lies only 8 km from Tschierv, the competition venue. Dario Cologna’a successes and growing repuation has increased the popularity of Cross-Country Skiing in the region. “Firstly we want to take advantage of the growing popularity of Cross-Country Skiing and the personal appeal of Dario Cologna to create something magnificent. Secondly, we want to promote our position as a tourist destination in connection with Cross-Country Skiing,” Claudio Daguati, Secretary of the Organizing Committee, says.

Find out more about Val Müstair
www.tour-de-ski.ch
Facebook

April 25, 2012 (Mosjøen, Norway) – Petter Northug (NOR) will be tested in a laser speed trap at this year’s Bysprinten in Mosjøen, Norway. Fellow Norwegian champion, the celebrated Oddbjørn Hjelmeseths, will also be in attendance at this much anticipated sprinter’s duel.

“We have gathered some of the best skiers in the world for this years event, and we have a lot to look forward to on Saturday,” said Trond Are Rasmussen, Event Manager. Bysprinten 2012 is the 6th annual show race in Mosjøen, but it’s the first time the Police will control the speed of the skiers. We will try to beat the world record on 100 meters sprint on skis, which is currently 11.82 sec.

This year we will also have a “Brother’s Relay Race”, where the Northug brothers will compete against the Pasini brothers from Italy and the Tettli Rennemo brothers from Norway.

FACTS

– The Bysprint is arranged on April 28th with nearly 30 international ski stars
– The arena is placed right in the town center of Mosjøen
– The course is 750 meters x 2
– In 2011 Petter Northug and Marit Bjørgen met for the first time in a duel in Bysprinten

All websites can broadcast live from Bysprinten. The broadcast starts Saturday April 28th at 13.00 CET

You will find the broadcast at www.bysprinten.no/live

Contact and questions: Trond Are Rasmussen, (+47) 957 14 195

Participants Bysprinten April, 28:

Women:
– Greta Laurent (19), Italy
– Denise Herrmann (23), Germany
– Kjersti Bø (25), Norway
– Katja Visnar (28), Slovenia
– Mari Eide (22), Norway
– Liza Goodwin (22), Norway
– Bettina Gruber (27), Switzerland
– Laurien van der Graaff (24), Switzerland
– Gaia Vuerich (21), Italy
– Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (21), Norway
– Marthe Kristoffersen (22), Norway
– Heidi Weng (20), Norway
– Britta Norgren (29), Sweden

Men:
– Daniel Heun (25), Germany
– Teodor Pettersson (23), Sweden
– Ola Vigen Hattestad (30), Norway
– Eirik Brandsdal 25), Norway
– Robin Bryntesson (26), Sweden
– Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset (40), Norway
– Øystein Pettersen (29), Norway
– Anders Gløersen (25), Norway
– Petter Northug Jr. (26), Norway
– Tomas Northug (22), Norway
– Renato Pasini (34), Italy
– Fabio Pasini (31), Italy
– Kristian Tettli Rennemo (27), Norway
– Anders Tettli Rennemo (23), Norway
– Ole Marius Bach (23), Norway

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.

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

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

Kikkan Randall

February 02, 2012 (Moscow, Russia) – Canada’s Devon Kershaw grabbed a bronze medal in today’s cold and windy World Cup 1.5km Sprint in Moscow after topping the qualifications with superb skiing. Fifth-place qualifier Teodor Peterson (SWE) pulled out all the stops to snap up his first World Cup win, with Anders Gloeersen (NOR) wearing the #10 bib powering to second.

The mostly flat course winds itself around the famous Luzhniki Olympic Stadium in Moscow. A total of eight North Americans advanced to the heats in the men’s and women’s competitions today – read more about the qualifications HERE.

The result marked Kershaw’s second podium in as many weekend’s as he attempted to bring home Canada’s first WCup sprint gold medal. “My goal today was to just get to the front in each heat and I thought that would be the key to winning,” said Kershaw of Sudbury, Ont. in a team release. “My body is shocking me everyday. It was a long cold day, but I felt great again and it was a super solid race today.”

In the quarterfinals, Kershaw handily won his heat, skiing at the front the entire race and pulling away over the second hill for the win. Alex Harvey (CAN) also skied well, finishing second in his heat, with American Andy Newell in fifth. Len Valjas (CAN) was leading his quarterfinal, only to be nipped by Norway’s Eirik Bransdal at the finish as both advanced to the semis.

Kershaw placed a prophetic second to Peterson in the semis, despite sharing the lead with teammate Harvey for most of the distance until Harvey faded to wind up fifth and ended up 9th overall. Fellow Canuck Valjas finished sixth in his semi final and did not advance claiming 12th.

Kershaw looked strong in the final, skiing solidly in third and fourth positions. He made his move on the final hill with a powerful attack, but couldn’t hold off the storming Scandinavians, Peterson and Gloeersen, and had to settle for third.

“You should never be disappointed with a podium at a World Cup, but I am a little disappointed because I really felt like I was going to win,” added Kershaw, who also won a bronze medal last week in the 15-kilometre classic ski race last week in Otepaa, Estonia, his first race since placing fourth overall in the grueling Tour de Ski.

Looking at the big picture Kershaw was philosophical about his back-to-back podiums – one distance, one sprint. “It (these results) is crazy. The body is so good right now and I just always seem to be in that zone when the race is on. Sometimes you can be your own worst enemy, but right now I just feel like racing is a sanctuary for me and I feel so present.”

The world’s XC ski powerhouses take to the snow in Rybinsk, Russia this weekend, Feb. 4-5, for the distance races for the next round of FIS World Cup competitions.

Qualifications HERE.
Final results HERE.

February 02, 2012 (Moscow, Russia) – Twenty-year-old Jessica Diggins (USA) scored sixth today in the 1.5km Women’s Freestyle Sprint in Moscow, her best-ever individual World Cup result. Diggins was on fire qualifying first with a 2.47-second margin and started the final wearing the #1 bib – read more on the qualifications HERE.

“When I heard the results after the qualifier I actually thought it was some sort of joke they were playing on me! And then I did a couple backflips on the inside. Sometimes it all comes together at the right moment and you’re just having a great day,” Diggins told SkiTrax after her race.

Veteran skier, Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) put the power down when it counted in the final to take the win, followed by Natalia Korosteleva (RUS) in second and Anastasia Kotsenko (RUS) third. Diggins, who skied in third and fourth positions for most of the final, couldn’t maintain the blistering pace, and finished sixth. With her victory Kowalczyk takes over the overall WCup lead from Marit Bjoergen (NOR) who did not compete in Moscow but expects to be racing in Rybinsk this weekend.“The final was such an unreal experience for me, I was just so psyched to be there and tried my best to keep up but ran out of energy in the last couple hundred meters. But I was super pumped to be right there, in the fight and maybe someday I’ll be able to hang on longer,” said Diggins.

Diggins was the only North American to qualify for the final. Teammate and WCup Sprint Cup leader, Kikkan Randall, just missed out to finish seventh overall, with Ida Sargent 12th. Daria Gaiazova (CAN) was the top Canuck in 22nd, followed by team mates Perianne Jones in 24th and Chandra Crawford 36th.

“Wasn’t quite what I hoped for myself, but great to see my teammates ski so well,” Randall told SkiTrax. “Jessie looked like she has been doing this for years, skiing so smooth and confident. And great to see Ida get right in the mix as well.” It was an historic finish for the USA as it was the first time three Americans had made the semi finals.

Randall has been under the weather recently and we wondered if she’s 100% or still a little flat after being sick. “I think I’ve rebounded pretty well but I did feel like I was missing my final sprint gear today. I think I was about 95%,” said the Sprint Cup leader.

“It was pretty cold and windy out there!  Just like racing at Kincaid stadium in Anchorage,” quipped Randall.

The qualifying heats were exciting for Diggins, who led her quarterfinal from the start, only to be nipped at the line by Ida Ingemarsdotter (SWE). Randall was in the same boat, leading her quarterfinal, only to be taken at the finish, while Sargent squeaked into her first semis as a Lucky Loser.

Things heated up for the U.S. trio in the semis, with all three contesting the same heat. The Americans led for most of the semi, with Diggins taking the win, and Russia’s Korosteleva nipping Randall for second. Sargent finished sixth.

“In the semifinal I had a moment where I realized that USA was going 1-2-3 and I was just so excited to be there and be in that moment, making some history go down,” said Diggins.

Was Randall  surprised that Korostaleva nipped her at the line? “I knew she was coming on strong and I was having trouble digging into my sprint gear. I didn’t come off the bridge as strong as I wanted too and I think that cost me some momentum.  I gave it what I had but I didn’t quite have enough to the line today. Frustrating for sure to be so close,” she confided.

Diggins is stoked for her next chance to compete with the world’s best at this weekend’s FIS World Cup events in Rybinsk, Russia, Feb. 4-5. “I don’t have any big strategies for Rybinsk… just to go as fast as I can, and do my best.”

Qualifying results HERE.
Final results HERE.
WCup Overall standings HERE.

January 26, 2012 (Minneapolis, MN) – Skiers have reached the midpoint of the 5-stage Tour De Twin Cities. On Wednesday evening, racers contested a prologue skate sprint under the lights at Wirth Park. The 1.4 kilometer course started on the high point of Wirth, gradually descended 60 feet, and then climbed back to the top.

With temperatures sitting right around 32 degrees, the man-made snow transformed to the point of being lightning fast. From the side of the course, it was apparent that some athletes were struggling to find the line between skiing with power versus slipping into a frantic tempo. The results confirmed a fast course: the top four male athletes finished within the same second, and the top three women were split by only one second.

The men’s race saw three new athletes on the podium. Tim Reynolds (Craftsbury Green Racing Team) took the win and the $250 bonus awarded to the sprint winner. Second and third went to Patrick O’Brien (Craftsbury) and Mark Iverson (APUNSC). Just 8 tenths of a second out of the win, and 1 hundredth of a second behind Iverson. Samuel Naney (Methow Olympic Development/Madshus) was oh-so-close to the podium in fourth.

On the women’s side, Jennie Bender (CXC) recorded the win and claimed the $250 bonus. With the overall victory in mind, Bender says, “I am in a little bit better position for this weekend.” Second place went to Lauren Fritz (APUNSC), and Caitlin Gregg (CXC) was third.

This was the last Minneapolis event of the Tour, as the races move to the St. Paul area for next weekend’s final events. With three races complete, Team Strong Heart’s Matt Liebsch (fifth in the sprint) has a solid lead in the overall classification with Sylvan Ellefson  (SSC Vail) 19 points behind. After her win, Jennie Bender has the lead in the overall classification by just 4 points over Caitlin Gregg.

January 20, 2012 (Whistler, BC) – Canadian Ski Team member Drew Goldsack suffered a mild concussion on Saturday when he crashed during the NorAm freestyle sprint races in Whistler. Due to his concussion, Goldsack has announced he will skip this weekend’s Western Canadian Champs in Canmore. Read his blog for the inside scoop on his crash…

Whistler… I Hope I Didn’t Brain My Damage

Ah Whistler, I have to say I saw these NorAm races going differently in my head movies.  (If you don’t get the ‘head movies’ reference, stop reading, go watch the movie Tropic Thunder, and report back.)

With the extended holiday break over, it was back to business last week with the continuation of the Haywood NorAm race series. The weekend also doubled as selection races for the U23/World Junior Championships so it was an exciting three days of racing with lots on the line! Props to the Alberta World Cup Academy crew who dominated the podium all weekend and managed to qualify a whopping SEVEN athletes for the WJr./U23 Champs., claiming nearly half of the available spots on the World Champs team! A huge part of this success is thanks to the incredibly hard working Academy coaches and technicians who put in long hours behind the scenes every weekend, ensuring that things run smoothly come race day.

The week kicked off with the 30k Pursuit on Thursday and it was a bit of a rough start. On the best of days a 30k is a challenge for my largely fast twitch muscles and despite feeling good on the first lap, the race quickly turned into a suffer fest for me. I blew up early in the race and spent the rest of the time trying to recover, not an ideal way to race a 30k!

Saturday however brought my bread and butter, the freestyle sprint.  The qualifying round went ok for me through heavy snow and on extremely soft tracks which made the course ski way harder than usual. I was feeling a bit sluggish from the 30k, but I also knew that my body would loosen up as the day went on. As expected, I began to feel better with each round and was very confident going into the final. The soft, deep snow made it extremely hard to pass, so a good start and energy conservation were key in order to have a good final push to the line. I started well and was in a good position on the final downhill coming into the stadium but just as I was about to start my attack, another skier went down and I tangled up with them.

Before I could react, my feet whipped out from under me at full speed and I rag-dolled to a stop. Ouch. As I lay there a little dazed, still trying to process what just happened, I took an inventory of my body and in the moment didn’t feel anything too seriously injured. In this case, the insult would come before the injury, my pole had somehow managed to break off at the handle and I was horrified to look down and see my very best pair of race skis shattered just in front of the binding.

Immediately, a feeling of loss that’s nearly impossible to explain to anyone who isn’t a high level ski racer, washed over me. The same pair of skis that faithfully carried me to numerous NorAm podiums and a 5^th place finish in Dusseldorf only a month before were now splintered and lying awkwardly twisted in the snow beneath me. It’ll be hard, if not impossible, to find a replacement for that pair of skis.

For a few more good shots of my crash caught by Jesse Winter, have a look here: Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3

Upon my return to the hotel that afternoon, the physical effects of the crash began to set in. I began to feel nauseous, drowsy and a headache was setting in. I knew I had hit my head but didn’t think it was anything serious. The next day I felt ok when I woke up save for some serious whiplash, a stiff shoulder and some new bruises, but as I began to move around I knew something wasn’t right. I started to feel nauseous again and my headache was getting worse… could it really be a concussion?

Am I now part of the hottest statistic in sports? I talked it over with the coaches and we decided that it was best to play it safe and sit the 15km classic as a precaution. Through the day my symptoms got worse and I utterly suffered through the twisty, stop and go van ride to the airport in Vancouver for my flight home.

After seeing our team doctor on Monday, I was diagnosed with a mild concussion. Brutal. Despite this setback, the word ‘mild’ left me optimistic that I would recover in time for the Western Canadian Champs being held at home in Canmore this weekend. However, I have been unable to train due to headaches and nausea and consequently my hopes to race this weekend have been dashed. I could insert any number of cliché’s here but the reality is plainly that luck has not been on my side so far this season. I guess as a small consolation, my many years spent as an athlete have certainly taught me how to be resilient and persevere…so persevere I will.

More great photos from Whistler NorAm weekend can be found on Angus Cockney’s Picasa album HERE.

Overheard:

“I suck at cooking” – Graham Nishikawa… good thing you’re getting married, Congrats man!

In the tape deck:

Artist: Andrew Bird, Track: Tenuousness

Artist: M83, Track: Midnight City

On the tube:

Andrew Bird performing Tenuosness live, incredible use of a looping pedal. If you don’t know what a looping pedal is, look it up, it’ll make you appreciate the video and song a whole lot more.

http://youtu.be/1sivcS6uvIg

This blog and other updates can also be found on www.drewgoldsack.ca

January 20, 2012 (Innsbruck, Austria) – The second xc-ski event of the Youth Olympic Games – a skate sprint – took place on Thursday at Seefeld, Austria. Canada’s Maya MacIssac-Jones qualified 15th behind Silje Theodorsen of Norway, to move on to the quarterfinals in the women’s competition.

In the third quarterfinal, MacIssac-Jones was drawn against the #5 and #6 qualifiers from Austria and Switzerland and Chun Ma from China, who had qualified only 0.3s back of MacIssac-Jones. MacIssac-Jones qualified for the semis quite comfortably in first, with Nadine Faehndrich of Switzerland 0.3s back in second, well ahead of the rest of the pack.

Racing in the second semifinal, MacIssac-Jones finished fourth, at 4 seconds off the pace of Jonna Sundling of Sweden. At this point, it was unclear if the gap was due to a fall or other issue on the course. Sundling ended up second behind Theodorson of Norway. MacIsaac-Jones finished a strong eighth overall.

Team USA’s Heather Mooney qualified for the quarterfinal, but did not advance and finished 24th.

In the men’s event, USA’s Patrick Caldwell landed a fantastic fifth place in the final, after he placed 18th in the qualifier. In the quarterfinal, Caldwell placed fifth for one of the lucky loser spots and just squeaked through to the semi’s. He repeated his good fortune in the semi’s to make the final, where he grabbed his top-five result.

Canada’s Matthew Saurette was 23rd in men’s qualifying, as Norwegian Andreas Molden was the top men’s qualifier. Saurette skied in the 5th and last quarterfinal for the men, with Chrisander Holth from Norway, the #3 qualifier, and Caldwell. Marcus Ruus from Sweden won the heat with Saurette finishing a bit back at the tail end of the pack. It was a fast heat, allowing both Holth and Caldwell to qualify for the semis as the “lucky losers”.

The men’s race was won by Molden. Saurette ended up 29th overall.

Women’s Results HERE.
Men’s Results HERE.

The races finish up on Saturday with the mixed relay, biathlon, cross country men and women.

With files from Cross Country Canada.

January 19, 2012 (Lienz, Austria) – The Dolomitenlauf Games will kick off this coming Friday with the Dolomites Sprint, held in Lienz/East Tyrol since 1987. Austrian sprint specialist Harald Wurm could write history this year in this head-to-head battle, and overtake Markus Gandler. After all, both have three victories under their belts already.

The Dolomites Sprint will be marking the start of the Dolomitenlauf Games this Friday 20 January 2012. This cross-country sprint comprises 6 heats and finals of 5 athletes each. The Dolomitenlauf Games will then begin with the 42 km long classic style Dolomites Classic Race on Saturday and the 38th Dolomitenlauf run (42 km free-style) in Obertilliach on Sunday.

“The sprint is particularly exciting and action-packed for the athletes and visitors alike due to its technical challenges and sophistication,” says OK Manager Franz Theurl, who organised the first cross-country sprint in the world in Lienz with his team in 1987. 30 sprinters from 10 nations will be entering the sprint arena in Lienz’s main square at 19:00 where a 5 m high ramp, downward starting curve, hairpin bend and ski jump present a particular challenge. “It’s a man-to-man battle! And we battle it out for every metre,” explains the 28-year old Tyrolean Harald ‘Wurmi’ WURM who, following 3 Dolomite spring victories (2010, 2009, 2008), represents Austria’s best chance to beat his ÖSV sprint colleague, Bernhard Tritscher. But for Wurm, this is about much more than winning the Dolomites Sprint for the 4th time. He also wants to overtake the Olympic silver medal winner and World Champion Markus Gandler, who already has 3 victories under his belt.

Strong Austria Representation
In addition to the 2 candidates for victory, Tritscher and Wurm, the ÖSV (Austrian Ski Association) is also sending Martin Stockinger, Thomas Ebner, Markus Bader and the rookie Aurelius Herburger to the Dolomites Sprint – 6 athletes with good prospects while more than 5,000 visitors look on! Austria will undoubtedly put up some strong competition and is also presenting a newly founded amateur national team (a new trend in cross-country skiing): the Skinfit Team Austria with Thomas Stöggl, Lukas Weitgasser, Philipp Bachl, Markus Keplinger, Michael Eberharter and strong German skier, Thomas Freimuth. The Tyrolean sprint champion Clemens Frischhut will also be taking to the starting line.

Strong International Competition
Strong sprint specialists from abroad will no doubt put up a good fight against the Austrians too: Czech sprinter Stanislav Rezac (leader in the FIS Marathon Cup) will be taking on the challenge, as will Swedish Vasaloppet winner Daniel Tynell and last year’s winner of the Dolomitenlauf, the Italian Fabio Santus. Frederik Byström is the second Vasaloppet winner in the start line-up. The Italian Christian Zorzi showed that he feels completely at home with sprinting too at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, where he won a bronze medal for the sprint discipline. This was followed by a gold medal in the team competition in Turin. “We have a very strong starting line-up in the sprint this year and for the first time, there will also be a national team from Switzerland and Estonia,” says Franz Theurl of the show.

The Dolomitenlauf Games will be declared open this coming Friday at 18:30 with the Dolomitenfeuer band. And there will be plenty of music and catering to enjoy in Lienz. In addition to the Lienz brass band, organisers have also booked Werner Otti, the man with two voices, who is famous from the ORF talent show ‘Die Grosse Chance’.

Favourable Weather Forecast
The arrival of winter means that the routes for the Classic Race and Dolomitenlauf race are ideally prepared, including the start and end points in Obertilliach. “And fantastic weather is forecast for the weekend,” says Franz Theurl. Those interested in cross-country can still register on the homepage www.dolomitensport.at until Wednesday as well as just before each race.

January 16, 2012 (Milan, Italy) – It was a historic day for North American’s female skiers at the FIS WCup 6×1.4km free team sprints in Milan on Sunday, with both the U.S. and Canadian squads sharing the podium in the silver and bronze medal positions, respectively. The Swedish duo of Hanna Brodin and Ida Ingemardsdotter scored gold.

This was Jessie Diggins first Team Sprint ever so landing on the podium was uber-special for the Afton, MN native. She suffered two crashes during the competition but dusted herself off, kept her cool, and came back for more.

For Randall it was another brick in the wall as the Sprint WCup leader continues her march toward claiming the Red Leader’s bib for good this season – with six events remaining and a strong lead in the series things are looking up for Randall.

SkiTrax spoke with the U.S. team’s Randall and Diggins after their silver-lined effort and learned how they overcame a fumbled exchange to regain their medal spot. We reached Randall first by email (see below) then caught both in the team car as they jetted out of Milan on their way to Seiser Alm for a break and some training before the upcoming WCup in Otepaa, Estonia this coming weekend – great team pic HERE.

Jessie Diggins

Kikkan Randall

Congrats on an amazing day. How was the start?
Kikkan Randall: The start was good, pretty uneventful. Jessie started near the back but did a good job of getting right in the pack.

How congested was it on the Milan course?
KR: It was definitely pretty narrow, and without any major terrain changes, everyone was going the same speed and it was hard to pass.

How were your skis today and conditions on the track?
KR: Conditions were much firmer and faster than yesterday. Our skis were running really well. We each raced on our two fastest pairs.

You and Jessie have never raced together like this – what kind of prep did you do?
KR: Yeah, we hadn’t raced together before and Jessie had actually never even done a team sprint before. So we talked strategy before the race, Sadie passed along some advice from Ddorf, and we practiced some tags in the warmup.

It’s hard to predict these kinds of races, but did things play out as you expected?
KR: More or less, yes. There was a lot of teams changing places, depending on tags and crashes, etc. We wanted to get in a good position early and then move up through the race.

The exchanges are crucial – can you describe the tension and feeling during the exchanges?
KR: The exchange zone was really close coming off the final turn, so it was always hard to line up for your teammate. Everyone was coming in so fast and together that it was hard to navigate without collisions.

What happened on the crash exchange?
KR: I think another skier cut right in front of Jessie just before the tag. I was already accelerating, thinking we were about to have an awesome tag, when I felt Jessie crash into me. I didn’t feel the hand to body contact though so I had to stop and go backwards toward her. She fell again as we tagged, but we got the right contact this time and I had to charge after the pack, which had already turned the corner.

What was going thru your mind as you tried to catch the pack?
KR: I knew I still had a shot to get back up there, so I chased hard to make up the gap. Just as I got on the back, the pace picked up again and I had to dig one more level.

Jessie really got after it on her final lap and then we nailed the final tag, which shot me into the lead going into the final leg. I didn’t really want to lead, but I tried to keep the pace high to hopefully wear out some of the others.

On the final stretch, did you think you could catch Ingemarsdotter?
KR: She made a good acceleration with 200m to go and got a little gap. I tried to close back up, but the finish stretch was so fast today and my legs were pretty flooded.

Did you know Chandra had moved up so well and was now challenging you?
KR: I didn’t realize it was Chandra coming up until we were meters from the line. Really awesome to see her have such a strong finish. I had to make a big lunge to hold her off.

It’s got to feel good to land another Team Sprint silver and make history with Team Canada?
KR: At our joint camp in Alaska last summer, we talked a lot about getting more North Americans on the podium and so it was great to get the double podium today. It’s really a symbol of how far we’ve come!

January 16, 2012 (Milan, Italy) – Canada’s Perianne Jones and Chandra Crawford won bronze in the women’s 6×1.4km team sprint FIS WCup in Milan on Sunday – their first-ever medal together and Jones’ first time on the WCup podium.

The moment was made even more special by the fact that Jones and Crawford had the honour of sharing the limelight with their American friends, Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall, who grabbed the silver medal – a North American first.

But their medal was not a given however, as a crash in the semis by Jones put their spot in the finals in jeopardy. Ten teams of two skiers made it to the final, including the Canuck duo, who worked efficiently together in their exchanges and skied excellently to earn their podium spot.

“This feels great. Today our whole goal was to relax, stay on our feet and kick when it counts,” said 28-year-old Crawford. “It is dynamite to be on the podium with Peri. We are a real team out here and want each other to succeed and it is awesome to share this with her.”

Last season in Dusseldorf Crawford landed on the podium in the team sprint with teammate Daria Gaiazova taking home the bronze. In Saturday’s individual sprint Crawford was 7th and her bronze in Milan on Sunday was her second WCup medal this season, after she won silver in the individual freestyle sprint in Rogla, Slovenia in December.

Jones was 12th in the individual sprint matching her career-best finish on the World Cup earned in Stockholm, Sweden last season. Her first visit to a WCup podium is a dream come true for the Almonte, Ont. skier and SkiTrax caught up with Jones after the team sprint event:

You lead off today – how was the start?
Perianne Jones: The first lap was totally crazy, I crashed in our semi-final, so I was just trying to stay out of trouble and read the rest of the people around me to make sure that didn’t happen again. There were lots of broken poles, and crashing everywhere, but we stayed out of trouble.

Is this is your first Team Sprint with Chandra – what kind of prep did you do?
PJ: Chandra and I have teamed up a few times in Dusseldorf, so this wasn’t our first time racing together, but we just practiced our tags a few times, and chatted briefly, but we have total confidence in each other after training so many hours side by side, so we didn’t talk much just went out and did our thing.

How were your skis today and conditions on the track?
PJ: Skis were amazing today, our techs are the best. The track held up really well too, so it was super fast.

Talk about the congestion on the Milan course and your exchanges.
PJ: We totally nailed the exchanges today, in the semifinal we figured out what worked, and we stayed with it through the final, and were always making up places in the exchanges.

You’ve been making steady solid gains with your skiing – what are you doing differently?
PJ: Nothing drastically different, just building on the fitness I have and being able to handle more training.

This is your first-ever WCup podium – how special is it for you?
PJ: It feels pretty great to hit the podium, it’s been a goal for a long time, and it’s also great to share it with Chandra. We have been teammates for a long time, since we were juniors…and being up there with Kikkan and Jessie was a real bonus.

All the best Peri – we are really proud of you guys.
PJ: Thanks!

January 15, 2012 (Milan, Italy) – The Russian duo of Alexey Petukhov and Nikolay Morilov scored the win in the men’s 6×1.4km free men’s team sprint at the FIS WCup Sunday in Milan. Sweden’s Calle Halvarsson and Teodor Peterson took the silver medal, while, to the delight of the Italian crowd, David Hofer (ITA) and Fulvio Scola (ITA) sprinted to bronze.

The U.S. squad of Andy Newell and Simeon Hamilton did not advance to the final, finishing off with a 19th-place ranking. No Canadian team was entered in the event.

Results HERE.

January 13, 2012 (Nove Mesto, Czech Republic) – Olga Zaitseva (RUS) took the win in the women’s 7.5km sprint event at the IBU Biathlon World Cup in Nove Mesto on Friday with a time of 23:08.1 and a perfect shooting score, despite conditions that went from bright to stormy during the competition.

Tora Berger (NOR) finished second with two shooting penalties and +25.5 behind the winner, while Magdalena Neuner (GER) raced into third spot with three penalties and a deficit of +34.5.

Canada’s Zina Kocher (CAN) was the top North American finisher in 23rd spot. Teammate Megan Imrie (CAN) finished 44th, Susan Dunklee (USA) was 45th, Annalies Cook (USA) 51st, Sara Studebaker (USA) 54th, and Tracy Barnes (USA) 87th.

Full results HERE.

October 19, 2011 (Livigno, Italy) – Top Swedish sprinter Emil Joenssen was forced to leave team camp in Livigno, Italy early when he sustained a thigh injury during training. “I was on the camp in the Italian Livigno and had a great time with the rest of the team and the training was perfect! Then, on Friday afternoon we were doing a special training in order to get in more “into it”. That is, you start with an easy pace and then you increase the speed up to maximum speed. And during my second round the back of my thigh cramps and I fall to the ground and simply felt something was not right,” Emil Joensson explained on his website.

Emil Joensson returned quickly to Sweden and underwent in Oestersund several medical check ups including a MRI that revealed the cause of an injury. “As it turned out, the injury was smaller than what we had thought and it is a small simple burst within the back of the thigh up towards the bum. An incredible small little bugger which isn’t at all as serious but you don’t want to go on and burden it too fast due to the risk to turn it into a more severe injury,” Joensson reveals.

Expected recovery time remains unknown. “It will take weeks before I am fully back in action,” Joensson confirms. With the season kick off round the corner the Small Crystal Globe winner is not laying down his arms. “I have to adjust my training not to put on myself inappropriate load. So it is looking like a fun break in training having the chance to try out some new training variations,” Joensson claims.

September 27, 2011 (Oberhof, Germany) – The second Cross-Country Skiing sprint race will take place in Oberhof’s indoor ski venue on September 29. This is the first year it will be sanctioned by FIS. The freestyle sprints will kick off the German performance tests in a Mini-Tour format. For the first time, the athletes will fight for FIS points during the first event held on snow in the ski hall and organizers expect a larger international field to compete.

The German performance test program traditionally features Cross-Country running and Roller Skiing pursuit races.

Follow the race LIVE!
You can follow the Oberhof indoor sprint races LIVE! Competition starts on Thursday at 18:00 CET with qualifying session and finals starting at 18:30. You can watch the race HERE or on fiscrosscountry.com

August 24, 2011 (Canmore, AB) – Since Beckie Scott’s breakthrough win at the 2002 Winter Olympics, North American sprinters have enjoyed growing success on the international cross-country race circuit. SPRINT to WIN, produced in 2008, features commentary from some of the most accomplished sprinters including Beckie Scott, Sara Renner and Chandra Crawford. Insight on the evolution of sprint racing is also provided from sprinting greats Kikkan Randall, Bjorn Lind, Emil Joensson and Devon Kershaw.

Purchase Sprint to Win HERE.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Qualifications HERE.
Final Results HERE.