February 06, 2016 (Canmore, AB) – While Italy ruled the day with hard-fought victories in both mass start races at the IBU World Cup in Canmore, American Tim Burke turned in a season-best 7th place in the men’s 15km contest, and Canada’s Nathan Smith salvaged a 16th-place finish for local fans in challenging conditions.

Tim Burke (USA) © Nordic Focus

Dominic Windisch (Ita) claimed a career-first World Cup win despite four penalties and he battled for every second of it as the final lap saw him chased by three rivals, most notably Germany’s Benedikt Doll, who showed impressive ski speed moving from fifth to second finishing 4.1s behind Windisch. France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet was third at 8.6 seconds behind the Italian.

An overnight storm left some new snow on the tracks, and aggressive wind made for tough conditions. Many of the favourites suffered in the penalty loop early on but Simon Eder (Aut) cleaned in prone both times to gain an early lead.

Yet the tables turned quickly in the first standing session as Eder missed three targets and now Maillet was the new leader with Burke sitting in fourth as Smith and Lowell Bailey (USA) were behind playing catch up.

After the final standing session Burke was in 9th suffering one penalty as Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs was surprised to find himself in the pole position. But Rastorgujevs was soon caught by three chasers including Windisch who made a bid which went unchecked. Doll, who was dangling in 5th and sensed opportunity, chased everyone down to claim second as Windisch threw his arms up in victory when he crossed the line.

Dominik Windisch wins © Pam Doyle

“I think I have been waiting 20 years for this. It is just amazing. My skiing was really good today; when I was on the last loop, I saw Rastorgujevs was tiring and decided I needed to take my chance,” said Windisch.

Shooting well with only three misses in the windy conditions, Burke gave himself every opportunity to perform today finishing an impressive 7th, barely three seconds out of 4th place.

“Today was definitely a very challenging race with some really strong wind on the range,” said Burke. “I had the opportunity to train in similar conditions yesterday afternoon and I feel like I put together a good game plan for today. Since the wind was so variable from one one shot to the next, I decided to ‘shade’ today instead of adjusting my sights.

“Shading is a technique where you actually aim off of the target, knowing that the wind will blow the shot to the center. This worked well for me and put me in a position to fight for a top spot. I hope this result will help me build momentum as we head into the biggest races of the year with the U.S. World Cup and world championships,” he added.

Nathan Smith © Pam Doyle

The crowds were out in full force today, lining the stadium and ski tracks with cowbells and noisemakers to cheer on the athletes with a focus on Smith, the lone Canadian in the race.

“It was tough conditions. Obviously windy, but I hit 17 (targets) so that was pretty good for today and I’m happy with that.” said Smith who placed a strong 16th despite having heavy legs. “In a mass start, it’s windy for everyone which makes for a fair competition.”

As for his skiing, he’s hoping to feel better tomorrow. “I’m still feeling tired on the skis though, my legs just didn’t have the energy. I was making up some time in the range thankfully, so I could maintain my position in the middle of the pack.”

Men's Mass Start podium © Pam Doyle

With tired legs, Smith used his wizard-like shooting speed to his advantage, a strategy he plans to reenact in the single-mixed relay tomorrow which he will likely start with rookie-on-fire Julia Ransom.

“Shooting speed is my strength tomorrow. How we could do a bit depends on how the other nations enter their teams,” said Smith who is referring to the decision coaches will make in placing athletes in either the two-person relay, or the four-person relay.

Since both relays are raced tomorrow, depending on which race they hope to win, countries usually have to favour one or the other. If the nation has depth, they can field competitive teams in both events, but often smaller nations who may not have four strong competitors, will field a more heavily favoured two-person team.

Lowell Bailey © Pam Doyle

Lowell Bailey finished 20th in the men’s race despite five penalties. “I definitely wasn’t that happy with the way the race went today,” Bailey commented. “I was not aggressive enough in my judgement of the wind during the first prone, and didn’t account for the increase. This put my first two shots out, and left me with two penalties right off the bat – not the way you hope to start a mass start. I was able to come back a little bit in the second prone, but I had another two misses in the second standing which put me out of contact with the lead. It’s frustrating and I know I can shoot better than that, but nothing to do now except look forward and focus on the next race.”

Men’s results here.

Women’s Mass Start

Dorothea Weirer wins © Pam Doyle

Italy’s Dorothea Weirer proved unstoppable in the women’s 12.5km mass start race as she battled France’s Marie Dorin-Habert and Czech athlete Gabriella Soukalova in the final standing session as they came in together with Dorin-Habert looking like she might have the upper hand.

But Weirer shot clean and fast while her rivals both missed one target making her run to the finish somewhat easier as Dorin-Habert settled for second while overall World Cup leader Soukalova was happy with another strong podium finish.

W Mass Podium © Pam Doyle

The USA’s Susan Dunklee, the lone North America in the women’s mass start, began well but derailed alongside many others as the wind picked up.

“It started off alright, I got a great ride with Laura Dahlmeier on the second lap. We were skiing really well, and then things kind of went south.” But Dunklee’s typical sunny personality still shines through despite an uncharacteristic 10 penalties and finished 30th.

Dunklee © Angus Cockney

“I was not happy with my performance by the time I arrived at the finish today, but I felt very appreciative of the North American fans who cheered me all the way in,” said Dunklee. “People are here for a good show, so you just put on a good attitude and it’s the best you can do. I’ve been really psyched about the spectators, they’re willing to cheer for everyone.”

Dunklee will race the mixed relay tomorrow, but like the rest of the field, is focused on top performances at the Biathlon World Championships coming up in Oslo.

With record crowds rallying for their favourite biathletes today, the relay competitions promise to be full of excitement and fan support. Today a giant snowman carving welcomed spectators into the nordic center. Food and merchandise tents dotted the pathways, and hundreds of colourful flags and clanging cowbells made for a festive event. The visiting Europeans continually rave about how good Canmore looks, but it’s also pretty clear that biathlon looks good on Canmore.

Women’s results here.