Category: XCFeeds

You can go to

The sprint relay’s saw the end of a cold weekend in Russia. Even though the sun was out, it didn’t cut the frigid temperatures that the athletes had to endure. Jürgen Capol decided to run just the finals and not torture the athletes with heats. It worked out for the best as the women’s field only had 10 teams in total and the men’s had 14.

Women

There were 10 teams who started the race. The Sloevian team of Fabjan and Visnar – in those ridiculously loud suits – led for the majority of the first three legs, but going up the final hill, Russia II’s Khazova kicked it into high gear and open up a decent gap on the other coming into the half-way point of the race. Germany II and Germany I were having very good races as they were in second and third at the exchange.

Visnar showed what a strong skater she is as she was able to close the gap and regain the lead for the next exchange as it was down to only three teams: Slovenia, Russia I, and Germany I. On the big uphill, it was Steffy Bohler’s turn to turn the screw as she opened up a huge gap on the final climb. At the final exchange it was 3.7 seconds to Russia and 8.8 seconds that Slovenia had to find.

All Sachenbacher-Stehle had to due was to ski in control and not fall on the final lap to win the gold medal. Nystad, Fabjan and Switzerland’s Bucher were in a chase pack trying to get onto the podium. Coming into the stadium, Sachenbacher-Stehle eased to the win – the second medal of the weekend for her – as Fabjan overtook Rotcheva in the final stretch to take the silver. Germany II was 7.7 seconds back in fourth place.

Results
1. Germany I (Stefanie Böhler and Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle)
2. Slovenia (Katja Visnar and Vesna Fabjan)
3. Russia I  (Irina Khazova and Olga Rotcheva)

Men

The men’s team sprint was tightly packed for the . The pace was set by the Russians and the Italian teams for the majority of the race. At the half way point, Russia held four of the top six spot. At the start of the pinultimate lap, the field was split and the top five teams had a gap on the rest but Germany’s Tim Tscharnke did well to close up the gap before the big uphill to give his teammate; Josef Wenzl, a chance on the final leg.

With one leg left it was Italy I, Russian I, Belarus, Germany, and Italy II with a five second lead over the rest. It was great grunt work by Zorzi on the last half of the pinultimate lap to get clear of any mess that might of happened had a skier fell on the downhill into the stadium. Fortunately, that did not happen.

The final lap, saw Petuhkov go hard from the tag-off, and only Frasnelli of Italy II was able to hang on. It was a finish sprint between the two and just as they entered the divided lanes, Frasnelli had a stumble and lost his rhythym which he could not recover from. Ultimately, this led to the Petuhkov cap off a perfect weekend for the Russian men. The German team finished an impressive third and was able to rob the Italian duo of Zorzi and Renato Pasini of a podium spot.

Results
1. Russia I (Nikolay Morilov and Alexei Petukhov)
2. Italy II (Fabio Pasini and Loris Frasnelli)
3. Germany  (Tim Tscharnke and Josef Wenzl)

It is two weeks until the World Cup resumes in Canmore, and then it will be the calm before the storm. It is the best storm that happens only every four years.

Til Next Time.

img src=”http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kws9zlSerR1qzt3xbo1_500.jpg”/br/br/pIf you haven’t watched “Jersey Shore” between races in a hotel room yet, congratulations! You likely feel cleaner than the rest of us./p

img src=”http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kws88akPoB1qzt3xbo1_500.jpg”/br/br/pWorld Juniors Start Tomorrow. Go U.S.A.  (via TK facebook)/p

a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xonXGrTwI/AAAAAAAACF4/aVc4oCAsCFc/s1600-h/IMG_2478.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xonXGrTwI/AAAAAAAACF4/aVc4oCAsCFc/s400/IMG_2478.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430330276128182018″ //aThings are picking up here in Germany. All of the teams have arrived and the race venue is very busy (no pics from there today, but hopefully we’ll get some action shots tomorrow). br /Since we now start having races every day (Jrs and U23’s alternate race days), everyone is on different schedules. Some are doing intensity, some testing equipment, some pick-ups, some distance, some…well, you get the idea.br /Tomorrow the Jrs have their sprint day. We are forcast to get a little light snow with temps in the mid-upper 20’s. It should be a fun day and hopefully we’ll get off to a good start!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xoQrZtZ1I/AAAAAAAACFw/Uy7p14VyTeg/s1600-h/IMG_2479.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xoQrZtZ1I/AAAAAAAACFw/Uy7p14VyTeg/s400/IMG_2479.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430329886439728978″ //aYesterday afternoon, a bunch of us walked up to town to get some fresh air and buy some groceries. It was a beautiful afternoon and town is about a 30 minute walk up the hill.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xn3RIYZKI/AAAAAAAACFo/wwj4YcHx4OY/s1600-h/IMG_2497.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xn3RIYZKI/AAAAAAAACFo/wwj4YcHx4OY/s200/IMG_2497.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430329449890997410″ //abr /When we arrived in town, most all of the shops were closed, but there was growing excitment as a winter carnival was starting up. Lots of people dressed up in colorful costums were walking around and some were starting to really gear up for the evening.a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xmbcX1rdI/AAAAAAAACFg/UR8nJKmGkvc/s1600-h/IMG_2494.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xmbcX1rdI/AAAAAAAACFg/UR8nJKmGkvc/s200/IMG_2494.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430327872360656338″ //aWhen in Rome, do as the Romans do. These two actually offered their homemade specialty to Noah, but he was afraid to try it. Being the ever helpful person, I offered to take a sample. It was quite good and had something special in it so it’s probably good that Noah didn’t drink/eat it.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xmH5w8U8I/AAAAAAAACFY/LCWNLvf2yts/s1600-h/IMG_2493.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xmH5w8U8I/AAAAAAAACFY/LCWNLvf2yts/s200/IMG_2493.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430327536653194178″ //aClick on any of these pictures to enlarge them.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xlwpbtB2I/AAAAAAAACFQ/6UX7ml8x0cA/s1600-h/IMG_2492.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xlwpbtB2I/AAAAAAAACFQ/6UX7ml8x0cA/s200/IMG_2492.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430327137132152674″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xlVJL0TOI/AAAAAAAACFI/qpvsS5WMQoQ/s1600-h/IMG_2485.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xlVJL0TOI/AAAAAAAACFI/qpvsS5WMQoQ/s200/IMG_2485.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430326664619117794″ //aI’m not sure what these poles were for, but they looked cool (jousting…throwing…balancing????)br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xk45tglAI/AAAAAAAACFA/FywCeWGk3I0/s1600-h/IMG_2488.JPG”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xk45tglAI/AAAAAAAACFA/FywCeWGk3I0/s200/IMG_2488.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430326179429127170″ //aNoah and Tyler get a closer look…what is this thing doing in the middle of the winter carnival action???? (you better click on that one).br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xkj952F9I/AAAAAAAACE4/eVESW33kqU8/s1600-h/IMG_2503.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xkj952F9I/AAAAAAAACE4/eVESW33kqU8/s200/IMG_2503.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430325819777357778″ //aWe met Jesse going out for a jog on our way home. She is racing the sprint along with Adele, Joanne, Sophie, Tyler, Erik B, Eric P and Sam. Send them some good enery tonight. Prelims start at 4am EST!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xkKjT00wI/AAAAAAAACEw/qWoZwXKzuac/s1600-h/IMG_2486.JPG”img style=”float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1xkKjT00wI/AAAAAAAACEw/qWoZwXKzuac/s200/IMG_2486.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430325383141839618″ //adiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-6893680873679354695?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

This morning we headed out earlier than usual to the Lahti race courses and we did some classic intervals. Everyone was doing different kinds of intervals so Austin, Bridger, and I did 4 by 4 minutes. It felt really cold today, it was -19.3 degrees Celcius so about -3 degrees Fahrenheit! After the ski we ran up the many stairs to the base of the tallest ski jump and then we rode the elevator to the top. It was amazing, we could see the stadium and the entire city! It was quite cloudy today but they were really pretty wispy clouds. The ski jump seems even higher when we stand on top of it. After the ski we went back to the hotel, showered, and packed up the vans to drive north the 3 or 4 hours to Kuopio where our races will be. We once again managed to amazingly pack all of our luggage and 15 people into two vans. All the trees in Finland are totally white because it is so cold and the frost molds to the trees, it’s beautiful. In Kuopio we settled into our rooms and then we walked across the road to eat burgers. After dinner we picked our song for the trip, it is Left My Heart in Tokyo. We had another awesome day here and our races start in 5 days!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1ygSIhQFwI/AAAAAAAACGw/2pPMKpL8jeQ/s1600-h/100_6131.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1ygSIhQFwI/AAAAAAAACGw/2pPMKpL8jeQ/s400/100_6131.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430391484087015170″ //abr /You can see the city from the top of the jump, it was pretty cloudy today, but the clouds are really pretty.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1yflqqw-XI/AAAAAAAACGo/OxiA3CN5rQw/s1600-h/100_6130.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1yflqqw-XI/AAAAAAAACGo/OxiA3CN5rQw/s400/100_6130.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430390720159611250″ //abr /This is the view of the stadium from the top of the jump.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1yfHH-YqgI/AAAAAAAACGg/tJ3ZzN5ka2A/s1600-h/100_6133.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1yfHH-YqgI/AAAAAAAACGg/tJ3ZzN5ka2A/s400/100_6133.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430390195450587650″ //abr /Will and David were brave enough to sit out on the railing where the ski jumpers start from the 130m.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1yeuCyfABI/AAAAAAAACGY/LdYfkk03xFk/s1600-h/100_6134.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1yeuCyfABI/AAAAAAAACGY/LdYfkk03xFk/s400/100_6134.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430389764561764370″ //abr /This is one of the vans, we are kind of experts at loading vans to their maximum capacities!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1yeQPKhIFI/AAAAAAAACGQ/B23mYLHbMrw/s1600-h/100_6139.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1yeQPKhIFI/AAAAAAAACGQ/B23mYLHbMrw/s400/100_6139.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430389252487716946″ //abr /This is what all of the trees look like here because it is always so cold, it is really pretty.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1yd5m0tjVI/AAAAAAAACGI/VujW-QDzfbw/s1600-h/100_6145.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1yd5m0tjVI/AAAAAAAACGI/VujW-QDzfbw/s400/100_6145.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430388863701716306″ //abr /Walking to dinner.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1ycMJKP0NI/AAAAAAAACGA/B4p754jISqc/s1600-h/100_6081.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S1ycMJKP0NI/AAAAAAAACGA/B4p754jISqc/s400/100_6081.JPG” border=”0″ alt=””id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430386983133237458″ //abr /This picture is from yesterday but I forgot to put it up.br /Posted by Isabel.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-1288356141786580171?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

I’ll start off this post by saying that I didn’t watch the races so I won’t try to sugar-coat anything. Whatever I write here could have probably been decifered by yourself off the results sheet or on another website alredy. First off, the start lists were depressing, it’s as simple as that. There should be some sort of default cut-off for the World Cup…”if you don’t get “x” many registrants for a race, the race won’t go through.”  Today, a whopping 23 females cross the finish line while only 21 men did! It’s embarrassing to see such miniscule numbers for a race of this calibre. I understand that it’s an Olympic year and all, but comeon! 54 finishers on the day, that’s just pathetic. It almost seems like a waste or organizers, officials, and volunteers time. Anyway, enough about my ranting, let’s look at the race.

Women

It was the same old story with Justyna Kowalczyk winning yet another race this season. The nickname “Energizer Bunny” was coined to Therese Johaug for her relentless pace, but I think Kowalczyk should adopt the Energizer Bunny ideal or something close to it as “[she] keeps going, and going, and going…” This year, to date the World Cup calendar has had 21 races. Kowaczyk has entered 20 of those and recorded points every time she hits the starting wand. She wants to win everything, and if any women wanted to do that, she’s the one to make it a reality.

Kowalczyk won handily over Sachenbacher-Stehle who had a great race after having a sub-par start to the season. It appears as though the training camp after the Tour de Ski has worked. Hoepfully, she can continue to improve on her form going into the Olympics. In third, was the 29 year old Russian veteran Olga “Woodchuck” Schuchkina who’s previous World Cup best was a 16th in the pursuit in Vernon back in the 2005-2006 season.

Khazova’s return to the cicuit saw her turn in a fifth place. It was a decent result for her as it was her first race since before Christmas.

Results
1. Justyna Kowalczyk
2. Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle
3. Olga Schuchkina

Notes: The Russian Olympic team was named and was interesting to see many “unknown” names on the list including Zavalova, Tchoutchkin, Turysheva, and Chuikov. Surprisingly, veteran of the team Alena Sidko was left off the list.

Men

It was another dominating day for the Russian men who swept the podium again. There was a sprint finish between the top seven Today’s winner was relatively new-comer Artem Zhmurko. He showed up well last week in Otepää taking ninth place and continued his impressive form today. It was still not enough to be named to the Russian Olympic squad. Second place went to Ilia Chernousov who is having a good season and third went to Sergey Shiriaev.

Results
1. Artem Zhmurko
2. Ilia Chernousov
3. Sergey Shiriaev

Notes: The men’s Russian Olympic side had a few surprises including junior Petr Sedov who has yet to feature in a World Cup race this year. The triple World Junior gold medallist has enormous potential and should be very interesting to see how he matches up against the world’s best. In his only World Cup start in Lahti last season, he ended up a very impressive 10th overall. The team looks to be a serious threat for medals in every discipline, partticularly in the team relays.

Til Next Time.