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Tag: 10 k freestyle individual start

  • 50th World Cup Victory for Johaug; Diggins 4th

    50th World Cup Victory for Johaug; Diggins 4th

    The women’s podium for the 10-kilometer individual start freestyle race in Ulricehamn, Sweden. Norway’s Therese Johaug took the win for her 50th career victory, followed by her teammate Astrid Jacobsen (l), and Sweden’s Ebba Andersson (r). (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    The World Cup returned to Ulricehamn, Sweden for the second time today for the women’s 10-kilometer individual start freestyle event. Ulricehamn earned rave reviews when it first hosted a World Cup two years ago, with athletes expressing their gratitude for the top notch course preparation and for the support from a huge crowd of fans. This year appeared no different; tens of thousands of people lined every inch of the 5k loop, erupting in cheers for the racers as they passed, raising to a roar for those racing in their home country.

    As period 3 comes to a close and only two race weekends remain before the World Championships in Seefeld, Austria, athletes hope to be coming into their peak form, as their results may further implicate how they may stack up at the end of February.  Firm tracks with no new snow made it easier for wax techs to create an even playing field for the racers than last week in Estonia, and a slight change to the 2017 Ulricehamn course included one additional hill to further test the athletes.

    Leading the way in bib number one, Sandra Ringwald of Germany set a fast tempo, posting splits that held her the lead until the fastest pack of women entered the course wearing bib numbers 30 and higher. As the later group began, Jessie Diggins looked strong as she knocked down the fastest times at each checkpoint. Diggins vied for the podium throughout the race along with Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski, Sweden’s Ebba Andersson, and Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen and Therese Johaug.

    It was no surprise that Johaug took charge of the field upon starting, creating a gap over the next skiers that steadily widened throughout the race. Johaug crossed the line in a time of 22:48.2 minutes to remain undefeated in distance races this season. It is Johaug’s 50th World Cup victory.

    Her teammate, Jacobsen, moved into second place by the 5 k mark and held on to finish 22.8 seconds back on Johaug, sealing the deal on her first podium of the season.

    “Oh my god, it was crazy out there,” Norway’s Therese Johaug commented to the International Ski Federation (FIS). “I feel like it was the World Championships. I am so impressed with the people here in Sweden and Ulricehamn who took a trip up here and cheering for us. It was amazing. It was crazy.

    “The tracks have everything, they have a flat area, they have steep hills,” Johaug continued. “I think the course here is really good. We have to have more World Cups here. They are crazy good to cheering us, the people, and all the people that work here are so kind and so nice. So we have to have more World Cups here in Sweden.”

    Ebba Andersson of Sweden skis to the finish line in Ulricehamn amidst an erupting crowd of her countrymen. (Photo: Screenshot FIS/Nordic Focus)

    Racing in her home country for her first World Cup podium, Andersson skied conservatively through the first half with splits just faster than those of Diggins. The Swede then made a strong push in the final 5 k, closing on Jacobsen and pulling ahead of Diggins. As she crossed the line and clinched her spot in third, she was welcomed with a cacophony of cheers and a wave of blue flags from the sea of her countrymen in the stadium.

    “It was crazy out there and it was a lot of people cheering for me and for the other girls who are competing,” Andersson told FIS. “It’s a special feeling”

    A strong first lap put Diggins just ahead of Andersson, but her second lap did not quite hold off the Swede’s surge. Diggins crossed the line in fourth place (+38.3), followed by Pärmäkoski in fifth (+53.3). Also with solid results for the US, Sadie Bjornsen took 15th (+1:25.1), Caitlin Patterson (CGRP) 23rd (+1:49.9), Rosie Brennan (APU) 28th (+2:03.2), and Rosie Frankowski 42nd (+2:28.0).

    Dahria Beatty was the only Canadian entered. She finished 56th (+3:54.7).

    Moving ahead from a 13th place finish last weekend in Otepää, Diggins is feeling refreshed and positive. She attributes some of today’s strong performances to the adrenaline rush of watching the men’s and women’s U20 relays in Lahti this morning, where the men earned a historic gold medal and the women landed just off the podium in fourth.

    “First off, I have to say, I am so so proud of our junior team and so psyched for them,” Diggins told FasterSkier in a call. “We didn’t start out race until 2:15, so we were all gathered around watching the girls and watching the guys, and they are skiing so well. They are taking US junior skiing to a new level. It got me so fired up – I had happy tears when the boys won their relay, there’s nothing more motivating than that… So that brought a lot of really positive energy and momentum into the day for sure!

    “I had been feeling pretty tired last weekend, a little bit rundown like I wasn’t quite recovered from everything that the Tour took out of me,” she continued. “So I did a little more resting this week, a little less training, and it worked. I got some of my snap back and it felt so nice to feel really sparky and to feel like I was able to push really hard in the race today. I think that’s the closest I’ve been to Johaug all year, so things are definitely trending in the right direction as we lead into World Champs.”

    “Nice racing by all the ladies,” Chris Grover told Fasterskier. “Really cool to see Rosie Frankowski just get off the plane a few days ago and she was challenging for the top 30 especially on her first lap… Sadie was in the top 10 for her first lap but faded a little bit at the end, but she’s been in a pretty good training phase this week preparing for the World Champs. She felt good about her race that she was skiing as fast as she was given the amount of training she’s been doing.

    “It was an interesting race,” he added. “Some of the other ladies that they were competing against probably didn’t go out quite as hard and had a little bit more on the second lap. We seem like today overall we started pretty fast and maybe across the board paid for it a little bit on the second lap. But overall, really solid day for those ladies and nice to see Jessie in particular fighting for the podium.”

    Frankowski was offered a start after her second place finish in the 20 k skate at US Nationals.  She will also be starting in the 10 k classic in Cogne, Italy. 

    “It was super fun to race in Ulricehamn,” wrote Frankowski in an email. “There were fans lining the course cheering the entire time, chanting U-S-A, which was really motivating! The course was fast, and although there were 3 big uphills, it felt like a whirlwind of just speedy skiing. As my first World Cup this year, and first individual start race, I was unsure of what to expect and thought I would get passed by a lot of people, but I was pleasantly surprised that the girl behind me didn’t pass me. I think the biggest thing I am taking away from this race is the reminder that at this level, fitness is just one of the factors in your performance, and you really have to remember to ski well with powerful good technique.”

    Caitlin Patterson (CGRP) racing to 23rd in Saturday’s 10 k skate in Ulricehamn, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    The winner of the 20 k at US Nationals, Patterson earned her best World Cup result today.

    “Racing today felt good,” wrote Patterson in an email.  “It’s great to feel forward progress. Last week I may have been holding onto a little more travel and jet-lag fatigue than I realized. I felt fine but was not able to dig really deep during the race, so it was nothing special. This week I do feel better, but mostly I was excited to skate, to enjoy racing this course, and to feed off the energy of the crowds.

    “I know I can keep improving, because today was quite good but it wasn’t perfect, there’s more to come! After this weekend I’m heading to a training camp in Davos Switzerland and looking forward to continuing to sharpen the fitness towards the later season.

    “I tried to make the most of features of the course that I knew were my strengths – fast downhill corners and rolling, gliding flats,” she elaborated. “My execution on those parts I thought was quite good, and the hill climbing was really pretty good too.”

    Both Patterson and Brennan earned FIS points for their top 30 finishes.

    “I had to conquer some of my weaknesses out there today which was a good challenge,” wrote Brennan in an email. “I didn’t quite do as well in the challenge as I had hoped, but there were some positives to take away. I found some better speed on the second lap which I was happy about and moved up in the end.

    “I think it will take some races and some hard efforts to get back to where I want after a long break,” she continued, “but I have the time and have a plan. I am really excited to get in yet another relay tomorrow and am hoping to channel some incredible inspiration from the junior boys who brought us all to tears today.”

    All of the Americans expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the race atmosphere in Ulricehamn, where FIS reported an estimate of 27,000 spectators.

    “Right now, all my clothes, my hair, everything smells like a bonfire,” Diggins laughed. “It was so cool. I’ve talked about this before because I get annoyed that women and men don’t switch days on the Holmenkol, so if you’re not a man, you never get to race with that amount of people, just because Saturday is the big day… everyone always buys tickets for Saturday, that’s the big party watching day.

    “So to have around 30,000 people was just so cool,” she continued. “We have a lot of fans here in Sweden and I really love them because you’re warming up and people are cheering for you and you just feel like such a rockstar. It gives you such a cool boost of energy. There was not a silent section of the course to be found… It was such a cool atmosphere, and that’s what ski racing should be.”

    “It’s no secret – I love relays, our whole team loves relays,” Diggins expressed emphatically. “I am super excited, I mean, I am pretty nervous because I think you get nervous when you have good chances. I really believe in all these girls and all the guys and what I think we can do out there. Relays are also really hard because you need everyone having their best day all at one time, so it takes something really special to make a relay go well, but that’s why it’s so cool when it happens. So I’m really excited and as always, we’re going to get out there and do our absolute best.”

    Racing continues tomorrow with the 4 x 5 k relay.

    Women’s Results

  • Thursday Olympic Rundown: Haga Crushes 10 k, Diggins 5th; Öberg Stuns and Bø Reigns in Biathlon Individuals

    Ragnhild Haga on the way to gold in the 10 k skate at the 2018 Olympics. It is the first medal for the 27-year-old Norwegian. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Madshus USA, Concept2, Boulder Nordic Sport, and Swix Sport US for their generous support, which made this coverage possible.

    2018 Winter Olympics (PyeongChang, South Korea): Biathlon Men’s 20 k individual

    Full report

    It was a disappointing opening to the Olympics for Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway, who despite winning eight World Cup races this season started the Games with finishes of 31st and 21st in the sprint and pursuit. But on Thursday he showed why he was a medal favorite and won the 20 k individual race – only by 5.5 seconds, but that margin becomes impressive when you consider that he had two penalties, and thus two minutes of penalty time, while silver and bronze medalists Jakov Fak of Slovenia and Dominik Landertinger of Austria (+14.2) shot clean.

    Johannes Thinges Bø celebrates with Norwegian team staff after winning Olympic gold in the 20 k individual despite two missed shots. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld.com)

    Sweden’s Sebastian Samuelsson followed up a silver medal in the pursuit with fourth place in the individual, missing one shot and notching a time 29.1 seconds behind Bø. France’s Martin Fourcade, gold medalist in the pursuit, missed two shots like Bø but finished in fifth (+42.4). Switzerland’s Benjamin Weger placed sixth (+48.6) with one penalty.

    It was a good day for Canada on the back of strong shooting: Scott Gow placed 14th (+2:02.5) with one penalty for a career-best result result; he had previously had two 16th-place finishes on the World Cup this season. With the same shooting, Brendan Green placed 22nd (+2:26.6). Christian Gow had two penalties to finish 26th (+2:57.2). Canada’s fourth man, Nathan Smith, missed five shots and placed 81st (+8:11.9).

    For the United States, shooting was not as successful and Tim Burke led the way in 41st (+4:01.9) with four penalties. With one less penalty Sean Doherty was close behind in 44th (+4:21.8). Lowell Bailey placed 51st with four penalties (+4:53.0) and Leif Nordgren missed five shots to finish 66th (+6:27.3).

    Results

    ***

    Biathlon: Women’s 15 k individual

    Full report

    Sweden’s Hanna Oeberg (center) won gold in the biathlon women’s 15 k pursuit, followed by Slovakia’s Anastasiya Kuzmina (left) in silver and Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier in bronze. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld.com)

    A few days after teammate Samuelson scored a career-best result to earn silver in the pursuit, Hanna Öberg of Sweden used perfect 20-for-20 shooting to capture gold in the women’s 15 k individual. The 22-year-old’s previous best results were fifth place in both Monday’s pursuit, and in a World Cup race last season.

    She bested the two pre-race favorites: Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia had two penalties but still managed a silver medal, her second of the games, finishing +24.7. And double gold medalist Laura Dahlmeier of Germany had one penalty and earned bronze (+41.2).

    It was a good day for both of those teams as Franziska Preuss of Germany finished fourth, +59.0 with clean shooting, and Paulina Fialkova of Slovakia placed sixth (+1:02.3) with one missed shot. Poland’s Monika Hojnicz finished sixth (+1:54.8) with one missed shot as well.

    The United States was led by Susan Dunklee in 19th, with two penalties (+3:26.3). Her teammate Joanne Reid finished 22nd (+3:34.1), her best-ever result in top-level international competition, with just one missed shot. Clare Egan finished 62nd (+6:53.6) and Emily Dreissigacker 67th (+7:09.2) with four penalties apiece.

    For Canada, Rosanna Crawford led the way in 26th (+3:48.7) with two penalties and Sarah Beaudry was close behind in 29th (+3:58.4) with one missed shot. Emma Lunder finished 54th (+5:49.4) with three penalties and Julia Ransom was 74th (+8:31.4) with five missed shots.

    Montana State University student Johanna Talihärm of Estonia finished 50th (+5:36.8) with three penalties.

    Results

    ***

    Cross-Country Skiing: Women’s 10 k freestyle

    Full report

    Quotes & photos

    Thursday afternoon saw more of the same for the women’s cross-country ski events at this year’s Winter Olympics: Scandinavia filling up the podium, with American Jessie Diggins tantalizingly close to that breakthrough American podium in fifth. This time it was Norwegian Ragnhild Haga in first in the 10 kilometer freestyle individual start, Charlotte Kalla of Sweden in second (+20.3), and Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski and Norway’s Marit Bjørgen tied for third (+31.9).

    The bronze is Bjørgen’s 12th lifetime Olympic medal, moving her into a tie with fellow Norwegian Bjørn Dæhlie for the most Olympic medals won by a cross-country skier. Countryman Ole Einar Bjørndalen, a biathlete, holds the overall Winter Olympics record with 13.

    Diggins was 35.2 seconds back of Haga in fifth. She was in seventh place through 1.6 k, up to fifth at 5 k, up to third at 6.2 k, and still in third at the 8.4-k time checkpoint, 1.9 seconds up on Bjørgen and five seconds up on Pärmäkoski. But her form seemed to break down over the final uphill, and Diggins lost just enough time on Bjørgen and Pärmäkoski over the final 1.6 k to slip off the podium.

    Between a 4.6-second deficit to third in Saturday’s skiathlon and a 3.3-second gap here, Diggins has now missed two bronze medals by a combined 7.9 seconds over 25 kilometers of racing.

    Jessie Diggins pushing to the finish in the Olympic 10 k skate. The American finished fifth. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Sixth place went to Swiss skier Nathalie von Siebenthal (+49.8), who slowed slightly after a fast start that saw her with the second-ranked time through 1.6 k. Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (+1:05.5), in seventh, was the third Norwegian in the top seven.

    Olympic Athlete from Russia Anastasia Sedova (+1:07.3), Austrian Teresa Stadlober (+1:15.6), and Olympic Athlete from Russia Anna Nechaevskaya (+1:24.3) rounded out the top ten.

    Sadie Bjornsen (+1:42.1) in 15th and Kikkan Randall (+1:49.9) in 16th were the next two Americans. Randall started relatively early with bib number 23, and was the leader in the clubhouse when she crossed the finish line. Liz Stephen (+2:35.4) was 30th.

    For the Canadians, Emily Nishikawa (+2:41.) led the way in 32nd. Dahria Beatty (+2:48.4) was 37th, Cendrine Brown (+3:11.9) 43rd, and Anne-Marie Comeau (+4:10.8) 62nd.

    Also of note, Australia’s Jessica Yeaton, who lives and trains in Anchorage with Alaska Pacific University, recorded an Olympics personal best finish of 41st (+3:09.1). University of Alaska Anchorage student Casey Wright, also competing for Australia, finished 81st (+6:55.8).

    University of Colorado skier and NCAA champion Petra Hyncicova of the Czech Republic finished 60th (+4:09.4). University of New Hampshire alum Annika Taylor of Great Britain finished 75th (+5:52.4).

    And Jaqueline Mourau of Brazil, who lives and trains in Quebec, was 74th (+5:49.8).

    Results

     

  • Saturday Rundown: Val di Fiemme, Oberhof, Soldier Hollow, Planica (Updated x3)

    Saturday Rundown: Val di Fiemme, Oberhof, Soldier Hollow, Planica (Updated x3)

    Left to right: Chelsea Holmes, Caitlin Gregg, and Caitlin Patterson standing on top of the podium for the women's 10-kilometer freestyle event at the 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.
    Left to right: Chelsea Holmes, Caitlin Gregg, and Caitlin Patterson standing on top of the podium for the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle event at the 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.

    U.S. Cross Country Championships (Soldier Hollow): 10 k skate

    [UPDATED] Don’t bet against Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg) in a distance skate event. The 36-year-old took another national title in the 10-kilometer freestyle individual start at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, earlier today in the first event of the 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships. Gregg’s winning time was 27:00.6 on a cold, slow-snow morning at SoHo.

    Chelsea Holmes (Alaska Pacific University) was second, 2.2 seconds back, with Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) third (+14.5). Katharine Ogden (Stratton Mountain School, +20) was fourth, Becca Rorabaugh (APU, +58.4) fifth, and Rosie Frankowski (APU, +1:05) sixth to round out the extended podium.

    In the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle event, Central Cross Country Ski Association’s Kyle Bratrud took first in a time of 34:52.0. Second place wen tot Ski and Snowboard Club Vail’s Tad Elliott  finished in a time of 35:14.6, while University of Denver’s Mori Madelaner (+35:22.4) rounded out the podium in third. Patrick Caldwell of Stratton Mountain School was seven tenths of a second out of third place in fourth overall (the third American on the day) in a time of 35:23.1. Fifth went to Kris Freeman of Team Freebird in a time of 35:28.0. 

    Results: Women | Men

    ***

    IBU World Cup (Oberhof): 10/12.5 k pursuits

    [UPDATED] In the men’s 12.5 k pursuit on Saturday in Oberhof, Germany, France’s Martin Fourcade got back to his winning ways, shooting 19-for-20 (0+1+0+0) on a cold and gusting afternoon for a 1:09.9-minute victory in 36:45.7. He started eighth.

    Germany’s Arnd Peiffer started 15th and finished second with three penalties (0+0+1+2), and for the second-straight race, Italy’s Dominik Windisch placed third (+1:32.4), with five misses. Windisch was just 0.2 seconds ahead of Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen in fifth (+1:32.6), also with five penalties (1+1+2+1).

    Tim Burke (US Biathlon) raced to 26th (+3:18.9) after starting 35th, with four penalties, all in standing (0+0+2+2). Also for the U.S., Russell Currier placed 34th (+4:29.8), up from 46th at the start, with five penalties (2+0+1+2).

    Canada’s Scott Gow finished 45th (+5:45.7) with seven misses (1+1+2+3).

    No North American men are listed on the provisional start list for Sunday’s 15 k mass start.

    In the women’s 10 k pursuit that followed, France made it a double on the day with Marie Dorin Habert taking a 38.8-second victory in 34:33.3. She started third and had two penalties (1+0+0+1) en route to the win, ahead of Friday’s sprint winner Gabriela Koukalova of the Czech Republic in second, with two clean stages followed by three misses (0+0+1+2).

    Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen started second and ended up third (+1:19.1) with four penalties (1+0+1+2) amid blustery conditions in Oberhof.

    Canada’s Rosanna Crawford finished 22nd (+3:47.9), one spot down from starting 21st, with four penalties (0+1+1+2).

    For the U.S., Susan Dunklee placed 44th (+6:20.4), up from starting 50th, despite nine misses (1+3+4+1). Clare Egan finished 49th (+7:25.6) after starting 52nd, with seven misses (4+0+0+3).

    Dunklee was listed as the lone North American starter in Sunday’s 12.5 k mass start, as she is currently ranked 17th overall in the IBU World Cup. Crawford is next in line on the “reserve standby athletes” lists by her event results of the week, should another qualified athlete have to cancel (e.g. due to illness).

    Results: Men | Women

    Mass start provisional start lists: Men | Women

    ***

    Alex Harvey (Canadian World Cup Team) en route to 19th in the men's 15 k classic mass start on Saturday, which puts him sixth overall in the Tour de Ski with one stage remaining in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Salomon/Nordic Focus)
    Alex Harvey (Canadian World Cup Team) en route to 19th in the men’s 15 k classic mass start on Saturday, which puts him sixth overall in the Tour de Ski with one stage remaining in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Salomon/Nordic Focus)

    FIS Cross-Country Tour de Ski Stage 6 (Val di Fiemme, Italy): 10/15 k classic

    Russian Sergey Ustiugov’s Tour de Ski winning streak came to an end on Saturday at the penultimate stage of the seven-stage Tour, with Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby breaking away on the final 2.5 k lap to win the men’s 15-kilometer classic mass start at Stage 6 in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

    Ustiugov had to outlast a chase pack to settle for second, 2.2 seconds behind Sundby, who won in 40:40.0. Finland’s Matti Heikkinen reached the podium in third (+2.8), ahead of Italy’s Francesco de Fabiani in fourth (+3.2), Russia’s Andrey Larkov in fifth (+3.3), Norway’s Niklas Dyrhaug in sixth (+3.5), Switzerland’s Dario Cologna in seventh (+3.8), and Russia’s Alexander Bessmertnykh in eighth (+3.9). Behind Heikkinen, the fourth- through eighth-place finishers were all within 1.1 seconds of the stage podium.

    Canada’s Alex Harvey ended up 19th (+38.7) after losing seconds to the leaders on the second half of the course. He finished ahead of teammates Devon Kershaw in 27th (+1:12.1) and Graeme Killick in 32nd (+1:31.0).

    For the U.S., Noah Hoffman scored points for the second-straight day in 30th (+1:17.1). Erik Bjornsen crashed on an early downhill and dropped out of the race around the halfway point.

    Ustiugov previously built a more than 1 1/2 minute lead in the Tour, so he remains 1:11.9 minutes ahead of Sundby in the overall with one stage (the 9 k final climb) to go. Cologna remains in third (+2:04.1), Heikkinen is fourth (+2:32.9), France’s Maurice Manificat fifth (+2:34.6) after finishing 13th on Saturday, and Harvey slipped from fourth to sixth overall (+2:42.5), ahead of Sweden’s Marcus Hellner, who finished 10th for seventh overall (+2:54.5).

    Kershaw is 23rd overall (+7:19.1), Hoffman 30th (+9.42.7), and Killick 37th (+11:25.1) heading into the final stage.

    Stina Nilsson of Sweden (center) celebrates another win in the Tour de Ski, which puts her atop the overall standings; Anne Kylloenen of Finland (left) was second in the 10 k classic mass start and Charlotte Kalla of Sweden third.
    Stina Nilsson of Sweden (center) celebrates another win in the Tour de Ski, which puts her atop the overall standings; Anne Kyllönen of Finland (left) was second in the 10 k classic mass start and Charlotte Kalla of Sweden third.

    In the women’s 10 k classic mass start to start the day, Stina Nilsson of Sweden won her fourth stage of this year’s Tour, racing aggressively from start to finish and picking up extra bonus seconds along the way.

    Nilsson pushed the hills late and nobody from the already-fractured main pack could keep up. She notched a 3.0-second win over Anne Kyllönen of Finland, who collected her first individual podium of the season. Charlotte Kalla joined her Swedish teammate on the podium in third (+3.7), also her first podium of the year; she had been fourth in the 5 k freestyle the day before in Toblach, Italy.

    Krista Parmakoski of Finland was fourth, +9.4, Teresa Stadlober of Austria fifth, +10.1, and Yulia Tchekaleva of Russia sixth, +10.5.

    With the bonus seconds that Nilsson picked up along the way, she stole the overall Tour de Ski lead from Norway’s Heidi Weng, who finished seventh (+17.5). Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, also of Norway, had been in second place but slipped even farther. After leading at the start of the race, she slipped through the pack and then off the back, crossing the line 18th (+1:08.5). She is now fourth in the Tour de ski, behind Parmakoski.

    Jessie Diggins of the U.S. skied to eighth place (+19.5) and retained her fifth place overall Tour standing. Teammate Liz Stephen raced to 19th (+1:11.2), and moved into the top 20 of the Tour standings for the first time. Rosie Brennan scored points again in 28th (+2:06.1).

    Results: Men | Women

    Tour standings (through Stage 6): Men | Women

    ***

    FIS Cross-Country OPA Cup (Planica, Slovenia): 10 k classic

    [UPDATED] A quartet of American sprinters turned to distance classic skiing, placing as high as fifth, in 10-kilometer classic interval start races at the OPA Cup in Planica, Slovenia, earlier Saturday.

    U.S. Ski Team member Simi Hamilton posted the day’s best result for the Americans, finishing fifth in the men’s race, 13.8 seconds back from winner Jean Tiberghien of France. Hamilton, who started in the final third of the 110-skier field, worked his way into the race, placing 14th at the 3.8 k mark and seventh at 7.5 k before moving up into fifth by the finish. His teammate and the other American in the race, Andy Newell, placed 58th, 1:30.7 back, finishing strong after placing 67th at the 7.5 k time checkpoint.

    Mickael Philipot (+2.0) and Valentin Chauvin (+8.6) rounded out the all-Gallic podium.

    In the women’s race, Ida Sargent (USST) was the leading American in 17th. She finished 1:10 behind winner Sara Pellegrini of Italy. Sargent likewise worked her way into the race, placing 26th and 18th at intermediate checkpoints before moving up to 17th by the finish.

    Three places and less than ten seconds back, Sophie Caldwell (USST) finished 20th, 1:19.7 back of Pellegrini. Caldwell started out somewhat faster than the three other Americans who raced today, placing as high as seventh at the first checkpoint.

    The final podium, reminiscent of the 2006 World Cup soccer final, was Pellegrini in first, Italian Caterina Ganz in second (+7.6), and Delphine Claudel of France in third (+14.6).

    Conditions in Planica were clear and cold and just a few degrees above the FIS-legal cutoff, with race-time temperatures between 3° F and 5° F.

    Racing in Planica concludes tomorrow with interval start 10 and 15 k classic races, replacing the 7.5/15 k skiathlon that was originally scheduled.

    Results: men | women

  • STC Photo Gallery: Women’s 10 k Skate

    STC Photo Gallery: Women’s 10 k Skate

    CANMORE, Alberta — Craving more photos from the 2016 Ski Tour Canada? Here’s another batch highlighting the women’s event from Stage 7, the 10-kilometer freestyle individual start. The event took place on Friday at the Canmore Nordic Centre, with Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg running away with the win by 23 seconds. Tour leader, Heidi Weng of Norway finished in second while Finland’s Krista Parmakoski rounded out the podium in third.

    Results: Women’s 10 k freestyle | STC Standings after Stage 7

  • Diggins Nabs Third in Nove Mesto 10 k; Three More U.S. Women Crack Top 30

    Diggins Nabs Third in Nove Mesto 10 k; Three More U.S. Women Crack Top 30

    The women's 10 k freestyle podium at the World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, with Norwegian winner Therese Johaug, Norway's Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in second and American Jessie Diggins in third (r). (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
    The women’s 10 k freestyle podium at the World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, with Norwegian winner Therese Johaug, Norway’s
    Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in second and American Jessie Diggins in third (r). (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

    Natural snowfall during a competition isn’t something many World Cup athletes have seen this season. With a steady stream of snowflakes descending onto the women’s 10-kilometer skate course on Saturday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, American Jessie Diggins proved that as the snow flies, so can she.

    “I mean, there was a snow storm going on, but I love that,” Diggins, who reached the podium in the freestyle individual start by placing third, 9.4 seconds behind the race winner, Norway’s Therese Johaug, said in an interview.

    American Jessie Diggins (r) with Norway's Therese Johaug (c) and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (l) all smile after placing third, first, and second, respectively, in the women's 10 k freestyle individual start on Saturday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: FIS/Instagram)
    American Jessie Diggins (r) with Norway’s Therese Johaug (c) and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (l) all smile after placing third, first, and second, respectively, in the women’s 10 k freestyle individual start on Saturday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: FIS/Instagram)

    “I just kept thinking, it’s just like Falun and it worked out great there, so I can ski in anything,” the 24-year-old Minnesota native added, referring to her silver-medal finish in the 10 k freestyle interval start event at the 2015 World Championships. “If I can ski in snow at World Championships, I can do it here, too.”

    With a World Championships silver medal, an individual World Cup title, and Saturday’s overall third place podium finish, Diggins demonstrated that her ability to push herself as an individual is close to unbeatable.

    “I love individual starts because it’s just you out there,” she said. “I can ski the downhills how I want to, there’s nobody elbowing me or stepping on my poles and in my business. It’s just you and the course and you go ski that course as fast a you possibly can and that’s it.”

    Diggins started in bib 36, just behind Canada’s Maya Macisaac-Jones. One of the favorites for the day’s distance skate event, Charlotte Kalla of Sweden, started four places ahead of her.

    After just the first 500 meters of the course, Diggins trailed Kalla by just 0.2 of a second.

    “I think some of the challenges of the course are right out of the start,” Diggins explained. “There’s a tiny little downhill drop, but then after that you’re really working all the way up until the highest point of the course. So you have to pace it well and figure out how to push through all those different sections and I think I definitely went out quite hot.”

    Diggins did push the pace hard in the beginning, taking the lead over Kalla by one second by the 3.5 k mark.

    “I was getting splits, but I also told the coaches to give me technique cues,” Diggins explained. “For me, splits are awesome and it’s sweet to know where you’re at, but it doesn’t make me race any harder. I’m racing as hard as I can anyway, so for me, what I was telling the coaches to do was say specific words that would remind me how to ski fast.”

    As more heavy hitters got on course, including the overall race winner Johaug, Diggins maintained mental control of her race.

    “When I’m out there I’m thinking about how I’m going to ski the next section, when am I going to switch from V2 to V1, I’m thinking about my cue words, like strong core…when I have a good race is when I can stay focused,” she said.

    American Jessie Diggins in a "happy pain cave" after her third place finish in the women's 10 k freestyle individual start on Saturday in Nove Mesto, CZE. (Photo: ARD)
    American Jessie Diggins in a “happy pain cave” after her third place finish in the women’s 10 k freestyle individual start on Saturday in Nove Mesto, CZE. (Photo: ARD)

    At 5.5 k in, Diggins saw a glimpse of second place and pulled ahead of Norwegians Heidi Weng and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen. Jacobsen, ultimately passed Diggins for second place, 4.6 seconds behind her teammate Johaug, while Weng dropped back to sixth 31.1 seconds back.

    “The wheels were coming off towards the end of the race,” said Diggins of the last few kilometers, “but I think I was able to  hold it together just long enough.”

    Along with Diggins’ third place finish, the U.S. women saw three other skiers crack the top 30 amidst Saturday’s snowfall.

    “It’s funny sometimes you look outside and you see the snow coming and you get really stressed because you’re thinking it’s just going to be slower and slower and maybe it’s not going to be fair,” Sadie Bjornsen, who finished in 14th overall, 1:11.3 seconds back from Johaug, said in a phone interview. “But I just try to stay optimistic and excited. Skate skiing is always a challenge for me, so the weather brought a fun new twist to it. More than anything I think I was just so excited to see winter.”

    With many of this year’s races taking place on manmade snow and shortened loops, Bjorsen believes she is not alone in her excitement for the race day precipitation, even if it added an extra challenge.

    “It’s been a sad winter of feeling like we’re just doing this crazy sport where we’re skiing on a fake trail in the middle of the summer and sometimes you lose the vibe of ski racing with that,” Bjornsen said, “So I feel like these past couple days, everybody on the World Cup is smiling and just has this extra energy and I would totally crack it down to the fact that we’re seeing winter for the first time,” she added.

    Bjornsen, who spent time after the Tour de Ski recovering from illness, also pointed out that the “winter” skiing brings out a different level of racing.

    “Today I didn’t feel like I was having a spectacular race, but I just kept pushing,” Bjornsen said. “Even when I crossed the line I had no idea how I was doing because even though I felt like I went as hard as I could, I didn’t feel on fire. But I think that’s a result of not having skied in winter yet this year. When you’re skiing in winter, you don’t feel like you’re flying.”

    The two other U.S. women to also finish in the top 30 were Liz Stephen and Rosie Brennan. Stephen’s time was 1:18.4 behind Johaug’s winning mark, and Brennan’s was 1:40.1 back.

    “I am satisfied with today’s race,” Brennan wrote in an email. “The conditions were slow so it was hard to get positive feelings out there an starting as early as I did. I wasn’t sure how I was doing for much of the race, but I tried to just focus on working every section and maintaining the pace I was traveling at. I am starting to feel more like myself racing. I think the Tour helped me get into gear. It was unfortunate to end up on the backside of a tight group, I guess that will leave me hungry for more.” 

    The fifth American to compete on Saturday, SuperTour leader Chelsea Holmes, race to 37th place overall, 1:59.7 seconds back from Johaug.

    “It’s been so fun to have all that hard work and all the hours of training pay off in such a big way,” Diggins said of her third place finish, “Of course it’s fun for the team because we all train together, so if I can do it, anyone can do it. It’s positive momentum moving forward and to have four girls in the points today was just awesome.”

    With a strong individual and team showing on Saturday, the U.S. women prepare for Sunday’s 4 x 5 k relay event. Sophie Caldwell will lead the team out in the first classic leg, and tag off to Bjornsen for another classic leg. The switch to freestyle will be headed by Stephen in the third leg, and Diggins will anchor the relay team in the final freestyle leg.

    “For me a crucial part of racing well is loving what I’m doing and having fun with my teammates,” Diggins added, “And I feel really lucky to be on a team that works really hard to create that environment.”

  • Sandau Completes NorAm Distance Sweep; Beatty Tops Sovereign 10 k

    Sandau Completes NorAm Distance Sweep; Beatty Tops Sovereign 10 k

    Race winner Kevin Sandau (AWCA) (r) in the leader's bib leads Bob Thompson (Team Hardwood) during the men's NorAm 15 k freestyle individual start on Sunday in Vernon, British Columbia. (Photo: XTS Photography)
    Race winner Kevin Sandau (AWCA) in the leader’s bib ahead of Bob Thompson (NDC Thunder Bay) during the men’s NorAm 15 k freestyle individual start on Sunday in Vernon, British Columbia. (Photo: XTS Photography)

    VERNON, British Columbia — Kevin Sandau of the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) has no time for quitters, including himself. Despite not being renominated to the Canadian National Senior Team this spring, Sandau’s decision to carry on with his career as a professional nordic ski racer proved to be worthwhile as he won his third-consecutive distance race of the NorAm season (in as many races) on Sunday, the men’s 15-kilometer individual start freestyle race at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre. 

    “Going up the climbs, I felt super smooth with my V1 skate,” Sandau, 27, said during an in-person interview after winning Sunday’s race by 37.3 seconds in 39:05.9. “I made sure to push the flats using a strong V2 to keep the speed up. … It was one of those days where I just felt invincible.” 

    Though doubt shrouded Sandau’s ambition for the sport earlier this year, his latest performances appear to cast all queries aside. 

    After two weekends of NorAm races, the Canadian will head into the New Year with three distance titles already under his belt, which puts him in a position to potentially earn future World Cup starts as the NorAm (Continental Cup) leader.

    “Third distance win in a row, I think that is a good way to end the 2015 year,” he said.

    Part of Sandau’s first-place performance on Sunday stemmed from not just his in-race focus, but his pre-race routine and weekend training, he said.

    Kevin Sandau and his mom after the men's NorAm 15 k freestyle individual start on Sunday in Vernon, British Columbia. (Photo: Gerry Furseth)
    Kevin Sandau and his mom after the men’s NorAm 15 k freestyle individual start on Sunday in Vernon, British Columbia. (Photo: Gerry Furseth)

    “My warmup this morning felt bombproof,” Sandau said. “I also took [Saturday] off, didn’t do the sprint race, and did volume instead. … It [was] interesting to see how the body reacted to that.”

    While Sandau sat out the sprint, his AWCA teammate and second-place finisher for the men’s 15 k, Knute Johnsgaard, of the national U23+ Development Team, competed both days, and reached the podium in second in both races.

    “I thought I skied a good race and I am pretty happy with second,” Johnsgaard, 23, said. “But I’m still chasing that win.” 

    Johnsgaard’s podium on Sunday came from course knowledge and tact.

    “I’ve skied this course so many times,” he said. “You’re able to push pretty hard on the uphills because there is quite a few tucking sections where you can recover after the climbs.”

    While course experience was on Johnsgaard’s side, he left the Sovereign NorAm wanting a different kind of experience.

    “I have a very large stack of silver medals now, and I’d like to get gold soon,” he said.

    Just over 41 seconds behind Sandau, Russell Kennedy (Canmore) in third also craved the top spot on the podium.

    “Everyone wants to win from the start, but I’m hoping to get better and better as the season goes on,” Kennedy said. “I feel like I’ve got a good stepping stone, and I’m going to try to keep building off of that.”

    Kennedy spent most of his race getting splits for second behind Sandau, but and initially finished second 41.2 seconds after him. A later starter, Johnsgaard bumped Kennedy to third by 3.9 seconds.

    On the women’s side, Dahria Beatty (AWCA/U23 Development Team) won the women’s freestyle distance race at Sovereign Lake for the second year in a row.

    “I love this course,” the 21-year-old Beatty said after winning in 30:30.2, more than 32 seconds ahead of runner-up Jaqueline Mourao, originally from Brazil who trains with the Pierre Harvey Training Centre (CNEPH) in Quebec.

    “I’ve been racing on this course since I was 15; I raced here with the Yukon [team when] I was a junior,” Beatty added.

    With her course knowledge and Sunday’s snowfall during the race, she powered into the first climb.

    Dahria Beatty (AWCA) in the leader's bib during a snowy women's NorAm 10 k freestyle individual start on Sunday in Vernon, British Columbia. (Photo: XTS Photography)
    Dahria Beatty (AWCA) in the leader’s bib during a snowy women’s NorAm 10 k freestyle individual start on Sunday in Vernon, British Columbia. (Photo: XTS Photography)

    “A lot of people take the first climb conservatively because they are worried about blowing up,” Beatty said. “So I skied as hard as I could and as smooth as possible. I think that’s the key to this course, especially when it is snowing.”

    On the podium for the second-straight day, Andrea Dupont, (Rocky Mountain Racers) finished third, 1:02.7 after Beatty.

    “Today was okay,” Dupont, 25, said. “It was a bit of a slog because it really started dumping snow when the girls got on course.” 

    A sprint specialist, Dupont found pacing helped her to another top finish.

    “I wanted to not go out too hard, because I’m definitely a sprinter and I characteristically go out too hard and can’t hold it,” she said. “[Sunday] I went out easy and tried to hold it … and I think I’m on track.” 

    Another sprint favorite, Beatty came into Sunday on the hunt for a win after missing out on Saturday’s A-final.

    “I was a little disappointed with not making the A-final yesterday,” she said. “I wanted to come hard today and I knew that I could do well.”

    After charging up the first climb, Beatty continued to get positive splits and raced to a 32.2-second win over Mourao.

    “I kept getting splits saying I was 25 seconds up on second,” said Beatty, “When you get splits like that, it makes you ski faster because of the confidence boost,” she added.

    A three-time Brazilian Olympian, Mourao also felt a confidence boost after her race.

    Jaqueline Mourao (CNEPH) racing during snowy women's NorAm 10 k freestyle individual start on Sunday in Vernon, British Columbia. (Photo: XTS Photography)

    “I’ve never thought about podiums,” said the 40 year old, who’s also competed in biathlon. “And now, with the right preparation, the right skis, the opportunity I’m having, I can dream more.”

    Also an adept mountain biker, Mourao believed her time spent on the bike helped her during her time spent climbing on Sunday’s course.

    “I’m a mountain biker and I like climbing so the course was perfect for me,” she said. 

    The last weekend of racing until the New Year (and the next NorAm Jan. 14-17 in Thunder Bay, Ontario) for many of the Canadians, most feel the Sovereign Lake NorAm races were a solid close to 2015.

    “This is my last race of 2015,” said Beatty. “I won’t be racing until I head to Europe after Christmas [as the Continental Cup leader] and it’s nice to finish on a positive note.”

    — Gerry Furseth contributed reporting

  • After the Medals with Jessie Diggins and Caitlin Gregg: FasterSkier Exclusive in Falun

    After the Medals with Jessie Diggins and Caitlin Gregg: FasterSkier Exclusive in Falun

    FasterSkier’s coverage of the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun, Sweden, is brought to you by the generous support of L.L. Bean, now featuring a complete line of Kikkan Randall training wear.

    FALUN, Sweden — Just a day after Jessie Diggins and Caitlin Gregg earned a surprise double podium in Tuesday’s 10 k freestyle at the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships – the first distance podiums for American women in a championships – FasterSkier caught up with the pair in Falun, Sweden. The two discuss the media spotlight, their initial reactions to the results, and what their podiums mean for U.S. cross country skiing.

    The U.S. women will look to capitalize on the momentum from Tuesday’s podiums in Thursday’s 4 x 5 k relay. If the team places in the top-three it will be the first medal for an American team, male or female, in a relay event. See the start list here.

  • Diggins Rides Fast Start to 17th; Stephen 26th in Östersund 10 k

    Diggins Rides Fast Start to 17th; Stephen 26th in Östersund 10 k

    Rosie Brennan racing to 33rd overall in Saturday's World Cup classic sprint Östersund, Sweden. She placed 32nd in Sunday's 10-kilometer freestyle individual start. (Photo: Ian Harvey/Toko)
    Rosie Brennan racing to 33rd overall in Saturday’s World Cup classic sprint Östersund, Sweden. She placed 32nd in Sunday’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start. (Photo: Ian Harvey/Toko)

    In the final World Cup race before the 2015 World Championships, Jessie Diggins led the American women’s team by taking 17th in Sunday’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start in Östersund, Sweden.

    Diggins finished 1:47.7 behind winner Charlotte Kalla of Sweden, who posted a time of 23:26.1 in front of a large home crowd. Marit Bjørgen of Norway took second (+36.4) to seal her fourth overall World Cup title, while Norway’s Therese Johaug placed third (+53.6).

    Diggins had the fifth-fastest time at the 1.8 k mark, but slowed to 14th by 6.8 k into the race.

    U.S. Ski Team (USST) Women’s Coach Matt Whitcomb said in a phone interview, “You might look at the pacing and say, ‘There’s an athlete that went out too hard’ … but I look at it as, there’s an athlete that went out and tried to win a race.”

    He explained that while Diggins faded throughout the race, he preferred her intense approach to a more conservative start, adding that she showed integrity and her body responded well to her effort.

    “Seventeenth is a great result, and I know she felt good and looked good doing it. So I’m excited for her,” he said.

    Diggins could not be reached immediately for comment.

    Liz Stephen, who placed fifth overall in the 2015 Tour de Ski, ended up 26th (+2:08.6).

    “I was not checked into race mode either in the body or the head, so I have a bit to work on over the next week,” Stephen wrote in an email.

    She explained that the course was difficult and consisted of many steep climbs and fast descents, in addition to some icy spots under a layer of crushed corn snow. However, with the large crowd of fans, she wrote that it made for a great ski-racing atmosphere.

    Liz Stephen was 26th in Sunday's 10-kilometer freestyle individual start in Östersund, Sweden. Here she is pictured racing in the 2015 Tour de Ski prologue in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Photo: Marcel Hilger)
    Liz Stephen was 26th in Sunday’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start in Östersund, Sweden. Here she is pictured racing in the 2015 Tour de Ski prologue in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Photo: Marcel Hilger)

    “I am feeling good, physically and mentally,” she explained. “I am really excited to be heading to Falun tomorrow and can’t wait to get the World Champs started.”

    Whitcomb said that while they were hoping for a stronger race, he is not concerned about Stephen’s performance. He remains confident about where she is heading into World Championships.

    “My guess is that we need a couple more significant doses of rest – a day here, a day there – before her first target event at World Champs, which will be the skiathlon. And the plan has that in it already, so no emergency action will be taken,” he said.

    Rosie Brennan took 32nd (+2:26.6), a day after finishing 33rd in the classic sprint. She was 2.7 seconds from cracking the top 30.

    Brennan wrote in an email that she felt she had a decent day, but thought some parts of the race could have gone better. She explained that she enjoyed the course’s steep-and-numerous uphill sections but struggled in the downhills and “undulating terrain.”

    “They lost a lot of snow here last week so most of the course was fast, manmade snow breaking down into sugar-like snow,” she wrote.

    Brennan added that she feels confident about her fitness and training, and that it was great preparation for World Championships to race twice this weekend.

    “After a few weeks off racing, it usually takes me a race or two to get back in my groove,” she wrote.

    Meanwhile, Kikkan Randall finished 33rd (+2:27.7), 3.8 seconds out of the top 30.

    Kikkan Randall raced to 33rd in Sunday's 10-kilometer freestyle individual start in Östersund, Sweden. Here she is pictured during qualifiers in Saturday's classic sprint, where she placed 51st. (Photo: Felgenhauer/NordicFocus)
    Kikkan Randall raced to 33rd in Sunday’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start in Östersund, Sweden. Here she is pictured during qualifiers in Saturday’s classic sprint, where she placed 51st. (Photo: Felgenhauer/NordicFocus)

    She explained in an email to the press that she had a strong start and found a rhythm in the first lap, but found it difficult to “kick it into full race gear.”

    “While the pace was not as aggressive as I had hoped to find today, the feelings were a lot more positive than earlier in the season.  This confirms that my preparation over the past month has been productive.  Now it’s just a matter of getting my body back into race mode,” she wrote.

    She added that the weekend was a good boost as she prepares for the World Championships classic sprint on Thursday.

    Overall, Whitcomb said Sunday was not a confidence-building day, especially as the team looks toward World Championships. He said the team would prefer to enter Worlds with season-best results.

    “But the fact is, no one race can capture where we are as a team,” he explained. “We’re leaving Östersund with some really valuable feedback, and we feel perfectly comfortable with where we need to be right now … We’re an eager team, and we’re really looking forward to putting on a show in Falun.”

    Results

  • Diggins Leads USST to Redemption in Lillehammer Freestyle Distance Races

    Jessie Diggins (U.S. Ski Team) skiing to first place in the qualification round of Wednesday's freestyle sprint. She finished second overall in the finals, a best-ver finish at a Junior/U23 World Championships. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    Jessie Diggins (U.S. Ski Team) skiing in the 2014  Junior/U23 World Championships. She raced to 15th position in Saturday’s World Cup 5 k freestyle in Lillehammer, Norway.  (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    Jessie Diggins has her confidence back and it showed as she cruised to a 15th place finish in the World Cup 5 k freestyle interval start in Lillehammer, Norway.

    Saturday’s 5/10 k race was the second stage of the weekend’s mini tour following Friday’s freestyle sprint.

    Colder conditions and firm tracks made the women’s 5 k a fast race, with winner Therese Johaug of Norway posting a time of 12:33.7.

    With Diggins (+39.0) leading the way, two other American women made it into the top 30. Sadie Bjornsen (+45.0) placed 20th while Liz Stephen (+48.3) placed 22nd.

    After a less-than-ideal sprint where Bjornsen was the lone American to advance past qualification, Saturday’s improved results demonstrated that the US Ski Team has more to work with than races this season have demonstrated.

    Diggins entered Saturday’s 5 k with conservative pacing to avoid blowing up on the final half of the course, which featured what she estimated to be a four-minute climb.

    In addition to a conservative start, Diggins said that one of her main goals was to ski aggressively and efficiently on the downhills – where she said she lost most of her time in Friday’s sprint.

    While it took a little verbal encouragement in the form of Diggins telling herself that “you can do this,” she managed to surpass any uneasiness and rocketed through the course.

    Diggins explained she knew it was good day before crossing the finish line because everything she had raced so far was a blur.

    “Looking back on today’s race there are things I can’t even remember because I was just so in the zone. I think that’s something that defines a good race for me – you’re just so focused that you can’t even remember what you’re thinking about,” she said in a phone interview.

    Diggins said she still had energy at the end of the race and wished she had used it while attacking the fast course.  According to USST Head Coach Chris Grover, the fact that Diggins still had energy was a good sign as it meant that the 23-year-old had even greater potential.

    “She skied fantastic and she was in the mix right from the get-go. She had tight splits and really closed down on a few people that were skiing around her,” he said in a phone interview.

    Back in 20th Bjornsen started the race even more conservatively, clocking in at 34th position at the 2.2 k mark.

    Like Diggins, Bjornsen said that she was pacing to save energy for the big hill. In Bjorsen’s case, however, she explained she might have started too slow.

    Despite her sluggish start, Bjornsen’s top-30 placement was the first time the 25-year-old earned individual points in a freestyle distance race. A strong classic skier, Bjornsen worked hard this summer to improve her skating technique.

    “I have a tendency to take huge strokes that end up being quite slow. This summer I worked a lot on floating more, increasing my tempo, and keeping things moving faster,” she explained in a phone interview.

    It seems that the work paid off.

    “I know I have the ability to skate ski it’s just actually performing it. Today was fun because I feel like it finally came together for me. “

    Stephen, the final American woman in the top-30, crossed the 2.2 k mark in 45th but was able to jump 25 places to 20th by 3.3 k before slipping back to 22nd at 5 k.

    Stephen wrote that she skied the race like it was a 5 k relay leg rather than an individual race for motivational purposes.

    “It makes me perform better than I would if I was just racing the clock. Relay day is when you race for your team and that is how any 5 k skate race feels to me, as if I am on the relay team and skiing for us all,” she wrote in an email.

    The remaining members of the USST were far from the pace set by Diggins, Bjornsen, and Stephen.

    In the women’s race the next finishers were Caitlin Gregg and Kikkan Randall who place 62nd and 63rd.

    Randall, who hasn’t placed in the 60s since 2006, wrote in an email that she felt stuck in a low gear for the majority of the race. However she explained her effort was one step closer to reaching racing shape this season, especially after Friday’s sprint where she placed 43rd.

    The final two U.S. women, Ida Sargent and Sophie Cladwell, finished in 79th and 84th positions.

    USST Women’s Coach Matt Whitcomb, said Friday that Caldwell would treat Saturday’s 5 k as a workout rather than a race, due to her recovery from a broken elbow in October.

    In the men’s 10 k Erik Bjornsen was the top American finisher in 51st, 1:13.2 back from race winner Martin Sundby of Norway.

    Bjornsen finished his first 5 k loop in 35th after a strong start, but was unable to hold his pace for the remainder of the race.

    “I wasn’t able to sustain the pace I had started but I was still able to recover some on the few rest sections… I struggled for a few kilometers but I was able to pull it together for the last couple kilometers,” he wrote in an email.

    Bjornsen was followed by Simi Hamilton in 74th, Andy Newell in 103rd, and Reese Hanneman in 108th positions.

    As the team wrapped up its second race day in Lillehammer, Grover said that all the USST skiers were signed up to compete in Sunday’s 10/15 k classic pursuit. However, at the time of the interview, he said that it was still uncertain if Newell would start, as he was carrying fatigue and possibly needing rest to focus on the upcoming Davos, Switzerland sprint.

    He also explained that while the team saw improved results Saturday, it doesn’t mean his athletes are at full racing potential.

    “I don’t think we’re going to have anything extraordinary as the team is still working into the season,” Grover said.

    The top ranked American headed into Sunday’s race is Sadie Bjornsen who with start in 17th position and attempt to improve her standing throughout the 10 k race. She will start 1:20 behind mini tour leader Marit Bjørgen.

    She explained that she had no concrete goals for the race and that her main focus was to ski with strength and “conquer the hills.”

    Diggins will enter tomorrow’s pursuit ranked 21st followed by Liz Stephen in 35th. Randall is ranked 63rd followed by Gregg in 65th, Ida Sargent in 77th, and Caldwell in 84th.

    In the men’s 15 k classic pursuit, Bjornsen is the USST’s first starter in 53rd followed by Hamilton in 73rd, Newell in 97th and Hanneman in 108th as the last starter.

    Men’s 10 k results | women’s 5 k results

    Men’s tour standings | women’s tour standings

  • Brennan Holds Off Ogden to Take Women’s SuperTour 10 k in West Yellowstone

    Brennan Holds Off Ogden to Take Women’s SuperTour 10 k in West Yellowstone

    Rosie Brennan (APU) took the lead in the first of two laps and held on to win the women's 10 k individual start freestyle in West Yellowstone, Mont.
    Rosie Brennan (APU) had the fastest time in the first of two laps and held on to win the women’s 10 k individual start freestyle in West Yellowstone, Mont.

    Note: This article has been corrected to state that Katharine Ogden is a member of Stratton Mountain School (SMS), not the Stratton Mountain School T2 Team (SMST2). 

    WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. — Rosie Brennan surged into the lead with a strong first lap, then maintained her advantage over 17-year-old Katharine Ogden to win Saturday’s women’s individual-start 10 k freestyle in West Yellowstone, Mont., the weekend’s second SuperTour race.

    Brennan, of Alaska Pacific University (APU), had a 19-second lead over Ogden, of Stratton Mountain School (SMS), and teammate Chelsea Holmes after the first 5 k loop. While Ogden skied an impressive second lap – the fastest in the field – she was overcome by Brennan, as the 26-year-old won with a time of 26:59.9, while Ogden ended up 8.3 seconds behind.

    Katharine Ogden (SMST2) posted the fastest second lap in the field en route to a second-place finish in the women's 10 k individual start freestyle in West Yellowstone, Mont.
    Katharine Ogden (SMS) posted the fastest second lap in the field en route to a second-place finish in the women’s 10 k individual start freestyle in West Yellowstone, Mont.

    Holmes skied a strong race especially on the hills, but lost ground to the leaders on the second lap and finished 26.2 seconds behind. Caitlin Patterson of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) maintained her position after the first lap to finish in fourth (+42.6) while Sun Valley’s Mary Rose did the same to take fifth (+54.8).

    Joanne Reid, a former University of Colorado star and NCAA Champion in the 15 k freestyle, took seventh (+1:01.0). However, the 10 k marked her first time racing on the national circuit since attending graduate school last year.

    Though temperatures were above freezing, athletes encountered strong winds and blowing snow, adding challenge to a course that already offered no rest.

    “Racing in West Yellowstone, it’s hard to actually feel good when you’re racing; it’s kind of brutal,” Brennan said. However, the Park City native said she was accustomed to the altitude – West Yellowstone is situated at 6,667 feet – and established a comfortable pace that she was able to maintain throughout the race. The result follows what she said was a “really good summer of training.”

    Brennan explained that the race meant a lot to her, as her father passed away in August.

    “Just to be able to put together a race is huge for me, so I’m just really psyched to be able to race,” she said.

    APU Head Coach Erik Flora was thrilled with Brennan’s performance.

    “Her training has been going really well, and you can see that she’s been ready to race, so today she skied strong. She’s made a lot of technical improvements over the year and she showed all those today,” Flora explained.

    Though Ogden put together an impressive performance, she said that she did not have much of a strategy, saying she likes the hills and altitude and “was just thinking of not blowing up.”

    Chelsea Holmes (APU) is pursued by Heidi Widmer (AWCA-NST) in the women's 10 k individual start freestyle in West Yellowstone, Mont. Holmes finished in third while Widmer would finish in ninth place.
    Chelsea Holmes (APU) is pursued by Heidi Widmer (AWCA-NST) in the women’s 10 k individual start freestyle in West Yellowstone, Mont. Holmes finished in third while Widmer would finish in ninth place.

    “I started out and I was cold, which wasn’t good. But I warmed up pretty quickly and felt really good. I was mostly thinking about pushing off my legs because I usually don’t do that enough,” she said.

    The 30-second interval start allowed her to catch up to and ski behind teammate Erika Flowers, of SMST2. “I like skiing with her. She has really good technique and it makes mine better,” Ogden said.

    Ogden would eventually pass Flowers who ended up in 15th (+1:41.6).

    Though just barely missing the podium, Patterson was satisfied with herself and her effort. She said she felt “bogged down” and was experiencing tired leg muscles right from the start, but maintained a strong V2 wherever she could and made up time on the numerous corners.

    The wind was a noticeable factor in the race, Patterson said.

    “I was certainly wishing I had someone to draft out there, but with the interval start race and the 30-second intervals we were all very well spaced out. I think I maybe passed one or two people, but I wasn’t able to tuck in behind anyone,” she explained. “It’s a bit of wind in your face, but you go with it.”

    Mary Rose (Sun Valley SEF) conquered the hills and managed a fifth-place finish in the women's 10 k individual start freestyle in West Yellowstone, Mont.
    Mary Rose (Sun Valley SEF) conquered the hills and managed a fifth-place finish in the women’s 10 k individual start freestyle in West Yellowstone, Mont.

    Rose attributed her fifth-place finish to the nature of the course, saying she is a climber and the course had plenty of hills she could use to her advantage. Though she went out “kind of easy” at the beginning of the race, she said she pushed herself through the hills and “kept charging.”

    However, Rose did not attach too much significance to the result, saying she is taking it weekend by weekend.

    Meanwhile, there was a worrisome scene on the course as APU’s Rosie Frankowski collapsed 7.5 kilometers into her race. Coach Flora was unsure of exactly what occurred — whether it was dehydration, the altitude or something else — saying she simply “blacked out” at the top of a climb.

    Course officials and spectators immediately covered Frankowski with coats after she collapsed, and she was soon transported back to the warming hut at the starting line. Flora said once they got her warmed up, she was back on her feet and “feeling good.”

    SuperTour racing continues next weekend at Bohart Ranch Cross Country Ski Center near Bozeman, Mont., with a classic sprint on Saturday and a classic mass start on Sunday.

    Women’s 10 k freestyle top ten (full results)

    1. Rosie Brennan (APU) 26:59.9

    2. Katharine Ogden (SMS) +8.3

    3. Chelsea Holmes (APU) +26.2

    4. Caitlin Patterson (CGRP) +42.6

    5. Mary Rose (Sun Valley SEF) +54.8

    6. Becca Rorabaugh (APU) +57.5

    7. Joanne Reid (Atlas) +1:01.0

    8. Makayla Cappel (Sun Valley SEF) +1:19.9

    9. Heidi Widmer (AWCA-NST) +1:25.1

    10. Aja Starkey (Montana State University) +1:26.3

  • Just Like Old Times, Randall Wins at Kincaid in SuperTour Finals Opener 10 k Skate

    Just Like Old Times, Randall Wins at Kincaid in SuperTour Finals Opener 10 k Skate

    Kikkan Randall (APU/USST) heads up Elliott's Climb in Kincaid Park at the end of the first of two laps on Saturday. She went on to win the 10 k freestyle individual start by 2.2 seconds on the first day of SuperTour Finals in Anchorage, Alaska.
    Kikkan Randall (APU/USST) heads up Elliott’s Climb in Kincaid Park at the end of the first of two laps on Saturday. She went on to win the 10 k freestyle individual start by 2.2 seconds on the first day of SuperTour Finals in Anchorage, Alaska.

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Liz Stephen had quite the task ahead of her on Saturday in the first race of 2014 SuperTour Finals. Kikkan Randall’s house guest for the week and her longtime buddy on the U.S. Ski Team, the 27-year-old from East Montpelier, Vt., started a minute behind Randall in the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start at Kincaid Park.

    Usually, that would be fine, but when you hear cheers through the woods ahead of you and get splits that you’re right behind Kikkan, that you’re seven seconds down, one second down, it’s hard to know how to beat her.

    Stephen tried anyway, but at the end of the 27-minute race — which was actually 10.6 k on the two-lap course — Randall was the one who finished fastest in 27:27.1, by 2.2 seconds over Stephen in second.

    Alaska Pacific University’s leading veteran, Randall, 31, repeated her win in the 10 k distance from last year’s SuperTour Finals in Truckee, Calif. There, she won the 10 k classic by 36.6 seconds over her APU and USST teammate Sadie Bjornsen and finished 47 seconds ahead of Stephen.

    On Saturday, the 10 k skate was a favorite event for several on the U.S. Ski Team (with the exception of Sophie Caldwell, who finished eighth and smiling in one of her least-favorite races on her 24th birthday. She was greeted at the finish by nearly a dozen costumed competitors, including Randall in a tinsel wig and Stephen in an afro, somewhat contained by a ski headband).

    A few minutes earlier, Randall and Stephen had been just as gassed as most in the field at the finish, which ended on the winding uphill called Elliott’s Climb before an 80-meter straightaway into the World Cup stadium (a modified start and finish because of low snow).

    “I knew it was close,” Stephen recalled. She was down by 7.3 seconds to Randall after the first lap then two seconds a couple kilometers later.

    With 3 k to go, Stephen knew she had some climbing ahead — which was good for her. Randall’s strength was gliding, she reasoned, so Stephen went for it on the rolling (and sometimes-screaming) downhills and tried to ski relaxed, until the last time up Elliott’s.

    “On this final climb it was just head down and going,” Stephen said. “[Kikkan] got it and it’s great to see her win in her home state.”

    SuperTour leader Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus) clocks the fastest time through 5 k in Saturday's 10 k freestyle at SuperTour Finals in Anchorage, Alaska. She went on to place third.
    SuperTour leader Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus) clocks the fastest time through 5 k in Saturday’s 10 k freestyle at SuperTour Finals in Anchorage, Alaska. She went on to place third.

    While Randall had an edge on Stephen from start to finish, she was actually trailing Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus) by 3.6 seconds at the end of the first lap. However, Randall had little way of knowing; she started 5 1/2 minutes ahead of Gregg. (Stephen started ahead of her as well.)

    The 2014 American Birkebeiner freestyle champion, Gregg was also fresh off a flight from World Cup Finals in Europe. She arrived in Anchorage on Tuesday — one day before Randall and Stephen.

    While Gregg said her energy was good and wasn’t sure where she lost time on the second lap on Saturday, she credited Randall and Stephen as “great World Cup skiers” and was satisfied with third place, 20.9 seconds behind Randall and 4.1 seconds ahead of Bjornsen in fourth.

    “I always have really good skate races here in Anchorage,” Gregg said. “Whether it was at JO’s [Junior Nationals], NCAA’s, nationals twice, I qualified for the Olympics here in 2010 — for whatever reason, Alaska and I, Anchorage and I do great. I love the trails, I love the conditions, the crowds, it’s a good vibe.”

    When she and her husband, Brian, who placed ninth in the men’s 15 k, found out that Spring Series was going to be there, they couldn’t pass it up. Even after they raced more than ever this season — both domestically and internationally; Caitlin said she’s only had two weekends off since early October and has been back and fourth to Europe twice.

    “Even after our crazy long season, we were like, ‘Oh man, that is gonna be awesome,’ ” she said. “We went for an afternoon jog at nine o’clock last night. We watched the sunset over the ocean.”

    “For whatever reason, Alaska and I, Anchorage and I do great. I love the trails, I love the conditions, the crowds, it’s a good vibe.” — Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus), third in 2014 SuperTour Finals 10 k freestyle

    The ultimate hometown hero, Randall relied on the crowd to boost her the last time around Kincaid — the same trails she grew up on. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Randall moved to Anchorage with her family when she was just a few years old, and went on to rack up 10 state titles at East Anchorage High School, all of which were in running.

    As a junior skier, Randall won seven Junior National titles and set Alaska’s record for fastest woman on skis at 74.14 miles per hour in a 1994 speed-skiing event, according to her blog.

    But on Saturday, what mattered was that the four-time Olympian had another great day in her storied career, which she most recently added her third Sprint World Cup title to.

    “You spend the whole winter on the World Cup and then you come back here and it just feels so familiar,” Randall said. “Just seeing everybody and the snow is familiar. It was really funny packing my race bag this morning, I was so in the routine all winter, but then to do it in your own house is kind of funny.”

    Liz Stephen (Burke/USST) heads up Elliott's Climb the first of two times in Saturday's 10 k freestyle at SuperTour Finals at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska. She went on to place second to teammate Kikkan Randall by 2.2 seconds.
    Liz Stephen (Burke/USST) heads up Elliott’s Climb the first of two times in Saturday’s 10 k freestyle at SuperTour Finals at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska. She went on to place second to teammate Kikkan Randall by 2.2 seconds.

    She had her husband, Jeff Ellis, and Stephen at home with her, too. Randall said it was that familiarity paired with the ability to make an impact on the community that made her want to have the post-Sochi Olympics, season-ending races there. These Finals are Randall’s first races in Anchorage since 2010 nationals.

    “It’s really nice for us racers to come back and race at home, but it’s so good for the community and the next generation of Olympians,” Randall said. “They’re seeing a high-level race for the first time and they’re like, ‘Oh man, I want to be there someday.’ I remember being a kid and feeling that way.”

    Randall went on to become the most successful female cross-country skier in U.S. history.

    “When I was standing in the start gate [today] I thought, I do this because I love it,” Randall said. “When you’re on the World Cup, it’s such a big scene there, but to do it here in front of all your friends and family, it’s like, Oh yeah, this is the true spirit of cross-country.”

    Stephen, who’s also under APU’s wing this week with wax help, said the kind of recognition Randall gets from her home state and supporters stands out.

    “Everybody knows her and it’s a really cool atmosphere here in Alaska,” Stephen said. “We were watching TV last night from some shows that had been recorded in December. Usually you fast-forward through the ads, and we were doing that, but on a number of different occasions I would be like, ‘There you are!’ And we’d have to go back and watch it.

    “It’s just really cool to see a community and a whole state really embrace cross country skiing and embrace their athletes,” Stephen added. “It’s fun to be here and it’s fun to be home with Kikkan because she is a star. In our minds, all the time and in her state too and it’s just fun to be a part of it.”

    Also in the top 10, Jessie Diggins, of the Stratton Mountain School T2 Team (SMST2) and USST, placed fifth (+29.8). Girdwood native Chelsea Holmes (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) was sixth (+55.0), Holly Brooks (APU/USST) seventh (+56.2), Caldwell (SMST2) eighth, Erika Flowers (SMST2) ninth, and Anchorage’s own Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) 10th.

    Results (scroll down for women)

  • Bjørgen Begins Ascent for World Cup Overall; Kalla Second, Johaug Bummed in Third

    Bjørgen Begins Ascent for World Cup Overall; Kalla Second, Johaug Bummed in Third

    The Lahti World Cup women's 10 k freestyle podium, with Norwegian winner Marit Bjørgen (c), Sweden's Charlotte Kalla (l) in second, and Norway's Therese Johaug in third. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
    The Lahti World Cup women’s 10 k freestyle podium, with Norwegian winner Marit Bjørgen (c), Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla (l) in second, and Norway’s Therese Johaug in third. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    Not too long ago, there were times when Marit Bjørgen fell flat on her face in the Olympic freestyle sprint, when she was nowhere near contention in the Sochi 4 x 5-kilometer relay (no thanks to a waxing fiasco), and when, in her second-straight individual sprint, she failed to make the finals.

    The latter moment came Saturday in the first World Cup race since the Olympics ended in Russia a week earlier. One day later, the 31-year-old Norwegian was at the top of her game, unsurprisingly and as usual.

    Marit Bjørgen racing to a World Cup win on Sunday in the 10 k freestyle individual start in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
    Marit Bjørgen racing to a World Cup win on Sunday in the 10 k freestyle individual start in Lahti, Finland. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    While her occasional blips prove she’s human, Sunday’s effort showed Bjørgen is as primed as ever for a run to clinch the overall World Cup title.

    “I’m very satisfied,” Bjørgen told NRK after winning the 10-kilometer freestyle individual start in Lahti, Finland, according to a translation. “Today, everything was perfect.”

    That’s good news for the Norwegian squad, but one of her teammates wasn’t so psyched on Sunday. Therese Johaug, who took silver to Bjørgen in the last women’s race of the Olympics, the 30 k freestyle mass start, placed third in the Lahti 10 k, 0.7 seconds behind Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla in second and 27.6 seconds behind Bjørgen.

    “Right now, it really sucks,” Johaug told NRK. “I am disappointed and sorry. I hoped for at least second place.”

    While Johaug still leads the overall World Cup standings by 150 points over Bjørgen, the 25 year old know she has her work cut out for her if she’s going to stay ahead with five more races to go this season. Two are classic sprints, and while Bjørgen hasn’t been in the top six in recent sprint races, she’s been a lot closer than Johaug.

    “There are many races left and I must try to get as many [points] as I can,” Johaug said.

    After posting the fastest split times for more than the first half of Sunday's 10 k freestyle individual start, Therese Johaug of Norway finished third, more than 27 seconds behind teammate Marit Bjørgen (not shown). (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
    After posting the fastest split times for more than the first half of Sunday’s 10 k freestyle individual start, Therese Johaug of Norway finished third, more than 27 seconds behind teammate Marit Bjørgen (not shown). (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    The difference between the two came in the way they approached the challenging two-lap course in soft, cumbersome and artificial snow — with real flakes falling as they raced.

    Bjørgen in bib 64 of 81 started with some restraint, feeling out the first lap and a half before putting the pressure on for the last few kilometers.

    Johaug started a minute behind, and by the first 1.3 k checkpoint, held the lead by 4 seconds over Bjørgen. Another Norwegian in the hunt for overall World Cup glory, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen ranked third early in the race, 9.7 seconds back from Johaug. By 6.3 k, Jacobsen was 12.8 seconds back in third.

    Known by some as the “Tiny Terror,” Johaug continued to post the fastest times through the ensuing checkpoints up to 6.3 k, where she was 2.3 seconds ahead of Bjørgen.

    But Johaug started to look rattled in the second half of the race, gasping for air as she usually does, but this time lacking the power to hold her position.

    By 8.4 k, Bjørgen was 11.7 seconds ahead of Johaug, and 24.3 seconds up on Kalla, who started earlier in bib 56. Kalla had also eased into her race, accelerating over the last few kilometers, and took the lead at the finish by 2.5 seconds over Jacobsen.

    Jacobsen had previously topped fellow Norwegian Heidi Weng by 4.8 seconds for a moment in first place. Weng initially bumped Finland’s Riitta-Liisa Roponen, who started and finished more than 15 minutes before her, out of first.

    Sweden's Charlotte Kalla racing to second in the Lahti World Cup 10 k freestyle on Sunday. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
    Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla racing to second in the Lahti World Cup 10 k freestyle on Sunday. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    All of those women and more moved down as Bjørgen barreled toward the finish. Without any signs of faltering or slowing down, she finished nearly 27 seconds faster than anyone else, with Kalla and Johaug coming closest.

    For Kalla, it was the kind of result she needed following a couple of crashes in Saturday’s sprint that left her in 11th, one place behind Bjørgen.

    “I’m glad for second place,” Kalla told FIS. “My plan was to start slow and speed up during the race. We had challenging snow conditions but I felt strong. … I am really looking forward to the last competitions of the season especially to the World Cup Final in Falun, [Sweden].”

    Jacobsen finished fourth, 30.1 seconds behind Bjørgen and narrowly off the podium. She’s currently third in the overall standings, 51 points down to Bjørgen.

    Weng placed fifth, Roponen was sixth, and Finland put a total of three in the top 10 with Kerttu Niskanen in seventh, and biathlete Kaisa Makarainen in ninth.

    Sweden’s Emma Wiken was eighth, and France’s Coraline Hugue placed 10th.

    Results

    Sunday's 10 k freestyle winner at the World Cup in Lahti, Finland: Marit Bjørgen of Norway. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
    Sunday’s 10 k freestyle winner at the World Cup in Lahti, Finland: Marit Bjørgen of Norway. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
  • West Yellowstone SuperTour Women’s 10 k (Photo Gallery)

    West Yellowstone SuperTour Women’s 10 k (Photo Gallery)

    WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. — A look at the top 10 and some others in the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start on Nov. 30 — the final race of the West Yellowstone SuperTour. Read more.

  • Widmer, McKeever Earn First Individual Titles at Canadian Nationals

    Widmer, McKeever Earn First Individual Titles at Canadian Nationals

    Heidi Widmer (AWCA) on a mission to capture her first individual national title at 2013 Canadian Nationals on Sunday in Whister, B.C. There, she was the top Canadian and third overall in the 5 k freestyle individual start.
    Heidi Widmer (AWCA) on a mission to capture her first individual national title at 2013 Canadian Nationals on Sunday in Whister, B.C. There, she was the top Canadian and third overall in the 5 k freestyle individual start.

    WHISTLER, B.C. – Heidi Widmer of the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) didn’t win Sunday’s 5-kilometre freestyle individual start at Canadian Nationals outright, but she took home her first individual national championship at the age of 22.

    American Caitlin Gregg of Central Cross Country (CXC) made the trip to Canada and took the overall win in 12:02.9 on a fast-and-warm day at Whistler Olympic Park.  She was happy with her race and is feeling that this event will be good preparation for the U.S. SuperTour Finals in April.

    Caitlin Gregg (CXC) en route to the overall win in Sunday's 5 k freestyle individual start at Canadian Nationals in Whistler, B.C.
    Caitlin Gregg (CXC) en route to the overall win in Sunday’s 5 k freestyle individual start at Canadian Nationals in Whistler, B.C.

    University of Colorado-Boulder senior Eliska Hajkova took second place, 10.9 seconds behind Gregg. Along with some Colorado teammates, she decided to celebrate spring break in Canada this year. A Sochi hopeful, she wanted to test herself against an international field before returning home.

    Hajkova was excited by her race, particularly enjoying the fast snow and low elevation (900 metres compared to Boulder’s elevation of 1,650 m).

    “The [course] has hard uphills and tricky downhills, but it is so fun to race,” she said. “The trails here, oh my God, this is really a heaven for skiing.”

    The fastest Canadian, Widmer was third overall, 22.4 seconds behind Gregg.

    “It was definitely a lung burner, but I am very happy and ecstatic,” she a day after winning the team sprint with Marlis Kromm. “It is my first Canadian championship, so I am really happy with that.”

    “It was a really fast course today and good conditions, but different than we expected,” she added. “I wanted to finish stronger than I started. Five k is about pushing right from the beginning and trying to hold off that blow up as long as possible.”

    Nakkertok’s Alana Thomas was second Canadian and fourth overall (+32.7) and Alysson Marshall (AWCA) brought some upside to a rough season, collecting the bronze less than two seconds behind Thomas.

    “It was a pretty decent distance race for me,” Marshall said. “I am happy with how it turned out.”

    Asked what her season highlight was, she responded “Later this week!” A sprint specialist, she is looking forward to the classic sprints on Thursday and the classic interval start on Tuesday to provide that highlight.

    Julia Ransom (Biathlon Alberta) was the top Junior Woman in eighth (+48.9). She was not the top biathlete on the day, edged out by Canadian national-team biathlete Rosanna Crawford, also from Canmore.

    Fresh off Sochi, McKeever notches first Canadian title

    Brian McKeever (Canadian Para-Nordic Ski Team) after notching his first national title at Canadian Nationals on Sunday in Whistler, B.C. There, he won the 10 k freestyle individual start just days after flying back from IPC World Cup Finals in Sochi, Russia.
    Brian McKeever (Canadian Para-Nordic Ski Team) after notching his first national title at Canadian Nationals on Sunday in Whistler, B.C. There, he won the 10 k freestyle individual start just days after flying back from IPC World Cup Finals in Sochi, Russia.

    In the men’s 10 k freestyle individual start, Canadian Para-Nordic Ski Team member Brian McKeever collected his first national title in 21:18.1.

    A perennial winner in International Paralympic Committee (IPC) events with 10 Paralympic medals and an unbeaten streak on the World Cup this season, the 33-year-old visually-impaired skier started fast on Sunday. He posted one of the fastest splits up the opening climb and kept up the tempo.

    Graeme Killick (AWCA) started faster, but faded on the second lap to concede the silver medal to teammate Graham Nishikawa, who was 14 seconds behind on the first climb.

    “You never really know how you are going to feel after getting off the plane from Russia,” McKeever said after flying from IPC World Cup Finals in Sochi just 48 hours prior.

    “First national championship win in my career,” he said. “I am really happy about that.”

    About 10 seconds behind with three kilometers remaining, Nishikawa finished strong, 11.6 seconds behind McKeever.

    The 5 k ‘blue’ loop, best known as the second loop of the 2010 Olympic 50 k course, has a testing final kilometre, with the steep climb from ‘Way Out’ followed by a rolling section into the Hermodt’s hill before the drop into the stadium.  Many racers bled time on the apparently easy Hermodt’s on the second lap, Killick included. With 3 k remaining, Killick was close to McKeever.

    “I lost a lot of it probably coming to the stadium here,” Killick said.

    Coming off two golds at IPC World Cup Finals and two at IPC World Championships this season, Brian McKeever returned to Canada to claim his first national title on Sunday in the 10 k freestyle individual start in Whistler, B.C.
    Coming off two golds at IPC World Cup Finals and two at IPC World Championships this season, Brian McKeever returned to Canada to claim his first national title on Sunday in the 10 k freestyle individual start in Whistler, B.C.

    Hearing how McKeever one-skated the final climb, Killick laughed and said that wasn’t an option for him.  Killick held on for bronze, 23.0 seconds out of first.

    “It was super-fast conditions,” Nishikawa said. “Just go from the gun and a lot of pain. I usually start slow and hopefully pick it up. I am happy with my effort, it hurt a lot so that’s a good thing.”

    Nishikawa’s also coming off some intense racing at World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy, but said he’s recovering.

    “[Today] feels better than yesterday, so I am looking forward to Tuesday a lot,” he said.

    Killick was also upbeat, saying “it was good for a skate race.”  In a 10 k individual start, “you have to keep your speed up all the time, and I think I was almost there, but not quite.”

    Like the others, Killick enjoyed the conditions, describing them as “nice and fast, good speed. It held up better than when we were testing yesterday.”

    While the men’s podium was all-Canadian, the U.S. took fourth and sixth with Sylvan Ellefson (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail/Team HomeGrown) and Bryan Gregg (CXC), respectively.

    Marc-André Bédard (Biathlon Canada) led a good showing of biathletes, placing fifth overall and fourth Canadian (+30.4) to match his result at Canadian Nationals last year, where he was fourth in Quebec.

    Results: women | men

    2013 Canadian Nationals 10 k freestyle men's podium, with winner Brian McKeever (third from r), Graham Nishikawa in second (second from l), Graeme Killick in third (second from r), Sylvan Ellefson in fourth (second from l), Marc-Andre Bedard in fifth (r) and Brian Gregg in sixth (l).
    2013 Canadian Nationals 10 k freestyle men’s podium, with winner Brian McKeever (third from r), Graham Nishikawa in second (second from l), Graeme Killick in third (second from r), Sylvan Ellefson in fourth (second from l), Marc-Andre Bedard in fifth (r) and Brian Gregg in sixth (l).
    2013 Canadian Nationals 5 k freestyle women's podium
    The top-three Canadian women in Sunday’s 5 k freestyle individual start at Canadian Nationals in Whister, B.C., with Heidi Widmer (c) in first, Alana Thomas (l) in second and Alysson Marshall in third.

     

  • Canadian Women Take World Champs 10 k for What It’s Worth

    Canadian Women Take World Champs 10 k for What It’s Worth

    Dasha Gaiazova attacking one of several climbs in the women's 10 k freestyle individual start on Tuesday at the 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. The top Canadian, Gaiazova was 40th.
    Dasha Gaiazova attacking one of several climbs in the women’s 10 k freestyle individual start on Tuesday at the 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. The top Canadian, Gaiazova was 40th.

    FasterSkier’s coverage of the 2013 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy, is brought to you by the generous support of Fischer Sports.

    VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – Sometimes you just gotta get out there and race. That’s the attitude the three Canadian women went with in Tuesday’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start at the 2013 Nordic World Ski Championships.

    On a day marked by average to so-so performances by World Cup team member Dasha Gaiazova, Alberta World Cup Academy skier Emily Nishikawa, and former national team member Brittany Webster (Highlands Trailblazers), head coach Justin Wadsworth pointed out nothing ventured, nothing gained.

    “[We’re] going for good pacing, strong finish and just to stay tough and have the best race possible,” Wadsworth said after the second of three distance races at World Championships. “Where are women are in distance skiing at this time, we just have to really keep focusing on those things and just hope that people have solid races and execute the things that they can do.

    “It’s the same focus we have with anybody,” he added. “Just execute your race plan. You can’t go for a certain place.”

    Gaiazova, 29, was Canada’s top finisher in 40th, 2:14.2 minutes back from winner Therese Johaug of Norway. A classic sprint specialist, Gaiazova said she held some hope for the distance event, especially after placing 27th in a 10 k classic World Cup Jan. 19 in La Clusaz, France.

    “Sometimes I race well in distance,” she said. “Today I was definitely trying to race my best, but it didn’t go so well. … It’s just a kind of average day.”

    Wadsworth said it was good she raced since she’s only got one World Championships event left: the 4 x 5 k relay with Perianne Jones, Nishikawa and Webster.

    “It not only could potentially be a good race for her, it’s good training, too,” he said. “She’s capable of top 30 in a race like today, so she still has to work on her pacing. She’s a little bit too slow out of the start, but she skied a strong second lap.”

    After starting 17th, Gaiazova’s time at the 1.8-k checkpoint ended up ranking 60th of 77 finishers. By 6.8 k, she improved to the 47th-fastest time.

    Three days after a heart concern caused her to drop out of the 15 k skiathlon, Nishikawa replicated her result from last week’s classic sprint at her first World Championships. She was 57th again, this time 3:15.3 back from the winner, but less focused on her result, Nishikawa was grateful to race again.

    On Saturday, the 23-year-old Yukon native felt her heart beating abnormally early in the skiathlon.

    “My heart started [beating] so fast,” she said. “We got it checked out the next day, and if it happens again, we know it’s not dangerous so that was a big relief.”

    Given the go-ahead to compete, Nishikawa said she was happy to be out there on Tuesday.

    “That in itself was a big success, just to finish the race and push hard,” she said.

    Her best World Cup result came in mid-December in Canmore, Alberta, where she was 34th in a 15 k skiathlon. Also in Canmore, Nishikawa was 48th in a 10 k classic mass start.

    “It’s not the best result but I tried my best,” she said Tuesday. “My first good race in a long time.”

    Webster, 25, was less enthused with 68th (+4:21), but tried not to overthink it.

    “My shape is just really bad right now; that’s a year and a half off racing and not training much,” she said. Before having surgery on her leg last fall, Webster took a step back from full-time racing in 2011/2012 and decided to return this season.

    One thing she was reminded of Tuesday: this sport is really hard, especially in a place like Val di Fiemme.

    “All the climbs are really steep and you need to have some good power to put out there,” Webster said. “Racing on the World Cup kind of blows you away. The fact that for every two of your steps they’re taking one and they’re going another foot forward. Just gotta learn how to do that.”

    All in all, “it’s something to go from,” she said. “I have a lot of energy, I just don’t have a lot of fitness. From here you can build. If you’re tired and you go into this, you can’t build from that so at least that’s a positive.”

    With the four remaining Canadian women at World Championships looking forward to the relay, Wadsworth said he’ll confer with women’s coach Eric de Nys and assistant coach Louis Bouchard as to what order they’ll choose. Webster said she would like to do one of the classic legs, but would have to wait to hear what the coaches decide.

    Results

  • Johaug Tops the Queen, Bests Bjørgen in World Championships 10 k Skate

    Johaug Tops the Queen, Bests Bjørgen in World Championships 10 k Skate

    Therese Johaug on her way to capturing gold in the 10 k freestyle individual start at 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. The Norwegian beat teammate Marit Bjørgen by 10.2 seconds for the win. (Photo: Fiemme2013)
    Therese Johaug on her way to capturing gold in the 10 k freestyle individual start at 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. The Norwegian beat teammate Marit Bjørgen by 10.2 seconds for the win. (Photo: Fiemme2013)

    FasterSkier’s coverage of the 2013 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy, is brought to you by the generous support of Fischer Sports.

    VAL DI FIEMME, Italy – Two years ago in Oslo, Norway, Therese Johaug proved that her teammate, three-time Olympic medalist Marit Bjørgen is not untouchable – at least not in a 30-kilometer freestyle mass start.

    The second-most-famous female currently on the Norwegian national team, Johaug beat Bjørgen by nearly 45 seconds in the 2011 event for her first individual World Championships title. Fast-forward to Tuesday, the 24-year-old Johaug was really looking to make something happen in the much-shorter 10 k freestyle individual start at the 2013 Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme.

    A whole different ball game, she thought, yet she still held out hope.

    “I have a goal and I have a dream before this World Championships in Val di Fiemme to take the gold medal,” Johaug said at a post-race press conference. “I never thought I could do it in this distance.”

    Before the start of the 1 ½-week championships, with four individual events per gender, Johaug figured her best chance was in the 15 k skiathlon. When that didn’t happen last Saturday, Johaug celebrated her silver-medal finish and Bjørgen’s gold, and refocused for Tuesday.

    “When I wake up this morning … I had a good feeling inside,” Johaug said. “I was really focused that if I could do my best today, I could stand at the top of the podium.”

    Women's 10 k freestyle podium at 2013 World Championships: Norway's Therese Johaug (c) in first, Marit Bjorgen (l) in second, and Russia's Yulia Tchekaleva in third.
    Women’s 10 k freestyle podium at 2013 World Championships: Norway’s Therese Johaug (c) in first, Marit Bjorgen (l) in second, and Russia’s Yulia Tchekaleva in third.

    The last of 78 starters, Johaug had the advantage before setting out on the two-lap time trial. Bjørgen started 5 minutes ahead of her, and while Johaug couldn’t physically see her, she knew where she stood throughout thanks to several Norwegian coaches and staff scattered around the course.

    Bjørgen was getting similar information about other top athletes, like German biathlete Miriam Gössner, who ventured to Italy for the individual race and Thursday’s relay, American Liz Stephen and Swedish Olympic champ Charlotte Kalla. The splits were almost constant, Bjørgen said, at least every kilometer, but she could only guess how hard Johaug was pushing behind her.

    So she tried to go just as hard.

    “I knew that today Therese was going to be my hardest competitor,” Bjørgen said at the press conference, a day after Polish rival Justyna Kowalczyk announced she wouldn’t race the 10 k to rest up for Saturday’s 30 k classic. That didn’t really affect Bjørgen; she knew exactly how much of a threat Johaug was.

    “We were fighting all the way today, but in the end of the race, Therese was stronger than me,” Bjørgen said.

    Up on Bjørgen by 4.5 seconds with about three kilometers left at the course’s high point, Johaug continued to pick up the pace on the long descent and last few climbs. As she entered the stadium before the finish, she heard that she was nine seconds ahead of Bjørgen as the current leader.

    Therese Johaug after finishing with the fastest time by 10.2 seconds over Norwegian teammate Marit Bjørgen to win Tuesday's 10 k skate at 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
    Therese Johaug after finishing with the fastest time by 10.2 seconds over Norwegian teammate Marit Bjørgen to win Tuesday’s 10 k skate at 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

    “I knew that if I push myself to the end of the race, I could do it,” Johaug said.

    On the loudspeaker, she heard commentator Kjell-Erik Kristiansen proclaim she was the world champion; the time difference so great, it was certain. That’s when she knew. Johaug pushed through the line and collapsed at the finish, kicking her legs excitedly in the air.

    “It was so big for me,” Johaug said. “Marit has been the queen of this distance before and she’s the queen of cross-country skiing, so for me it’s really good to beat her today.”

    Bjørgen said finishing 10.2 seconds off Johaug’s winning time of 25:23.4 was a tribute to Johaug and a hard-fought silver for herself.

    “I knew that she wanted the gold medal and we are best friends,” the 32-year-old said. “Pushing each other in training, I knew how strong Therese could be, and today I’m very happy for her.”

    The two live less than 100 meters away from each other in Oslo, according to Johaug. That’s the reason she thinks they’re both doing so well at this year’s World Championships. Bjørgen has two golds between the classic sprint and skiathlon, and now a silver, and Johaug’s two medals contribute to the Norwegian women’s grand total of seven so far. Comparatively, their men’s team has three medals (before Wednesday’s 15 k freestyle individual start).

    “We are a really good team,” Johaug said. “We’re training a lot together.”

    Their most decorated member with nine individual golds at World Championships, Bjørgen credits teammates like Johaug for constantly raising the bar.

    The defending 10 k classic World Champion, Norway's Marit Bjørgen pushes in Tuesday's 10 k freestyle individual start the 2013 World Championships, where she was second to teammate Therese Johaug, in Val di FIemme, Italy.
    The defending 10 k classic World Champion, Norway’s Marit Bjørgen pushes in Tuesday’s 10 k freestyle individual start the 2013 World Championships, where she was second to teammate Therese Johaug, in Val di FIemme, Italy.

    “I could see she really wants to be in the top level and it’s also motivated me,” Bjørgen said. “That’s one of the reasons I am in so high [a] level is because of Therese.”

    Sharing the podium with the two Norwegians, Yulia Tchekaleva became the first Russian female to medal at World Championships since 2007. The 29-year-old started three minutes behind Bjørgen and ranked third through both the 1.8- and 6.8-k checkpoints on the course.

    Tchekaleva threw herself across the line for what she thought could be silver, edging Gössner by half a second. The Russian’s time held strong for bronze, 32.7 seconds behind Johaug.

    “I’m very happy … it’s very good for the Russian ladies,” Tchekaleva said through a translator. “I heard my coaches the whole way. I was skiing and they had information about who was first, who was behind me, and of course, the course is not easy.”

    The 5 k loop featured at least six major climbs with average grades exceeding 9 percent. One of the best known hill climbers on the World Cup circuit, Stephen of the U.S. placed fifth, eight seconds behind Gössner.

    Russia's Yulia Tchekaleva en route to bronze in the 10 k freestyle at 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
    Russia’s Yulia Tchekaleva en route to bronze in the 10 k freestyle at 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

    “I woke up today thinking it was gonna be a good day and I’m glad it was,” said Stephen, who started 52nd and had the lead through 6.8 k until Bjørgen came through 20 seconds faster. It was her best finish at a World Championships and met her longstanding top-five goal.

    “All week the plan’s been to kind of kick it up over the top of the hills and not blow up at the bottom,” Stephen said. “When I get tired, I lose a lot of time really quickly. Especially on these kind of climbs you gotta be able to glide and hang so the goal was to push over the top and just ski like I can ski.”

    Gössner said she was left wanting a little more after missing the podium by 0.5 seconds and sitting in the leader’s chair for much of the race. Starting in 47th, she held off the likes of Stephen, Norway’s Heidi Weng (who was ultimately sixth), and Kalla (who ended up seventh) before Tchekaleva edged her at the finish.

    “I’m a little bit sad,” Gössner told reporters. “It’s just half a second, but I guess the Russian girl is really happy now so it’s good for her and I just congratulate her. I will try to beat the others the next time. I will come back.”

    Earlier this month, Gössner – a gold medalist in the 2011 and 2012 women’s relays at Biathlon World Championships – asked the German cross-country team if she could join them in Val di Fiemme. She had helped them win silver in the cross-country relay at the 2010 Olympics and was also on its second-place 2009 World Championships relay, so head coach Frank Ullrich didn’t see why not. The German men’s biathlon coach from 1998 to 2010, he knew exactly how fast biathletes could be in a straight cross-country race.

    “She is physically strong and mentally strong,” Ullrich said. “She is very, very strong in biathlon with the rifle on her back and now the rifle not here, she’s better and better. It’s perfect, for the future for this team, for the relay. And we hope for a medal in relay. This helps Germany.”

    German biathlete Miriam Gossner testing her cross-country skills in the 10 k freestyle individual start at 2013 Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. She placed fourth, just 0.5 seconds off the podium.
    German biathlete Miriam Gossner testing her cross-country skills in Tuesday’s 10 k freestyle individual start at 2013 Nordic World Ski Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. She placed fourth, just 0.5 seconds off the podium.

    In an interview with Biathlon News in early February, Gössner said it would be “a dream come true” to race at World Championships in the 10 k and 4 x 5 k relay.

    “Before the race I didn’t know where I was standing so I tried to do my best and I had no expectations about medals or anything,” she said. “I just tried to make a good race and it was a fast race so I think it was OK.”

    Bjørgen, for one, was glad to hold her off.

    “She nearly won, [half a] second from the bronze, so it’s a good race for her,” she said. “We was better, the cross-countriers, so I’m happy for that.”

    “We know that she’s a good athlete and she’s [doing] really good in the biathlon, so I knew before this race she would be a little bit of an outsider to come out and fight for the podium,” Johaug said.

    At the Biathlon World Championships from Feb. 6-17 in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, Gössner was fifth with the women’s relay (which Norway won) and sixth in the individual sprint.

    “I think the gold medal is already gone to Norway, so we will fight for silver and bronze medal,” she said of Thursday’s cross-country 4 x 5 k. “I think we have a chance so we will try our best and do everything to reach the goal.”

    Seventh on Tuesday, Kalla as the reigning Olympic 10 k freestyle champion left disappointed. It didn’t help that Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel came to watch.

    “It feels very empty right now,” Kalla told SVT, according to a translation.

    An early leader with the fourth-fastest time through 1.8 k, she fell behind on the second lap.

    “I had great coaching along the [way], but I do not know what … what I think,” Kalla said. “Was told that I fought for a medal, but it was pretty far away. I go too slowly.”

    But as Crown Princess Victoria told Sportbladet: “Very strong effort. Unfortunately, it’s tough competition.”

    Riita-Liisa Roponen of Finland was eighth, and Norway’s Kristin Størmer Steira, who started a minute in front of Johaug pushed her to the finish, crossing the line 1.6 seconds after, was ninth. Coraline Hugue of France placed 10th for her a career best at World Championships (she was 14th in the 30 k freestyle mass start in 2009).

    — Audrey Mangan contributed reporting

    Results

  • Nishikawa Notches 10 k Skate Title at Canadian Nationals

    Nishikawa Notches 10 k Skate Title at Canadian Nationals

    Emily Nishikawa (AWCA/NST) stretches across the line for the fastest time in the 10 k freestyle individual start at Canadian Ski Nationals at Mont Sainte-Anne, Quebec, on Tuesday.

    MONT SAINTE-ANNE, Québec –Anyone trying to follow the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Tuesday might have found the live splits a little confusing.

    Emily Nishikawa led at 5 k. No wait, Perianne Jones did. Ragnhild Haga sat in second, but Alysson Marshall later bumped her from that spot.

    Randomized seeding put some of the closest competitors considerably far apart on the start list, making it difficult to determine where athletes ranked until most of the 110-person field finished.

    Emily Nishikawa (AWCA/NST) at the start of the 10 k freestyle individual start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Tuesday. Nishikawa won in 32:02.5.

    The sixth starter, Nishikawa preferred to have it all behind her anyway. Without any backsplits on Jones, Marshall and several others, the 22-year-old Alberta World Cup Academy skier focused on the task ahead.

    A day after placing third in the 5 k classic sprint, Nishikawa won the 10 k in 32:02.5 for her first outright national title. Last year, she was the top Canadian in the 5 k skate at nationals, but this time, the overall gold was hers.

    “I just wanted to go for it,” Nishikawa said. “I knew I had the potential to win so I just said, ‘Hey, give it a shot. Let’s see what happens.’ ”

    Throughout the season, Nishikawa frequently talked about skiing her own race and never looking back. All that practice materialized into several NorAm victories and a trip to the U23 World Championships, where she had a best result of 17th in the 10 k classic.

    Perhaps most importantly, it paid off at nationals. Her Academy teammates and NorAm rival, Marshall finished 0.5 seconds behind in second. Haga of Norway was third (+8.1) and Jones finished fourth (+11.0).

    “I pushed as hard as I could for the whole race,” Nishikawa said. “I was gaining ground after the first lap so I was like, ‘OK, hold this for as long as I can,’ and I made it to the finish.”

    At the halfway point, Jones led Nishikawa by 2.9 seconds in first. Haga, who flew into Québec City with several Norwegians and the Canadian National Ski Team late Monday night, was 4.7 seconds back in third. Marshall was almost six seconds behind her in fourth.

    On the second lap, things got interesting.

    Jones said she faded largely as a result of the extreme heat, which soared to almost 20 degrees Celsius (61 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday afternoon.

    “I was pushing so hard but I was so hot, I’ve never experienced anything like that,” Jones said. “It just got slower and slower or maybe I just got more tired and more tired, I don’t know. It really makes you appreciate minus 15.”

    Alysson Marshall (AWCA/NST) after the start of the 10 k freestyle individual start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Tuesday. Marshall went on to place second.

    The fact that Nishikawa and Marshall fared so well was a great sign for them, Jones said. She was looking forward to training with them in the summer in Canmore, Alberta, where both the World Cup Academy and National Ski Team are based.

    Marshall hadn’t been sold on racing Tuesday after flying in with the national team late Monday night. Upon wrapping up her international season at the World Cup Finals a few days ago, she was ready for some recovery time.

    “This morning I decided that if I felt good in the warmup then I would race,” Marshall said. “I felt OK warming up, not amazing, but good enough and decided to just go for it.”

    She skied the first lap conservatively to get a feel for conditions and later decided it was time to go.

    “I was still feeling good so I pushed the pace,” Marshall said. “Died a little bit on the last couple kilometers, but managed to hold on.”

    Ragnhild Haga of Norway skiing out of the stadium at the start of the 10 k freestyle individual start at Canadian Ski Nationals on Tuesday. Haga went on to place third.

    In her first trip to Canada, Haga said the warm conditions reminded her of when she used to do orienteering races in the summer.

    “It was a tough race, really slow,” said Haga, 21, who competed in a few World Cup races this season. “I had two [Norwegian] coaches out there so they told me I was second or something on the first lap and I was quite close in the end. I did all I could, but I was quite happy with third.”

    She had hoped for the top five in her first race at Canadian nationals, but wasn’t sure about expectations after the longest flight of her life. Haga said she was looking forward to seeing more of Canada on Wednesday as an off day.

    “This is the first I’ve seen of Canada,” Haga said.

    Rounding out the top 10, Caitlin Patterson (University of Vermont) was fifth, and Jaqueline Mourao (Brazil) placed sixth.

    Chandra Crawford (CNST) was seventh in her first race back after flying in on Monday, Britt Ingunn Nydal (NOR) was eighth, Amy Glen (UVM) finished ninth and Maya MacIsaac-Jones (Rocky Mountain Racers) was 10th.

    Women’s 10 k freestyle results