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From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.

Tag: 10 k pursuit

Saturday Rundown: Quebec City, Oslo and Lillehammer (Updated x4)

The men’s 15 k classic mass start podium on Saturday at World Cup Finals in Quebec City, with Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (c) in first and Niklas Dyrhaug (l) in second, and Russia’s Alexander Bessmertnykh (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/Twitter)

FIS Cross-Country World Cup Finals (Quebec City): 10/15 k classic mass starts

During Saturday’s 15-kilometer classic mass start at World Cup Finals, Canada’s Alex Harvey was in it until the end. But so were Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Niklas Dyrhaug, and Russia’s Alexander Bessmertnykh, to name a few.

Sitting in second with a few hundred meters to go, Harvey was primed to make his move on Dyrhaug, who was leading at the time. But then came 20-year-old Klæbo, the season-long Sprint World Cup champion, who proved to have more left in the tank than anyone else and passed them both to lead into the finishing straight.

Klæbo took the victory — his first in a World Cup distance race — on a bluebird day under a beating sun in 35:23.7 minutes, 0.6 seconds ahead of Dyrhaug. Bessmertnykh followed another 0.2 seconds back in third (+0.8) just ahead of Harvey in fourth (+1.2).

Norway’s Sjur Røthe took fifth (+1.7), Switzerland’s Dario Cologna placed sixth (+1.9), and Norway’s Pål Golberg was seventh (+2.5), half a second ahead of another Norwegian Didrik Tønseth in eighth (+3.0). The top nine were within 3.7 seconds of first, with Russia’s Andrey Larkov in ninth.

Devon Kershaw was the second Canadian in the points on Saturday in 28th (+1:08.4), after breaking a pole and working his way back up from outside the top 60.

Erik Bjornsen led the U.S. men in 31st (+1:16.8), about a second ahead of Canada’s Graeme Killick in 32nd (+1:17.7).

Also for the U.S., Matt Gelso finished 37th, Andy Newell 45th, Scott Patterson 46th, Noah Hoffman 48th, Ben Lustgarten 49th, David Norris 50th, Simi Hamilton 54th, Paddy Caldwell 59th, Jack Hegman 62nd, Cole Morgan 64th, and Brian Gregg 69th.

For Canada, Bob Thompson finished 55th, Knute Johnsgaard 57th, Len Valjas 61st, Russell Kennedy 63rd, Evan Palmer-Charrette 65th, Andy Shields 66th, Jess Cockney 67th, Brian McKeever 68th, Joey Foster 70th, Gareth Williams 72nd, Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier 74th, and Julien Locke 75th.

The women’s 10 k classic mass start podium on Saturday at World Cup Finals in Quebec City, with Norway’s Marit Bjørgen (c) in first, Norway’s Heidi Weng (l) in second and Finland’s Krista Parmakoski (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/Twitter)

In the women’s 10 k classic mass start earlier in the day, Norway’s Marit Bjørgen racked up her seventh victory of the season after leading a pack of two other Norwegians and Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski and holding them off to the finish.

Bjørgen put a few meters into the foursome as she entered the finishing stretch and held her lead across the line in 24:23.6 minutes. Norway’s Heidi Weng finished 0.6 seconds back in second to lock up the Distance World Cup title, in addition to the Overall World Cup title she secured on Friday.

Pärmäkoski finished 2.9 seconds after Bjørgen in third, and Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg missed the podium in fourth (+7.8).

Behind them, Germany’s Nicole Fessel outlasted a large chase pack to place fifth (+18.6), just ahead of Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla in sixth (+19.9) and Anna Haag in seventh (+19.1).

Sadie Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team led the North American women in 15th (+29.9) after skiing at the back of that chase pack in the final stretches of the race. Also for the U.S., Jessie Diggins placed 27th (+1:06.9) and Sophie Caldwell 38th (+1:56.0).

Canada was led by Emily Nishikawa in 37th (+1:51.7). Behind her, Cendrine Browne finished 41st (+2:28.2), Dahria Beatty was 53rd, Annika Richardson 54th, Katherine Stewart-Jones 56th, Frederique Vezina 59th, Annika Hicks 60th, Sophie Carrier-Laforte 61st, Andrea Dupont 62nd, Katherine Weaver 63rd, Alannah MacLean 64th, Sadie White 66th, Lisle Compton 67th, Mia Serratore 68th, and Laura Leclair 69th.

For the U.S. Caitlin Patterson finished 44th, Liz Guiney 45th, Kaitlynn Miller 47th, Chelsea Holmes 48th, Rosie Brennan 50th, Julia Kern 52nd, Erika Flowers 55th, Becca Rorabaugh 57th, and Jennie Bender 58th.

One day left in the 2016/2017 World Cup season remains, with the women’s and men’s 10/15 k freestyle pursuits on Sunday in Quebec City.

Results: Men | Women

World Cup Finals standings (Day 2 of 3): Men | Women

***

Finland’s Mari Laukkanen pointing to the sky in honor of her late shooting coach, after she won the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit on Saturday at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Oslo, Norway. (Photo: IBU)

IBU World Cup (Oslo, Norway): Women’s and men’s pursuits

Less than 24 hours after winning her first IBU World Cup on Friday in the women’s 7.5 k sprint, Finland’s Mari Laukkanen immediately capitalized on her ideal position with a start-to-finish victory in Saturday’s 10 k pursuit that was never in doubt, cleaning the first three shooting stages before incurring one penalty in her final standing shooting (0+0+0+1) to cross the line in a time of 29:33.3 minutes.

In addition to experiencing the most successful weekend of her biathlon career by far, it was an emotional day for the 29-year-old Finn due to a personal reason. Laukkanen spread her arms like wings skiing down the homestretch with a commanding lead, pointing repeatedly to the sky and a black ribbon she wore around her right upper arm, before kneeling in the snow in the finish for a few seconds. With those gestures, she reportedly wanted to commemorate her shooting coach Asko Nuutinen, who passed away Friday after suffering a heart attack during the World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland, a week ago. He was 60 years old.

“It’s been a really emotional day for me. We have heard really really sad news that last night we lost our longtime shooting coach,” Laukkanen told reporters with a trembling voice in the press conference. “After this it was more or less only about working for him. Working as he has asked me to do for years and years. So I wasn’t thinking about losing or winning today, I was only thinking about him. And I feel really big pleasure that I was able to come to the finish like this, that I can own the victory for him.”

“I knew it will be difficult after the first victory in my career took me so long,” she added. “And to do it again immediately with good shooting. But as I said I didn’t think about winning or losing today, just doing my work.”

Finishing 26.5 seconds after her, the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová reached the finish, moving up from her fourth place starting position with a clean shooting performance (0+0+0+0).

“I wanted to miss all targets yesterday because I was so tired I didn’t even want to race,” Koukalová confided in the press conference. “It’s difficult to concentrate, three World Cups after the main goal of the season [the World Championships] is too much. Last year it was many times easier… I tried to catch her, but about one kilometer before the finish I saw her far away so I was happy I didn’t have to fight with anyone and was just enjoying the last meters.”

Despite four penalties (1+1+0+2), France’s Justine Braisaz defended the third place on the podium against a three-person chase group on the last loop (+1:01.4), falling back only one position after having finished the sprint in second.

“I did not expect such a good place today during the race,” Braisaz commented in the press conference. “Because in the last shooting I completely [failed]. I really wanted to have a clean shooting today, and I did not succeed. So I am happy and surprised, too.”

Her teammate Anais Bescond who had started the pursuit in third place fell back to 22^nd position (+2:53.5) with seven penalties.

Slovenia’s Teja Gregorin finished fourth with one penalty (+1:08.2), Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser shot clean as the only athlete aside from Koukalova on her way to move up from 22^nd to fifth place (+1:12.5), while Norway’s Marte Olsbu finished sixth like in the sprint despite three penalties (+1:15.9).

Unlike in Friday’s sprint race where Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier had still given up a seemingly commanding lead in the sprint World Cup discipline standings to Koukalova, she held onto her lead in the pursuit standings on Saturday, moving up from the 31^st starting position to ninth place with a penalty in each of her standing shootings (0+0+1+1, +1:53.8). A 22^nd place would have been sufficient to win the “small crystal globe” award in the pursuit. Laukkanen’s teammate Kaisa Mäkäräinen finished 8^thwith two penalties in the standing stages (+1:51.2), and thereby claimed the third place in the World Cup pursuit ranking.

“I knew that I didn’t need to have a perfect race today, just a good one, but that’s always easier said than done,” Dahlmeier told broadcaster ARD after the race. “I am incredibly happy that it worked out and that I could secure myself another small globe… It’s a bit of a weird feeling, standing at the start gate in the middle of the field and the clock ticks and ticks as one athlete after another skis out on the course. And you can only observe how far they have gone and have to wait and be patient, and not make a false start. But then the snow burns, then the chase begins!”

US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee experienced an uncharacteristically problematic day on the shooting range and fell back to 37^th place (+4:00.2), after starting seventh and less than a minute behind Laukkanen. Dunklee had three misses between two prone stages and seven more in her standing shootings (2+1+4+3) therefore having to ski more than an additional kilometer in the penalty lap.

“It is a testament to her fighting spirit that she notched the fourth-fastest ski time — one of her best ranks of the season — and never gave up despite suffering a biathlon blowout on the range,” teammate Clare Egan said of Dunklee, according to a US Biathlon press release. “Bad races happen to the best and Susan is no exception, but not everyone fights through till the end no matter what.”

Egan herself started the pursuit in 34^th position and initally was able to make up ground, but then fell back slightly to 41^st place (+4:13.9) with four penalties (0+2+0+2).

“I am satisfied with my race even though the result was not what I was hoping for, and that’s how I would summarize my entire season as well,” Egan said after the final race of her season. “I’ve made a good step forward but my competitors also work hard all summer and we seem to improve at a similar rate.”

Canada Biathlon’s Julia Ransom moved up to 47^th place (+5:04.8) with three penalties (1+0+1+1), after starting in 52^nd position.

[UPDATED] Later on Saturday in the last men’s 12.5 k pursuit of the season, the three best athletes of the season fought throughout the race exchanging in the lead, before they stood next to each other on the range for the final shooting to decide the winner.

Russia’s Anton Shipulin managed to shoot clean with his elaborate rifle stock in the design of a red dragon, proudly waving to the cameras as he left the arena while his two competitors had to ski into the penalty lap. France’s Martin Fourcade – who had already secured himself the overall World Cup Total Score title as well as the award for the pursuit discipline – was left to duke it out against Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø, the winner of Friday’s sprint.

On the last big climb before the Holmenkollen arena, Fourcade accelerated with a series of explosive jump-skate steps to decisively gap Bø. He even got fairly close to Shipulin on the finish stretch, who had slowed down a bit to grab a Russian flag before skiing over the line in a time of 32:11.9 minutes with one penalty (0+0+1+0), 5.7 seconds ahead of Fourcade who had incurred two penalties (1+0+0+1). While Fourcade shook hands with Shipulin, Bø came into the finish in third place, 21.6 seconds back and also with two penalties (1+0+0+1).

“It was a crazy race, but I am happy that I managed to finish first,” Shipulin said in the press conference through a translator. “Tough conditions on the shooting range, I had to really work to concentrate on my shooting. On the last loop I was all alone until I saw Martin chasing me, then I got a little bit scared but I managed to [keep him behind].”

It was Shipulin’s second win of the season, for which he credited his recently improved shooting performance.

“It was a really exciting competition with Johannes and Anton,” Fourcade agreed with his rival. “I expected to fight with them for the victory on the last loop, but then Anton was simply stronger in the last shooting. My strategy was to be focused on my technique and skills and not on the results, like I did too often in the past few weeks focusing on records and not the victory.”

Asked about his blazing attack on the final climb, Fourcade added: “Of course I train for that, but I think a lot of athletes do. I talked to Johannes, it was my revenge for the [2016] World Champs where he did exactly the same to me on the last uphill. But I know how it is, it can be different already tomorrow.”

“I am happy with a new podium of course,” Bø said in the press conference. “I was not at my best in the skiing today. But I still managed to shoot 18 out of 20. As Martin said it was [annoying] that we did not shoot zero [misses] and could not fight with Anton in the finish, but it was quite interesting and fun to stand there in the last shooting … I expected Martin’s attack the second he did it, but I had no energy to fight with him. That was quite strong.”

Sweden’s Fredrik Lindström placed fourth with no penalties (+44.7), and was the only man in the field who managed to shoot clean in all four stages.

“For the podium, I was never really close“, Lindström told the IBU in a post-race interview. “But it was a great day anyway. Four times zero [misses], and especially in the standing stages that makes you climb a lot in the standings. Super happy with my performance.”

US Biathlon’s Lowell Bailey, who had to start closer to the back of the field in 44^th position, almost two minutes behind the leaders based on his sprint result, managed to move up 21 spots in the race despite three penalties (2+0+1+0).

“I’m happy with the race, considering it started out pretty rough with the first two misses,” Bailey told US Biathlon after placing 23rd (+2:23.3). “I just read the wind wrong and didn’t correct enough. After that, I tried to keep my head in the race and make the best of it. I was happy with my skiing and glad to clean the last stage; this brought me up nine spots and I was able to gain another in the last loop. Now, it’s just one race to go. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Shooting quickly, Bailey recorded the ninth-ranked range time of the day and the ninth-fastest last loop.

His teammate Sean Doherty started 35^th but fell back after having to ski six times through the penalty lap (1+3+1+1) to finish 46^th (+4:05.6).

For Sunday’s mass starts as the final races of the 2016/2017 IBU World Cup season, the only qualified North American starters will be Dunklee (currently in 10^th position in the World Cup Total Score standings) and Bailey (currently in eighth).

The women’s season award in the mass start discipline once more will be decided between Germany’s Dahlmeier and Czech Republic’s Koukalova, while Germany’s Simon Schempp will try to defend his narrow lead on Fourcade. But during Saturday’s final loop, the French star did consider saving energy for the final competition.

“No,” he simply quipped when asked about this in the press conference. “Of course the mass start is important tomorrow because it will decide about the [mass start] crystal globe. But I think today the pursuit was also really important, and you fight for victory and being one of the best athletes. You can’t be satisfied with only a third place when you can claim a second, and I think all athletes in my position would do the same.”

Results: Women | Men

***

Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby after winning the Norwegian 54 k classic Birkebeinerrennet, part of the Ski Classics series, on Saturday in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: Ski Classics)

54 k Birkebeinerrennet (Rena to Lillehammer, Norway): Part of the Ski Classics series

[UPDATED] Not even a snowmobile clipping him and sending him tumbling 20 k before the finish could keep Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby from winning the Birkebeinerrennet on Saturday in Norway. Representing Team United Bakeries, Sundby set a high pace from the start and broke the group down to three by 9 k, with Petter Eliassen of Team LeasePlan and Simen Østensen of Team BN Bank sticking with him until about 30 k in the 54 k marathon.

With about 20 k to go, Sundby collided with a Ski Classics TV production crew snowmobile while trying to double pole in the snowmobile’s tracks. He was OK and went on to win by 48 seconds over Eliassen in second, and smiled about the incident after the finish.

“It came in with tremendous speed and mowed me down,” Sundby told NRK, according to a loose translation.

Ski Classics CEO David Nilsson told NRK he didn’t know exactly how that happened and emphasized that it was unacceptable.

“We always put safety first, but it is a difficult balancing act with the snowmobile at high speed to get TV pictures,” he said, according to a loose translation. “The skiers often ski in the [snowmobile] track and here it happened and somehow the driver missed it.”

While Sundby pulled out the win in 2:20:53.5 hours, Eliassen took second and Østensen followed another 3.5 seconds later for third place.

In the women’s race, Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk (Team Santander) pulled out a 4 minute and 15 second win over Sweden’s Britta Johansson Norgren (Lager 157 Ski Team). Japan’s Masako Ishida (Team United Bakeries) was another 48.6 seconds back in third.

“I’m really happy to win this race,” Kowalczyk said, according to a Ski Classics press release. “Everything went well and the cheering on the course was amazing. I will do the rest of the races in Visma Ski Classics, but this victory was the most important for me. Of course, I want to win again in Årefjällsloppet like I did last year, but to win here in front of this audience means so much to me.”

Tord Asle Gjerdalen, who finished fourth in the men’s race, and Johansson Norgren continue to lead the overall Ski Classics standings with three races to go. The next stop is the Årefjällsloppet in Sweden on March 25.

“It was a great race and we kept a high tempo up all the way,” Sundby said, according to the press release. “I was able to use uphills for my advantage and get a gap. I had good skis, the conditions were perfect, and to win here was one of my goals for the season. I have the Norwegian Championships in two weeks, and I haven’t counted out the option of going to Finland for the Visma Ski Classics finale.”

Results

March 18, 2017
Nilsson Beats Norwegians Again in Oberstdorf Pursuit; Diggins 5th, Randall 10th

Sweden’s Stina Nilsson celebrates her third victory in four stages of the 2016/2017 Tour de Ski so far, with her 10 k freestyle pursuit win on Wednesday in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

The immovable object that is the Norwegian women’s ski team may finally have met an unstoppable force: 23-year-old Swede Stina Nilsson.

Norway’s stars Heidi Weng and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg skied with Nilsson for most of Wednesday’s 10 kilometer freestyle pursuit, the fourth stage of this year’s Tour de Ski. But in the end Nilsson came flying off the final downhill in Oberstdorf, Germany, in exactly the same position she had the previous day: first place.

“It is amazing to win again here in Oberstdorf,” she told FIS.

It took part of the first lap for the Norwegians to catch Nilsson. The Swede started with a four-second advantage over Weng and another eight seconds on Østberg.

Østberg quickly caught her teammate. The pair worked together to ski up to Nilsson, who led them around the rest of the 2.5 k loop before pulling aside at the lap marker and asking someone else to lead.

Nilsson appeared to lose a little on some of the uphills, but always caught up easily going down the other side. Her skis were demonstrably faster than those of either Norwegian.

Weng and Østberg occasionally asked her to lead, but Nilsson deferred.

But the Norwegian duo didn’t exactly share the burden of leading. Østberg did most of the work while Weng followed.

“I realized pretty quickly that the other two were not so interested in leading,” Østberg told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. “I hoped they would take some. But somehow there wasn’t a meter to be gotten from Stina and Heidi.”

“Ingvild did an amazing job today,” Weng told FIS. “She was in the front most of the time.”

She later told NRK that the “struggled at the back” almost the whole way in their three-woman pack, and could “just barely keep up.”

And with a windy snowstorm gathering in the German mountain town, being the tip of the spear wasn’t a popular position.

“We almost got blown away by the wind a few times,” seventh-place Nathalie von Siebenthal told Switzerland’s SRF broadcaster.

After sticking with the Norwegians all race and knowing that she had fast skis, Nilsson raced confidently on the last lap.

“My tactic was not to be in the front– I wanted to be in a good position before the last downhill,” she told FIS.

Østberg pushed hard to get away from the other two on the final climb, and a tiny bit of daylight emerged between her and Weng. But Nilsson managed to stay just on Weng’s tails.

On the course’s final up-and-over blip, she sailed past Østberg and secured the inside lane coming.

Sweden’s Stina Nilsson racing to the win in Wednesday’s 10 k freestyle pursuit at Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf, Germany, ahead of Norway’s Heidi Weng in second and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg in third. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

“Stina is insanely strong at the end and she knows it,” Østberg told Swedish news service Expressen. “She wants to play her strong cards, it’s understandable… I did not get much help [at the front]. But there was nothing wrong with what Heidi and Stina did. One must go as they want.”

Nilsson opened up a solid lead in the final meters. Weng (+1.2) outsprinted Østberg (+1.8) for second place.

Krista Parmakoski of Finland held on to fourth after skiing the whole race by herself. She initially closed some time on the leaders, but as their race heated up in the final lap she slipped back. The Finn eventually finished 42.4 seconds back.

To add insult to injury, the bonus seconds awarded to the first three women across the line mean that she is now actually even farther – 57.4 seconds – behind in the overall Tour de Ski standings.

Parmakoski argued that bonus seconds in pursuits should be awarded to the fastest “time of the day.” She believes the current system gives too much advantage to those who are already winning.

“It was a tough competition [for me],” she told Finland’s Iltalehti news service, according to a translation. “It was a tougher performance than for the front three… I had the wind gusts alone.”

But a different bonus structure wouldn’t have changed her ranking on Wednesday. Østberg, Weng, and Nilsson had the fastest ski times of the day, in that order.

Diggins and Bjornsen Maintain Positions

Jessie Diggins clinches fifth place in the current Tour de Ski standings with a tough effort in the Oberstdorf pursuit. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)

Four members of the U.S. team had top-12 results in either the final pursuit standings or the time-of-the-day results. And they got there in a lot of different ways.

Jessie Diggins, coming off a podium in the skiathlon, started and finished in fifth place. She was unable to make up any time on the leaders or fourth-place Parmakoski.

“Today wasn’t a great day for me, but that’s why it’s a stop on the Tour- you keep going and you never know when it’s going to be your day!” she wrote in an email. “I skied completely alone the entire race and with the gusts of wind it would have been a good day to be able to team up and work together with other skiers, but that’s just how it is sometimes!”

Diggins actually slipped back considerably, and now sits 2:02.5 behind Nilsson in the overall rankings.

“I also think we missed a little something on her skis,” U.S. Ski Team coach Jason Cork said in a USSA press release, before concluding on an optimistic note. “But we have a rest day tomorrow and the course at Toblach [Italy] is a favorite of hers. The weather is cold and that’s something she thrives in.”

Despite a bit of disappointment, the fifth-place spot is secure for now. Diggins is 51.6 seconds ahead of Germany’s Nicole Fessel in the Tour standings going into Friday’s 5 k skate.

“Looking forward to Toblach as I really love that venue!” Diggins wrote.

For Sadie Bjornsen – who started 11^th and finished 12^th – a slip from the previous day’s stellar results also didn’t lose her an advantageous position in the overall Tour standings.

“I am excited to still be in a good place in the Tour, and I can’t wait for an individual start here in Toblach,” Bjornsen wrote in an email. “We are just now getting to the exciting part when everyone starts getting a little tired!”

Bjornsen started out early in a pack with Fessel and several others. But on the second of four trips of the 35-meter-tall Burgstall hill, Fessel, Switzerland’s Nathalie Von Siebenthal, and Russia’s Yulia Tchekaleva made a break and left the rest of the chase pack in the dust.

Bjornsen was trapped behind another struggling skier, and couldn’t cover their move.

“It was a fine effort today,” she wrote. “But I feel like had I been in a better position to go with Nicole and Yulia, that would have been ideal.”

Fast Pursuits by Randall and Stephen

Two other Americans, Liz Stephen and Kikkan Randall, clocked particularly fast isolated pursuit times.

Kikkan Randall racing in the skiathlon in Oberstdorf on Tuesday. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

Randall fairly quickly closed the gap to the group Bjornsen was skiing in.

“I was starting just a few seconds behind [Sweden’s] Charlotte Kalla and a couple other skiers, So I made a big effort right away to link up with those girls,” Randall explained. “Then we were a pack of five, I think, so I was able to just sit in the pack and work and get my rhythm.”

Stephen later caught up as well. She had come into the day 3:53 back from the leaders, but started as part of a wave of skiers at three minutes after Nilsson.

“Honestly, starting from a wave was the most mellow mass start all season,” Stephen laughed. “It went pretty smoothly and it was a really fun race. The courses here in Obertsdorf were really wide today because we didn’t have to have the classic tracks [on the side] as well, so there were plenty of opportunities to move if you wanted to.”

The wind, however, was certainly a factor in deciding when and where she could make her moves.

“There was a lot of having to draft. It was definitely a very engaging race where you needed to stay close to the person ahead of you,” Stephen said. “If you were trying to bridge some gaps, it was definitely a challenge. But I felt I was able to give a full effort. It took me maybe a lap and a half to bridge to Sadie and Kikkan’s group. That was a bit frustrating, but we did it and once we caught that group, they were working hard… I could ski the way I would have skied, basically, if I was by myself.”

Stephen had essentially received a 53-second time credit at the start of the race. She lost those seconds back again at the finish. Stephen is now 26^th in the Tour, despite crossing the line a few places higher up.

Randall had the 11^th-fastest time, and was able to jump from 19^th to tenth.

The Tour de Ski has proved a turning point for Randall’s season. She failed to crack the top-30 in the first period of World Cup racing – her first competitions back after taking a year off to have a baby. But Randall hasn’t been out of the top-30 since the seven-stage series started.

“It’s really cool to do these back to back races, because whether it goes well, or not well, you get another chance the next day,” she said. “I had some good feelings in the skate portion of the race yesterday, and I was looking forward to today. My results so far in the tour set me up really well today.”

Out of the big pack that included Bjornsen, Stephen and others, Randall was able to lead across the line.

“I had good energy and made a big move on the final climb and kind of got to the front of the train,” Randall said. “I was happy to have that extra gear at the end of the race. All the back to back racing has been helping me sharpen my race form, and get the race feelings back.”

“Getting to watch Kikkan and Sadie make a move on that last uphill…” Stephen mused. “Almost nobody could stay with that, and I just certainly had nothing for it. It was really fun to watch that happen. Especially for Kikkan. She hasn’t had the season that she’s wanted yet and is racing herself back into form. It was just fun to see the old Kikkan come back. There’s a lot more to come.”

Rosie Brennan started and finished 42^nd. She is 7:47.9 behind Nilsson in the Tour standings.

Pursuit results | Tour standings (through Stage 4) | Time of day

January 4, 2017
Dunklee Ties Best-Ever Pursuit in Fifth; Dahlmeier Doubles Up in Pokljuka

Susan Dunklee being hoisted up by her US Biathlon support team at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia, after tying her career-best result in a pursuit. Dunklee placed fifth on Saturday for a season best as well. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Canada’s Julia Ransom.)

Susan Dunklee laughed a little when she thought about her reputation as a World Cup biathlete. Often one of the fastest skiers in terms of course time, she said she’s also been known for some of the slowest shooting times.

Until this weekend.

The US Biathlon veteran broke through in Pokljuka, Slovenia, with her best results of the season so far: 11th place in Friday’s 7.5-kilometer sprint and fifth in Saturday’s 10 k pursuit. Both races entailed 95-percent shooting accuracy or better (on Friday, she cleaned the two-stage sprint with the second-fastest shooting and third-fastest range times overall).

Susan Dunklee (front) going head to head with Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier (1), Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser (12), and France’s Marie Dorin Habert (left) in the women’s 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

On Saturday, her range time ranked third and shooting time was fourth overall.

That was a big step up from last season, and she said it was something she’s been working on for the last two years.

“It’s pretty obviously where my weak link is, my shooting speed … that’s what’s been holding me back,” Dunklee said on the phone after Saturday’s race. “There’s no reason not to try to gain speed there. It took a lot of work…”

After starting 11th in the pursuit, 43 seconds behind the leader (Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, who won Friday’s sprint), Dunklee raced into sixth and 28 seconds back with a clean first prone and her distinctively fast skiing. Her course time on the first loop ranked first out of 56 finishers.

One loop later, Dunklee cleaned again to move into fourth, 18.7 seconds behind the leader. Dahlmeier had slipped into fifth with two penalties, and Norway’s Marte Olsbu, who started third, took the lead.

Still in fourth for the first standing bout, Dunklee recalled being in a sort of a trance.

“I was aware of everything going on around me in the range, but I wasn’t concerned by it. … I just had this detached kind of feeling,” she said.

That was a good thing — something she wasn’t necessarily used to feeling — but something she hoped for in future races.

“It’s a really good feeling to have in the race when the pressure’s on,” Dunklee said.

Entering the range in fourth, 28 seconds out of first and without anyone directly around her, Dunklee shot clean for the third-straight stage. Suddenly, she was in second, 0.7 seconds behind Olsbu, who had to ski one penalty lap and narrowly remained in first.

The rest of the top six left the range within 14 seconds of Olsbu and Dunklee — with Dahlmeier bringing up the tail end of the group in sixth.

On the second-to-last loop, Germany’s Franziska Hildebrand passed Olsbu and Dunklee, while Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen moved into fourth right behind Dunklee. With about 2.5 k remaining, Dahlmeier recaptured the lead and Mäkäräinen followed her just 0.7 seconds back in second. Hildebrand sat in third, Olsbu in fourth and Dunklee 3 seconds back in fifth.

For the final shooting, Dahlmeier led the group of six, including Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser, into the range. All were within 3.5 seconds of one another.

Dahlmeier hit all of her targets, Dunklee missed one, as did Hauser, Olsbu, Hildebrand, and Mäkäräinen. Eva Puskarčíková of the Czech Republic cleaned her five standing targets to move into fourth (after three consecutive clean stages: 1+0+0+0), yet Dunklee remained in second, 22 seconds behind Dahlmeier and 0.7 seconds ahead of Hauser in third.

“That penalty was a close miss,” Dunklee said. “I knew, ‘Oh, I just go in the penalty loop,’ and I wasn’t too concerned with what that meant.”

When Dunklee exited the penalty loop and headed back out onto the course, she had no idea where she stood. She couldn’t see anybody ahead of her, nor did she know how big the group was behind her.

“I knew I was probably fighting for a podium and I should push as hard as I could,” Dunklee said.

While she felt like she was missing her top-end skiing gear, which she expected at this point in the season, Dunklee used some course tactics to catch two of the five women that passed her at the beginning of the final loop: Hauser and Hildebrand.

“It’s really important to try to get to the front of the pack at the top of that first camel-hump,” Dunklee said of the Pokljuka course. “I was able to pass two people back so I was able to get back into the flower ceremony, which was great.”

Reflecting on the detached feeling she felt on the range, Dunklee said it was a different story out on the course.

“Out on the course, you’ve got to be hungry and you’ve got to be able to push yourself to a different zone,” she said. “I was missing that ability to fight on skis today. I was going at the pace I felt like I could maintain and not getting overly concerned with people passing.”

Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) finishing fifth in Saturday’s 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. “I felt pretty flooded,” she said of her finish. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

At the same time, she focused on putting everything she could into a strong finish.

“What was on my mind is, ‘I’m going to feel really bad about myself if I don’t give it everything I have,’ ” she said of her last loop. “… I figured I had nothing to lose.”

Dunklee finished 24.1 seconds behind Dahlmeier (who won her second-straight race) in the top six to reach the flower ceremony for the first time this season. That also met Dunklee’s goal of a top 10 in one of the first two World Cups.

“That was a big goal to put out there. I’m very pleased; I knew it wasn’t a sure thing” Dunklee said.

Acknowledging that she’s never had such competitive results this early in the season, Dunklee explained that she was fueled by some disappointment in Friday’s sprint.

“I was pretty bummed yesterday to get bumped down so far,” she said of crossing the finish first then ending up 11th.

As for her much-improved shooting this season: “It gives me a lot of confidence for sure,” Dunklee said. “The shooting speed has been my number-one focus for this year and much of last year, too … just seeing it pay off is wonderful. It’s very satisfying and it gives me a lot of faith in what I’ve [worked on].”

The women’s 10 k pursuit podium at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia, with German winner Laura Dahlmeier (c), Finnish runner-up Kaisa Mäkäräinen (l) and third-place finisher Eva Puskarčíková of the Czech Republic. (Photo: IBU)

While Mäkäräinen closed hard in the final 2 k (starting the loop in seventh, nearly 30 seconds behind Dahlmeier), she ended up second and 16.8 seconds behind Dahlmeier, with a total of two penalties (0+0+1+1).

The 25-year-old Puskarčíková held off France’s Marie Dorin Habert by 0.1 seconds for her first World Cup podium in third place (+18.7). Dorin Habert, the 17th starter, settled for fourth, with one penalty (0+0+1+0).

For Dahlmeier, it was her 10th World Cup victory and fifth in a pursuit. Asked what she credited her success to, the 23 year old told German broadcaster ZDF, “Staying cool. My motto is, ‘Scheiß da nix, dann feid da nix’,” (which vaguely translates to “Don’t worry be happy” or “Just do it”).

“That was worth gold today,” she continued. “I was a bit surprised about my two misses in prone. Apparently I already had an aberration in the first stage, then I clicked [adjusted the sights] and was a bit surprised that the two misses still happened.”

She was quick to regroup and cleaned the remaining two stages (0+2+0+0) to finish first in 30:43.1.

“I just try to keep it not too complex,” Dahlmeier told ZDF. “… In terms of skiing I didn’t feel quite as springy today, so I had to rely on the shooting. And that worked well for me.”

Asked if her three wins, four podiums, and one fourth-place in five individual races so far this season had sunken in, she said, “No.”

“It’s almost a bit unrealistic, but when looking at the men to [France’s] Martin Fourcade, you know what is possible,” Dahlmeier said. “That is my great goal, to one day be able to have successes comparable to Martin.”

Leading Canada for the second-straight day in 34th, Julia Ransom finished in the same position she started in. After cleaning the first three stages, Ransom moved into 20th and 1:09.8 out of first, but two misses on the final standing put her in 34th at the finish (+2:33.5, 0+0+0+2).

“I was in the top 25ish mix for majority of the race, inching up to 20th before the last shooting bout,” Ransom wrote in an email. “Pursuits are my favourite format so I was actually pretty stoked to jump into the chaos. Everything was great both on the skis and in the range until the focus unravelled a little and I found myself in the penalty loop!

“The field is so tight right now that those mistakes were hard to recover from and get back into the top 30,” she continued. “I am a little bitter-sweet about a second 34th. Happy I’m still in the points but really itching to be in the top 30!”

Also for Canada, Rosanna Crawford improved from 58th to 49th (+4:06.4) with three penalties, all of which came in prone (2+1+0+0), and Megan Tandy did not finish after shooting seven penalties (1+1+3+2). The second U.S. woman in the race, Clare Egan missed six (2+0+1+3) to finish 56th (+5:32.4) after starting 53rd.

With three women and three men in Pokljuka, the U.S. will not field relay teams on Sunday. But they’ll be cheering on the Canadians, Dunklee said.

“I am stoked for our relay team tomorrow,” Ransom said of teaming up with Sarah Beaudry, Crawford and Tandy. “I think we have a great opportunity on our hands and with a little luck, all four of us girls will have solid performances.”

The men’s 4 x 7.5 k starts at 5:15 a.m. EST, and the women’s 4 x 6 starts at 8:30 EST on Sunday. (Stream live at Eurovisionsports.tv).

Results

December 10, 2016
Koukalová Nabs First Win of Season; Dunklee 22nd in Östersund Pursuit

The women’s 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup In Östersund, Sweden. From left to right: Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier in second, Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová in first, and Italy’s Dorothea Wierer in third. (Photo: IBU)

Last year’s defending overall World Cup champion Gabriela Koukalová of the Czech Republic also had started out fairly well into the new season during the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup opening week in Östersund, Sweden. But a victory was still missing.

She corrected that on Sunday, moving up from the third starting position, based on her sprint result, to the top of the podium in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit, in a time of 31:43.3 with only one penalty lap (0+0+1+0).

Following strong gales in the individual and nearly no wind in the sprint races, for the pursuit the conditions were somewhere in between those extremes, manageable but still forcing a number of competitors into the penalty lap in each of the four shooting stages (in pursuit races the athletes are not allowed to use spare rounds).

By the end of the first shooting stage, Koukalová took the lead and never gave it up. Based on course time, she was seventh fastest, but her direct pursuers incurred more penalty laps. Even so, they didn’t make it easy for her.

“I didn’t expect that I can race with Kaisa [Mäkäräinen] so I just tried to concentrate for the last shooting,” Koukalová, formerly Soukalová, explained during the post-race press conference. “I didn’t feel so strong… It was like walking in hell, mainly the last two loops.”

Asked if she looked back over her shoulder repeatedly on the final lap, she smiled broadly: “I don’t know, because I don’t remember nothing what happened there.”

Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier managed to defend the “yellow bib” distinguishing the current World Cup leader for a third day, this time finishing in second place, just 8.4 seconds behind Koukalová. After incurring two penalties during the race (0+1+1+0), Dahlmeier made up about ten seconds on Koukalová on the final lap, but was not able to completely close the gap.

Gabriela Koukalová (Czech Republic) on her way to winning the women’s 10 k pursuit on Sunday in Östersund, Sweden, the first pursuit of the 2016/2017 IBU World Cup season. (Photo: IBU)

“I got instructed by the coaches that I should try and catch up to Gabi, that she was not going as fast anymore,” Dahlmeier told German broadcaster ARD after the race. “I got close on the downhill. I tried everything, but the last loop is only 2 kilometers, maybe if it were 500 meters longer… But I am super-happy about the second place.”

Asked in the press conference about competing for overall World Cup title this season, Dahlmeier explained, “My aim is to stay healthy and to have enough power for every race. I will try, but we will see how the season goes. Perhaps I have to miss one, but my aim is to compete in all races… We can talk about it in Oslo [the World Cup final in March 2017].”

Also back on the podium was another familiar face with Italy’s Dorothea Wierer, third in the World Cup standings last year, who, by her standards, had experienced a slow start into the new season. Starting in 19th due to her sprint result, she quickly began to overtake athletes in front of her thanks to her trademark fast-and-accurate shooting. In the finish, her chase was rewarded with a third place, 21.4 seconds back (0+0+0+0). Still, Wierer was a bit surprised to have regained her form so quickly within the opening weekend.

“Yesterday evening I just told my trainers that tomorrow I will make four times zero [misses], but I thought I was kidding,” the happy Italian remarked during the press conference. “But today it was like that … It was not so difficult [on the shooting range], but also yesterday it was not difficult but then I had two [misses] in the last shooting.”

After her last standing stage in the pursuit, Wierer had gone back on the course in second place, but the faster skier Dahlmeier was just behind her and managed to pass her on the final lap.

“That’s the fascination of biathlon … I saw she had shot clean and skied out of the range a bit ahead of me,” Dahlmeier told ARD. “I already noticed in the prior loops that we had top equipment today, and thought that I could catch her on the downhill. That worked faster than expected. Then I heard we should try to catch Gabi … also from the Italian coaches, and I started the flight ahead.“

“My coach said ‘she is coming behind you, she is pushing hard’. I was losing Laura on the downhill, but I was also looking back,” Wierer explained.

The true surprise of the race was the 21-year-old Lena Häcki of Switzerland, who had already achieved a strong result with a 12th place in the sprint, and on Sunday moved up even further with four clean stages, an achievement only matched by Wierer among the 60 starters. Häcki celebrated across the finish line, just 36.3 seconds behind the winner and 15 seconds off the podium. It was the best World Cup result of her career and her first individual result in the top 10.

“Unbelievable, I had tears in my eyes,” Häcki told Swiss broadcaster SRF. “All the top stars congratulated me … I can only remember half of it. It’s like a movie with a happy end that is moving past me, and I can’t believe yet that this is my real life.”

She credited her strong shooting performance to training with a mental coach.

“I am simply overwhelmed, I never would have expected this result”, she added after her first World Cup flower ceremony, according to a Swiss Ski Federation press release.

Fifth place went to the runner-up from the sprint race, Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen (1+1+0+2, +52.7). For a large part of the race she had held a position on the podium. But two penalties in her final shooting dropped her back to sixth when all other athletes in her vicinity shot clean, and despite recording the best course time again the strong skier was only able to make up one more place on the last lap overtaking Austria’s Lisa Hauser who finished sixth (0+0+1+0, +1:15.5).

The French sprint winner Marie Dorin Habert fell back to seventh place (+1:15.6), losing her lead with two misses in the first stage before incurring four more penalties (2+1+2+1).

Dunklee Up to 22nd, Egan in 30th

Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) racing to 22nd in the women’s 10 k pursuit on Sunday in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

Leading the North Americans, Susan Dunklee jockeyed with a Swiss athlete on her final lap, but instead of the young Häcki it was the more experienced Selina Gasparin. Dunklee’s race had not started off well; she fell back to 40th after two misses in each of the prone shooting stages.

“I don’t think the wind was all that tricky; the mistakes are my own fault,” Dunklee wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “On one of my misses my trigger went off a little early but I’m not sure about the others.”

She managed to catch up again, thanks to fast skiing (with the 17th-fastest overall course time) and a clean third shooting stage in standing, before incurring another penalty in her final shooting and finishing in 22nd place (+2:55.7, 2+2+0+1).

“Throughout the race I had plenty of people to chase and that kept me motivated,” she wrote. “I did catch a ride for half a loop behind my teammate Clare. I had a close battle to finish with Selina Gasparin and she out-sprinted me today, but I look forward to challenging her again soon.”

Teammate Clare Egan moved up to 30th place after starting in the 44th position from her sprint result. She began the race with two clean prone shootings advancing to the 23rd position, before falling back a few places again with three misses in the standing stages (0+0+1+2, +3:35.4).

Clare Egan (US Biathlon) racing to 30th in the women’s 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

In an email, Egan described the wind during the pursuit as “totally manageable”.

“My prone execution has been really solid lately,” she wrote. “I’m able to work smart even when tired or under pressure. In standing, however, I am still working up to that point. Especially towards the end of a race when I am more fatigued and my mind isn’t as sharp, and perhaps I feel more pressure because I am aware of my result, it is easy to lose focus on the shooting process. I need more practice to find the right balance between thinking through my actions and overthinking them.”

Combined with the 26th-best course time, this resulted in Egan’s second-best finish in a World Cup pursuit, after a 23rd place last season in Presque Isle, Maine.

“I felt very depleted warming up today, after traveling and then doing 4 races in the last week,” Egan explained. “My wax crew did an excellent job today and definitely gave me an advantage – I was gliding past everyone on the downhills so I was able to pick up a few places just from having the fast skis… I was able to fight for top-30 on my last lap and won a sprint between 4 people in the finish. I’m proud of all my results from this week and looking forward to learning from these experiences and moving up throughout the season!”

Joanne Reid (US Biathlon) racing to 47th in her first World Cup pursuit, the first pursuit of the 2016/2017 season in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

The third U.S. woman, Joanne Reid had qualified for her first World Cup pursuit with a 53rd place in the sprint, and after moving up slightly, she finished the day in 47th (+4:59.6) with a not flawless but consistent shooting performance (1+1+1+1).

Julia Ransom, the lone Canadian to qualify for the women’s pursuit, started in 38th but lost ground quickly due to two penalties in the first stage. At the end of the day, Ransom is known for her secure shooting, had a whopping eight penalties (2+0+4+2). Only Germany’s Miriam Gössner had more with nine. Ransom finished her day down 20 positions in 58th (+6:36.8).

The IBU World Cup resumes on Friday, Dec. 9, with sprint races in Pokljuka, Slovenia.

Results

December 4, 2016
Mäkäräinen Wins Second Straight in Khanty; Soukalova Locks Up World Cup Title

France’s Marie Dorin Habert (l), Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen (c) and Italy’s Dorothea Wierer (r) on the podium of the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. (Photo: IBU/Evgeny Tumashov)

Six women went out closely together for the final loop of the 10-kilometer pursuit at the International Biathlon Union’s (IBU) final World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The last one of the group, though only 4.6 seconds back, was Kaisa Mäkäräinen.

But by the finish, the 33-year-old Finn had overtaken everyone to secure her second victory in as many days in 30:06.7 with two penalties (1+0+1+0), following up on her win in Thursday’s sprint.

It was Mäkäräinen’s 19^th World Cup victory and her fourth one of the season.

“I am really happy with my result today,” Mäkäräinen said at the post-race press conference. “I think two penalties for me is OK. It’s 90 percent. It’s better than my average, so I have to be satisfied with it. I was happy that the distance was not longer today, because it was quite tight in the end.”

Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen starting the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. (Photo: IBU)

France’s Marie Dorin Habert, the big winner at World Championships in Oslo, Norway, earlier this month with six medals including three gold, finished just 1.5 seconds behind her, with one penalty (0+0+0+1). In Oslo, Mäkäräinen earned bronze in the mass start.

Italy’s Dorothea Wierer secured third place (+5.7) after outsprinting the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Soukalová and Germany’s Franziska Preuss. Wierer finished with one penalty (0+0+1+0).

Despite missing the podium by 0.8 seconds, Soukalová, who had two penalties (1+0+0+1), still achieved the ultimate season-long victory by securing the overall World Cup title, ahead of Dorin Habert and Wierer.

Soukalová would have required at least the ninth place to do so already before the final mass start, and was the most consistent athlete throughout a season where she never placed worse than 11^th (the pursuit in Oslo) in a race.

“Words are missing in this moment,” Soukalová told German TV broadcaster ZDF immediately after the race. “It’s very emotional. I am so happy for this. It’s very nice to have the Globe [trophy]. It’s awesome.”

Asked if she had been thinking about the World Cup title during the race, she added: “Before the last shooting maybe. That was the reason why I did a mistake.”

“It’s one of the biggest dreams of my life,” she later said in an interview with the IBU. ”I think I will never forget this moment. It was the main goal of the season. I am so happy, because World Championships in Oslo was a little bit unlucky for me.”

Depending on your historical perspective, this was the first or second biathlon World Cup title for the Czech Republic, after Jiřína Adamičková-Pelcová from the precursor state of Czechoslovakia (which later split up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) also won the women’s World Cup in the 1989/1990 season more than 25 years ago.

Gabriela Soukalová of the Czech Republic with her “small Crystal Globe” for the pursuit discipline title for the 2015/2016 IBU World Cup season. She also locked up the overall World Cup title on Saturday, but that will be awarded after Sunday’s mass start. (Photo: Gabriela Soukalova/Instagram)

In addition to the “big Crystal Globe” for the overall title, Soukalová also won the “small globe” discipline titles for the sprint and pursuit this week, and could still win the mass start discipline title on Sunday, which she currently leads.

“This is quite fun, I would say,” Mäkäräinen, a two-time overall World Cup winner, said of Saturday’s race and the last loop during the press conference. “Even if it feels heavy on the tracks. I like this sport!”

Reflecting on her fast skiing and still being in great shape just as the World Cup season ends, Mäkäräinen explained how she intends to close out her year.

“I think I will take part in cross-country Finnish championships, and not biathlon,” she said. “It’s more of a challenge for me. I will also make one classic race there again. I think that will be a good finish to this season.”

Dorin Habert left the range in first place after the final shooting, but Mäkäräinen quickly passed her and the French biathlete was unable to keep up.

“Kaisa was so strong,” Dorin Habert said at press conference. “When she passed us, we could not do anything. She was so fast. I just tried to race with the other girls.”

Preuss had taken the lead of the chase group behind Mäkäräinen out of a long one-minute downhill section, but was overtaken and boxed out by Dorin Habert, Wierer and Soukalová before the final climb. Dorin Habert created a small gap to the rest of the pack out of the climb into the arena to secure the second place, and Wierer won the three-women sprint for bronze thanks to excellent positioning on the last narrow turns in the arena.

“It was really a tough race,” Wierer said at the press conference. “When I went out from the last shooting range … we were six I think. Everybody passed me, and I was only saying ‘Oh my God! Oh my God!’… I am really happy that I made the third place today, because I was sure I would arrive sixth or something like that.”

Losing out in the finish sprint with Wierer and Soukalová, Germany’s Preuss finished fifth (+6.6 seconds with one penalty, and just 0.1 behind Soukalová).

“Khanty is the last competition on the World Cup, and somehow I am always able to bring out my last remaining energy here,” Preuss told ZDF. “The course suits me really well, and I am happy with the shooting range today. It’s cool to end the season like this.”

“Before the final climb there is a long descent,” she said of the last loop. “Someone always came out of the draft, and when I was in front I knew, ‘Oh now, they’ll surely pass me again.’ And then they were ahead on the climb, and it’s really difficult to overtake there … I already noticed during the climb I couldn’t quite keep up, but I am nevertheless completely satisfied with the fifth place.”

Norway’s Fanny Horn Birkeland placed sixth (+13.1, with one penalty) as the last athlete from the top group that left the range closely together onto the final loop.

Before the race, the organizers in Khanty had asked spectators and athletes for a minute of silence for the victims of a plane crash in southern Russia, and the Russian biathlon team competed with black ribbons on their arms on Saturday.

“The crowd did observe a moment of silence for the crash victims,” American Susan Dunklee wrote in an email. “During the race, they brought their same great energy they always bring here. This is one of the loudest stadiums that we race in.”

Dunklee 22^nd, Ransom Knocks Off 20 Places with Clean Shooting

Dunklee started the pursuit in 25^th and initially shot clean in both of her prone stages. This moved her up all the way to 15^th place, just 41.4 seconds behind the leader when she left the range.

Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) racing to 22nd in the women’s pursuit on Saturday in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

On the track, she was able to keep up with the top of the field, overall skiing the fourth-fastest course time, and just half a second slower than the winner Mäkäräinen.

“I get the sense that practically everyone is exhausted, physically and mentally,” Dunklee wrote. “I am fighting off a sore throat but my energy levels felt good today and I am still hungry to compete. I often do well relative to the field when we hit this point in the season.”

But then in the first standing shooting, her race took a turn for the worse when she missed three targets.

“There was nothing difficult about the conditions for my third stage,” Dunklee wrote of that stage. “I approached that stage the same way I approached all the others. It was a simple case of me pulling the trigger when the rifle wasn’t pointed at the center of the target.”

Those penalties set her back more than an additional minute, and she set back out on the course in 23^rdand was unable to make up the deficit.

In the last standing shooting, she incurred another penalty and left the range in 25^th, before making up three positions on the final loop to finish 22^nd (+2:13.2) with four total penalties.

Canada’s Julia Ransom as the only other North American starter in the pursuit had a perfect day on the shooting range, cleaning all of her targets in the four-stage race.

Earlier this season, Ransom also achieved 20-for-20 shooting at the pursuit in Antholz, Italy, as well as in the 15 k individual at the World Championships earlier this month. Both performances put her within the top 20 of those races; on Saturday, she picked off 20 places after starting 54th to finish 34th (+2:56.5).

Of 57 starters, Ransom was one of three women to shoot clean. Ukraine’s Yuliia Dzhima did so to place ninth, and Sweden’s Mona Brorsson finished 24^th.

The two other North American starters at the World Cup in Khanty, Canada’s Rosanna Crawford and American Clare Egan did not make the top 60 to qualify for the pursuit. Dunklee is the lone North American woman qualified for Sunday’s mass start, the final race of the World Cup season.

“The course here is one of my favorites because of the good climbs and I especially like the hilly 2.5 km loop that we’ll use tomorrow,” Dunklee concluded in her email.

The ninth and final World Cup of the season ends with the men’s and women’s mass starts on Sunday. The women’s 12.5 k mass start begins at 5:20 a.m. Eastern, followed by the men’s 15 k mass start, with Americans Tim Burke and Lowell Bailey racing, at 8 a.m. Both races will be streamed live on Eurovision.

Results | Mass start provisional start list | World Cup standings

March 19, 2016
Challenged by Compatriot, Weng Beats Johaug; Diggins Fifth, Bjornsen 10th for U.S.

Heidi Weng (r) edging Norwegian teammate Therese Johaug by 0.1 seconds in the the women’s 10 k freestyle pursuit at Stage 4 of the Ski Tour Canada in Quebec City. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)

Teammates to take turns at the top? With win after win going to her Norwegian teammate Therese Johaug, Heidi Weng decided on Saturday that it was time for Johaug to share.

“She’s won so much, so once she must try to become number two she too!” Weng said to NRK of Johaug, according to a translation.

After displacing Johaug from the Ski Tour Canada (STC) leader’s bib after the Stage 3 freestyle sprint on Friday, Weng was the first woman on course for the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit in Québec City, and the first woman to finish in a time of 24:18.8.

Starting behind Weng, Johaug had an 11-second deficit to make up if she wanted to win. Which she did.

Norway’s Therese Johaug leads teammate Heidi Weng up a climb during the women’s 10 k freestyle pursuit at Stage 4 of the Ski Tour Canada in Quebec City. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)

By 1.2 k, Johaug could see the bob of Weng’s brown ponytail, 6.7 seconds ahead. At 2.1 k Johaug trailed on the tips of Weng’s ski tails by eight-tenths of a second. By the 3.3 k mark it was the form of Johaug flying in first up the second major course climb.

Yet, Weng would not be shaken from her shot at the overall title and the tour lead.

“Today I did whatever I could to get a gap on Heidi, but she was really strong,” Johaug said during an in-person interview with FasterSkier after the race.

Rather than wait, Weng went to work with Johaug as she made her way in the front for the next 7 k.

“When Therese came, she was very fast and I tried to stay focused and take her back,” Weng said told several reporters during an in-person interview. “In the hills she goes so fast, and I was ready to attack with her.”

The two were side-by-side as they rounded into the final 100-meter stretch, but it was Weng who outlunged Johaug by one-tenth of a second.

“I’m really happy with the race today and really satisfied that I had as big of a gap as I had,” said Johaug, who had the fastest time of the day in 24:07.

The all-Norwegian women’s podium on Saturday at the fourth stage of the Ski Tour Canada, the 10 k freestyle pursuit: with winner Heidi Weng (c), Therese Johaug (l) in second, and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen (r) in third. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)

Not only wanting to takes turns winning, Weng anticipates her role at the anterior of racing for Johaug and Norway.

“One day I hope I can be better and help her,” Weng said, referring to her decision to let Johaug lead, “But she’s so fast and so good now, so I just have to follow her and to be there.”

All in all, “It was an amazing day,” added Weng, the current STC leader. “[Therese] is very strong in the distance and she has won so many times now, so it was very good to take her.”

Securing an all-Norwegian podium in third was Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, 1:05.2 minutes behind Weng.

“It was a perfect day, great track and snow,” Jacobsen told FIS afterward. “I gave it all what I had. I am happy with third place.”

Diggins Determined for ‘Redemption’, Races to Fifth; Bjornsen 10th

Nothing fuels the fire more the finishing a race day before you are ready. When American Jessie Diggins fell in the third quarterfinal of Friday’s freestyle sprint and missed moving on, she put revived focus into Saturday’s 10 k pursuit.

American Jessie Diggins leads Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg up a climb during the women’s 10 k freestyle pursuit at Stage 4 of the Ski Tour Canada in Quebec City. Diggins went on to place fifth as the first non-Norwegian while Østberg was sixth. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)

“I had a lot of left over energy from yesterday,” Diggins said. “I was a little bit mad at myself for falling and wrecking a chance. So today I was full of energy and ready to just go for it.”

Diggins started in seventh, 10 seconds behind Friday’s sprint victor Stina Nilsson of Sweden and 29 seconds behind Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg.

The Swede’s spark from Friday’s sprint had transferred to Diggins, and the American passed Nilsson just before the 2.1 k course mark to improve to sixth.

On a mission, Diggins, of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) and Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team, cranked ahead of Nilsson the first time around the three-lap course while gaining on Østberg. With 4.4 k to go, Diggins found her rhythm racing ahead of the Norwegian in fifth.

“I caught up to Ingvild and I said, ‘Let’s work together,’” Diggins recalled. “So we worked really well together and it was really motivating to be hunting people down as a two person unit.”

Jessie Diggins racing to fifth after starting seventh in the women’s 10 k freestyle pursuit at Stage 4 of the Ski Tour Canada in Quebec City. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com/NNF)

As the duo made their way through the third lap toward the final climb, Diggins left Østberg in a dusting of snow and crossed the finish line in fifth (+1:48.1) as the first non-Norwegian on Saturday.

“I put a move on up that last hill where all my family was cheering,” Diggins said. “I’m really happy. I was just looking for a little redemption and I feel like I got it.”

The second U.S. skier to race to the top 10 was another USST member Sadie Bjornsen.

A day after winning the Stage 3 skate-sprint qualifier and finishing eighth, Bjornsen saw her start position in 11th overall in the Tour as an advantage to her race strategy.

“I had a goal of just staying with Charlotte [Kalla],” said Bjornsen, who started two seconds behind Charlotte Kalla of Sweden, during a post-race interview. “I just kept my eyes on here and held on for dear life, so I was really satisfied.”

Bjornsen skied behind Kalla and ahead of Finland’s Krista Parmakoski and Sweden’s Ida Ingemarsdotter until the final 200 meters of the race, where Parmakoski passed Kalla and Bjornsen. Parmakoski took eighth (+2:45.9), Kalla ninth (+2:49.1), and Bjornsen 10th (+2:49.6).

Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla (r) leads a chase pack with American Sadie Bjornsen (11) and Finland’s Krista Parmakoski (9) during the women’s 10 k freestyle pursuit at Stage 4 of the Ski Tour Canada in Quebec City. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com/NNF)

“I’m feeling good,” Bjornsen said of her result. Overall she’s positioned in 10th at the halfway point of the Tour, 0.5 seconds behind Kalla in ninth and 3.7 seconds behind Parmakoski in eighth.

“It’s a great position to head into Canmore [Alberta] where there’s some super-challenging courses and high altitude, and Western skiing in general I’m looking forward to,” she said.

USST distance specialist Liz Stephen finished with World Cup points in 29th overall (+5:44.7) after starting in bib 26.

“I had trouble, for sure, staying with the pack,” Stephen said afterward. “Starting 25 and in a group can be tough for position. It was a fun day. I fought the whole way, and I’m happy with it. There is a lot more racing to come.”

Much of the racing Stephen referred to includes the next stages of the STC taking place in Canmore.

“The courses in Canmore I think are some of my favorites of all time,” she said. “So I’m really excited to get there, have some more good distance races, and have some really hard courses on home-ish turf.”

Liz Stephen on her way to 29th in the women’s 10 k freestyle pursuit at Stage 4 of the Ski Tour Canada in Quebec City. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com/NNF)

In spite of fighting illness during Friday’s sprint, USST member Sophie Caldwell entered Saturday’s pursuit in bib 36 and finished 42nd overall.

“Today wasn’t anything special,” Caldwell said on Saturday. “I was really happy to survive it. I’d really like to race in Canmore and do the sprint in particular. I just wanted to get through today and then use the next two days to get healthy and have a good sprint.”

Among the American competitors in Stage 4, Rosie Brennan (APU/USST) placed 32nd, Chelsea Holmes (APU) 39th, Ida Sargent (CGRP/USST) 40th, and Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/USST) in 44th.

Emily Nishikawa was the first Canadian in 45th overall.

Kaitlynn Miller (USA) finished 47th, Cendrine Browne (CAN) took 49th, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (CAN) 52nd, Katharine Ogden (USA) 54th, Annie Hart (USA) 55th, Dahria Beatty (CAN) 57th, Katherine Stewart-Jones (CAN) 58th, Jennie Bender (USA) 59th, Maya Macisaac-Jones (CAN) 60th, Anna Hicks (CAN) 61st, Jennifer Jackson (CAN) 63rd, Alannah MacLean (CAN) 64th, and Sophie Carrier-Laforte (CAN) 65th.

The next series of races in the Ski Tour Canada includes a classic sprint, a 15/30 k skiathlon, a 10/15 k freestyle interval start, and a 10/15 k classic pursuit in Canmore.

“I wish we had World Cups in North America more often,” Stephen said. “It really makes it fun out here. Huge thanks to the fans for coming all the way up.”

— Gerry Furseth, François Léger Dionne and Harald Zimmer contributed

Results| Tour standings (through Stage 4)

American Jessie Diggins leads Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg to the top of a climb in the women’s 10 k freestyle pursuit while a Norwegian coach (l) and U.S. women’s coach Matt Whitcomb (second from l) cheer them on. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com/NNF)

March 5, 2016
Sundby Stays in Control; Northug Ditches Teammate; Krogh Finds Redemption in 3rd

Petter Northug (r) begins his move on Norwegian teammate Didrik Tønseth about 1 1/2 k before the finish of Sunday’s 10 k freestyle pursuit at Stage 3 of the Tour de Ski in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. While Northug placed second behind Tour leader Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Tønseth slipped to sixth.

For the Norwegian men, racing with comrades in red essentially means nothing — except for maybe a pat on the back or a head nod at the finish. Ask Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Petter Northug or Didrik Tønseth, all of which started within a minute and 31 seconds of one another as the first three starters of Sunday’s 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit.

It was enough of a task to catch Sundby, the Tour de Ski’s leader after two stages. The 31-year-old overall World Cup leader started the Stage 3 pursuit in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, 1:18 ahead of Northug. Thirteen seconds after Northug, 24-year-old Tønseth set out on the three-lap course.

Clearly on a mission, Tønseth caught Northug by 1.2 k. The two skied together, 28 seconds ahead of Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov, after Ustiugov started 1:53 back in fourth. They remained 1:27 behind Sundby, and stuck together for all but the final minutes of the 10 k race.

That was Northug’s choosing. Still 1:36 behind Sundby at 7 k, the 29-year-old, oft-controversial Norwegian accelerated around 20 minutes into the race and dropped Tønseth before 8.7 k. There, Tønseth fell 20 seconds behind Northug and was just eight seconds ahead of the chase group behind him, with Norway’s Finn Hågen Krogh leading Ustiugov and Norway’s Sjur Røthe.

“It is as if they were from two different nations!” NRK commentator Fredrik Aukland exclaimed as he watched Northug leave Tønseth for the taking.

Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway on his way to his second stage victory of the 2016 Tour de Ski in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. By winning Stage 3, the 10 k freestyle pursuit, Sundby now leads the Tour by 1:30 over Petter Northug (not shown).

Northug ended up closing the deficit to Sundby to 1:25.2 at the finish. Sundby secured his second-straight stage victory in 21:44.7 and Tønseth finished at the back of the Krogh-Ustiugov-Røthe train in sixth (+1:54.7).

After he did most of the pulling throughout the race, leading Northug at every checkpoint through 7 k, Tønseth told NRK that he and Northug “rarely work well together, and we did not today, either,” according to a translation.

“I had hoped for more help,” Tønseth added. “The partnership does not work particularly well for me, but it did for him.”

That said, he wasn’t surprised by Northug’s see-ya-later move. Tønseth explained they are from rival clubs: Byåsen and Strindheim.

“Our clubs are archenemies; we saw that today,” he said.

He also wasn’t in a position to respond. “I saw stars when he jerked,” Tønseth said. “I stopped completely.”

Still second in the Tour after three stages, Northug said he was feeling the effects of his second-place effort in Saturday’s 30 k classic mass start.

“It was a hard 30 km yesterday and I could still feel it today,” Northug told FIS. “I tried to speed in the last lap to gain some seconds back.”

Asked about how others reacted to his move on Tønseth, Northug responded, “99.9 percent of all skiers are sour on me because of that.”

And is he OK with that?

“Yes, I take it with me to the grave.”

But enough about Northug — let’s get back to Sundby, who currently leads the Tour by 1:30.2 over Northug and 2:00.2 over Krogh, who skied the fastest time of the day to rise to third overall.

“I am ready for a rest day,” Sundby told FIS. “I knew I was being chased. I am happy I could gain some more seconds.”

The all-Norwegian men’s 10 k freestyle pursuit podium on Sunday at Stage 3 of the Tour de Ski in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, with winner Martin Johnsrud Sundby (c), Petter Northug (l) in second, and Finn Hagen Krogh (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

In another spicy storyline, Krogh started sixth and caught his teammate Røthe within the first kilometer. Those two played nice and worked together throughout the race, reining Tønseth in and entering the stadium together for a final push for third.

Krogh upped the chase pack’s tempo around 8.7 k to catch Tønseth, then the four-man group contended for the podium in the finishing stretch. Krogh continued to lead the group in, and outlasted Ustiugov in a photo finish for third, 1:50.2 behind Sundby.

A day after shouting an assortment of curse words at the finish (he had lost contact with the lead group when he crashed during the 30 k), Krogh said he was happier with Sunday’s result.

“I had a lot of pent-up pressure from yesterday, which I needed to release,” he told NRK. “I’m actually wondering if maybe my crash was a bonus in the overall picture. I really wanted to reverse the damage, and I feel like I succeeded in that.”

He ended up with the fastest race time in 21:20, 25 seconds faster than Sundby. While Krogh said he doesn’t have any specific goals for the Tour, he’ll continue to strive for top results.

“He, he. I am a competitive person, no doubt,” Krogh said. “Those who know me well know that it does not take much, no matter what form of competition it is, before I get pissed. But I will most pissed when I manage to [ruin] it for myself as I did yesterday.”

Ustiugov held his position in fourth in the Tour and is now 2:05.2 behind Sundby. Røthe finished fifth and Tønseth sixth and are 2:07.9 and 2:09.7 back overall, respectively.

Some 38 seconds behind Tønseth on Sunday, Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin and Switzerland’s Dario Cologna raced to the line for seventh, and Poltoranin took it by 0.6 seconds (+1:54.7). Poltoranin bested another four-man chase group, with Harvey finishing ninth (+2:35) and Belov 10th (+2:35.1). Norway’s Niklas Dyrhaug was nearly a minute father behind in 11th (+3:26.4).

Pursuit results | Time-of-day results | Tour standings (after Stage 3)

January 3, 2016
Habert Rolls to Second-Straight World Champs Gold; Two Canadian Women in Pursuit Top 30

France’s Marie Dorin Habert celebrates her second win in two-straight races at 2015 IBU World Championships after taking gold in Sunday’s 10 k pursuit in Kontiolahti, Finland. She finished 15.3 seconds ahead of Germany’s silver medalist, Laura Dahlmeier. (Photo: Kontiolahden Urheilijat/Jarno Artika)

KONTIOLAHTI, Finland — Ask anyone who follows biathlon who the favorites were going into the 2015 IBU World Championships, and they would have been sure to mention Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen and Darya Domracheva of Belarus. Of course there were others, but Marie Dorin Habert — the French skier who gave birth to her first child in September?

She couldn’t believe it, either.

“I don’t have words,” Habert, 28, said in a press conference following her third medal in as many races at World Championships and her second-straight gold. “It’s just crazy for me, and everything is right with me in these World Championships.”

After winning Saturday’s 7.5-kilometer sprint and starting with a 10-second lead in the women’s 10 k pursuit on Sunday, Habert kept herself in contention for another victory by hitting all of her targets in her first two stages.

The competitor who started closest to her, Weronika Nowakowska-Ziemniak of Poland, held her own in second for the first two stages as well, despite missing one on her second prone. She came out of the penalty loop 43.8 seconds after Habert, yet remained in second until the third shooting.

There, Habert came into standing first and missed two targets. Her clean streak had ended and some 12,800 spectators in the stands wondered what would become of Habert.

Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier racing to silver in the women’s 10 k pursuit on Sunday at 2015 IBU World Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland. (Photo: Kontiolahden Urheilijat/Kari Kuninkaanniemi)

Meanwhile, Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, who started fourth, 29 seconds after Habert, had moved into third by the first stage despite an early prone miss. Dahlmeier cleaned the second prone as well as the first standing to leave the range 20 seconds behind Habert, who had just completed her two penalty loops.

“When I missed two, I said, ‘Ooh! It’s bad for me. I have to be fast,’ ” Habert recalled.

She went on to ski the second-fastest course time on her third lap and remained ahead of Dahlmeier. Both missed one in the second-and-final standing, and Habert headed out on her third lap with a 27.3-second lead.

Meanwhile, Nowakowska-Ziemniak had two additional penalties on her third stage to slip to third, 43.8 seconds behind Habert. While she cleaned her final stage, she left the range in fourth, five seconds behind Russia’s Ekaterina Shumilova, the only woman to hit all 20 of her targets.

The final clean stage lifted Shumilova, who started sixth, from fourth to third — until Nowakowska-Ziemniak tracked her down on the final lap.

“I asked myself, ‘Weronika, do you fight, or do you get just a fourth place and it’s still OK?’ ” Nowakowska-Ziemniak reflected in the press conference. “After one second, I answer to myself, ‘Of course, I am fighting.’ I was trying to catch [Ekaterina] as fast as possible and I did it quite fast … On the uphill, my coach told me she’s twenty meters behind me, so I realize that, yes she fall down, and then I push even harder to not let her catch me.”

“I asked myself, ‘Weronika, do you fight, or do you get just a fourth place and it’s still OK?’ After one second, I answer to myself, ‘Of course, I am fighting.’” — Poland’s Weronika Nowakowska-Ziemniak, pursuit bronze medalist

While Nowakowska-Ziemniak left the Russian behind in the race for bronze, Habert continued to forge ahead up front, entering the finishing straight alone and grabbing a large French flag from the sidelines. She waved it proudly and completed her trifecta of medals (silver in the mixed relay, gold in the sprint, and now gold the pursuit), crossing the line first in 30:07.7. Dahlmeier finished 15.3 seconds later for silver, her first World Championships medal.

Poland’s Weronika Nowakowska-Ziemniak en route to bronze in the women’s 10 k pursuit at 2015 IBU World Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland. (Photo: Kontiolahden Urheilija/Jarno Artika)

“I’m totally happy. It was a big dream since I was a little child,” the German said in the conference. “Now I have this silver medal and it’s a perfect day for me, and also, I’m really happy for Marie. It’s perfect.”

Nowakowska-Ziemniak finished 31.6 seconds after Habert and 17.1 seconds ahead of Shumilova for bronze, her second medal in as many races after notching her first World Cup-level podium on Saturday.

“It’s crazy because I was waiting so many years to be on the podium and yesterday I get the first medal and today the second,” Nowakowska-Ziemniak said. “I was feeling much better on the track, but the shooting range I wasn’t perfect, but it’s still a medal so I’m really happy.

“You can’t imagine how happy people in Poland were with the medals because in the winter sport, this winter wasn’t so good for the Polish teams, for ski jumpers and cross-country skiers,” she added. “So the medal in biathlon, it was something really, really important for the association and for my teammates.”

Marie Dorin Habert of France racing to gold in the women’s 10 k pursuit at 2015 IBU World Championships on Sunday in Kontiolahti, Finland. It was her third medal in as many races at these World Championships and second-straight gold.

Habert simply stated: “I’m more happy than yesterday.”

Saturday’s sprint bronze medalist, Valj Semerenko started 20 seconds after Habert and ended up 19th (+2:23.8) after missing three on her first prone. She had another penalty on her second stage, then cleaned her first standing before missing two more for a total of six penalties.

Mäkäräinen could lay claim to the most impressive ski of the day, racing up from 35th to 12th with the fastest overall course time. She finished 1:28 behind Habert with two prone penalties and a standing miss.

Domracheva had the second-fastest course time, 33 seconds slower than Mäkäräinen, yet rose from 25th to finish seventh with two total penalties — one on the second prone and another on the second standing.

Gabriela Soukalova of the Czech Republic improved from 18th to fifth (+58.0) with a single miss on the first stage, and Germany’s Franziska Hildebrand went from 10th to sixth (+1:00) with two penalties.

Despite temperatures around 40 degrees Fahrenheit with misting precipitation, conditions were firmer and even icy for the women’s race — which followed the men’s pursuit earlier in the afternoon.

Crawford, Heinicke in the Top 30

Rosanna Crawford (Biathlon Canada) on her way to 25th in the women’s 10 k pursuit at 2015 IBU World Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland. She started 32nd.

Among the North American women, Rosanna Crawford of Canada knocked off seven places to finish 25th (+2:51.5) after starting 32nd, 2:13 after Habert.

While she missed two early prone shots, Crawford cleaned her second stage to move back into the top 30. One more miss on her first standing put her in 27th leaving the range, and she proceeded to clean her final stage.

“On my first prone, I shanked one to the left, one to the right and one to the center,” Crawford explained. “Usually when I see that on the board I say, ‘Oh you idiot, just hit the frickin’ targets,’ and I did.”

All things considered, with the sixth-fastest range time and 24th-ranked course time, she said she was happy.

“To be 32nd [yesterday] and two-thirds back was very surprising so I was happy to make some points and still know I’m in it for the rest of the championships,” she said. “Two less misses on that first one would have been glorious.”

In doing so, Crawford would have matched her boyfriend Brendan Green’s 95-percent shooting in the men’s pursuit. “I’ll let him have it this time,” she said.

Also for Biathlon Canada, Megan Heinicke finished in the top 30 for the second-straight race after starting 23rd. She ended up 28th (+3:19.4) with 90-percent shooting, missing one early prone and another target on her last standing.

Megan Heinicke (Biathlon Canada) en route to 28th in the women’s 10 k pursuit at 2015 IBU World Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland. She started 23rd.

“I’m … relieved,” Heinicke said. “Two times in the top 30, I’m really glad with that and considering my fitness coming in, I basically feel like I put pretty close to my best out there. Tried to ski tactically, skied behind people when I could.”

Sick for much of the last month, she explained her expectations for her skiing form were low coming into World Championships.

“I need to count on the shooting and I’m really glad I brought it together,” she said. “I’m kind of sad about the prone miss because that one was really on me, and I was like, ‘Oh dang it, you just did that,’ but the standing miss, I don’t actually know what happened so I’m not gonna beat myself up about it either way.”

On most of Heinicke’s best days, there’s a common theme: her strength in shooting. While she excelled in shooting as a junior, she said she struggled with it in the last few seasons. However, this season, she felt more at ease.

“I’ve had some big changes in my life recently and I’m feeling a lot more relaxed and a lot more balanced,” Heinicke said. “I’m under a lot less pressure, internal and external, and I’m just enjoying it. Instead of standing there, like, ‘Please hit this, let it be OK,’ or really worrying about results, I’m way more task-oriented and I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, I worked on this, and I’m confident.’ ”

Dunklee Third-Fastest Skier

American Susan Dunklee had the third-fastest ski time after Mäkäräinen and Domracheva, and improved from starting 42nd to finishing 34th (+3:58.1) despite six penalties.

Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) started 42nd and skied up to finish 34th in the women’s 10 k pursuit at 2015 IBU World Championships in Kontiolahti, Finland.

“The prone shots that I missed were really bad shots,” Dunklee said after missing two in each of her first two stages. She went on to miss two apiece in both standing stages.

“Skiing felt better today. The shooting was more normal speed, and I’m really happy after yesterday,” she added. “You start getting this little seed of doubt in your mind about your shooting ability when you pull a stunt like that, so I was glad to have normal-feeling shooting even if it wasn’t a great percentage.”

While 42nd wasn’t where she had hoped to end up in the sprint, which has implications for next Saturday’s mass start (as does the pursuit), Dunklee made sure to push to the end.

“Partway around the last loop yesterday, I reminded myself, ‘You are a fighter. I don’t care how you’re doing, that’s part of who you are and you’ve got to live up to that today,’ ” she recalled. “So that’s what I did.”

The second U.S. woman in her first-ever pursuit, Clare Egan started 40th and finished 52nd (+6:29.2) with seven penalties (1+1+3+2).

Canada’s World Championships rookie, Julia Ransom placed 57th (+8:02.8) after starting 52nd. She also missed seven (1+2+2+2).

“My legs were basically cooked from yesterday,” Ransom said. “To have consistent misses, that was hard and I feel like it was something that I had to get out of my system. It was my first pursuit on the World Cup and I had to pay my dues.

“I really enjoyed racing,” she added. “There are some parts where you miss and you’re near the back and you want to cry, the bottom lip starts to quiver a bit, but at the end of the day I’m proud that I made it here.”

With two days off until the next race in Kontiolahti (the women’s 15 k individual), most of the racers were excited for a break.

“I’m going to start with a massage and go from there,” Ransom said.

Results

March 8, 2015
Domracheva Hangs Tough, Holds Off Mäkäräinen in Snowy Pursuit; Dunklee 18th

Darya Domracheva (Belarus) celebrates her 6.8-second pursuit win over Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen on Sunday at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: IBU/ Květoslav Frgal)

No amount of snow, wind or penalties was going to hold Darya Domracheva back on Sunday, at least that’s the way the Belarusian attacked the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.

Second in the overall World Cup to Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen, Domracheva started fourth in the pursuit, 23 seconds after Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, who won Saturday’s sprint to start first. Another German, Franziska Hildebrand went out second, one second back, and Veronika Vitkova of the Czech Republic started third, 14 seconds behind.

The beginning of the race was relatively mild weather-wise, with sun at the start, but by the third of four shooting stages, competitors found themselves at the epicenter of a blizzard.

“It was a crazy day out there!” US Biathlon’s Hannah Dreissigacker wrote in an email. “We slid off the icy road in our van on the way to the start, luckily only half a k away so we walked from there. Then it was a total blizzard during zero. Then it got sunny for the start of the race, but then back to blizzard. … I’ve never really seen anything quite like it.”

With snow increasingly blowing into athletes’ eyes as well as their rifles, the pursuit became more about who could keep it together rather than who could execute the perfect race. None of the 51 female finishers hit every target.

Gabriela Soukalova (Czech Republic) cleaned three-straight stages before missing two on the last standing to slip from first to third, then fifth at the finish of Sunday’s 10 k pursuit in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.

That meant Domracheva couldn’t rely on shooting, and she didn’t need to. Even with two early prone misses that set her back to 12th, she rebounded to sixth with a clean second stage.

Entering the range for the first standing in the top four, she missed one, but moved into third. Domracheva left the stadium 19.3 seconds behind the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Soukalova, who cleaned her third-straight stage to take the lead from Hildebrand, who led from the first shooting.

France’s Anais Bescond also cleaned the first three stages to leave the range in second, 3.6 seconds after Soukalova. While the Czech extended her lead on Bescond over the next lap, Domracheva began to close on them both, coming into the final stage in second, less than 14 seconds behind.

Gabriela Soukalova (l) of the Czech Republic and Darya Domracheva (second from l) of Belarus go head-to-head in the final shooting stage of the women’s 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.

There, Soukalova missed two, and that cost her.

With the snow still falling so heavily it caused Hildebrand to crossfire and hit Vitkova’s targets (which led to a six-minute penalty for Hildebrand and Vitkova earning 52 seconds back at the finish), Domracheva missed one for her fourth penalty of the day.

She rounded the penalty loop quickly and headed out on the last lap first, 15.7 seconds ahead of Mäkäräinen, who also missed one for her fourth-total penalty.

Soukalova chased them both in third, 18.6 seconds back, along with Dahlmeier, who cleaned the last stage to leave the range two seconds later.

Over the next kilometer, Mäkäräinen closed the deficit to 14.2 seconds, and then 9.1 seconds with half a kilometer remaining. Domracheva continued to power ahead up front, skiing directly into a headwind along the course’s long climb, and ended up finishing first, 6.8 seconds ahead of Mäkäräinen, in 35:22.3.

“On the last loops it was so soft that on the last uphills and the poles fell down through the snow and you got no push or no glide with your skis,” Domracheva told the IBU. “It was a little bit hard race … [but] you have to fight to the end; you still have a chance.”

Mäkäräinen posted the fastest-course time overall, 17 seconds faster than Domracheva in second.

“If I would have cleaned that [last] stage, I would have been first, but I missed,” Mäkäräinen told the IBU.

Dahlmeier overtook Soukalova by the 9 k mark for third, 14.9 seconds after Domracheva, finishing with three penalties. Her German teammate Vanessa Hinz missed just two on the third stage to place fourth (+24.0), and Soukalova finished fifth (+33.2).

“The early loops are not so important,” said Dahlmeier, who stayed in the top three through the first two stages. “It is most important to have a good race in the last loop.”

Dunklee 18th for U.S.

American Susan Dunklee (r) during the first of five laps in the women’s 10 k pursuit on Sunday at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. She started ninth and finished 18th.

American Susan Dunklee skied the third-fastest course time on the last lap to place 18th. Back in 27th after two early prone misses, she improved to 19th by the last stage, then finished 1:54.9 behind Domracheva.

Dunklee started ninth, 46 seconds after Dahlmeier, but slipped to a minute and 35 seconds back after the first prone stage. She went on to clean her second prone to improve to 20th, then missed one in the first standing and two more on the last stage.

“It was a tough day and I had to keep reminding myself that everybody else out there was having a far from perfect day too,” Dunklee, who ranks 15th in the overall World Cup, wrote in an email. “The new snow made for slow tracks and it was difficult to pass because only one lane had been skied in.”

She discovered her first prone misses both hit the same edge of the target and was able to adapt to clean her second prone.

“I couldn’t make up as many places on the ski course as usual because I got stuck behind long trains of people,” Dunklee explained. “For the second time this week, I caught a great ride with [Switzerland’s] Elisa Gasparin for the last loops and she was very aggressive about moving around packs.”

Annelies Cook started 28th and finished 38th (+4:58.1) with eighth penalties (2+3+2+1), and Dreissigacker started 39th and finished 41st (+5:04.6) with eight misses as well (1+2+3+2).

While Dreissigacker’s shooting was off, she skied the 19th-fastest course time overall.

“I had great skis and felt good skiing,” Dreissigacker wrote in an email. “I’m psyched with my 19th ski time!! That is a new best for me. The shooting was another story though…it was a combination of bad luck and just bad shooting.”

In the first stage, she realized her rifle sight was completely clogged with ice and snow and spent about 30 seconds trying to blow it out.

“In the next stage I had a lot of wind and I took a lot of clicks and still missed two and so then I ‘shaded’ as well — when you just aim a little off of center to adjust for the wind,” she explained. “In standing I again got a lot of wind, and I didn’t deal with it well and took too long to shoot. And then my last stage was just bad shooting on my part. So not a good shooting day at all, but I just have to remember the positive takeaway — skiing was great!”

After finally getting her targets reset so that she could shoot, Vitkova ended up 11th with four misses (1+1+2+1). Hildebrand fell to 50th with a six-minute penalty after she failed to ski all of her penalty loops.

“She missed two targets in the cross firing so she skied two loops but since it was cross firing she gets 5 penalties and should have skied five laps,” Nove Mesto technical delegate and US Biathlon CEO Max Cobb explained in an email. “The penalty for missing a penalty loop is 2 min for each loop not skied thus 6 min.”

Results

February 8, 2015
In the Spotlight, Crawford Pulls Off Seventh in Pokljuka Pursuit; Domracheva Comes Out Strong (Updated)

Rosanna Crawford (Biathlon Canada) smiling for the camera before the start of the IBU World Cup 10 k pursuit on Saturday in Pokljuka, Slovenia. She started fourth and finished seventh.

(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Canada’s Megan Heinicke, who had a career-best pursuit result on Saturday in 14th.)

Ever since last Sunday, Rosanna Crawford’s been trying to keep her success in perspective.

“I try not to bring previous results with me into my next races,” she told FasterSkier on Thursday. That was after she topped her career-best fifth, which she achieved in the IBU World Cup pursuit Dec. 14 in Hochfilzen, Austria, with a fourth-place finish in the World Cup sprint in Pokljuka, Slovenia.

Rosanna Crawford one place away from the podium on Thursday in the women’s IBU World Cup 7.5 k sprint in Pokljuka, Slovenia. (Photo: Rosanna Crawford/Facebook)

Where would she go from there? The 26-year-old Canadian tried not to think about it. Overconfidence could be her enemy, but nerves? Those were unavoidable.

She started to feel them just before breakfast on Saturday, the morning of the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit in Pokljuka. Crawford was slated to start fourth, 37 seconds behind Gabriela Soukalova of the Czech Republic, who won Thursday’s sprint to lead the pursuit.

So she went for a jog.

“Then it slowly started to sink in,” Crawford recalled in an email.

At the start, she lined up with the likes of Soukalova, Italy’s Dorothea Wierer in bib 2, and Ukraine’s Valj Semerenko in bib 3. When the cameraman stood in front of her, she smiled and called out “Hey Brendan!” to her teammate and boyfriend, Brendan Green.

Then she took a breath. This was it — her chance for a podium, or at least a top finish. But she’d have to gain at least 12 seconds on Semerenko and hold off 56 other women behind her.

Soukalova went out first, 18 seconds ahead of Wierer. She held her own until the first shooting, where she missed three to drop to 18th and nearly a minute behind Wierer, who cleaned her first prone to take the lead.

Crawford lost her position on an early climb out of the stadium, when Darya Domracheva of Belarus in bib 6 passed her near the 0.7 k mark.

“Darya came flying by on the first loop and I stayed with her for a bit but then decided it was too fast for me,” she wrote.

In the range for the first shooting, Crawford missed two and slipped to 21st, 1:07.9 behind Wierer after two penalty loops.

Her goal had been to maintain her focus from her first shots during zero all the way through the race.

“Unfortunately the pressure still got to me for the first shooting and I missed one left, one right and the hits were all centre, so it was all me,” Crawford wrote. “But this was good information to get before my next prone, that I just needed to be bit more settled and focused for each shot.”

From there, she clawed her way back into the mix with perfect shooting through the next three stages. She lifted herself to seventh after the final standing, then posted the sixth-fastest course time on the last lap to finish seventh overall.

Domracheva held steady as well with clean shooting through the first three stages. After the first shooting, she left the range 10.8 seconds behind Wierer in first, and 5.5 seconds behind Semerenko. She passed them both before the second stage to enter the range first and stayed there through the finish.

Despite missing her last shot and having to ski a penalty loop on the last standing, she fended off Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen, who started 15th and charged hard in the final laps, by 10 seconds for her second win of the season in 29:55.9. Semerenko outsprinted Wierer by 0.4 seconds for third, 36.8 seconds behind Domracheva.

An exhausted Darya Domracheva (Belarus) celebrates her second win of the IBU World Cup season on Saturday in the Pokljuka pursuit. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

“Today I felt I was very concentrated on the shooting range and in control of the race,” Domracheva told the IBU after the race. “Maybe I left too fast from the last shooting stage … but you see as always, I never give up.”

However, she did look back to make sure she didn’t let off the gas too early. As Domracheva crossed the finish line, Mäkäräinen — who had a single miss on her second prone — came soaring down the final descent into the stadium.

Domracheva went down onto her knees and doubled over with exhaustion. Mäkäräinen threw up her arms a couple times to the crowd, as if to say, “I tried.”

Forty-six seconds behind the Belarusian after the third stage, Mäkäräinen in third passed Semerenko early as they left the stadium together on the fourth of five laps. From there, she began her quest for first.

“I was a bit unsure before the start today because my shooting was so bad in the sprint,” Mäkäräinen told the IBU after placing 15th with four penalties in Thursday’s qualifying race. “Today I told myself that it was just a bad day at the office and my shooting would get back to normal.”

While Domracheva was finishing her penalty loop, Mäkäräinen got settled for her final shooting. She cleaned and had 23.6 seconds to make up over the last 2 k. At the end of the day, she posted the fastest course time, 26 seconds faster than Domracheva, who ranked second.

Semerenko was a little slower on skis, with the 17th-ranked course time, but hit 19-of-20 targets as well (with one miss on the third stage) to hang around second and third for most the race.

Wierer had two penalties on the second shooting to drop to sixth, then came back with clean shooting in her standing stages to finish fourth (+37.2).

Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier skied up from ninth to fifth with a single miss on the first stage, and finished 1:12.1 after Domracheva without anyone close to her. Another Belarusian, Nadezhda Skardino took sixth (+1:15.7) with clean shooting.

Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen secures second after pushing hard to close the gap to winner Darya (Photo: IBU/Rene Miko)

She was one of two women to clean all day; the other was Canada’s Megan Heinicke — who improved from 41st to 14th.

“Perfect shooting is never easy and on any given day there are usually only a handful of ‘clean’ shooters in this sport,” Heinicke wrote in an email “I am just glad I was able to do it today — this was my first time ever shooting 20/20 in a world cup race.”

Crawford took seventh (+1:20.7), holding off Italy’s Karin Oberhofer, who left the range behind her in eighth, by 5.5 seconds at the finish.

“After hitting the last standing target I knew it was fighting time! Dalhmeier and Skardino were just in front of me and Oberhofer was just behind,” she explained. “I knew that if I could get to the top of the hill in front of the Italian that she probably wouldn’t catch me. Top 6 was so close, but with how skiing felt today I am really happy with top 10! This has been the best start to the season ever for me and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season holds.”

Despite achieving her third-best World Cup result, Crawford didn’t feel in top-top shape on Saturday, still fighting a sore throat which she came down with earlier in the week.

“But just like last week, feeling bad one race doesn’t mean that tomorrow I won’t feel good, hopefully!” she wrote, referencing Sunday’s 12.5 k mass start.

As the lone Canadian starter in bib 8, she’ll aim to mimic her teammate’s perfect shooting.

“It’s really motivating and inspiring to see Megan Tandy hit 20/20 today and move up so many spots! I’ll try to channel my inner Megan tomorrow :)!” Crawford wrote. “I’m sitting in 8th place for overall World Cup points. All I can control tomorrow is skiing well and hitting the targets, if that happens, then anything is possible!”

For Heinicke, the pursuit marked her second-best World Cup result after finishing 12th in the individual race in Östersund, Sweden, at the start of this season. Her previous best in a pursuit was 29th.

“This was my first time ever shooting 20/20 in a world cup race.” — Megan Heinicke (Biathlon Canada), after starting 41st and skiing up to her second-best World Cup result in 14th on Saturday

With the clean shooting and the 11th-fastest time on the range, Heinicke worked her way up from 28th after the first stage to 14th by the end of the final shooting. She finished in that position, 2:09.5 behind Domracheva.

Before the start, she thought she’d be pleased with a top 30.

“My main ski goal going into this race was to ski a bit more tactically and aggressively in the group with the other girls — even with start bib 41 I started in a good pack of girls,” Heinicke wrote. “My main goal on the range was to follow my race plan for standing. I have shot quite well prone so far this season but have struggled a few times with my standing shooting so that was critical.

“I was getting information about my position on course and I was really happy to have moved into the top 30 after my 2 clean prone shootings,” she added. “Because I knew that standing shooting would be the hardest part of the race for me I didn’t really celebrate too soon … even after my first standing I kept that little voice in my head that was telling me this was an awesome race pretty quiet because I know how fast everything can change. I didn’t really believe it until after the last standing.”

“Even after my first standing I kept that little voice in my head that was telling me this was an awesome race pretty quiet … I didn’t really believe it until after the last standing.” — Heinicke

Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) racing to 28th in the women’s IBU World Cup 10 k pursuit on Saturday in Pokljuka, Slovenia. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

Two Americans qualified for the pursuit — Hannah Dreissigacker and Susan Dunklee — and they started within three seconds of each other in 18th and 19th, respectively, a minute back from Soukalova.

With a clean first prone, Dunklee was up to 12th, 48 seconds behind the leader. She went on to miss one in each of the next two stages, then three on the final standing to drop to 32nd with one lap to go. She passed four people on that lap and finished 28th (+3:17.1).

“I have been struggling with a head cold and a sore throat and today I was in survival mode,” Dunklee explained in an email. “Often it is smarter to not race through sickness, but this is the last week of the trimester and we get a long break after tomorrow.”

She wanted to finish the trimester off in the top 25 overall, which comes with full support from the IBU in the form of room and board. It would also help her lock down more mass-start opportunities.

“I have started the season on the wrong side of that top-25 bubble in the past and it’s an uphill battle to earn mass start rights later,” Dunklee wrote. “Today’s performance wasn’t pretty and I lost a lot of places because of that disastrous last stage, but tomorrow is a new day and I get to race the mass start.”

Currently ranked 22nd overall, she’ll start in bib 22 on Sunday in row 8 of 10. Mäkäräinen stands as the overall World Cup leader, followed by Domracheva and Semerenko, respectively.

Dreissigacker fell out of the top 30 on the first stage with two misses, then missed two more on her second prone. In an email, she attributed her initial penalties to rushing a bit, and thought she might have lost her focus for a “split second” on the second stage.

Hannah Dreissigacker (US Biathlon) en route to a career-best 17th place in the IBU World Cup sprint on Thursday in Pokljuka, Slovenia. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

She cleaned her first standing, but missed two more on her last stage to leave the range in last place. She passed Sweden’s Emma Nilsson on the final lap to finish 56th with six penalties, but was hit with another two-minute penalty for miscounting her penalty loops.

“My biggest regret about the race is that I somehow forgot a penalty loop after my second prone stage,” Dreissigacker explained. “This is a huge, DUMB mistake and I am really kicking myself about it. I guess my brain just shut off for a minute, and I only did one lap instead of two … I was having a bad day anyways, and I can analyze that a lot, but in the end the only thing that was unacceptable about today was the missed penalty loop.”

After tallying a career-best 18th in the sprint, she was especially excited for the pursuit. But like, Crawford, she tried to be cautious.

“I knew that ‘biathlon giveth, and biathlon taketh away,’ ” Dreissigacker wrote. “I’m not sure who said that, but it’s the truth.I was hoping to ski better today, pacing off of the girls around me. Instead, I felt flat and just sort of empty during the skiing.”

Leaving Pokljuka and flying home to Craftsbury, Vt., on Monday, she’ll hold onto her “awesome memory of the sprint race, and look forward to more races like that after the Christmas break,” she wrote. “I think that our whole team will just be getting stronger as the season progresses, and there is still lots of time!”

Results

December 20, 2014
Fourcade Cleans When It Counts to Win Hochfilzen Pursuit; Burke Disappointed with 25th

France’s Martin Fourcade celebrates the finish of Sunday’s IBU World Cup 12.5 k pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria, which he won by 4.1 seconds over Germany’s Simon Schempp. (Photo: Martin Fourcade/Instagram)

Martin Fourcade was pretty pumped about his 12.5-kilometer pursuit win on Sunday on the last day of the Hochfilzen IBU World Cup in Austria. Like, eight exclamation points excited.

“Yes!!!!!!!!” the two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion from France wrote on Instagram, posting a photo of himself holding his arms high above his head at the finish line.

Fourcade started seventh, 28 seconds behind Friday’s sprint winner Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway, and raced his way up to sixth, 21.4 second back, after cleaning the first prone.

Bø cleaned as well to leave the first stage with a 19-second lead on Germany’s Andreas Birnbacher, who started 18 seconds back in third.

After the second stage, Fourcade was up to fifth behind Bø, Slovenia’s Jakov Fak, Germany’s Simon Schempp, and Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen, respectively — all of which cleaned back-to-back prone stages.

On a calm, bluebird afternoon with warming conditions, the men’s race was clearly going to come down to mistakes — or who could escape without any.

Fourcade and Schempp turned out to be those guys. Both cleaned the two standing stages to shoot 20-for-20 and finish first and second, respectively. Schempp had started second, 14 seconds after Bø.

The 21-year-old Norwegian leader dropped to fourth on the third shooting stage with two standing misses, putting him 27.8 seconds out of first. Svendsen, Fak, Fourcade, and Schempp entered the ranged together after him, and Fak, Fourcade and Schempp emerged without any misses. Fak took the lead, 1.5 seconds ahead of Fourcade and 3.6 seconds over Schempp, and Svendsen dropped to ninth with two penalties.

On the fourth lap, Fourcade passed Fak, leading the Slovenian by one second at 8.7 k. Schempp was right there in third, trailing by another half a second. Meanwhile, Bø led the chase 31 seconds back in third, just ahead of Austria’s Dominik Landertinger and Russia’s Anton Shipulin.

Entering the range first a few seconds ahead of Fak and Schempp, Fourcade cleaned once more. Fak missed one and Schempp hit every target to move into second, 8.1 seconds behind Fourcade.

The penalty put Fak into fourth, 26 seconds back and 0.6 seconds behind Bø, who cleaned to leave the range in third.

“I knew Johannes was the best skier, but I tried to give it my all in the last uphill and that tactic paid off,” Fak told the IBU, after attacking on the last climb to pass and drop Bø, along with Shipulin in tow.

Fourcade held off Schempp on the last lap by 4.1 seconds for the victory in 32:53.7. Fak powered to third, 10.9 seconds after Fourcade, and Bø finished fourth, 5.3 seconds later. Shipulin fell off the pace on the last climb, but held onto fifth (+28.5), and Bø’s older brother Tarjei Bø placed sixth (+45.1), ahead of Birnbacher (+48.8) in seventh.

Landertinger, the fourth starter, ended up eighth with three penalties (+56.2), Ondrej Moravec of the Czech Republic was ninth (+56.5), and Russia’s Dmitry Malyshko took 10th (+1:02.6).

“This was a great weekend for me,” Fourcade told the IBU, after placing seventh in the sprint with clean shooting. “I am happy that I gave 100 percent of myself today and shoot 20. I am very happy with that … My instinct on the shooting range was not to go too fast but to hit the targets and win the race.”

Second twice this weekend, Schempp was satisfied.

“I am really happy with my start to the season,” he said. “The first two weeks have been really great for me. This is the result of good preparation for the season with no injuries and illness.”

Burke Top North American in 25th

Tim Burke on his way to 25th in the IBU World Cup 12.5 k pursuit on Sunday in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

After starting 13th, 40 seconds behind Bø, American Tim Burke ended the pursuit with five penalties and 25th overall (+2:35.6).

“I am definitely disappointed with my pursuit race today,” he wrote in an email. “I felt like I had really good ski form but I struggled with the shooting until the last stage.”

Burke missed one on each of his prone stages, then three in the first standing. He went from 16th after the first shooting to 34th by the end of his third bout.

“I was a little frustrated with my mistakes in prone because I felt like I had taken good shots and I was surprised with the penalties,” he wrote. “On the first standing stage I just never felt comfortable and was not able to get into any flow.”

As for his finish, he was pleased to land in the points, especially before the first mass start of the season next Sunday in Pokljuka, Slovenia.

“I feel like I am in great shape right now and Pokljuka is one of my favorite courses,” Burke wrote.

Lowell Bailey leads Bulgaria’s Krasimir Anev during Sunday’s 12.5 k pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria. After starting 18th, Bailey went on to place 32nd. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

His US Biathlon teammate Lowell Bailey started 18th and 58 seconds behind first. With four penalties, one on each prone and two on the final standing, he finished 32nd (+2:53.2).

“It was just one of those days where nothing went totally wrong but nothing went right either,” Bailey explained in an email.

His prone penalties put him in 25th, nearly two minutes out of first, halfway through.

“I recovered a bit with a clean stage in the first standing but I set myself pretty far back with two misses in the end,” he wrote after leaving the range for the last time in 31st. “I’m not sure why I missed in the last standing. I felt good with the position and I felt stable. Sometimes you just miss!

“My legs were a little heavy, this being the third of a three-day mini-series… But that too is biathlon, three races a week, three weeks in a row,” he added. “It’s a brutal schedule but normally I’m able to handle it ok. The trick now is to get some recovery in before the next races in Pokljuka.”

The third U.S. man, Leif Nordgren skied up to 37th after starting 51st and 2:19 back. On Saturday, Nordgren and the rest of the U.S. men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay were lapped on the final leg after a tough day on the range. After getting tagged in 11th, Nordgren used all his spares and skied four penalty loops.

Leif Nordgren racing up from 51st to 38th on Sunday in the IBU World Cup 12.5 k pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

He tried to forget it soon after.

“It was such a spectacular mess that it wasn’t worth even giving a second thought to,” Nordgren wrote in an email. “I know that I’m better than that, sometimes those things happen and it doesn’t help to worry about it! Not really sure what happened, or why, but like I said I’m not really trying to think it out.”

For Sunday’s race, he figured anything could happen and aimed to land in the top 30.

“The first lap is my least favorite, everyone in the back just guns it as fast as they can, I think this is the second week in a row where I’ve been the last one into the range for the first shooting!” he explained. “But I like starting out a little more conservative and hopefully having some more gas for the last loop.”

Nordgren cleaned his first two stages, missed one standing, and cleaned his last standing.

“I was a little too relaxed in the first standing, I took it shot by shot instead of getting into a nice rhythm,” he wrote. “So it was just a bad shot, I was more aggressive in the second standing and it worked out perfectly.”

Without much left to give on the last loop, he went from 36th to 37th at the finish (+3:30.1).

“Overall I’m pretty happy with the weekend,” he wrote. “It was a step up from Ostersund for sure, hopefully I can keep climbing into next week as well.”

The two Canadian men in Sunday’s race — Brendan Green and Nathan Smith — struggled on the range, with Green missing five and Smith being penalized two minutes for another racer’s crossfire. While it appeared he cleaned his first and last stages, Smith didn’t actually clean his last standing — the person next to him did.

“This has never happened to me in all my years of biathlon,” Smith explained. “I wasn’t exactly sure what to do so I waited for a good 40 seconds, the target did not reset, so I took my partially full magazine out, cleared the chamber and left.”

It didn’t take him long to realize that he’d be penalized for not firing all five shots.

“Right after I left I was like f***, I’m disqualified now!” Smith wrote. “Turns out it’s actually a 2 min penalty for failing to use each bullet. So that mishap cost me close to 3 minutes total.”

With two misses (0+1+1+0) and the added time penalty, Smith finished 49th (+5:19.6) after starting 44th and 1:57 behind the leader.

“I was really happy with my ski form in yesterday’s relay, so I was optimistic about how today could go,” he wrote, referring to his team’s sixth-place relay on Saturday. “I felt absolutely wrecked yesterday evening though and just hoped that I would feel a lot more energetic after a good night’s sleep.”

Yet on Sunday, he realized his skiing wasn’t there.

“It was a tough race for me and I couldn’t really find the extra motivation to give 100% because it was just hurting too much,” Smith wrote. “I made good time in the range, but suffered on course. I was mostly able to maintain position thanks to shooting quickly.”

Green started 49th and ended up 44th (1+0+1+3), 4:21.9 back. In an email, he explained that his race was “fairly decent” up until the last standing. For one, he was feeling good skiing and posted the 32nd-fastest course time overall.

“I had my best ski of the year today which is a step in the right direction,” Green wrote.

Hovering around 42nd before his last bout, he knew he could potentially move up with a clean last stage.

“Unfortunately I ended up with three misses,” he wrote. “I just kind of went for it with a nothing-to-lose attitude in the last shooting and the first miss felt very close to a hit so I continued with my rhythm and kept missing by what felt like just a small margin. It was frustrating and in hindsight I should have taken a second or two to reset after the first miss, but the shots were feeling good and not out of control. Lesson learned on that front today I guess.”

Overall, he felt the weekend was an improvement, although, “I’m still not content with my form and know I’m capable of a lot more,” he added.

On the bright side, after he and his teammates tied a team-best relay result, Green watched his girlfriend Rosanna Crawford achieve a career-best fifth in Sunday morning’s women’s pursuit.

“When it hit me that if she shot clean she would be leaving the range in 3rd or 4th I held my breath until she was done shooting,” Green wrote. “That’s when I started yelling at the TV and things really got intense! It was a little more action then I’m used to in the morning while I’m getting ready to race, but it was awesome.

“She’s had a taste of what it’s like to fight it out for a podium today and there’s no doubt it will happen any day now,” he added. “I think she’s finished in the top 10 just once prior to today, so as soon as she accepts that she belongs in the top 10 and then the top 5, a podium will be the next step.”

December 14, 2014
Semerenko Locks Up First IBU World Cup Win Before Holiday Break; Crawford Cracks Top 20 in Annecy Pursuit

Biathletes Andrea Henkel (l) of Germany, Veronika Vitkova (second from r) of the Czech Republic, and Ukraine’s Valj Semerenko (r) in a World Cup pursuit last season in Oberhof, Germany. Semerenko placed third in the pursuit behind Russia’s Olga Zaitseva (not shown) in first and Vitkova in second. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

About halfway through the IBU World Cup women’s 10-kilometer pursuit on Sunday, Valj Semerenko’s luck started to change.

A penalty on her first prone had put her in 11^th with four loops to go at Le Grand Bornand in Annecy, France. The Ukrainian had started third behind Switzerland’s Selina Gasparin and Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen, respectively; backwards wasn’t the direction Semerenko was hoping for.

Most of the eventual top 16 cleaned the first stage, except Gasparin, Semerenko and Germany’s Franziska Preuss. Meanwhile, Mäkäräinen, Gabriela Soukalova of the Czech Republic, and Russia’s Olga Vilukhina moved to the front of the pack, all cleaning their second prone.

The first standing, however, threw a stick in their tracks. Mäkäräinen entered the range first and came out with three penalties, and Vilukhina missed one. Soukalova cleaned again for a 10-second lead over Semerenko and another Ukrainian, Olena Pidhrushna, who cleaned the first three stages.

Ukraine was quickly moving up in the standings, along with Russia’s Irina Starykh and Vilukhina, another 10 seconds behind heading into the final standing.

With the pressure on, Semerenko entered the range third behind Soukalova and Starykh, respectively. The Czech World Cup leader missed one, Starykh cleaned once more and Semerenko did the same to put 20 seconds into Soukalova and Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff, who came back from a penalty in the third stage.

With a kilometer remaining and the top two women accelerating toward the finish, Semerenko attacked on the final climb to drop Starykh and win her first World Cup in 28:05.4. Starykh was 4.2 seconds behind, and Eckhoff overtook Soukalova for third and her first World Cup podium, another 11.3 seconds back. Soukalova finished fourth (+21.9) about seven seconds ahead of Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, who cleaned for fifth. Gasparin finished sixth (+37.1).

“I did not expect such success here in France,” the 27-year-old Semerenko, who turns 28 on Jan. 28, told IBU. “It is a nice New Year present to myself. I am happy to win, especially after such a battle with a great competitor like Irina on the last lap … It is just starting to sink in.”

After 20-for-20 shooting, Starykh dismissed suggestions that she was Russia’s top woman. “I do not think I am the top woman. This is the result of my summer training. I am only concerned about results,” she told IBU.

Despite her first World Cup podium, Eckhoff was similarly straightforward. “It was just my day,” she said. “I shot well and did my work.”

Crawford Cracks Top 20

Biathlon Canada’s Rosanna Crawford at last week’s IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria..

Out of four Canadian women in the pursuit, Rosanna Crawford had the best position from the beginning, starting 26^th and a minute behind Gasparin. Her first prone didn’t go so well and she racked it up to the range’s quick entry from a downhill, which was especially tough in lanes 25 through 30.

“My first prone don’t think I switched over soon enough. The shots were everywhere,” Crawford wrote in an email. “From there I made sure to start my range entry sooner.”

The 25 year old then cleaned her second prone and missed one more on her first standing. She rose from 37^th on the second loop to 29^th on the third (with the ninth-fastest loop time), and finally 20^th before her final loop. With Norway’s Fanny Well-Strand Horn about eight seconds ahead of her on the last loop, Crawford worked hard to catch her and credited her fast skis for helping her do so.

She finished 19^th for her best pursuit result, 1:47.5 behind Semerenko and 1.1 seconds ahead of Horn.

“Anything is always possible in a pursuit,” Crawford explained. “It’s been a good 4 weeks in Europe but I am ready to go home and recover and see my family! The next trip will be a long one.”

The IBU World Cup resumes Jan. 3 in Oberhof, Germany.

Crawford’s teammate Megan Heinicke rose from 50^th to 33^rd with two penalties – one in the first and third stages – for her second-best pursuit result at the World Cup. Starting 1:41 behind, Heinicke figured a top 30 was possible given how tightly packed everyone was from the start.

Despite missing her first shot in the first prone, Heinicke, 25, clocked the third-fastest range time. The second time around, she was second fastest on both the range and the loop.

“The fast shooting times were part of my plan … I wanted to go into the shooting confident, focused, fast and aggressive,” Heinicke explained in an email. “While I did make a conscious decision to shoot aggressively on the whole I was more focused on the shooting process today which was a good thing.”

She ended up with the fastest overall shooting time, which surprised her.

“The ski times came about more naturally,” Heinicke wrote. “I was feeling a bit tired today and the loop times partially reflect my own feeling as well as the speed of the different groups I was skiing with.”

She finished 2:25.2 behind the winner and was pleased to end the day and trimester with 90-percent shooting.

“I feel a mixture of frustration and determination,” she said of the last five days in Annecy, which started with the Canadian women notching an unprecedented fourth in Thursday’s relay. “I have seen fast enough skiing, fast enough shooting and good enough shooting from myself to know that the top 30 and top 16 are realistic goals. Of course, to reach these goals I will need to do a better job of bringing everything together on the same day which makes me very determined to train smart and focused over Christmas.”

Heinicke’s headed home to her husband and son Predo Emil, who turned 3 in November and was at the races last week in Hochfilzen, Austria.

Rounding out the Canadian performances on Sunday, Megan Imrie placed 41^st – one place behind where she started – with four standing penalties. Three came on the first standing and she missed one more on the last stage.

Zina Kocher had seven penalties to drop from 45^th to 52^nd (2+1+2+2) and American Susan Dunklee finished 53^rd of 58 with 15-for-20 shooting (1+1+1+2).

Results

December 16, 2013
Biathlon Rollerski Championships: Pursuit Photos

JERICHO, Vt. — Images from Day 2 of the North American Biathlon Rollerski Championships: the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit on Aug. 11 at the Ethan Allen Firing Range. (Women’s 10 k pursuit photos in progress.)

Russell Currier

Brendan Green on course at North American Rollerski Biathlon Championships this summer.

Tim Burke

Jay Hakkinen

Jean-Philippe Le Guellec

Wynn Roberts

Marc-Andre Bedard

Nathan Smith (Biathlon Canada) racing to seventh in the 12.5 k pursuit in early August at 2013 North American Biathlon Rollerski Championships in Jericho, Vt. Four months later, he’s punched his ticket to Sochi.

Jeremy Teela

Scott Perras

Scott Gow

Raleigh Goessling

Bill Bowler (r) and Christian Gow

Christian Gow

Macx Davies racing in the 2013 North American Biathlon Rollerski Championships 12.5 k pursuit in Jericho, Vt.

Casey Smith

Ethan Dreissigacker

Guillaume Bertrand

Conrad Roberts

Sam Dougherty

Lowell Bailey (c) leads first time into range, cleans first prone

Brendan Green (l) and Tim Burke get ready to shoot head-to-head in the first prone. Both missed one.

Lowell Bailey leads through the first standing

Green (l) and Burke still together through first standing

Bailey in clear control through second standing

Bailey

Green (l) and Burke still duking it out through final standing stage

Burke leaves the range first with two misses.

Green follows after cleaning the last stage to pass Burke for second place

Lowell Bailey competing at North American Summer Biathlon Championships in August, where he also swept both the sprint and pursuit races.

Lowell Bailey pushes through the finish. He won by more than three minutes in 32:10.

Green pushing toward the finishing strech

Burke bringing it home in third

Leif Nordgren (r) holds of Jay Hakkinen near the finish. Nordgren placed fourth and Hakkinen was fifth.

Hakkinen

Scott Gow placing sixth

Nathan Smith takes seventh

Nathan Smith

Jeremy Teela placing eighth

Russell Currier takes ninth

Scott Perras finishing 10th

See also: Sprint photos | Women’s weekend race recap | Men’s recap

August 14, 2013
Dreissigacker Gets Glance from the Top; Crawford Chases Down Pursuit Win at Rollerski Championships

Hannah Dreissigacker (Craftsbury Green Racing Project/USBA A-team) heads out with a 30-second lead in Sunday’s pursuit after winning the sprint on Saturday at North American Biathlon Rollerski Championships in Jericho, Vt. She went on to place second to Canadian Rosanna Crawford.

JERICHO, Vt. – It’s not easy having a target on your back. Ask Hannah Dreissigacker, who made the US Biathlon A-team this year at age 26, just a year after fully committing to the sport. A member of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, which her parents founded, Dreissigacker previously dabbled in both biathlon and cross-country skiing, racing whenever she could and shooting on the side.

This season heading into the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, she’s going to be one of the U.S. women to watch.

Not completely accustomed to all the attention, Dreissigacker was showered with hugs and congratulations after Saturday’s opening race at the North American Biathlon Rollerski Championships. She won the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint by 31 seconds – no small feat for a relative newcomer. Sure, she’s raced International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cups and World Championships, but Dreissigacker was now one step closer to securing a trip to the US Biathlon (USBA) November camp in Sweden, where World Cup starts will be dolled out. Athletes that do well there could represent the U.S. at the Olympics.

But let’s not get too far ahead. Dreissigacker said the step-by-step qualification system – which starts with rollerski trials in Jericho and two more in October in Midway, Utah – was a “pretty fair” system. Top skiers between the four races qualify for the Sweden camp and will shoot for the World Cup from there.

“It’s not like you win this and you go to the Olympics,” Dreissigacker said. “You have to do well enough in the rollerski races in the summer, but you have to do well in the winter, too.”

US Biathlon teammates Hannah Dreissigacker (r) and Susan Dunklee (c) in the range together with Biathlon Canada’s Rosanna Crawford for the final standing of Sunday’s 10 k pursuit at North American Biathlon Rollerski Championships in Jericho, Vt.

Despite several chances to prove herself worthy of the USBA’s standards, the Vermont native found herself a little nervous on Saturday, then even more so before Sunday’s 10 k pursuit. She was given a 30-second head start – not a ton of time when you’ve got Canadian Olympic team member Rosanna Crawford and the top-ranked U.S. woman, Susan Dunklee, on your heels.

“I wasn’t nervous until just little bit before for the race and then suddenly I was starting to get that feeling of having people behind you,” Dreissigacker said. “That’s what makes a real biathlon race. With the shooting aspect, there’s so much potential to move around so that’s what makes it fun.”

A day after hitting 7 of 10 targets on a windy morning at the Ethan Allen Firing Range, Dreissigacker missed seven out of 20 in the pursuit, one in the first prone and two in each stage thereafter, to finish second to Crawford.

Rosanna Crawford (Biathlon Canada) winning Sunday’s 10 k pursuit by more than a minute at North American Biathlon Rollerski Championships in Jericho, Vt.

On the first of five laps, Crawford and Dunklee entered the range just as Dreissigacker was leaving. Crawford, 25, gradually closed the gap before taking the lead the last time around. One of two women on Biathlon Canada’s national team, she won in 31:14, a minute and 12 seconds ahead of Dreissigacker. Dunklee struggled with shooting, missing two on the first prone then four on the first standing before finishing fifth with eight penalties (2-0-4-2).

Meanwhile, Crawford cleaned all but the second prone for 19-for-20 shooting. She skied one too many penalty loops when she didn’t realize she cleaned the first prone.

“I thought I had missed my last shot, but turns out it was a really slow split,” she explained. “I didn’t hear them tell me it went down until I was already in the penalty loop and even then I wasn’t sure what they were saying.”

She finished the loop and headed back out, not thinking too much of it. Fortunately for Crawford, the races had little implications: she’d already prequalified for Sochi and was simply measuring her progress. The day before, she’d finished second to Dreissigacker after missing three on the prone (3-0). Her first lap on Saturday had been slower than some of the U.S. women’s, so she wanted to push harder from start to finish and see if she could hang in for the duration.

It ended up working out both days, even after an intense training block culminating in Jericho.

“It’s been a tough couple weeks leading into these races so I’m glad I’m not totally dead on the skis,” Crawford said. “It was a good chance for me to work on a few things, like pushing my lap times and shooting a bit faster standing.”

Slightly disappointed with her prone shooting while being patient with her new stock, Crawford picked up some tips from a Norwegian with a Master’s degree in dry firing, who presented at the Ethan Allen military base on Saturday night.

“It was an interesting talk and reminded of a few things I used to do during the race season that really helped lead to some good shooting,” she explained. “I shot really slow [in Sunday’s] prone, and I was pretty happy to come off it with only 1 miss!”

Tracy Barnes (Twin Biathletes) finishing third in the 10 k pursuit to keep the Barnes’ podium tradition alive at North American Biathlon Rollerski Championships in Jericho, Vt.

Starting seventh and 1:24 behind Dreissigacker, Tracy Barnes (Twin Biathletes) rose to third with three penalties (2-0-1-0), 1:31 behind Crawford. She and her twin sister Lanny, a USBA B-team member who improved from 11^th in the sprint to seventh, both cleaned the second prone in the pursuit.

Last year, Lanny swept both races in Jericho, but the two have been recovering from compartment-syndrome surgery since February, when a Colorado Springs doctor made incisions in their leg muscles to relieve pressure.

“Physically my legs are feeling better than they have in years,” Tracy wrote in an email. “I was disappointed in my result during the sprint, but not surprised that I might be a little further back than I wanted to be.”

On Saturday, she missed three prones and cleaned the standing; Lanny had one penalty in the prone and three in the standing.

“Lanny and I both knew that training had been a little slow coming into this because of our surgery and we wouldn’t be where we were normally,” she explained. “We just wanted to get back into racing and see where we were at and go from there. My game plan for the pursuit was just picking people off. There’s always an opportunity for that in a pursuit, which makes the race so much fun.”

She also spent quite a bit of time on course with her sister: one lap in the sprint and several in the pursuit.

“I love being able to do that,” Tracy wrote. “It makes me more relaxed. … We like to rumble against each other and push each other in training and racing so it makes it a blast.”

A member of Canada’s World Cup team, Audrey Vaillancourt missed just one shot on the day (0-0-1-0) for fourth in the pursuit, up from 10^th in the sprint. USBA A-team members Sara Studebaker and Annelies Cook finished sixth and eighth, respectively. Canadian Claude Godbout (Courcelette) was ninth, and Biathlon Canada’s Megan Imrie placed 10^th.

Results: Sprint | Pursuit

August 12, 2013