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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: 2015 FIS Marathon Cup

  • Brooks Narrowly Misses Overall FIS Marathon Cup Victory, 10th in Ugra

    Brooks Narrowly Misses Overall FIS Marathon Cup Victory, 10th in Ugra

    Holly Brooks (2nd from the right) was third in the 2015 FIS Marathon Cup, after finishing 10th in the final event, the 50 k freestyle race Ugra Ski Marathon in Siberia, Russia, on Saturday. Tatjana Mannima of Estonia (center) won the overall Marathon Cup, and Aurelie Dabudyk of France was second (2nd from the left). Photo: FIS/Worldloppet
    Holly Brooks (2nd from the right) was third in the 2015 FIS Marathon Cup, after finishing 10th in the final event, the 50 k freestyle race Ugra Ski Marathon in Siberia, Russia, on Saturday. Tatjana Mannima of Estonia (center) won the overall Marathon Cup, and Aurelie Dabudyk of France was second (2nd from the left). Antonella Confortola of tally (left) was fourth overall, and Ekaterina Rudikova of Russia (right) was sixth overall. Photo: FIS/Worldloppet

    With her 10th-place finish in the Ugra Ski Marathon in Siberia, Russia, on Saturday, American Holly Brooks was third overall in the 2015 FIS Marathon Cup, only 15 points short of first overall.

    “Today I fell a bit short of a season-long goal but hey, that’s part of the sport,” APU’s Brooks said in a comment on her Facebook page, explaining that she was just missing the power in the tough spring conditions in the freestyle race this weekend. Originally slated as a 50 k, the course was shortened to 30 k due to warm conditions.

    “It was tough skiing out there: deep, dirty slush and a relentless ‘tropical’ headwind,” she wrote. “When I tried to apply the gas, it was like trying to drive a car on an empty tank. Today I felt as if I was a corpse on skis, as it turns out that 500k of racing and four months of ‘living on the road’ away from home was a bit too much for a strong finish.”

    Brooks had been leading the overall FIS Marathon Cup going into the Ugra, but only had a narrow 4-point lead to Tatjana Mannima of Estonia, and a 51-point lead to Aurelie Dabudyk of France. The 26 points netted from her 10th-place finish were not enough to hang onto the lead. Mannima won the series with 496 points after placing fifth, while Dabudyk rode a strong second-place finish in the race to pass Brooks in the rankings as well. Dabudyk finished with 484 points and Brooks was third with 481 points overall.

    Mannima also won the series in 2012-2013. Brooks’ third place is the top North American result in the overall FIS Marathon Cup to date. Now she is looking forward to come home to Alaska.

    Jessie Diggins (U.S. Ski team) leads Ekaterina Rudakova of Belarus, whom Diggins passed, up "little" Mördarbacken early in the women's 10 k freestyle individual start at 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden. Diggins went on to take silver for the best-ever U.S. women's distance result at an international championships; Rudakova placed 39th.
    Jessie Diggins (U.S. Ski team) leads Ekaterina Rudakova of Belarus, whom Diggins passed, up “little” Mördarbacken early in the women’s 10 k freestyle individual start at 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden. Diggins went on to take silver for the best-ever U.S. women’s distance result at an international championships; Rudakova placed 39th.

    It was defending Ugra champion Ekaterina Rudikova of Belarus who took home the race win by almost a minute, clocking in at 1:19:46.4, while Dabudyk of France finished in 1:20:42.9; Antonella Confortola Wyatt was third. Brooks crossed the line in 1:27:38.9.

    Her win was not without controversy. Women do not have their own starting waves in FIS Marathon Cup races, but are not allowed to work with men to set the pace or block for them. Some alleged that Rudakova did just that.

    “I was accused of having pacemakers at the race and it made me mad and gave extra power,” she told FIS. “I wanted to prove [to] everyone that I can win. It really gave me good motivation throughout the whole race. The course shortening did not affect me, I had lot of power in me and could have gone on. Next year I maybe try to win the overall FIS Marathon Cup.”

    And that wasn’t the only drama.

    The Russian website skisport.ru reported that the race was poorly organized and that this in fact may have affected the results:

    “According to eyewitnesses, the competition took place on a low organizational level. Due to weather conditions, the organizers had to change the route of the race, which failed to prepare properly. The start was delayed, but the most important thing – none of the participants had been warned before the start that the distance was reduced, and instead of accelerating loops and three laps of 15 km, the finish was after three laps of 7.5 km. Many participants… did not expect so much rapid completion of the marathon, and expected another 20 km struggle. Some, like Anton Gafarov, went out for another lap from which they had to return.“

    Gafarov, a World Cup podium finisher, and the racer who at the Sochi Olympics became U.S.-media famous after receiving a ski from Canadian coach Justin Wadsworth after breaking one in the sprint semifinals, finished 27th.

    The Ugra was also the smallest of the WorldLoppet marathons, with only 400 competitors completing the race.

    The men’s race came down to a sprint finish. Swiss World Cup skier Toni Livers won the race in 1:13:39.0, 0.4 seconds ahead of Aliaksey Ivanov of Russia. Evgeniy Belov of the Russian national team was third, finishing in 1:13:51.1.

    “The race course was difficult and hard as the snow was very soft,” Livers told FIS. “I saw that some of the athletes had some difficulties. There was a small group for a while and then me and another skier were able to make a gap. We worked well together all along and there were only 2 of us in the end. I was able to cross the finish line in front. It was really great!”

    Petr Novak of the Czech Republic had a comfortable lead in the overall Marathon Cup prior to the event, and was able to hold on to that lead even with a seventh place finish. Benoit Chauvet of France was fifth in the Ugra, but beating Novak by two spots in the final race was not enough to snag the overall title. Novak still won by 50 points total, collecting a total of 442 points. Chauvet was second overall with 392 points, and Livers was third with 268 points.

    Ugra Ski Marathon Results: men / women

    FIS Marathon Cup final standings: men / women

    Petr Novak of the Czech Republic won the 2015 FIS Marathon Cup, with Benoit Chauvet of France in second place, Toni Livers of Switzerland in third. Photo: FIS/Worldloppet
    Petr Novak of the Czech Republic won the 2015 FIS Marathon Cup, with Benoit Chauvet of France in second place, Toni Livers of Switzerland in third. Photo: FIS/Worldloppet
  • Gregg Skates to Third, Brooks Fifth in Switzerland’s Engadin (with Videos)

    Gregg Skates to Third, Brooks Fifth in Switzerland’s Engadin (with Videos)

    American Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus) placed third at the 2015 Engadin Skimarathon on Sunday. (Photo: Inge Scheve)
    American Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus) placed third at the 2015 Engadin on Sunday, a 42 k freestyle marathon from Maloja to S-chanf, Switzerland. (Photo: Inge Scheve)

    S-CHANF, Switzerland — Coming off a bronze medal at Nordic World Championships, American Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus) finished third in Sunday’s Engadin Skimarathon 42-kilometer freestyle from Maloja to S-chanf, Switzerland, just 7.6 seconds out from the win, which France’s Anouk Faivre Picon seized in 1:39:35.3.

    Russia’s Ilia Chernousov won the men’s race by one-tenth of a second over France’s Robin Duvillard in 1:34:50.

    Picon won the sprint finish, 0.8 seconds ahead last year’s Engadin champion Riita-Liisa Roponen of Finland. Gregg placed third and France’s Aurelie Dabudyk was 1:41.7 back in fourth. Two-time U.S. Olympian Holly Brooks (Team Santander) finished fifth (+1:53.3).

    “My skis were awesome,” Gregg told FasterSkier after the race. “I felt so good in the race, and I’m so ready for the World Cups in Oslo next week.”

    Gregg, who finished the Engadin Skimarathon for the first time, was surprised about the level of competition.

    “The race was super aggressive from the start. The men come in on you all over, and it makes the whole thing really crazy,” she said, adding that it was difficult to keep track of where her opponents stood.

    “I got to the hills by St Moritz, and I saw an opening, so I made a jump there and just kept hammering to get by as many guys as I could,” she explained.

    Ropenen got a gap on Gregg, who also didn’t notice that Picon had passed her.

    “The girls got cut off all the time, and during the sprint to the finish, about fifty guys swarmed around us,” Gregg said.

    Caitlin Gregg (third from l) on the podium in third at the 2015 Engadin 42 k freestyle marathon in S-chanf, Switzerland. Two Americans made the flower ceremony, with Holly Brooks in fifth (second from right). France's Anouk Faivre Picon won the women's race, and Finland's Riita-Liisa Roponen was third. (Photo: Fast Big Dog)
    Caitlin Gregg (third from l) on the podium in third at the 2015 Engadin 42 k freestyle marathon in S-chanf, Switzerland. Two Americans made the flower ceremony, with Holly Brooks in fifth (second from right). France’s Anouk Faivre Picon won the women’s race, and Finland’s Riita-Liisa Roponen was third. (Photo: Fast Big Dog)

    “It’s brutal out there for the women,” Brooks said, adding that she hopes the organizers will consider establishing a separate women’s wave to make the competition more fair.

    The remains of the brutal battles were evident to the waves following the elite: the race course was littered with broken poles, baskets and equipment debris from start to finish.

    The pile grew throughout the morning as more marathon racers descended on the track. In total, more than 13,300 skiers participated in the 47th Engadin Skimarathon, making the Swiss race the third-largest Engadin event on record.

    Chernousov, who now lives near the Engadin finish in S-chanf with his wife Selina Gasparin of the Swiss biathlon team, secured a home victory in the men’s race. He won the photo finish over Duvillard by 0.1 seconds, while Switzerland’s Roman Furger was third 0.9 seconds back. Another Swiss skier Jason Rueesch, was just 0.2 seconds off the podium in fourth.

    Brian Gregg (Team Gregg/Madshus) was the top American man in 24th, 26 seconds behind the winner. David Norris of Alaska Pacific University (APU) placed 32nd (+40.2), Sun Valley’s Miles Havlick was 35th (+51.5) and APU’s Tyler Kornfield finished 61st (+6:21.2).

    In the women’s race, Canada’s Karen Messenger placed 29th (+24:34.2).

    The battle of the FIS Marathon Cup

    With fifth place in the Engadin Skimarathon, Brooks is back in the FIS Marathon Cup leader bib with one race remaining.

    “I accomplished one goal today, and that was to take back the red bib, but I’m not so happy with my race,” Brooks said. “I’m not in top shape, and I definitely feel that I haven’t raced much at altitude. Once we hit the hills at St Moritz, it was so hard to follow.”

    With fifth place in the Engadin, Brooks has 455 points in the overall FIS Marathon Cup and is now just 4 points ahead of Tatiana Mannima of Estonia with only one race to go in the race series. Mannima placed 11th on Sunday, 6:15.4 behind the winner. She is 47 points ahead of Dabudyk, who’s currently third overall. The final event is the 50 k freestyle Ugra Marathon on April 11 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

    “It all comes down to that race in Russia now, and it’s over a month until we race,” Brooks said, adding that she was next headed to Norway for the Norwegian Birkebeiner and potentially some other races to stay focused until the Ugra.

    Petr Novak, who was 29th on Sunday, is still leading the overall 2015 FIS Marathon Cup. With 404 points for the season, Novak has a comfortable gap on Benoit Cahuvet of France in second place with 347 points and Sergio Bonaldi of Italy in third place with 229 points.

    Results: Women | Men