Johannes Rydzek (5) leading his two German teammates, Fabian Rießle (6) and Eric Frenzel, as well as Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber toward the finish of the nordic-combined large hill/10 k competition on Tuesday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. They finished in that order, with Germany sweeping the medals. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
It was a total team effort on Tuesday for Germany in the second nordic-combined individual event of the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, with Fabian Rießle, Johannes Rydzek and Eric Frenzel, with the help of Austria’s Wilhelm Denifl, chasing down Japan’s Akito Watabe and Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber about 6 kilometers into the 10 k race.
Earlier on Tuesday, Watabe had put himself in first with the best-ranked jump on PyeongChang’s 142-meter large hill. He started the 10 k Gundersen in first, just 1 second ahead of Riiber, who had jumped to second, just 0.3 points behind Watabe.
(Riiber had actually jumped farther with a distance of 139 meters, compared to Watabe’s 134-meter jump, and scored identical marks from the judges but lost points for wind compensation.)
Germany en route to a complete sweep of the podium in the men’s nordic-combined individual large hill/10 k on Tuesday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, with Johannes Rydzek (5) leading Fabian Rießle (6) and Eric Frenzel (4). They went on to place first, second and third, respectively. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
Behind them, Denifl started the 10 k race 16 seconds out of first, Frenzel surged out of the start 24 seconds back, Rydzek 31 seconds behind, and Rießle 34 seconds back.
While Watabe led Riiber off the front for the first two laps of the four-lap race, the three Germans caught Denifl before lapping through the stadium for the first time at 2.5 k. From there, 16 seconds behind the leaders, the four-man group worked to reel in first and second place and did so by 6 k.
The lead pack then became six as Riiber and Watabe continued to position themselves up front at the 7.5 k mark.
On the final lap at the 8.58 k marker, Watabe charged to the front in his move to reclaim first. After taking the lead on an uphill, it wasn’t long after until he found himself skiing with three others alongside him: Riiber, Rydzek and Frenzel.
Then, Watabe slipped behind Riiber and the group closed in around him. Watabe clipped a ski, apparently with Rießle, who didn’t stumble, but Watabe did and dropped to the back of the pack. For Watabe, that was the end. For Germany, it was the beginning.
Frenzel led the charge up the final climb with Rydzek and Rießle behind him while Riiber tried to keep pace. Riiber slotted into fourth over the top and the foursome flew down into the stadium, with Rydzek coming out of the draft in first and leading Rießle, Frenzel and Riiber to the finish, respectively.
They finished in that order, with Rydzek taking gold in 23:52.5 minutes, 0.4 seconds ahead of Rießle in second place and 0.8 seconds ahead of Frenzel in third. Riiber crossed 2.8 seconds back in fourth, and Watabe ended up fifth (+12.5).
Germany had four in the top seven with Vinzenz Geiger in seventh (+50.1), behind Finland’s Eero Hirvonen in sixth (+22.1).
“I looked up to the video wall and saw the first three: all Germans,” Geiger recalled in a post-race interview with German broadcaster ARD. “That made me really happy, and of course I can also be happy about my seventh place.”
Bryan Fletcher en route to 17th in Tuesday’s large hill/10 k competition, tying his best result at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
American Bryan Fletcher repeated his result from the normal-hill competition as well, placing 17th on Tuesday, 1:42.9 minutes behind Rydzek in first. Fletcher had started the 10 k 2:04 minutes back in 23rd based on his jump. His teammate Ben Berend started 8 seconds behind him in 24th. Ultimately, Fletcher raced up to 17th with the 10th-fastest course time while Berend slipped to 39th (+4:28.2).
“The second I was in the air I knew I had a good one,” Berend told FasterSkier after the jumping portion of Tuesday’s competition. “Because when you do it right, you’re just flying, and I was really high and I was pulling away towards the bottom of the hill and so I knew, but I couldn’t feel any wind or anything. I was just so psyched, trying to enjoy every second of it.
In his first Olympic race, American Ben Berend on his way to 39th in the large hill/10 k competition at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. He started the day by jumping to 24th, which he said was his best competition jump of the season. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
“I haven’t had that many good jumps this season so I’ve just been searching for that,” Berend explained. “It’s funny, it’s so easy when you are doing it right and it’s so hard when you’re lost, and so I finally felt like, that might have been my best jump of the season, honestly, so what are the odds of doing that at the Olympics? That’s pretty cool.”
Tuesday was the 22 year old’s first Olympic competition after he sat out the first individual event because his jumping had been going poorly in training, he said. (Each team can only start four athletes per event. Taylor Fletcher sat out Tuesdsay’s competition.)
“I definitely was a little nervous for tonight, even though there is no pressure on me,” Berend said. “… Our coach [three-time U.S. Olympic biathlete Jeremy Teela] texted us, he’s actually our cross-county coach, he’s back at home, and he just said, ‘You guys have nothing to lose. Don’t be scared to fail.’ So that’s kind of our mindset here, and it was good; it kind of works for me.”
American Bryan Fletcher (23) skiing with Norway’s Jørgen Graabak (19) during the cross-country race of Tuesday’s individual large hill/10 k competition at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Fletcher went on to finish 17th while Graabak placed 10th. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
After the race, Bryan Fletcher, who had skied up to 13th by 7.5 k, recalled pulling a chase group for most of the four laps. He ended up 17th, 3.2 seconds shy of 16th place, behind Japan’s Go Yamamoto.
“I went all in and just tried to make up as much ground as possible,” Fletcher told FasterSkier after. “I was hopeful and optimistic that I’d have the legs at the end. I knew that they were going to come around me with a pretty hard attack, and both of the guys that were with me have great finishing sprints, so I tried to pace myself a little bit, but I also knew that 17th or 10th or whatever you could get up to, it doesn’t really matter unless you’re on the podium so I was really going all in. … Unfortunately it didn’t work out, but I’m happy with how I skied and happy with the performance I had on the course today.”
American Ben Loomis racing to 40th in the large hill/10 k competition at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
Just behind Berend, his teammate Ben Loomis finished 40th (+4:38.8), up from 43rd in the jump, and Jasper Good followed in 43rd (+5:50.2), up from 46th.
“It was kind of tough jumping … [and] hard to start the race at the back, but overall it was a good race by me and I felt pretty good out there,” Loomis said after. “Regardless of how I have and how I continue to do here, there’s a lot to take away and I’m learning a lot about how to better refine my preparations and just stay relaxed out there and just really put my best foot forward.”
Nordic combined at the 2018 Games will conclude with the 4 x 5 k team event on Thursday.
Germany’s Eric Frenzel celebrates defending his Olympic gold in the normal hill/10 k Gundersen on Wednesday, the first nordic-combined competition of the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Japan’s Akito Watabe (l) placed second, 4.8 seconds back. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Wednesday at the Alpensia nordic sport complex, the first of the scheduled three nordic-combined events of the 2018 Olympics got underway. Despite the women’s 15-kilometer individual biathlon event being postponed to Thursday due to high winds, the nordic-combined jumping portion went off earlier in the day as planned.
The men’s individual normal hill/10-kilometer Gundersen competition saw Austria’s Franz-Josef Rehrl scored the highest number of points off the jump with a jump of 112 meters and 130.6 points. Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber jumped to second, flying 111 meters and scoring 126.9 points, and Japan’s Akito Watabe posted the third-best jump of 105.5 meters, which scored 123.7 points.
Four U.S. nordic combined skiers entered the competition. After the jump, Bryan Fletcher was the top American in 18th place. Ben Loomis was the next best placed American in 37th, while Taylor Fletcher ranked 39th and Jasper Good 47th.
The pursuit-race format saw Rehrl leave first on the demanding four-lap, 10 k course. Riiber followed in second, starting 15 seconds back, Watabe began with a 28-second deficit.
Germany’s Eric Frenzel (5) leads Austria’s Lukas Klapfer during the individual normal hill/10 k competition on Wednesday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Frenzel went on to win while Klapfer placed third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
Several skiers ready to chase down the leaders began with reasonable time penalties to overcome. Germany’s Eric Frenzel started 36 second back in fifth, Austria’s Lukas Klapfer was Frenzel’s initial rabbit, starting four seconds before the German in fourth place.
Both Fletcher brothers are renowned for their cross-country skiing. Often ranked in the top three for overall time on the 10 k course, a deficit of over a minute is not an insurmountable gap for the brothers from Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Yet on Wednesday, Bryan began 2:06 minutes back while Taylor looked ahead at a massive 3:37-minute vacuum to Rehrl in first. Loomis began the ski four seconds ahead of Taylor, while Good started in the wave, 4 minutes back.
For the first 2.5 k lap of the race, the 24-year-old Rehrl skied alone until a climb about 5 minutes in, where Riiber caught him. The chase group, with Watabe, Klapfer, and Frenzel, wasn’t much farther behind. At the 2.5 k mark, that group was just 12 seconds behind the two leaders as they lapped through the stadium.
Meanwhile, Bryan pushed out of the start in immediate pursuit of Finland’s Ilkka Herola and Germany’s Fabian Rießle 2 and 3 seconds ahead of him, respectively. At 2.5 k, Bryan was up to 16th, skiing in a pack with Herola, Fabian Rießle, Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger, and Japan’s Hideaki Nagai and Go Yamamoto, about 1:33 minutes back from the leaders.
Halfway through the race at 5 k, Frenzel, Riiber, Watabe, Klapfer, and Rehrl pushed on as a unit, forming the nucleus from which gold, silver and bronze would eventually come. There, Bryan continued to ski in 16th with a slightly more strung-out chase pack, 1:18 behind Frenzel in first.
Frenzel, Watabe and Klapfer swapped leads over the next 2.5 k, while Rehrl dropped to seventh, 25 seconds behind Germany’s Johannes Rydzek and Finland’s Eero Hirvonen, who had 21 seconds between them and the leaders at 7.5 k.
Bryan spent most of that next lap skiing alone in 17th, about 10 seconds out of 16th. By the end of the third lap, he was almost a minute clear of France’s Jason Lamy-Chappuis in 18th.
While Bryan held his ground in 17th for the final 2.5 k, the four-man lead group battled for three medals. Frenzel moved into first with 1 k to go and on the last climb, a long grinder before a descent into the stadium, Frenzel launched his attack. Only Watabe in second could immediately respond, but about halfway up the climb, even he lost sight of Frenzel over the top.
Japan’s Akito Watabe (3) leading Germany’s Eric Frenzel and Austria’s Lukas Klapfer during the 10 k ski race portion of the normal hill/10 k at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. Frenzel went on to win, Watabe placed second and Klapfer third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
Frenzel steamrolled into the stadium to cross the finish line first in 24:15.4 minutes, defending his title from the normal hill/10 k four years ago at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia. While Frenzel, 29, is a perennial threat, it was only his second victory of the season, after he won a normal hill/10 k World Cup event in December in Ramsau, Austria. Meanwhile, Watabe came into the Games having won four of the last five individual World Cup competitions. But an Olympic gold still eludes the Japanese skier.
“It was a moment that was hard to stomach for me,” Frenzel recalled of the last few hundred meters of the race in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF. “In that moment I couldn’t yet quite believe that I could come back on the finish stretch in first place, and just tried to enjoy the moment. It was a lot of work up to this place for it to work out today. I waited for this for a long time again. And so I am overjoyed it worked out again.”
Watabe crossed the line 4.8 seconds later for silver, his second medal in as many Olympics after he placed second in the normall hill/10 k behind Frenzel in Sochi. Klapfer held off Riiber for third, 18.1 seconds behind Frenzel, for Klapfer’s second Olympic bronze after taking third with his Austrian teammates in the 4 x 5 k team event in Sochi.
Riiber placed fourth (+22.5), Rydzek was just behind in fifth (+27.9), Hirvonen finished sixth (+51.6), and Rießle and Herkola moved all the way up to seventh (+1:05.3) and eighth (+1:05.5), respectively, finishing with Geiger in ninth (+1:05.5).
With four Germans in the top 10, Frenzel predicted more success for his team at these Olympics.
“I hope there will be more golden moments like this here,” he told ZDF. “I think all of us are in good shape at the moment, especially Fabian [Rießle] who definitively was out of luck on the jump today. He surely can perform at a similar level as I did. So because of that we will keep attacking here over the next few days, especially on the large hill, and then we will see what is in it for us.”
American Bryan Fletcher racing to 17th in the normal hill/10 k Gundersen start on Wednesday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. It was his first individual top 20 at his second Olympics. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
Bryan nearly caught Estonia’s Kristjan Ilves in 16th at the line, finishing 0.3 seconds behind him in 17th (+2:12.2) for his best individual result in his second Olympics. The 31 year old’s previous Olympic best was 22nd in the large hill/10 k in Sochi.
In a post-race interview with FasterSkier and other reporters in PyeongChang, Bryan said that he was disappointed with the result and felt that, with faster skis, he could’ve been in the mix. He noticed his skis weren’t up to par with Germany and FInland immediately out of the start, where he said he was sprinting to catch Rießle and Herkola.
“A two-second gap, I should be able to just yo-yo right onto them, and I couldn’t even get there,” he said. “That to me was a surefire sign that something was up. Either my physical performance wasn’t there or the skis weren’t there. It very well could’ve been a combination of both.”
He explained that nordic-combined athletes don’t warm up on race skis. “They were good, but just not quite there,” Bryan said of his skis.
On the day, his course time ranked 22nd, about 20 places slower than usual.
“I dug deep, I’m happy with how I managed that today and limited losses,” he explained. “Positive takeaways from the jump hill I think were really good. I know that I can be in the fight there and also know that with some better skis I can be in fight in the cross-country, so refocus and looking forward to next week.”
American Bryan Fletcher after jumping to 18th on the 109-meter normal hill at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. He went on to finish 17th in the 10 k later in the day. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
After his jump, he had hoped for a top 10.
“In fact, I think it was completely doable,” Bryan said. “It was only about a minute to eighth so it was a little bit disappointing going in and not being able to close that gap. It’s a big event, it’s one day and certainly anything can happen. And unfortunately today the cards didn’t stack in our favor.”
As a father and the oldest member of the USA’s young Olympic team, Bryan said he had been giving his teammates some pointers.
“I think they’ve been calling me ‘Dad’ all week because they love the advice, so falling into a parent role again,” he said. “It’s been fun and certainly they give me as much energy as I give them.”
Behind him, his younger brother Taylor, 27, finished 35th (+3:27.8) with the 15th-fastest course time, Loomis placed 41st (+4:29.4), and Good 45th (+5:48.4).
American Taylor Fletcher racing to 35th in the normal hill/10 k, after jumping to 39th, at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
Asked about his day, Taylor described it as “Not awesome. I mean it was realistic,” he explained. “Average day on the jump, average day on the cross-country. I know what I did and what I need to do, and I think that’s the harsh reality, for sure, but it was a mix between thinking the skis weren’t so great, me definitely going a little too hard at the beginning and maybe me [trying to figure] out whether it was me or whether it was skis, and honestly I think it was more me.”
Italy’s Alessandro Pittin started the race 4 seconds ahead of him in 38th. Pittin went on to ski the fastest 10 k time of 23:48.9 to end up 19th at the finish.
“Alessandro Pittin is the fastest skier, he’s taken that away from me for sure,” Taylor said. “I think I put a little too much energy on that first lap trying to stay with him and then I actually went passed him and led in the wind going up this hill coming back toward the stadium, and I think that just put me on edge a little bit too much and too early.”
Taylor described the conditions as variable, alternating from glazed and fast to “mush” and “dead” feeling.
“It’s hard to describe where I’ve skied that before, but it has no character, no feeling to it, and it’s really hard to glide on it,” he said of the snow in PyeongChang. “I was struggling on the gradual hill coming back into the stadium and I felt like I couldn’t get up onto my toe for that final kick of V2 so I was very static and heavy on the legs and that’s not where I want to be at all. It’s not fluid for me, and it’s just difficult.”
As for his jumping, he was pleased with his improvement since earlier this season.
“It’s a million times better than it was in December,” he said. “… It’s still got a ways to go, but I’ve shown in these last couple weeks that slightly better jumps are leaps and bounds better for me.”
As the 10th jumper to descend down PyeongChang’s 109-meter hill on Wednesday, Taylor explained that the first three American jumpers got “a little unlucky” with the crosswind on the jump. Good was the first jumper of the day in bib 1, Loomis started ninth, Taylor 10th, and Bryan 26th out of 48 starters.
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American Ben Loomis jumping to 37th on the 109-meter normal hill at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
“I still had good conditions compared to Jasper, but compared to a lot of the other guys, I was still slightly behind them,” Taylor said. “But for me, I’ve just got to jump a little bit early and a little bit more forward with the speed and it’ll be there.”
Good told reporters that the top of the PyeongChang jump “literally feels like a hurricane. The wind is just howling and the first time we got up there training earlier this week, I was like, there is no chance we’re jumping right now,” he recalled. “But the wind barriers they have set up do an awesome job because when you actually get to the jump the wind is fine so it’s more of a mental battle.”
In his first Olympic competition, the 21-year-old Good’s jump of 76 meters put him last place going into the 10 k. But he started with four other skiers in a wave start, 4 minutes behind the leader.
“It’s a little bit easier to get motivation starting in the back in this event just because it’s so big, you’re on the world stage, and this is the kind of race where everyone has, like, inspired skis regardless of where they’re skiing,” Good said. “It just feels like there’s more to it and there’s more within you, but it’s just awesome to be out competing and achieve a personal dream of mine.”
American Ben Loomis en route to 41st in the normal hill/10 k Gundersen at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
Loomis said that while PyeongChang is probably the windiest place he’s ever jumped, it made for a challenging and exciting competition. He said his jump on Wednesday, at 86.5 meters, was better than most of his training jumps there.
“Most of the training rounds were even a lot windier than today, so we kind of got well-prepared for that, and luckily it was pretty good for the comp today,” Loomis explained. “The winds were about as even as they’ve been here so far.”
At 19 years old, Loomis is coming off a bronze-medal performance and fourth-place finish in two individual races at Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland, just two weeks ago.
“It’s my first Olympics and I’m one of the younger guys so I’m looking to take it all in and learn from this and gain as much experience as I can for the next Olympics in four or even eight years out of today,” he said.
The next nordic-combined competition at the Games is set for Tuesday, Feb. 20 with the individual large hill/10 k.
The nordic-combined normal hill/10 k podium at the 2018 Olympics, with Germany’s Eric Frenzel (c) in first, Japan’s Akito Watabe (r) in second, and Austria’s Lukas Klapfer (l) in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
American Bryan Fletcher racing to 17th in the men’s 10 k Gundersen start today, the second half of the nordic-combined normal hill/10 k competition, on Wednesday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. It was his first individual top 20 at his second Olympics. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
After the jumping round of the nordic-combined individual normal hill/10-kilometer Gundersen-start competition on Wednesday, Austria’s Franz-Josef Rehrl topped the standings thanks to a jump of 112 meters, just a meter farther than second place Jarl Magnus Riiber of Norway.
The top American was Bryan Fletcher, who sat in 18th place after a jump of 97.5 meters good for 99 points. He started the 10 k cross-country skiing portion of the competition 2:06 behind Rehrl, 1:51 behind Riiber – who has won two World Cups this season – and 1:30 behind defending Olympic champ Frenzel.
Fletcher initially made up some time on the leaders, but as the pace of the race was constantly changing in the end he wound up just one spot ahead of where he started, in 17th. Defending Olympic champ Eric Frenzel of Germany made it to the front after starting in bib five and sprinted to a 4.8 second victory over Japan’s Akito Watabe. Austria’s Lukas Klapfer earned bronze (+18.1) just ahead of Riiber (+22.5). Fletcher’s time was 2:12.2 behind Frenzel at the finish.
Ben Loomis and Taylor Fletcher jumped to 37th and 39th positions, respectively, and started the cross-country competition 3:24 and 3:37 out of the lead. Taylor Fletcher moved up four spots to finish 35th (+3:27.8) while Loomis lost a few places to finish 41st (+4:29.4). The final American starter, Jasper Good, was last (47th) after the jumping round but made up two spots on the trails to finish 45th (+5:48.4)
Rosie Frankowski (APU) racing to a 2-second win in the women’s 10 k classic pursuit on Sunday, the final day of 2018 Eastern Canadian Championships in Gatineau, Quebec. (Photo: Rob Smith)
NorAm Eastern Canadian Championships (Gatineau, Quebec): 10/15 k classic pursuits
Rosie Frankowski defended her lead and tallied her second-straight win on Sunday, the final day of Eastern Canadian Championships, both a NorAm and a SuperTour. Meanwhile, David Norris overcame a 10-second starting deficit to make it all Alaska Pacific University (APU) atop the podium in the classic pursuits.
Frankowski started the women’s 10 k pursuit 47 seconds clear of her APU teammate Becca Rorabaugh in second and held Rorabaugh off by 2 seconds at the finish, crossing the line first in 1:00:32.6 hours on a warmer day around 0 degrees Celsius with heavy snow in Gatineau. Kaitlynn Miller of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) was the third American on the podium, racing up from seventh to third, 21.3 seconds behind Frankowski.
Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (Rocky Mountain Racers) led the Canadians in fourth (+3:09.2), up from sixth at the start, and Frédérique Vézina, of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH), followed in fifth (+3:15.2), after starting fourth.
Another 4.6 seconds back was Liz Guiney (CGRP) in sixth (+3:19.8). Felicia Gesior (CXC Team) finished seventh (+4:05.6), Corey Stock (Bridger Ski Foundation) placed eighth (+4:05.8), Annika Hicks of the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) was ninth (+4:40.8), and Alannah Maclean of the National Team Development Centre (NTDC) Thunder Bay finished 10th (+5:25.9).
Tad Elliott (13) leads Brian Gregg (17) and Jack Hegman (11) up a climb during the men’s 15 k classic pursuit on Sunday at 2018 Eastern Canadian Championships in Gatineau, Quebec. Gregg went on to edge Elliott in a photo finish for third and Hegman followed in fifth. (Photo: Rob Smith)
In the men’s 15 k, Norris started second and caught leader Jack Hegman, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) early then raced alone to the victory in 1:19.26, while Ben Lustgarten (CGRP) followed 1:17.8 minutes later in second. Lustgarten started the race in sixth and Brian Gregg (Team Gregg/Loppet Nordic Racing/CXC) started seventh, with Gregg edging Tad Elliott (Ski Club Vail) by less than a tenth of a second in a photo finish for third (+1:38.5). Elliott had started third.
Hegman finished fifth (+1:42.6), his Sun Valley teammate Kevin Bolger was next across the line in sixth (+1:59.1), Adam Martin (CGRP) finished seventh (+2:01.2), Rogan Brown (SVSEF) was eighth (+2:02.9), Scott Hill (Barrie Cross Country) was the top Canadian in ninths (+2:22.5), and Jack Carlyle (AWCA) finished 10th (+2:44.2).
Nordic Combined World Cup (Hakuba, Japan): Large hill/10 k Gundersen
In the final nordic combined World Cup competition before the Olympics, Norway’s Jan Schmid came from 1:14 minutes behind at the start of Sunday’s 10 k to win the individual large hill/10 k event by 6.6 seconds in 25:36.5.
Schmid started the race in seventh, based on his competition jump, 1:14 behind Estonia’s Kristjan Ilves in first. Ilves had jumped to first and started the race 13 seconds ahead of Japan’s Yuto Nakamura in second, but while Nakamura dropped to 18th (+2:21.2) at the finish, Schmid moved all the way up to first with the fourth-fastest course time.
Japan’s Akito Watabe, who won Saturday’s large hill/10 k competition, took the final spot on the podium after a photo finish with the Czech Republic’s Tomas Portyk. They finished 11.1 and 11.2 seconds behind Schmid in third and fourth, respectively.
American Adam Loomis achieved his best individual result in three years, placing 24th (+3:03.4), after jumping to 30th and starting 3:20 out of first. Loomis skied the eighth-fastest course time.
His USA Nordic teammate Ben Berend placed 31st (+4:28.4) after ranking 28th in the jump.
Nordic Combined Continental Cup (Planica, Slovenia): Saturday and Sunday
Meanwhile on the Nordic Combined Continental Cup, Americans Bryan and Taylor Fletcher reached the podium on both Saturday and Sunday in Planica, Slovenia.
Bryan won back-to-back individual large hill/10 k Gundersen starts, while Taylor placed second on Saturday and third on Sunday.
On Saturday, Bryan jumped to third on the 139-meter large hill and started the 10 k race 22 seconds behind Germany’s Anton Schlüter in first. Taylor jumped to 14th and started 1:35 minutes out of first and posted the fastest course time in the 10 k to finish second to his older brother, 59.4 seconds back.
Bryan skied the third-fastest 10 k to take first in 26:24.1 minutes. About a minute behind Taylor, Austria’s Martin Fritz placed third (+1:58.8). Schlüter ended up 15th (+3:51.5).
Also for the U.S., Jasper Good raced from 26th in the jump to eighth overall (+3:08) with the fifth-fastest course time. Grant Andrews did not finish after posting the 38th-ranked jump.
Canada’s Nathaniel Mah placed 28th (+5:41.5) after starting 27th based on his jump.
On Sunday, Fritz jumped to first and finished between the Fletcher brothers in second place, 39.7 seconds behind Bryan, who repeated in first.
Bryan had jumped to second and started the 10 k just 9 seconds back. He skied the fourth-fastest course time en route to the win in 25:01.6.
Taylor’s jump put him in 15th and 1:40 back at the start of Sunday’s race, and he passed 12 competitors to claim third (+1:25.0) with the second-fastest course time.
Good finished 17th (+3:12), up from 23rd in the jump, with the ninth-fastest 10 k time, and Andrews placed 22nd (+3:38.2), up from 24th.
Mah finished 34th (+5:38.7) after jumping to 21st.
The U.S. men’s silver-medal relay at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, with (from left to right) Luke Jager, Hunter Wonders, Gus Schumacher, and Ben Ogden. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Americans Ben Loomis, Luke Jager and Gus Schumacher.)
Junior World Championships (Goms, Switzerland): Men’s and women’s relays
Two individual medals and a relay podium. That’s how the U.S. team fared this week at Junior World Championships in terms of a medal count, but the significance of its breakthroughs go way beyond the hardware.
Hailey Swirbul became the most successful American nordic skier at Junior World Championships with a silver and a bronze in the two women’s distance races. Then, on Saturday, the U.S. men took their turn in the spotlight, racing to second and almost first in the 4 x 5-kilometer relay for the best relay finish by an American team at Junior Worlds. Last year, the U.S. women placed third at 2017 Junior Worlds at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.
Luke Jager started the team off on Saturday as the first classic leg, putting the U.S. men in sixth at the first exchange, 14 seconds behind Sweden in first.
While Sweden dropped to second on the next leg, the U.S. continued to move up, with Ben Ogden racing to fourth, 8.5 seconds out of first, behind Norway, Russia and France, respectively.
On the first freestyle leg, Hunter Wonders held the U.S. in fourth and tagged anchor Gus Schumacher in fourth, 31.3 seconds out of first. Norway continued to lead with France, and Russia skied about 5 seconds back in third with 5 k to go.
Schumacher then skied the fastest anchor leg to race up to second, passing France and finally Russia in the finishing straight, as he crossed the line 2.2 seconds behind Norway’s Jørgen Lippert — who eased up in the finish and secured the Norwegian gold with a total time of 50:04.2 minutes.
The men’s 4 x 5 k relay podium at 2018 Junior World Championships with Norway (c) in first, the U.S. (l) in second (Ben Ogden, Luke Jager, Gus Schumacher, Hunter Wonders), and Russia (r) in third. (Photo: Julia Kern)
The U.S. placed second, 3.3 seconds ahead of Russia in third (+5.5), and France finished fourth (+29.6).
Norway’s winning team included two men who won individual golds this week, Harald Østberg Amundsen (in the 20 k skiathlon) and Jon Rolf Skamo Hope (10 k classic), as well as Håvard Moseby and Lippert (who took bronze in two races).
Russia’s team was made up of Kirill Kilivnyuk, Sergey Ardashev, Yaroslav Rybochkin, and Alexander Terentev. Team France was Camille Laude, Hugo Lapels, Tom Mancini, and Pierre Tichit.
Canada placed 11th (+3:12.8) with Antoine Cyr, Ritchie Graham, Felix Longpre, and Etienne Hebert. Sixteen teams contested the men’s relay on the final day of Junior Worlds in Goms.
American Luke Jager (9) skiing with Norway’s Harald Østberg Amundsen (1), France’s Camille Laude (3), and Sweden’s Jacob Nystedt (8) during the first leg of the men’s 4 x 5 k relay on Saturday at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: Julia Kern)
In an email, Jager, who turned 18 last month, explained that he was grateful for the opportunity to race at his first Junior Worlds.
“I barely qualified for this trip after a tough week in Anchorage so my options for starts were super limited,” Jager wrote. “I got the sprint start last week which was pretty horrendous and then a guaranteed spot on the relay team. So I had the whole week to prepare and rest. Watching the boys all week we realized that a medal could be possible and we started targeting that super closely.”
But over the last week, Jager hadn’t been feeling well.
“I was feeling really really bad in the days following the sprint and could barely get out and ski for 60 minutes each day,” he recalled. “I had actually told [U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan] Fish that if I continued to feel as bad as I had been I was gonna sit out the relay. But I started feeling better and better throughout the week and was feeling really good this morning.”
He had previously asked Fish if he could ski the scramble leg.
“Bryan was stoked about it too so that decision was easy,” Jager explained. “This group of dudes is perfect for each leg of a relay so we barely even needed to discuss order. I am definitely a stronger classic skier so I was stoked to be able to get some redemption for my poor form in the last month.”
Schumacher, 17, explained he found out the relay order on Friday night and “really started to get excited about it,” he wrote in an email. “We had some foreign friends say that they thought we could do well so that really helped confidence.”
From the gun, Jager expected a fast pace and pushed to put himself in the lead group while trying to conserve energy and avoid any tangles He locked onto Norway’s Amundsen and by the last climb on the second lap, found that the group was beginning to string out.
“I was thankfully able to hold on just enough to maintain connection with the leaders and put Ben in a position where he could do his thing,” Jager wrote. “I would have liked to be a little further up in the group when I tagged off to Ben but the Swedes’ first skier had done so much damage in the last minutes that we were all in single file and pretty much in survival mode up the last climb.”
Russia’s Alexander Terentev leading Norway’s Jørgen Lippert, American Gus Schumacher (9), and France’s Pierre Tichit (3) up a climb in the final leg of the men’s 4 x 5 k relay at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: Julia Kern)
Fast-forward to Schumacher getting tagged in fourth in the final exchange, 31.5 seconds behind Norway in first, 30.9 seconds behind France in second, and 26.2 seconds behind Russia in third. Despite the gap, he believed he could close it.
“I definitely thought those three were in reach, and I wanted to catch them, if for no other reason than to keep clear of 5th and 6th,” Schumacher wrote. “I focused on really holding steady for the first 2k, then starting to push more, and I was able to catch that lead pack and then recover with them for the last sprint, which did end up really hurting.”
While he had distanced himself from France and secured third by the final hill, he hadn’t anticipated catching Russia or Norway.
“By the time I got through the downhill corner, however, I was closing fast on the Russian and realized I was right there,” Schumacher wrote. “I popped around the last corner and was almost even with Russia, then after a few seconds of sprinting I pulled ahead and he slowed down and I knew I had it.”
While Jager explained he’s not one to get very nervous about racing, Saturday was completely different.
“… Watching the rest of the race progress was one of the most nerve wracking experiences of my life,” he wrote. “When Hunter tagged off to Gus I knew we were really really gonna be in the fight for a medal. I’ve been racing Gus for most of my life and I know when that kid is gonna throw down and produce a miracle and I could see it…
“This is something this group of guys has been dreaming of and training for for a really long time now,” he added. “To be able to watch that dream come into fruition today was indescribable. Probably the best day of my life since Cole Morgan added me on Snapchat. We came here this year to show the world that US skiing is the real deal and that we’re here to stay and I think we did that. To be able to be a piece of that history was an honor.”
“Experiencing the podium here has been so cool,” Schumacher wrote. “I thought it was possible, but actually getting it feels amazing. This whole trip has been really cool even without this success, it’s such an amazing place and the team is tight. I think individually I anticipated results maybe a little better, but this seems about right, and as a team I think we all surprised ourselves. Together we can make some big waves.”
Germany Wins Women’s Relay; U.S. 8th
In the women’s 4 x 3.3 k relay earlier on Saturday, Germany took the win by 8.6 seconds over Russia with a winning time of 39:17.4. Sweden finished third, 47.5 seconds out of first.
Germany’s Alexandra Danner, Celine Mayer and Lisa Lohmann await their teammate Anna-Maria Dietz at the finish of the women’s 4 x 3.3 k relay on Saturday at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. Germany placed first and Russia finished second, 8.6 seconds later. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
Germany (Alexandra Danner, Celine Mayer, Lisa Lohmann, Anna-Maria Dietz) improved from third on the first leg, to second on the second and third legs, and final first on Dietz’s anchor leg.
Russia (Polina Nekrasova, Hristina Matsokina, Nina Dubotolkina, Maya Yakunina) led the race from the first through the third and final exchange, before slipping to second at the finish.
Sweden (Tua Dahlgren, Frida Karlsson, Alicia Persson, Johanna Hagström) rebounded from 13th and more than a minute and a half back at the first exchange to tag in fourth and 28 seconds out of first thanks to Karlsson’s fastest second-leg time. By the final exchange, they were up to third and they held that position to the finish.
The U.S. women’s 4 x 3.3 k relay at 2018 Junior World Championships, with (from left to right) Hailey Swirbul, Kathleen O’Connell, Hannah Halvorsen, and Molly Gellert. They placed eighth on Saturday. (Photo: Julia Kern)
The U.S. placed eighth (+1:08.1) with Kathleen O’Connell, Swirbul, Molly Gellert, and Hannah Halvorsen. After O’Connell put them in eighth and about a minute back on the first leg, Swirbul skied them up to sixth with the second-fastest second leg, 30.1 seconds out of first. Gellert held onto that position on the first skate leg, but Halvorsen slipped two places on the anchor leg to finish eighth.
Canada finished 15th (+4:47.8) out of 16 teams with Hannah Mehain, Natalie Hynes, Annika Richardson, and Alexandra Racine.
Slovenia’s Vid Vrhovnik (3) celebrates his win in the last nordic-combined competition of 2018 Junior World Championships, the individual normal hill/5 k, on Saturday in Kandersteg, Switzerland, while the Czech Republic’s Jan Vytrval, Austria’s Dominik Terzer and American Ben Loomis (r) battle for second. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)
Nordic Combined Junior World Championships (Kandersteg, Switzerland): Normal hill/5 k Gundersen
In the final nordic-combined competition of Junior Worlds, American Ben Loomis nearly notched his second podium of the week, missing it by one-tenth of a second in fourth place.
American Ben Loomis (7) leads Austria’s Johannes Lamparter during Saturday’s 5 k at 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland. Loomis went on to place fourth and Lamparter finished eighth. (Photo: Romina Eggert)
Slovenia’s 18-year-old Vid Vrhovnik won the individual normal hill/5 k Gundersen by 4.9 seconds over Austria’s Dominik Terzer. After posting the third-best jump on the 106-meter hill, Vrhovnik started the 5 k race 6 seconds behind Germany’s Luis Lehnert in first. Terzer jumped to second and started just 4 seconds behind, while the Czech Republic’s Jan Vytrval jumped to fourth and started 10 seconds back. Loomis jumped to seventh (just as he did on Tuesday before racing to third place) and started 27 seconds out of first.
“I was happy with my jump being closer in time to the front,” Loomis wrote in an email about his his jump, which put him about 10 seconds closer to the leaders than on Tuesday. “I didn’t feel quite as lucky with the wind. I was hoping to jump around the top 5, but 7th, only 27sec back was good, too.”
Over the two-lap 5 k, Vrhovnik battled with Terzer, while Lehnert slipped to seventh at the finish, 23.5 seconds behind. The Slovenian took the win by nearly five seconds over Terzer in 11:28.8, and Vytrval outlunged Loomis for third place (+5.4). Loomis placed fourth (+5.5), well ahead of Norway’s Einar Lurås Oftebro in fifth (+18.4).
Ben Loomis (USA Nordic) on the last day of 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Switzerland. He jumped to seventh and moved up to fourth in the 5 k. (Photo: Romina Eggert)
“I was able to catch places 3-6 on the first lap and ski with them through the beginning of the second lap,” Loomis wrote. “Towards the end of second lap I closed down on second place (Jan Vytral) with Dominik Terzer. On the last corner we packed up in positions 2-4.
“The finish started with a sharp downhill corner followed by a quick stretch less than 100 meters,” he continued. “I came into the finishing lanes in second but unfortunately took the wrong line and was passed by Dominik and never quite caught Jan in front of me.”
While he had been hoping for another podium, Loomis acknowledged that he was pleased to ski the fastest race time and “be battling at the front”.
“Overall I am leaving Switzerland with my goals accomplished and feeling satisfied,” he wrote. “It would have been nice to walk away with a double podium but I am still very happy with how to week went. This week has been a huge confidence booster going into the Olympics next week. I am very excited to represent my country and enjoy my time at the games. I am looking to have fun, take in experience and not overthink the results.”
Also for the U.S., Stephen Schumann placed 18th (+1:18.6), up one place from 19th in the jump, Jared Shumate finished 40th (+3:05.7), up from 48th in the jump, and Tucker Hoefler was 55th (+5:50.5), after jumping to 55th.
The podium at Saturday’s Nordic Combined World Cup in Hakuba, Japan, with Japan’s Akito Watabe (c) in first, Norway’s Jan Schmid (l) in second and Germany’s Manuel Faißt (r) in third. (Photo: FIS/Flawia Krawczyk)
Nordic Combined World Cup (Hakuba, Japan): Large hill/10 k Gundersen
Many of the winter-sports World Cups were off this weekend before the Olympics start in earnest a week from today in PyeongChang, South Korea, but not nordic combined, which had a World Cup stop in Hakuba, Japan.
There, local hero Akito Watabe took the win in 24:14.6 minutes, a whopping 1:12.6 minutes clear of Norway’s Jan Schmid in second. Germany’s Manuel Faißt placed third, 1:22 back, and Estonia’s Kristjan Ilves finished 52 seconds later in fourth (+2:14).
The lone American competing in Saturday’s 10 k Gundersen, Ben Berend achieved his first individual World Cup top 30, placing 23rd (+4:31.7) after jumping to 16th on Hakuba’s 134-meter large hill.
Watabe led from the beginning of the day after jumping to first, ahead ofIlves in second, Faißt in third, and Schmid in fourth. Watabe started the 10 k with a 16-second head start on Ilves, while Faisst started 52 seconds out of first and Schmid started 1:08 behind.
Berend started the 10 k with a 2:36 deficit to first, with five others within 10 seconds of him. His teammate Adam Loomis did not start the 10 k after jumping to 38th.
Another individual large hill/10 k Gundersen will be held on Sunday in Hakuba. The first nordic combined competition in PyeongChang, the individual normal hill/10 k, is set for Wednesday, Feb. 14.
The men’s 15 k freestyle podium at 2018 Eastern Canadian Championships in Gatineau, Quebec, with Jack Hegman (c) in first, David Norris (l) in second and Tad Elliott (r) in third. (Photo: Rob Smith)
NorAm Eastern Canadian Championships (Gatineau, Quebec): 10/15 k freestyle
Americans swept the podium in both the men’s and women’s freestyle individual starts on Saturday at Eastern Canadian Championships in races that count toward both NorAm and SuperTour standings.
According to unofficial results, Jack Hegman, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF), won the men’s 15 k by 9.1 seconds over David Norris, of Alaska Pacific University (APU), in 35:44.9. Tad Elliott (Ski Club Vail) placed third (+38.7) just ahead of the top Canadian, Jack Carlyle, of the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA), in fourth (+41.7).
The U.S. occupied eight of the top 10 in the men’s race, with Kevin Bolger (SVSEF) in fifth (+45.0), Ben Lustgarten, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) in sixth (+52.3), Brian Gregg (Team Gregg/LNR/CXC) in seventh (+57.0), Rogan Brown (SVSEF) in eighth (+58.1), Canada’s Scott Hill (Barrie Cross Country) in ninth (+1:14.7), and Eric Packer (APU) in 10th (+1:18.6).
The women’s 10 k freestyle podium at 2018 Eastern Canadian Championships in Gatineau, Quebec, with Rosie Frankowski (c) in first, Becca Rorabaugh (l) in second and Erika Flowers (r) in third. (Photo: Rob Smith)
After placing second in a 10 k freestyle at last weekend’s SuperTour in Craftsbury, Vermont, Rosie Frankowski (APU) won the women’s 10 k freestyle on Saturday in Gatineau by more than 30 seconds in 27:07.3. Her teammate Becca Rorabaugh (who won the Craftsbury 10 k skate as well as Friday’s classic sprint in Gatineau) placed second (+37.1) on Saturday, and Erika Flowers placed third (+1:26.4) for the third-straight race.
Frédérique Vézina, of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre, led the Canadians in fourth (+1:46.2), while America Liz Guiney (CGRP) placed fifth (+1:52.2), and Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (Rocky Mountain Racers) finished sixth (+1:56.4).
Also in the top 10, Kaitlynn Miller (CGRP) placed seventh (+1:57.8), Felicia Geisor (CXC Team) was eighth (+2:18.5), Zoë Williams (Carleton University) ninth (+2:39.6) and Annika Hicks (AWCA) 10th (+2:43.4).
Eastern Canadian Championships conclude Sunday with 10/15 k classic pursuits at the Nakkertok Nordic Ski Centre.
US Biathlon’s Lowell Bailey (l) and Susan Dunklee after teaming up for bronze in the single mixed relay at 2018 IBU Open European Championships on Sunday in Ridnaun, Italy. (Photo: Manzoni/NordicFocus)
IBU Open European Championships (Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy): Single mixed & mixed relays
Susan Dunklee and Lowell Bailey teamed up for the final day of the 2018 International Biathlon Union (IBU) Open European Championships in Ridnaun, Italy, and raced to a bronze medal in the single mixed relay.
The American duo, both of which earned individual medals at last year’s IBU World Championships, finished just 9.1 seconds out of first, which went to Norway’s Thelka Brun-Lie and Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen. The Norwegians won in 35:39.6 with zero penalties and six spares. They took the lead after Brun-Lie’s second leg, where she cleaned both stages without spares.
France placed second, 8.6 seconds back, with Julia Simon and Emilien Jacquelin, who combined for no penalties and 11 spares. They led the first half of the race, but slipped to second behind Norway on Simon’s second leg.
Dunklee put the Americans off in second on her first leg, which she cleaned with a spare in each stage, then they slipped one place to third on Bailey’s first leg, where he cleaned as well and used three spares. In all, they used 10 spares and avoided the penalty loop, and finished half a second out of second place.
“Over Christmas, we trained a little bit with the French athletes, including Jacquelin,” Bailey said, according to a US Biathlon press release. “So I know that he has quite a fast finish, and I thought I am kind of an old man here, I should maybe try to go harder on the first part of the lap. But he stayed with me all the time and had me in the end.”
“It was a good opportunity to tune up the race shape, build some confidence and find that sharp feeling heading into the Olympics,” Dunklee told US Biathlon. “The single mixed relay is one of my favorite race formats and today was a blast!”
Canada’s Sarah Beaudry and Carsen Campbell placed eighth of 24 teams in the single mixed relay, finishing 1:03.6 out of first with just eight spares and zero penalties. In 11th after the first leg, they moved into eighth on Campbell’s first leg, which he cleaned with one spare. Beaudry then cleaned her second leg without any spares, and Campbell anchored them to eighth.
The U.S. entered a team in the mixed relay that followed, with Chloe Levins, Deedra Irwin, Paul Schommer, and Alex Howe placing 17th (+5:55.5) of 19 teams with no penalties and 12 spares.
Ukraine won the mixed relay to conclude the championships, with Yuliia Zhuravok, Iryna Varvynets, Artem Pryma, and Dmytro Pidruchnyi combining for zero penalties and six spares and finishing in 1:11:40.1.
Russia placed second (+11.7) with Victoria Slivko, Anastasia Zagoruiko, Evgeniy Garanichev, and Alexander Loginov combining for zero penalties and nine spares.
Norway followed in third (+33.2) with Emilie Ågheim Kalkenberg, Kaia Wøien Nicolaisen, Håvard Gutuboe Bogetveit, and Fredrik Gjesbakk combing for no penalties and just four spares.
U.S. SuperTour (Craftsbury, Vermont): 5/10 k freestyle
Two Alaska Pacific University (APU) athletes topped the podium on Sunday at the SuperTour in Craftsbury, Vermont, with David Norris winning the men’s 10-kilometer freestyle individual start in 21:54.9 and Becca Rorabaugh topping the women’s 5 k freestyle in 12:06.4.
Norris won the men’s race by 6 seconds over Canada’s Andy Shields (Lappe Nordic) and Kevin Bolger of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) placed third (+15.8). Kris Freeman (Caldwell Sport) was the third American in fourth overall (+23.7), and three Canadians took fifth through seventh with Michael Somppi (Lappe Nordic) in fifth (+27.9), Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) in sixth (+37.5) and Scott Hill (Barrie Cross Country) in seventh (+37.6), ahead of Brian Gregg (Team Gregg/LNR/CXC) in eighth (+39.4), Tad Elliott (Ski Club Vail) in ninth (+44.3) and Jack Hegman in 10th (+50.4).
Rorabaugh won the women’s race by just 2.2 seconds over her APU teammate Rosie Frankowski in second, and Erika Flowers of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team placed third (+4.6). Two Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) skiers finished fourth and fifth, with Kaitlynn Miller in fourth (+12.1) and Liz Guiney in fifth (+22.5), Kelsey Phinney (SVSEF) was sixth (+25.8), and Canadians Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (Rocky Mountain Racers) seventh (+26.4) and Frederique Vezina (Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre) eighth (+36.0). Corey Stock, of the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) placed ninth (+39.9), and Felicia Geisor (CXC Team) was 10th (+44.4).
On Saturday, the Craftsbury Outdoor Center hosted its 37th annual Craftsbury Marathon, with Nils Koons winning the 48 k men’s race in 2:28:51.0 hours and Hannah Dreissigacker winning the 48 k women’s race in 3:01.48.7.
Hannah Halvorsen of the U.S. Ski Team and APU on the start line in Ulrichen, Switzerland, after finishing fifth in the sprint qualifier. (FIS screencap)
FIS Cross Country World Junior Championships (Ulrichen, Switzerland): Freestyle sprints
World Junior Championships kicked off today with freestyle sprints in Ulrichen, Switzerland. Moa Lundgren of Sweden claimed with women’s title by 1.89 seconds over Kristine Stavås Skistad of Norway in the final, with Sweden’s Frida Karlsson finishing third (+1.89).
Hannah Halvorsen of the United States qualified in fifth place before skiing to second in her quarterfinal heat. Halvorsen hovered around third or fourth place through much of her semifinal and was unable to snipe any spots in the finishing straight, ending up fourth in the heat and eighth on the day.
Fellow Americans Margaret Gellert and Sofia Shomento also made the quarterfinals, finishing 18th and 23rd, and Canada’s Hannah Mehain wound up 29th on the day.
The new men’s junior world champion is Tom Mancini of France, who nipped Norway’s Jørgen Lippert by just 0.10 seconds to take the win. Valerie Grond gave the Swiss crowd a thrill by making it all the way to the final and taking home bronze, despite qualifying in just 21st position. The Swiss junior narrowly edged France’s Vincent Buiatti for the final step on the podium.
Canada’s Graham Ritchie finished second in his quarterfinal after qualifying in 28th position, earning an automatic spot in the semifinals. There he finished sixth (+9.30 behind Mancini), winding up 12th on the day. Teammate Antoine Cyr also made the quarterfinals where he had an impressive crash, slinging off the trail and into the infield, finishing 30th on the day. For the U.S., Gus Schumacher was the lone qualifier for the heats. He finished fourth in his quarterfinal and was just 0.22 seconds away from a “lucky loser” spot in the semifinals. Schumacher finished 19th on the day.
In the junior women’s race, Hannah Rudd of the United States finished 35th in qualification, +18.15. For Canada, Annika Richardson finished 52nd (+24.09), Catherine Reed-Metayer 56th (+28.25), and Alexandra Racine 69th (+37.27).
In the junior men’s sprint, Canada’s Reed Godfrey finished a tough 31st, just 0.21 seconds out of making the quarterfinals. Etienne Hebert rounded out the Canadian finishers in 36th place (+11.81) in the qualifier. Canyon Tobin was 41st in qualification for the U.S. (+13.46), followed by Karl Schulz in 54th (+16.90) and Luke Jager in 60th (+18.15).
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup (Seefeld, Austria): Individual normal hill/15 k
Japan’s Akito Watabe after winning the 2018 Seefeld Triple Nordic Combined World Cup. He is the only athlete besides Germany’s Eric Frenzel to win the event. (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined)
On the final day of the Seefeld Triple, Japan’s Akito Watabe completed his sweep of the three-day weekend and Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber reached the podium for the third-straight day, placing second. Germany’s Fabian Rießle placed third for his second podium in the last two days.
Watabe jumped to first on the normal hill and started the 15 k Gundersen 48 seconds ahead of Riiber in second. He went on to win the race by 1:14.9 minutes in 34:58.6, becoming the only man besides Germany’s Eric Frenzel to win the Seefeld Triple in its five-year history.
After jumping to fifth, Rießle won a photo finish for third (+1:57.9), edging Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger by less than a tenth of a second. Geiger moved up from ninth in the jump to fourth overall (+1:57.9).
Norway’s Jørgen Graabak followed in fifth (+2:02.4),Frenzel placed sixth (+2:07.4), Norway’s Jan Schmid was seventh (+2:09.8), Finland’s Eero Hirvonen eighth (+2:13.5), Norway’s Espen Andersen ninth (+2:28.0), and Austria’s Mario Seidl 10th (+2:42.1) out of 28 finishers.
No Americans contested the final day of the Triple, the last World Cup before the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Jessie Diggins of the U.S. Ski Team (center) celebrates after winning the 10 k mass start freestyle in Seefeld, Austria, over Heidi Weng (left) and Ragnhild Haga of Norway. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
FIS Cross Country World Cup (Seefeld, Austria): 10/15 k mass start freestyle
In the final World Cup race before the 2018 Olympics, Jessie Diggins achieved the ultimate goal to give herself the utmost confidence heading into PyeongChang — winning the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle mass start at the World Cup in Seefeld, Austria, on Sunday.
The win was her first of the season and fourth individual victory of her career. Diggins, a 26-year-old U.S. Ski Team member, pulled it off by attacking on a long climb and leaving Norway’s Heidi Weng, Ragnhild Haga and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg chasing. While Diggins was several seconds ahead over the top and all alone on the long descent that followed, Weng and Haga worked to close the gap — and nearly did in the finishing stretch. But Diggins held them off, winning by 0.7 seconds over Weng in second place and 1 second ahead of Haga in third, and threw her fists down in celebration as she crossed the line first in 23:08.5 minutes.
“I just put my head down and it wasn’t pretty, but I just hammered,” Diggins told the International Ski Federation (FIS) in a televised post-race interview.
She was the only non-Norwegian in the top five, with Østberg in fourth (+8.7) and Marit Bjørgen in fifth (+16.7). Austria’s Teresa Stadlober placed sixth (+16.9), Norway’s Kari Øyre Slind was seventh (+19.1), and American Sadie Bjornsen placed eighth (+20.5), ahead of Switzerland’s Nathalie von Siebenthal in ninth (+30.3).
The U.S. had three in the top 15 with Kikkan Randall (U.S. Ski Team) in 14th (+48.5), and two more women in the top 30, with Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) in 23rd (+1:00.7) and Liz Stephen (USST) in 29th (+1:18.2). Rosie Brennan (USST) finished 53rd (+2:26.9).
Emily Nishikawa led the Canadians in 35th (+1:36.5), followed closely by teammate Cendrine Browne in 37th (+1:36.6). Dahria Beatty finished 45th (+1:58.9).
Dario Cologna of Switzerland (center) won the men’s 15 k skate mass start in Seefeld, Austria, over Alex Harvey of Canada (left) and Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway (right). (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
The Olympics are nearing and so Switzerland’s Olympic legend Dario Cologna is ramping up: after winning the Tour de Ski, he took another win in the 15 k mass start skate in Seefeld, Austria, on Sunday.
With much of the field staying relatively close together until the finish, Cologna nabbed the win by 1.4 seconds over Canada’s Alex Harvey, who took his second podium of the season in addition to also finishing third in the overall Tour de Ski.
Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby was third (+2.9), then teammate Didrik Tønseth in fourth (+5.9) and France’s Maurice Manificat in sixth (+7.5).
The U.S. Ski Team’s Erik Bjornsen had a breakthrough day finishing ninth (+9.3), followed by Simi Hamilton in 12th (+12.4). Behind them, Scott Patterson placed 27th (+23.4), then Patrick Caldwell 49th (+1:26.2), Ben Lustgarten 55th (+1:42.7), and Tyler Kornfield 77th (+3:00.0).
Canada’s Devon Kershaw and Graeme Killick finished 30th (+26.5) and 31st (+27.4), respectively. Len Valjas placed 58th (+1:53.1), Knute Johnsgaard 82nd (+3:23.1), Bob Thompson 87th (+4:27.5), and Julien Locke 92nd (+4:56.9).
The podium for Day 2 of the Seefeld Triple Nordic Combined World Cup, with Japan’s Akito Watabe in first (c), Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger (l) in second and Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined/Twitter)
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup (Seefeld, Austria): Normal hill/10 k
Two of the same men from Friday repeated on the podium on Day 2 of the Seefeld Triple Nordic Combined World Cup, with Japan’s Akito Watabe notching his second-straight win on Saturday.
Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber, who finished second on Friday, placed third in Saturday’s individual normal hill/10 k Gundersen, while Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger placed second, more than a minute behind Watabe.
Watabe jumped to first and started the 10 k with a 25-second head start on Riiber in second. Geiger started seventh, 1:45 minutes back, and rose to second at the finish, 1:05.5 behind Watabe (who won in 23:28.5) and 3.4 seconds ahead of Riiber in third (+1:08.9).
For the second day in a row, Norway’s Jan Schmid narrowly missed the podium in fourth (+1:14.1), up from fifth after the jump.
Taylor Fletcher was the lone American competing on Day 2, and he ended up 31st, up 10 places after jumping to 41st. Fletcher started the 10 k race 4:44 out of first then finished 3:52.9 behind Watabe.
The Seefeld Triple concludes Sunday with the individual normal hill/15 k Gundersen.
American Sophie Caldwell (l) and Switzerland’s Laurien van der Graaff (r) tied for first on Saturday in the women’s 1.1 k freestyle sprint final at the World Cup in Seefeld, Austria, while Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla placed third. (Screenshot: ARD broadcast)
FIS Cross Country World Cup (Seefeld, Austria): Freestyle sprints
It doesn’t get any closer than that. On Saturday, American Sophie Caldwell and Switzerland’s Laurien van der Graaff tied for first in the women’s 1.1-kilometer freestyle sprint final at the World Cup in Seefeld, Austria. They both finished within one-hundredth of a second of each other to take the victory — the last sprint before the Olympics — in 2:18.65 minutes.
Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla finished 0.21 seconds later for third place.
The women’s freestyle sprint podium at Saturday’s World Cup in Seefeld, Austria, with American Sophie Caldwell (l) and Switzerland’s Laurien van der Graaff (c) tying for first and Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla (r) placing third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
“I broke my pole in the semifinal, then I got really tired,” van der Graaff said in a post-race interview with the International Ski Federation (FIS). “But I still believed I can be with Maiken and Sophie, and that I could catch them in the final was just great.”
Norway and the U.S. both had two in the final, with Kathrine Rolsted Harsem of Norway placing fourth (+1.34), Sweden’s Linn Sömskar finishing fifth (+1.83) and American Sadie Bjornsen taking sixth (+2.26).
Falla had raced to first in the qualifying round with a time of 2:21.44, Italy’s Greta Laurent qualified second (+1.43), van der Graaff third (+1.66), Caldwell fourth (+1.84), and Bjornsen fifth (+2.01).
Van der Graaff then won her quarterfinal and placed third in the first semifinal, 0.77 second behind Caldwell, who won it. Falla was second in that semifinal (+0.16) and van der Graaff advanced as a lucky loser.
Caldwell and Falla went head to head in every heat, with Falla winning their first quarterfinal by 0.08 seconds over Caldwell in second.
Bjornsen won her quarterfinal and finished second to Harsem in the second semifinal.
A third American, Kikkan Randall also qualified for the heats, placing 18th in the qualifier then finishing third in her quarterfinal (1.33 seconds behind Sömskar in first) to end up 14th overall.
Canada’s Dahria Beatty placed 30th in the qualifier to nab the last spot in the rounds, then finished fourth in her quarterfinal (1.65 seconds behind Laurent in first) for 20th overall.
For the U.S., Ida Sargent missed qualifying by about half a second in 37th (+8.20), Rosie Brennan finished 42nd (+9.86) and Caitlin Patterson was 52nd (+13.0).
Also for Canada, Emily Nishikawa finished 51st (+12.68) and Cendrine Browne was 54th (+13.34).
The men’s 1.4 k freestyle sprint podium at the World Cup in Seefeld, Austria, with Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (c) in first, France’s Lucas Chanavat (l) in second and Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/ Twitter)
The men raced 1.4 k, with Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo qualifying first in 2:46.89 then winning his quarterfinal and semifinal before putting the hammer down for one last time in the final, finishing first in 3:02.66.
France’s Lucas Chanavat placed second in the final, 0.48 seconds back, after qualifying sixth, winning his quarterfinal and placing second in the first semifinal (0.33 seconds behind Klæbo). Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson took the third spot on the podium after finishing 0.97 seconds after Klæbo. Halfvarsson had previously qualified seventh, taken second in his quarterfinal and advanced as a lucky loser in third in the first semifinal (0.52 seconds behind Klæbo).
Italy’s Federico Pellegrino missed the podium in fourth (+1.06), Russia’s Gleb Retivykh placed fifth (+1.17), and Norway’s Emil Iversen was sixth (+5.57).
Canada’s Alex Harvey and American Simi Hamilton both made it to the semifinals, where they finished fourth and fifth, respectively, and did not advance to the finals. Harvey had qualified for the rounds in 22nd and won his quarterfinal, then raced in the second semifinal, where he finished fourth, 0.47 seconds behind Iversen in first. That put Harvey eighth overall on the day.
Hamilton clocked the fifth-fastest qualifying time, 6.46 seconds back from Klæbo’s top time. The U.S. Ski Team member then placed second to Pellegrino in his quarterfinal and was fifth in the first semifinal, 2.61 seconds behind Klæbo. Overall, Hamilton placed ninth.
Also for the U.S., Erik Bjornsen finished 37th in the qualifier, 0.89 seconds out of the top 30 and 11.99 second out of first, Logan Hanneman was 39th (+12.52), Andy Newell 42nd (+12.90), Reese Hanneman 65th (+17.91), and Ben Lustgarten 76th (+21.88).
Canada’s Len Valjas placed 40th (+12.72), Julien Locke 43rd (+13.31), Knute Johnsgaard 51st (+14.74), Bob Thompson 58th (+16.55), Graeme Killick 61st (+17.28), and Devon Kershaw 70th (+19.53).
France’s 22-year-old Chloé Chevalier racing to her second win and third podium of the week in as many individual races at 2018 IBU Open European Championships on Saturday in Ridnaun, Italy. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
IBU Open European Championships (Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy): Men’s and women’s pursuits
France’s Chloé Chevalier picked up her second win and third podium of the week at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Open European Championships on Saturday in Ridnaun, Italy, winning the women’s 10 k pursuit, while Russia’s Alexander Loginov rose to the top step of the podium in the men’s 12.5 k pursuit on Saturday.
Chevalier started the women’s pursuit in second, 13 seconds behind Ukraine’s Iryna Varvynets (who won Friday’s sprint and thus started first), and shot clean to take the lead after the third stage — where Varvynets missed one. Chevalier went on to clean the final stage for perfect 20-for-20 shooting and crossed the line first in 29:25.4. Varvynets finished second, 11.0 seconds back after missing a single target in the first standing (0+0+1+0), and France had two on the podium with Julia Simon in third (+43.2). Simon also shot 19-for-20, with her miss coming in the second prone stage (0+1+0+0).
“Three medals in three races is definitely more than I had expected,” Chevalier, 22, told the event’s organizers on Saturday. “Today I saw that Iryna shoots faster than I, and so I really gave my all in the track. Even if it might not look like it, after the many races in the last few days I am noticing that I am getting more and more tired.”
American Chloe Levins rose from 59th at the start to 42nd at the finish (+4:11.8), with three clean stages and two misses in the first standing (0+0+2+0). She had the 28th-fastest overall range time and 30th-ranked shooting time.
In the men’s pursuit, Loginov started first as Friday’s sprint winner Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs did not start. Loginov held the lead throughout the race despite two misses — one in the first stage and another in the last stage (1+0+0+1) — and secured the win in 32:22.1. Bulgaria’s Krasimir Anev started second, 19 seconds after Loginov, and held his place as well, shooting clean and finishing second, 27.6 second back.
“I am really happy here in Ridanna and the results reflect that,” Loginov, 25, told organizers. “Not to start in the individual event on Wednesday was the right decision because the last few days had been very demanding with six races in eight days. I am cross with my two errors in the shooting range, but very happy with my performance in the track.”
Russia had two on the podium with Evgeniy Garanichev in third (+1:10.7) after Garanichev started in bib 19 and overcame three penalties (1+0+2+0) with the fastest overall course time.
Canada’s Macx Davies started 27th and finished 35th (+4:33.9) with five misses (3+0+2+0), while American Alex Howe rose from 53rd at the start to 43rd (+5:53.5) with five penalties (2+2+1+0).
The 2018 Open European Championships conclude with the single mixed relay and mixed relay on Sunday. American Susan Dunklee and Lowell Bailey are on the start list for the single mixed relay, Canada’s Carsen Campbell and Sarah Beaudry. For the mixed relay, the U.S. has entered Levins, Maddie Phaneuf, Paul Schommer, and Alex Howe.
The jumping portion of the Nordic Combined World Cup Seefeld Triple on Friday in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: Garrott Kuzzy / LumiExperiences.com)
Nordic Combined World Cup (Seefeld, Austria): Individual normal hill/5 k
On the first of the three-day Seefeld Triple Nordic Combined World Cup, Japan’s Akito Watabe took the win and Taylor Fletcher was the top American in 28th in the individual normal hill/5-kilometer Gundersen on Friday.
Japan’s Akito Watabe heading out of the gate second in the 5 k Gundersen on Friday at the Seefeld Triple Nordic Combined World Cup in Seefeld, Austria. Watabe went on to win the race by half a second. (Photo: Garrott Kuzzy / LumiExperiences.com)
Watabe put himself in second in the jump portion and started the 5 k ski race 21 seconds behind Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber in first. Watabe caught Riiber and beat him at the finish line, taking the win in 11:22.3 minutes, while Riiber followed 0.5 seconds back in second place. Germany’s Fabien Rießle followed in third, 32.4 seconds out of first, after starting the 5 k in sixth and 1:03 minutes back.
Norway’s Jan Schmid jumped to third and ended up fourth (+37.8). Watabe’s brother, Yoshito Watabe placed fifth (+47.2), losing one place in the ski race after jumping to fourth.
Two Americans competed, with Fletcher jumping to 30th and ending the day in 28th, and Jasper Good finishing 52nd (+3:45.6) after jumping to 49th. Both are headed to the 2018 Olympics next month in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Taylor Fletcher (USA Nordic) starting the 5 k Gundersen on Friday at the Seefeld Triple Nordic Combined World Cup in Seefeld, Austria. He started in 30th and finished 28th. (Photo: Garrott Kuzzy / LumiExperiences.com)
***
U.S. SuperTour (Craftsbury, Vermont): Classic sprints
Forrest Mahlen (APU) celebrates his first time atop the SuperTour podium on Friday after winning the men’s 1.4 k classic sprint final in Craftsbury, Vermont. (Photo: Forrest Mahlen/Instagram)
Kaitlynn Miller and Forrest Mahlen won their respective classic-sprint finals at Friday’s SuperTour in Craftsbury, Vermont.
The 1.4-kilometer classic sprint kicked off a three-day race weekend at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. On Saturday, the Craftsbury Marathon will be held (not a SuperTour event), followed by 5/10 k freestyle SuperTour races on Sunday.
Miller, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, started Friday by winning the women’s qualifier. She went on to win both her quarterfinal and semifinal before topping the final as well in 3:40.9 minutes. Also on Friday, it was formally announced that Miller was named to the U.S. Cross-Country Ski Team’s Olympic squad, which will compete in PyeongChang, South Korea, Feb. 10-25.
Kelsey Phinney, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF), placed second in the women’s final, 0.63 seconds back, and Felicia Geisor (CXC Team) was third (+1.67). Erika Flowers, of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team placed fourth (+3.2), Canada’s Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (Rocky Mountain Racers) — fresh off NorAm Western Canadian Championships last weekend in Alberta — finished fifth (+5.46), and Alaska Pacific University (APU) skier Rosie Frankowski (who also made the U.S. Olympic team) placed sixth (+6.27).
On the men’s side, APU’s 24-year-old Mahlen qualified fifth, then won his quarterfinal and semifinal before taking the final for his first-career SuperTour win in 3:06.81. Ben Saxton (SMST2) initially won the qualifier and won his quarterfinal as well before placing second to Mahlen in the first semifinal. Saxton ended up 0.55 seconds back in second place in the final, just three-hundredths of a second ahead of Kevin Bolger (SVSEF) in third place (+0.58). Another half second back, Kris Freeman followed in fourth, just 1.09 out of first, Eric Packer (APU) was fifth (+1.39) and Canada’s Andy Shields (Lappe Nordic), who also competed at Western Canadian Championships last weekend) sixth (+8.99).
The men’s 10 k sprint podium at IBU Open European Championships, with Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs (c) in first, Russia’s Alexander Loginov (l) in second, and Bulgaria’s Krasimir Anev (r) in third. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
IBU Open European Championships (Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy): Men’s and women’s sprints
Canada’s Macx Davies led the North Americans on Friday on Day 2 of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Open European Championships in Ridnaun, Italy, placing 27th in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint with 9-for-10 shooting (1+0). Davies finished 1:32.3 minutes behind Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs, who took the win in 24:03.0 with a single penalty as well (0+1).
Russia’s Alexander Loginov placed second, 5.5 seconds back, with one penalty (1+0), and Bulgaria’s Krasimir Anev shot clean to finish third (+24.5).
“At the [last] World Cup in Anterselva [Italy], I have had a difficult time in the shooting range, and so I spent a lot of time in the last few days working on my shooting,” Rastorgujevs told the IBU after. “Today it was clear that all this hard work paid off. It is also a great motivator for Olympic gold.”
For Davies, who’s also headed to the Olympics next month, the result tied his best individual result this season after he placed 27th in an IBU Cup sprint earlier this month in Osrblie, Slovakia.
Canada entered four in the men’s race, with Carsen Campbell finishing 75th (+2:34.6) with one miss (0+1), Aidan Miller placing 91st (+3:18.2) with three penalties (1+2), and Matt Hudec finishing 119th (+4:31.6) with four misses (1+3).
Five American men raced, with Alex Howe finishing 53rd (+2:15.1) with one penalty (1+0), Jake Brown 84th (+3:02.0) with four misses (1+3), Jakob Ellingson 85th (+3:07.0) with one miss (1+0), Max Durtschi 111th (+3:50.1) with four misses (3+1), and Paul Schommer 114th (+3:59.8) with four penalties (2+2) as well.
The women’s 7.5 k sprint podium at IBU Open European Championships in Ridnaun, Italy, with Ukraine’s Iryna Varvynets (c) in first, France’s Chloé Chevalier (l) in second, and Japan’s Fuyuko Tachizaki (r) in third. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)
In the women’s 7.5 k sprint that followed, Chloe Levins of the U.S. was the top North American in 59th, 2:01 behind the winner Iryna Varvynets of Ukraine. Varvynets shot clean and posted the fastest finishing time of 20:54.1, 12.5 seconds faster than France’s Chloé Chevalier, Wednesday’s 15 k champion who had one miss (0+1) on Friday and ended up second. Japan’s Fuyuko Tachizaki reached the podium in third (+15.5) and was one of four women in the top five that shot clean (only Chevalier did not).
“After the individual competition on Wednesday, I was not at all happy with my shooting,” said Varvynets, who placed fifth in the 15 k. “Today I therefore concentrated especially hard in the shooting range. It was my luck that not many finished without errors, otherwise it would probably not have been enough for the victory.”
“Two races, two medals — it could not have gone better for me,” Chevalier said. “In the standing shooting I missed the first disc and got a little nervous, but thankfully, there were no further errors.”
Tachizaki called the bronze medal a “big dream come true”.
“The focus of my season had been the Olympics and I ‘only’ took part in Ridanna as part of the preparations, but with this result I have exceeded everything I have achieved so far,” she said. “At the end of the race I did not only fight hard in the track, I was already dreaming of a medal. Now I’m in seventh heaven.”
Levins had one miss in each stage (1+1), as did fellow American Maddie Phaneuf, who finished 63rd (+2:19.0) with two penalties. Clare Egan followed in 70th (+2:34.2) with four misses (3+1), Deedra Irwin was 85th (+3:38.1) with four penalties (1+3) as well, and Jennie Bender 97th (+5:52.8) with six misses (3+3).
Two Canadians started the race, with Sarah Beaudry finishing 76th (+3:02.9) with four misses (1+3). Erin Yungblut did not finish.
Open European Championships continue Saturday with the men’s and women’s pursuits. The top 60 from the sprint qualify, which, for the North Americans, means Davies, Howe, and Levins.
The championships end Sunday with single mixed and mixed relays.
Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski after winning her first non-stage World Cup on Sunday in the women’s 10 k classic in Planica, Slovenia. She bested Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla’s time by 3.6 seconds. (Screenshot: ARD broadcast)
FIS Cross Country World Cup (Planica, Slovenia): 10/15 k classic
Just when it looked like one of those Charlotte-Kalla days, Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski swooped in and topped the Swede’s time by 3.6 seconds in the women’s 10-kilometer classic individual start on Sunday for her first-career outright World Cup win.
Outright meaning non-stage; Pärmäkoski has two World Cup wins to her name for setting the fastest time of day in 2016 pursuit races.
But Sunday’s 10 k in Slovenia saw her rising to the challenge and besting Charlotte Kalla’s time of 27:12.3, which was at least 39 seconds faster than the first 57 starters. Kalla had started 32nd and beat the previous top time set by Swedish U23 skier Ebba Andersson (bib 28) by 48.6 seconds.
Austria’s Teresa Stadlober started later in bib 56 and clocked the second-fastest time to Kalla, 39 seconds back.
But it was Pärmäkoski in bib 58 who beat them all. Even Norway’s Heidi Weng, who started 60th, couldn’t come close, as she finished 33.5 seconds off Pärmäkoski’s winning time for third place. That put Stadlober in fourth and Andersson in fifth at the end of the day.
Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen placed sixth (+49.4), Norway’s Kari Øyre Slind took seventh (+49.5), Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk (who’s more of a marathon skier these days) placed eighth (+1:02.1), Norway’s Kathrine Rolsted Harsem (who placed second in Saturday’s classic sprint) finished ninth (+1:03.2), and American Jessie Diggins was 10th (+1:05.4).
Another American, Caitlin Patterson, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP), broke through with her second-best individual World Cup result in 20th (+1:45.2). (Last year, she finished seventh in the pre-Olympic PyeongChang World Cup 15 k skiathlon in a notably small field.)
Kikkan Randall (U.S. Ski Team) followed in 23rd (+1:50.4), and her teammates Sophie Caldwell placed 31st (+2:17.2), Liz Stephen 35th (+2:34.9), and Ida Sargent 37th (+2:37.5).
For the second-straight weekend, no Canadian women competed.
The World Cup men’s 15 k classic podium on Sunday in Planica, Slovenia, with Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin (c) in first, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (l) in second, and Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
In the men’s 15 k classic, Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin tallied his second win of the season and first in a race against Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo on Sunday, winning by 13.2 seconds over Klæbo in 36:54.7.
Poltoranin, 30, started 44th and a minute behind the 21-year-old Klæbo. When Klæbo finished, he bumped Russia’s Ivan Kirillov, also 21, out of the leader’s chair by 43.3 seconds. Then Poltoranin finished 13.2 seconds faster, but Klæbo held onto second when Sweden’s 60th starter, Calle Halfvarsson, finished third (+42.8). It was Halfvarsson’s second podium of the season after placing third in the classic sprint at the November World Cup opener in Kuusamo, Finland. In Saturday’s classic sprint in Slovenia, Halfvarsson qualified second but crashed out of the quarterfinals to finish the day in 30th overall.
Norway’s Emil Iversen started 66th and ended up fourth (+54.7) and Kirillov scored his first World Cup top 10 in fifth (+56.5). Russia had four in the top 10 with Stanislav Volzhentsev in sixth (+57.8), Andrey Larkov in eighth (+1:02.2) and Andrey Sobakarev in ninth (+1:03.4). Norway’s Mattis Stenshagen finished seventh (+1:00.8) and Finland’s Iivo Niskanen took 10th (+1:10.1).
Scott Patterson (U.S. Ski Team) was the top North American in 43rd (+2:56.2), Ben Lustgarten (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) finished 46th (+3:04.9) and Tyler Kornfield (Alaska Pacific University) was 57th (+4:03.7). Andy Newell did not finish.
Canada’s Devon Kershaw returned to the circuit and placed 44th (+2:57.1), Bob Thompson (NTDC Thunder Bay) was 64th (+5:05.0), and Dominique Moncion-Groulx (Alberta World Cup Academy) was 70th (+6:11.7).
Russia’s Stefaniya Nadymova outsprinting Japan’s Ayane Miyazaki at the finish for the win at the inaugural women’s Nordic Combined Continental Cup competition on Saturday in Rena, Norway. (Photo: FIS/Romina Eggert)
FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup (Rena, Norway): First-ever women’s competitions
Fourteen women, including American Gabriella Armstrong, made history this weekend by competing in the first women’s Nordic Combined Continental Cup in Rena, Norway (after the scheduled opener in Jan. 6-7 in Otepää, Estonia, was canceled), with back-to-back days of individual large hill/5-kilometer Gundersen start races.
On Saturday, Russia’s Stefaniya Nadymova took the win in 16:26.9, just 0.6 seconds ahead of Japan’s Ayane Miyazki in second. Germany’s Jenny Nowak joined them on the podium in third, 16.6 seconds out of first. Armstrong finished 12th (+6:24).
Nadymova, 23, had kicked off the event by jumping to first in the provisional round, which was used for the jumping results, and began the 5 k with a 10-second head start on Nowak in second place. Miyazaki jumped to third and started 14 seconds back. Armstrong jumped to 14th and started 4:08 out of first.
On Sunday, 15-year-old Miyazaki took the win in 16:23.2, swapping places with Nadymova, who finished second, 11.7 seconds back. Nowak, also 15, repeated in third, but finished over a minute and 21 seconds back out of first.
Miyazaki had jumped to first place earlier in the day and started the 5 k with a 20-second cushion to Nadymova in second. Nowak jumped to third and started 1:08 minutes back.
Armstrong, 19, of the New York Ski Education Foundation, jumped to 11th and finished 11th, 4:26.1 after Miyazaki.
Several U.S. Nordic Combined men also competed in Rena, with Taylor Fletcher placing fourth in Saturday’s individual large hill/10 k, 2.7 seconds behind Austria’s Thomas Joebstl in first. Fletcher had skied up from 25th and 2:17 back after the jump with the second-fastest course time.
Also for the U.S., Adam Loomis placed 33rd (+2:30.7) after jumping to 45th with the 12th-fastest course time. Grant Andrews finished 41st (+3:28.7), and Jared Schumate 43rd (+4:10.1).
Fletcher reached the podium in Sunday’s individual large hill/10 k in third behind two Austrians. After jumping to 19th, he skied the fourth-fastest course time to finish third, 3.7 seconds behind Dominik Terzer in first and 2.7 seconds behind Martin Fritz in second.
Loomis improved to 29th (+1:40.9), up from 35th in the jump, and Andrews finished 37th (+2:36.4) and Shumate 40th (+2:57.9).
The men’s large hill/4 x 5 k team event podium on Sunday at the Nordic Combined World Cup in Chaux-Neuve, France, with Norway (c) in first, Germany (l) in second, and Finland (r) in third. (Photo: FIS/NordicFocus)
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup (Chaux-Neuve, France): Saturday & Sunday
Four American men competed at the Nordic Combined World Cup this weekend in Chaux-Neuve, France, with three of them racing in Saturday’s individual large hill/10 k Gundersen and all four racing Sunday’s large hill/4 x 5 k team event.
Norway’s Jan Schmid was the big winner this weekend, racking up an individual win on Saturday and a team victory on Sunday. He won Saturday’s competition after jumping to fourth and starting 27 seconds behind jump leader Akito Watabe of Japan. Schmid worked his way up to first in the 10 k with the third-fastest course time, crossing the line 1.4 seconds ahead of Watabe in 23:32.7.
Watabe finished second and Finland’s Ilkka Herola placed third (+21.5), just ahead of Austria’s Lukas Klapfer in fourth (+21.8).
Ben Loomis led USA Nordic in 37th (+2:49), after jumping to 37th, Stephen Schumann finished 45th (+5:17.0) and Ben Berend 46th (+5:22.2).
On Sunday, Schmid teamed up with Espen Andersen, Jarl Magnus Riiber and Jørgen Graabak to win the 4 x 5 k team event in 47:22.5 by 13.1 seconds. Germany followed in second, with Eric Frenzel, Fabian Rießle, Johannes Rydzek, and Vinzenz Geiger, and Finland placed third (+20.5) with Leevi Mutru, Arttu Maekiaho, Herola, and Eero Hirvonen.
Norway had led after the jump and started the relay 1:03 minutes ahead of Finland in second. France jumped to third and ended up fourth (+47.4), after being passed by Germany, which had started the relay in fourth.
Japan placed fifth (+2:50.9), Italy sixth (+3:59.9), Austria seventh (+4:06.8), Poland eighth (+5:22.1), Estonia ninth (+5:52.1), Russia 10th (+6:41.2), and the U.S. (with Schumann, Loomis, Berend, and Jasper Good) 11th (+6:52.4).
Western Canadian Championships (Red Deer, Alberta): Relays
Nine men’s teams and six women’s squads contested the open relays on the last day of the NorAm Western Canadian Championships on Sunday in Red Deer, with Ontario’s Team “O” (Scott Hill, Michael Somppi and Andy Shields) winning the men’s 3 x 5 k and Alberta 1 (Annika Hicks, Emma Camicioli and Zina Kocher) winning the women’s 3 x 5 k.
For Shields and Hicks, it was their second win of the weekend after they won their respective classic mass starts on Saturday.
Team “O” posted a 19.9-second win over B.C. Storm (Remi Drolet, Tallon Noble and Greg Kilroy), finishing first in 36:22.6. Alberta 5.1 (Sebastien Boehmler-Dandurand, Sam Hendry and Russell Kennedy) placed third (+52.3).
In the women’s relay, Alberta 1 beat out B.C. Fast, Furious & Freakin’ Awesome (Katie Weaver, Michaela McLean and Kaia Andal) by 2 minutes and 37.8 seconds, winning in 43:17.2. Alberta had two teams on the podium with the Kit Kats (Ember Large, Molly Jane Strum, and Sara McLean) in third (+4:25.8).
The women’s 10 k classic podium at Day 2 of the World Cup opening Ruka Triple in Kuusamo, Finland, with Norwegian winner Marit Bjørgen (c), Swedish runner-up Charlotte Kalla (l), and Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
FIS Cross Country World Cup (Kuusamo, Finland): 10/15 k classic
On Day 2 of the Ruka Triple World Cup opener on Saturday, Norway’s Marit Bjørgen collected a 17-second victory in the women’s 10-kilometer classic individual start in Kuusamo, Finland.
Bjørgen started 30th of nearly 90 women and was contested by one other: Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla in bib 44. Kalla clocked through the 3.1 and 6.2 k checkpoints faster than Bjørgen, but the Norwegian’s time stood up against Kalla’s at 8.1 k, where Bjørgen was 1 second faster. Over the last two kilometers, Bjørgen continued to gain speed toward the finish, crossing the line in 25:07.6 minutes. Kalla came within 17 seconds of her, which was good enough for second place and 0.8 seconds faster than another Norwegian, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, who was bumped to third (+17.8).
Norway had three in the top four with Heidi Weng in fourth (+34.0). Austria’s Teresa Stadlober put herself in the mix in fifth (+36.4), Norway’s Ragnhild Haga was sixth (+38.2), Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva seventh (+42.8), Sweden’s Stina Nilsson eighth (+46.1), Russia’s Anastasia Sedova ninth (+53.4), and American Jessie Diggins 10th (+1:03.9).
Also for the U.S. Ski Team, Ida Sargent placed 22nd (+1:21.9) and Sadie Bjornsen, who notched a career-best second in Friday’s classic sprint and led the women’s Ruka Triple standings after Day 1, finished 23rd (+1:23.4). Bjornsen is now 11th in the standings (46.5 seconds behind Kalla in first) with one more day of racing (women’s 10 k freestyle pursuit) remaining.
Kalla is 2.6 seconds ahead of Bjørgen in the mini-tour standings, and Nilsson is third (+12.4) ahead of Østberg in fourth (+20.0).
Nine American women raced on Saturday, with Rosie Brennan placing 33rd (+1:47.7), Sophie Caldwell (who was eighth in Friday’s sprint) following in 36th (+1:50.1), Kikkan Randall finishing 48th (2:14.5), Liz Stephen 58th (+2:26.3), Chelsea Holmes 64th (+2:50.0), and Julia Kern 74th (+3:19.2).
Three Canadian women competed, with Emily Nishikawa placing 56th (+2:42.2), Cendrine Browne 76th (+3:23.6), and Dahria Beatty 84th (+3:53.5).
Klæbo Doubles Up in Ruka
Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (top and bottom, center) won his second-straight race at the Ruka World Cup opener on Saturday in Kuusamo, Finland, with a 15-second victory in the men’s 15 k classic over fellow Norwegian Didrik Tønseth (bottom left). Finland’s Iivo Niskanen (bottom right) also reached the podium in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
In the men’s 15 k classic that followed, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo rocketed to his second-straight win of the World Cup’s opening weekend in 33:38.8, which was 15.3 seconds clear of runner-up and fellow Norwegian Didrik Tønseth.
Finland’s Iivo Niskanen started after Klæbo (bib 42) and Tønseth (bib 33) in bib 70 and pushed to contend with Klæbo, but came up 17.7 seconds short at the finish. Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov also emerged as a later contender, starting 66th (out of 115) and clocking the fastest times at 3.1 and 5 k. Bolshunov ended up 19.9 seconds behind Klæbo at the finish and ultimately settled for fourth.
Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin placed fifth (+25.6) after being an early race leader in bib 12, and Russia’s Evgeniy Belov (another early starter in bib 10) followed sixth (+26.5). Norway’s Emil Iversen placed seventh (+30.2) and Martin Johnsrud Sundby was eighth (+30.7), Russia’s Alexey Chervotkin ninth (+31.2), and Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson 10th (+34.4).
Canada’s Alex Harvey placed 13th (+49.7), behind Norway’s Pål Golberg and Hans Christer Holund in 11th (+38.1) and 12th (+44.7), respectively.
American Erik Bjornsen and Canadian Devon Kershaw tied for 26th (+1:15.2).
Also for the U.S., Noah Hoffman was 43rd (+1:58.4), Andy Newell 59th (+2:29.6), Paddy Caldwell 72nd (+2:53.5), Scott Patterson 86th (+3:17.7), and Simi Hamilton 96th (+3:43.4).
For Canada, Len Valjas finished 48th (+2:08.0), Graeme Killick 58th (+2:23.4), Knute Johnsgaard 87th (+3:19.8), Julien Locke 100th (+3:56.4), and Jess Cockney 109th (+5:20.7).
Klæbo extended his lead in the Ruka Triple standings to 38.3 seconds over Bolshunov, who moved up to second place. Golberg is third (+44.1), Halfvarsson fourth (+47.8), and Niskanen fifth (+49.5) with Sunday’s 15 k freestyle pursuit remaining.
Harvey is 12th in the standings (+1:22.8) and Bjornsen 23rd (+1:50.9) to lead the Canadian and American men, respectively.
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup (Kuusamo, Finland): Individual large hill/10 k
Also in Ruka, the second day of nordic-combined action started on the HS 142 large hill and ended with a 10 k Gundersen start, which Japan’s Akito Watabe won by 31.7 seconds over Finland’s Eero Hirvonen. Watabe jumped to first on the large hill with a total of 158.6 points, while Austria’s Wilhelm Denifl followed with 154.2 points in second, just ahead of France’s Maxime Laheurte with 154.2 points in third.
The lone American to start the competition round for the second-straight day, Bryan Fletcher jumped to 31st. (His USA Nordic teammate Ben Berend just missed the top-50 cutoff in the qualification round in 52nd, while Taylor Fletcher was 65th in qualifying.)
In the 10 k that followed on Saturday, Watabe started with a 16-second head start on Denifl and extended his lead to the finish, crossing first in 24:58.6. Hirvonen, who started ninth and 58 seconds back based on his jump, rose to second, while Germany’s Johannes Rydzek raced up from eighth to third (+32.8). Norway’s Jan Schmid placed fourth (+34.4) and France’s Antoine Gerard finished fifth (+36.5), Laheurte took sixth (+38.4), Norway’s Espen Andersen was seventh (+39.8), Austria’s Mario Seidl was eighth (+43.7), and Denifl ended up ninth (+55.7). Bryan Fletcher skied the fourth-fastest time to place 18th. Fletcher started 2:29 after Watabe and finished 1:45.8 behind him.
On Friday, Fletcher placed 17th in the individual large hill/5 k Gundersen. In the first Nordic Combined World Cup competition of the season, Norway took first and second with Andersen holding off his teammate Schmid by 7.7 seconds for the win in 12:58.0. Watabe placed third, 11 seconds out of first, after jumping to third.
Andersen’s jump ranked second on Friday and he started the two-lap 5 k four seconds behind Seidl, the jump leader. Seidl fell back three places to fourth at the finish (+15.4) while Schmid rose from sixth to second place with the third-fastest ski time.
Denifl maintained his jumping position in fifth (+29.1) and Laheurte finished ninth — up from 12th in the jump. Fletcher jumped to 18th and improved one spot to 17th (+2:47.6) after starting 3:04 out of first.
Day 3 of nordic combined’s long weekend in Ruka is another individual large hill/10 k Gundersen on Sunday.
A skier flying during the FIS Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix 2017 in Oberwiesenthal, Germany. (Photo: FIS)
Green grass, plastic jumping surfaces, big jumps, sunshine, rollerskis and no snow means one thing. It’s August in Europe and it’s time for the International Ski Federation (FIS) Nordic Combined Summer Grand Prix 2017.
Last weekend Aug. 19-20, Oberwiesenthal, Germany hosted a two-day Grand Prix event.
Day 1 featured a two-person team event with the requisite jump and 2 x 7.5-kilometer cross-country race to determine the winners.
Czech Republic’s first team (Czech Republic I), comprised of Tomas Portyk and Dvorak Miroslav, won the team competition in 28:52.9 after starting fourth, 11 seconds behind first. Germany I’s Fabian Rießle and Eric Frenzel raced to second (+0.3), and Germany II’s Jakob Lange and Vinzenz Geiger placed third (+11.2).
The U.S. had two teams entered. Bryan Fletcher and Taylor Fletcher (U.S. II) placed 12th (+2:37.0) while Jasper Good and Ben Berend (U.S. I) finished 14th (+3:03.5).
Day 2 of racing was an individual normal hill/10 k Gundersen start.
Austria’s Mario Seidl claimed the win in 25:18.5 after jumping to first and starting the 10 k four seconds ahead of Japan’s Akito Watabe in second. Germany’s Frenzel raced from ninth to second (+10.5), after starting 46 seconds after Seidle. Rießle finished third (+12.3), up from fifth in the jump, while Watabe narrowly missed the podium in fourth (+14.2).
Bryan Fletcher (29) during this weekend’s Summer Grand Prix in Oberwiesenthal, Germany. He finished in 20th in Sunday’s individual normal hill/10 k event. (Photo: FIS)
Four U.S. skiers competed on Sunday, and Taylor Fletcher led them at the end of the day in 11th (+1:17.6) after jumping to 33rd and starting 2:01 minutes behind Watabe. Bryan Fletcher finished 20th, Berend 33rd, and Good 34th.
In an Instagram post, Taylor Fletcher described his first individual race of the series.
“First individual race in the books. I had a decent jump in a hard competition,” he wrote. “I started 33rd and ended up finishing 11th. I had a lot more to give but I thought I had another lap (I wish we did) before the coach said this was the last lap. Now @USAnordic is on the way to the next leg ready for another crack at it!!”
The Summer Grand Prix continues Aug. 23 with another normal hill/10 k in Tschagguns, Austria, and concludes in Oberstdorf, Germany, with back-to-back large hill/10 k competitions Aug 25-26.
Bryan Fletcher (U.S. Nordic Combined) jumping to 31st on the large hill at 2017 Nordic Combined World Championships in Lahti, Finland. He later finished the day in 31st in the 10 k Gundersen to lead his team. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
At the season-ending Nordic Combined World Cup weekend in Schonach, Germany, American Bryan Fletcher tallied his second-best result of the season: 11th in the individual large hill/10-kilometer Gundersen start on Saturday, March 18. He did so by posting one of his best jumps of the year, which interestingly tied his jumping result at his season-best World Cup in December in Lillehammer, Norway.
In Lillehammer, Fletcher jumped to 22nd with a 129-meter leap, also on the large hill, and went on to place ninth in the 10 k. On Saturday in Schonach, the 30-year-old U.S. Nordic Combined veteran jumped to 22nd with a distance of 98 meters, and skied the eighth-fastest 10 k to move up to 11th.
American Bryan Fletcher leading Japan’s Yoshito Watabe early in the men’s 10 k Gundersen start in the first nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland. Fletcher went on to place 14th and Yoshito Watabe 44th. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
“Jumping was starting to come around at the end of the season a bit more,” Fletcher wrote in an email on Tuesday. “It was still inconsistent but I have learned a lot about myself as a competitor this season especially in regards to my technical skills and abilities. Towards the end of the year I was able to start applying some of the things I have learned about myself to my jumping and the results were slowly starting to improve.
“Obviously the level is very high in the sport right now and so even small mistakes mean you are out of contention,” he added. “So it’s very hard to confidently make changes during the season with so much at stake. But given my rather up and down season I decided this was the season I had to start to shake up my routine to either find a new, better, or more consistent level or to simply confirm that the way I am doing things is still the be path to be on. Schonach on Saturday was only a small change but obviously had a big impact on my results.”
Fletcher started the 10 k race 53 seconds behind Japan’s Yoshito Watabe, who led after jumping. Fletcher explained the race was seven laps on a difficult 1.5 k course, which would typically play to his strengths, but he’s been struggling with his shape since World Championships three weeks ago.
“The legs and body were not responding the way I would have liked. So I was pretty unsure going into the race of how I would hold up,” he wrote. “I went out slow and tried to work into the race a bit saving energy for the last laps which almost paid off big. I was able to make contact with the lead group and be there for the winning move, but I was unable to go with the sprint. I felt like I skied a smart race and my overall performance but I would have been much happier if I could have hung on for a top 10 result.”
Germany’s Eric Frenzel, who started seventh based on his jump and started 15 seconds behind Watabe, raced to first with the 10th-fastest time. He finished in 28:14 minutes, 3.4 seconds ahead of Austria’s Wilhelm Denifl in second and 7.1 seconds ahead of his German teammate Johannes Rydzek in third. Denifl had started second, 9 seconds back, and held his position, while Rydzek improved from ninth in the jump. Watabe slipped to 17th (+1:02.5).
Fletcher, who finished 32.8 seconds out of first and 4.5 seconds out of 10th, led two Americans on Saturday, with 17-year-old Stephen Schumann placing 42nd.
The Nordic Combined World Cup podium on March 19, the last World Cup of the season, in Schonach, Germany, with Germany’s Eric Frenzel (c) in first, France’s Francois Braud (l) in second, and Japan’s Akito Watabe (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined/Twitter)
On Sunday in Schonach, none of the Americans completed the Day 2 large hill/10 k competition. Ben Berend jumped to 36th, but did not start the race.
Meanwhile, Frenzel completed his weekend sweep and claimed his fifth-straight Overall World Cup title with a 7.7-second win over France’s Francois Braud. Japan’s Akito Watabe rounded out the podium in third, 11.2 seconds behind Frenzel.
Overall, Frenzel ended the season with 1,734 points, Rydzek placed second in the overall standings with 1,609, and Akito Watabe completed the podium in third with 1,086.
The leader after Sunday’s jump, Germany’s Tobias Simon, did not finish the 10 k. Frenzel started the race in eighth, 57 seconds out of first, and posted the 11th-fastest ski time for his third-straight win after topping the large hill/10 k last Wednesday, March 15, at the World Cup in Trondheim, Norway. There, Fletcher led three Americans in 35th. His brother Taylor Fletcher placed 39th and Berend finished 48th.
At the previous World Cup on March 11 in Oslo, Norway, Frenzel placed second, just 0.4 seconds behind Akito Watabe in another large hill/10 k. Bryan Fletcher finished 43rd and Schumann 49th.
“This season was one of the hardest I have had,” Fletcher wrote. “I came into the season ready to go and in really good shape for both XC and jumping. I think my mistake was I was too eager to get the season underway. I had trouble maintaining that fitness and body composition and ultimately had to reset over the holidays and rebuild in order to prepare for World Championships.”
American Bryan Fletcher (16) after finishing 14th in the normal hill/10 k Gundersen start, the first nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland. He had been in the hunt for a medal but crashed on the final corner coming into the stadium. Behind him, Austria’s David Pommer finished 16th. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
At World Championships, Fletcher led his team in 14th in the opening individual competition: the large hill/10 k. He had been in podium contention until crashing on the last corner, about 200 hundred meters before the finish. That day, he jumped to 16th. Looking back on his season, Fletcher considered that event a season highlight.
“I wanted to be a contender in that event and I was,” he wrote. “I have replayed that race a few times in my head and I think a few different moves in the final lap and I could have been fully in the fight for the medal. Also Lillehammer was a strong race, also I was happy with my performance in Schonach on Saturday after two disappointing comps the week before.”
After being sick for a couple weeks in January and feeling like he peaked a week too early for World Championships, Fletcher, who has been competing at the World Cup level since 2009, is already thinking about next season.
“No rest for the wicked haha,” he wrote. “I have already started my training plan for next season with specific areas in both XC and Jumping that I want to improve upon. Specifically I need to improve my finish sprints and in jumping I need to improve my in run balance and position.”
“I am really motivated for next year and my body is feeling good,” he continued. “The past two seasons I planned to tone things down a bit in my training, so that I could build up a bit stronger for Pyeongchang. In the past I have always had a performance build for the 3 years prior to the olympics but have come into the Olympic season a bit flat. My goal was to disrupt that cycle to increase performance next season.”
While Fletcher was his team’s most consistent member this season, he explained that jumping overall has been a bit of a struggle amongst his teammates.
“Our team found a really high level at the end of the summer, however, a 5 week break without jumping due to weather before the season disrupted our progress,” he wrote. “Also our guys changed a lot this summer technically. It takes time to build a high level of jumping and I expect us to continue our progress on what we learned this season to improve those adaptations. I have no doubt we will be on a higher level next year.”
For now, Fletcher, a new dad, is enjoying some downtime with his wife and 7-month-old daughter Ellery.
“It does feel amazing to be home with the family!” he wrote. “… [Ellery] had been sleeping on my chest for about the last 30 minutes and to be honest it was awesome to forget about everything else and just enjoy the moment.”
The men’s 10 k sprint podium at Friday’s IBU World Cup in PyeongChang, South Korea, with Austria’s Julian Eberhard (c) in first, American Lowell Bailey (l) in second, and France’s Martin Fourcade (r) in third. (Photo: IBU)
IBU World Cup (PyeongChang, South Korea): Men’s 10 k sprint
US Biathlon’s Lowell Bailey kept his clean-shooting streak alive with another one of his personal best results on Friday, racing to second in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Bailey started 81st and hit all 10 targets in the two-stage race to cross the finish line in first, 4.7 seconds ahead of France’s Martin Fourcade, who locked up the 2016/2017 overall World Cup title with an eventual third-place finish on Friday.
An even later starter in bib 90, Austria’s Julian Eberhard rocketed to his third-career World Cup victory (and second win this season), cleaning both stages and topping Bailey’s time by 40.7 seconds. That bumped Bailey to second place and Fourcade to third, for Bailey’s second World Cup podium this season (including his win in the 20 k individual at IBU World Championships).
In the last five non-relay races, including four at World Championships, Bailey has not placed outside the top six. And in all of those races, he’s only had one miss.
Bailey is up to ninth in the World Cup Total Score standings. Fourcade ran away with the season-long title in first, now that he’s 360 points ahead of Russia’s Anton Shipulin in second.
While Eberhard and Bailey shot clean on Friday, Fourcade missed two — one on each stage (1+1) — but made up for it with the fastest course time. Eberhard had the second-fastest course time and fastest shooting time of the 102-man field.
Austria nearly had two on the podium with Dominik Landertinger finishing fourth (+48.1), 2.7 seconds out of third, with clean shooting.
Three Canadians finished in the top 60 to qualify for Saturday’s pursuit, with Scott Gow in 27th (+1:40.3) with two penalties (1+1), Brendan Green following in 28th (+1:42.1) with one miss (0+1) for his first individual top 30 of the season, and Christian Gow in 56th (+2.33.6) with two prone penalties (2+0). Nathan Smith finished 88th (+3:32.5) with two standing misses (0+2) in his first World Cup race since early December, and Macx Davies finished 98th (+4:20.2) with four penalties (3+1).
For the U.S., Leif Nordgren placed 37th (+2:03.7) with two misses (1+1) to qualify for the pursuit, along with Bailey. Sean Doherty was 80th (+3:13.3) with two penalties (1+1) and Paul Schommer 101st (+4:38.1) with five misses (3+2).
FIS Nordic World Championships (Lahti, Finland): Nordic Combined 2 x 7.5 k team sprint
The nordic combined 2 x 7.5 k team sprint podium on Friday at 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland, with Germany’s Johannes Rydzek and Eric Frenzel in first (c), Norway’s Magnus Moan and Magnus Krog in second (l) and Japan’s Yoshito and Akito Watabe in third (r). (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined/Twitter)
[UPDATED] Johannes Rydzek and Team Germany completed the World Championships sweep on Friday, with Rydzek teaming up with Eric Frenzel to win the final nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland: the 2 x 7.5-kilometer team sprint.
Rydzek won all four NoCo competitions over the past week, including two individual events and two team events.
On Friday, he and Frenzel, the defending World Cup champion, jumped to second and started the 2 x 7.5 k cross-country race 16 seconds behind France’s Maxime Laheurte and François Braud, who jumped to first. The Frenchmen both posted jumps of 125 meters for a total of 264.2 points. Frenzel and Rydzek, meanwhile, scored 256.1 points after jumps of 125.5 and 122 meters.
The Germans pulled off a 1-second win over Norway, finishing in 28:45.8 minutes, while Norway’s Magnus Moan and Magnus Krog claimed silver after starting the ski race in fourth, 24 seconds behind France. Together, the Norwegians posted the fastest course time, and Moan skied the fastest 7.5 k (13:53).
“It’s still unbelievable,” Rydzek told German broadcaster ARD. “The race today was so suspenseful again, down to the last curve with the lapped athlete [Russia]. I knew that I am very fast on the homestretch, and had explicitly looked at that section before the race. Eric did a great job today, and despite all circumstances pointing against us we managed to do it again today. Just cool to be back on the top of the podium with Eric.”
Just a couple hundred meters before the finish, Rydzek used the moment when they approached the lapped Russian athlete to slingshot between him and Krog and gained a decisive edge.
“I was scared of that situation with the lapped athlete, because that was really close,” Frenzel told ARD. “I thought, ‘What is he doing out there?’ But in the end you can rely on Johannes to solve that like a world champion, that was top.
“We knew ahead of time that Lahti suits us well, that we can be good here if the conditions work out,” he added. “So we are very happy to be able to go home with so many medals.”
Japan took the final spot on the podium after brothers Yoshito and Akito Watabe jumped to third, started 18 seconds after France, and held their position to finish for third place, 10.2 seconds after Germany.
Austria’s Wilhelm Denifl and Bernhard Gruber missed bronze by half a second in fourth (+10.7) after starting in fifth, and France ended up fifth (+11.5).
Nearly a minute later, Italy placed sixth (+1:10.6) and Finland seventh (+1:10.7). The Czech Republic followed in eighth (+1:26.4), and the U.S. was ninth (+1:48.1) with Bryan and Taylor Fletcher after starting 12th and 2:08 out of first. The Fletcher brothers recorded the second-fastest course time out of 14 teams.
“Taylor did a good job stepping up in competition and it gave me motivation to step up as well,” Bryan said, according to a U.S. Ski Team press release. “Unfortunately I wanted it a little too much and didn’t have the jump I am capable of.
“The races went well but we were just too far back,” he continued. “We had the second fastest time as a team overall, which is solid and continually shows our strength on that side of the sport.”
FIS Nordic World Championships (Lahti, Finland): Men’s 4 x 10 k relay
The men’s 4 x 10 k relay podium at 2017 Nordic World Championships, with Norway (c) in first, Russia (l) in second, and Sweden (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/Twitter)
The men’s 4 x 10-kilometer relay as the last team event of 2017 Nordic World Championships came down to a two-way battle for gold between none other than Norway and Russia on Friday in Lahti, Finland,
The two teams skied in either first or second throughout the four-leg race, with Russia’s Andrey Larkov tagging Alexander Bessmertnykh 2.9 seconds ahead of Norway’s first leg Didrik Tønseth, then Bessmertnykh coming through the second exchange just half a second ahead of Norway’s Niklas Dyrhaug.
Behind them, Finland skied alone in third place at the race’s halfway point, but was ultimately swallowed by the chase pack on the third leg.
On that third leg, Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby worked hard to drop Russia’s Alexey Chervotkin, and eventually did so, coming through the final exchange 17.7 seconds ahead. That gave Norway’s anchor Finn Hågen Krogh just enough of a gap on Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov, and he was able to hold off Ustiugov by 4.6 seconds at the finish to give Norway the gold in 1:37:20.1 hours.
Russia claimed silver and Sweden outlasted Switzerland for bronze after Calle Halfvarsson attacked in the final kilometer to drop Finland’s Matti Heikkinen and Germany’s Lucas Bögl. Halfvarsson finished 2:31.8 minutes out of first, and just 0.2 seconds ahead of Switzerland’s Curdin Perl for third place for Sweden (which included teammates Daniel Rickardsson, Johan Olsson and Marcus Hellner).
Switzerland was fourth (+2:32) with Jason Rueesch, Jonas Baumann, Dario Cologna and Perl, Finland fifth (+2:42.4) with Sami Jauhojärvi, Niskanen, Lari Lehtonen, and Heikkinen, and Germany sixth (+2:42.8) with Thomas Bing, Jonas Dobler, Florian Notz, and Bögl.
France finished seventh (+3:52), Italy eighth (+5:29.8), Kazakhstan ninth (+5:30.6), and the U.S. 10th (+5:31.3). The U.S. team (Kyle Bratrud, Erik Bjornsen, Tad Elliott, Simi Hamilton) skied in 11th for most of the race before Hamilton moved them up to 10th with the sixth-fastest anchor leg.
Canada (Graeme Killick, Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey, Len Valjas) ended up 12th after being lapped on the last leg. In 14th at the first exchange, Kershaw moved them up to 13th, then Harvey put them in 12th with one leg to go.
Heidi Weng and Maiken Caspersen Fall of Norway (center) bested Yulia Belorukova and Natalia Matveeva of Russia (left) for gold in the women’s team sprint at 2017 World Championships, with Sadie Bjornsen and Jessie Diggins of the U.S. (right) outsprinting Sweden for bronze. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
FIS Nordic World Championships (Lahti, Finland): Classic team sprints
Defending champions Norway repeated gold in the women’s team sprint, with Heidi Weng and Maiken Caspersen Falla crossing the finish line first in Lahti, Finland. On the second-to-last loop, it looked like Russia could have something to say about that. Yulia Belorukova put in a furious sprint up the course’s biggest climb, and then beat Weng to the exchange. But her teammate Natalia Matveeva could not match the pace when Falla put on her own sprint on the last uphill. Russia finished second for silver, +5.56.
The competition for bronze was closer, with Germany, Finland, Sweden, and the United States going out of the stadium for the last loop together in chase of the Norwegian and Russian leaders. The last climb was defining in the race for bronze, with Jessie Diggins of the United States staying closest to Sweden’s Stina Nilsson. Diggins caught Nilsson on the downhill and was able to stay just ahead of the Swede to the finish, claiming bronze (+18.38) along with teammate Sadie Bjornsen. It was a return to the team sprint podium for Diggins: after winning the team sprint at 2013 World Championships with Kikkan Randall, she teamed up with Sophie Caldwell in 2015 but the pair finished eighth.
Nilsson and Ida Ingemarsdotter settled for fourth (+18.57), and the Finnish team of Aino-Kaisa Saarinen and Kerttu Niskanen finished fifth (+23.02).
The Canadian team of Cendrine Browne and Dahria Beatty was seventh in their semifinal and landed 13th overall.
In the men’s team sprint, Norway set a high pace from the beginning, with phenom Johannes Høsflot Klæbo attacking on the steep uphill every time he skied. On his second and third loops, he tagged off to Emil Iversen with gaps of just over five seconds to the rest of the field. But Iversen had a hard time holding the lead, in part because of Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov, who had won the 30 k skiathlon the day before and put in a huge effort to catch Iversen on the fourth loop of the team sprint.
On the final loop, Finland’s Iivo Niskanen bridged the gap up to Iversen, mostly on the steep uphill and then also with ski speed on the downhill. But the time the pair entered the stadium, Niskanen had caught the Norwegian and was moving with higher speed. He decided to switch tracks to overtake Iversen, but Iversen decided to switch tracks just a second later, without checking one last time to make sure the track was clear. He fell, taking out Niskanen with him.
That allowed Ustiugov and Italy’s Federico Pellegrino to go sailing by to claim gold and silver (+2.14) with their teammates Nikita Kriukov and Dietmar Noeckler. It was the second gold for Russia in the event in three World Championships; Kriukov and Alexey Petukhov won in 2013, and also took silver in 2015.
Niskanen got up and claimed bronze (+8.64 with Sami Jauhojärvi), swearing as he crossed the finish line; with a broken pole, Iversen limped across the line in fourth (+18.42). He was called to a jury meeting but ultimately no teams were disqualified because of the crash.
Erik Bjornsen of the United States won a sprint finish for fifth (+23.58) with teammate Simi Hamilton), besting Lenny Valjas (+27.02 with teammate Alex Harvey) of Canada.
FIS Nordic World Championships (Lahti, Finland): Nordic combined 4 x 5 k team event
Germany (Björn Kircheisen, Eric Frenzel, Fabian Rießle, and Johannes Rydzek) took gold in the nordic combined 4 x 5 k team event on Sunday at Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland, while Norway placed second and Austria third. (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined/Twitter)
[UPDATED] After sweeping the first individual nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic World Championships on Friday, Germany achieved gold as a team, with Björn Kircheisen, Eric Frenzel, Fabian Rießle, and Johannes Rydzek winning the 4 x 5-kilometer team event in 47:57.3.
The Germans combined for the best jumping score of 11 teams and started the relay in first, 44 seconds ahead of Japan in second. Norway started 1:07 minutes back in fifth but rose to second place (+41.7), with Magnus Moan, Mikko Kokslein, Magnus Krog, and Jørgen Graabak. Moan raced them into third at the first exchange, then Kokslein secured second, which they held onto for the remaining two legs.
“It was our goal to ski a controlled race,” Germany’s Frenzel told ZDF. “Not really look at how the gap was developing, but just make our own race. And put up a little more pressure towards the end of each leg. That worked well, that was a wickedly cool team performance today. And I am just happy that we could put a little golden crown on the whole event today.”
“I think today you could see again that we all worked together and enjoyed the competition,” Rydzek added. “We were all happy about each other’s performance, and just rewarded ourselves for hard hard work.”
Austria started fourth, 1:05 behind Norway, and clinched bronze (+1:03.7) with Bernhard Gruber, Mario Seidl, Philipp Orter, and Paul Gerstgraser. Gruber initially raced them into second at the first exchange, but they relinquished one spot and hung on for third, ahead of Japan in fourth (+1:06).
Japan (Hideaki Nagai, Takehiro Watanabe, Yoshito Watabe, and Akito Watabe) jumped to second, but found themselves in fourth at every exchange.
Finland took fifth, Italy sixth, France seventh, and the U.S. eighth (+3:27.2) with Bryan Fletcher, Taylor Fletcher, Ben Berend, and Ben Loomis. The Americans started the race in seventh and were in sixth after the first two exchanges, but slipped to eighth on the third leg.
IBU Youth/Junior World Championships (Osrblie, Slovakia): Youth & junior pursuits
Four seems to be Chloe Levins’s lucky number. After a career breakthrough of fourth place in the pursuit at last year’s Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Lillehammer, Norway, the 18-year-old Vermonter raced to fourth in the youth women’s 7.5-kilometer pursuit on Sunday at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth/Junior World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia.
Italy’s Irene Lardschneider winning the youth women’s 7.5 k pursuit on Sunday for her second-straight gold at 2017 IBU Youth World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia. (Photo: IBU)
Levins started the race in 11th and worked her way up to fourth with clean shooting in three stages. She missed two in the first prone but rebounded and held off Ukraine’s Khrystyna Dmytrenko by seven seconds for fourth place. Levins finished 1:55.5 minutes behind the winner, Italy’s Irene Lardschneider, who started the race first and held on for her second-straight gold medal despite four penalties (0+0+2+2), finishing in 26:57.1. France’s Lou Jeanmonnot-Laurent rose from fourth to second place with 19-for-20 shooting (0+0+1+0), and Italy’s Samuela Comola took bronze (+1:08.5) for the second-straight race with two misses (1+0+1+0).
Three U.S. women qualified for the pursuit, with Amanda Kautzer finishing 42nd (+6:16.2) after starting 59th and shooting 80 percent (1+0+2+1), and Grace Gilliland finishing 55th (+8:32.1) with six penalties (2+3+1+0).
Canada’s Shilo Rousseau followed in 54th (+9:02.1) with eight misses (3+1+2+2).
In the junior women’s 10 k pursuit, Canada’s Megan Bankes raced to 16th for the best finish for a North American in that race. The gold medalist in last week’s 12.5 k individual, Bankes finished 13th in Saturday’s sprint and thus started in that position, 1:25 out of first. She ended up 16th with four penalties (0+1+2+1) and finished 2:15.8 behind the winner, Russia’s Valeriia Vasnetcova, who started 24th and worked her way all the way up to first with clean shooting.
Vasnetcova was the only one to clean the four-stage pursuit on Sunday, and in doing so, she achieved her first gold of the championships and second of her career at Youth/Junior Worlds after her team won last year’s youth relay in Romania.
Coming off a sprint win, Italy’s Michela Carrara started first and took second at the finish, 10 seconds behind Vasnetcova with three misses (1+1+1+0). Norway’s Ingrid Tandrevold scored her second-straight medal as well, after starting second and finishing third (+10.8), with two penalties (0+0+1+1).
Canada’s Nadia Moser had her best result of the championships in 30th (+3:43.5), moving up one place after starting 31st, with three penalties (0+1+0+2). Emily Dickson finished 47th for the second-straight day (+6:29.9) with four penalties (1+0+1+2).
Siena Ellingson was the lone American to start after placing 18th in Saturday’s sprint. She finished 41st (+5:24.7) with seven misses (1+2+1+3).
In the junior men’s 12.5 k pursuit, Canada’s Pearce Hanna rocketed to 23rd after starting 47th, shooting 17-for-20 after cleaning the first two stages (0+0+1+2) for his first top 30 of the championships. Hanna finished 3:12 behind the winner, Russia’s Igor Malinovskii who picked up his second-straight gold.
Malinovskii started first and finished in 32:39.8, 13 seconds ahead of second place, with four penalties (0+1+2+1). Norway’s Sindre Pettersen took the silver medal after starting in eighth and posting the fastest course time to overcome five misses (2+1+1+1). Belarus’s Anton Smolski moved up from fourth at the start to reach the podium in third (+27.4) with five misses as well (0+0+3+2).
All four Canadian junior men qualified for the pursuit. Trevor Kiers led them in 39th (+5:13.3), after starting 48th, for his best result of the championships. Jules Burnotte placed 43rd (+5:35.3), up from 55th, for his best result as well, and Zachari Bolduc finished 57th (+8:18.3). Kiers missed five targets (2+0+1+2), Burnotte had seven misses (3+1+1+2), and Bolduc missed eight (2+3+2+1).
For the U.S., Cody Johnson finished 55th (+7:19.5) with nine penalties (2+1+2+4) and Travis Cooper 59th (+8:46.2) with eight misses (5+0+1+2).
In the youth men’s 10 k pursuit, the first race of the day on Sunday, two Canadians finished in the top 30, with Leo Grandbois in 22nd and Adam Runnalls in 27th.
For Grandbois, it was his first time outside the top 15 of the championships after he had won the youth men’s 12.5 k individual last Wednesday and finished 14th in Friday’s 7.5 k sprint. He had to ski six penalty loops on Sunday (0+2+2+2), dropping outside the top 20 after the third shooting. Grandbois finished 3:21.8 behind the winner, France’s Emilien Claude, who won the sprint as well to start the pursuit first.
Claude, who had four penalties (1+1+0+2) and finished in 29:22.4, held off Italy’s hard-charging Cedric Christille by 16 seconds after Christille shot just two penalties (0+0+1+1) to move up from fourth to second for his first medal in his first Youth World Championships. Germany’s Danilo Riethmüller rose from sixth to third place (+30.7) despite four misses (1+0+1+2). For the German, it was his second bronze of these championships after placing third in the 12.5 k individual.
Canada’s Runnalls moved up from 32nd at the start to 27th at the finish (+3:47.5) for his first top 30 of the championships. He had five penalties (1+3+1+0), but cleaned the last stage to move into the top 30.
Vasek Cervenka was the lone American to qualify in the youth men’s pursuit, and he moved up from 49th at the start to 30th (+3:52) with five penalties (1+1+1+2).
Germany’s Johannes Rydzek celebrates his win in the first nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic World Championships on Friday in Lahti, Finland. He won the individual normal hill/10 k by 14.9 seconds over his teammate Eric Frenzel. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
FIS Nordic World Championships (Lahti, Finland): Nordic Combined individual normal hill/10 k
Germany, Germany, Germany, Germany. That’s how the results read after the first nordic combined competition of the 2017 Nordic World Championships on Friday in Lahti, Finland, with Germany not only sweeping the podium but the top four of the men’s individual normal hill/10-kilometer Gundersen start.
Germany swept the podium in the first nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland, with Johannes Rydzek (c) taking gold, Eric Frenzel (1) silver, and Björn Kircheisen (8) bronze in the individual normal hill/10 k Gundersen on Friday. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
Johannes Rydzek notched his second individual gold medal in the last two championships (after winning the normal hill/10 k in 2015 in Falun, Sweden), with a 14.9-second victory over his teammate and four-time defending overall World Cup champion Eric Frenzel. Björn Kircheisen completed the all-German podium in third (+30.0), holding off teammate Fabian Rießle by 2.2 seconds for bronze.
The 25-year-old Rydzek, who’s already won eight individual World Cup competitions this season, jumped to second on Friday and started the 10 k race 14 seconds behind Frenzel, the leader after the jump.
Rydzek overtook Frenzel for the win and 33-year-old Kircheisen moved up from eighth after the jump to third at the finish. Rießle held off Japan’s Akito Watabe by 0.1 seconds in a photo finish for fourth.
“Incredible. An incredibly beautiful day,” Rydzek told German broadcaster ZDF after. “Thanks to everyone who supported me so much throughout the last years so that this became possible now. Thanks also to my teammates, who I think all did a cool job today. All three guys and the whole surrounding team. And as for the race, I felt strong, I knew the slow-and-difficult course suits me well. And that I was able to conduct the race from in front … incredible. Just craziness.”
“I noticed that Johannes was just strong on the course today,” Frenzel, 28, told ZDF. “Actually we already noticed that at the World Cup in January here, that he is really moving well here. I, for my part, gave everything I had, and can only congratulate him for the strong competition he made today. He won deservedly. And I am also satisfied with my race.”
American Bryan Fletcher leading Japan’s Yoshito Watabe early in the men’s 10 k Gundersen start in the first nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland. Fletcher went on to place 14th and Yoshito Watabe 44th. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
Bryan Fletcher led the Americans in 14th (+47.4) after crashing out of contention in the final 200 meters of the race. He had been in contention for a medal, skiing in a pack with Kircheisen, Rießle and Watabe, among others, all fighting for bronze. Fletcher fell on the final corner to ultimately miss the podium by 17.4 seconds. He jumped to 16th and started the ski race 56 seconds out of first.
“I knew it was going to be a hard cross-country race because it was so tight and pack racing is always so difficult,” Fletcher said, according to a U.S. Ski Team press release. “You’re not only fighting for position, but anything can happen. That’s exactly what happened to me today. I did really well in the pack and when I thought I had it locked up, I let my guard down and slipped out on a corner.”
His younger brother Taylor Fletcher posted the third-fastest cross-country time to race from 47th after the jump to 21st at the finish (+1:38.4). Adam Loomis placed 33rd (+2:23.6) after jumping to 39th, and Ben Berend finished 41st (+3:10.8) after posting the 22nd-best jump out of 55.
Canada’s Nathaniel Mah, of the Altius Nordic Ski Club in Calgary, jumped to 41st but did not finish the 10 k race.
The next nordic-combined event at Lahti Worlds, the 4 x 5 k team event, will be contested Sunday.
American Bryan Fletcher (16) after finishing 14th in the normal hill/10 k Gundersen on Friday, the first nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland. He had been in the hunt for a medal but crashed on the final corner coming into the stadium. Behind him, Austria’s David Pommer finished 16th. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)
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IBU Youth/Junior World Championships (Osrblie, Slovakia): Youth men’s and women’s sprints
Italy had two on the podium of the youth women’s 6 k sprint on Friday at IBU Youth World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia, with Irene Lardschneider (c) in first, Samuela Comola (r) in third, and Austria’s Anna Gandler (l) taking second place. (Photo: IBU)
[UPDATED] Italy’s Irene Lardschneider dominated the youth women’s 6-kilometer sprint competition on Friday at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) Youth World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia, finishing 1:06.5 minutes faster than anyone else in 19:48.3 with 9-for-10 shooting. Lardschneider started 17th and led from start to finish despite one miss in her standing stage (0+1). She posted the fastest course time of 92 finishers for gold — her first medal in her first Youth World Championships. She previously raced at last year’s Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Lillehammer, Norway, where she earned a bronze medal with the mixed relay and placed 14th in the pursuit.
Also in the 2016 YOG pursuit, American Chloe Levins placed fourth for her best international finish. Racing at her third Youth Worlds on Friday, Levins finished 11th in the sprint to lead the North Americans. Like Lardschneider, Levins cleaned prone and missed one in standing (0+1) to finish 1:39.7 back from the win. For Levins, it was her second top 15 in as many races at these championships, after placing 14th in the youth women’s 10 k individual on Wednesday.
Sharing the podium with Lardschneider, Austria’s Anna Gandler placed second (+1:06.5) with one penalty (0+1), and Italy had two on the podium with Samuela Comola in third (+1:18.1). Comola was one of two women to clean the two-stage race; the other being Finland’s Maija Keränen in 13th (+1:40.9).
Shilo Rousseau led Canada in 45th (+4:08.0) with three penalties (0+3). Frédérique Pérusse finished 73rd (+5:48.2) with four misses (1+3), Anna Sellers was 82nd (+6:47.2) with six penalties (4+2), and Elise Sauve was 86th (+7:41.7) with six misses (3+3) as well.
For the U.S., Grace Gilliland placed 55th (+4:35.2) with four misses (1+3), Amanda Kautzer was 59th (+4:42.7) with six penalties (3+3) and Helen Wilson 67th (+5:10.0) with four misses (2+2).
The youth men’s 7.5 k sprint at 2017 IBU Youth World Championships in Osrblie, Slovakia, with France’s Emilien Claude (c) in first, Ukraine’s Serhiy Telen (l) in second, and Norway’s Sivert Guttorm Bakken (r) in third. (Photo: IBU)
In the youth men’s 7.5 k sprint, France’s Emilien Claude put down the fastest course time to over two penalties for the win, besting Ukraine’s Serhiy Telen who started ahead of him, by 25.2 seconds.
Claude missed one shot in each stage (1+1) and finished in 20:18.3, bumping Telen to second where he would remain after shooting one penalty (0+1). Norway’s Sivert Guttorm Bakken reached the podium in third (+44.6) despite two misses (1+1) and for the second-straight race, Italy’s Cedric Christille narrowly missed a medal in fourth (+52.0) after two standing penalties (0+2).
Coming off a gold medal in the youth men’s 12.5 k individual, Canada’s Leo Grandbois finished 14th (+1:52.9) on Friday to lead the North Americans. He had to ski three penalty loops (1+2) and posted the 10th-fastest course time of 99 finishers.
Also for Canada, Adam Runnalls placed 32nd (+2:46.8) despite five misses (3+2), Robert Kreitz was 84th (+5:37.2) with five penalties (1+4) as well, and Thomas Hulsman 87th (+5:58.6) with six misses (3+3).
For the U.S., Vasek Cervenka finished 49th (+3:37.1) with six penalties (4+2), Alex Kilby was 69th (+4:47.4) with three misses (1+2), Jacob Pearson 76th (+5:07.1) with five penalties (2+3), and Camren Nielsen 82nd (+5:18.8) with five misses as well (3+2).
Youth/Junior World Championships continue Saturday with the junior men’s and women’s sprints.
Ben Lustgarten (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) with his $750-dollar check for winning the men’s SuperTour classic sprint on Saturday near Truckee, Calif. Stratton’s Ben Saxton (l) placed second and APU’s Reese Hanneman (r) was third.
Lustgarten, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, raced to a 1.58-second victory in the men’s A-final at the Auburn Ski Club in Soda Springs, Calif., finishing in 3:03.4. Ben Saxton, of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team, placed second, and Reese Hanneman, of Alaska Pacific University (APU), was third (+2.77).
Hannenman’s younger brother Logan also reached the final and placed fourth (+4.5), Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) was fifth (+5.86), and the third APU skier in the final, Tyler Kornfield sixth (+18.69).
Blackhorse-von Jess started the day off as the fastest qualifier in 2:58.8. Saxton qualified second, 4.1 seconds back, Logan Hanneman qualified third (+4.2), and Lustgarten fourth (+6.5). Blackhorse-von Jess went on to win his quarterfinal and place second in his semifinal, while Lustgarten and Saxton both won their quarterfinals and semifinals.
Jennie Bender (3) of the Bridger Ski Foundation leading Stratton’s Julia Kern (2) and Sun Valley’s Deedra Irwin (5) during the second women’s classic sprint semifinal at Saturday’s SuperTour near Truckee, Calif. Bender went on to win the semifinal, as well as the final.
In the women’s A-final, Jennie Bender of the Bridger Ski Foundation, coming off a classic sprint win at nationals, scored another victory in 3:29.07. She edged Craftsbury’s Kaitlynn Miller by just seven-hundredths of a second, and Stratton’s Julia Kern placed third (+3.42). Racing at home, Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Academy) finished fourth (+3.88). Craftsbury had three in the women’s final with Caitlin Patterson in fifth (+3.93) and Heather Mooney in sixth (+27.35).
Miller proved to be the woman to beat throughout the day, winning the qualifier in 3:30.9, along with her quarterfinal and semifinal. Kern qualified second (+3.2) and Bender third (+4.6). Bender went on to win her quarterfinal and semifinal as well before facing off with Miller in the final.
NorAm Western Canadian Championships (Whistler, B.C.): 10/15 k classic
It was interval-starts day at Western Canadian Championships at Whistler Olympic Park and national-team veteran Emily Nishikawa completed the four laps of the women’s 10 k classic in 30:35.5 to win ahead of teammate Dahria Beatty, 16.5 seconds behind. Maya MacIsaac-Jones completed the national team and Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) sweep in third (+1:36.5).
Sovereign Lake’s Hannah Mehain, of the national junior team, was the top junior for the second-straight day in eighth overall (+3:22.1).
In the men’s 15 k, Lappe Nordic’s Andy Shields won the six-lap race in 40:34.2, showing some of the form that won him the NorAm overall last season. National-team member Jess Cockney collected his second-straight podium, finishing second, 4.3 seconds behind Shields. Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) completed the podium in third (+55.1).
FIS Cross-Country World Cup (Ulricehamn, Sweden): 10/15 k freestyle
The men’s 15 k freestyle podium at Saturday’s World Cup in Ulricehamn, Sweden, with Canadian winner Alex Harvey (c), Norwegian runner-up Martin Johnsrud Sundby (l), and Sweden’s Marcus Hellner (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
First individual win of the season (second straight, after winning last weekend’s team sprint), fifth individual victory of his career. That’s the latest news on Canada’s Alex Harvey, who won the World Cup men’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start on Sunday in Ulricehamn, Sweden, for his first victory in a 15 k skate race and fourth individual podium of 2016/2017.
To say Harvey is on a roll is an understatement. On Saturday, he beat Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby by 6 seconds after starting a minute behind the Norwegian defending World Cup champion. Harvey’s fastest time across the line in 32:46.2 held up through 76 finishers, with Sweden’s Marcus Hellner coming somewhat within range after starting a minute behind him. Hellner ended up 14.3 seconds back from Harvey at the finish for third place, behind Sundby.
Switzerland’s Dario Cologna missed the podium by 0.5 seconds in fourth (+14.7), and Norway’s 24-year-old Daniel Stock broke through in fifth (+16.2) for his first World Cup top 20.
Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave placed sixth (+18.7), Sweden’s Daniel Rickardsson was seventh (+25.0), Norway’s Finn Hågen Krogh eighth (+32.2), Russia’s Petr Sedov ninth (+33.9), and Japan’s Keishin Yoshida 10th (+34.2).
American Erik Bjornsen landed in the points as he tied Norway’s Simen Andreas Sveen for 28th (+1:09.2), leading fellow U.S. Ski Team members Noah Hoffman, who placed 41st (+1:28.8), and Simi Hamilton in 53rd (+1:56.2). Also for the U.S., Matt Gelso, the Period 1 SuperTour leader from the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) Gold Team, finished 68th (+3:00.3).
Harvey’s Canadian World Cup teammates Len Valjas finished 35th (+1:17.7) and Devon Kershaw 38th (+1:22.2). Knute Johnsgaard (Canadian U25 Team) did not start.
The women’s 10 k freestyle podium on Saturday in Ulricehamn, Sweden, with Norwegian winner Marit Bjørgen (c), Finland’s Krista Parmakoski (l) in second and Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
In her first World Cup race in over a month and at a brand-new World Cup venue, Norway’s 36-year-old Marit Bjørgen returned to her winning ways, topping the women’s 10 k freestyle on Saturday in Ulricehamn.
Bjørgen started 40th out of 61 finishers and took the lead from Finland’s Krista Parmakoski at the finish with a time of 23:46.3 minutes. Parmakoski, who started a minute ahead of her in bib 38, ended up second, 10.7 seconds back. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla reached the podium for the second time this season in third (+24.9).
“It is always great to win,” Bjørgen said, according to an International Ski Federation (FIS) press release. “I stayed at home for five weeks and was training. It is great to come back with a victory. I know that the training I had done was good. It was an amazing atmosphere today by the course. There were people cheering everywhere.”
Norway swept fourth through sixth with Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in fourth (+25.7), Ragnhild Haga in fifth (+32.3) and Heidi Weng in sixth (+34.0).
American Jessie Diggins raced to seventh (+34.9), ahead of Sweden’s Hanna Falk, who recorded her best distance result in eighth (+36.4). Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg finished ninth (+44.8), and Germany’s Sandra Ringwald was 10th (+56.6).
“I didn’t have the snappy good feelings I was hoping to have in my body today, but it was a solid race,” Diggins wrote in a post-race email to FasterSkier. “It’s always hard when you know that on your best days you are capable of more, but at the same time we had great skis, and it was really fun for me to be able to ski with my teammates today!”
The U.S. had three in the top 20 and four in the top 30 with Sadie Bjornsen in 12th (+1:00.5), Liz Stephen in 16th (+1:07.3) and Rosie Brennan in 24th (+1:30.7).
Cendrine Browne as Canada’s lone woman in the race achieved 35th (+1:52.0) for her career best in an individual race. Also for the U.S., Kikkan Randall placed 40th (+1:59.6) and Liz Guiney of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project 52nd (+2:33.2).
The photo finish of the men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay on Saturday at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy, with Germany’s Simon Schempp outlunging Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen. (Photo: ZDF broadcast screenshot)
For the U.S. men, top six was a target for the 4 x 7.5 k relay on Sunday in Antholz, Italy, according to US Biathlon Men’s Coach Jonas Johansson.
Mission accomplished. In the final team event before 2017 World Championships, Lowell Bailey, Leif Nordgren, Tim Burke, and Sean Doherty combined for sixth, finishing 1:04.9 minutes behind the German winners. The Americans used a total of 10 spares but avoided the penalty loop, as did the Germans who used seven spares to clean the eight-stage race and won it in 1:13.57.2.
Germany’s Simon Schempp narrowly outlasted Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen in the finishing stretch to secure the victory for Germany (with teammates Erik Lesser, Benedikt Doll and Arnd Peiffer) by one-tenth of a second. Norway finished second with nine spares and no penalties (with Lars Helge Birkeland, Henrik L’Abee-Lund, Johannes Thingnes Bø, and Svendsen), and Russia secured third (+33.6) with nine spares and zero penalties as well (with Maxim Tsvetkov, Evgeniy Garanichev, Dmitry Malyshko, and Anton Babikov).
Ukraine used a total of just five spares and had zero penalties for fourth (+46.7), and Austria took fifth (+49.2) with eight spares and no penalties, after Austria’s Dominik Landertinger skied away from Doherty on the final loop and finished 6.9 seconds ahead of him for fifth place.
For the U.S. men, sixth was close to their team-best fifth with the same lineup in last year’s World Cup relay in Presque Isle, Maine. The same group also took sixth in Ruhpolding, Germany, last year as well.
With all four making US Biathlon’s World Championships team, announced Saturday, they will likely be aiming for a best championships result early next month in Hochfilzen, Austria.
Canada (Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Macx Davies, and Brendan Green) finished 16th (+4:13.8) on Saturday with two penalties and 11 spares. Scott Gow skied them up to 15th by the second exchange but they dropped to 18th after Davies had two penalties on the third leg. With Green anchoring and using just one spare, they recouped two places before the finish.
In the women’s race, Germany’s Nadine Horchler achieved a lifetime dream with her first World Cup win, after starting in bib 30 and earning her start as a reserve athlete. Germany took first and second with Laura Dahlmeier in second, and the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalova placed third. Susan Dunklee of the U.S. was the lone North American starter and finished 24th after leading at the start of the second loop.
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup (Chaux-Neuve, France): Individual large hill/10 k
Saturday’s Nordic Combined World Cup podium in Chaux-Neuve, France, with German winner Johannes Rydzek (c), German runner-up Fabian Rießle (l) and Japan’s Akito Watabe (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined/Twitter)
The first part of Saturday’s Nordic Combined World Cup individual large hill/10 k competition was a shining moment for U.S. Nordic Combined skier Ben Berend, who jumped to second for a total of 127.5 points, trailing only Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber with 139 points in Chaux-Neuve, France.
Berend flew farther than Germany’s Eric Frenzel, who jumped to third on the Chaux-Neuve large hill.
Later in the day, they started the 10 k Gundersen in that order, with Riiber heading out first, followed by Berend 46 seconds later, then Frenzel 53 seconds back in third.
Germany’s Johannes Rydzek started 1:15 minutes back in 12th and skied the fastest 10 k to take the victory at the finish (in 23:01.7). He held off his German teammate Fabian Rießle by 2.8 seconds for the win, after Rießle started sixth and 1:01 back. Japan’s Akito Watabe reached the podium in third (+5.7) after jumping to seventh and starting the race 1 second behind Rießle.
Frenzel ended up fourth (+8.3), and the fourth German in the top five, Björn Kircheisen improved to fifth (+22.6) after starting 11th.
Riiber dropped to 15th (+54.0), and Berend fell outside the top 30 to end up 32nd (+2:26.0) with the 39th-ranked course time.
Berend finished 12.2 seconds ahead of his U.S. teammate Taylor Fletcher, who placed 34th (+2:38.2) after the jump put him in 48th.
Bryan Fletcher was 49th after the jump but did not start the 10 k.
The Nordic Combined World Cup continues Sunday in Chaux-Neuve with another large hill/10 k.
Ski Classics #5: La Diagonela (Zuoz, Switzerland): 50 k classic
[UPDATED] Under “blue skies, no wind and perfect track conditions” in the Swiss Engadin Valley on Saturday, according to a Ski Classics press release, Russia’s Ilya Chernousov and the Czech Republic’s Kateřina Smutná won the men’s and women’s La Diagonela, respectively, in Zuoz, Switzerland.
Chernousov, of Team Pioneer Investments, and Tord Asle Gjerdalen (Team Santander) led a large pack of men into the final major climb on the 50 k course. There, Gjerdalen attacked and Chernousov matched him, accelerating away from his competitors up the last steep pitch to the finish, according to the press release. He finished in 2:03:39.6 hours, holding off Gjerdalen by 1.5 seconds, while Øystein Pettersen (Team BN Bank) finished third (+3.0).
In the women’s race, Smutná (Team Santander) pushed to break up the field around the halfway point, where the men caught the women. Britta Johansson Norgren (Lager 157 Ski Team) hung with Smutná, but lost contact over the last 5 k. After finishing second in the last two Ski Classics races, Smutná took the win by 1:03.2 minutes in 2:20:49.2. Nordgren finished second, ahead of Sara Lindborg (Team Serneke) in third, who finished more than three minutes later (+4:17.4).
Two members of the Norwegian mixed relay, Johannes Bø and Marte Olsbu, celebrate their win in the first IBU World Cup race of the 2016/2017 season on Sunday in Östersund, Sweden. (Photo: ZDF screen shot)
Welcome to The Rundown, your quick primer of need-to-know information about the day’s racing. We’ll be updating this digest as the day goes on with additional results, photos and quotes. The Rundown is NOT a race report; stay tuned for complete race reports later today with interviews from the day’s top racers.
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IBU Cup in Beitostølen: 7.5/10 k sprints
[UPDATE] With the second set of men’s and women’s sprints canceled Saturday and moved to Sunday in Beitostølen, Norway, the first IBU Cup relays of the season were bumped off the schedule, and no North Americans competed on Sunday. (American Russell Currier placed 44th in the IBU Cup sprint on Friday.)
In the women’s 7.5 k sprint, Marketa Davidova of the Czech Republic pulled out a 3.6-second win over Germany’s Nadine Horchler, and Germany had two on the podium with former cross-country skier Denise Herrmann in third (+29.9). Davidova hit 9 out of 10 targets (1+0) en route to the victory in 24:18.3. Horchler missed just one target as well (0+1) and Herrmann (who won the IBU Cup women’s sprint two days earlier) had three penalties (1+2) but skied fast enough for the podium.
In the men’s 10 k sprint, Russia’s Matvey Eliseev edged his teammate Dmitry Malyshko by just 3.2 seconds for the win in 26:16.8. More than a minute later, Norway’s Henrik L’Abee-Lund placed third (+1:15.9) with four penalties (1+3). Both Eliseev and Malyshko had one miss apiece, with Eliseev missing one in prone (1+0) and Malyshko missing one standing (0+1).
The next IBU Cup is set for Dec. 6-11 in Ridnaun, Italy.
The first race if the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup season went to Norway, which won Sunday’s co-ed mixed relay (2 x 6 k + 2 x 7.5 k) by nearly 34 seconds over Germany in Östersund, Sweden.
The Norwegian team of Marte Olsbu, Fanny Horn Birkeland, Ole Einar Bjørndalen, and Johannes Thingnes Bø used a total of six spare rounds to get to the finish line first in 1:10.57.1.
Germany, with Franziska Hildebrand, Laura Dahlmeier, Benedikt Doll, and Arnd Peiffer, used the same amount of total spares for second place (+33.7), and both teams avoided the penalty loop.
Italy took third (+44.2), with Lisa Vittozzi, Dorothea Wierer, Lukas Hofer, and Dominik Windisch using a combined 12 spares and having one penalty loop during Hofer’s standing stage.
The Italians narrowly held off Russia (Olga Podchufarova, Tatiana Akimova, Maxim Tsvetkov, Anton Shipulin) by 0.3 seconds for the final spot the podium.
France placed fifth (+1:13.3), Sweden was sixth (+1:20.9), the Czech Republic seventh (+1:20.9), and the U.S. eighth (+2:38.5).
Susan Dunklee started first for the Americans using three spares to clean (0+1, 0+2), then tagging off to Clare Egan, who didn’t need any spares for prone, but had to use all three and skied two penalty loops in standing. Lowell Bailey used just two spares (0+1, 0+1), and Tim Burke locked up eighth for the team with a flawless prone and three spares in standing (0+0, 0+3). In all the team used 13 spares and had two penalty loops.
Of 24 teams in the race, Canada (Julia Ransom, Megan Tandy, Scott Gow, and Brendan Green) was among the four that were lapped. In seven out of eight stages, the team combined for 11 spares and two penalties.
FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in Ruka: Individual Large Hill/10 k
Germany’s 24-year-old Johannes Rydzek celebrating his first of two wins on Saturday at the Ruka Nordic Combined World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland. He now has eighth career individual World Cup victories. (Photo: FIS/NordicFocus)
Germany’s Johannes Rydzek can do the Usain-Bolt-victory stance all the way to the next Nordic Combined World Cup after winning the first two competitions of the 2016/2017 season, with another individual large hill/10 k win on Sunday in Kuusamo, Finland.
Rydzek posted the fifth-best jump after Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber, Watabe, Denifl, and Austria’s Mario Seidl, respectively. Rydzek started the 10 k Gundersen 1:04 minutes after Riiber and posted the seventh-fastest course time to capture first. Riiber slipped to 10th (+1:07.5) at the finish, with the 37th-ranked course time of 42 in the cross-country race.
Of note, Frenzel improved from 27th in the jump to 17th (+1:32.4) at the finish with the second-fastest course time.
Bryan Fletcher was one of two Americans in the race, finishing 31st (+3:40.7). His jump ranked 40th, but he skied the fourth-fastest course time to pick off nine places. Taylor Fletcher placed 40th (+6:24.4), improving slightly from 43rd in the jump.
The Nordic Combined World Cup now moves to Lillehammer, Norway, for a team and two individual competitions Dec. 2-4.
Visma Ski Classics Prologue in Pontresina: 8 k Classic
Petter Eliassen of Team Leaseplan Go (left) and Katerina Smutna of Team Santander (right) celebrate after winning the Visma Ski Classics 8 k prologue in Pontresina, Switzerland. (Photo: Visma Ski Classics)
The Visma Ski Classics series started off in Pontresina, Switzerland, with 8-kilometer time trials for both men and women.
In the women’s race, an individual interval start seeded last to first, Kristin Antonsen of Team Synnfjell set an early best mark. But as the previous season’s top women hit the course times began to come down, and the race ended as a battle between Britta Johansson Norgren of Team Lager 157 and Katerina Smutna of Team Santander. Smutna ended up with the win by just 0.66 seconds over Johansson Norgren, with Sara Lindborg of Team Serneke third (+20.66).
The men’s race was a team interval start, with the teams separated by five minutes and with skiers at 15 second intervals within that span. Last year’s Visma Ski Classics Champion, Petter Eliassen of Team Leaseplan Go, came out on top with a time of 19:42.66. Bastien Poirrier of Team Gel Interim Rossignol was second (+8.53), leading five members of his new France-based team into the top ten and turning heads along the way. Morten Eide Pedersen of Team BN Bank was third (+15.80).
Twenty-four-year-old Finnish A-teamer Iivo Niskanen notched his second-career World Cup victory the men’s 15-kilometer classic on Sunday, Day 2 of the Ruka World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland.
The men’s podium in Sunday’s 15 k classic at the Ruka World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland: with Finnish winner Iivo Niskanen (c) and Norway’s Emil Iversen (l) in second and Martin Johnsrud Sundby (r) in third. (Photo: NBC Sports screen shot)
Niskanen started 21st of more than 90 in the men’s field and finished in 35:27.6, which stood as the fastest time all day. After the finish, he paced between the leader’s chair and the finishing pen, even jogging around the stadium and course. But every time he looked the Finnish crowd, he was all smiles.
Niskanen held off three Norwegians in the top four, with Emil Iversen 10.2 seconds behind him in second, Martin Johnsrud Sundby 11.2 seconds back in third, and Didrik Tønseth missing the podium by about six seconds and tying Sweden’s Johan Olsson for fourth (+17.0). Norway’s Finn Hågen Krogh placed sixth (+18.3), Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson was seventh (+21.2), Russia’s Alexander Bessmertnykh was eighth (+24.3), Finland’s Matti Heikkinen ninth (+32.0), and Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave 10th (+33.8).
Canada’s Alex Harvey was close behind in 11th (+35), and was the lone North American man in the points on Sunday. His teammate Devon Kershaw missed the top 30 by 4.5 seconds in 33rd (+1:23.4).
Erik Bjornsen led the U.S. men in 41st (+1:37.2). Canada’s Graeme Killick was 53rd (+2:12.9), American Noah Hoffman was 64th (+2:42.6). For Canada, Len Valjas was 76th (+3:19.8), Jess Cockney 78th (+3:26), Knute Johnsgaard 85th (+3:53.4), and Andy Shields 91st (+4:26.1), and for the U.S., Eric Packer 87th (+4:01) and Andy Newell 88th (+4:17.4) out of 96.
In the women’s 10 k classic earlier in the day, Marit Bjørgen of Norway picked up her first win of the season, a 4.6-second win over Finland’s Krista Parmakoski.
Marit Bjørgen of Norway (center) collected her first World Cup win of the season in the 10 k classic in Ruka, Finland, ahead of Finland’s Krista Parmakoski (left) and Norway’s Heidi Weng (right). (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
It is the 103rd World Cup win for the 36-year-old Bjørgen, who took last season off to have a baby. Norway followed up Bjørgen’s win with third and fourth place finishes by Heidi Weng (+12.7) and Ingvild Flugstad Ørtberg (+36.8).
Parmakoski also led a good day for the Finnish team, with Laura Mononen coming in seventh (+50.0). She was just behind sixth-place Nicole Fessel of Germany (+42.4).
Jessie Diggins led the U.S. women’s team with a 13th-place finish (+1:09.0), one of her best distance classic races ever outside of Tour and mini-tour stages. Sadie Bjornsen followed in 17th (+1.14.9), and 2016 SuperTour champion Caitlin Patterson of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project scored points in 28th (+1:45.4). The U.S. Ski Team rounded out its results with Rosie Brennan 39th (+2:22.2), Kikkan Randall 43rd (+2:29.7), Ida Sargent 44th (+2:30.4), and Sophie Caldwell 61st (+3:13.4)
Cendrine Browne and Emily Nishikawa slotted into 58th and 59th for Canada, +3:04.8 and +3:07.1, respectively. Dahria Beatty finished 74th (+3:54.4).
Germany’s Eric Frenzel secured his fourth-consecutive overall Nordic Combined World Cup title over the weekend and celebrated with his team in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: FIS/Nordic Focus)
Picturesque Val di Fiemme, Italy, was the latest to host a three-day round of Nordic Combined World Cup events that began last Friday with the large hill/2 x 7.5 k team sprint.
The two person teams had their jumping points combined to determine the start order for the race’s ski portion. Norway I’s Magnus Krog and Jørgen Graabak amassed the highest total with 283 points on the jump hill. Francois Braud and Maxime Laheurte of France I jumped to second with 282.6 points. Austria II skiers, Philipp Orter and Mario Seidl were third with 277.8 combined points.
The U.S. entered two teams. Bryan and Taylor Fletcher jumped to ninth, with 242.3 points, for U.S. I. Adam Loomis and Ben Berend comprised U.S. II, which finished the jumping portion in 16th with 223.2 points. Twenty teams in all entered the competition.
Norway’s Magnus Krog and Jørgen Graabak won the Nordic Combined World Cup team sprint last Friday, Feb. 26, in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: FIS/Nordic Focus)
From the start, Krog proved unmatchable. He distanced Braud, France’s first skier who started 1 second after Krog. Graaback, Norway’s second skier, was able to maintain the lead and secure first place for the Norwegians, claiming the team-sprint victory in 32:50.
Germany I, with Tobias Haug and Tino Edelmann, jumped to fourth and began the ski 16 seconds behind Norway I, raced to second place (+6.7). France I held onto the final podium spot in third place, finishing 7.1 seconds behind Norway. Austria II, which had been third after the jump, slipped to eighth overall (+1:37.3).
The Fletchers skied up in the standings for the best U.S. finish in a Nordic Combined team sprint since 2013. Back then, in Ramsau, Austria, Bryan Fletcher and Todd Lodwick placed fourth overall. At 2013 World Championships, Taylor Fletcher and Billy Demong finished sixth in the team sprint (at the same World Championships in Val di Fiemme, U.S. Nordic Combined’s four-man relay earned bronze in third.)
On Friday, Bryan and Taylor skied the third-fastest combined race to place sixth (+1:07.8). Loomis and Berend did not finish.
“The team sprint was for sure Taylor’s and I’s highlight of the weekend,” Bryan Fletcher wrote in an email. “It was nice to have some decent jumps and a solid race to get us into the fight. It’s the best team sprint result we have had as a duo and the best since Todd Lodwick and I were fourth in Ramsau in 2013 I believe. Honestly, while 6th is a solid result, Taylor and I were hoping for a little more but our legs were really tired after the long travel day from Finland to Val di Fiemme. It showed in our racing on this day a little, but we were able to hold it together just enough to move up to the 6th place finish.”
According to younger brother Taylor, he wasn’t feeling 100 percent on Friday.
“The cross country race was better on the result page then how it felt for me,” he said, according to a USSA press release. “My legs were heavy from the last couple races, but I was stoked to see I had a strong race with how I felt.”
The second day of Nordic Combined competitions in Val di Fiemme featured the 134-meter large hill/10 k Gundersen start. The overall World Cup leader, Germany’s Eric Frenzel, posted the best jump with 142.3 points. Austria’s Bernhard Gruber jumped to second with 137.1 points and a 21-second deficit at the start of the ski. Takehiro Watabe of Japan flew third farthest, scoring 132.1 points.
Germany’s Bernhard Gruber won the Day 2 individual competition in Val Di Fiemme, Italy. (Credit: FIS/Nordic Focus)
The U.S. entered four skiers, none of whom jumped into the top 30. Berend posted the 35th-best jump (99.2 points), Bryan Fletcher was 36th (98 points), Taylor Fletcher 39th (93.2 points), and Loomis 42nd (86.7 points).
Frenzel, having already won seven races this season, seemed to be a shoo-in for an eighth victory. But Gruber, with fast running skis, overtook Frenzel and finished first by more than 30 seconds. Gruber skied the fourth-fastest time of the day to win, finishing in 30:59.7. Frenzel placed second (+37.5) with the 19th-ranked ski time. Norway’s Graabak, who was positioned 14th after the jump raced up to third (+46.0).
Two Americans skied themselves into the points. Taylor Fletcher ended up 24th (+3:32.5) and Bryan Fletcher finished 26th (+3:37.6). Loomis skied to 35th (+5:56.7), and Berend to 38th (+7:19).
Day 3 started off identical to Day 2, with a large hill/10 k Gundersen. And just like the day before, Germany’s Frenzel flew to first, with 116.3 points. His teammate Tobias Simon scored 110.2 points for the second-best jumping total. Norway’s Håvard Klemetsen was third after the jumping round with 104.6 points.
Berend posted the best jump for the Americans in 10th with 94.5 points. He started the 10 k race 1:27 minutes after Frenzel. Bryan Fletcher jumped to 35th, Taylor Fletcher to 42nd and Loomis to 46th.
Norway’s Magnus Krog celebrates across the line after winning the third day of the Nordic Combined World Cup in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: FIS/Nordic Focus)
Norway’s Krog, winner of Friday’s team sprint, proved too strong on the ski, which featured wet and slow conditions. Krog began the ski in fifth, 1:04 behind Frenzel. That gap dwindled as the racers neared the finish line. By the end, Krog, who finished first in 31:33.5, had put 28.1 second into Frenzel — who ultimately missed the podium in fourth overall.
Norway’s Graabak finished second (+5.8), and German Fabian Riessle placed third (+18.4).
For Frenzel, fourth place proved good enough. He locked up the season’s overall World Cup title for the fourth year in a row. Frenzel had a season-long duel with Japan’s Akito Watabe for the overall title. However, due to an injury, Watabe did not compete in Val di Fiemme.
The Fletcher brothers were able to ski into the points. Bryan placed 25th (+2:55.3), while Taylor was 26th (+3:00.8). Berend fell out of the top 30, placing 34th (+5:33), Loomis finished 36th (+5:44.1).
Bryan pointed out that Berend’s jump — the 10th best on Sunday — was a strong sign.
“The rest of the weekend the highlight was Ben Berend jumping to 10th,” he wrote. “It was awesome to see him step up his game there and he hung tough in the race narrowly missing out on points in some incredibly hard conditions.”
Bryan also noted the weekend’s slow and soggy snow made it a difficult one for both skiers and wax technicians.
“The racing this weekend was a battle of will for the athletes and a stressful weekend for wax techs,” he wrote. “It was very difficult conditions to wax for and that was reflected throughout the racers. Some teams had skis that were incredibly good while others had skis that were incredibly bad. The extremes were just much further apart than normal and that made for some interesting racing as well. All in all it was not my best weekend, however with one weekend left I am motivated to try and finish the season on a strong note.”
The Nordic Combined World Cup concludes after this week, with three days of competitions in Schonach, Germany, beginning March 4.
Ben Berend led the U.S. in fourth in the ski jump on a foggy morning at the Nordic Combined Continental Cup last December at Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah. (Photo: U.S. Ski Team/Tom Kelly)
Norway’s 18-year-old Jarl Magnus Riiber posted the best jump on Friday, Feb. 19, and started the 10 k cross-country race first at the Nordic Combined World Cup in Lahti, Finland, but was disqualified for taking a wrong turn. (Photo: JoJo Baldus)
Here is a name to remember for both youthful audaciousness and absent mindedness: Jarl Magnus Riiber.
At 18 years old, the Norwegian seems to treat the Nordic Combined World Cup as just another rung in the hierarchy of competition that sooner rather than later he will dominate.
From Friday, Feb. 19, through Sunday, Feb. 21, three Nordic Combined World Cup competitions were held in Lahti, Finland.
That first event, a large hill/10-kilometer Gundersen began with Riiber ruling the jumping round. He flew the farthest, earning 137.5 points. The jump gave Riiber a 28-second gap at the start of the ski over his nearest competitor. That second jumper was Norway’s Håvard Klemetsen, who scored 130.5 points. Overall World Cup leader, Germany’s Eric Frenzel, jumped to third with 127 points. Second in the overall, Japan’s Akito Watabe, was fourth, with 126.4 points.
American Taylor Fletcher (40) leading Norway’s Mikko Kokslien (38) and Germany’s Björn Kircheisen (37) during the 10 k cross-country race at Friday’s Nordic Combined World Cup in Lahti, Finland. Fletcher raced from 40th at the start to 24th at the finish with the seventh-fastest ski time. (Photo: JoJo Baldus)
All three U.S. men struggled to crack the top 40 on the hill, with Taylor Fletcher leading the team in 40th, Ben Berend jumping to 44th and Bryan Fletcher 47th.
The time gaps Riiber had on Frenzel and Watabe were incrementally negated. On the last lap, the duo caught Riiber.
Yet the young Norwegian held his ground, gapping the chasers slightly on a short hill before a turn into the stadium and the final straightaway. But Riiber, who looked as if he’d cruise in for the win, took the lap lane before realizing his mistake and righting his course. Frenzel won in 23:57.7, Watabe placed second (+1.7), and Norway’s Jan Schmid secured third (+32.2).
For Riiber, not minding the small things has cost him again. On Jan. 29 in Seefeld, Austria, it appeared Riiber would take third place on the podium. He was disqualified for failing to start the ski race with a timing chip. Friday, what would have been Riiber’s second World Cup win, stood as his second World Cup disqualification.
Of the Americans, Taylor Fletcher skied into the points in 24th (+1:57.5) with the seventh-fastest ski time of the day. Bryan Fletcher placed 36th (+3:34.9), and Berend finished 44th (+5:43.7).
The second day of competition on Saturday featured a jump off the large hill followed by a 2 x 7.5 k ski. Two-man teams had their jump point totals combined to determine time back for the ski start.
Ribber and Schmid scored the highest point total, with 252.1 points. Germany I, Johannes Rydzek and Fabian Riessle, scored the second highest total, with 223.7 points, 57 seconds back. Austria I, with Bernhard Gruber and Lukas Klapper, jumped to third with 219.9 points, 1:04 back.
The ski, which was won by the Germany I in 32:57.9, saw Riiber once again succumb to bad luck. While skiing along with Germany’s Riessle, Riiber’s shoulder dislocated. Attempting to push through the injury, Riiber skied on. Yet he ultimately pulled from the race. Besides a likely podium, Norway I’s result lists as an unfortunate DNF.
Austria’s Gruber-Klapper combo placed second, 18 seconds behind Germany. Austria II, with Franz-Josef Rehrl and Philipp Orter, were third (+1:40.8) in a photo finish with Germany II (+1:40.9).
The U.S. entered two teams. United States I (Taylor and Bryan Fletcher) ranked 17th after the jump, while U.S. II (Adam Loomis and Ben Berend) were 20th. Neither team started the ski race.
The jump hills in Lahti, Finland, as seen on Friday, Feb. 19, the first day of the Nordic Combined World Cup (Photo: JoJo Baldus)
The last day of competition in Lahti, a 10 k Gundersen, saw the jumping round canceled due to high winds. Results from Friday’s provisional competition round were used to determine the skiing start order. Unfortunately, Riiber, who had won that round, was unable to start due to his shoulder injury.
Watabe, who would have begun two seconds behind Riiber, skied off first. Frenzel started 32 seconds later. His German teammate Riessle began 40 seconds behind in third.
For the U.S., Berend started 20th, Bryan Fletcher 41st, Taylor Fletcher 48th, and Adam Loomis 53rd.
Riessle is considered a strong skier. Watabe conserved his energy, allowing the two Germany to bridge up. That link occurred around 5 k. A chess match began, with none of the skiers wanting to lead out. In the closing kilometers, Riessle pulled away for the win in 25:50.9. Frenzel finished second (+5.1) and Watabe in third (+11).
Bryan Fletcher was the top American finisher in 25th (+3:05.2) and he skied the ninth-fastest time on the day. Taylor placed 28th (+3:30.6) and posted the third fastest ski time. Berend was 33rd, and Loomis 37th.
After the weekend, Frenzel retains the Overall World Cup lead with 1091 points. Watabe is in second with 904 points, and Riessle in third with 789 points.
Bryan Fletcher is 18th overall, and Taylor 28th.
In an email on Sunday, Bryan reiterated his desire to solve the jumping puzzle.
“Well this weekend was not really our weekend,” Bryan wrote. “Training was decent during the week, but for me I got a little overzealous and tried a little too hard in the competition. The results obviously speak for themselves. Racing was good after taking a short break from intensity to gear up for the next 4 races in the rest of the week.
“Jumping is a fickle sport and when you’re on, it seems impossible to ever lose your groove and when you’re off, you’re off,” he added. “So I have hit the reset button and will try to make the most out of what I can in the next couple days of competition.”
Taylor felt better about his jumping.
“This weekend I felt that my jumping had turned for the better finally and I was gaining confidence on the hill which is important,” Taylor wrote in an email on Sunday. “Unfortunately, my one bad jump was in the PCR [provisional competition round] and we had to use that today due to fierce winds that were too strong.
“I skied a solo race catching and passing people immediately, as I wanted to score points I was going to need to have a really strong race and ski my own race as well. I felt really strong all race but one really steep section caught me and i struggled on the final kick up. I was able to continue to push the pace for the rest of the lap and finish strong finishing 28th. I thought I may of had the fastest time, but after seeing I was third I wasn’t too bummed, as I skied the race on my own and in no man’s land for a bit!”
World Cup racing resumes on Tuesday in Kuopio, Finland.
Germany’s Eric Frenzel after winning his third-straight Seefeld Triple at the Nordic Combined World Cup in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: FIS/Nordic Focus)
Jump. Ski. Jump. Ski. And in Seefeld, Austria, this past weekend, it was an added bonus round of jumping and skiing for the three-day Nordic Combined World Cup.
Held Friday through Sunday, the series of competitions, known as the Seefeld Triple, is a highlight of each nordic-combined season as the racing format winnows the best of the best.
The Seefeld Triple is set up as a race of attrition.
Day 1 featured a normal-hill jump coupled with a 5-kilometer ski race. The top 50 finishers advanced to Day 2, with another jump on the 109-meter normal hill and a 10 k race. Only the top 30 advanced to Day 3, which included another normal-hill jump and 10 k Gundersen start.
The results from Day 1 set the tone for the weekend. The names of German Eric Frenzel and Japan’s Akito Watabe would consistently top the Triple’s results.
During the jump on Day 1, Watabe flew the farthest, earning 131.3 points, while Frenzel came in a close second with 133.2 points. Norwegian Jarl Magnus Riiber finished the jumping round in third, but was eventually disqualified for starting the cross-country race without a transponder. His teammate Magnus Moan had been previously disqualified on Friday for his jumping suit being 1 millimeter too loose.
For the U.S. Nordic Combined team, the pressure was on from the start. The Seefeld Triple marked the end of the period during which the team can start five athletes. That five-man quota was a result of points earned last season as well as additional spots earned from the team’s results during the Continental Cup in Utah last December.
On the first day of competition in Seefeld, American Ben Berend posted the 33rd-best jump. His teammates Bryan Fletcher followed in 34th, Adam Loomis in 43rd, Jasper Good in 49th, and Taylor Fletcher in 53rd.
If it wasn’t clear from the jumping, the ski race was where Frenzel and Watabe made others realize that, by Sunday’s racing, it would simply be a race for third.
Watabe began eight seconds ahead of Frenzel, while Berend and Bryan Fletcher, the closest Americans, began 1:21 and 1:26 minutes back, respectively.
Steadily, Frenzel and Watabe built a gap by the finish line. Frenzel finished first in 11:08.5, while Watabe crossed the line 6.2 seconds later in second place. Germany’s Fabian Riessle skied to third (+43.6). Bryan Fletcher moved up in the field after starting 34th, finishing 20th (+1:07.5) with the third-fastest ski time on the day.
The next-best placed American was Loomis, who skied to 42nd (+2:16.4). Berend placed 43rd (+2:17.9), Taylor Fletcher 47th (+2:26.6), and Jasper Good 50th +2:32.8). Despite only Bryan Fletcher scoring World Cup points, the entire U.S. Team finished in the top 50 to earn starts in the Triple’s second day of competition.
In an email to FasterSkier on Sunday, Bryan Fletcher wrote he was surprised with his fast ski time on Friday.
“Going into Seefeld I was a bit nervous,” he wrote. “I came down with a really weird virus on Thursday in the provision comp round. I almost didn’t start because I was so dizzy during the jumping. But I wanted to make sure I had a result on the page just in case knowing the weather on Sunday would be challenging.
“So Thursday I went to bed early in the hopes that Friday it would pass as quickly as it came on,” he continued. “Luckily I felt better in the morning, Still had some slight symptoms but compared to the day before it was much better. Having such a fast race after the sickness was surprising but it gave me the motivation to keep pushing as the weekend went on.”
Day 2: A Leap Frog
Bryan Fletcher racing at 2015 Nordic Combined World Championships in Falun, Sweden.
The jumping was a virtual repeat for Watabe and Frenzel on Day 2. Watabe posted the best jump, with Frenzel a close second. Austria’s Bernhard Gruber ranked third.
As far as the contenders for the Seefeld Triple’s overall, this wasn’t much of a surprise. Coming into Saturday’s competition, Frenzel ranked second in the overall World Cup standings behind Germany’s Riessle, while Watabe was third.
The top American from Day 1, also kept himself in a top-10 hunt. Bryan Fletcher jumped to 16th and would start the ski race 1:40 behind Watabe. Behind him, Berend started 35th based on his jump, Loomis 42nd, Taylor Fletcher 47th, and Good 50th.
Watabe began Saturday’s 10 k four seconds ahead of Frenzel, while Gruber started nearly a minute back.
That minute gap the leaders’ began with only grew. The chase for Frenzel and Watabe remained unorganized, with little agreement as to who would set the pace. The chasers expanded from as little as four skiers to over a dozen — including Bryan Fletcher. Beginning the final loop, Fletcher led out the chasers.
Near the end, after the top two had skied alone, Frenzel attacked and dropped Watabe to take the win by 24.9 seconds in 23:11.5. Nearly a minute after Watabe, Riessle finished third (+1:27.7).
Bryan Fletcher had an opportunity to reach the podium. On the final climb, Riessle and Norway’s Jørgen Graabak hammered, giving themselves a few seconds margin. During that push, there was a small tangle behind. It caught Fletcher, briefly turning him sideways — yet he didn’t fall. That mishap cost him time and places. He finished ninth, 1:36 behind and only 8.3 seconds out of third. Fletcher tied for the sixth-fastest ski time on the day.
“Unfortunately at the end I had my poles stepped on and that took me out of contention for 3rd place. Sometimes racing can be unlucky but I was happy to stay in the top ten despite the mishap at the end,” Fletcher explained.
The remaining four U.S. athletes finished outside the top 30: Loomis in 37th (+4:23.5), Taylor Fletcher in 41st (+4:49.6), Berend in 44th (+5:17), and Good in 46th (+6:21.3).
The day’s results meant a few things, both positive and negative.
On the downside, Bryan Fletcher was the only American to advance in the top 30 to Day 3.
Then there was the positive. If nordic combined was a sport married with betting, like football in the U.S., Frenzel would be as safe a bet as you could get.
Saturday marked Frenzel’s 10th-straight win in Seefeld. That’s dating back to 2013. The “triple” format was introduced there in 2014 — and Frenzel has owned it since. He won the first two editions of the Seefeld Triple, in 2014 and 2015, and kept the momentum going into Sunday.
In addition to firming his grip on 2016’s Triple, heading into Sunday’s final day of racing, Frenzel had leap frogged Riessel, to rank first in the World Cup standings by 17 points.
Day 3: Frenzel on the Watabe Hunt
It wasn’t exactly ideal conditions for the final day of jumping and racing at the Seefeld Triple. With steady snow and unpredictable winds, the jump was delayed several times, until organizers sent the field of 30 skiers off the hill.
Once again, Watabe dominated. Frenzel was the next best jumper. Yet in the tricky conditions, he botched his landing. Although he was only half a meter down on Watabe in distance, the fall gave him a lower overall score, and thus a cross-country ski start time 56 seconds behind Watabe. Riessle rounded out the top-three jumping spots in third, putting him 1:26 back for the ski race.
Bryan Fletcher jumped to 16th and started the race 2:24 behind Watabe.
With snow falling and several inches of snow on the course, race officials shortened the planned 15-kilometer race to 10 k. Either way, Frenzel had a tough task ahead of him. But as the race unfolded, stride by stride, Frenzel reeled Watabe in. Starting the final loop, Watabe still had roughly a thirty-second margin.
That proved not enough.
Frenzel eventually passed Watabe, winning by 18.7 seconds in 26:45.8. Watabe took second and Riessle, the third place finisher on Day 1 and Day 2, once again placed third (+1:09.1).
Bryan Fletcher jetted to the fastest time on the day in 25:38.6. That effort earned him seventh in the Seefeld Triple, just 7.7 seconds off the podium.
Fletcher leaves Seefeld knowing his form is good, but also with the understanding that the U.S. team’s goal of maintaining quota spots remained elusive.
“Today was a very tough day on the jump hill,” he wrote on Sunday. “The snow was very heavy and wet and it make the organizers work hard to get the comp off. In the end though it was a good competition and I was happy to have a jump that kept me in the fight for the race.”
Considering Sunday’s tough snow conditions, Fletcher knew that suited him. He aimed to ski hard and try to catch the chase group “and at least have a shot at the sprint for 3rd,” he wrote.
“Seefeld has been good to me, I have been top 10 in the triple now three times [placing ninth in 2015 and fifth in 2014] so I know this weekend showed positive trends,” he continued.
“Unfortunately the team will lose a number of spots after this weekend. With the cancellations of many world cups in second period it didn’t give our team much opportunity for the guys to score points. They really only got two chances, Chaux Neuve and Seefeld. They put in a good fight this weekend given that it’s not easy to make the third day. So at this point our team will have two start rights in Oslo and Trondheim.”
Fletcher’s melancholy was offset by the vibe on the German side, which was celebrating Frenzel’s long-weekend domination.
“We have a tradition in the hotel here,” Germany’s head coach Hermann Weinbuch told German broadcaster ARD. “The innkeeper opens champagne [bottles] with a saber, and if we win another Triple we will keep up that tradition and drink a glass of sparkling wine or champagne.“
Frenzel now leads the overall World Cup with 671 points, 97 points ahead of Riessle in second and 117 ahead of Watabe.
World Cup competition continues next weekend in Oslo, Norway.
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