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

Tag: Anastasia Sedova

  • An Iconic Women’s Relay as Sweden Holds off Norway; U.S. in Fifth

    An Iconic Women’s Relay as Sweden Holds off Norway; U.S. in Fifth

    Holding off Norway’s Therese Johaug is Sweden’s Stina Nilsson during the 2019 World Championship 4 x 5 k relay in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    The beautiful chess match on snow came down to the wire in Thursday’s 4 x 5-kilometer relay at the Seefeld, Austria World Championships. The chaser was Norway’s Therese Johaug, hustling to close an 18.8-second gap to Sweden’s Stina Nilsson. Known as a sprinter who comes to distance events with aerobic chops, Nilsson, who won bronze in the 2018 Olympic 30 k classic mass start, couldn’t be rattled as Johaug lurked ever closer as the 5 k leg ticked down to the final straight.   

    For the closing kilometer, it was Johaug, the consummate endurance animal, against Nilsson, the consummate sprint closer, as they played check mate skiing for the win. 

    Let’s take a step back to when the sharp end of the race began to form in earnest. Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and Sweden’s Frida Karlsson sent pacing-tremors through the field during leg two. Østberg ultimately came through to tag Norway’s third leg skier Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen with a 1.4 second lead on Sweden’s third skier Charlotte Kalla. Russia and Germany trailed by more than ten seconds.

    Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla is clutch. She gave the Swedes a chance for the win as she skied the third leg of the 2019 World Championship 4 x 5 k relay in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    With the freestyle legs in play and 10 k of skiing to go, Sweden was able to lean on a reliable closer in Kalla. She skied big and bold, sitting on the tails of Jacobsen for much of her race. In this 4 x 5 k hunt, Sweden tried to bag the big-game of Norway with a little less than 1.5 k to go in Kalla’s leg – at the 39:20 minute mark Kalla sent it.

    Up the course’s most notable climb, Kalla’s formidable V1 put 15 then 20 meters between herself and Jacobsen. In the last four World Championship 4 x 5 k relays, Sweden has played runner-up. As if fueled by that burden, Kalla handed Nilsson the gift of those previously mentioned and oh so precious 18.8 seconds as Sweden’s anchor leg sped away to find her own defining 5 k moment.

    Norway came into the race with an untested line-up. In the early season World Cup 4 x 5 k relay in Beitostølen, Norway Johaug skied Norway’s second classic leg. Back then she did not irreparably smash the race apart. She added enough spicy tempo to give Norway a lead of 9.8 seconds as she tagged off. And Ingvild Flugstad Østberg skied the anchor when Norway won by 37.3 seconds.

    We do not often consider Norway as the chasers in a women’s relay. So often they are off the front. On Thursday, as Johaug’s double-time turnover inched her incrementally closer to Nilsson, the race was wrought with tension. Nilsson skied in control, with a slower cadence than Johaug but generating a near equal amount of power with each cycle.

    Churning and chugging -Norway’s Therese Johaug during the fourth leg of the 2019 World Championship 4 x 5 k relay in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    There was no doubt Johaug was at or near her limit. Nilsson too was pushing, but she appeared willing to eventually be caught by Johaug as the racecourse real estate dwindled.

    The Johaug-Nilsson link-up came at 52:40 minutes, near the apex of the last lap’s decisive climb. A meter separated a wind breaking Johaug from a drafting Nilsson as they descended. Nilsson skis gave her the lead as they glided and free skated into the final bump before the finish. Johaug pushed again. She could not surge as a red-suited Norway paced side by side with a white-suited Sweden.

    Nilsson took the lead over the top. Now it was Johaug in the draft as they schussed into the straight. But with Nilsson’s big lever V2 engaged, Johaug’s sprint couldn’t deliver. She drifted off the back as Nilsson played her winning hand to win for Sweden in 55:21.0 minutes.

    For Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson, Charlotte Kalla, Stina Nilsson and all of Sweden the wait for a World Championship 4 x 5 k relay was over. 

    Norway’s Heidi Weng, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, and Therese Johaug placed second (+3.1).

    Russia came on strong in their fourth leg to take third (+2:03.8) over a once close Germany in fourth (+2:46.3).

    “It is a dream coming true because we have been working hard all summer and fall and it has been a great effort from the whole team,” Kalla told FIS after the race.

    “The conditions were tough out there,” Nilsson said. “It was a real struggle to push hard. And I was so hunted by Theresa [Johaug] so that was a bit stressing but I am so happy the girls gave me a big advantage because I needed it today to be first on the finish line.”

    Sweden celebrates the 2019 World Championship 4 x 5 k relay win in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    A New Look for the U.S.

    The U.S. finished in fifth with a line-up of Julia Kern, Sadie Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan, and Jessie Diggins. Relay socks and glitter adorned the foursome as they navigated a warmed-up slushy course in Seefeld.

    For U.S. Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover, along with his longtime coaching partners Matt Whitcomb and Jason Cork, determining the U.S. relay roster is no plug and play task. As witnessed in the Sweden vs. Norway race, parsing out the strengths and weaknesses of every athlete comes with a cost-benefit analysis worthy of hiring a PhD. in probability theory.

    “It was a difficult task in terms of figuring out how to put together this relay team a couple of days ago after we had seen the women’s 10 k,” Grover said in a phone call. At that point, we knew we wanted to have Sadie and Rosie Brennan and Jessie going to the race. I had a really robust discussion around Julia and Caitlin and even potentially Rosie Frankowski in a skate leg. She had a great skate portion of her skiathlon the other day but also had a short illness after that. In trying to figure out the right way to put together the team, Julia has been feeling so good this week and skiing so well that we tried to do something a little bit different.”

    In doing something different, Grover stated that the landscape within which the U.S. operates has changed. With Norway a known quantity and still a force, other nations like Sweden and Russia have built consistently strong 4 x 5 k relay teams. Concurrent with the rise of other nations is the continual development and support for U.S. athletes to determine a podium combination.

    “We have had moments where all the women have skied great classic legs but we just need a little bit more flexibility, we need another woman or two in there that can be top ten or top fifteen on the World Cup on a given day to just fill out that roster,” Grover explained. “With relays, I think ideally you need, we have talked about it before, you need six athletes so that when you come to a championship you can pick the four that are in the best shape and you can use their technical strengths in the right places. I think at the same time, the other thing we have really seen is some of these other nations have raised their game in the meantime. … You have Sweden that is having an outstanding year with their women’s program. Across distance and sprint everyone has really taken a step forward within the Swedish team. They just don’t have weak legs anymore. There used to be a time when once in a while maybe we could really threaten Sweden but they are so strong across the board. And Russia too.”

    Julia Kern of the U.S. (second from right) during the start of the 2019 World Championship 4 x 5 k relay in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    For Kern, who has raced numerous relays at the Junior National and World Juniors level, this was her biggest relay scene yet.

    “I was excited about going into today relays, they are my favorite day,” Kern said in a call. “I love 5 ks and I love mass starts. I have scrambled a lot in relays in the past and at JNs and World Juniors, I was really psyched to be in that position because usually, it is a good place for me to start and I have had some of my best races in relays as well. So I was really psyched to be on this team with these older girls and I was feeling good.”

    At 3.5 k Kern maintained pace with the 17 team field. She passed through the time check 3.2 seconds behind. At that point, Kern said she began to feel the combo of heat, wet tracks, and a championship level pace.

    “I felt like I was doing a lot of work there from 2.5 to 3.5 k and everything was feeling awesome and then I just kind of blew up a little bit,” said Kern. “I never experienced something like that before or that extreme but I really sent it and gave it my all. I just went for it because that is what you have to do in relays.”

    The twenty-one-year-old Kern noted she had been balancing the teeter-totter of effort between full-send mode and just under the red line.  

    “The pace was fast, but I felt in control and I don’t know if it was the heat or what happened,” Kern added. “But it was a reminder that in relays it is hard because you have to ride that balance between sending it and risking it and trying to go with the leaders and  also race your own race. In a mass start event that is really hard. I think my takeaways were to remember to ski your own race but also I think you don’t want to walk away at the end of the day wishing you could have gone harder. All you ask is that you went for it.”

    Kern tagged to Bjornsen for the second classic leg in 11th (+44.2).

    Sadie Bjornsen of the U.S. during the second leg of the 2019 World Championship 4 x 5 k relay in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    Bjornsen strode off with a gap of 20 seconds on 12th place Kazakhstan and seven seconds behind 10th place Czech Republic. With no team to ski behind, Bjornsen forged ahead in slow snow and towards a divided field.

    “Out of the start I tried to get that first group and then I as soon as got to the hills I started attacking,” said Bjornsen in a call. “But it was remarkably hard to close gaps out there when there are groups working together. When you are working alone there is no rest. It is 5 k of full work.”

    In the second half of her leg, Bjornsen’s pulse of effort paid dividends. She bridged up to and passed the Czechs, Japan, Canada, and France to leapfrog into sixth place.

    “When I finally caught that group in front of me I tried to not to sit behind them in the draft which felt very comfortable,” Bjornsen said. “I reminded myself that every second counts. I have got to keep powering past.”

    Rosie Brennan of the U.S. during the third leg of the 2019 World Championship 4 x 5 k relay in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    She tagged Brennan in sixth, 34 seconds down on fourth-place Finland. Brennan has proved an integral part of the U.S. World Cup presence this season. Her presence on the relay team in Seefeld comes as no surprise. Although earlier prognostications would have predicted her as a classic leg selection.  

    “I have never done a skate leg in a relay at this level so I was excited to try something new and I’ve had such an improvement in skating this year so I was kind of excited to put that to use,” Brennan stated over the phone.

    Ahead of Brennan was Riitta-Liisa Roponen of Finland, thirty-five seconds out. Close behind was a  three team cluster all within fifteen seconds.

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    “I didn’t want to give them a free ride so I tried to start off really hard to open up that gap enough that they didn’t get any ideas,” Brennan said of her quick start. “Then I could see Finland in front, and it was so deceiving because the snow was so slow that you could see the person in front of you for quite a ways. … I just kept my eyes on Finland and kept trying to ski strong, and ski to my strengths and just try to make that gap as small as possible”

    Brennan’s push created some sixth place breathing room for the U.S. She closed down on the Finns. Roponen tagged Evelina Piippo with a diminished buffer of 13.3 seconds as Diggins was tagged.

    By 17.5 k, a no-fan of hot weather skiing Diggins had passed Piippo and placed the U.S. in fifth by 10.5 seconds. With the Diggins anchor leg and a rookie scrambler in Kern, the U.S. placed fifth overall (+3:06.0).

    Custom race suit for Jessie Diggins of the U.S. She anchored the fifth place U.S. team during the 2019 World Championship 4 x 5 k relay in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    As the U.S. women’s 4 x 5 k roster evolves they will continue to find themselves in a hyper-competitive field with three teams in a Norway, Sweden, and Russia as a winning threat. If cross-country skiing were a salary cap sport, those three nations would have incurred a massive luxury tax.   

    But you cannot buy moxy when it comes to the bury-yourself athlete.  

    Bjornsen noticed a trait today about Kern which can also be attributed to the day’s collective U.S. effort.

    “I was proud of [Julia Kern] today,” Bjornsen said. “As I told her after my race, I think guts is something that you cannot necessarily train into somebody. And when I see someone explode in a race like that the first thing that comes to my mind is that girl has got guts.”

    The work-from-the-back fifth place was a collective gutsy affair for the U.S.

    Canada’s Katherine Stewart-Jones, Emily Nishikawa, Cendrine Browne, and Dahria Beatty were 12th on the day (+5:02.7).

    Results

     

     – David Brown contributed

     

  • Thursday Race Rundown from Seefeld: Sweden in a Nail-biter

    Thursday Race Rundown from Seefeld: Sweden in a Nail-biter

    (Front row l-r) Ebba Andersson and Charlotte Kalla (back row l-r) and Frida Karlsson and Stina Nilsson winners of the 2019 World Championship 4 x 5 k relay in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Seefeld, Austria Women’s 4 x 5 k Relay

    The race pack held together until the 3.5-kilometer mark of the scramble leg during the women’s World Championship 4 x 5 k relay in Seefeld, Austria. A bit over three seconds separated the top-six teams through the time check.

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    By the time the third leg began, Sweden and Norway had surged and defined the race as a two team competition for first. That fate began to change as Sweden’s third skier, Charlotte Kalla, surged to a 18.8 second lead over Norway as she tagged to the team’s anchor, Stina Nilsson.

    With Norway’s anchor Therese Johaug, it appeared inevitable she would catch Nilsson. The high-turnover Johaug, mouth agape, churned up the hills and did eventually secure the Swede’s draft. But Nilsson’s long-gliding effort in the finish straight gave Sweden the edge and the win.

    Spent fuel: Norway’s Therese Johaug cooling off after her team’s second place in the 2019 World Championship 4 x 5 k relay in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    Ebba Andersson, Frida Karlsson, Kalla, and Nilsson of Sweden won in 55:21.0 minutes. Norway’s Heidi Weng, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, and Johaug placed second (+3.1).

    Russia’s  Yulia Belorukova, Anastasia Sedova, Anna Nechaevskaya, and Natalia Nepryaeva skied to third (+2:03.8).

    The U.S. foursome of Julia Kern, Sadie Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan, and Jessie Diggins placed fifth (+3:06.0). Canada’s Katherine Stewart-Jones, Emily Nishikawa, Cendrine Browne, and Dahria Beatty were 12th on the day (+5:02.7).

    Results

  • After a Long Wait, Johaug Wins Second Gold Medal in the World Championship Skiathlon; Brennan 10th

    After a Long Wait, Johaug Wins Second Gold Medal in the World Championship Skiathlon; Brennan 10th

    Therese Johaug of Norway taking the women’s World Championship 15 k skiathlon win in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo:John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    An emotional Therese Johaug of Norway stood atop the podium after the 15-kilometer skiathlon in Seefeld, Austria. While the race seemed to be decided during the second of two classic laps where Johaug began to pull away, the title has taken much longer to achieve. This moment was one she has been hoping for since she last earned the title during the 2015 world championships in Falun, Sweden. Johaug was unable to compete in the 2017 championships in Lahti or the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang as she was serving an 18 month suspension after using a medicated lip balm containing the banned steroid clostebol.  

    “It’s been a big dream for me to come here to Seefeld for a long time now,” Johaug told the International Ski Federation (FIS) as she held back tears. “I’m looking forward for these championships for two years. The last time I was in the World Championships was in Falun, it’s four years ago now. I’m training so much and working so much for this. All the team around me have helping me everytime, so I’m really happy. The waxer team they were awesome today, I had so good skis, I could just fly out there.”

    This victory was not unexpected; the well-decorated Norwegian has won each of the eight distance race that she has entered this season by a large margin and has over 50 world cup victories to her name. She adds this gold medal to a collection of three others in the skiathlon, a gold in 2015, silver in 2013, and bronze in 2011, and is now tied with her former teammate, Marit Bjørgen, for the most world championship medals in the event.

    The day’s winner, Therese Johaug of Norway, at the start of her second classic lap during the women’s World Championship 15 k skiathlon in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo: John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    Johaug commanded the race from the gun, her powerful and flawless technique driving her ahead at a pace no other skier could match. At the exchange, she switched into her skate skis calmly and confidently, exiting the zone smoothly in just seconds. At this point, Johaug had nearly 30 seconds on the women chasing her, and 7.5 k later when she stopped the clock at 36:54.5, she was nearly a minute ahead.

    Behind her also wearing red lycra was a battle for silver and bronze as a group containing Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen of Norway, and Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia chased the leader. When Johaug took the race out fast, the threesome went with her in the first kilometers of the race, separating themselves from the larger chase pack behind. When Johaug began to pull away, the three women stayed together, exchanging the lead frequently as they covered ground.

    Therese Johaug of Norway during the skate leg of the women’s World Championship 15 k skiathlon in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo:John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    It was not until a final climb brought the trio to a hairpin turn before descending into the stadium for the final sprint that Østberg moved to the front and began to make her run for second place. She crested the hill with a small gap ahead of Nepryeava, with Jacobsen not far behind. Østberg flew into the stadium in a no pole skate, switching to V2 as she clinched her position in second place (+57.6). She crossed the line and into the awaiting arms of her teammate, Johaug, where she collapsed and began to let out shrieks of joy and relief. Her silver is her first individual world championship medal.

    Nepryeava crossed the line in third (+58.7), Jacobsen fourth (1:02.0).

    Rosie Brennan of the U.S. placed 10th in the women’s World Championship 15 k skiathlon in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo:John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    Three of the four American competitors landed in the top 30 with Rosie Brennan in 10th (+2:01.8), Julia Kern 19th (+2:55.5), and Rosie Frankowski 24th (+3:00.6). Caitlin Patterson finished just outside in 34th (+3:54.5).

    With added variables and little experience in the event, it can be difficult for athletes to set expectations in a skiathlon. Today’s outstanding results came as a bit of a surprise to the American women who went in optimistic, but without positive experiences to look back on.  

    “Skiathlons are tricky because we just don’t do that many so you never really know what’s going to happen or how you’re going to feel, especially once you switch skis,” Brennan told FasterSkier in a call. “Last year the skiathlon at the Olympics was literally the worst race of my life, so it’s been a while since I’ve had a good one, so I was a little nervous.”

    Julia Kern in bib 35 during the classic leg of the women’s World Championship 15 k skiathlon win in Seefeld, Austria. Kern placed 19th overall. (Photo:John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    It was the second skiathlon Kern had completed; she was not happy with her result in the first and in the most recent one she entered at U23’s, she had to drop out due to illness. Her top-20 finish exceeded her expectations today.

    “I had no idea what to expect, but I was really excited,” said Kern in a call. “My goal was top-40 and on a good day maybe a top-30, but I didn’t really know what to expect and my goal for today really was just to ski hard and see what I could do.”

    Brennan found herself amidst a larger chase pack behind the threesome of Østberg, Nepryeava and Jacobsen. This group worked together through the 7.5 k classic half, then began to spread after the exchange.

    “My goal was just to stay in the pack and be as relaxed as possible and see what else was left once we switched [to skating],” Brennan shared. “I’m really happy with how I skied tactically, I think it was one of the better races I’ve done tactically, that’s not usually my forte.

    “The only regret I have is that I kind of forgot that in skiathlons, once you switch skis, that first k or so it’s super important to find the right group, but it’s also the most nerve-wracking k because you never know how your legs are going to feel once you switch skis,” she continued. “And I actually felt pretty good, so I wish I had pushed that first k in the skate a little harder to be in the front end of that chase group instead of the back end because I kind of wasn’t paying attention when that pack broke up. And the skate leg was a lot faster and flatter, so it was a little challenging to ski away from people, so the group you got in in that first few k really determined where you would be in the end.”

    After the split mentioned, a group containing 2018 Olympic gold medalist Charlotte Kalla and Frida Karlsson of Sweden, Heidi Weng of Norway, Krista Pärmäkoski of Finland, and Anastasia Sedova of Russia pulled ahead of the remainder of the pack. These women finished fifth through ninth.

    “I found myself in still a good group, and so I realized pretty quickly that it was going to be hard to ski away,” Brennan explained. “But I didn’t really want to sprint with four people, so I tried to make a move on the far hill and I think it dropped one girl, but it wasn’t really what I hoped for. So then I decided that then I would settle and have faith in my sprint finish. And I had really great skis, so I was able to draft well off the sprint downhill into the stadium and kind of play a good tactic into the finish and bust a move on that last little climb. So I was really psyched with how that worked out and how I skied that section.”

    Brennan’s result is her second top 10 finish of the season, her first coming in the 10k freestyle race in Davos. The APU skier also raced in the World Championships in both 2015 and 2017, but today was her best result in an individual race. This progress is especially rewarding after a season hampered by illness. Brennan was diagnosed with mono at the end of the 2018 race season after a slew of less than satisfying results.  

    “I’ve been really psyched. After last year, I didn’t know if I would ever be able to ski fast again or even if I was going to keep skiing,” Brennan reflected. “So it was kind of an interesting summer, but I was able to have a really good training group at home and just focus in on what I needed to do, and that was really successful. I started feeling better and better as the summer went on and started getting more and more confidence and hopes for what the season to come would bring.

    “And knowing that I was not on the national team and had to earn all my start spots, I wanted to come into Period 1 ready to race,” she continued. “I was really happy with that [plan], I did that really well and each weekend got better in period 1, so that was super successful. Then, because I had done that, I felt like I needed to take a break and do another training block to be ready for the championships since they were so late [in the season]. So I took some time and did quite a bit of training. I think that made me a little flat in the first two world cups when I came back, so I was a little nervous that my form had left me, but I was feeling good and my training had gone well, so I guess I had a hint of optimism. But I’m glad to feel like my form did come back and I’m racing at the level that I was in Period 1, so I think my plan worked really well. I’ve been really excited with all of that.”

    Kern started the race with a slightly different plan than Brennan. The beginning of the race played out differently than she anticipated, but she quickly adjusted her tactics.

    “I had a feeling it was going to start out pretty hot since I figured that Johaug would push the pace early, so things would string out,” explained Kern. “My plan was to start out fast and settle in, but I ended up – it was hard to pass people in the start, so I kind of just stayed relax the first climb, then in the second lap began to push the pace a bit. Once I got through the transition, I saw it as a new race, just skating.”

    The start of the women’s World Championship 15 k skiathlon win in Seefeld, Austria. (Photo:John Lazenby/lazenbyphoto.com)

    While her start was not as fast as she expected, she took advantage of her confidence and speed on downhills to move ahead in the second half.

    “I had the absolute fastest skis out there –  they were insanely fast, the techs did an amazing job,” she said gratefully. “So even on the uphills if I would get dropped a little, I skied the downhills super well. A lot of people were skiing the downhills scared and my skis were so fast that I would catch and pass people every downhill. So it was this sort of cat and mouse game where on the uphills I would try to hang on and keep it as close as possible, then on the downhills just shoot by people. So it was really fun skiing knowing I had insanely good skis and that the techs had given us the best skis out there, so I could just focus on hanging on as long as I could on every climb.”

    It was Frankowski’s first start in a World Championships. Earlier in the season, Frankowski won a pair of 10k’s while racing domestically on the Super Tour, one in classic and one in skate, and took second at the 20k skate at US Nationals.

    “It was fun out there today,” wrote Frankowski in an email. “I felt much better in the skate portion of the skiathlon, but would have preferred a but slower conditions – there were some scary downhills. A big thank you to the techs for some good skis and the weather gods for bringing out the sun again for the race.”

    Canada’s Katherine Stewart-Jones skied to 39th (+4:19.8), Cendrine Browne 40th (+4:25.2), and Maya Macisaac-Jones 54th (+8:53.4).

    Racing continues tomorrow with a classic team sprint.

    Results

  • Østberg Makes a Clean Sweep on the Alpe Cermis; Diggins Sixth Overall

    Østberg Makes a Clean Sweep on the Alpe Cermis; Diggins Sixth Overall

    Ingvild Flugstad Østberg wins the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski. (Photo: ZDF screenshot.)

     

    With the ascent comes the end.

    On Sunday the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski (TdS) Stage 7 9-kilometer skate pursuit brought the Tour de Ski to a close atop Val di Fiemme’s Alpe Cermis.

    The basic Alpe Cermis stats are stout: the slope approaches a 30 percent grade in sections, and averages 12 percent,  and climbs 420 meters in 3.5 k. It’s a lung-buster.

    After the 60.67 k seven-stage Tour that began on Dec. 29 in Toblach, Italy, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg won her first career TdS. Like several of the wins Østberg took in this iteration of the TdS, she was off the front with a solo effort. The winner of Stage 4 through Stage 7, Østberg was in command for her Alpe Cermis ascent.

    She fired the 9 k stage in 35:15.0 minutes for the fastest time of day and the fastest climb time of 19:49.5. (The climb time begins at the course’s 6.2 k mark).

    “It was a great day for me, and a big dream,” Østberg told German broadcaster ZDF after the race. “I am very very happy. Incredible. I wasn’t sure that I was going to win until the last kilometer. I had to work really hard, and it was a really really tough one. My legs were already tired when I started the climb so that I was able to cross the finish line first is unbelievable. So yeah, a big dream come true.”

    Ingvild Flugstad Østberg wins the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski. Arms outstretched, Østberg soaks it in atop the Alps Cermis.(Photo: ZDF screenshot.)

    For the twenty-eight-year-old Østberg, the Tour winning dream had been snuffed out in recent years. Last year, Østberg came into the final Alpe Cermis stage in the leader’s bib, only to be passed by Heidi Weng on the climb. Østberg placed second overall. In 2016, again Østberg was passed by Norway’s Therese Johaug on the Alpe. Østberg was the overall runner-up.

    The general pattern at recent Tour’s has been a flip-flop in the standings: the second overall skier starting Stage 7 has claimed the Tour title atop the Alpe. Of the last five Tour’s, before Østberg’s win today, Norway’s Marit Bjørgen in 2014/2015 was the last skier to wear the leader’s bib up the Alpe and still claim the overall. Østberg shattered that trend.

    Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva was the day’s second starter, starting 53.4 seconds after Østberg. Nepryaeva kept her bib 2 position intact by the finish, sealing a second place on the podium by finishing 2:42.0 minutes back in the overall standings.

    Nepryaeva posted the 10th fastest Stage 7 time in 37:03.6 minutes, 1:48.6 behind Østberg’s fastest time of day. Nepryaeva’s Tour included a Stage 2 skate sprint win in Tobalch, Italy and second place in Stage 4, Stage 5, and Stage 6.

    With her second place in the overall, Nepryaeva becomes the first Russian women to step on the TdS overall podium.

    Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski placed third overall (+2:55.0). On the stage, Pärmäkoski skied the second fastest elapsed time, 42.8 seconds behind Østberg, while marking the third fastest time on the course’s climbing sector. It is the second career TdS overall podium for Pärmäkoski – she placed second to Weng in 2016/2017 Tour.

    Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva in second place as she climbs the Alpe Cermis during the Tour de Ski’s final Stage 7. (Photo: NBC Gold Screenshot)

    Østberg’s display of fitness on the Alpe was even more remarkable when considering no leading skier gained time on the Norwegian. Intent on winning her first TdS overall, Østberg’s effort only further distanced her rivals.

    The last stage and it’s big-percent grade climb brought only a slight reshuffling in the final rankings. Russia’s Yulia Belorukova in bib 4 started 2:27.4 minutes back, teammate Anastasia Sedova, the fifth starter, 3:03.6 behind, Jessie Diggins of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) began sixth, 3:07.9 back, and last year’s TdS overall winner Heidi Weng, wearing bib 7, had a 4:50.7 deficit.

    After nine kilometers, Sedova moved from fifth to fourth overall (+3:53.2) while skiing the third fastest time of day. Belorukova dropped to fifth after falling back on the climb, with the 15th fastest time of day. Diggins remained in sixth overall (+5:13.5) after posting the 12th fastest time on Stage 7. Weng placed seventh (+6:49.3). Weng is the winner of the past two Tours.

    Diggins may have dropped off her career-best third overall in last season’s TdS, but this Tour brought with it three different podiums and the leader’s bib as she started Stage 4 in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Last year, Diggins earned two TdS podiums — the Stage 4 sprint was canceled due to inclement weather.)

    “The older I get, the easier it is to remember to look at the big picture and remember that what makes a “good” race is determined by factors you don’t see on the results board,” Diggins emailed. “And for me, I was really proud of this tour because I had a lot of “good” races where I raced with grit, determination, and fought like crazy to do the very best I could with what I had in my body.”

    U.S. Ski Team member Jessie Diggins during Stage 7 of the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NBC Gold screenshot)

    The blip for Diggins this year was related to wax. On Stage 4, a 10 k classic mass start, Diggins most certainly was strong. Her kick wax on a tricky day for kick, was lacking. Yet, despite kick that was tough to muster, she lost just less than one minute on the stage. Not a massive loss, but coupled with Diggins’s massive efforts over the TdS and her sapped energy, a come back for an overall podium spot was not a reality.

    Diggins comes out of the Tour fifth in the World Cup overall, with 601 points. Østberg leads with a commanding 1152 points as the second period of the World Cup concludes.

    “Today, like yesterday, my body was feeling run down and incredibly tired,” Diggins wrote in an email. “But I was proud of my effort and for never giving up, fighting my way up that crazy mountain! It’s really hard to describe the bone-deep tired feeling you get when you’ve been pushing your body so hard for so long, and it’s insane how painful it is when you finally reach the top of the final climb. It’s also one of the most satisfying feelings in the world, because you know you’ve just done something so amazingly hard.”

    Now it’s time for Diggins to rest and determine her World Championship race schedule — Diggins raced the full complement of cross-country events at the 2018 Olympics.

    “For me, what I really wanted to get out of the Tour in the big picture was the fitness boost that I get every year from doing something so incredibly hard and then resting and recovering well,” Diggins Explained. “So for the next 13 days, my focus will be on resting up, enjoying my time with my family in Seefeld, and then preparing for Otepää. I’m skipping Dresden to make sure I absorb all the Tour races well but I’m excited for the rest of the season, and super excited to cheer on our sprinters! … For Seefeld [World Championships], the jury’s still out on how many races I’m planning to do, but it’s definitely a more condensed schedule than the Olympics, so I’m going to be looking at where my energy is that time of year and which races have the most potential if I can’t do them all.”

    U.S. Ski Team Coach Matt Whitcomb reflected on this year’s Tour and looked towards the future.

    “First of all, I think next year we would likely see more Americans finish the Tour whereas on a championship year, three out of four years, we play things a little bit more conservatively, and this really went to plan not with regards to result but in regards to when people pulled out of the tour,” Whitcomb said. “We knew Sophie [Caldwell], Simi [Hamilton], and Kevin [Bolger] were going to pull out after three stages. We had good exit plans, you know, you look at things geographically, how do you actually exit? … So with regards to our exit strategy things went to plan; those three taking off after the three stages, Sadie [Bjornsen] and Erik [Bjornsen], I guess Erik got sick, but the intended goal was to have Sadie and Erik pull out after stage 5, and then to have Ben [Lustgarten] and Jessie finish it. So we got close, with the exception of Erik falling ill in the middle. You look at the athletes specifically, what intensity stimulus is going to be best for World Championships? Is it three races, five, or seven? And then is it possible to actually exit the Tour and get to the camp without having a seven-hour drive.?”

    This year’s schedule and geographic proximity to Seefeld, allowed those exiting the TdS early to take a relatively short drive to the site of this year’s World Championships for a training camp.

    Whitcomb also commented on the ups and downs of the Tour for Diggins, and how each day comes with challenges that might not be resolved as planned.

    “It was by some measures a great success, she knew that she needed to have for an incredible Tour with about half of the races being podiums,” Whitcomb noted. “But the other half of that is that we needed to nail the skis seven days instead of just six and that makes a real difference. And to go with that she also had the last couple of days where she felt like she was out of energy and wasn’t able to finish the Tour as strongly as she did last year. … But you know, you start looking for answers and you can get lost in a wormhole pretty quickly. As far as I’m concerned she got tired two stages too soon and there’s nothing to worry about. She’s healthy and she’s going to go to Seefeld which has about 25 feet of snow right now and she’s going to feel like a little kid playing in the snow for a couple of days, recover for the better part of four days and then get back into some easy distance training again. So I think from a Seefeld perspective, I feel really good about things. Yeah, it would have been fun for her to finish on the podium in the Tour, she’s certainly good enough, but it didn’t happen. It’s a fickle sport that way.”

    Canada’s Emily Nishikawa placed 25th overall (+13:54.9).

    Women’s Results |Winner of the Day | Women’s Stage by Stage TdS Overall Results

  • Sunday Race Rundown: Tour de Ski and U.S. Nationals (Updated)

    Sunday Race Rundown: Tour de Ski and U.S. Nationals (Updated)

    The final podium from the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski (from left to right), Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia in second, Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg first, and Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski third. (Photo: ZDF screenshot)

    FIS World Cup Tour de Ski Stage Val di Fiemme, Italy 9 k Freestyle Pursuit Alpe Cermis Hill Climb

    Sunday was the day for the steeps, the V1, and some single pole sticks as the Tour de Ski’s (TdS) final Stage 7 9-kilometer skate pursuit up the Alpe Cermis played out.

    Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg began the stage with a 53.4-second head start on Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva who skied off in bib 2 as the Tour’s second overall skier.

    Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg on her way to winning the 2018/2019Tour de Ski during the final Stage 7 Alpe Cermis climb. (Photo: NBC Gold screenshot)

    Despite the six stages in her legs, Østberg was untouchable on the Alpe. She finished the stage in a time of 35.15.0 minutes which was also the fastest time of day. Of the leading skiers that followed across the line, none gained any time on the overall TdS winner — the time back only increased. Nepryaeva placed second overall (+2:42.0), while Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski placed third (+2:55.0).

    In fourth was Russia’s Anastasia Sedova 3:353.2 minutes back. Sedova began in bib 5, but passed teammate Yulia Belorukova, the day’s fourth starter, as she ascended the Cermis. Belorukova finished 4:47.4 minutes behind Østberg.

    U.S. Ski Team member Jessie Diggins during Stage 7 of the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NBC Gold screenshot)

    The U.S. Ski Team’s Jessie Diggins placed sixth (+5:13.5). Norway’s Heidi Weng, last season’s TdS winner, placed seventh (+6:49.3).

    Canada’s Emily Nishikawa placed 25th overall (+13:54.9).

    Women’s Results |Winner of the Day | Women’s Stage by Stage TdS Overall Results

    Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway on his way to winning the final stage, the men’s 9-kilometer hill climb, of the 2019 Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (ZDF Screenshot)

    In the men’s 9 k hill climb, the seventh and final stage of this year’s Tour de Ski, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo managed to hold off the charge of Russian Sergey Ustiugov to take the win in a time of 32:51.3. A hard pressing Ustiugov finished 16.7 seconds behind the Norwegian winner after starting with a 1:20 minute deficit.

    Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krüger, who started 3:06 behind Klæbo reduced that deficit to 48.8 by the end of the climb, passing Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov in order to claim third. By the end of the race, third place finisher, Krüger had made up 1:23 on Bolshunov.

    In the end, Bolshunov placed fifth (+1:26.6) after also being passed by Norwegian Sjur Røthe who placed fourth (+1:05.3). Røthe posted the fastest time of day, having completed the grueling 9 k in a time of 30:32.0. Krüger had the second fastest time, finishing in a time of 30:33.3.

    Results: Men’s Final Climb | Time of Day | Men’s Stage by Stage TdS Overall Standings

     

    ***

    U.S. Cross-Country Ski Championships Craftsbury, Vermont 20 k/30 k Freestyle Mass Start

    On Sunday, the women raced a 20 k skate mass start event. Caitlin Patterson (CGRP) won the race in 59:23.1 minutes. Rosie Frankowski (APU) placed second in 1:00:03 and Jessica Yeaton (APU/Australian National Team) third in 1:00:09.7.

    Hailey Swirbul (APU) was fourth overall but third overall American. She finished in a time of 1:00:30.1.

    Women’s Results

    In the men’s 30 k skate mass start, David Norris (APU) took the win in 1:18:02.4 hours. Kyle Bratrud (SMS T2) placed second in 1:18:08.8, while Scott Patterson (APU/USST) was third in 1:18:21.4.

    Men’s Results 

    FasterSkier will be posting U.S. national’s race reports later in the day.

  • Østberg Controls TdS Stage 6 from the Start; Diggins 7th

    Østberg Controls TdS Stage 6 from the Start; Diggins 7th

    Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg winning Stage 6 of the Tour de Ski – a 10 k mass start classic race. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    As the Tour de Ski (TdS)  wanes in Val di Fiemme, Italy, position in the overall standings becomes of the utmost importance as after today’s 10-kilometer mass start classic race. There will be only one more opportunity to advance in this season’s TdS – the brutal hill climb up Alpe Cermis.

    Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway made it evident that after three podium finishes in the Tour, she no longer wished to be the bridesmaid. Last year, Østberg led the overall standings entering the final stage but was overtaken on the final stage by her teammate Heidi Weng who began the hill climb just two seconds behind her. An eerily similar story unfolded in 2016 when she was passed by Therese Johaug on the steep incline of the Alpe Cermis.

    This year, Østberg left nothing to chance in Stage 6. She led the charge from the gun, setting a fast tempo and quickly creating a small gap for herself. While a chase pack of three Russians, Natalia Nepryaeva, Yulia Belorukova, and Anastasia Sedova, and a Finn, Krista Pärmäkoski, kept Østberg in sight, the Norwegian controlled the race all the way to the finish line. On her way to victory, Østberg coyly won the bonus sprint at 7.5 k, earning her additional bonus seconds to 30-second bonus she gained from her win.

    Nepryeava took second place (+10.0), followed closely by her teammate Sedova (+10.8) in third, and Pärmäkoski fourth (+12.5).

    The women’s podium for Stage 6 of the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway took the win, followed by Natalia Nepryeava (L) and Anastasia Sedova (R), both of Russia. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    Today marks the Norwegian’s eighth stage win in the Tour de Ski, matching powerhouse Marit Bjørgen. Therese Johaug and Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland are the only women to earn more podiums, 11 and 14 respectively.

    Heading into the final stage, the Tour de Ski remains a race of attrition, especially in a World Championship year. Only 33 of the original 75 racers began Stage 6 today.

    With a lead in the overall standings of 53.4 seconds over Nepryaeva and 2:13.1 minutes over third place Pärmäkoski, Østberg is in an excellent position to nab the overall win, provided that she can hold up through the brutal hill climb.

    “First of all, today’s race was really important, and I’ve been trying to prepare as good as possible,” Østberg said in an interview with the International Ski Federation (FIS). “I was actually just waiting for the Russians and Krista [Pärmäkoski] to attack and tried to stay in front of the field. On the last lap I just had to try my best and maybe I could get some seconds. I am just so happy that I won today. And for sure it’s nice for tomorrow’s race, because that’s maybe not my favorite stage (laughs), so I need every second that I can have on the other competitors. So now I’m soon preparing for the last stage of this year’s Tour de Ski.”

    Nepryeava, Belorukova, and Sedova will be fighting to become the first Russian women to make the podium in the Tour de Ski. While Nepryeava is in solid position to accomplish this, Belorukova will need to make up 14 seconds to catch and pass Pärmäkoski during the final stage. Sedova has a significantly larger gap of 50 seconds to close. 

    Last year’s overall winner, Norway’s Heidi Weng, who has struggled with her usual World Cup podium results since the Olympics in PyeongChang, skied just behind the chase pack to a sixth-place finish. Weng’s results in the Tour show steady improvement for her, which bodes well for the remainder of her World Cup season.

    Jessie Diggins (L) pursues Norway’s Heidi Weng during stage 6 of the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Photo: Screenshot ZDF Broadcast

    The sole American remaining in the Tour on the women’s side, Jessie Diggins, finished in seventh place (+1:19.3). Drifting slightly off the chase pack after the first 5 k, Diggins found herself in a tough position, out of contact with Weng, but also well ahead of the skiers behind her. Diggins Stage 6 finish bumped her to sixth in the overall standings. She began the day third overall after her close finish in the Stage 5 pursuit. To move back onto the podium, Diggins will need to make up a deficit of 54 seconds in Stage 7.

    “I had really competitive skis, which I was really stoked about, and I was really proud of how I raced,” Diggins told FasterSkier in a call. “I felt good through maybe 3 k and then it was just not there. But that is something you can’t control. I didn’t have really good feelings in my body at all, my body was just super tired and out of gas today. But I did the best I could with what I had and kept pushing as hard as possible.”

    The start of the women’s 10 k classic mass start, Stage 6 of the Tour de Ski.  Jessie Diggins skis in the second track from the right. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    While only ten seconds separated Diggins from third place at the start of Stage 7 in last season’s Tour, Diggins performance in the hill climb demonstrates that she is able to remain fierce until the Tour concludes atop the Alpe Cermis. Last year, Diggins clocked one of the fastest time to the top of Alpe Cermis, moving ahead of Pärmäkoski to gain a spot on the podium.  

    “It totally depends on the energy that your body has,” said Diggins. “At this stage in the Tour, you never know, so I am just recovering and fueling and doing everything I can to give myself the best chance I have tomorrow. Like any race, you go out and you go as hard as you can with what you have.”

    While today’s performance may not have been ideal for her overall standing in the Tour, in the larger scheme of her World Cup season, Diggins remains excited about where her fitness is.

    “For me, this is really great preparation for Seefeld, and I’m just really happy that I’ve been able to do the full Tour,” she said. “This is really key for my prep for World Champs, so big picture, I am amazed at how well the tour has gone. Being sick twice in Period 1, then coming onto the Tour and getting four podiums out of it is awesome. That’s great. That’s more than I thought I would get frankly, and so it’s been a really really fun ride and big picture this is going really well. I am really pleased with how the plan is going.”

    Canada’s Emily Nishikawa, who began the day in bib 28, placed 25th (+2:47.3). It is her first time racing in the TdS.

    “I had a great start today and felt good for the first two laps, but I faded a bit in the second half of the race,” said Nishikawa in a CCC press release. “Women’s racing always starts out really fast, so I was just trying to hang on in the pack and ski relaxed for as long as I could.”

    “I am looking forward to the climb tomorrow with a mix of excitement and nerves,” Nishikawa continued. “I will push as hard as my legs will go and see what happens.”

    Racing continues tomorrow for the final stage of the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski.

    Women’s Results | Overall Standings

  • Saturday Race Rundown: Val di Fiemme’s Stage 6 of the TdS in the Spotlight

    Saturday Race Rundown: Val di Fiemme’s Stage 6 of the TdS in the Spotlight

    Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg leading a four-deep chase group on her way to winning Stage 6 of the Tour de Ski — a 10 k classic mass start. (Photo: ZDF screenshot)

    FIS World Cup Stage 5 Tour de Ski 10 k/15 k Mass Start Classic Val di Fiemme, Italy

    Women’s Report | Men’s Report

    The clear outcome from the women’s 10-kilometer classic mass start was Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg’s fitness. The TdS leader began the day with a 35.4 second lead on second overall skier Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia. The time back to Nepryaeva at the end of Stage 6 only grew.

    Østberg’s form became evident around the 6.2 k mark when she inexorably pulled away from a group that included Russians Nepryaeva, Yulia Belorukova, Anastasia Sedova, and Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski.

    Østberg went on to a solo win in a time of 29:24.4 minutes. Nepryaeva placed second (+10.0), Sedova third (+10.8), and Pärmäkoski fourth (+12.5).

    Belorukova ended up in fifth (+39.7), followed by Norway’s Heidi Weng in sixth (+1:10.0), and U.S. skier Jessie Diggins seventh (+1:19.3).

    Diggins began the day third overall in the Tour, 1:22.6 minutes behind Østberg.

    Canada’s Emily Nishikawa, who began the day in bib 28, placed 25th (+2:47.3).

    After factoring in time bonuses, Østberg now leads the TdS by 53.4 seconds over second overall skier Nepryaeva. Pärmäkoski jumped to third (+2:13.1), with Diggins dropping to sixth in the overall, 3:07.9 back. 

    Thirty-two women began Stage 6 of the Tour de Ski (TdS) in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

    Results | Overall Tour Standings After Six Stages

     

    Italy’s Francesco de Fabiani leads Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo during Stage 6 of the Tour de Ski — a 15 k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: ZDF screenshot.)

    In the men’s 15 k classic mass start, the race was a big opportunity for a results shakedown. Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway came into the race as the overall leader, with a slight 5.4 second lead on Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov who began Stage 6 second overall in the TdS.

    Klæbo will retain the overall lead after a tactical Stage 6 where he won the race in 40:52.6 minutes. Francesco de Fabiani of Italy placed second (+0.6), and Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov third (+2.6). Bolshunov had been third overall, prior to today’s stage, 1:18.2 behind Klæbo.

    For de Fabiani, it was his second TdS podium — he also placed second in the Tour’s Stage 4 15 k classic mass start in Oberstdorf, Germany.

    Ustiugov placed 16th (+42) in today’s stage after skiing through the 10 k time check in 20th place, 5.3 seconds back. By 11.4 k, Ustiugov was 20.4 seconds behind the front group of skiers that included Bolshunov and Klæbo.

    After Stage 6, with only the Alpe Cermis climb to go, Klæbo sits in first overall, 1:20.4 minutes up on second overall skier Ustiugov. Bolshunov is third overall (+1:43.8), and de Fabiani fourth (+2:40.5).

    No Canadian men started the race as Alex Harvey, Lenny Valjas, and Bob Thompson all left the Tour after Stage 5.

    Ben Lustgarten (CGRP) for the U.S., is the only remaining North American male. He placed 44th (+5:31.7).

    Men’s Results | Men’s Overall TdS Standings After Stage 6

     

  • Østberg wins in Oberstdorf and takes TdS Lead; Diggins 11th

    Østberg wins in Oberstdorf and takes TdS Lead; Diggins 11th

    The women’s podium from the fourth stage of the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski — a 10 k classic mass start. Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva (left) placed second, Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (center) first. and Anastasia Sedova (right) also from Russia third. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    It was a snowy and grabby day in Oberstdorf, Germany, for Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski (TdS). The temperatures were sitting right around freezing, making it challenging conditions for dialing kick wax. Many racers skied on zeros for this 10-kilometer classic mass start. But throughout the race, many women appeared to be struggling to find the right amount of kick as slipping on the hills was a common theme for some.

    U.S. Ski Team Coach Matt Whitcomb commented on the day’s tricky conditions.

    “The races were typically hard Oberstdorf races, in some ways, it’s what every cross-country skier dreads and in other ways, it’s what is so great about this sport,” Whitcomb said. “It was a really challenging day surface wise, conditions were slow, the course was hard and it snowed like hell, so it was a challenging day today.”

    Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway drag racing down the final 100 meters with Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva in Oberstdorf, Germany during Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    Wearing bib 2 as the TdS second overall skier, Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg fought hard for the victory today finishing in 32:08.9 minutes. Østberg led the majority of the race, only giving up the lead three times before quickly taking it back — once to Krista Pärmäkoski of Finland and twice to Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia.

    Østberg spoke with an International Ski Federation (FIS) reporter after the race and noted she had to be persistent.

    “It was a really tough race and when we saw it was snowing and knew it would be hard to be in front, but I knew I had to try and I just had to work and work and work and maybe people would fall off one by one,” Østberg told FIS. 

    Nepryaeva attempted to pull away from Østberg in the finish stretch and nearly took the win. But Østberg out lunged her across the line.

    Østberg recounted, “the Russian were really strong, especially in the last uphill. But today, I just decided to give it all and in the last 100 meters, I just had to try and it was an incredible feeling to cross the finish line first.”

    Today’s victory makes Østberg the overall leader of the TdS.

    “It’s really fun to be in the lead of the Tour de Ski. I’ve been here before and it’s always fun and I’ve been working hard for four stages. But I know a lot can happen in the next three, so I just have to take it race by race,” Østberg said. 

    https://youtu.be/c34Cc8tVKQ8

    In nearly taking the win, Nepryaeva displayed she has the overall fitness to contest a top overall spot at the Tour. The twenty-three-year-old Nepryaeva kept pace with Østberg the entire race. She never was more than five seconds behind the day’s winner. In the last 2.5-k of the race, Nepryaeva’s teammate Anastasia Sedova caught her, allowing the two Russians to work together and challenge Østberg.

    Despite being out-lunged, this is not the first time this season that Nepryaeva has gone head to head with Østberg. During Stage 2 of this year’s Tour, a 10 k skate, Nepryaeva beat Østberg by just under a half-second for her first career World Cup victory. After today’s result, Nepryaeva is positioned second place in the overall TdS standings.

    Sedova skied a very strong race as well, putting in a massive effort to finish third. After the first 2k, she was in 11th, but she moved quickly through the pack and by 7.5k she was in the mix for a podium position. Once catching her teammate Nepryaeva, Sedova settled in with the winning pace and finished five seconds behind Østberg. Sedova’s third-place finish put her into sixth in the overall TdS standings.

    Jessie Diggins of the U.S. Ski Team was the first North American to cross the finish line. Diggins started today with the TdS leader’s bib. In what was admittedly a tough waxing day, Diggins held onto the lead pack for the first kilometer before falling back to 24th. After the race’s mid-point, Diggins found her groove. She surged forward to 12th place at the 5 k time check, 18.7 seconds back. Diggins finished in 11th (+58.5). After Stage 4, Diggins is in fourth overall in the TdS standings, 1:26.3 minutes behind overall leader Østberg. 

    “Frankly, we missed the boat on the wax today, but I fought as hard as I could and I know I’m in great shape right now,” Diggins texted FasterSkier after the race. “I did everything I could with what I had today! And now the pressure of the leader’s bib is 100% off, and I’m just going to ski as hard as I can tomorrow and recover as smart as I can!”

    Whitcomb also commented on the USST women’s skis, confirming that day’s dicey conditions.

    “We did not have good skis for the women, it was straight up just a really difficult race for them because of this,” Whitcomb said. “What I will say is about 2/3rds of the race had very bad skis and our girls did incredibly well considering those things.”

    Diggins will be racing in the next three stages of the TdS as she plans on completing the Tour.

    “The goal remains the same for Jessie, whether starting 1st, 4th or 50th,” Whitcomb said. “Until the finish line on Alpe Cermis, we’re racing to win. It’s just how she does things.”

    Sadie Bjornsen (USST) finished 15th on the stage.

    Sadie Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team during Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski — a 10 k classic mass start race. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    Diggins and Bjornsen skied in the same pack for the majority of the race. During the first half of the race, Bjornsen sat in 17th. When Diggins made a move, skiing into 12th, Bjornsen followed suit, skiing to 15th. Bjornsen held this position for the remainder of the race and finished 1:05.4 minutes behind Østberg. Today’s result lands Bjornsen in 10th in the overall TdS standings.

    “It was a really challenging race out there,” Bjornsen texted. “Unfortunately, our team really missed the kick, so we had to fight with what we had. Our skis were icing really bad, which made it quite challenging to ski both the uphills and the downhills. Thank goodness there were a few flat sections out there to feel like I was out for a ski race. It’s a bummer to have a day like today because my body felt really good, and I really like this course for classic skiing- but that’s life, and sometimes you have to just laugh it off and hope you can learn something as a team from the experience.”

    Bjornsen will exit the Tour after tomorrow’s fifth stage.

    “Tomorrow will be the last race of my tour, as I have planned to not complete the full tour this year, and try to do a training block without too much accumulated race fatigue,” Bjornsen explained. “So, let’s hope tomorrow can work out a little better, and I can make some use of these good feelings!” Bjornsen told FasterSkier.

    After her exit, Diggins will be heading to Seefeld, Austria to join some of her other teammates for a mini-training camp before World Cup racing starts up again after the Tour.

    “Given how strong Jessie and Sadie skied today with skis that weren’t working for them, I’m very optimistic about tomorrow,” Whitcomb stated. “These two are strong right now, and pretty pissed off.  That’s a good combo to bet on.”

    Emily Nishikawa of Canada finished in 34th.

    Women’s Results |Tour de Ski Overall Standings

  • Wednesday Race Rundown from Oberstdorf, Germany (TdS Stage 4) Updated

    Wednesday Race Rundown from Oberstdorf, Germany (TdS Stage 4) Updated

    The women’s podium from the fourth stage of the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski — a 10 k classic mass start in Oberstdorf, Germany. Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva (left) placed second, Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (center) first, and Anastasia Sedova (right) also from Russia third. (Photo: NBC Gold screenshot)

    FIS World Cup Tour de Ski Stage 4 10 K Classic Mass Start Oberstdorf, Germany

    With snow falling, strenuous forest skiing, and fresh snow blanketing the rolling hills for a decisive Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski (TdS) in Oberstdorf, Germany, the day’s 10-kilometer classic mass start shook out the close overall standings.

    Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, who came into the race wearing bib 2 as the second skier in the overall TdS standings by 1.1 seconds behind leader Jessie Diggins (USST), took a narrow victory today.

    Østberg, who strung the race out as the K’s ticked off, came into the final straight with Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva. Just a slight lunge at the line gave Østberg the win in a time of 32:08.9 minutes. Nepryaeva placed second (+0.1), Anastasia Sedova of Russia was third (+5.3).

    Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen was fourth (+15.9), Krista Pärmäkoski of Finland fifth (+15.9).

    Diggins, who began the day in the royal blue TdS leader’s bib, lost 58.4 seconds by the finish to place 11th. Her teammate Sadie Bjornsen (USST) placed 15th (+1:05.4).

    Canada’s Emily Nishikawa ended her race effort in 34th (+2:18.7). No other North American women started the race.

    Østberg now leads the Tour by 24.1 seconds over Nepryaeva. Russia’s Yulia Belorukova sits third (+1:10.9), Diggins fourth (+1:26.3). 

    Women’s Results | Overall TdS Standings After Four Stages

    An Oberstdorf, Germany snow-tempest hammered the men’s 15 k classic mass start during Stage 4 of the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NBC Gold screenshot)

    For the men’s race, what had been lightly falling snow morphed into a  snow-tempest for much of the 15 k classic mass start.

    With the men’s field typically tight when it comes to time differences, the lead changes came often during the men’s race. With surges here and there from the field’s big-engines, no single attack could stick. At 12.5 k, Norway’s Emil Iversen came through the time check first, but he was followed by a string of skiers with first through 49th place separated by 14.9 seconds.

    Iversen did ultimately make a double pole push in the final straight to take the win in 45:30.3 minutes. Italy’s Francesco de Fabiani placed second (+0.9), and Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov third (+2.0). Only 9.4 seconds split first from the 15th place skier, Andrew Musgrave of Britain.

    Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway came into Stage 4 as the TdS leader by 12 seconds over second overall skier Ustiugov. Klæbo placed ninth (+5.6) in Wednesday’s mass start.

    After Stage 4, Klæbo still wears the blue bib as the TdS leader. He now holds a 15.4 second lead on Ustiugov for the TdS overall. Iversen sits third overall (+31.0).

    Canada’s Alex Harvey placed 14th (+9.1) in Stage 4 after starting the day in bib 18. Also for Canada, Bob Thompson finished in 64th (+1:42.5), and Lenny Valjas 67th (+2:26.1).

    Ben Lustgarten (CGRP) was the only U.S. male to start the race. Lustgarten placed 57th (+38.7).

    Men’s Results | Overall Men’s TdS Standings After Four Stages

  • Russia’s Nepryaeva Leads TdS with Win; Diggins in Sixth Moves to Second Overall

    Russia’s Nepryaeva Leads TdS with Win; Diggins in Sixth Moves to Second Overall

    Russia’s Natalia Nepryeava (center) stands atop the women’s podium of Stage 2 of the 2018 Tour de Ski in Toblach, Italy. Ingvild Flugstad Østberg Østberg of Norway placed second (L), and Anastasia Sedova of Russia third (R). (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    Stage 2 of the Tour de Ski brought the first of five distance events, a 10-kilometer freestyle individual start in Toblach, Italy. The stage is a challenge for the sprinters who shined in Stage 1, and an opportunity for distance skiers to rise through the rankings. With Norway’s Therese Johaug, winner of every distance World Cup event this season, sitting out the Tour de Ski (TdS), the top podium position was up for grabs.

    Another Norweign, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg sat 16th overall after Stage 1. Østberg has the experience to excel in the Tour — she finished second in the overall Tour standings the last two seasons and is second overall on the World Cup. She’s also earned a podium position in each skate distance event this season, except for Lillehammer, where she took fourth — demonstrating she was in great form for longer races coming into the Tour. 

    Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg placed second in the 10 k skate in Toblach, Italy — the second stage of the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    Wearing bib 30, Østberg started the race just behind her teammate, Heidi Weng, winner of the 2016 and 2017 Tour de Ski. She moved smoothly and powerfully, over the course, clocking times that held her the lead over subsequent skiers for much of the race. However, Østberg’s stature in the leader’s chair began to diminish when Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia, in bib 58, gave Østberg something to worry about.

    As the Norwegian sat in the leader’s chair watching the monitor, Nepryaeva consistently skied through checkpoints just ahead of Østberg, gaining a slim margin of up to 4.5 seconds at the 5 k mark. That time margin could go either way; a win or a second place. As the finish line approached Nepryaeva’s time-gap began to wither. As Østberg held her breath, the Russian slid across the finish line 0.3 seconds faster than Østberg’s, stopping the clock in 23:19.9 minutes. Nepryaeva’s win, her first World Cup Victory, also bumped her into the Tour’s overall lead.

    Anastasia Sedova of Russia earned the third podium position (+10.9). She was followed by Krista Pärmäkoski of Finland in 4th (+17.4), and Heidi Weng of Norway in 5th (+21.2).

    Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia on her way to winning the 10 k skate in Toblach, Italy — the second stage of the Tour de Ski. .(Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    “I am filled with emotions,” Nepryaeva told the International Ski Federation (FIS). “Because it’s my first victory at the World Cup level, and for sure I want to keep this leader bib as long as possible.”

    In another strong day for the American women, Jessie Diggins skied to a sixth-place finish (+27.2). Coupled with yesterday’s third-place in the skate sprint, Diggins now sits in second place in the Tour de Ski overall standings. Østberg holds the third overall, followed by Yulia Belorukova of Russia in fourth, and Pärmäkoski in fifth.

    “Today was a solid race,” Diggins told FasterSkier in a call. “I didn’t feel amazing, I was still carrying a bit of fatigue from skiing all the rounds [in the sprint race] yesterday which is to be expected. I was just happy to put together a good solid race and not lose too much time to the leaders. I think to have a good Tour, if you can put together a bunch of B+ and A- performances then it will lead to a really good Tour overall. You don’t need to have any standout days, you need to just have consistent skiing. So for me, the goal was to just try to ski really smooth and strong and look for every second to get out there.”

    While it was a slow start to the season for Diggins, she is feeling refreshed and excited after the holiday break.

    “Things didn’t go entirely according to plan in Period 1,” Diggins shared. “I got sick twice, which is always a huge bummer, but over Christmas break I was able to relax and rest and get happy again which is really important for me, and so I came back for period 2 actually excited to race, feeling like I was going to enjoy the Tour because it’s a really fun event so I think that mentally I’m right where I need to be, having fun and enjoying this crazy event.”

    Following Diggins for the U.S., Sadie Bjornsen skied to a 16th place finish (+1:07.8), followed by Sophie Caldwell in 36th (+1:45.2). Bjornsen, who also raced in all of yesterday’s sprint heats, may also have been experiencing some of the accumulating fatigue impacting all athletes during the Tour.

    Sadie Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team during Sunday’s 10 k skate, Stage 2, of the Tour de Ski. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    “The day went quite well for the women,” wrote Matt Whitcomb in an email. “Jessie protected her success from yesterday with a reasonably tight 6th place today, so we’re obviously thrilled with her 2nd in the Tour standings.  She’s set herself up for a great tour, but the key for us is to take it day by day and not get caught up in expectations. The tour can be the most fun event of the year if we remember to enjoy it. Based on the vibe in the van, I’d say they’re succeeding.  Sadie and Sophie skied strong today, but all three were missing a gear after a tough day of sprinting.”

    It was also a noteworthy day for Emily Nishikawa of Canada, finishing just ahead of Caldwell in 35th (+1:44.6).

    “I was happy with the way I skied the first lap and got to follow Jessie through the downhill section,” Nishikawa wrote in an email. “I died a bit at the start of the 2nd lap but did everything I could to keep the speed high. I am happy with how skied and am looking forward to the next one!”

    Between the crowded race schedule and travel, the Tour can create an immense amount of fatigue for athletes. It is for this reason that many athletes, including Bjornsen and Caldwell, will leave the tour after their targeted events have been completed. As Diggins is committed to racing throughout the tour, her recovery and race strategy must be mindful of this tax. To expedite travel to Val Müstair, the women’s team left shortly after their event commenced, giving them more downtime at the next venue.

    “Because we have a staff of 8 (5 techs, 2 coaches, 1 massage), we were able to zip the women to Val Mustair after they’d eaten lunch,” Whitcomb explained. “We’ve arrived in good time, and dinner was waiting for us at a Hotel we’ve stayed with for years.”

    The Tour de Ski continues with a freestyle sprint in Val Müstair on January 1st.

    Women’s Results | Tour de Ski Standings after Two Stages

     

  • Sunday Race Rundown from Toblach, Italy (TdS Stage 2)

    Sunday Race Rundown from Toblach, Italy (TdS Stage 2)

    The women’s podium from the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski’s second stage, a10-kilometer freestyle interval start race. Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva placed first, Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg second, and Anastasia Sedova of Russia third (left-right). (Photo: Fis-ski.com screenshot)

    FIS World Cup Tour de Ski Stage 10 k/15 k Freestyle Interval Start

    On Sunday, Stage 2 of the Tour de Ski (TdS) offered a 10-kilometer freestyle interval start for the women in Toblach, Italy. Russia’s Natalia Nepryaeva won the race in a time of 25:12.8 minutes. Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg skied to a razor-thin second place, clocking in 0.3 seconds behind Nepryaeva. Another Russian, Anastasia Sedova, placed third (+10.9).

    This was Nepryaeva’s first career World Cup win and her second career podium on the circuit. She now leads the TdS by 23.6 seconds over U.S. skier Jessie Diggins.

    Diggins placed sixth (+27.2) in Sunday’s race after earning her first podium in yesterday’s skate sprint. Teammate Sadie Bjornsen finished in 16th (+1:07.3), with Sophie Caldwell in 36th (+1:45.2).

    Two Canadian women are entered in the TdS, with Emily Nishikawa placing 35th (+1:44.6), and Dahria Beatty 56th (+2:24.3).

    Tomorrow is a TdS rest day as athletes transfer to Val Müstair, Switzerland for a skate sprint.

    Women’s Results | Women’s Tour de Ski Standings after Two Stages

     

    Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov in the leader’s chair. The Russian won Sunday’s 15 k freestyle interval start in Toblach, Italy — the second stage of the 2018/2019 Tour de Ski. (Photo: ZDF screenshot)

    The men’s 15 k skate surprised. The on-paper favorites were high in the standings, but a flash-from-the-recent-past. Russian Sergey Ustiugov stole the show. On a Russian team deep with talent, Ustiugov has remained in the shadows since last season when he won the TdS but was kept from participating in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

    Ustiugov last won a World Cup race exactly one year ago today. He won Sunday’s 15 k skate in 30:34.1 minutes. Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krüger placed second (+12.2), and Alexander Bolshunov, also of Russia, was third (+21.9).

    Alex Harvey of Canada was the best placed North American finishing tied for 14th place (+52.9) with France’s Maurice Manificat. Harvey’s teammates Len Valjas placed 70th (+2:28.4) and Bob Thompson 83rd (+3:23.0).

    Simi Hamilton of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) was the highest ranked American in 55th (+1:59.8). Erik Bjornsen (USST) placed 60th (+2:04.2), Kevin Bolger (USST) 71st (+2:36.4), and Ben Lustgarten (CGRP) 74th (+2:52.3).

    Men’s Results | Men’s Tour de Ski Standings After Two Stages

     

  • 2018/2019 Tour de Ski Preview (Updated)

    2018/2019 Tour de Ski Preview (Updated)

    The start of the men’s 15 k classic mass start at Stage 6 of the 2018 Tour de Ski on Saturday in Val di Fiemme, Italy, with (front row, left to right) Canada’s Alex Harvey, Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov, Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin, Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby, and Switzerland’s Dario Cologna. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)

    Beginning this Saturday in Toblach, Italy with a freestyle sprint is the 13th edition of the Tour de Ski (TdS). According to the International Ski Federation (FIS), over the course of seven stages the men will race 80.918 kilometers, the women 60.67 k. 

    The TdS has become both a staple and a spectacle of the annual World Cup calendar. With a jam-packed series of races primacy is placed on both the ability to recover well and wither less as the TdS transpires.

    Prognostication can be tricky in a long-form template like the TdS. So much can go astray during seven races not to mention the travel and dicey germ-avoidance. 

    Last season’s winner on the women’s side, Heidi Weng of Norway, sits 18th overall in the World Cup standings (14th in distance). She has four top-20’s in the four distance events she’s contested with her best result an eighth in Lillehammer’s 10 k skate. Although featuring two sprints in the first three stages, the TdS remains a distance skier’s paradise.

    Weng has skied solidly on the World Cup, but she has yet to show the form that made her a TdS overall winner in 2017 and 2018. Norway has won the last five iterations of the TdS: Marit Bjørgen won once in 2014/2015, Therese Johaug twice (2013/2014, 2015/2016), and Weng the last two years.

    Austria’s Teresa Stadlober leads Norway’s Heidi Weng (2) and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, American Jessie Diggins (3) and others around a downhill corner during the women’s 10 k classic mass start at Stage 6 of the 2018 Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

     

    If Norway is to keep the streak alive, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, last year’s TdS runner up, could be the heir apparent. She currently ranks second in the World Cup overall and 15th on the sprint list.

    Johaug, having returned from an 18 month doping ban, has been on a distance race tear. She has won all five World Cup distance events this season. Johaug, however, will not be lining up for the TdS.

    Only five different women have earned distance podiums this season — Johaug, Østberg, Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla and Ebba Andersson, and Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski. Along with Johaug, Kalla and Andersson are skipping the TdS. (Andersson sits third overall on the World Cup, Kalla fifth.) With the TdS missing three of the five top ranked World Cup distance skiers, daily stages and the overall podium are up for grabs.   

    Last season’s third overall finisher, Jessie Diggins of the U.S. Ski Team (USST), often cites the TdS as a point in the season when her form trends towards podium performances. She sits eighth in the current distance standings and could very well have a stout TdS. 

    Russia’s Natalia Belorukova and Yulia Nepryaeva look strong as does Sadie Bjornsen (USST), and Austria’s Teresa Stadlober.

    With less than predictable distance stage podiums for the women, it may simply come down to a drag race on the Alpe Cermis final climb Jan. 6.

    Switzerland’s Dario Cologna (c) celebrates his fourth Tour de Ski overall title. He was joined by Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby (l) and Canada’s Alex Harvey (r) on the podium in second and third, respectively. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

     

    The men’s scene is also open to interpretation. Last season’s TdS winner, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna, was in fact a surprise victor. Prior to Cologna’s stage two win in last year’s TdS, it had been nearly three years since the four time TdS overall winner had won a World Cup. Cologna sits 21st overall on the World Cup currently. Given last year’s resurgence, anything is possible for the Swiss skier.

    Then there’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby form Norway. He finished on the TdS podium the last three years. At thirty-four-years-old, Sundby is ranked first on the distance list, with a second, a third, and a fourth place in distance races this season.

    Sundby won the TdS on two occasions – in 2013/2014 and in 2016. His 2015 win was stripped after he tested positive for excessive levels of Salbutamol. He placed second in the past two Tours.

    In a field rife with talent, Sundby’s ability to race and rebound and race and rebound will be tested. Sjur Røthe, Emil Iversen, and Didrik Tønseth— all from Norway— look in form. And there’s Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. The winner of last season’s overall World Cup has had flashes of his past explosive self. He could be a TdS protagonist.

    The men’s field is notably tight. Along with the Norwegians, several Russians could pop a podium, a stage win, and the overall. Russia comes with a loaded team ready to exploit. Alexander Bolshunov leads the overall World Cup – he’ll turn twenty two on Dec. 31st. He’s backed by teammates Evgeniy Belov, Andrey Melnichenko, and Denis Spitsov. 

    Canada’s Alex Harvey placed third overall last year and he looked stronger as the TdS progressed.

    The Stages

    Stage 1:  Dec. 29, skate sprint in Toblach, Italy.

    Stage 2: Dec. 30, 10 k/15 k skate in Toblach, Italy.

    Stage 3: Jan. 1, skate sprint in Val Müstair, Switzerland.

    Stage 4: Jan. 2, 10 k/15 k classic mass start in Oberstdorf, Germany.

    Stage 5: Jan. 3, 10 k/15 k skate pursuit in Oberstdorf, Germany.

    Stage 6: Jan. 5th, 10 k/15 k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

    Stage 7: Jan 6th, 9 k final climb skate pursuit in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

    Teams

    United States

    Women: Sophie Caldwell, Sadie Bjornsen, Jessie Diggins.

    Men: Ben Lustgarten, Simi Hamilton, Erik Bjornsen, Kevin Bolger.

    U.S. Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover noted in a text that Caldwell, Hamilton, and Bolger will likely cease the TdS after the stage three sprint. Additionally, this is a small team for the U.S. at the TdS. Several athletes turned down TdS nominations including Scott Patterson (USST), Andy Newell (SMS T2/Salomon), Kyle Bratrud (SMS T2), Rosie Brennan (APU), Rosie Frankowski (APU), Caitlin Patterson (CGRP), and Julia Kern (SMS T2). These skiers plan on racing U.S. Nationals this January in Craftsbury, Vermont.

    Canada

    Women: Emily Nishikawa, Dahria Beatty

    Men: Alex Harvey, Lenny Valjas, Bob Thompson

    Norway

    Women: Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, Maiken Caspersen Falla, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, Kari Øyre Slind, Kathrine Rolsted Harsem, Heidi Weng, Lotta Udnes Weng, Tiril Udnes Weng Mari Eide, Anna Svendsen

    Men: Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Hans Christer Holund, Emil Iversen, Didrik Tønseth, Simen Hegstad, Krüger, Sjur Røthe, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget, Eirik Brandsdal, Finn Hågen Krogh

    Russia

    Women: Yulia Belorukova, Lidia Durkina, Anna Zherebyateva, Mariya Istomina, Natalia Nepryaeva, Anna Nechaevskaya, Anastasia Sedova, Elena Soboleva

    Men: Evgeniy Belov, Alexander Bolshunov, Maxim Vylegzhanin, Andrey Larkov, Andrey Melnichenko,  Gleb Retivykh, Andrey Sobakarev, Denis Spitsov, Sergey Ustiugov

    Sweden

    Women: Mia Eriksson, Ida Ingemarsdotter, Moa Molander Kristiansen, Stina Nilsson, Maria Nordström, Linn Sömskar, Lisa Vinsa

    Men: Calle Halfvarsson, Simon Lageson, Teodor Peterson, Daniel Rickardsson, Oskar Svensson, Viktor Thorn, Karl Johan Westberg

    Finland

    Women: Mari Eder, Anne Kyllönen, Laura Mononen, Krista Pärmäkoski, Susanna Saapunki

    Men: Ristomatti Hakola, Matti Heikkinen, Lauri Vuorinen

    Italy

    Women: Elisa Brocard, Anna Comarella, Ilaria Debertolis, Caterina Ganz, Greta Laurent, Sara Pellegrini, Lucia Scardoni

    Men: Francesco de Fabiani, Stefano Gardener, Enrico Nizzo, Dietmar Noeckler, Federico Pellegrino, Maicol Rastelli, Giandomenico Salvadori

    Switzerland

    Women: Nathalie von Siebenthal, Laurien van der Graaff, Nadine Fähndrich

    Men: Dario Cologna, and Jovian Hediger, Jonas Baumann, Livio Bieler, Roman Furger, Käser Erwanm, Beda Klee, Toni Livers, Jason Rüesch, Schaad Roman

    Austria

    Women: Therese Stadlober

    Germany

    Women: Julia Belger, Victoria Carl, Pia Fink, Laura Gimmler, Katharina Hennig, Sandra Ringwald, Elisabeth Schicho, Anne Winkler

    Men: Thomas Bing, Lucas Bögl, Janosch Brugger, Jonas Dobler, Sebastian Eisenlauer, Andreas Katz, Valentin Mättig, Florian Notz, Max Olex, Thomas Wick

    France

    Women: Anouk Faivre Picon, Delphine Claudel, Laura Chamiot-Maitral

    Men: Maurice Manificat, Lucas Chanavat, Adrien Backscheider, Jean-Marc Gaillard, Baptiste Gros, Renaud Jay, Richard Jouve, Jules Lapierre, Clement Parisse

    FasterSkier will update team start lists as we gather more information.

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  • World Cup Preview: #3 Russia

    World Cup Preview: #3 Russia

    Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov leads five Norwegians in the men’s classic sprint final at the World Cup in Drammen, Norway: (from l to r) Eriik Brandsdal, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (yellow bib), Sindre Bjørnestad Skar (10), Kasper Stadaas (16), and Emil Iversen. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    Welcome to FasterSkier’s World Cup Preview, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts. The World Cup begins with a classic sprint in Ruka, Finland on Nov. 24th.

    ***

    Russia

    Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 3rd

    Women’s Ranking 2017/2018: 5th

    Men’s Ranking 2017/2018: 2nd

    Russians to Watch:

    For several years the attention grabbing fact about Russia was the morass of allegations and findings regarding rampant doping.

    The bureaucratic seesaw teetering and tottering prior to the 2018 PyeongChang Games boiled down to will they or won’t they. As in, will Russian athletes be able to compete?

    The International Olympic Committee (IOC) did ban some athletes, including 26-year-old multiple World Champion Sergey Ustiugov for his links to Sochi doping. Ustiugov skied through the January 28, Seefeld, Austria World Cup races. By then he had collected six podiums.

    The Russian Federation was banned outright from the Games; it’s athletes competed under the IOC flag as Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR).

    The taint on competing Russian cross-country athletes last season was palpable. Clean or not, there was a sense of guilt by association. They must be a tough lot. Whatever psychic baggage the Russians carried as part of a shunned team, their collective results at the Olympics didn’t skip a beat. The same goes for the World Cup, where the group landed third overall in the Nation’s Cup.

    A cadre of young Russian skiers propelled themselves into medal position. There was  22-year-old Denis Spitsov who missed a bronze in the Olympic 30 k skiathlon by less than three seconds. He placed third in the Holmenkollen 50 k skate.

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    Remove a Ustiugov from the picture and insert a 21-year-old Alexander Bolshunov.

    Bolshunov skied like a decade-long-veteran on the World Cup, earning three silvers and a bronze in his first Olympics. His versatility was on display in PyeongChang. He silvered in the team sprint and won bronze in the classic sprint. He proved his mix of slow and fast twitch muscle fiber — paired with a massive engine — could propel him in the 50 k classic too. He won silver in an off-the-front dual with Finland’s Iivo Niskanen.

    The Russian men won silver in the PyeongChang 4 x 10 k relay.

    By season’s end, Bolshunov was fifth overall in the World Cup standings. Added into Russia’s overall mix, Alexey Chervotkin was 11th overall, Usitugov 12th, Andrey Larkov 18th, Spitsov 20th, Maxim Vylegzhanin 27th, and Gleb Retivykh 30th.

    Count them up, that’s seven men in the top-30 of the World Cup overall. Deep is deep.

    Maiken Caspersen Falla (NOR), Yulia Belorukova (RUS), (l-r) during the 2018 FIS world cup cross-country, individual sprint, Planica, Slovenia. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    The Russian women had three athletes in the top-30 overall. Natalia Nepryaeva was ranked 13th, Anastasia Sedova 16th, and Yulia Belorukova 29th.

    Nepryaeva, at twenty three years old, had three top-five finishes on the World Cup including a second place in Lahti’s 10 k classic. She placed fourth in the Olympic classic sprint and eighth in the 15 k skiathlon. Also at twenty-three-years-old, Belorukova podiumed on several occasions in World Cup sprints, and won bronze in the Olympic classic sprint.

    In the Games 4 x 5 k relay, Nepryaeva, Belorukova, Sedova, and Anna Nechaevskaya, were third for Russia.

    Beginning a new Olympic quadrennial, many years removed from Sochi but its dark-sided impacts still relatively fresh, Russia has new faces on the scene. The Russian Ski Federation appears that it can plug and play as it moves athletes into its winning pipeline.

    WADA recently reinstated RUSADA as an anti-doping agency in good standing under it’s watchdog umbrella. The political maneuvering involving Russia and WADA is most likely not over. However, In 2018/2019, Russia has young, but World Cup experienced skiers.

  • Saturday Olympic Rundown: Norway Tops Women’s Relay, U.S. 5th; Kuzmina Dominates Mass Start

    Saturday Olympic Rundown: Norway Tops Women’s Relay, U.S. 5th; Kuzmina Dominates Mass Start

    Norway won the women’s 4 x 5 k relay, with Sweden taking silver and Russia bronze. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

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

    2018 Winter Olympics (PyeongChang, South Korea): Women’s 4 x 5 k Relay

    International report

    North American report

    It wasn’t the wire-to-wire triumph that Norway sometimes achieves, but the pre-race favorites got the job done despite a scare midway through, thanks to dominant skiing by Ragnhild Haga and smooth strength from anchor Marit Bjørgen.

    Norway took gold in the 4 x 5 k relay by two seconds over Sweden in 51:24.3 minutes. Olympic Athletes from Russia took bronze (+43.3), Finland fourth (+1:02.6), and the United States fifth (+1:20.5).

    The first leg went out with Natalia Nepryaeva of Russia setting a blistering pace, fracturing the field almost immediately. A number of racers tried to stay with her only to get shot off the back of the pack. Taking a different pacing strategy, Slovenia’s Anamarija Lampic made up ground in the final section of the first leg to tag off in second, with Norways’ Ingvild Flugstad Østeberg third, all within a few seconds of each other.

    Part of Nepryaeva’s fracturing of the field led to U.S. lead skier Sophie Caldwell getting dropped, to tag off 1:01.5 minutes back in 11th place.

    In the second leg, Charlotte Kalla of Sweden and Kerttu Niskanen of Finland clocked the fastest times, making up 24.4 and 9.9 seconds that had been lost to Russia and Norway by their teammates Anna Haag and Aino Kaisa Saarinen, respectively. In the meantime, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen of Norway had a disastrous relay leg and notched just the eighth-fastest split time, falling to fourth.

    Yulia Belorukova of Russia continued to lead the race on that second leg, but Kalla tagged off at the end of the classic portion just 1.4 seconds back, and Niskanen in third (+10.1). Sadie Bjornsen made up three places to tag off in eighth (+1:05.2).

    Jacobsen tagged Haga 29.8 seconds out of first. From that point, Haga gradually reeled in the leaders over the course of the 5 k skate leg. It was an absolutely dominant performance, with the fastest split time by 24.7 seconds in a less than 12-minute race.

    Sweden’s Ebba Andersson led Russia’s Anastasia Sedova for the whole leg and stayed clear of the field, but Haga — the gold medalist in the 10 k skate — made up enough ground to finish her effort in third, 3.4 seconds back.

    That was more than enough for Bjørgen to work with, and she and Swedish anchor Stina Nilsson quickly dropped Anna Nechaevskaya of Russia and set off on their personal duel for gold. Bjørgen led the whole way, but could not make any decisive move to drop the Swede. Instead, over the top of the climb she had about a second, which Nilsson could not close on the downhill or the final flats into the finishing straight: gradually, Bjørgen just added a meter and another to her lead and crossed the line with gold.

    Nechaevskaya continued to lose time on the leaders, but still held on to bronze. Krista Pärmäkoski skied an aggressive effort for Finland to pass the team from Switzerland, which had been in fourth after strong legs from Laurien van der Graaff, Nadine Fähndrich, and Nathalie von Siebenthal. But 21-year-old Lydia Hiernickel was unable to keep the pace and Switzerland dropped to seventh by the finish, getting passed by not only Parmakoski and Jessie Diggins, but also Sandra Ringwald of Germany. The Germans finished sixth (+1:49.4) and Switzerland seventh (+1:51.5).

    Kikkan Randall had skied the third-fastest split of the field (behind Haga and Andersson) in the third leg to bring the U.S. into sixth, and Diggins also skied the third-fastest split (behind Bjørgen and Nilsson) for her leg to bring the team up to fifth at the finish.

    The Canadian team of Dahria Beatty, Emily Nishikawa, Cendrine Browne, and Anne-Marie Comeau placed 13th (+4:50.3) of 14 teams.

    Results

    ***

    The women’s biathlon 12.5 k mass start medalists at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, with Slovakia’s Anastasiya Kuzmina (c) in first, Belarus’s Darya Domracheva (l) in second, and Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff (r) in third. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    Biathlon: Women’s 12.5 k mass start

    Full report

    Not even a miss in the final stage could keep Slovakia’s Anastasiya Kuzmina from her third medal of the 2018 Olympics, this time gold, in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start on Saturday at the Alpensia Biathlon Center.

    Kuzmina took charge early in the five-loop race, leading Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier into the range for the first prone shooting stage. There, Kuzmina cleaned all five targets quickly to get back out on course in first, while Dahlmeier missed one to slip out of the top 20, while several other athletes cleaned.

    Kuzmina went on to hit every target over the next two shooting stages to distance herself from second place, and even with a miss on the last standing stage, she left the range 24.7 seconds clear of Darya Domracheva of Belarus in second.

    Domracheva had put herself in second with clean shooting in the first two stages, then dropped to fifth with a miss on the third stage. Italy’s Dorothea Wierer was up to second by the fourth shooting after three clean stages, then fell back to seventh with a miss on the last standing.

    There, Domracheva cleaned to get back into silver-medal contention, 9.3 seconds ahead of Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff in third.

    Heading into the final downhill into the stadium, Kuzmina had enough time to grab a flag from one of her team’s staff members running alongside the trail. She crossed the finish line first in 35:23.0 minutes without anyone close for her third-career Olympic gold (after winning the sprint at the 2010 and 2014 Games).

    Domracheva skied on her own to second, 18.8 seconds behind, for her first medal of the 2018 Games (and fifth of her career after winning three races at the 2014 Olympics).

    Eckhoff, who had skied two penalty laps, took third, 27.7 seconds behind Kuzmina, while Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi held off Sweden’s Hanna Öberg, Wierer and Belarus’s Nadezhda Skardino for fourth place (+45.6). Öberg placed fifth (+46.5), Wierer was sixth (+47.3), and Skardino seventh (+47.9), ahead of Norway’s Marte Olsbu in eighth (+51.6), France’s Marie Dorin Habert in ninth (+57.9) and Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen in 10th (+1:00.9). Dahlmeier, who had won two races and placed third in another at these Olympics, finished 16th (+1:47.1) with two penalties (1+1+0+0).

    No North Americans qualified for the mass start.

    Results

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

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

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

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

    Full report

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

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

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

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

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

    Results

    ***

    Biathlon: Women’s 15 k individual

    Full report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Results

    ***

    Cross-Country Skiing: Women’s 10 k freestyle

    Full report

    Quotes & photos

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Results

     

  • Friday Rundown: U23 Worlds Skiathlons; Eastern Canadian Champs

    Friday Rundown: U23 Worlds Skiathlons; Eastern Canadian Champs

    Russia’s Denis Spitsov celebrates his first U23 World Championships gold on Friday ahead of France’s Jules Lapierre in the men’s 30 k skiathlon in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)

    (Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Americans Lauren Jortberg and Ian Torchia.)

    U23 World Championships (Goms, Switzerland): 15/30 k skiathlons

    On the final day of U23 World Championships racing in Goms, Russia stole the show in the women’s and men’s skiathlons.

    The all-Russian women’s 15 k skiathlon podium at U23 World Championships on Friday in Goms, Switzerland, with Anastasia Sedova (c) in first, Natalia Nepryaeva (l) in second and Yulia Belorukova (r) in third. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)

    Anastasia Sedova led them in the first race of the day on Friday, the women’s 15-kilometer skiathlon, which she won in 44:03.6 minutes. Russia swept the podium and had four in the top five with Natalia Nepryaeva in second (+10.7) and Yana Kirpichenko in third (+37.2), and Yulia Belorukova in fourth (+1:58.0). Germany’s Pia Fink placed fourth (+1:33.5).

    The race was the first of the week for the 22-year-old Sedova, a World Cup regular, and it was her second individual gold medal at her second U23 World Championships (she won the 10 k classic in 2016).

    “Good preparation for the Olympic Games,” Sedova said during an in-arena interview after the race. “I am very lucky today. Good atmosphere, good weather today.”

    Kirpichenko won the 10 k classic earlier this week and Nepryaeva placed third in the freestyle sprint in Goms.

    “It’s hard to say how to describe the race, but Anastasia is a really good skier,” Nepryaeva said after. “She was really good today. So for me it was hard to support her during the race. Today she was much better than me.”

    American Lauren Jortberg (Dartmouth Ski Team) led the North Americans in 29th (+5:29.9) for her best distance result at the Junior/U23 World Championships level.

    “Early in the race I was right over 30th place, and I was trying to maintain contact with the big group ahead of me,” Jortberg, a Dartmouth sophomore from Boulder, Colorado, wrote in an email. “The pace of the classic leg was really fast. A couple of the girls in the race are heading to the Olympics in a few days so it was a really hot start!”

    She came through the transition at the race’s halfway point in 31st, about 3:47 behind the leaders.

    “I am a much better skater so I felt like I really put the hammer down on the skate leg and moved up a lot,” Jortberg wrote. “The skate course was much easier than the classic course, but I feel like I skied the massive climbs better than the girls around me. I focused on having a really high tempo over the hills and skiing the downhills technically well because there was no rest on the course.

    “I’m pleased with my performance today, and I’m excited about my results this week as a whole,” she added. “I’m definitely leaving here hungry for more because I don’t think it was my best week, but I think it was really solid. This is the most competitive field I’ve ever raced against so it feels really good to know that I’m not too far off their level!”

     

    Also for the U.S., Lydia Blanchet placed 38th (+7:11.1) and Nicole Schneider was 40th (+8:04.3). Julia Kern did not finish.

    Canada’s Katherine Stewart-Jones (Canadian National U25 Team/NTDC Thunder Bay) placed 31st (+5:39.0) and Maya MacIsaac-Jones was 42nd (+8:08.8), while Laura Leclair and Sophie Carrier-Laforte were lapped.

    Russia’s Denis Spitsov leads France’s Jules Lapierre during the men’s 30 k skiathlon on Friday at 2018 U23 World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. Spitsov went on to win by 2.9 seconds over Lapierre. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)

    In the men’s 30 k, Russia’s Denis Spitsov took the win in 1:18:14.9 hours, just 2.9 seconds ahead of France’s Jules Lapierre. Norway’s Ole Jørgen Bruvoll placed third (+21.5), ahead of Russia’s Ivan Yakimushkin in fourth (+23.2), and Andorra’s Irineu Esteve Altimiras in fifth (+36.4).

    The gold was the first for Spitsov, 21, who previously placed second in the 15 k classic earlier this week. He has two individual bronze medals from last year’s U23 Worlds (in the 30 k skiathlon and 15 k freestyle).

    American Ian Torchia (U.S. Ski Team/Northern Michigan University) placed 27th on Friday (+6:05.7). Only 33 men finished, and he was the only North American that didn’t get lapped.

    “Between the 3700 feet of climbing, a 2.5km loop, and the top dogs having World Cup podiums…half the field got lapped,” Torchia wrote in an email. “Definitely added some motivation in the final 2 laps to see Spitsov and Lapierre slowly catching up.

    “I felt I skied technically better in skate and struggled on the classic leg,” Torchia explained. “Took a hard tumble halfway through the classic leg and had to take half a lap to recover from that. Found a hole in my suit close to my groin afterward which was a little unnerving!”

    At the end of the week, he noted that he felt “more fired up than coming in. Funny how being 6 minutes back can do that,” he wrote. “It was an eye-opening experience to get back on the international stage after 2 years and I will take these lessons of racing to the rest of the season in the Ishpemimg Super Tour, Steamboat NCAA’s, and Craftsbury Spring Series. Also already thinking of ideas on how to change and optimize my training to make the jump to the top level.”

    Americans Andrew Egger, Zak Ketterson and Thomas O’Harra also competed, as did Canada’s Alexis Dumas, Gareth Williams, Philippe Boucher, and Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier.

    Results: Women | Men 

    ***

    Stratton’s Ben Saxton (l) edging Julien Locke (r) by eight-hundredths of a second for the win in the men’s 1.4 k classic sprint A-final on Friday at Eastern Canadian Championships in Gatineau, Quebec. (Photo: Becca Rorabaugh (APU) on her way to winning the women’s 1.3 k classic sprint qualifier on Friday at 2018 Eastern Canadian Championships in Gatineau, Quebec. (Photo: Rob Smith/CCC)

    NorAm Eastern Canadian Championships (Gatineau, Quebec): Classic sprints

    Eastern Canadian Championships opened in Gatineau on Friday with classic sprinting, and Americans Becca Rorabaugh and Ben Saxton ended the day with wins in the women’s and men’s A-finals, respectively.

    Becca Rorabaugh (APU) on her way to winning the women’s 1.3 k classic sprint qualifier on Friday at 2018 Eastern Canadian Championships in Gatineau, Quebec. (Photo: Rob Smith/CCC)

    For Rorabaugh, the win is her second straight after the Alaska Pacific University (APU) skier won the women’s 5-kilometer freestyle at last weekend’s SuperTour in Craftsbury, Vermont. She edged last weekend’s classic-sprint winner, Kaitlynn Miller, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP), by 0.41 seconds for the win in 3:23.15 minutes in Friday’s 1.3 k classic sprint final. It was an all-American podium (and all-American final) with Erika Flowers, of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team, just another three-hundredths of a second back in third (+0.44). Liz Guiney (CGRP) followed in fourth (+2.51), Rosie Frankowski (APU) was fifth (+3.88), and Corey Stock (Bridger Ski Foundation) placed sixth (+6.1).

    Rorabaugh had started the day by qualifying first in 3:26.95, then won both her quarterfinal and semifinal. Miller qualified third and won her quarterfinal and semifinal as well.

    In the men’s 1.4 k classic sprint, Saxton (SMST2) nipped Julien Locke (Canadian U25 Team/Black Jack) at the line by 0.08 seconds for the win in 3:04.54. Patrick Stewart-Jones (Alberta World Cup Academy) placed third (+5.53), Kris Freeman (Caldwell Sport) was fourth (+5.94), Kevin Bolger (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) fifth (+7.42), and Julian Smith (NTDC Thunder Bay) sixth (+11.63).

    Locke initially won the qualifier in 3:08.37, then won the first quarterfinal and first semifinal as well. Saxton qualified sixth, then advanced in second in his quarterfinal about a second behind Smith, and Saxton won the second semifinal.

    Easterns continue Saturday with 10/15 k freestyle races and conclude Sunday with 10/15 k classic pursuits.

    Results: Qualifier | Heats

  • Russian Olympians Announced: 12 Skiers, Four Biathletes to PyeongChang

    The Russian men finishing in unison to take first, second and third in the men’s 30 k skiathlon, the final race of 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Alexander Bolshunov (8) was deemed the winner, Alexey Chervotkin (1) was second, and Denis Spitsov (11) third. All three will be going to the 2018 Olympics. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    Earlier this week it was announced that cross-country skier Sergey Ustiugov and biathlete Anton Shipulin were among the Russian athletes excluded from the 2018 Olympic Games coming up in PyeongChang, South Korea, next month.

    The question arose: just who would be representing Russia?

    The list of the 169 athletes on the “Olympic Athletes of Russia” team (which is not supposed to be confused with the Russian Olympic Team, which has been banned) has now been released.

    For nordic sports, no athletes who had competed in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia – where the anti-doping process was manipulated to protect Russian athletes who had used banned performance-enhancing drugs – are included.

    The cross-country ski team is nevertheless reasonably full. According to the Russian Ski Federation, the athletes set to compete are Alexander Bolshunov, Alexei Vitsenko, Andrei Larkov, Andrei Melnichenko, Alexander Panzhinsky, Denis Spitsov, Alexei Chervotkin, Julia Belorukova, Alisa Zhambalova, Natalia Nepryaeva, Anna Nechaevskaya, and Anastasia Sedova.

    Russia’s Ekaterina Yurlova reacts after sealing her first career victory and podium on the World Cup level at IBU World Championships in the women’s 15 k individual in Kontiolahti, Finland. Yurlova will not be PyeongChang. (Photo: Kontiolahden Urheilijat/Kari Kuninkaanniemi)

    The team size of five women and seven men is nearly identical to the team size from 2014, when five women and eight men represented Russia. Six of those 13 athletes who competed in Sochi have since been disqualified for doping.

    For biathlon, the team for PyeongChang is tiny: just four athletes, two men and two women. According to the Russian Biathlon Union, Anton Babikov, Matvei Eliseev, Uliana Kaisheva, and Tatyana Akimova have been invited to PyeongChang. They can thus form a mixed relay team but Russia will be out of both the men’s and women’s relay competitions.

    The International Olympic Committee (IOC) released information this week about how the list of invited athletes had been chosen. Some criteria were as expected: it had been previously announced that no athletes who had previously served doping suspensions would be on the list, barring biathletes Irina Starykh and Alexander Loginov as well as cross-country skier Natalia Matveeva.

    “I think that the current situation around the Games is not easy, but we are Russian, and we will all survive,” Loginov – who just today won a silver medal in the sprint at Open European Championships – said in a Russian Biathlon Union press release (according to a translation). “I will sincerely support our guys who are going to the Olympics. ”

    If an athlete’s name appeared on the “Duchess List”, a list of athletes allegedly receiving performance-enhancing drugs and whose anti-doping samples were covered up or manipulated, then that was also a disqualification, as expected.

    But the IOC also used more evidence, for instance the Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS), a database which was copied from the Moscow anti-doping laboratory by a whistleblower and delivered to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The IOC relied, too, on information from international winter sports federations, checked Russian athletes’ whereabouts reports for discrepancies, and re-tested all previously collected anti-doping samples.

    Finally, the IOC used “intelligence extracted from WADA’s ‘Speak-up’ whistleblower programme and other sources.”

    The women’s podium for the first race of the 2017/2018 World Cup season, the Ruka classic sprint in Kuusamo, Finland, with (from right to left) American Sadie Bjornsen in second, Sweden’s Stina Nilsson in first, and Russia’s Yulia Belorukova in third. (photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)

    For most of the athletes who were expected to represent Russia but were then found to be excluded – like Ustiugov and Shipulin – it is not known which one of these information sources led to them being disinvited from PyeongChang.

    Additional notable absences are Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht, the 2015 World Champion biathlete in the 15 k individual, and Gleb Retivykh, who made the sprint finals in both of the last two cross-country World Cup weekends.

    Instead, the Russian biathlon team will feature two World Cup podium finishers: Babikov, who won a World Cup and was part of Russia’s gold-medal winning men’s relay team at 2017 World Championships, and Akimova, who likewise has a win and a third-place World Cup finish to her name.

    Those two have each competed in two World Championships. Neither Kaisheva nor Eliseev have ever competed in a senior World Championships. Eliseev has three World Cup top-tens in his career.

    The cross-country team’s biggest stars will be its rising U23 athletes: Bolshunov, Chervotkin, Spitsov, Belorukova, Sedova, and Nepryaeva. All have their own collections of World Cup top-tens this season, including podiums by Belorukova and Bolshunov, and Sedova’s seventh-place finish in the multi-stage Tour de Ski.

    Much older is Larkov, who also had a World Cup podium this season and was a member of Russia’s 2015 and 2017 World Championships teams, and 2010 Olympic sprint silver medalist Panzhinsky.

  • Sunday Rundown: U.S. Nationals; Tour de Ski Finale; Oberhof Relays

    Sunday Rundown: U.S. Nationals; Tour de Ski Finale; Oberhof Relays

    APU’s Tyler Kornfield (126) leads APU’s Eric Packer (118) and DU’s Eivind Romberg Kvaale (124) to the line in the men’s 30 k classic mass start at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships on Sunday in Anchorage, Alaska. Kornfield, Packer, and Kvaale finished first, second and third, respectively. Kris Freeman (10, second from left) was fourth overall and the third American.

    U.S. Cross Country Championships (Anchorage, Alaska): 20/30 k classic mass starts

    Men’s report

    Women’s report

    Sweden’s Hedda Bångman denied Caitlin Patterson of her first outright victory of the week at 2018 U.S. Cross Country Championships, but Patterson as the first American racked up her third-straight national title in the women’s 20-kilometer classic mass start at Kincaid Park on Sunday in Anchorage, Alaska.

    The top-three Americans in the women’s 20 k classic mass start on Sunday at 2018 U.S. nationals in Anchorage, Alaska, with Caitlin Patterson (1) of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) in first, Rosie Frankowski of APU (l) in second, and Kaitlynn Miller (r) of CRGP in third.

    Bångman, a 22-year-old freshman at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU), pulled off a 15.9-second win in the mass start, crossing the line in 1:00:55.3 hours. Patterson, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP), finished second, but was the top American in the event for the third time this week, and Rosie Frankowski, of Alaska Pacific University (APU), notched third (second American), 19.6 seconds back.

    Rounding out the top 10 was Jessica Yeaton, who trains with APU and races for Australia, in fourth (+44.1), Kaitlynn Miller (CGRP) as the third American in fifth overall (+1:13.5), Alayna Sonnesyn of the University of Vermont (UVM) in sixth (+1:25.3), Chelsea Holmes (APU) in seventh (+1:55.4), Norwegian CU skiers Christina Rolandson and Anne Siri Lervik in eighth (+1:55.7) and ninth (+1:56.1), respectively, and Erika Flowers of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team in 10th (+2:14.6).

    The men’s 30 k classic mass start was incredibly close, with APU’s Tyler Kornfield taking his first-ever distance national title (he was the 2012 classic sprint national champion) in 1:21:43.6. He edged his teammate Eric Packer by 0.7 seconds at the line, and Eivind Romberg Kvaale, a sophomore at the University of Denver (DU), finished 1 seconds back in third.

    Kris Freeman (Caldwell Sport) was just off the overall podium in fourth (+1.6), but was the third American. Another DU skier, Dag Frode Trollebø, also from Norway, finished fifth (+2.0), and APU had three in the top six with David Norris in sixth (+2.5). Noah Hoffman (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) finished seventh (+2.6), Scott Patterson (APU) eighth (+3.6), and Craftsbury’s Adam Martin and Ben Lustgarten followed in  ninth (+14.7) and 10th (+14.9), respectively. With Brian Gregg (CXC/LNR/Team Gregg) in 11th (+16.1), the men’s top 11 were separated by less than 17 seconds.

    Results: Women | Men

    ***

    IBU World Cup (Oberhof, Germany): Men’s and women’s relays

    Racers on the range during the men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay on a foggy Sunday at the IBU World Cup in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    The Swedish men’s team and French women won the second relays of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup season on Sunday, with Sweden winning the men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay by 1:10.8 over Italy, and France besting Germany by 32.4 seconds.

    Notably, most of the top teams didn’t start all of their “A” teamers.

    In the men’s race, Sweden’s Martin Ponsiluoma, Jesper Nelin, Sebastian Samuelsson, and Fredrik Lindström combined for their first win together — and the first win for most of the members on the team.

    “It is a dream when you are a kid to compete in a World Cup,” Samuelsson said, according to an IBU press release. “To have a win is really amazing!”

    The Swedish women’s team also landed on the podium in third (+48.2).

    “What a race by the whole team,” said Lindström, who also has one non-relay World Cup win (from 2012) to his name. “It could not be better.”

    Conditions could not have been much more difficult for shooting on Sunday, with the fog that had descended early in the day for the women’s race worsening for the men’s race. When there wasn’t fog, there was wind.

    Misses were common throughout the two races, and even with racers being able to use three spares per shooting stage to clean, there were a high number of penalty laps.

    But the Swedish men kept their penalties to a minimum, with just one for the entire team and a total of nine spare rounds used among them. After Ponsiluoma came through the first exchange in sixth, Nelin skied them into third, Samuelsson picked off another place despite skiing a penalty after his standing stage to put them in second, and Lindström anchored them to first.

    “The conditions today were so special. Somehow I felt not so nervous, I was calm and had luck on my side,” Lindström said at a post-race press conference about his nearly flawless shooting (0+0; 0+1).

    “I have never [been first] before,” he added. “Not like this in a relay at least. That’s really fantastic.”

    “I had to look up to see if I was aiming the right way,” Nelin said after cleaning prone (0+0) then using two spares to clean standing (0+2). “I had no idea where I was aiming, so it was really difficult. But I hit, and it was good. Maybe these conditions fit me and I should never see anything.”

    Italy placed second with Thomas Bormolini, Lukas Hofer, Dominik Windisch, and Thierry Chenal combining for two penalties and 11 spares. Hofer had skied them up from eighth to second, and Windisch then took the lead on the third leg to put them in first at the final exchange, 1 minute ahead of Sweden. But Chenal slipped with the seventh-fastest last leg time and a penalty after standing.

    “Being on the podium with the team is always a special feeling,” Hofer said at the press conference. “For Thierry, it’s the first year in the World Cup, and he does a really good job, not just today. I am really happy that he could close out this relay. Second place is like a win for us.”

    Norway placed third (+2:04.6) with Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen, Henrik L’Abée-Lund, Lars Helge Birkeland, and Tarjei Bø. Together, they had three penalties (two from L’Abée-Lund and one from Birkeland) and 14 spares.

    “I grew up on Holmenkollen so I practiced a lot there [in fog],” L’Abée-Lund said. “But today was really really hard, I didn’t see anything in prone. Standing was OK, but prone was really difficult.”

    “It’s great to be on the podium,” Christiansen said. “Of course Norway always wants to win, but today we are very happy for our brothers in our neighbor-country Sweden.”

    The Canadian men placed 10th (+6:23.1) out of 25 teams with Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Brendan Green, and Carsen Campbell having a combined six penalties and 20 spares. Three of those penalties came on Scott Gow’s second leg, two from Campbell’s anchor leg, and one on Christian Gow’s first leg.

    After a penalty on his first prone stage (1+3), Christian cleaned standing with a spare (0+1) and tagged Scott in 11th, 53 seconds out of first. Scott then had two penalties in prone and three in standing, but managed to improve to eighth given how much everyone else was struggling with the shooting as well. Green kept them in eighth with two clean stages (0+2, 0+3), and Campbell, in his first World Cup relay, cleaned prone (0+2) but had two standing penalties (2+3) to put the team in 10th at the finish.

    In an interview with German broadcaster ARD halfway through the race, Canadian coach Matthias Ahrens called the range conditions, which ranged from thick fog to unpredictable wind, “very hard to assess.”

    “… To be honest, the good thing was that conditions were very bad,” he later added. “So regarding visibility, almost everyone was on the range at the same time [with the same irregular conditions]. They had to wait very long, and of course had bad conditions to shoot, but much of the field was there at the same time.”

    The French women’s team, of Anais Bescond, Anais Chevalier, Celia Aymonier, and Justine Braisaz, celebrate their relay victory on Sunday at the IBU World Cup in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    In the women’s race, with better shooting visibility, France’s Anais Bescond, Anais Chevalier, Celia Aymonier, and Justine Braisaz took the win in 1:12.42.4, with one penalty and 10 spares. After Bescond put them in first through the first exchange, 6 seconds ahead of Italy in second, Chevalier had to ski a penalty loop after prone but cleaned standings (1+3, 0+0) and tagged off in second, 23 seconds behind Italy, now in first.

    One loop later, France was back in first thanks to Aymonier, who cleaned with just two spares (0+0, 0+2), and they extended their lead from 0.8 seconds at the last exchange to 32 seconds at the finish with Braisaz, who shot 0+1, 0+3, and skied the fastest anchor leg.

    “I know that it’s always good for Justine to start in the first position, so I really wanted to pass the relay to her in that,” Aymonier said in a press conference after.

    “I was nervous, too,” Braisaz said. “That kind of shooting turned my mind upside down, actually. The crowd was very loud, and … I wasn’t very focused on what I did. It was a bit foggy, too, so that made it harder. But finally it was a French day, maybe.”

    “In my mind the whole team is really strong, and really able to get the first place,” Bescond said. “After years and years and years behind Germany’s team we finally did it. So just Oberhof spirit I think.”

    Germany placed second with Vanessa Hinz, Denise Herrmann, Franziska Preuss, and Maren Hammerschmidt. They combined for two penalties and 13 spares; with a penalty on Hinz’s first leg and one more on Hammerschmidt’s last shooting. After being tagged in 14th, Herrmann skied them into fourth, 40 seconds out of first, and Preuss elevated them to second, which Hammerschmidt held onto.

    “I was struggling a little bit in the prone shooting,” Herrmann said. “But the skiing was good today, and also the standing [shooting]. I tried to go fast on the track and catch some girls.”

    Sweden, with Linn Persson, Anna Magnusson, Elisabeth Högberg, and Mona Brorsson, avoided the penalty loop and used eight spares to reach the podium for the first time in six seasons. In sixth place at the first exchange, they slipped one place to seventh on the second leg, but Högberg raced them up to fourth with near-perfect shooting (0+0, 0+1) with one leg to go. Brorsson then anchored them to third with clean shooting (0+2, 0+1) and the third-fastest last leg.

    “It’s just super nice for us! I am super happy,” Magnusson said. “We were very emotional at the finish.”

    When Brorsson was asked if she believe she could fight for the podium, she responded, “Not really. But I said to Linn, ‘Maybe it is our day today. Please let it be our day today.’ ”

    The Canadian women finished 14th (+6:37.5), out of 20 teams, with two penalties and 13 spares. Sarah Beaudry initially put them in 15th after shooting 0+1, 0+2, then Julia Ransom had a standing penalty (0+2, 1+3) to slip one place to 16th. Megan Tandy picked off three places with clean shooting (0+0, 0+2) and tagged Emma Lunder in 13th, and Lunder had a penalty in prone but cleaned standing (1+3, 0+0) to finish in 14th.

    Results: Men | Women

    ***

    Tour de Ski Stage 7 (Alpe Cermis, Val di Fiemme, Italy): 9 k freestyle climb 

    Women’s report

    Men’s report

    The men’s overall 2018 Tour de Ski podium atop Alpe Cermis after the final Stage 7 hill climb: with Switzerland’s Dario Cologna (c) in first, Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby (l) in second and Canada’s Alex Harvey (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

    Dario Cologna of Switzerland added a fourth Tour de Ski (TdS) title to his list of accolades on Sunday, winning the 2018 edition of the race in dominant fashion, with a 1:26.5-minute win over Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby. And Canada’s Alex Harvey scored his first TdS overall podium in third.

    The 31-year-old Cologna started the 9-kilometer freestyle pursuit up Alpe Cermis 1:15 ahead of Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin in second. Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov, slated to start third, did not start due to a back injury. Thus Harvey was the third man off the start line, 1:23 behind Cologna.

    (Sweden’s Marcus Hellner, 13th after Saturday’s Stage 6, also did not start the Tour’s final stage.)

    Early on, Cologna started putting time into his competitors, extending his lead on Poltoranin to 1:20.5 and Harvey to 1:24 at 1.8 k.

    By 4 k, however, Harvey had used his speedy skiing on the flatter portions of the race leading up to the climb to catch Poltoranin, and the two clocked through that checkpoint 1:19.4 behind Cologna. Behind them, Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov skied just ahead of Sundby, another 21 seconds and 22 seconds back, respectively, in fifth and sixth.

    While Harvey clawed back a few more seconds on Cologna, he was still 1:17.8 back at 6.2 k, with Poltoranin just 0.7 seconds behind him in third.

    Harvey remained in second until around 8.5 k; with just a half kilometer to go, Sundby had caught both Poltoranin and Harvey, passing them both. Sundby held that position and finished second, 1:26.5 behind Cologna, who won in 28:52.1.

    Harvey stayed strong for third (+1:30.6) while Poltoranin dropped off the Canadian’s pace in the final half kilometer and finished fourth (+1:41.7). Norway’s Hans Christer Holund placed fifth (+2:17.8), Bolshunov lost a spot to finish sixth (+3:09.7), France’s Jean-Marc Gaillard finished seventh (+3:16.7), Sweden’s Daniel Rickardsson eighth (+3:20.8), and Russia’s Alexey Chervotkin and Andrey Larkov took ninth (+3:33.5) and 10th (+3:37.8), respectively.

    France’s Maurice Manificat, known for his strength in freestyle hill climbs and pursuit races, rose from 14th to 11th (+3:45.7) with the second fastest time of day, 12.8 seconds slower than Sundby as the time of day winner in 28:36.4. Cologna’s time was fourth fastest (+15.7), behind Russian U23 skier Denis Spitsov in third (+14.3) (Spitsov started 20th and finished 13th). Holund’s time ranked fifth (+20.6) and Harvey’s time was sixth fastest (+23.6) of the 43 men that finished the race.

    The lone American man to complete this year’s Tour, Paddy Caldwell (U.S. Ski Team) skied the 22nd fastest time of day for 38th overall (+11:54.8).

    Heidi Weng (center) celebrates her second Tour de Ski victory, with teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg second and the U.S. Ski Team’s Jessie Diggins third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

    In the women’s hill climb that kicked off the day, Heidi Weng raced to her second consecutive TdS title. The Norwegian started the day within two seconds of teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, and the two skied together for the flat section of the nine-kilometer stage of the competition. But when the climbing got steep on Alpe Cermis, Weng left her teammate behind and eventually racked up a 48.5-second win.

    The battle for third was less predictable. Jessie Diggins of the United States started the day in fourth, but made up the ten seconds to third-place Krista Pärmäkoski of Finland in the first few kilometers. The pair climbed together for a while before Diggins attacked. Pärmäkoski tired on the final sections of the Alpe Cermis and Diggins took the podium in definitive style, 2:23.2 behind Weng and 24 seconds ahead of Pärmäkoski. It’s the first overall Tour de Ski podium for Diggins or any American athlete.

    Teresa Stadlober of Austria finished fifth (+3:09.4), Kerttu Niskanen of Finland sixth (+4:17.0), Russia’s Anastasia Sedova seventh (+4:49.6), and Switzerland’s Nathalie von Siebenthal eighth (+4:56.1).

    Sadie Bjornsen started eighth and slipped one spot to finish ninth (+6:15.0), giving the U.S. two top-ten finishers in the Tour de Ski for the first time. Liz Stephen finished 16th (+8:25.8) and Rosie Brennan 24th (+10:59.6).

    En route to her win, Weng notched the fastest time of the day on the 9 k stage. Stadlober’s time was second, Diggins third, Østberg fourth, and Stephen fifth.

    32 women finished this year’s edition of the Tour de Ski.

    Results:

    Men’s Stage 7 | Men’s time of day | Men’s Tour de Ski overall standings (final)

    Women’s Stage 7 | Women’s time of day | Women’s Tour de Ski overall standings (final)

  • Weng Repeats Tour de Ski Title as Diggins Climbs to Third

    Weng Repeats Tour de Ski Title as Diggins Climbs to Third

    Heidi Weng (center) and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg of Norway and Jessie Diggins (right) of the United States atop the Tour de Ski podium on the Alpe Cermis. Diggins became the first North American to ever stand on the overall Tour podium, and Alex Harvey of Canada matched her feat a few hours later. (Photo: Val di Fiemme World Cup/Instagram)

    The question wasn’t whether – it was when. Defending Tour de Ski champion Heidi Weng started the day with a two-second deficit to Norwegian teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg. But as one of the best climbers in the World Cup field, it was fairly certain that at the top of the Alpe Cermis, Weng would be crowned the Tour winner again.

    The move came after about six and a half kilometers of the nine-kilometer skate pursuit starting in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Weng passed Østberg and then just kept going up the grueling Alpe Cermis, where grades approach 30%.

    “I like to go in this climb,” Weng said in an interview with the Val di Fiemme media team. “It was really tough this year. I tried to stay focused and go very fast in the uphill. So I tried to get some speed in the last two kilometers. I was very stiff but I stayed focused. I heard my family and my mom and dad [cheering], so that’s very helpful to go fast!”

    Tour de Ski winner Heidi Weng of Norway attacking the climb. (Photo: Val di Fiemme World Cup/Instagram)

    Even though she had a big gap on Østberg by the finish – 48.5 seconds – Weng was still pushing hard, and collapsed at the line.

    Østberg, too, pushed to the finish, picking up the pace on her V2 as she skied towards her winning teammate.

    “I am very pleased to secure second place,” she told Norway’s NRK broadcaster, according to a translation. “I tried to fight with Heidi at the bottom of the hill, but… she was stronger than me up there. She was the strongest today. I had a day yesterday that ruined me a bit.”

    Like in her first Tour de Ski title in 2017, Weng had to face neither Marit Bjørgen nor Therese Johaug as the race series wore on. Johaug has won the Tour de Ski twice and is currently serving a doping ban; Bjørgen has won once and is sitting out this year’s Tour to prepare for the Olympics, as are Swedish stars Charlotte Kalla (who won the 2008 Tour de Ski) and Stina Nilsson.

    Diggins Grabs Historic Third Place for U.S.

    The question of the day hadn’t really been about who would win – it was about what would happen after Weng crossed the line. A minute and a half behind the Norwegian pair at the start, Finland’s Krista Parmakoski tried to hold off American Jessie Diggins.

    Diggins made up the ten seconds to Parmakoski in the first few kilometers, and the two skied together for the middle section of the race course. Beginning the climb, Diggins was leading but Parmakoski stuck close on her ski tails.

    “I caught Krista maybe a third of the way on the flats and we traded leads, working together to go faster,” Diggins wrote in an email. “I love skiing with Krista – she’s an incredible racer and so tough, and really awesome to ski with.”

    Game face: Diggins charging up the Alpe Cermis to her first Tour de Ski podium. (ARD screenshot)

    Diggins made a move though, around the seven kilometer mark, and Parmakoski initially kept the gap small but then faded back and back.

    “Honestly, I didn’t have a big plan for an attack on the climb,” Diggins explained. “My strategy was just to keep the tempo high, keep my body upright and leaning into the climb, and just keep moving. But on the ‘flat’ sections where we were weaving around gates, I noticed I was starting to pull away just a little bit, so I would push extra hard each turn and just keep my tempo up, and that’s how I gradually pulled away.”

    Part of the reason was that Parmakoski had a problem with her left leg, which was made worse by the V1 climbing up the steep hill.

    “I have often had the same problem in 30 k races when I’m doing [V1] on the left,” she told Finnish ski website Kestävyys Urheilu.

    By the top of the climb, Diggins had just over 24 seconds on the Finn. She had turned in one of her better final climb efforts – collecting the third-fastest “time of the day”, just 41.9 seconds slower than the time posted by Weng, who not only won the Tour de Ski but also demolished the field in the climb itself.

    “To get the third fastest time on the hill climb was a huge surprise for me, for sure!” Diggins wrote. “I woke up feeling good, drank way too much coffee, and stuck to my plan of catching up to Krista on the flats. I had AMAZING skis, so a huge thanks to Salomon and our incredible wax staff!”

    As she skied towards the finish line, clearly exhausted, Weng and Østberg cheered her on. She finished 2:32.3 behind Weng. Diggins collapsed at the finish and the two Norwegians ran over to her to offer their congratulations.

    Heidi Weng cheers as Jessie Diggins skis for the finish line atop the Alpe Cermis. (Photo: Val di Fiemme World Cup/Instagram)

    “It was so cool coming into the finish, with Heidi and Ingvild cheering for me!” she wrote. “I love having friends from around the world and those girls are such awesome ski racers but most importantly, they’re great people and it was really fun to chat with them after. I’m really psyched for them!”

    It was the first time a non-European athlete, man or woman, has stood on the final Tour de Ski podium.

    “I’m really, really happy,” Diggins told the Val di Fiemme media team after the podium ceremony. “It’s really good for the sport in our country because we need to show our younger skiers that yeah, it’s possible, you can be a cross-country skier in America, and you can podium. So I hope this is really inspiring for all the younger cross-country skiers back home.”

    Parmakoski finished fourth, +2:57.7. And with the Tour de Ski concluded and its points divvied out, Diggins is now third in the overall World Cup standings, too. The conclusion of the Tour de Ski was also a major payday for her: she earned 1000 Swiss Francs ($1025) for having the third-best time of the day, 1300 Francs for being third in the Tour de Ski sprint standings, and 23,850 Francs for being third in the Tour itself.

    Teresa Stadlober of Austria finished fifth (+3:09.4) in the Tour de Ski, notching the second-fastest time on the stage (41.3 seconds behind Weng’s split) in a valliant effort to catch Parmakoski in case she faltered any further.

    Kerttu Niskanen of Finland was sixth (+4:17.0), Russia’s Anastasia Sedova seventh (+4:49.6), and Switzerland’s Nathalie Von Siebenthal eighth (+4:56.1).

    Bjornsen Ninth as Four Americans Finish Tour

    American Bjornsen had started eighth, and along with Von Siebethal – who started ninth – skied up to Sedova. That had actually been a plan between the American and the Swiss.

    “One thing I learned that I learned on the third day of the Tour [was that] if you are going to catch someone in front of you, you kind of have to do that in the first kilometer because after that everyone is just going at a hot pace,” Bjornsen said in an interview. “So today I went to talk to Nathalie before the start. I told her that we needed to work together on the flat and just switch leads, that we could make time on the girls in front of us. I pretty much did the first kilometer at what felt like sprint pace, and I led that part because I knew that Nathalie would jump in after that.”

    Despite being mismatched in size – Bjornsen is tall, Von Siebenthal diminutive – the pair worked well together to close the gap to Sedova.

    “She glides so much,” Bjornsen said. “Despite being a small person, we ski pretty similar. On the flat section at the beginning it was awesome. We were both really pushing the pace… even at the bottom the V1 section [of the climb] before the wall, she was the perfect person to follow because she is gliding so much. It was really nice.”

    But the Russian then dropped the two once they reached the climb, and Von Siebenthal was more successful at keeping Sedova in sight.

    “[On the flats] I exchanged very well with Sadie in the lead, we caught up to [Sedova] quite fast,” Von Siebenthal told Switzerland’s SRF broadcaster, according to a translation. “But she could draft with us, and initially in the climb she was behind us but then attacked and I didn’t see her again… I couldn’t quite catch up to her again. There wasn’t any better result possible.”

    Bjornsen, who has only done the final climb once before and skipped it last year due to illness, found the steepest part of the course to be an unwelcome jolt.

    “When we hit the first wall, I couldn’t keep with those two girls, and so then I was kind of on my own the rest of the time and just pushing up the hill,” she explained. “I kind of forgot about how long the climb was. So I was in this weird place of not wanting to redline, but also trying to push myself… I knew there were some hard chargers coming for me from behind and I was definitely on the struggle bus.”

    Bjornsen slipped one spot to finish ninth (+6:15.0), but still gave the U.S. two top-ten finishers in the Tour de Ski for the first time.

    “This summer I made a goal to finish top 10 in the Tour, so it feels really good,” Bjornsen said. “It definitely was one of those Tour — I feel like I had more disappointing days than I had great days. But the great days were so great it kind of left a good taste in my mouth at the end.”

    Liz Stephen finished 16th (+8:25.8) and Rosie Brennan 24th (+10:59.6). Stephen had the fifth-fastest time on the stage, and Brennan the 17th-fastest.

    Like Bjornsen, Brennan said she had some frustrating days along the way.

    “It has definitely not been the best Tour for me,” Brennan said in an interview. “I think I tried to put in a little more training over Christmas, and I think I just made myself a little flat for the Tour. Then it didn’t help with the number of crazy days we had – I had some crashes in there and just so many crazy things, it was hard to tell exactly where my fitness was. But having a good time up the hill it tells you that you’re pretty fit.”

    While many dread the final climb, Brennan explained that she thinks it is a good way to cap off Tour racing.

    “I really like the climb, especially when you are so tired,” she said. “I actually think it is easier to do the same thing over and over again. You don’t have to think about how to ski a section. It is literally just putting one foot in front of the other. So I knew that if I could get my energy back, than I felt like I could have a better day today.”

    Brennan, who has now scored World Cup points in eight different races this season in both skate and classic, sprint and distance, is looking forward to regrouping and using that fitness as the season builds towards the Olympics.

    “I feel like I had a really good first day and good day today, so I guess I just have to forget the middle part,” she said of the Tour.

    32 women finished this year’s edition of the Tour de Ski.

    The results have implications for the Americans in terms of Olympic qualification: Stephen is now ranked 35th in the World Cup distance standings, bringing her within U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s objective criteria for the 2018 Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

    The rest of the Tour finishers had been well within the top-50 distance or sprint World Cup ranking needed for selection before the Tour began, but Stephen had been yet to score any World Cup points until the Tour de Ski.

    Results

  • Thursday Rundown: Iversen, Østberg Prevail in Jam-Packed Oberstdorf Mass Starts

    Thursday Rundown: Iversen, Østberg Prevail in Jam-Packed Oberstdorf Mass Starts

    The Tour de Ski Stage 5 women’s 10 k freestyle mass start podium on Thursday in Oberstdorf, Germany, with Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (c) in first and Maiken Caspersen Falla (l) in second, and Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

    Tour de Ski Stage 5 (Oberstdorf, Germany): 10/15 k freestyle mass starts

    Men’s report

    Women’s report

    In one of the more unconventional stages of the Tour de Ski — a rainy, seven-lap, 14.7-kilometer men’s freestyle mass start, and a five-lap, 10.5 k women’s mass start (both of which were adapted to a shorter course after damage from Wednesday’s storm) — two Norwegians outlasted a tightly packed group of competitors to the finish, with Emil Iversen winning the men’s race and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg capturing her third-straight win in the women’s race on Thursday in Oberstdorf, Germany.

    Iversen posted his first win of the season after hanging in the pack throughout the relatively flat race, with a maximum climb of 16 meters and total climb of 50 meters.

    In the finishing stretch, he outsprinted fellow Norwegian Sindre Bjørnestad Skar by 0.4 seconds for the win in 29:49.8 minutes. Italy’s Francesco De Fabiani reached the podium in third, just 0.9 seconds out of first. Switzerland’s Dario Cologna kept his overall Tour lead in fourth place (+3.7) and Canada’s Alex Harvey came out on top of a photo finish for fifth with Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave taking sixth and Norway’s Finn Hågen Krogh seventh, all 4 seconds after Iversen.

    Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby placed eighth (+4.2), Germany’s Thomas Bing ninth (+4.9) and France’s Maurice Manificat 10th (+5.2).

    Twenty-five skiers finished within 10 seconds of first, and 57 in the 67-man field ended up within 50 seconds of first.

    Overall, Cologna continues to lead the Tour standings with two stages to go: a 15 k classic mass start on Saturday and 9 k freestyle hill climb on Sunday, both in Val di Fiemme, Italy. He is 53 seconds ahead of Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov, who placed 28th on Thursday, and 1:07.6 ahead of Sundby in third. Harvey remains in fourth, now 1:23.1 behind and 3.5 seconds ahead of Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov (+1:26.7), who finished 40th on Thursday after falling several times.

    Erik Bjornsen led the U.S. men in 32nd (+11.7), Paddy Caldwell placed 39th (+15.5), and Andy Newell was 53rd (+43.2). Simi Hamilton did not start. Overall, Bjornsen is 20th in the Tour (+3:10.7), Caldwell 60th (+6:58.2) and Newell 65th (+9:37.1) out of 67, although this is expected to be Newell’s last stage of the Tour.

    https://twitter.com/FISCrossCountry/status/948902614900633600

    In the women’s race earlier in the day, Østberg secured a 1.9-second victory over her teammate, Maiken Caspersen Falla, a Norwegian sprint specialist. Østberg crossed the line first in 23:16.5 and Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski joined the two Norwegians on the podium in third, 3.2 seconds out of first.

    Switzerland’s Nathalie von Siebenthal finished 4.1 seconds back in fourth for her best World Cup result, Sweden’s Maria Nordström was fifth (+4.4) to tie her career best, Germany’s Nicole Fessel sixth (+5.5), Austria’s Teresa Stadlober seventh (+5.8), Norway’s Anne Kjersti Kalvå eighth (+6.5) for her first World Cup top 10, Russia’s Anastasia Sedova ninth (+6.7), and Sweden’s Emma Wiken 10th (+7.1). Norway’s Heidi Weng was another 0.1 seconds back in 11th (+7.2), and for the first time this season, no U.S. Ski Team members finished in the top 20.

    Jessie Diggins placed 24th (+16.8), Sadie Bjornsen 26th (+20.8), Liz Stephen 28th (+24.5), and Rosie Brennan 36th (+52.7).

    “Today was definitely a very different course than most due to the storm and trees falling down over the usual course!” Diggins wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “It was icy and flat, which meant that the pack stayed really tight together as there were no big climbs to break it up.

    “Fortunately, I got into great position to sprint for the bonus seconds [on Lap 3],” she continued. “Unfortunately, 200 meters from the finish I hit ice and crashed hard into the boards, spinning around and losing quite a bit of time and places. But that happens sometimes in racing and I shook it off already!”

    Østberg now leads the Tour standings by 57 seconds over Weng while Diggins is nearly 2 minutes back in third (+1:56.7). Pärmäkoski follows in fourth (+2:09.1), Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen is up to fifth (+2:34), Fessel is sixth (+2:39.8), while Bjornsen slipped two places to seventh (+2:47.0). Stephen is 27th overall (+5:12.2) and Brennan 33rd (+5:50.6) out of 43 women.

    Ida Sargent and Sophie Caldwell did not start on Thursday and withdrew from the Tour to focus on the regular-season World Cup sprints next weekend in Dresden, Germany, which are also the focus for their U.S. teammates Kikkan Randall, Hamilton and Newell.

    Results:

    Men’s Stage 5 | Men’s Tour standings (through Stage 5)

    Women’s Stage 5 | Women’s Tour standings (through Stage 5)