This is the end. Of the 2023 racing season. Devon and Nat go without guests and are here to take you through the last three events of the winter in Lahti, Finland. And we cover a couple of retirement announcements from U.S. skiers.
We’re taking a little break after this but, we promise: We won’t leave you hanging for the whole off-season. Stay tuned for more regular episodes over the course of the spring and summer, and we’ll be back in a few weeks for a 2023 season recap. Tell us your favorite memories from this year — get at us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com.
Ruka Men’s 10K Classic Individual Start
Ruka presented less challenging conditions this year compared to last year for the athletes. Temperatures were in the high teens (-8.0 Centigrade) with racers running on green cold waxes. Humidity was 100 percent, which posed the possibility of tracks glazing during the race. The racers competed on a 5-kilometer course with 30 seconds between the start of each racer.
Johannes Hoesflot Klæbo (NOR) on his way to victory in the 10k in Ruka (FIN). (Photo: Nordic Focus)
Results:
The Norwegians dominated the field. Johannes Klæbo finished first, besting countrymen Paal Golberg by 20.5 seconds followed by Martin Nyenget who was 28 seconds behind Klæbo. An outstanding performance was turned in by Andrew Musgrave of Great Britain, who finished in fifth, 40.3 seconds behind Klæbo. Norweigans took six of the top ten spots.
The top American was Ben Ogden, finishing 28th, 1:23.9 back. He was closely followed by Zak Ketterson who finished 31st, 1:24.6 out of first. Rounding out the field for the Americans was Hunter Wonders, who is also a competitive canoe racer, finishing in 39th. 2020 Junior World Champion in the 10 kilometer, Gus Schumacher, finished 48th. Scott Patterson finished 54th.
The top Canadian was Graham Ritchie, finishing 35th. He was followed by Olivier Leveile who finished 44th.
Hunter Wonders (USA) on his way to 39th place in the 10k classic. (Photo: Nordic Focus)
The Race:
The steep climbs of Ruka proved challenging for the men who consistently jumped out of the tracks early on climbs, preferring to run up the loose snow on the sides of the course. Prior to the race there had been much discussion about Klæbo’s health. Questions continued to swirl when he hit the one-kilometer split in 21st place and still trailed at the 3.1- kilometer split.
Calle Halfvarsson (SWE) on his way to 4th place in the 10k in Ruka (FIN). (Photo: Nordic Focus)
Calle Halfvarsson of Sweden gave many of the Swedish fans in the crowd a thrill as he led the race at the first three splits. Ogden was in the hunt at the one-kilometer mark, only 12.5 seconds out of the lead, but by the 3.1 checkpoint, his trailing margin had widened to 22.4 seconds.
Starting at about the six-kilometer mark, Klæbo removed any doubt about his nagging injury when he jumped into the lead establishing a six second advantage over countryman Halfvarsson. Meanwhile, Musgrave had pulled himself from 23rd to sixth place, only seven seconds away from a podium spot. Musgrave turned in the fastest time from the 3.1 to 5.0-kilometer split.
Andrew Musgrave (GBR) – FIS world cup cross-country, having an outstanding weekend in Ruka. (Photo Credit: NordicFocus)
However, because of the start order, Klæbo was never really able to relax since he had started the race ahead of Golberg. When Klæbo finished he had a 28 second lead over the next best finisher. But most of the contenders were still on course, so he was uncertain as to where he would finish. However, the writing was on the wall as Golberg entered the stadium and it became apparent that he wouldn’t be able to catch Klæbo.
The only remaining question was would Norway capture all of the podium positions? The question was only partially answered when Halfvarsson crossed the eight-kilometer checkpoint in fourth but was only 0.2 seconds behind Nyenget. At the finish it appeared that Halfvarsson was struggling mightily but was able to hang on for a fourth place finish. The results; Norway 1-2-3.
Paal Golberg (NOR), Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR) and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR) share the 10k classic podium in Ruka (FIN). (Photo: NordicFocus)
It was full sun and full gas in Falun, Sweden, for one last hurrah of World Cup racing. The three-day weekend brought us new formats, American podium performances (plural!) and any number of other highlights. Thanks for listening over the course of the World Cup tour — we’ll be back periodically during the off-season with interviews and updates.
USA I takes the win in Falun’s 4 x 5 k mixed relay. From left to right, Scott Patterson, Rosie Brennan, Zak Ketterson, and Jessie Diggins. (Photo: NordicFocus)
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com.
A packed stadium for the final day of World Cup racing in Falun Sweden (Photo: NordicFocus)
We’ve arrived at the final event of the 2021/22 World Cup Season and the second new event of the day. It was a fast and furious mixed team sprint in Falun, Sweden, happening just hours after the mixed team relay which ran in the morning. In the first iteration of this event, teams composed of one woman and one man raced six laps of a 1 k course each, making for 12 k of skiing total.
To keep things spicy, the last two teams in the exchange after the even-numbered laps 2 -10 were eliminated. So although seventeen teams started the competition, only seven made it to the finish. In order to limit the chaos, given the number of teams, there was no tagging in the exchange, just a finish line and a start line for the athletes to gauge themselves.
The atmosphere in the Lugnet Ski Stadium was festive as fans enjoyed the 45°F degree weather and sunshine. “I think this is very nice to be together with the men,” said Nadine Fähndrich of Switzerland, “it makes more team spirit between the men and the women.” She alluded to the feeling of both the athletes and the spectators during the mixed team relay in which Team USA I took the gold in an exciting race. “I’m excited for the [race] and to [enjoy] the atmosphere here,” she concluded.
The women head out for one of six laps for the mixed team sprint event (Photo: NordicFocus)
With Team USA I taking the victory and Team USA II coming in 14th, the Americans did not enter a team in the mixed sprint event. Out of the seventeen teams that started, twelve nations were represented in the start list and only five nations made it to the finish.
The women started and as would be expected, Jonna Sundling skiing for Sweden I, was at the front. She was paired with Calle Halfvarsson who earned his first podium finish since 2018 in the 15 k freestyle on Saturday.
Celebrations for Team Sweden I after dominating the mixed team sprint (Photo: NordicFocus)
The first round of eliminations at 2 k took Estonia and France II out of the running. As Sundling concluded her second lap, she had created a +2.1 second gap and Halfvarsson seized this opportunity. Instead of waiting around for the rest of the field, he pushed hard and grew the gap to +3.84 seconds on his next 1 k lap. This same lap saw Benjamin Moser of Austria fly off the course on the corner descending into the stadium, taking himself and his teammate Teresa Stadlober out of the race. Latvia was also eliminated in that round.
Benjamin Moser (AUT) slides out on a fast corner (Photo: NordicFocus)
Once Sweden I had made their move, it stuck. At 5 k they were +9.61 seconds ahead, at 7 k they were +22.2 ahead, at 11 k the gap was up to +26.84. After 23:05.91 of cumulative race time, Halfvarsson crossed the finish line waving a Swedish flag.
“It’s easy when I go with Jonna [Sundling],” he said to FIS after the race, “she is so fast, it’s no match.” For her part, Sundling said, “It was a little bit exciting before the race, how to ski, how should our tactic be… but it felt like we did a really good race and ended up first so it’s really fun.”
Calle Halfvarsson enjoys a big time cushion as he and Jonna Sundling take gold in the first ever mixed team sprint event (Photo: NordicFocus)
Rewinding a bit, the women’s third lap saw Fähndrich shoot off the course in the same fashion as Moser. Minutes later, Joni Maki of Finland I and Harald Østberg Amundsen of Norway I both went down on the corner entering the exchange area. A quick recovery by Amundsen ensured that his team stayed in the race but Maki and his partner Jasmi Joensuu were eliminated, along with Fähndrich and Janik Riebli for Switzerland.
Nadine Fähndrich (SUI) picks herself up after a fall during the mixed team sprint event (Photo: NordicFocus)
The fourth round of elimination took out Slovenia and Finland II, though due to the tight nature of the eliminations, the women were starting unless it was clearly evident that they were one of the last two. Thus we saw Anamarija Lampic (SLO) battling Tiril Undes Weng of Norway II for second, even though Slovenia had already been eliminated.
Anamarija Lampic (SLO) teamed up with Vili Crv (SLO) for the mixed team sprint (Photo: NordicFocus)
Entering the 10th exchange and the fifth elimination, Sweden I was 19 seconds ahead, with Norway I and II duking it out behind. This meant that it was the twins, Tiril and Lotta Udnes Weng battling each other for their final lap.
With Canada II and France I eliminated, the men took off for their sixth and final lap. Amundsen of Norway I was just ahead of Martin Nyenget of Norway II, though entering the stadium Nyenget used the slip stream to move in front of his compatriot. With Sweden I well across the line in gold medal position, a tight sprint between the two Norwegians ultimately went to Nyenget, meaning Norway II earned silver and Norway I came away with the bronze.
Harald Østberg Amundsen (NOR) and Martin Loewstroem Nyenget (NOR) during the early stages of the mixed team sprint (Photo: NordicFocus)
Italy with Nicole Monsorno and Federico Pelligrino finished fourth. Sweden II ended up fifth, and Germany I came in sixth. Canada I (Dahria Beatty and Graham Ritchie) were the last team to avoid elimination and finish in seventh.
Dahria Beatty (CAN) and Graham Ritchie came in seventh in the mixed team sprint (Photo: NordicFocus)
With the last race of the day complete, the World Cup season has come to a close. For North-American ski fans, Canadian Nationals will be combining with US Super Tour Finals for a culminating event series in Whistler, Canada. The racing begins March 20th and you can find more details about the event here.
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com.
Following the men’s Olympic 50-turned-28.6 k in Zhangjiakou, long-time American distance champion Kris Freeman and Devon Kershaw called Scott Patterson an “Olympic Specialist”, commenting on how Patterson had found many of his top results at either World Ski Championships or during the Olympics in PyeongChang and Zhangjiakou.
His top championship results are this: 8th in the 30 k free in Beijing, 11th in the 15/15 k skiathlon; 14th in the skiathon and 10th in the 50 k classic during the 2021 World Ski Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany; 21st in the skiathlon in the skiathlon during the 2019 World Champs in Seefeld, Austria; 18th in the skiathlon, 21st in the 15k skate and 11th in the 50 k classic during the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang.
Until today, Patterson had raced into the Top-20 on the World Cup five times individually, with his best result – and only other individual Top-10 – arriving in 2017 in the 30 k skiathlon during a pre-Olympic World Cup in PyeongChang. This event saw just 31 finishers, and a scan of the results sheet shows only a small number of names that frequent this site.
Scott Patterson races to 7th place during the 15 k individual start skate in Falun. (Photo: NordicFocus)
But here in Falun, Sweden, Patterson popped a 7th place finish in the 15-kilometer individual start skate, finishing 42 seconds behind winner Didrik Tønseth (NOR) as the first non-Scandinavian athlete on the tails of five Norwegians plus Calle Halfvarsson of Sweden.
Roughly another 40 seconds back, Team Birkie’s Zak Ketterson was rolling too. In a steady effort that saw him inside the Top-20 throughout the day, he not only his first World Cup points, but finished 15th, +1:20.8 on Tønseth.
In short, Patterson and Ketterson shaped the final men’s distance race of the season into a high note for the U.S. And both men did it as early-starters, before the seeded group.
Zak Ketterson (bib 8) leads Logan Hanneman during the 15 k individual start skate in Falun. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Diving into the race, a winning strategy looked to be a conservative first of four laps on the championship-caliber course in Falun. While the top-three established themselves early, the eventual winner, Tønseth, did not make his charge for the win until the final lap. 23-year-old Harald Østberg Amundsen (NOR) was on top at the first lap, followed by Halfvarsson of Sweden, and then Tønseth. At the half, it was Halfvarsson on top, with Amundsen and Tønseth just under four seconds back. Then, Tønseth slowly turned the dial upward.
With one lap to go, Tønseth had five seconds on the Swede, and ten on his young countryman. With just over 2 k to go, this lead had grown to +13.3 seconds, of which he ceded very little through the finish. Tønseth stopped the clock at a ripping 31:57.6, knocking down the time of Halfvarsson who had started eleven bibs earlier. The Swede kept the second spot on the podium (+9.0), while Amundsen, who faded in the second half, kept pace from the back-half of the seeded group to finish third (+20.4).
Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson sets the mark at the finish of the 15 k skate in Falun, while Scott Patterson races the final meters in the background. (Photo: NordicFocus)Norway’s Didrik Tønseth wins the 15 k individual start skate in Falun. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Today marked Tønseth’s second consecutive podium, after taking 3rd at Holmenkollen last weekend, and his career first World Cup victory in freestyle. It had been a nearly three year stretch since his previous World Cup podium, which took place in Québec City in March, 2019.
“I’m happy to end it like this,” Tønseth told FIS after the race. “This year has been pretty good, to finish it off with victories – I’m really happy with that. Considering the last two seasons before this one have been tough, and it was not working, but this one has been better and better, and I ended up at the top, so I’m really happy.”
Norway’s Didrik Tønseth wins the 15 k individual start skate in Falun. (Photo: NordicFocus)
On his season highlights, Tønseth continued, “For me, the most important is that my body works and I can train it. I can train hard, and things respond, and I’m happy to go ski fast.”
Asked his feelings on sharing the podium with teammate Amundsen, Tønseth said, “He is a rookie, but he showed last year, he is a good cross country skier. I’m happy for him to be on the podium and I’m happy to beat him as well.”
Falun’s 15 k skate podium: Didrik Tønseth (NOR) took the win ahead of Calle Halfvarsson (SWE) and Harald Østberg Amundsen (NOR). (Photo: NordicFocus)
Expanding on the conservative start – though the eventual podium athletes would simply reshuffle themselves throughout the race, the remainder of the top-10 saw some changes, like France’s Clement Parisse falling from fourth place at the halfway mark to 8th at the finish, and two Finns, Remi Lindholm and Iivo Niskanen, dropping from fifth and seventh at the first lap to 14th and tenth at the finish.
Meanwhile, the seemingly more patient starters, like Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget, who won last weekend’s 50 k classic at Holmenkollen, were climbing the rankings at time checks. Nyenget was in eighth at the half, before ascending to fifth at the finish (+23.6), just behind his teammate Hans Christer Holund, who took fourth (+21.2).
Both Patterson and Ketterson exemplified this tactic also, knocking off three spots each between the halfway mark and the finish. Propagating a banner day for North America, Canada’s Olivier Léveillé was also steadily climbing the ranks, moving up from 16th at 7.5k to finish 9th (+48.9). Léveillé’s teammate Antoine Cyr had skied up from 37th at the half to finish 25th (+1:42.3), while fellow Canadian Phillippe Boucher took 29th (+1:45.0) as the third member of his team inside the top-30.
Canada’s Antoine Cyr skis to 25th in Falun’s 15 k free. (Photo: NordicFocus)
While Patterson was 15th in Falun last year, and has aforementioned strong results on championship courses like this one, Patterson said in a post-race call that the venue has actually been a challenge for him through his career. Though it’s a championship course, it lacks the high altitude factor of Zhangjiakou, where Patterson thrived, and has just one major climb, the signature “Morderbakken” which rises 65 vertical meters over the course of roughly 0.6 k. Gaining from his experiences racing on this course, Patterson shared what he’s done to solve the puzzle.
“A lot of my approach today was trying to find some of the same feelings as last year, which was a lot of pushing hard, working through all the transitions. There’s a lot of time out there — beyond Morderbakken, there’s a lot of twisting down hills and gradual flats where it’s easy to lose time. But if you’re on form and thinking about it all the time, it’s a good place to gain time.”
Scott Patterson takes 7th place in the 15 k individual start skate in Falun. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Patterson also shared that he was unsure how his form would be today, as he was carrying fatigue from his performance at the Holmenkollen, which he identified as below his expectations.
“I started questioning my fitness. So it was nice to turn that around today with a good race and actually remind myself that I can ski well again and also appreciate a good distance skate race.”
Overall, the season has been one of high highs and low lows for the 30-year-old. A late-fall broken wrist inhibited his ability to capitalize on the fitness he built over the summer, along with his early-season results, which would be critical for making the 2022 Olympic team. Patterson discussed the turning point of his season, which will end on a high note.
“[I hit a] big turning point going into nationals, where I had a lot of pressure, but I felt like I was actually starting to find my form and race well. So that was one big point, just coming into nationals and actually pulling out those results to make the Olympic team. But also, just going into the Olympics, I I had a really good training block in Bozeman. I was staying with my parents instead of going over to Livigno, like a lot of the US Olympic team. And I think that was really productive for me getting some altitude training, but also just keeping the stress low, which really helped going into the Olympics.”
Here’s the full interview with Patterson, including non-race season highlights and how a trivia night in Lahti helped bring the North American contingent closer together, making today’s results even more exciting for Patterson to be part of.
Adam Martin pushes to the line at the finish of the men’s 15 k individual start skate in Falun. (Photo: NordicFocus)Canada’s Xavier McKeever down the home stretch in the men’s 15 k free in Falun. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Outside the Top-30 for the U.S., Crafttsbury’s Adam Martin skied to 44th (+2:20.9), while Logan Hanneman finished 52nd (+2:58.4), and Peter Holmes took 68th (+4:20.0). For Canada, Thomas Stephen was 61st (+3:32.2), while Xavier McKeever was 62nd (+3:36.9).
Post-race interview with Matt Whitcomb:
With World Cup individual racing now complete for the 2021/22 season, awards for both the overall and distance champions were handed out today in Falun.
Though he was 10th today, Finland’s Iivo Niskanen ended his season with 493 points, overtaking previous leader Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) to win the distance standings. Bolshunov remained in second, trailing by 75 points. After a remarkable Olympic run, Bolshunov missed the final two distance races on the World Cup following FIS’ ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes on March 1st. Also unable to compete in the final two World Cup distance events after contracting COVID-19, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo finished third, at an 80 point deficit.
Finland’s Iivo Niskanen is the 2022 World Cup distance champion. (Photo: NordicFocus)
With Niskanen still the only podium member present to accept his awards, this leaderboard was reshuffled for the overall standings. Having won the 2021/22 Tour de Ski and consistently proved his range beyond the sprint course, Klæbo ran away with the overall World Cup victory to finish with 1375 points. He’s had some cake, but receiving the crystal globe will have to wait for the time being.
Bolshunov held his ground in second place, 497 points back, while Niskanen took third in the overall standings, 631 points behind Klæbo.
A Norwegian coach accepts the overall World Cup crystal globe on behalf of winner Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. (Photo: NordicFocus)
You can expect more analysis on the seasons of these World Cup champions, but first, we’ve got one final day of World Cup racing on deck. The final day of racing in Falun will feature a mixed-gender 4 x 5 k relay in the morning, followed by a mixed team sprint in the afternoon.
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com.
It’s the last hurrah, folks! The World Cup Finals kicked off in Falun, Sweden today with a classic sprint. While the season has been a wild ride for many reasons – spills and thrills in the Tour de Ski, COVID-cancellations, Olympic Games, geopolitical nightmares – Falun evidenced that spring is on it’s way and it’s time for the World Cup crews to head home take a break, and begin anew.
Contrasting the dim light and long shadows of far-north Ruka, Finland at the opposite bookend of the season, the sprints in Falun were raced under bright sun, with temperatures well-above freezing, bare ground and green grass emerging from beside ski tracks.
Zak Ketterson leads the U.S. in 39th during the classic sprint qualification round in Falun, SWE. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The American men, particularly in sprint, headed into the Falun weekend at a significant disadvantage. Kevin Bolger announced on Instagram Thursday that he had tested positive for COVID, while Ben Ogden, JC Schoonmaker, and Luke Jager – the remainder of the four sprint men who competed during the 2022 Olympics in Zhangjiakou – are currently competing at the NCAA championships in Soldier Hollow, UT. The sprint field as a whole has been weakened; Russian athletes were banned from competition on March 1st, while Norway’s top-six sprinters, including sprint and overall World Cup leader Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, each tested positive for COVID following the World Cup race weekend in Lahti, Finland. With no Russian’s and the top-Norwegians out, the men’s field had been cracked wide open.
Finland’s Joni Mæki posts the fastest time in the classic sprint qualifier in Falun, SWE. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Finland’s Joni Mæki took the top spot in qualification, setting the mark at 2:51.58. Sivert Wiig of Norway took second in the qualifier (+0.69), with Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson in third (+1.41). Three nations represented in the top-three.
Though new-to-FasterSkier names made the top-30, the early heats featured little surprise. Building momentum from a podium day in Drammen last week, France sent three of its top men to the semifinals: Lucas Chanavat and Richard Jouve, who had been third and first, respectively in Drammen, plus Jules Chappaz. Long-time sprint force Federico Pellegrino of Italy also moved through with an automatic spot, joining the day’s top-three qualifiers in the next round.
What did shake up the quarters was some trouble for the two Chinese athletes in the field. Shang Jincai, who had qualified in 25th, had a false start in heat three. Jincai looked as though he had been trying to keep himself so primed for forward momentum at the start beep, that he lost his balance, kicking a foot forward to catch himself well-before the beep and thus triggering the start. After a discussion with a jury member, while Pellegrino shook his head and raised his hands nearby, looking impatient, Jincai received a yellow card and was disqualified.
After stumbling on a climb and losing ground, Wang Qiang (CNH) races to 18th in the classic sprint quarterfinal in Falun, SWE. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In the next heat, Wang Qiang, who qualified in 9th and took second in Drammen, fell when hopping out of the track to run uphill, roughly two minutes into the heat. Qiang had been in the lead, though the pack remained tight. After a few missteps, he was back to his feet, chasing as real estate ran out, while Lars Agnar Hjelmeset (NOR) and Calle Halfvarsson (SWE) took the reins at the front to go 1-2 in the heat. Qiang raced his way back to fourth, just over a second back, but it was not enough for a lucky loser spot.
Richard Jouve (FRA) takes control through the rounds in Falun. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In the semis, France’s Jouve took control of the fast first heat, beginning a surge just under-two minutes in as the men ran up the steep climb and banked left to head back toward the stadium. Around the last corner, Jouve still held the lead with Mæki (FIN) just off his shoulder. Jouve pulled ahead in the double pole sprint through the lanes, while Mæki, Wiig (NOR), and Chanavat (FRA) raced each other and the clock down the final meters. At the line, it was Norway-France-Finland, spread by 0.38 seconds, fifth and sixth less than a second behind also. Each of the top-four finishers advanced into the final round.
The second heat was significantly less smooth, though times did not reflect the chaos and were only marginally slower than the first. As the course broke down, it looked to be continually harder to keep klister free and stay upright. Heading into the final downhill in strong position to take the heat, France’s Jules Chappaz looked as if his klister snagged some loose granules of snow; as he pushed off the outside ski to stay in the curve, the ski looked unable to slide and he crashed into the abrasive corn.
The remaining athletes in the head narrowly dodged Chappaz, allowing Hjelmeset and Pellegrino to take the lead and eventually win the heat. Sweden’s Halfvarsson also went down earlier in the heat, looking to have similarly iced up while running up the first climb, leaving him off the back after the subsequent downhill.
After leading into the final downhill, a dejected Jules Chappaz (FRA) recovers from a crash to finish his semifinal. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Once again, Jouve took control of the final early, with Pellegrino marking. Mæki stayed wide on the first climb looking for better snow, but came over the top and into the curve behind the top three. Jouve, still calling the shots, led into the downhill, but he could not create any significant gaps there; Wiig, Pellegrino, Chanavat and Mæki quickly accordioned onto the backs of his ski tails.
Looking confident and composed despite being unable to break away, Jouve remained at the front heading into the final curve. Once in the lanes, Jouve began to pull ahead a final time, creating a gap of several meters toMæki and Chanavat, who were evenly matched in the double pole sprint.
Richard Jouve (bib 10) leads the men’s classic sprint final to the finish in Falun, while four athletes vie for the remaining two podium positions. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Emptying his lungs with a triumphant cry, Jouve coasted over the line for the win in 3:03.62, while Mæki and Chanavat threw their boots forward in a photo finish for the second and third podium spots roughly half a second behind. From the slow-mo, it was Mæki with the better lunge, nipping Chanavat by 0.03.
Just behind Wiig crossed fourth (+1.41), with Pellegrino fifth (+2.06), followed by a gap to Hjelmeset in sixth (+13.18).
Richard Jouve (FRA) lets out a victory cry as he takes the classic sprint win in Falun. (Photo: NordicFocus)The men’s classic sprint podium in Falun, Sweden: Richard Jouve (FRA) took the win ahead of Joni Mæki (FIN) and Lucas Chanavat (FRA). (Photo: NordicFocus)
“I’m very proud,” Jouve told FIS after the race. “Off myself, my team. It’s amazing.”
With the win today, Jouve also took the lead in the sprint World Cup standings, advancing by just six points ahead of Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR). The season saw Jouve land on four World Cup podiums, finish seventh in the freestyle sprint during the Olympics, and then earn his career first World Cup win in Drammen’s classic sprint last Thursday.
“It’s amazing,” said an emotional Jouve, seemingly in happy disbelief. “The season was very great for me, to win at the end of the season is already a dream, but to grab [the globe], it’s big. Fantastic.”
With a win in the final sprint stage, Richard Jouve becomes the 2022 World Cup sprint champion, hoisting his crystal globe. (Photo: NordicFocus)French teammates Richard Jouve (left) and Lucas Chanavat (right) end their season in first and third, respectively, in the World Cup sprint standings. (Photo: NordicFocus)
A quick review of the final standings: With 568 points, Jouve is the 2022 sprint World Cup champion, with Klæbo second (-6) and Chanavat third (-107). Italy’s Pellegrino was fourth (-238), with Norway’s Håvard Solås Taugbøl fifth (-244).
The US had three starters for today’s final sprint stage. Zak Ketterson led the way for the American team in 39th (+9.92), followed by Logan Hanneman in 47th (+10.79), and Peter Holmes 54th (+13.38).
Listen to post-race interview with U.S. Ski Team Head Coach Matt Whitcomb here.
Logan Hanneman skis to 46th in qualification in Falun. (Photo: NordicFocus)Graham Ritchie leads the way for North America, finishing 20th in Falun’s individual classic sprint. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Racing for Canada, Graham Ritchie was the sole North American to break into the heats after qualifying in 28th (+8.11). Racing in the third quarterfinal heat, Ritchie crossed fourth, roughly three seconds behind Chanavat and Pellegrino, the heat winners. The effort landed him in 20th overall once final rounds were decided.
Missing the top-30 by just 0.27 seconds, Antoine Cyr was next for Canada in 31st (+8.76), with Xavier McKeever next in 44th (+10.54), followed by Rémi Drolet in 57th (+14.59).
Antoine Cyr just misses the mark in qualification, finishing 31st. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Racing in Falun continues tomorrow with a 15 k individual start skate.
Welcome back to the Devon Kershaw show for our Tour de Ski stage 3 and 4 recap. We get into Frida Karlsson’s withdrawal from the tour after her egregious take-out of Jessie Diggins in Saturday’s classic sprint. We also cover Calle Halfvarsson and Joanna Hagström delivering for Sweden, Johannes Klæbo giving a couple of beat-downs, and Diggins’ come-from-behind win Friday.
We’ll be taping a mailbag episode next week — send us your questions at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. And happy new year.
Jessie Diggins goes down in her quarterfinal heat. Frida Karlsson (SWE) was penalized for obstruction, but the fall left Diggins in 3rd place overall in the Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
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As we begin Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski, the first classic sprint since the opening race of the season in Ruka, Finland on November 26th, we look back to the last time athletes raced the event on the tracks in Oberstdorf, Germany.
During the2021 World Championships, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR) took command of the gold medal from the qualifier on a 1.5-kilometer course seemingly designed for his racing style. A quick double pole start from the stadium leads to a long steady first climb where he skied long, strong, and steady, usually in second or third position. After a winding descent, athletes encounter a second short but steep climb of roughly 18 vertical meters, where Klæbo would begin his signature run. Stomping his way to the lead as he crested the top of the climb, stepping around a left-hand curve, and dropping into a tuck on the final descent leading into the stadium, Klæbo was repeatedly in position to advance through each round comfortably, eventually winning the final by several ski lengths. (Video highlights here.)
Alexander Terentev races to second place in qualification during Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Winning today’s qualifier in 2:55.78, Klæbo looked to be on track for a repeat victory in Oberstdorf, however, it is worth noting that he did not win the aforementioned other classic sprint this season. In Ruka, it was 22-year-old Alexander Terentev who took hold of the event in qualification and looked to, well, out-Klæbo Klæbo throughout the heats. We saw familiar tactics with a power move on the final climb, paired with impressive acceleration over the final meters to capture the win, but this time, the athlete employing these tactics was in a Russian race suit. While Klæbo has won each of the sprints he has entered since, with Terentev eliminated in the semis, Stage 4 would be a rematch both were eyeing.
Setting the stage, Terentev was second in qualification, +1.5 behind Klæbo, with Erik Valnes (NOR) in third (+2.37), Federico Pellegrino 4th (+3.53), and Alexander Bolshunov 5th (+3.61). Ben Ogden was the top American qualifier today, finishing 15th (+8.08), while Luke Jager finished 24th (+10.83). The American selected heats two and five, respectively.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Erik Valnes take the lead in the final climb of the quarterfinal, with Ivan Yakimushkin (bib 23) and Iivo Niskanen (bib 29) chasing. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In the first wave of the quarterfinal, Finland’s Iivo Niskanen, winner of the Stage 2 15k classic, pushed the pace heading up the first climb, perhaps looking to ensure an opportunity for a fast rather than tactical heat, knowing he was up against Valnes and Klæbo and likely would only have the opportunity to advance as lucky loser. However, the Norwegians, unphased, chose not to respond, waiting patiently mid-pack to use the same tactic described at World Champs. In the second climb, both created enough room to look as if they had begun their cooldown as they skied through the finish lanes, with Klæbo addigng a lackadaisical boot slide at the line that put him just ahead of his teammate. Behind them, Niskanen and Ivan Yakimushkin (RUS) sprinted to the line to chase the clock, with the Russian finishing ahead of the Finn. However, their times did not hold up through subsequent rounds and their day had ended.
Alexander Bolshunov leads the quarter final during Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski, with Ben Ogden racing in bib 15. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In the second heat of the quarters, Ogden lined up alongside Bolshunov, who took control out of the gate. Staying in the pack through the first climb, Ogden found himself in fifth as athletes exited the second and began descending toward the stadium. In the final curves, Ogden couldn’t quite maintain the position needed to contend for a spot as lucky loser, finishing 5th in a fast heat, +1.52 behind Bolshunov.
Terentev looked as though his day might be over before he could face Klæbo head-to-head. Federico Pellegrino (ITA) stepped on his pole as lanes decreased in the opening stretch, causing it to snap. Terentev calmly accepted a replacement, steadily working his way back into the mix. Running out of the tracks in the final climb, Terentev accelerated around the left-hand curve and into the downhill in the lead, continuing through the finish for the win ahead of Mikal Novak (CZE) to advance comfortably.
Alexander Terentev leads his quarterfinal during Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf. (Photo: NordicFocus)
In the fifth heat of the quarters, Jager maintained contact with the pack through the first climb, but found himself off the back as he left the second. Jager’s legs wobbled as he found his footing in the descent. Perhaps too flooded to ski as aggressively as was needed to put himself in contention for higher placement, he crossed the line sixth in the heat, +6.88 behind the winner.
Luke Jager raced in the fifth quarterfinal during Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf. (Photo: NordicFocus)
On we go to the semifinals.
In a stacked first heat, Bolshunov and Terentev set the pace at the front heading up the first climb. Striding metronomically, they held Valnes and Klæbo temporarily at bay. As the men charged into the final climb, Klæbo advanced at a run up the outside, rounding the left hand bend with Terentev at the front before beginning the sweeping downhill side by side.
Terentev began to move across the track behind Klæbo, looking to finding a line that might be optimal for using the Norwegian’s draft to slingshot into the final lanes at high speed. Not waiting long enough, Terentev caught his tips on the Norwegian’s tails, losing his footing and crashing with a slide into the v-boards. No chance to recover what was lost, Terentev stood up, taking a defeated swing at the ground with his pole, before slowly continuing through the final meters to the finish, now well off the back.
As the two had created a small gap to their chasers, Valnes and Bolshunov navigated around the crash easily, racing to the line for second and third. Pulling ahead with his double pole, Valnes snagged second with Bolshunov less than half a second back, hoping for a lucky loser spot in the final.
With a comfortable lead, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo looks over his shoulder as Erik Valnes and Alexander Bolshunov race to the line in the semifinal. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Terentev later received verbal warning for a classical technique infraction.
In the second and less-eventful semi, Pål Golberg and Even Northug attempted to take control of the race in the final climb, but they remained matched by Italy’s Francesco De Fabiani and Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson as they crested the top. Goldberg picked up the most speed in the descent, accelerating out of the final curve with a sizable gap to his three chasers. Laying off the gas before the line, Goldberg took the win ahead of Northug, who left De Fabiani and Halfvarsson fighting for lucky loser spots on his tails.
Calle Halfvarsson and Fracesco de Fabiani take it to the line in the semifinal. (Photo: NordicFocus)
De Fabiani and Halfvarsson crossed in a photo finish, both just 0.02 seconds ahead of Bolshunov’s mark, allowing them both to advance to the final and ending the Russian’s day.
With four Norwegians in the final, they were guaranteed at least one spot on the podium.
Norway were 1-2-3 coming out of the first climb, with Klæbo sitting in second position. Doublepoling into the next climb, Klæbo matched Valnes as the two ran at the front, Klæbo out of track and Valnes in the inside lane.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo leads into the final descent in the last round of the Stage 4 classic sprint in Oberstdorf. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Klæbo accelerated into the curve at the top stepping in front of Valnes and leading him into the downhill. Klæbo powered into the final stretch still in the lead, with Valnes a ski length back but closing fast with a strong doublepole. Valnes changed lanes, knowing it was his only opportunity if he wanted to try for a win, but there was not enough real estate left and this cost him speed as they came to the line. No time to celebrate this time, Klæbo pushed his boot over the finish to stop the clock at 2:54.77, roughly 3.5 seconds faster than any other rounded, with Valnes 0.3 seconds back for second place.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo takes the win in Stage 4 ahead of teammate Erik Valnes, while Pål Golberg, Even Northug, and Calle Halfvarsson fight for the final spot on the podium behind. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Behind the duo, the remaining two Norwegians sprinted to the line for a photo finish, with Goldberg edging out Northug for third by just 0.02 seconds. Halfvarsson, still in contention for the podium in the final stretch, crossed 0.5 seconds behind the Norwegians to end his day in 5th, while De Fabiani seemed to have accepted his fate, crossing the line casually +11.71 behind Klæbo.
Determining third place, Pål Golberg (center) edges out Even Northug, wit hCalle Halfvarsson just off the mark in fifth. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Another all-Norway classic sprint podium in Oberstdorf, and a second consecutive win for Klæbo.
“It’s amazing to start a new year with a victory and also to have two of my best friends coming onto the podium as well,” Klæbo told FIS at the finish. “I am really satisfied with today’s race, and also to start, hopefully, a good new year.”
After four races in five days, Klæbo was asked whether Tour fatigue had begun to set in.
“For sure, I am getting a little bit tired, but still, when the weather is like this and the conditions are pretty nice, it gives you a lot of energy. So it’s just trying to push hard, looking forward to a rest day tomorrow, and trying to push hard in the last two legs.”
The all-Norwegian men’s podium after Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo took his fourth win of the Tour ahead of Erik Valnes in second and Pål Golberg in third. (Photo: NordicFocus)
After the final results were determined, Ogden ended his day in 22nd.
“I took the qualifier out really hot, hoping to be in the top 3 in qualification,” Ogden told U.S. Ski & Snowboard cross country communications manager Tom Horrocks at the finish. “I was a little flooded at the end, but not the end of the world. I chose heat 2, which is not always what I do, so I tried something different, and I think I skied well in the heat. It’s been a lot of racing for me early, so I’m a little tired, and wasn’t the smartest out there… but I’d say I’m learning a lot and making progress, so one day I’ll put it together.”
Full audio clip with Ben Ogden, interviewed by Tom Horrocks.
Ben Ogden races in heat 2 of the quarterfinals in Oberstdorf. (Photo: NordicFocus)
It was Jager’s second time qualifying for the rounds in a classic sprint, and his second-best overall World Cup result. Jager was 18th in the opening classic sprint in Ruka, and finished 27th today.
“I was trying to be competitive, in second, third, or fourth, somewhere where I could potentially get in a draft and have a good finish, hopefully,” Jager told Horrocks post-race. “It didn’t work out that way… Hindsight is 20/20, so maybe I wish I had picked a different lane and just gotten out and ran earlier, but at the end of the day, the pace was just really, really fast. I was and am, chronically and acutely, pretty tired right now, so I just didn’t really have it and wasn’t as aggressive as I should have been going over the top. I like to think if I had another shot in that exact same position, I could make fourth or fifth, but an objective qualification in that [heat] probably wasn’t going to happen for me today.”
Luke Jager races to 27th in Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Looking to the bright side, Jager expressed how grateful he has been to have had excellent skis in every race he’s competed this season, which provides confidence even on the days when the body doesn’t want to cooperate. At 21-years-old, Jager’s career is still nascent, and it’s easy to understand how progress at this level may not be linear.
“I’m super thankful for the opportunity [to race on the World Cup this season]… It feels often like it’s one step forward, four steps backward over here, just because it’s so brutal. The last month, especially, has been pretty tough and pretty demoralizing at times for me. I’m going home today, so it’s pretty nice to end with a glimmer of hope for what is to come. It’s the real deal. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that because so many Americans are doing well, but it’s pretty damn hard over here.”
Full audio clip with Luke Jager, interviewed by Tom Horrocks.
Kevin Bolger races to 33rd in qualification during Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Outside the Top-30, Kevin Bolger and Zak Ketterson were just shy of making the heats, finishing 33rd (+13.10) and 34th (+13.39), less than a second off the time needed to advance. Logan Hanneman was also a near-miss, finishing 37th (+14.08). Gus Schumacher rounded out the American starters in 45th (+16.51) of 73 starters.
Looking at the overall Tour de Ski standings with four of six stages complete, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo tops the list for both cumulative time and points after winning three of four events. By time, he sits 1:03 ahead of teammate Pål Golberg and 1:19 ahead of Alexander Bolshunov. With a 15k mass start classic and 10k freestyle hill climb to go, Klæbo is in good standing, but cannot be complacent, as the hill climb, in particular, has historically favored Bolshunov.
By points, which favor sprint stages and intermediate sprints in distance races, Klæbo leads with 81 points ahead of Erik Valnes, who holds 50, and Goldberg with 41.
After a rest and travel day, racing continues Monday in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
With three wins in four stages, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo leads the overall Tour de Ski standings by both cumulative time and points. (Photo: NordicFocus)
The men’s podium of Stage 4 of the 2019/2020 Tour de Ski. Alexander Bolshunov (center) won the stage ahead of Sergey Ustiugov (left) and Iivo Niskanen (right). (Photo: NordicFocus)
The hunter becomes the hunted. Looking back on previous tours, Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov has not worn the leader bib going into the pursuit stage except for the 2016/2017 tour in Oberstdorf, Germany. That year, Ustiugov won six of the seven stages, placing second in the mass start classic in Stage 6, but still raced up the final hill climb with a significant buffer for the overall victory.
This year, Ustiugov was the man to beat. After a dominant performance in yesterday’s 15-kilometer skate, the Russian began the 15 k classic in Toblach, Italy with a lead of 22.6 seconds before the next skier and 27 seconds in the overall standings. On the hunt were his teammates, Ivan Yakimushkin and Alexander Bolshunov, followed by a troop of athletes looking to earn back time on the leader. In particular, a host of Norwegians looking for redemption after the third stage. Would his gap be enough to hold his position over 15 k’s?
Within the first 4 k, the answer was evident. Bolshunov and 4th place starter Calle Halfvarsson of Sweden closed the gap and overtook the leader. The three men skied together through 8 k, then Bolshunov began to crack open a gap.
Sergey Ustiugov falls short in preserving his rights to the leader bib in Stage 4 of the 2019/2020 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Unable to match the pace, Ustiugov switched into damage control mode. Standings in the overall tour are based on the cumulative time from each stage, and the time added from today’s event is based on time of day results, meaning the elapsed time each individual spent on course. Being caught by Bolshunov meant Ustiugov had already lost 29 seconds, meaning that Bolshunov’s aggregate time now earned the 23-year-old the rights to the yellow bib.
Ustiugov was able to keep his teammate within 20 seconds, but Bolshunov never saw his position at risk and finished with a 13 second lead. He stopped the clock at 38:14.9 for his first stage win in the Tour de Ski. Subtracting this from his deficit in the overall, Bolshunov now leads the overall rankings by 16 seconds.
Alexander Bolshunov celebrates his Stage 4 win during the 2019/2020 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
“It was a really, really hard race,” Bolshunov told FIS through a translator. “A big part of this was that I had to work alone. Sergey in the middle helped to keep the pace, by my own feelings started to run away and the last lap it was really hard to keep the speed.”
When asked whether he had energy left for the final three stages in Val di Fiemme, he answered with a mischievous smile.
“The tour just started.”
Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) takes control ahead of Calle Halfvarsson (SWE) and Sergey Ustiugov (RUS) during Stage 4 of the 2019/2020 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Alexander Bolshunov (RUS) blasts off as he leaves behind Calle Halfvarsson (SWE) and Sergey Ustiugov (RUS) during Stage 4 of the 2019/2020 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
When Bolshunov began to pull away, Halfvarsson fell dramatically off the leaders, dropping from eight seconds back to over 50. Perhaps the Swede was paying for his effort in light of the cumulative tour fatigue that is setting in. He rebounded in the final lap to finish within 30 seconds of Bolshunov in 5th.
Steadily working his way up through the field in his dominant technique, Iivo Niskanen had an outstanding performance. The Finn began the race in 11th place with a deficit of 1:35, half of which he recouped in the first half. Like many other athletes, Niskanen began to fade in the middle part of the race, but he switched on his afterburners in the final lap.
Iivo Niskanen rises up the ranks on his way to a third place finish in Stage 4 of the 2019/2020 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
With 2.5 k to go, Niskanen was 50 seconds back on Bolshunov in sixth, yet he could be seen rounding the corner into the final stretch as Ustiugov slid over the line. Niskanen took the third spot on the podium finishing 24.8 seconds back on the leader, a result that moves him into fifth place in the overall standings.
So far this season, Niskanen won the 15 k classic in Ruka in addition to a 10 k classic early season opener. He is also an Olympic champion in the 50 k classic and podium finisher in the 15 k classic at the 2019 World Ski Championships in Seefeld, his stride and glide prowess is clear. Heading into two additional classic stages, he now sits in 5th place in the overall standings with a 1:10 deficit.
Iivo Niskanen takes third during Stage 4 of the 2019/2020 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
Desperate to whittle down his 37-second deficit in the overall ranks, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo looked like a workhorse in the pursuit. No pomp, just head down, focused, determination. He knew he was not fighting for a podium position on the day, but any time he could gain on the leaders would help keep him in contention for an overall win. It is essential that he keep his overall deficit within a margin that could be surpassed with bonus seconds he intends to garner in the sprint during Stage 6.
Klæbo started the day 1:11 behind Ustiugov. Nearly 30 seconds of this were chipped away in the first 5 k, then he began to struggle. He began ceding places and time, leaving him in 16th at the 12.4 k mark 1:23 in the hole. He too found a new gear, closing hard in his final lap to move into 10th (+57.2).
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo climbs his way into 10th during the 15 k classic pursuit in the 2019/2020 Tour de Ski. (Photo: NordicFocus)
As he gained time on Ustiugov, his deficit in the overall standings reduced to 26 seconds, though he still sits in third. Perhaps better suited for head to head competition, Klæbo is in good position heading into the next two stages.
Again the top American distance athlete, David Norris finished 44th (3:43), improving on his 51st place finish yesterday. His time of 39:34.9 was the 34th fastest time of day.
Kevin Bolger finished 61st (+5:24.9), and Logan Hanneman 71st (+7:47.2).
In a post-race interview, Whitcomb shares that Bolger, who is a sprint-specialist, used the TdS distance stages as an opportunity to build fitness. He will now leave the tour to prepare for the city sprints in Dresden. Whitcomb also provided insight into Norris and Hanneman’s races, and offered a possible answer to the yo-yo like time difference seen in the race.
Post-race interview with Matt Whitcomb.
Racing continues Friday with a 15 k mass start classic in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
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
Snow dump — during the 2018 15 k classic pursuit in Lillehammer, Norway. Emil Iversen (bib 3) holds off the charging pack to take third. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Lillehammer Norway: 10 k/ 15 k Classic Pursuit
On Sunday, the third and final day of racing in Lillehammer, Norway concluded with a 10-kilometer classic pursuit for the women.
A win is a win, and Norway’s Therese Johaug, took the day and her second victory in as many days when she crossed the line first in 29:35.5 minutes. Sweden’s Ebba Andersson finished second (+16.8), Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg third (+17.9).
The day’s first starter, Charlotte Kalla, trailed off to finish in fourth (+23.1). Kalla began with a small gap of 2.5 seconds on Johaug. The third starter, Andersson, began 14.5 seconds back.
Sadie Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) ended her day in 10th (+2:21.7), while teammate Jessie Diggins was 13th (+2:42.4). Rosie Brennan (APU) in a strong comeback to the World Cup placed 15th (+2:46.0).
Caitlin Patterson (CGRP), who earned a 30th place on Saturday, fell back slightly, ending up 34th (+5:13.1). Kailtlynn Miller (CGRP) finished in 50th (+7:43.9).
The men’s 15 k classic pursuit featured an off-the-front dual between the day’s first two starters, Sjur Røthe and Didrik Tønseth. The two Norwegians started only 1.8 seconds apart. By 5 k, they had gapped third place starter, Norway’s Emil Iversen by 35.2 seconds. (Iversen had been 11.5 seconds back at the start.)
The Røthe-Tønseth engine continued to pull away from the field to gain over a minute by the finish. Tønseth won in a time of 44:13.8, Røthe crossed the line 1.8 seconds back.
Iversen placed third (+1:03.3), a whisker ahead of a charging pack with over thirty skiers. Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson was fourth (+1:04.4).
Canada’s Alex Harvey was the best placed North American in 16th (+1:08.7). Also for Canada, Russell Kennedy (Team R.A.D.) was 61st (+4:32.4), and Andy Shields 71st (+6:06.7)
Also for the U.S., David Norris (APU) skied to 52nd (+3:21.9), Kevin Bolger (USST) 59th (+4:20.8), Adam Martin (CGRP) 62nd (+4:35.7), Scott Patterson (USST) 63rd (+4:39.0), Simi Hamilton 66th (+4:44.1).
SuperTour, West Yellowstone, Mont.: 15 k / 10k Freestyle
Back on the high plateau’s of West Yellowstone, the SuperTour held day two of it’s Montana stop. The men raced a 15-kilometer freestyle — 3 times around a 5 k loop.
Craftsbury Green Racing Project’s (CGRP) Ben Lustgarten took the win in a squeaker over Kyle Bratrud who skis for SMS T2. Lustgarten won in time of 36:42.2 minutes, Bratrud stopped the clock 3.5 seconds back. It was Lustgarten’s second podium in as many days; on Saturday he placed second in the skate sprint.
Akeo Maifeld-Caruuci (CGRP) placed third, beating out University of New Mexico skier Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier by 0.4 seconds. Izquierdo-Bernier was third in Saturday’s sprint.
The women’s SuperTour 10 k skate also featured a dual-podium skier from the weekend. Alaska Pacific University’s (APU) Rosie Frankowski won in 27:33.9 minutes. Frankowski placed second in the women’s skate sprint on Saturday. University of Utah skier Guro Jordheim took second (+46.2). APU’s Becca Rorabaugh was third, finishing 1:19.5 minutes back.
Domestic racing continues next weekend with the Sovereign Lake NorAm-SuperTour.
IBU World Cup Pokljka, Slovenia: 2 x 6 k + 2 x 7.5 k Mixed Relay + Single Mixed Relay
In Pokljka, Slovenia, men and women completed a 2 x 6 k + 2 x 7.5 k mixed relay. Placing first was Team France with Anais Bescond, Justine Braisaz, Martin Fourcade, and Simon Desthieux who completed the course in a total time of 1:10:02.8 with a team shooting score of (0+5). In the first leg, Bescond had two penalties (0+2 0+0). Following Bescond, was Braisaz with one miss (0+1 0+0). Fourcade raced the third lap, shooting 100 percent. Desthieux closed out for France in first after two misses (0+0 0+2).
Sunday’s second place went to Switzerland’s team of Elisa Gasparin, Lena Haecki, Benjamin Weger, and Jeremy Finello. The team finished 38.7 seconds back from France with a total team shooting score of (0+9). Gasparin raced the first leg, missing a total of three shots (0+1 0+2). Gasparin handed off to Haecki who also missed three shots (0+0 0+3). Weger, who skied the third leg, shot clean and Finello, who raced the last leg, had three misses (0+1 0+2).
The third team to finish on Sunday was Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi, Dorothea Wierer, Dominik Windisch, and Lukas Hofer. Italy finished 52.1 seconds behind France with a team total shooting score of (1+8). Vittozzi shot clean, while Wierer, who raced the second leg, missed two shots (0+2 0+0). In the third leg, Windisch skied six penalties (1+3 0+2), while Hofer closed out the fourth leg with one miss (0+0 0+1).
Team Canada finished in 10th (+2:33.2), with Rosanna Crawford racing the first lap and missing one (0+1 0+0). Megan Tandy tied Crawford’s score racing the second lap. In the third lap was Nathan Smith who cleaned, while Scott Gow also shot 100 percent in lap four.
The US Biathlon team of Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, Leif Nordgren, and Sean Doherty finished in 15th (+4:19.8). Dunklee led the team off with two misses (0+1 0+1) while Egan followed in leg two with three misses (0+3 0+0). Nordgren took leg three with one miss, while Doherty skied three penalties (0+2 0+1) to close out the fourth leg.
In the single mixed relay – teams consist of a single male and female athlete – Norway’s Thekla Brun-Lie and Lars Helge Birkeland won in a total time of 38:26.7 minutes. Norway used only four spare rounds on its way to the win.
Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser and Eder Simon placed second, using five spare rounds, finishing 8.5 seconds back. Ukraine’s Anastaslya Merkushyna and Artem Tyshchenko were third (+20.7), using only a single spare round.
Canada’s Megan Bankes and Christian Gow placed sixth (+37.8) after using 10 spare rounds. The U.S. duo, Joanne Reid and Max Durtschi, were eventually lapped and were not given an official time. Prior to being pulled, Reid has used two spare rounds while shooting. Durtschi struggled with his second shooting bout, using three spares and ultimately skiing three penalty laps.
Bolshunov had a commanding victory in Sunday’s 15-kilometer classic race. He stopped the clock with a winning time of 36:17.8 minutes. Early in the race, Bolshunov’s splits mirrored those of Norway’s Emil Iversen during which the two skiers’ times never deviated more than one second apart.
Toe it! Norway’s Emil Iversen skis to second place in the 2018 men’s 15 k classic in Kuusamo, Finland. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
In his final two laps, Bolshunov began to pull away from the field, putting 19.6 seconds on the second place Iversen before the finish. Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson took the third podium spot finishing 21.2 seconds back.
In a press conference, Bolshunov was asked whether anyone could stop him this season. He responded through a translator, “ It’s just the start of the season. It would be good if no one would stop me but we’ll say about it later.”
Iversen, who finished 9th in the World Cup standings last year said he was encouraged by his race today. “I have high expectations, I want to try to beat that result. Have to do good work all winter to do that, but good start for sure,” he said in the press conference.
Last season’s overall World Cup winner, Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, finished 9th (+47.6).
Alex Harvey was the top North American skier finishing in 22nd (+1:13.9). Harvey had a strong start but slowly moved backward in the standings, which he attributes to poor early season pacing.
“I started way too hard today for how early I am in the season,” Harvey said via Skype. “The first lap I was going great everywhere, then second lap just a bit lesser, third lap worse, fourth lap worse.”
Despite a disappointing result on the day, Harvey is feeling positive about his racing in Kuusamo and is encouraged about his fitness at this point in the season.
“I wasn’t expecting much from the sprint and the sprint was actually really good from me,” Harvey continued. “It’s actually a PB [a personal best] for me here in Kuusamo. Today, just a bit disappointing, but I really feel like the pace I kept to the split at the first 1.1 k – I was third – so that was way too fast for me. I’m not a quick starter on any given day, especially before Christmas I need to pace a bit better than that. So a bit disappointed with the distance pacing, but happily surprised about the sprint day.”
Harvey placed eighth in Saturday’s classic sprint.
In his first lap during Sunday’s 15 k classic, Harvey’s fast pace challenged Halfvarsson to push harder as well, which ended positively for the Swede. Harvey shared this as the highlight of his day, “I took Calle Halfvarsson to the podium today. … He lapped his second lap when I started so I caught him. … I was kind of disappointed in myself in the changing tent afterward and he came and just said ‘hey, thanks man, you brought on the podium today, so I have to thank you.’ So that was my highlight.”
Harvey also expressed his gratitude for the effort that went into creating the high-quality conditions expected at World Cup. This year has seen a lack of snow in Kuusamo. “It’s good to see that Ruka again did a really good job… they’ve had it rough this year, everywhere in Europe and in Scandinavia. I think they did a really good job managing to give us really good racing conditions for the weekend.”
Also for Canada, Russell Kennedy (TEAM R.A.D.) skied to 71st (+3:47.6), Andy Shields 82nd (+4:22.6), and, Julien Locke (CNST) 83rd (+4:32.3).
Leading the U.S. men, Erik Bjornsen finished 31st (+1:50.0), just outside of the points. (The top-30 on the World Cup score points.) Bjornsen raced with consistent lap splits, maintaining a position between 29th and 34th at checkpoints throughout the race.
“It wasn’t the start to the season that I had hoped for, but I don’t think it was too far off,” Bjornsen wrote in an email. “Today, I didn’t feel great. I felt a little stiff, never able to open up and glide out there. I’ve always found the snow to be a little tricky here in Ruka. Hopefully next weekend I’ll feel a little more snap in the body. The goal is to be consistently skiing in the points.”
U.S. coach Matt Whitcomb was encouraged by Bjornsen’s effort.
“I think he [Bjornsen] should feel good about skiing a really consistent race, being in the mix with some incredible skiers, and I thought he was attacking hard from lap one through four,” Whitcomb told FasterSkier in a phone call. “I think he’s in great shape.”
U.S. Ski Team’s Kevin Bolger raced to 63rd during Sunday’s 15 k classic in Kuusamo, Finland. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
Next for American skiers was Adam Martin (CGRP) in 53rd, followed by Scott Patterson (USST) in 57th, David Norris (APU) in 59th, and Kevin Bolger (USST) in 63rd.
Whitcomb added that if the team was looking for stronger results, they would have arrived in Kuusamo sooner so the skiers could adjust to the conditions and time-zone. “We showed up and there was a Russian team that had been already skiing for 2.5 weeks in Finland,” he said. “So, each week they spend on the ground is worth, just sort of an automatic 30 or 60 seconds, just in these early season weeks, where you get your feet under you. When you’re coming from a place that is as far away as Russia or the U.S. or Canada or Australia, it takes a long time to settle.”
Whitcomb continued, “This year is better than any year that I’ve seen since 2006. And I think what the guys have really been missing over the years is some semblance of a stronger team, and they really have that now. So I think it’s gonna produce, with time, stronger results.”
Kuusamo, Finland’s cross-country ski/ jumping complex. (Screenshot from rukanordic.com)
FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland: 10 k/ 15 k Classic
Sunday in Kuusamo brought closure to the World Cup’s opening weekend. The women contested a 10-kilometer interval start classic race. In her first World Cup race after serving a suspension for testing positive for a banned substance, Norway’s Therese Johaug won in a time of 28:02.5 minutes.
By the time check at 3.3 k, Johaug had begun to control the pace and the race. At the finish, she bested Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla, who placed second, by 22.5 seconds. Kalla’s teammate, Ebba Andersson placed third (+32.8).
The U.S. placed three women in the top-30, with Sadie Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) leading the team in eighth place, 1:10.5 minutes behind Johaug. Jessie Diggins, also of the USST,placed 14th (+1:38.5), Rosie Brennan (APU) was 23rd (+2:02.8).
Sophie Caldwell (USST) finished 43rd (+2:52.3), Caitlin Patterson (CGRP) 46th, (+2:56.8), Ida Sargent (USST) 56th (+3:31.1), and Kaitlynn Miller (CGRP) 61st (+3:55.7).
No other North American women were entered in the race.
Saturday’s classic sprint winner in Kussamo, Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov, made it a clean sweep for himself by winning Sunday’s 15 k classic in a time of 36:17.8 minutes. Emil Iversen of Norway was second (+19.5), with Calle Halfvarsson of Sweden in third (+21.2).
Alex Harvey of Canada was the only North American in the top-30, placing 22nd (+1:13.9). Also for Canada, Russell Kennedy (TEAM R.A.D.) skied to 71st (+3:47.6), Andy Shields 82nd (+4:22.6), and Julien Locke (CNST) 83rd (+4:32.3).
Just outside the points for the U.S. was Erik Bjornsen (USST) in 31st (+1:50.0). The next best placed U.S. skier was Adam Martin (CGRP) in 53rd (+2:42.7). Scott Patterson (USST)finished 57th (+2:47.8), David Norris 59th (+2:53.3), and Kevin Bolger (USST)63rd (+3:09.5).
Sweden’s Stina Nilsson, Ebba Andersson, Charlotte Kalla and Anna Haag faced the cameras after winning the silver medal in the women’s relay at the 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti. (Photo: John Lazenby)
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
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Sweden
Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 2nd
Women’s Ranking 2017/2018: 2nd
Men’s Ranking 2017/2018: 5th
Swedes to Watch:She’s fast. She’s fierce. And she’s Swedish. While last spring gave rise to the retirement of many veteran cross-country ski names, 31-year-old Charlotte Kalla wasn’t one of them.
Kalla, who has been racing World Cups since 2006, is back for her 13th season on the circuit and not about to slow down. She finished last year, on a limited World Cup schedule, ranked seventh in the women’s overall, after securing five top three performances, two thirds of them victories.
Her singular focus remained peaking for the Games. She entered the 2018 season scorching fast, winning the the overall in the opening Ruka triple weekend. She won the following weekend’s 15-kilometer skiathlon in Lillehammer, Norway.
Kalla dialed back the racing in mid-December, did not race the Tour de Ski, and returned to World Cup racing on January 21, in Planica, Slovenia. She placed second in the 10 k classic.
Kalla returned from the Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games with four medals, two for individual performances–most notably a gold in the women’s skiathlon.
Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla leads American Jessie Diggins and Norway’s Ragnhild Haga during the 2018 Holmenkollen women’s 30 k freestyle mass start at the World Cup in Oslo, Norway. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
When not name dropping Kalla, the Swedes have plenty to look to in the remainder of their women’s team. There’s the ever shining sprint star, Stina Nilsson, not to mention the up-and-comer Ebba Andersson. In between those two, with the retirement of Anna Haag, there’s sprint power houses,Hanna Falk and Ida Ingemarsdotter. Throw in Anna Dyvik and you’ve got your female Swedes for the season.
On the men’s side, despite the retirements of Emil Jönsson, Martin Johansson and Marcus Hellner, Calle Halfvarsson remains a name to watch out for on course. Halfvarsson ended last season ranked 13th in the overall, with six individual top-10 finishes, four of those on the podium.
Then there’s the 36 year old veteran, Daniel Rickardsson, as well as the 23-year-old Oskar Svensson, who both landed in last season’s World Cup top-30 more than once.
Maiken Caspersen Falla of Norway — in the lead during the women’s final — doing what she does best: controlling a sprint and eventually taking the win in Saturday’s 1.3 k freestyle sprint in Beitostølen, Norway. (Photo: Aleks Tangen)
Welcome to The Rundown, your quick primer of need-to-know information about the day’s racing. We’ll be updating this digest as the day goes on with additional results, photos and quotes. The Rundown is NOT a race report; stay tuned for complete race reports later today with interviews from the day’s top racers.
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FIS cross-country Beitostølen, Norway: 1.3 k freestyle sprints
In Beitostølen on Saturday, the second day of FIS races there sent the women on 1.3-kilometer skate sprint course. Reigning World Cup overall sprint champion from Norway, Maiken Caspersen Falla, won the final in a time of 2:39.17 minutes. Falla was the fourth fastest qualifier.
A lovely day for a sprint in Beitostølen, Norway during Saturday’s freestyle sprint. (Photo: Aleks Tangen)
Norwegians Kristine Stavås Skistad, the day’s fastest qualifier, placed second in the final (+0.93), Lotta Udnes Weng was third (+1.28).
The men’s sprint was held on a 1.7 k course with last season’s World Cup sprint champion Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR) winning the final in 3:14.16 minutes. Friday’s runner-up in the 15 k classic, Emil Iversen (NOR), was second (+0.18). Also from Norway, Eirik Brandsdal placed third (+1.88).
Great Britain’s Andrew Young was 10th overall, James Clugnet 17th, and Andrew Musgrave 24th. They were the only non-Norwegians in the top-30.
Canadians Russell Kennedy placed 51st, Maks Zechel 94th.
Saturday, Bruksvallarna hosted day two of its FIS cross-country races with men’s and women’s distances races. The women began the day with a 10 k classic event.
Friday’s runner-up in the 5 k freestyle, thirty-one-year-old Charlotte Kalla of Sweden, won Saturday’s classic race in 27:54.1 minutes. Frida Karlsson (SWE) placed second (+25.2), Stina Nilsson (SWE) third (+38.2).
The men skied a 15 k classic event. In that race, Sweden’s twenty-nine-year-old Calle Halfvarsson bested the 149 starters with a winning time of 37:14.6 minutes. Sweden took the next two spots on the podium, as Viktor Thorn placed second (+39.1), and Gustav Eriksson third (+1:02.5).
The men’s 15 k freestyle and 2018 World Cup Finals podium, with Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov (c) in first, Canada’s Alex Harvey (l) in second and Switzerland’s Dario Cologna (r) in third. (Photo: Svenska Skidspelen/Instagram)
It is a wrap.
The 2017/2018 World Cup season concluded Sunday in Falun, Sweden with the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle pursuit. The World Cup Finals featured a three-race mini tour with a skate sprint, 15 k class mass start and Sunday’s pursuit.
Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov, a spry 21 year old, began the pursuit with a 38-second lead over second starter, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway. Emboldened with confidence after winning his first-career World Cup on Saturday, Bolshunov set off on another sunny Sweden day in cruise control. His initial efforts looked smooth and powerful yet lacked the apparent stress of being chased by the likes of Norwegians Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Klæbo, Swiss skier Dario Cologna, and Swede Calle Halfvarsson.
In fact, for a little more than the first kilometer, his closest chase group resembled a nonchalant pack, as if they’d already agreed to let Bolshunov go. With Halfvarsson looking comfortable in front, and Bolshunov’s lead expanding, Sundby came around a little over three minutes into the race and began the hard work of actually preventing the second chase group, which included Canada’s Alex Harvey, from latching on. (Harvey started 18th, 1:16 minutes behind Bolshunov.)
The story up front, Bolshunov’s insurmountable lead, was dramaless. The emergent Russian’s time gaps spoke of hard bursts of speed and a settling chase group’s concern with a second and third place. Bolshunov led by 52.3 seconds at 5.2 k and 1:23.6 minutes at 11.25 k.
Bolshunov enjoyed a solo ski into the finish to win the day in 35:03.3 minutes for his second World Cup win and his first mini-tour victory. Along with his win, Bolshunov ends the season fifth overall in the World Cup standings.
“After trying all season for a win and getting it yesterday, I had a lot of confidence today and I felt strong,” Bolshunov told the International Ski Federation (FIS), according to a press release. “It’s great to win like this at the end of the season. It leaves me with positive feelings heading into the training season.”
The story behind Bolshunov unfolded with more complexity. The 5.2 k checkpoint was the last mark for a seven-skier chase group to stay away from skiers looking to link up from behind. As much as Swedes Halfvarsson and Oskar Svensson, Cologna, Sundby, Italians Francesco De Fabiani and Federico Pellegrino, and Klæbo (who looked gassed) tried in earnest to stay away, a near-constant throttling pace from Harvey brought the lead chase group within sight.
By 7.5 k, the first and second chase groups had merged, ballooning to a sixteen-skier pack. With half the race to go and Bolshunov uncatchable, several racers would test themselves, and the group, as they attempted to split the chasing posse. Sundby gave it a go. Cologna gave a try. Norway’s Hans Christer Holund looked fresh and strong upping the pace. But none could separate themselves or splinter the pack.
Switzerland’s Dario Cologna (9) leads Canada’s Alex Harvey (18) during the men’s 15 k freestyle pursuit at 2018 World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden. Harvey went on to place second and Cologna third. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
Harvey was omnipresent — smooth on the climbs, unnerved by any attacks. On the last grind up the infamous Mördarbakken, Harvey pushed over the top to lead a six-skier group that included Cologna and Sundby.
Two minutes out, Cologna gave a burst of hop-skate in a failed break away attempt. Cologna’s effort, however, did stymie the followers enough to allow he and Harvey to accelerate over the top. It came down to the finishing straight to settle the 15 k pursuit score.
Harvey bested the others to place second (+47.1) and skied the fastest time of day in 34:34.3 minutes. Cologna followed just behind in third (+47.5), and Sundby placed fourth (+48.7).
Sunday’s result matches Harvey’s best 2017/2018 result and was his fourth podium of the season. He placed third in the sixth stage of the Tour de Ski (TdS), third overall in the TdS, and was second in the 15 k freestyle mass start in Seefeld, Austria.
“I like these end-of-season tours,” Harvey told FIS. “On the podium now two seasons in a row at World Cup Finals. They are hard though and I am tired. It took some effort to get up to the leaders but I still felt strong and knew I needed to go for it coming into the final kilometer.”
With the conclusion of the season, Harvey ended up fourth in the World Cup standings with 1179 points. The Canadian was 82 points behind Sundby in third overall, after Sundby amassed 1261 points.
The men’s 2017/2018 Overall World Cup podium, with Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (c) in first, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna (l) in second, and Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby (r) in third. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
Although Sunday’s Falun finale was a fade for Klæbo — he placed 25th in the pursuit (+1:45.8) — the season belonged to the 21-year-old Norwegian. He had already clinched his second-consecutive Sprint World Cup Crystal Globe several weeks ago. In Falun on Sunday, Klæbo earned his first Overall World Cup title after winning 11 individual World Cup races this season. He is the sixth Norwegian to win the overall Crystal Globe. He also becomes the youngest overall winner; Sweden’s Gunde Svan was 22 when he won the 1983/1984 season overall.
Cologna placed second in the Overall World Cup with 1290 points and won the Distance World Cup with 698 points (41 points over Sundby in second) and appeared satisfied after the race.
“I think it’s fun to win races,” Cologna said in a translated interview with Swiss broadcaster SRF. “Those are very nice emotions, which I was allowed to experience again this winter. Now I’m surely a bit tired and it’s natural to have a little break, a little holiday.”
It has been a revival year for Cologna: he won the TdS and a gold medal in the Olympic 15 k skate along with several other hallmark victories. On Sunday he was awarded the Distance Crystal Globe, his fourth Distance World Cup title — a new record. (Sundby has won three distance globes.)
“You could say it has been perfect with an Olympic victory, the Tour de Ski and now the small crystal globe,” Cologne reflected to SRF. “Also the win at Holmenkollen [50 k] was a very important and beautiful success. So after two years that have not been so easy to come back from and [when] the big successes were missing and then a couple of races I had to miss myself that was really… If someone had told me that before this season I would instantly have taken/accepted that. And until the end, I was in the fight for the Overall World Cup even if it had already been pretty much decided. But if someone had told me in December that it would be open until the end I wouldn’t have believed it. So it was a great season.
Switzerland’s Dario Cologna with his 2017/2018 Distance World Cup Crystal Globe. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
Yet the 32-year-old skier, despite solidifying his already storied legacy, told SRF he has no clear intention of retiring.
“The motivation is still there,” Cologna added. “I’ll have to see, next year is Seefeld and that’s almost a World Championship at home for us. That’s three hours from my home. So for that surely the motivation is there to be ready and fight for the medals.”
In the Distance World Cup, Norway’s Holund claimed third with 599 points, just 5 points ahead of Harvey in fourth. France’s Maurice Manificat had been third in the distance standings heading into Sunday, but finished the pursuit in 26th (+2:11.9) and dropped to fifth in the final rankings behind Holund (who moved up from fourth) and Harvey (who moved up from fifth).
Kershaw in the Points Again; Bjornsen with 22nd-Fastest Time
In the pursuit itself, Devon Kershaw was the next-best Canadian outside of Harvey’s podium as he finished in 28th place (+2:21.9).
“I felt pretty good again,” Kershaw said. “I’m not quite strong enough at the start there, so I wasn’t quite strong enough to get back to the group, which is too bad, because they were going slow for a while. But, no, I am satisfied. I mean, another race in the points, so it’s not a bad way to end the season. I was consistent.”
Canada’s Devon Kershaw racing to 74th in the freestyle-sprint qualifier at 2018 World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden. He went on to finish the mini tour in 28th. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
Kershaw still has yet to commit to another World Cup season, but he concludes the year with five consecutive top-30 finishes in distance races. Kershaw also noted he had been a consistent top-30 classic skier.
“I think every classic race except one that I competed in, distance, I was in the points,” Kershaw, 35, said. “I feel proud of that. And since the Olympic 50 k, I’ve been in the top 30 every race I did, so, that’s five or six races now, and it’s just consistent. But again, just lacking that last little bit. But the highlight I think was Alex coming second today from bib 18 so that was phenomenal.”
Also for Canada and in his final career World Cup start, Graeme Killick placed 56th (+4:33). Julian Locke did not start.
For the Americans, Erik Bjornsen moved up from 51st to place 38th (+3:10.4) and skied the 22nd-fastest time of day. Simi Hamilton was 49th (+4:07.8), Scott Patterson 58th (+4:41.5), Patrick Caldwell 59th (+4:41.6), Kevin Bolger 60th (+4:43.5), and David Norris 64th (+5:09.8).
“After yesterday, I was not hoping for much in the final. It was over for results for the Tour,” Bjornsen told FasterSkier on Sunday. “But I went out there it is sunny out it is a good day, so I was just trying to finish off the season with a hard push knowing that the result wasn’t going to be what I was hoping for. But still I just saw the time of day, and 22nd on time of day is a good one. I will see more points for the end of the season.”
Those points bumped Bjornsen into 38th in Distance World Cup list.
“I think it was a step in the right direction,” Bjornsen added. “I still need a few more steps like that before I can fight for podiums.
Bjornsen has made gains this year. And given a moment on Sunday to reflect on his progress, the 26-year-old U.S. Ski Team member recalled several notable examples of his World Cup progression.
“Finishing in the top 30 in most of the races, the majority of them, that was great,” Bjornsen said of his 2017/2018 season. “It makes it feel like you are more in the fight and it is a lot more fun to racing in the top 30. The top 10, I was really excited about that in Seefeld. And qualifying for, I think, five heats this year — all in all pretty happy with it. Still, it has always been my goal to stand on the podium some day. I still think I have a few more steps to get there if I can keep on improving like this last year, maybe there is still a chance.”
The PyeongChang Olympics were a ‘wow’ moment for Patterson. During Saturday’s mass start, Patterson was initially caught in an early race crash and then lost and retrieved a ski. Not the race the upstart skier had hoped for, but not spirit-breaking.
“Better than yesterday — got my skis on today,” Patterson joked after Sunday’s pursuit.
The mishaps from yesterday and Patterson’s ability to put them in context underscore his strong finish to his first full-time World Cup campaign. (Patterson did not contest the TdS as he returned stateside to compete in U.S. nationals.)
“I improved through the season,” Patterson, 26, said of his improved results starting in PyeongChang, where he placed 21st or better in three individual races, including 11th in the 50 k freestyle. “Obviously, Period 1 I didn’t score any points. I was a bit disappointed with that, but I could’ve. I came close a couple times, but I think I regrouped pretty well through nationals. Got sick there, but kind of cleared something out that I had from Period 1, a bit of bronchitis.
“Going into the Olympics, I didn’t really know how I was going to do,” he continued. “I had … first points of the season right before that. So, I think I was on a nice upswing. I had a great Olympics. I mean, could’ve asked for a medal, but I did a lot better than I was expecting, really. And then Holmenkollen was great, too. I feel like right now I’m kind of in 50 k shape instead of 15, but overall I think it was a great season, and got some things to work on for next year, and look forward to coming back and solidly being in the points every race I can.”
Norway’s Marit Bjørgen celebrates her overall win in the last race of 2018 World Cup Finals, the 10 k freestyle pursuit, on Sunday in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Svenska Skidspelen/Instagram)
FIS Cross Country World Cup Finals (Falun, Sweden): 10/15 k freestyle pursuits
In the last women’s race of the World Cup season, U.S. Ski Team members Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen made it one they’ll remember for a long, long time as Diggins raced to second in the 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit and Bjornsen outlasted two Norwegians for third. The two finished the World Cup Finals mini tour in second and third, respectively, behind Norway’s Marit Bjørgen who won it in 24:18.9 minutes.
Bjørgen started with a 36-second cushion to her Norwegian teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg in second. Diggins started third, 41 seconds back, just ahead of Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski in fourth (+43.0), based on their cumulative performances over the last two days of the mini tour (skate sprint and 10 k classic mass start).
While Østberg, Diggins and Pärmäkoski formed a chase pack, Diggins dropped them in pursuit of Bjørgen on the first lap. The American continued to push the pace throughout the three-lap race, coming within 16.7 seconds of Bjørgen at the finish.
Meanwhile, during the pursuit, a chase group of five, which included Bjornsen, caught Østberg and Pärmäkoski. The group of seven dwindled to three on the last two climbs, where Bjornsen and Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen and Ragnhild Haga broke away in a race for third.
The three were even entering the finishing stretch, where Bjornsen then beat them in a final 100-meter push to the line. Bjornsen claimed third (+1:11.5) for her fourth podium of the season and first in a distance skate race. Haga followed in fourth (+1:12.0) and Jacobsen fifth (+1:12.8), while Pärmäkoski placed sixth (+1:16.2), Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla seventh (+1:17.9), Østberg eighth (+1:19.0), Sweden’s Jonna Sundling ninth (+1:30.5) and Ebba Andersson 10th (+1:44.7).
Bjornsen now has five-career individual World Cup podiums to her name, and this is the first in a skate race longer than 5 k.
Diggins clocked the fastest time of day in 23:54.4, while Haga was second-fastest (+10.7) after starting the race in 17th. Bjørgen’s time ranked third, Jacobsen was fourth-fastest and Bjornsen fifth-fastest.
Diggins’s performance elevated her to second in the Overall World Cup standings, just 40 points behind Norway’s Heidi Weng (who placed 18th in the pursuit) in first for the second-straight year. Østberg slipped to third overall, 22 points behind Diggins. In the Distance World Cup, Weng took the title by 63 points over Østberg in second, while Diggins was another 32 points back in third.
Bjornsen ended up sixth in the Overall World Cup and 10th in the distance standings.
Also for the U.S., Caitlin Patterson raced from 46th at the start to 35th (+3:58.4) with the 22nd-fastest time of day, Sophie Caldwell placed 36th (+4:00.7), Kikkan Randall finished her last World Cup race in 43rd (+4:33.3) with the 29th-fastest time, Rosie Frankowski placed 46th (+4:41.3), Liz Stephen 50th (+4:57.2) in her final World Cup race, Kaitlynn Miller 56th (+6:13.8), and Ida Sargent 57th (+7:06.4).
For Canada, Cendrine Browne picked off 10 places to finish 39th (+4:14.4) with 27th-fastest time of day, Emily Nishikawa finished 48th (+4:43.7), Dahria Beatty 54th (+6:04.3), and Zina Kocher 60th (+9:28.4).
The men’s 15 k freestyle and 2018 World Cup Finals podium, with Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov (c) in first, Canada’s Alex Harvey (l) in second and Switzerland’s Dario Cologna (r) in third. (Photo: Svenska Skidspelen/Instagram)
In the men’s 15 k freestyle pursuit that followed, Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov started 38 seconds clear of Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo in second, and Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson and Italy’s Federico Pellegrino headed out together another second later in third and fourth, respectively.
Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby started the race in seventh (+53.0), and Switzerland’s Dario Cologna followed in ninth (+56.0), while Canada’s Alex Harvey started 1:16 back in 18th.
While Bolshunov skied the entire race on his own and won the weekend mini tour in 35:03.3, a number of racers battled for second, with Sundby moving into second in the chase pack, ahead of seven others, less than 2 k in. Several skiers found themselves at the front of that group, including Cologna, Halfvarsson, and even Harvey (with Harvey leading the chase at 9.3 k), while the time gap to Bolshunov grew.
With about 2 k to go, the group was down to six. Harvey attempted an attack, but Cologna matched him. Then, on one of the course’s final climbs, Cologna made his move to get a slight gap, but lost his balance slightly on the downhill, allowing Harvey to catch back up.
With one last uphill to go, Harvey was in the driver’s seat in second, Cologna in third and Sundby in fourth. That order held to the finish, with Harvey claiming second, 47.1 seconds behind Bolshunov, Cologna placing third (+47.5) and Sundby fourth (+48.7). Just behind them, Russia’s Maxim Vylegzhanin crossed in fifth (+50.3), ahead of Norway’s Hans Christer Holund in sixth (+51.7), Halfvarsson in seventh (+54.1), and Norway’s Sjur Røthe in eighth (+54.9). Nearly 10 seconds later, Norway’s Niklas Dyrhaug outlunged two Russians for ninth (+1:04.1): Denis Spitsov in 10th (+1:04.2) and Andrey Larkov in 11th (+1:04.3).
Harvey, who finished the season in fourth in both the Overall and Distance World Cup standings, won the time of day in 34:34.3. Holund had the second-fastest course time, 1 second off Harvey’s time, after starting the race in 22nd.
Harvey’s Canadian teammate Devon Kershaw tallied his fifth-straight distance top 30 in 28th (+2:21.9), after starting 27th, and Graeme Killick finished 56th (+4:33). Julien Locke did not start.
For the U.S., Erik Bjornsen clocked the 22nd-fastest time en route to 38th (+3:10.4), after he started 51st. Simi Hamilton improved 10 places to finish 49th (+4:07.8), Scott Patterson and Paddy Caldwell worked together to move up from 72nd and 73rd, respectively, to 58th (+4:41.5) and 59th (+4:41.6), respectively, at the finish. Kevin Bolger placed 60th (+4:43.5) and David Norris 64th (+5:09.8).
While Klæbo slipped from second to 25th in the pursuit (+1:45.8), the Norwegian still won his first Overall World Cup by 119 points over Cologna in second. Sundby placed third, 29 points out of second and 82 points ahead of Harvey.
Cologna claimed the Distance World Cup Crystal Globe by 41 points over Sundby, and Holund reached the Distance World Cup podium in third, 58 points out of second and just 5 points ahead of Harvey in third. France’s Maurice Manificat had been third heading into the final day of racing, but finished the pursuit in 26th (+2:11.9) and dropped to fifth in the final distance rankings.
In her last race of the season, Susan Dunklee returned to the podium. The American started fourth in Sunday’s 10-kilometer pursuit at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Oslo, then made her way into third by the final shooting stage. Dunklee shot 18-for-20 (1+0+1+0) and finished 29.5 seconds behind the winner, Darya Domracheva of Belarus, who missed two targets as well (1+0+1+0) and finished first in 30:37.4. Slovakia’s Anastasiya Kuzmina started the race in first (ahead of Domracheva in second) and ended up second (+9.2) with four penalties (0+2+2+0).
Canada’s Julia Ransom and Rosanna Crawford finished together in 51st and 52nd, respectively, both 4:52.4 out of first. Ransom had four penalties (0+1+1+2) while Crawford missed five (1+3+1+0). Emma Lunder did not finish.
In the men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay on Sunday, Norway’s team of Lars Helge Birkeland, Henrik L’Abee-Lund, Tarjei Bø, and Johannes Thingnes Bø used just three spare rounds to clean eight shooting stages and took the win in 1:13:13.7 hours. Austria finished 50.3 seconds back in second place, with Dominik Landertinger, Felix Leitner, Simon Eder, and Julian Eberhard, with a total of five spares. Russia’s Maxim Tsvetkov, Anton Babikov, DmitryMalyshko, and Anton Shipulin raced to third (+56.9) with just four total spares.
The U.S. men placed seventh (+2:01.5) with eighth spares, after Lowell Bailey put the team in seventh on the first leg. Sean Doherty skied them up to sixth on the second leg, Tim Burke slipped to 10th on the third leg, and Leif Nordgren posted the seventh-fastest anchor leg to put them in seventh at the finish.
Canada placed 16th (+5:42.4) with Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Brendan Green, and Macx Davies. The team had been in 19th at the final exchange, but Davies skied them up to 16th with the 14th-fastest anchor leg. In all, they used 10 spares.
Russian Alexander Bolshunov celebrates as he wins his first-career World Cup, a 15 k classic mass start, just ahead of Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson (11) at 2018 World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Svenska Skidspelen/Instagram)
Saturday was the second day of World Cup Finals mini tour, held in Falun, Sweden, which conclude the 2017/2018 season. Friday’s first stage began with a skate sprint, while Saturday featured a 15-kilometer classic mass start for the men.
As the season is no longer young, the fitness for some athletes frayed, a mass start could offer the opportunity for some to hide in the pack and others to exploit. On a sunny and cold Saturday in Falun, the leading distance skiers on the World Cup were unable to separate. The terrain was World-Cup hilly, yet the pace was never decisive enough to shatter the field.
That field was 91-skiers full. 182 poles. 182 skis. Churning from the start, only those skiers in the front rows of the start pyramid could pole and stride away unscathed. As is the nature of 91 skiers fighting for classic-track scarcity — the lanes taper down in number — pile-ups are the norm. So while some skiers like U.S. Ski Team members Erik Bjornsen and Scott Patterson lost time in a starting-scrum spill, others were looking for brighter opportunities up front.
Russia’s Alexey Chervotkin (43) and Canada’s Alex Harvey (32) lead another Russian Maxim Vylegzhanin 59), Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson (11) and Italy’s Francesco De Fabiani (10) up a climb during the men’s 15 k classic mass start at World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
From the start the pace was hot. There was Finland’s Iivo Niskanen, Sweden’s Emil Jönsson, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Niklas Dyrhaug, Canada’s Alex Harvey, Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin, Russians Alexey Chervotkin and Alexander Bolshunov, and Swedes Calle Halfvarsson and Marcus Hellner, all in either a strung-out or condensed formation 3.75 k into the race. Skiers were slowly slipping off the back. But even with the surging up front, the tactics playing out appeared to place a premium on safety in numbers.
Bolshunov surged at 4.5 k to snag the highest-value time bonus. Otherwise, for much of the race, identifying specific skiers was a task in itself. Coming down the hills a third through the race, the top-50 skiers were a sinuous and continuous line separated by 17.7 seconds. At the bottom of climbs, the compressive part of the accordion effect was in play. Skiers in front could push, those behind became a more dense cluster of lycra-clad athletes.
Despite the prevalent pulsing of pace, skiers like Chervotkin and Harvey had their moments of pluckiness. Each paced a long line of skiers through the 9.3 k mark. But clear at this point was that the pattern of this race would be defined by the collective mass of skiers that began the mass start. Yes, time gaps would balloon a bit by the finish, but at 12 k (the second time bonus), a gap of 1.7 seconds separated first through 35th place.
The move that mattered in this race came from the birthday boy, Halfvarsson. According to FasterSkier’s reporter on the ground, the Swedish crowd serenaded Halfvarsson, 29, with a happy birthday rendition prior to the start. Maybe it was birthday stoke, maybe it was an acknowledgment that with age comes fewer opportunities to seize the win, but with one kilometer to go, Halfvarsson ran like Klæbo. Up and over the hill, the Swede forged a small gap on the 30-plus chasers.
Again on the last short incline before the speedy descent into the stadium, Halfvarsson performed a masterful high-step run. Only Bolshunov at this point could suck up near the Swede’s tails. For a moment, rounding into the final straight, it looked like Halfvarsson’s icing on his birthday cake would be a Falun stage win.
The men’s 15 k classic mass start podium at 2018 World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden, with Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov (c) in first, Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson (l) in second, and Italy’s Francesco De Fabiani (r) in third. (Photo: FIS World Cup Svenska Skidspelen/Facebook)
Halfvarsson came into the straight out of the tracks. As he zeroed in to begin the double-poling finish, the birthday boy stumbled slightly slotting into the nearest lane. Bolshunov flew by with a supreme double pole and took the win in 36:59.8. Halfvarsson placed second (+1.3), Italy’s Francesco De Fabianithird (+3.1), Poltoranin fourth (+3.7) and Chervotkin fifth (+5.2).
For the 21-year-old Bolshunov, it was his first-career World Cup win. Prior to Saturday’s win, Bolshunov had stood on the podium six times in his first full season on the World Cup. (Bolshunov’s only World Cup start last season was in Drammen, Norway, in March 2017.) Along with Klæbo, also 21, Bolshunov has risen into one of the sport’s top athletes. He claimed three silvers and a bronze medal in PyeongChang. His two individual Olympic medals were a second in the 50 k classic mass start and third in the classic sprint.
“I have had many second and third place finishes this season so I am very happy to finally have a win,” Bolshunov told the International Ski Federation (FIS) after the race. “This feels good. I will do what I can tomorrow for another good result but for now, I will enjoy this win.”
Sunday’s final men’s race of the season and last race of the three-stage mini-tour, will be a 15 k freestyle pursuit. Bolshunov leads the mini-tour standings in first with a total elapsed time of 38:37 minutes. Klæbo, who finished 22nd (+13.6) on Saturday, sits in second (+38.0), while Halfvarsson is third (+39.2).
The Swede took away the positives from the day’s near-win in front of the home crowd.
“I tried today to get a win but it was too much,” Halfvarson told FIS. “Off the final corner, I was really tired. I am still happy with second place. I have been on a podium a few times this season and always third. So at least second place is an improvement even if I didn’t manage the win.”
Canada’s Alex Harvey was the best placed North American in 20th place (+10.7). He’ll begin Sunday’s pursuit in 18th (+1:16.1).
Canada’s Graeme Killick (75) skiing with Sweden’s Jens Burman during the men’s 15 k classic mass start at World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden. Killick went on to finish 41st. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
Teammate Devon Kershaw finished 26th (+14.6) for his fourth-straight race in the top 30 (including his 26th-place finish in the Olympic 50 k classic). Graeme Killick placed 41st (+1:13) and Julien Locke was 81st (+3:29) for Canada.
“I felt quite good today,” Kershaw said after the race. “I was a little disappointed with the last kilometer because I was kind of out of position a little bit after Mördarbakken and couldn’t quite get up through traffic, but it’s really close. And a little disappointed to be 26th again; it seems like that’s kind of where I’ve lived all year, but it was a good race for me.”
Kershaw, a 35-year-old staple of the Canadian team, has been seeking a return to top form.
“Just races like today where I feel good and can execute decently well,” Kershaw explained. “To be honest this year I am super motivated after the championship. I’ve [been] having major, major asthma issues at the Olympics and that really really affected me and it took a long time to get a little better, but I felt like by the time I got to Lahti I was feeling quite a bit better. So that really helps, I mean, I can breathe again and I’m feeling good.”
Kershaw is expected to mull over the prospects of continuing his ski career in the coming weeks.
“We’re not sure, I’ll talk to the wife next week [Norwegian former elite skier Kristin Størmer Steira],” Kershaw said of his future plans. “You know there’s a lot of issues right now in Canada so I’ll have to think about it. A lot of guys are saying that they’re gonna call it a day. And I’m not getting any younger, but I still feel quite good, and I mean a race like today shows that I can still compete with the best in the world so that’s motivating, but we’ll definitely have to take some weeks to think about it.”
Nowhere to go: U.S. skiers Erik Bjornsen (bib 57) and Scott Patterson (bib 67) stuck in a pile-up after the start of the men’s 15 k mass start classic at World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden. (Screenshot: SRF Sport broadcast)
For the U.S., Erik Bjornsen finished 52nd (+1:47.1), Simi Hamilton 62nd (+2:06.4), Kevin Bolger 69th (+2:27.1), David Norris 70th (+2:31.2), Scott Patterson 71st (+2:40.6), Paddy Caldwell 75th (+2:52.7), and Andy Newell 86th (+4:47).
Patterson’s race did not go as planned.
“I was in a big pile-up right at the start,” Patterson told FasterSkier after. “I was the second-to-last one out of the stadium and then the first time up Mördarbakken, my ski fell off. So I skied halfway down, got my ski back on, just turned back around and then just like stupidly chasing the rest of the race. …
“I felt OK,” Patterson added. “[Without] those two stupid things it would have been a good race. But I was so far off and then it was really hard to get back to the pack and then it was like, ‘Well, I can’t get to the pack. I am here with those guys.’ ”
Lately, Patterson, 26, has been a highlight for the U.S. distance skiing prospects. The first-year U.S. Ski Team member notched three individual top-20 results at last month’s Olympics, including 11th in the 50 k classic. Last weekend in Oslo, Norway, Patterson proved that was no fluke, as he placed 16th in a traditionally deep field at the Holmenkollen 50 k skate.
World Cup Finals conclude with 10/15 k freestyle pursuits on Sunday.
— Gabby Naranja, Harald Zimmer and Alex Kochon contributed
The Italian men’s team after Saturday’s 15 k classic mass start at 2018 World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden, with (from left to right) Federico Pellegrino, Giandomenico Salvadori, Francesco De Fabiani, Maicol Rastelli, and Dietmar Nöckler. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
The women’s 10 k classic mass start podium at 2018 World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden, with Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski (c) in first, Norway’s Marit Bjørgen (l) in second and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (r) in third. (Photo: FIS World Cup Svenska Skidspelen/Facebook)
FIS Cross Country World Cup Finals (Falun, Sweden): 10/15 k classic mass starts
Day 2 of World Cup Finals in Falun entailed 10- and 15-kilometer classic mass starts on Saturday, and in the first race of the day, Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski pulled out a thrilling finishing-sprint victory over Norway’s Marit Bjørgen.
After American Jessie Diggins led early in the first 2.5 k loop, Bjørgen set the tone from the front for most of the race. With less than a kilometer to go, Norwegian powered up the final horseshoe-shaped climb in first, with Pärmäkoski and Bjørgen’s Norwegian teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg just behind her. The three had dropped the field while lapping through the stadium around the 7.5 k.
While Østberg fell off the pace on that final uphill, Bjørgen accelerated as she took a few quick strides over the top, gaining a few meters on Pärmäkoski as they headed into the descent. The finishing stretch is long in Falun, and Pärmäkoski was able to come on strong just before she and Bjørgen entered the final 100 meters before the finish. There, Pärmäkoski’s double-pole speed not only matched Bjørgen, but beat her, as Pärmäkoski passed her with several meters to go and took the win by 0.2 seconds in 26:00.5 minutes. It was Pärmäkoski’s second win of the season and fourth of her career (including time-of-day pursuit stage wins).
Just behind Pärmäkoski and Bjørgen, who congratulated each other immediately at the finish, Østberg finished 5.1 seconds back in third. Five women fought for fourth place, with Sweden’s Ebba Andersson taking it (+14.5) ahead of Japan’s Masako Ishida in fifth (+14.8), Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla in sixth (+15.2), Austria’s Teresa Stadlober in seventh (+15.4), and Diggins in eighth (+15.5).
Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen was the next finisher across the line in ninth (+24.8), then Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen in 10th (+26.2) and American Sadie Bjornsen in 11th (+26.3).
Canada’s Emily Nishikawa was the next North American in 36th (+1:31.1), and she led her teammates Cendrine Browne, who placed 50th (+2:05.7), Dahria Beatty in 61st (+2:46.6) and Zina Kocher in 69th (+6:12).
For the U.S., Sophie Caldwell finished 41st (+1:36.1), Rosie Frankowski 44th (+1:43.7), Caitlin Patterson 47th (+1:54.8), Ida Sargent 52nd (+2:10.2), Liz Stephen 54th (+2:20.0), Kikkan Randall 57th (+2:34.1), and Kaitlynn Miller 64th (+2:50.7). Rosie Brennan did not start.
The men’s 15 k classic mass start podium at 2018 World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden, with Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov (c) in first, Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson (l) in second, and Italy’s Francesco de Fabiani (r) in third. (Photo: : FIS World Cup Svenska Skidspelen/Facebook)
In the men’s 15 k classic mass start on Saturday afternoon, Russia’s 21-year-old Alexander Bolshunov notched his first-career World Cup win after reaching the podium seven other times this season (placing third in six of those seven races).
Bolshunov hung in the pack and took the lead at the start of the final lap at 11.25 k, ahead of four of his Russian teammates, Alexey Chervotkin in second, Evgeniy Belov in third, Andrey Larkov in fourth, and Maxim Vylegzhanin in fifth. Behind them, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna skied just ahead of Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Canada’s Alex Harvey, who were among 29 skiers within four seconds of first.
While Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson led the final climb before the stadium, Bolshunov caught him on the downhill and out-double-poled him in the finishing stretch, taking first by 1.3 seconds in 36:59.8. Halfvarsson finished second and Italy’s Francesco de Fabiani scored his second World Cup podium of the season in third (+3.1).
Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin missed the podium by 0.6 seconds in fourth (+3.7), Chervotkin followed in fifth (+5.2), ahead of Cologna in sixth (+5.6) and Italy’s Federico Pellegrino in seventh (+5.6), after they finished together. Sundby and his Norwegian teammate Niklas Dyrhaug also crossed the line at the same time in eighth (+6.3) and ninth (+6.3), respectively, just 0.1 seconds ahead of another one of their teammates, Sjur Røthe, in 10th (+6.4).
Less than five seconds later, Harvey finished 20th (+10.7), ahead of Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo in 22nd (+13.6). Klæbo slipped out of contention on the third of four laps, as he dropped from fourth to 22nd in less than two kilometers.
Canada’s Devon Kershaw finished 26th (+14.6) for his fourth-straight race in the top 30 (including his 26th-place finish in the Olympic 50 k classic mass start), Graeme Killick placed 41st (+1:13) and Julien Locke was 81st (+3:29).
Erik Bjornsen was the top American man in 52nd (+1:47.1), Simi Hamilton finished 62nd (+2:06.4), Kevin Bolger was 69th (+2:27.1), David Norris 70th (+2:31.2), Scott Patterson 71st (+2:40.6), Paddy Caldwell 75th (+2:52.7), and Andy Newell 86th (+4:47).
World Cup Finals conclude with 10/15 k freestyle pursuits on Sunday.
France won the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup women’s 4 x 6 k relay to start the day at Holmenkollen, ahead of Germany and Italy, while the Canadian women’s team (Sarah Beaudry, Julia Ransom, Emma Lunder, and Rosanna Crawford) placed 11th and the U.S. (Clare Egan, Susan Dunklee, Joanne Reid, and Emily Dreissigacker) came back from 21st to finish 15th.
In the men’s 12.5 k pursuit that followed, France’s Martin Fourcade won his 10th race at Holmenkollen, putting himself 49 points ahead of Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø with three individual races in Tyumen, Russia, remaining. US Biathlon’s Sean Doherty tied his second-best result this season in 17th and his teammate Lowell Bailey raced up to 28th with the 19th-fastest time of day. Leif Nordgren placed 40th and Tim Burke was 47th, while Canada’s Scott Gow finished 51st and Christian Gow was 54th.
Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo celebrates his team-sprint win with Martin Johnsrud Sundby (not shown), while Alexander Bolshunov of the Olympic Athletes from Russia (l) pushes for silver on Wednesday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. It was his third-straight gold of the week. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
With a gold medal for their team already in the bag on Wednesday, Erik Bjornsen and Simi Hamilton put their heads down for the start of their own race at the 2018 Olympics. The men’s 6 x 1.4-kilometer freestyle team sprint final was scheduled to start just minutes after the women’s team sprint final ended, a race which saw Americans Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins capture the first Olympic gold for the U.S. in cross-country skiing.
It was motivating and inspiring, even confidence-boosting, Bjornsen reflected after his race in an in-person interview with FasterSkier. But he and Hamilton had their own medal hopes to tend to.
Like most of the men’s finalists, they weren’t able to watch the women’s race beforehand and came out onto the course shortly before the start of their final.
“I was warming up and kind of focusing on my own race, but I saw that they took the win when I was running to the start,” Bjornsen explained. “ … We were ready to match them.”
“I did not even see a second and I’m really bummed out that I didn’t,” Canada’s first-leg skier Len Valjas told FasterSkier after. “But so happy for the U.S., that’s amazing, like it actually gave us some positive energy before the race hearing who won. Our techs and coaches ran into our room, like, ‘Did you hear about the girls’ race?’ So it’s a win for North America. It just makes today even sweeter.”
American Erik Bjornsen (6) skiing with Canada’s Len Valjas (7) during the men’s 6 x 1.4 k freestyle team sprint at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
Both the American and Canadian men’s teams qualified for the 10-team final on Wednesday evening in PyeongChang, South Korea. Bjornsen and Hamilton had advanced with a fast-enough time after placing third in the second semifinal, while Valjas and his teammate Alex Harvey moved on as well (also as “lucky losers”) after finishing fifth in that semifinal.
The U.S. had some confidence going into the final after a semifinal performance that saw Bjornsen take the lead on the second-to-last lap, ahead of Norway. Hamilton held onto first for most of the the final lap until Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo passed him shortly before the finish, and France’s Richard Jouve passed Hamilton in the finishing straight as well, putting the Americans in third.
For the final, it was all about the medal hunt for Bjornsen and Hamilton, who placed fifth in last year’s World Championships classic team sprint in Lahti, Finland, just ahead of Canada in sixth, for the best U.S. men’s result in a team event.
Russia had won that 2017 world-champs team sprint with two athletes who were banned from competing at these Olympics, Nikita Kriukov and Sergey Ustiugov, and Italy placed second with Dietmar Nöckler and Federico Pellegrino. After an infamous tangle coming out of the final downhill, Finland ended up third with Sami Jauhojärvi (who retired after last season) and Iivo Niskanen, and Norway finished fourth with Klæbo and Emil Iversen. Norway opted for Klæbo and Sundby for its Olympic team-sprint squad on Wednesday, and Sundby later proved that he was worthy of the pick.
Ever since World Championships, it’s safe to say this is the race that had been primarily on Bjornsen’s and Hamilton’s minds for the better part of the last year.
They came out with a mission on Wednesday, putting themselves in the mix early in the final, alongside Canada.
Sweden’s first-leg skier Marcus Hellner leading during the men’s freestyle team sprint at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
Sweden set the pace for the first two laps, with Marcus Hellner starting them off and Calle Halfvarsson holding their lead on the second leg. They tagged off in first through the first two exchanges, just ahead of Norway and the Olympic Athletes from Russia after the first lap, then ahead of France, Norway and Russia after Lap 2. By the end of Hellner’s second lap, Sweden was still in first, tagging off in front of Norway, France and Russia, all within 1.3 seconds of first. Germany followed in fourth, 2.9 seconds back, and Bjornsen tagged the U.S. in fifth (+3.2).
The Americans had been hanging in fifth and sixth throughout the first half of the race, even after Bjornsen crashed at the beginning of his second leg. Heading into the first uphill after the exchange, Bjornsen skated over the tails of Nöckler’s skis ahead of him. He fell down and by the time he got back up, was in 10th — last place — starting back up the hill. Bjornsen recovered to put the U.S. in sixth, 3.2 seconds out of first, with three laps to go.
“It was super disappointing when I went down, but I mean, it was only halfway through the race and I just got up, and that’s for sure not going to be the end of it for us today,” Bjornsen said. “Unfortunately, I kind felt like I let the team down there a bit. I think that was one mistake that may have made a huge impact on our race today, but you know, that’s ski racing, that’s the way it goes sometimes. Unfortunately it’s at the Olympics.”
Hamilton was quick to respond to his teammate’s comments.
“In absolutely no way did Erik let any of us down, especially me,” Hamilton said. “I watched that on the big screen, I have been at a lot of team sprints on the World Cup, World Champs, Olympics, that always happens to someone, and 99 percent of the time, that person, especially if it’s in the finals, just gives up, whether it’s the first leg, second leg, third leg, they just give up. And Erik, he never does that, no matter what happens to him, what happens to us, he just fights ’til the absolute very end.
“It’s cliché to say that, but that’s what he does,” he continued. “That’s the only way he knows how to operate. … I am incredibly proud to be always be racing with Erik, to be training with him, to be rooming with him.”
The two Americans, who are rooming together in the Olympic Village, went on to lose a few more seconds and two places during Hamilton’s second leg, after which he tagged Bjornsen in eighth, 8.3 seconds out of first.
At the front of the pack, Klæbo had made a game-changing attack on the final climb of that leg, following Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov up it then making a few swift strides to get around him several meters from the top. As Klæbo jump-skated up and over and away from them, Bolshunov, Halfvarsson and France’s Jouve almost looked as if they were standing still, leaving them several seconds behind as they chased him toward the exchange.
Klæbo tagged Sundby 1.7 seconds ahead of Russia in second, 2.2 seconds clear of Sweden in third, 3 seconds ahead of Italy in fourth, and 3.3 seconds ahead of France in fifth. A couple more seconds back, Germany followed in sixth (+5.7), Finland in seventh (+6.0), the U.S. in eighth (+8.3), and Canada in ninth (+11.0), ahead of the Czech Republic in 10th (+12.8).
Sundby dug deep for his final 1.4 k lap to extend Norway’s lead to 5.1 seconds at the last exchange. For the first time all race, Klæbo took his hat off and prepared for his last time around the PyeongChang sprint course with Sweden, France and Russia about six seconds behind him.
Simi Hamilton (6) racing with Italy’s Federico Pellegrino (3) and others out of the exchange of the men’s 6 x 1.4 k freestyle team sprint semifinal at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
Bjornsen had skied the Americans back into sixth, 11.7 seconds back at the last exchange. Valjas tagged Harvey in eighth, 26.6 seconds out of first.
While Hamilton chased Pellegrino, who started 0.3 seconds ahead of him out of the exchange, over the next lap, the two kept Halfvarsson, Jouve and Bolshunov in their sights. Ultimately, however, they were unable to close the gap to fight for the medals.
The three-man chase group, led by Bolshunov, didn’t let off as they pursued Klæbo, who appeared untouchable as he rounded the course. As they sped down the final descent toward the finish, Klæbo pushed over the last little rise, looked back and appeared to exhale as he relaxed his shoulders. But it wasn’t over. Bolshunov was charging hard and Klæbo couldn’t let off just yet. The 21-year-old Norwegian took another breath then about a dozen or so more V2 pushes in the finishing straight. A full four seconds before the line, he let off and secured his third gold of his first Olympics in 15:56.26 minutes, 1.71 seconds ahead of Bolshunov (and Denis Spitsov of the Olympic Athletes of Russia) in second. Jouve outsprinted Halfvarsson to give France (with teammate Maurice Manificat) its second-straight bronze (+2.02), after France placed third in the men’s 4 x 10 k relay, and Sweden finished the race in fourth (+3.07).
About 15 1/2 seconds later, Pellegrino crossed the line in fifth (+18.55) for Italy, 2.17 seconds ahead of Hamilton in sixth (+20.72). The Czech Republic came through in seventh (+28.57) with Martin Jaks and Ales Razym, Harvey anchored Canada to eighth (+35.6), Finland finished ninth (+36.04) with Martti Jylhä and Ristomatti Hakola, and Germany placed 10th (+45.94) with Sebastian Eisenlauer and Thomas Bing.
“For our race tonight, we’re proud of what we accomplished,” Hamilton reflected. “Obviously, it’s always our goal to be on that podium. I think we both know that we can be up there and maybe someday we will. … If we are going to do that someday, there’s no way were going to do it without trying, so tonight was another one of those attempts, and it was a super-fun race, did everything we could, came up short, but we fought hard.”
“I guess we will have keep skiing and fight for it,” Bjornsen said, later adding, “We’re coming back for a gold.”
Canada’s Alex Harvey jets out of the exchange during the men’s 6 x 1.4 k team sprint semifinal at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. The Canadians went on to finish eighth. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
For Valjas, who had slipped to 10th on his second leg but brought his team back to eighth after Harvey put them in ninth with two laps to go, a top 10 at the Olympics on any day was a good one. He previously raced on Canada’s 4 x 10 k relay that finished ninth.
“I actually got a chest cold two days ago so it was kind of a game-time decision,” Valjas said after of Canada’s decision to start him with Harvey. “The team really wanted me to start this even if I’m not 100 percent, and honestly it felt pretty good. I think it was my legs that gave out before my lungs so I’m glad I did start because I felt horrible coming on the bus here. I was like, ‘How am I gonna race against these guys? Like, even healthy I’m gonna suffer.’
He explained that the course didn’t exactly suit his strengths with its long climbs.
“The first work section is a minute with no break,” Valjas said. “I was just trying to use the flats and the downhills like what I’m good at and the rest I was just surviving…
“Honestly for me on this course, at the World Cup last year, I had a terrible team sprint,” he added, reflecting on his 13th-place result last year with teammate Jess Cockney at the pre-Olympic World Cup in PyeongChang. “And I was good shape then. Jess raced great, I was just getting dropped. For me, another top 10 in the Olympics and I’m thrilled how it went and so happy that Alex had some punch in the end there. The 50 k [on Saturday], I’ll be out here cheering. It’s looking great for [Alex] and I’m glad I could help him in his race prep.”
Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Martin Johnsrud Sundby (1) embrace after Klæbo anchored the two-man team to first in the 6 x 1.4 k freestyle team sprint at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
For Norway, the gold medal was its fourth in five men’s races so far at these Olympics. Klæbo has won three of them (individual classic sprint, relay and team sprint) and Sundby two (relay and team sprint).
In a post-race press conference, Sundby, 33, had nothing but praise for his young teammate.
“I think the whole cross-country world at this point is looking on what Johannes does, how he does it, and why he is so fast,” Sundby said. “… We are close and are able to learn so much from this guy. He’s 21 years old. Today we were both extremely nervous for the competition. … Anything can happen, and these tracks are so tough, this sprint track. It’s a lot of uphill and a really tough downhill, and you don’t get any rest at any point, so we were not looking forward to it, but its really good to finish it.”
While Russia’s Spitsov said they had been going for gold, he explained through a translator that they were “not very lucky.”
“We had a small tactical mistake and we lost a few seconds through that when he was basically being blocked, lagging behind the French guy,” he said at the press conference. “We tried to catch up but we couldn’t. Johannes was stronger and faster.”
France’s Maurice Manificat (r) with teammate Richard Jouve after they earned bronze in the men’s freestyle team sprint final at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
For France, the bronze medal was a big deal. It was the first for the 23-year-old Jouve in his first Olympics. Manificat previously raced in France’s bronze-medal relay.
“Second medal and also with Richard, it’s unbelievable,” Manificat said at the press conference. “Three days ago a medal in distance with my teammates on the distance team, and it was a hard choice the last day with our sprinter Lucas Chanavat; he was really sad to not be part of this relay, but I think with this medal, it was for all for the team … and we are so happy together as you could see in the [finish] and to share it with Richard. [He was] unbelievable in the final [lap], it was so crazy, so thanks to him and thanks to all team’s waxers, we had such good skis, so it was perfect.”
— Jason Albert, Gabby Naranja, Ian Tovell, and Harald Zimmer contributed
The men’s 6 x 1.4 k freestyle team sprint podium at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, with Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (c) in first, the Olympic Athletes of Russia’s Denis Spitsov (l) and Alexander Bolshunov (second from l) in second, and France’s Maurice Manificat (second from r) and Richard Jouve (r) in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com.
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