Tag: Chaux Neuve

Sunday Rundown: Planica, Chaux-Neuve, Rena, Red Deer

Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski after winning her first non-stage World Cup on Sunday in the women’s 10 k classic in Planica, Slovenia. She bested Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla’s time by 3.6 seconds. (Screenshot: ARD broadcast)

FIS Cross Country World Cup (Planica, Slovenia): 10/15 k classic

Women’s report

Men’s report

Just when it looked like one of those Charlotte-Kalla days, Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski swooped in and topped the Swede’s time by 3.6 seconds in the women’s 10-kilometer classic individual start on Sunday for her first-career outright World Cup win.

Outright meaning non-stage; Pärmäkoski has two World Cup wins to her name for setting the fastest time of day in 2016 pursuit races.

But Sunday’s 10 k in Slovenia saw her rising to the challenge and besting Charlotte Kalla’s time of 27:12.3, which was at least 39 seconds faster than the first 57 starters. Kalla had started 32nd and beat the previous top time set by Swedish U23 skier Ebba Andersson (bib 28) by 48.6 seconds.

Austria’s Teresa Stadlober started later in bib 56 and clocked the second-fastest time to Kalla, 39 seconds back.

But it was Pärmäkoski in bib 58 who beat them all. Even Norway’s Heidi Weng, who started 60th, couldn’t come close, as she finished 33.5 seconds off Pärmäkoski’s winning time for third place. That put Stadlober in fourth and Andersson in fifth at the end of the day.

Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen placed sixth (+49.4), Norway’s Kari Øyre Slind took seventh (+49.5), Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk (who’s more of a marathon skier these days) placed eighth (+1:02.1), Norway’s Kathrine Rolsted Harsem (who placed second in Saturday’s classic sprint) finished ninth (+1:03.2), and American Jessie Diggins was 10th (+1:05.4).

Another American, Caitlin Patterson, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP), broke through with her second-best individual World Cup result in 20th (+1:45.2). (Last year, she finished seventh in the pre-Olympic PyeongChang World Cup 15 k skiathlon in a notably small field.)

Kikkan Randall (U.S. Ski Team) followed in 23rd (+1:50.4), and her teammates Sophie Caldwell placed 31st (+2:17.2), Liz Stephen 35th (+2:34.9), and Ida Sargent 37th (+2:37.5).

For the second-straight weekend, no Canadian women competed.

The World Cup men’s 15 k classic podium on Sunday in Planica, Slovenia, with Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin (c) in first, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (l) in second, and Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

In the men’s 15 k classic, Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin tallied his second win of the season and first in a race against Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo on Sunday, winning by 13.2 seconds over Klæbo in 36:54.7.

Poltoranin, 30, started 44th and a minute behind the 21-year-old Klæbo. When Klæbo finished, he bumped Russia’s Ivan Kirillov, also 21, out of the leader’s chair by 43.3 seconds. Then Poltoranin finished 13.2 seconds faster, but Klæbo held onto second when Sweden’s 60th starter, Calle Halfvarsson, finished third (+42.8). It was Halfvarsson’s second podium of the season after placing third in the classic sprint at the November World Cup opener in Kuusamo, Finland. In Saturday’s classic sprint in Slovenia, Halfvarsson qualified second but crashed out of the quarterfinals to finish the day in 30th overall.

Norway’s Emil Iversen started 66th and ended up fourth (+54.7) and Kirillov scored his first World Cup top 10 in fifth (+56.5). Russia had four in the top 10 with Stanislav Volzhentsev in sixth (+57.8), Andrey Larkov in eighth (+1:02.2) and Andrey Sobakarev in ninth (+1:03.4). Norway’s Mattis Stenshagen finished seventh (+1:00.8) and Finland’s Iivo Niskanen took 10th (+1:10.1).

Scott Patterson (U.S. Ski Team) was the top North American in 43rd (+2:56.2), Ben Lustgarten (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) finished 46th (+3:04.9) and Tyler Kornfield (Alaska Pacific University) was 57th (+4:03.7). Andy Newell did not finish.

Canada’s Devon Kershaw returned to the circuit and placed 44th (+2:57.1), Bob Thompson (NTDC Thunder Bay) was 64th (+5:05.0), and Dominique Moncion-Groulx (Alberta World Cup Academy) was 70th (+6:11.7).

Results: Women| Men

***

Russia’s Stefaniya Nadymova outsprinting Japan’s Ayane Miyazaki at the finish for the win at the inaugural women’s Nordic Combined Continental Cup competition on Saturday in Rena, Norway. (Photo: FIS/Romina Eggert)

FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup (Rena, Norway): First-ever women’s competitions

Fourteen women, including American Gabriella Armstrong, made history this weekend by competing in the first women’s Nordic Combined Continental Cup in Rena, Norway (after the scheduled opener in Jan. 6-7 in Otepää, Estonia, was canceled), with back-to-back days of individual large hill/5-kilometer Gundersen start races.

On Saturday, Russia’s Stefaniya Nadymova took the win in 16:26.9, just 0.6 seconds ahead of Japan’s Ayane Miyazki in second. Germany’s Jenny Nowak joined them on the podium in third, 16.6 seconds out of first. Armstrong finished 12th (+6:24).

Nadymova, 23, had kicked off the event by jumping to first in the provisional round, which was used for the jumping results, and began the 5 k with a 10-second head start on Nowak in second place. Miyazaki jumped to third and started 14 seconds back. Armstrong jumped to 14th and started 4:08 out of first.

On Sunday, 15-year-old Miyazaki took the win in 16:23.2, swapping places with Nadymova, who finished second, 11.7 seconds back. Nowak, also 15, repeated in third, but finished over a minute and 21 seconds back out of first.

Miyazaki had jumped to first place earlier in the day and started the 5 k with a 20-second cushion to Nadymova in second. Nowak jumped to third and started 1:08 minutes back.

Armstrong, 19, of the New York Ski Education Foundation, jumped to 11th and finished 11th, 4:26.1 after Miyazaki.

Several U.S. Nordic Combined men also competed in Rena, with Taylor Fletcher placing fourth in Saturday’s individual large hill/10 k, 2.7 seconds behind Austria’s Thomas Joebstl in first. Fletcher had skied up from 25th and 2:17 back after the jump with the second-fastest course time.

Also for the U.S., Adam Loomis placed 33rd (+2:30.7) after jumping to 45th with the 12th-fastest course time. Grant Andrews finished 41st (+3:28.7), and Jared Schumate 43rd (+4:10.1).

Fletcher reached the podium in Sunday’s individual large hill/10 k in third behind two Austrians. After jumping to 19th, he skied the fourth-fastest course time to finish third, 3.7 seconds behind Dominik Terzer in first and 2.7 seconds behind Martin Fritz in second.

Loomis improved to 29th (+1:40.9), up from 35th in the jump, and Andrews finished 37th (+2:36.4) and Shumate 40th (+2:57.9).

Results:

Saturday: Women | Men

Sunday: Women | Men

***

The men’s large hill/4 x 5 k team event podium on Sunday at the Nordic Combined World Cup in Chaux-Neuve, France, with Norway (c) in first, Germany (l) in second, and Finland (r) in third. (Photo: FIS/NordicFocus)

FIS Nordic Combined World Cup (Chaux-Neuve, France): Saturday & Sunday

Four American men competed at the Nordic Combined World Cup this weekend in Chaux-Neuve, France, with three of them racing in Saturday’s individual large hill/10 k Gundersen and all four racing Sunday’s large hill/4 x 5 k team event.

Norway’s Jan Schmid was the big winner this weekend, racking up an individual win on Saturday and a team victory on Sunday. He won Saturday’s competition after jumping to fourth and starting 27 seconds behind jump leader Akito Watabe of Japan. Schmid worked his way up to first in the 10 k with the third-fastest course time, crossing the line 1.4 seconds ahead of Watabe in 23:32.7.

Watabe finished second and Finland’s Ilkka Herola placed third (+21.5), just ahead of Austria’s Lukas Klapfer in fourth (+21.8).

Ben Loomis led USA Nordic in 37th (+2:49), after jumping to 37th, Stephen Schumann finished 45th (+5:17.0) and Ben Berend 46th (+5:22.2).

On Sunday, Schmid teamed up with Espen Andersen, Jarl Magnus Riiber and Jørgen Graabak to win the 4 x 5 k team event in 47:22.5 by 13.1 seconds. Germany followed in second, with Eric Frenzel, Fabian Rießle, Johannes Rydzek, and Vinzenz Geiger, and Finland placed third (+20.5) with Leevi Mutru, Arttu Maekiaho, Herola, and Eero Hirvonen.

Norway had led after the jump and started the relay 1:03 minutes ahead of Finland in second. France jumped to third and ended up fourth (+47.4), after being passed by Germany, which had started the relay in fourth.

Japan placed fifth (+2:50.9), Italy sixth (+3:59.9), Austria seventh (+4:06.8), Poland eighth (+5:22.1), Estonia ninth (+5:52.1), Russia 10th (+6:41.2), and the U.S. (with Schumann, Loomis, Berend, and Jasper Good) 11th (+6:52.4).

Results: Saturday| Sunday

***

Western Canadian Championships (Red Deer, Alberta): Relays

Nine men’s teams and six women’s squads contested the open relays on the last day of the NorAm Western Canadian Championships on Sunday in Red Deer, with Ontario’s Team “O” (Scott Hill, Michael Somppi and Andy Shields) winning the men’s 3 x 5 k and Alberta 1 (Annika Hicks, Emma Camicioli and Zina Kocher) winning the women’s 3 x 5 k.

For Shields and Hicks, it was their second win of the weekend after they won their respective classic mass starts on Saturday.

Team “O” posted a 19.9-second win over B.C. Storm (Remi Drolet, Tallon Noble and Greg Kilroy), finishing first in 36:22.6. Alberta 5.1 (Sebastien Boehmler-Dandurand, Sam Hendry and Russell Kennedy) placed third (+52.3).

In the women’s relay, Alberta 1 beat out B.C. Fast, Furious & Freakin’ Awesome (Katie Weaver, Michaela McLean and Kaia Andal) by 2 minutes and 37.8 seconds, winning in 43:17.2. Alberta had two teams on the podium with the Kit Kats (Ember Large, Molly Jane Strum, and Sara McLean) in third (+4:25.8).

Results

January 21, 2018
Saturday Rundown: Ulricehamn, Antholz, Chaux-Neuve, Zuoz, Whistler, & Truckee (Updated x6)

Ben Lustgarten (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) with his $750-dollar check for winning the men’s SuperTour classic sprint on Saturday near Truckee, Calif. Stratton’s Ben Saxton (l) placed second and APU’s Reese Hanneman (r) was third.

U.S. SuperTour (Truckee, Calif.): Classic sprints

[UPDATED] Less than a week after being named to the U.S. team for 2017 World Championships, Ben Lustgarten — the men’s 30 k classic mass start champion at this year’s U.S. nationals — won Saturday’s SuperTour classic sprint as well.

Lustgarten, of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, raced to a 1.58-second victory in the men’s A-final at the Auburn Ski Club in Soda Springs, Calif., finishing in 3:03.4. Ben Saxton, of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team, placed second, and Reese Hanneman, of Alaska Pacific University (APU), was third (+2.77).

Hannenman’s younger brother Logan also reached the final and placed fourth (+4.5), Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy) was fifth (+5.86), and the third APU skier in the final, Tyler Kornfield sixth (+18.69).

Blackhorse-von Jess started the day off as the fastest qualifier in 2:58.8. Saxton qualified second, 4.1 seconds back, Logan Hanneman qualified third (+4.2), and Lustgarten fourth (+6.5). Blackhorse-von Jess went on to win his quarterfinal and place second in his semifinal, while Lustgarten and Saxton both won their quarterfinals and semifinals.

Jennie Bender (3) of the Bridger Ski Foundation leading Stratton’s Julia Kern (2) and Sun Valley’s Deedra Irwin (5) during the second women’s classic sprint semifinal at Saturday’s SuperTour near Truckee, Calif. Bender went on to win the semifinal, as well as the final.

In the women’s A-final, Jennie Bender of the Bridger Ski Foundation, coming off a classic sprint win at nationals, scored another victory in 3:29.07. She edged Craftsbury’s Kaitlynn Miller by just seven-hundredths of a second, and Stratton’s Julia Kern placed third (+3.42). Racing at home, Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Academy) finished fourth (+3.88). Craftsbury had three in the women’s final with Caitlin Patterson in fifth (+3.93) and Heather Mooney in sixth (+27.35).

Miller proved to be the woman to beat throughout the day, winning the qualifier in 3:30.9, along with her quarterfinal and semifinal. Kern qualified second (+3.2) and Bender third (+4.6). Bender went on to win her quarterfinal and semifinal as well before facing off with Miller in the final.

Results: Men | Women

***

NorAm Western Canadian Championships (Whistler, B.C.): 10/15 k classic

It was interval-starts day at Western Canadian Championships at Whistler Olympic Park and national-team veteran Emily Nishikawa completed the four laps of the women’s 10 k classic in 30:35.5 to win ahead of teammate Dahria Beatty, 16.5 seconds behind. Maya MacIsaac-Jones completed the national team and Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) sweep in third (+1:36.5).

Sovereign Lake’s Hannah Mehain, of the national junior team, was the top junior for the second-straight day in eighth overall (+3:22.1).

In the men’s 15 k, Lappe Nordic’s Andy Shields won the six-lap race in 40:34.2, showing some of the form that won him the NorAm overall last season. National-team member Jess Cockney collected his second-straight podium, finishing second, 4.3 seconds behind Shields. Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) completed the podium in third (+55.1).

Results

***

FIS Cross-Country World Cup (Ulricehamn, Sweden): 10/15 k freestyle

The men’s 15 k freestyle podium at Saturday’s World Cup in Ulricehamn, Sweden, with Canadian winner Alex Harvey (c), Norwegian runner-up Martin Johnsrud Sundby (l), and Sweden’s Marcus Hellner (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

Men’s report | Women’s report

First individual win of the season (second straight, after winning last weekend’s team sprint), fifth individual victory of his career. That’s the latest news on Canada’s Alex Harvey, who won the World Cup men’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start on Sunday in Ulricehamn, Sweden, for his first victory in a 15 k skate race and fourth individual podium of 2016/2017.

To say Harvey is on a roll is an understatement. On Saturday, he beat Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby by 6 seconds after starting a minute behind the Norwegian defending World Cup champion. Harvey’s fastest time across the line in 32:46.2 held up through 76 finishers, with Sweden’s Marcus Hellner coming somewhat within range after starting a minute behind him. Hellner ended up 14.3 seconds back from Harvey at the finish for third place, behind Sundby.

Switzerland’s Dario Cologna missed the podium by 0.5 seconds in fourth (+14.7), and Norway’s 24-year-old Daniel Stock broke through in fifth (+16.2) for his first World Cup top 20.

Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave placed sixth (+18.7), Sweden’s Daniel Rickardsson was seventh (+25.0), Norway’s Finn Hågen Krogh eighth (+32.2), Russia’s Petr Sedov ninth (+33.9), and Japan’s Keishin Yoshida 10th (+34.2).

American Erik Bjornsen landed in the points as he tied Norway’s Simen Andreas Sveen for 28th (+1:09.2), leading fellow U.S. Ski Team members Noah Hoffman, who placed 41st (+1:28.8), and Simi Hamilton in 53rd (+1:56.2). Also for the U.S., Matt Gelso, the Period 1 SuperTour leader from the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) Gold Team, finished 68th (+3:00.3).

Harvey’s Canadian World Cup teammates Len Valjas finished 35th (+1:17.7) and Devon Kershaw 38th (+1:22.2). Knute Johnsgaard (Canadian U25 Team) did not start.

The women’s 10 k freestyle podium on Saturday in Ulricehamn, Sweden, with Norwegian winner Marit Bjørgen (c), Finland’s Krista Parmakoski (l) in second and Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

In her first World Cup race in over a month and at a brand-new World Cup venue, Norway’s 36-year-old Marit Bjørgen returned to her winning ways, topping the women’s 10 k freestyle on Saturday in Ulricehamn.

Bjørgen started 40th out of 61 finishers and took the lead from Finland’s Krista Parmakoski at the finish with a time of 23:46.3 minutes. Parmakoski, who started a minute ahead of her in bib 38, ended up second, 10.7 seconds back. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla reached the podium for the second time this season in third (+24.9).

“It is always great to win,” Bjørgen said, according to an International Ski Federation (FIS) press release. “I stayed at home for five weeks and was training. It is great to come back with a victory. I know that the training I had done was good. It was an amazing atmosphere today by the course. There were people cheering everywhere.”

Norway swept fourth through sixth with Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in fourth (+25.7), Ragnhild Haga in fifth (+32.3) and Heidi Weng in sixth (+34.0).

American Jessie Diggins raced to seventh (+34.9), ahead of Sweden’s Hanna Falk, who recorded her best distance result in eighth (+36.4). Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg finished ninth (+44.8), and Germany’s Sandra Ringwald was 10th (+56.6).

“I didn’t have the snappy good feelings I was hoping to have in my body today, but it was a solid race,” Diggins wrote in a post-race email to FasterSkier. “It’s always hard when you know that on your best days you are capable of more, but at the same time we had great skis, and it was really fun for me to be able to ski with my teammates today!”

The U.S. had three in the top 20 and four in the top 30 with Sadie Bjornsen in 12th (+1:00.5), Liz Stephen in 16th (+1:07.3) and Rosie Brennan in 24th (+1:30.7).

Cendrine Browne as Canada’s lone woman in the race achieved 35th (+1:52.0) for her career best in an individual race. Also for the U.S., Kikkan Randall placed 40th (+1:59.6) and Liz Guiney of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project 52nd (+2:33.2).

Results: Men | Women

***

IBU World Cup (Antholz, Italy): Men’s relay & women’s mass start

Men’s report | Women’s report

The photo finish of the men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay on Saturday at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy, with Germany’s Simon Schempp outlunging Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen. (Photo: ZDF broadcast screenshot)

For the U.S. men, top six was a target for the 4 x 7.5 k relay on Sunday in Antholz, Italy, according to US Biathlon Men’s Coach Jonas Johansson.

Mission accomplished. In the final team event before 2017 World Championships, Lowell Bailey, Leif Nordgren, Tim Burke, and Sean Doherty combined for sixth, finishing 1:04.9 minutes behind the German winners. The Americans used a total of 10 spares but avoided the penalty loop, as did the Germans who used seven spares to clean the eight-stage race and won it in 1:13.57.2.

Germany’s Simon Schempp narrowly outlasted Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen in the finishing stretch to secure the victory for Germany (with teammates Erik Lesser, Benedikt Doll and Arnd Peiffer) by one-tenth of a second. Norway finished second with nine spares and no penalties (with Lars Helge Birkeland, Henrik L’Abee-Lund, Johannes Thingnes Bø, and Svendsen), and Russia secured third (+33.6) with nine spares and zero penalties as well (with Maxim Tsvetkov, Evgeniy Garanichev, Dmitry Malyshko, and Anton Babikov).

Ukraine used a total of just five spares and had zero penalties for fourth (+46.7), and Austria took fifth (+49.2) with eight spares and no penalties, after Austria’s Dominik Landertinger skied away from Doherty on the final loop and finished 6.9 seconds ahead of him for fifth place.

For the U.S. men, sixth was close to their team-best fifth with the same lineup in last year’s World Cup relay in Presque Isle, Maine. The same group also took sixth in Ruhpolding, Germany, last year as well.

With all four making US Biathlon’s World Championships team, announced Saturday, they will likely be aiming for a best championships result early next month in Hochfilzen, Austria.

Canada (Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Macx Davies, and Brendan Green) finished 16th (+4:13.8) on Saturday with two penalties and 11 spares. Scott Gow skied them up to 15th by the second exchange but they dropped to 18th after Davies had two penalties on the third leg. With Green anchoring and using just one spare, they recouped two places before the finish.

In the women’s race, Germany’s Nadine Horchler achieved a lifetime dream with her first World Cup win, after starting in bib 30 and earning her start as a reserve athlete. Germany took first and second with Laura Dahlmeier in second, and the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalova placed third. Susan Dunklee of the U.S. was the lone North American starter and finished 24th after leading at the start of the second loop.

Results: Men’s relay | Women’s 12.5 k mass start

***

FIS Nordic Combined World Cup (Chaux-Neuve, France): Individual large hill/10 k

Saturday’s Nordic Combined World Cup podium in Chaux-Neuve, France, with German winner Johannes Rydzek (c), German runner-up Fabian Rießle (l) and Japan’s Akito Watabe (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined/Twitter)

The first part of Saturday’s Nordic Combined World Cup individual large hill/10 k competition was a shining moment for U.S. Nordic Combined skier Ben Berend, who jumped to second for a total of 127.5 points, trailing only Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber with 139 points in Chaux-Neuve, France.

Berend flew farther than Germany’s Eric Frenzel, who jumped to third on the Chaux-Neuve large hill.

Later in the day, they started the 10 k Gundersen in that order, with Riiber heading out first, followed by Berend 46 seconds later, then Frenzel 53 seconds back in third.

Germany’s Johannes Rydzek started 1:15 minutes back in 12th and skied the fastest 10 k to take the victory at the finish (in 23:01.7). He held off his German teammate Fabian Rießle by 2.8 seconds for the win, after Rießle started sixth and 1:01 back. Japan’s Akito Watabe reached the podium in third (+5.7) after jumping to seventh and starting the race 1 second behind Rießle.

Frenzel ended up fourth (+8.3), and the fourth German in the top five, Björn Kircheisen improved to fifth (+22.6) after starting 11th.

Riiber dropped to 15th (+54.0), and Berend fell outside the top 30 to end up 32nd (+2:26.0) with the 39th-ranked course time.

Berend finished 12.2 seconds ahead of his U.S. teammate Taylor Fletcher, who placed 34th (+2:38.2) after the jump put him in 48th.

Bryan Fletcher was 49th after the jump but did not start the 10 k.

The Nordic Combined World Cup continues Sunday in Chaux-Neuve with another large hill/10 k.

Results

***

Ski Classics #5: La Diagonela (Zuoz, Switzerland): 50 k classic

[UPDATED] Under “blue skies, no wind and perfect track conditions” in the Swiss Engadin Valley on Saturday, according to a Ski Classics press release, Russia’s Ilya Chernousov and the Czech Republic’s Kateřina Smutná won the men’s and women’s La Diagonela, respectively, in Zuoz, Switzerland.

Chernousov, of Team Pioneer Investments, and Tord Asle Gjerdalen (Team Santander) led a large pack of men into the final major climb on the 50 k course. There, Gjerdalen attacked and Chernousov matched him, accelerating away from his competitors up the last steep pitch to the finish, according to the press release. He finished in 2:03:39.6 hours, holding off Gjerdalen by 1.5 seconds, while Øystein Pettersen (Team BN Bank) finished third (+3.0).

In the women’s race, Smutná (Team Santander) pushed to break up the field around the halfway point, where the men caught the women. Britta Johansson Norgren (Lager 157 Ski Team) hung with Smutná, but lost contact over the last 5 k. After finishing second in the last two Ski Classics races, Smutná took the win by 1:03.2 minutes in 2:20:49.2. Nordgren finished second, ahead of Sara Lindborg (Team Serneke) in third, who finished more than three minutes later (+4:17.4).

Results

January 21, 2017
For U.S. Nordic Combined, Quota Spots and More on the Line as World Cup Restarts

Taylor Fletcher (U.S. Nordic Combined) charges around a corner in a 10 k Nordic Combined Continental Cup cross-country race in December at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: U.S. Ski Team/Tom Kelly)

It will have been since Dec. 20, over one long month, since the last Nordic Combined World Cup event. That lack of high-end competition can take its toll on athletes and on the national organizations and regional clubs constituting the sport’s backbone of support. The U.S. Nordic Combined team is no stranger to the vagaries of where their funds are coming from and when the next high-level competition will take place.

Unlike its cross-country cousin, nordic combined is not simply snow-dependent — it’s also dependent on calmer atmospheric conditions. In other words, if it’s too windy, or the winds are too swirly, too unpredictable, the jumping can be cancelled. The first scheduled World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland, Nov. 28-29 was canceled due to dicey wind conditions. The next weekend’s races, in Lillehammer, Norway, had a modified schedule on the first day of competition because of winds: judges canceled the jumping, using the provisional jumping results from the day before, to set the cross-country ski portion’s start order.

The Ramsau World Cup in Austria got off the ground Dec. 19-20, but the cancellation trend continued after holiday break. A lack of snow led organizers to cancel the Jan. 2-3 World Cup races in Klingenthal, Germany. The following weekend’s races Jan. 16-17 in Chaux-Neuve, France, were postponed a week also due to low snow. (Currently, those races are scheduled to be held this weekend, Jan. 23-24.)

So far this season, three out of five World Cup weekends have been canceled or postponed.

Lack of snow and periodic cancellations are something U.S. Nordic Combined Head Coach Dave Jarrett must stomach. “It’s a real tough thing because it’s not anything we can control, mother nature which is difficult,” Jarrett said in a phone interview from Park City, Utah.

Adam Loomis (U.S. Nordic Combined B-team) in a competition jump (Photo: National Nordic Foundation)

The U.S. team has taken what they can control and made the best of it. Back in December, the U.S. men entered several skiers in what amounted to a local series of Continental Cup races with jumping at Utah Olympic Park in Park City and skiing at Soldier Hollow in Midway. Their objective: earn enough points to advance more skiers to the World Cup stage.

Jarrett and the team met that goal. But it remains bittersweet.

“It also adds a little bit of a sting, we earned a wildcard in the first period, with the results at Soldier Hollow. Every race that we have had the ability to start five guys on the World Cup has been canceled so far, and we are not going to get those chances back. Even if they reschedule them later in the year, they’ll occur in a different period,” Jarrett said. “You now that was the the hard thing, because we really needed to get some new names on the points scoring list that we haven’t had before. We have two more chances though.”

If the World Cup schedule proceeds as planned, the U.S. can bring five skiers to both the Chaux-Neuve races and to the following week’s races in Seefeld, Austria.

Excited to be back in @ChauxNeuve for the @fisnc world cup! Even more pumped to see it dumping snow with cold temps! Lets hope it stays!

— Taylor Fletcher (@TFletchernordic) January 20, 2016

But getting new names on the list is something Jarret mentioned several times. And with the current period ending after the Seefeld rounds, the pressure is mounting for results; the number of U.S. start positions depends on it.

“If Adam Loomis, for example, doesn’t get some World Cup points to maintain his spot, then his points will expire, and so we will lose his spot. Bill Demong [who retired this past spring] had points from last year that are set to expire at the end of this period, and we know that he is not going to earn those points back. So we know that that spot is going to expire,” Jarrett explained.

“So right now, we need to have more different names on that list: the Adam Loomis’, the Ben Berends, the Michael Wards. They need to step up because Bill [Demong] is not around anymore, and Todd [Lodwick] is not around anymore, and Johnny [Spillane] is not around anymore. Adam did it last year, but Adam has not gotten any points this year, so he needs to do that as well. There’s a realistic chance that after Seefeld, if nobody gets enough World Cup points, we will only have the ability to start two guys on World Cup for the next weekend at Oslo.”

The Oslo race on Feb. 2 begins the new period.

Training and Maintaining

After the first post-holiday competition was canceled, Bryan and Taylor Fletcher decided to remain stateside, basing themselves in Park City. Maintaining race fitness hasn’t been as difficult, as both are cross-country racing locally.

“But there’s definitely that mental edge, that competion edge that you have once the season starts and you are going weekend into weekend, it’s competition time,” remarked Jarrett. “And it’s hard to replace. The good thing is that it’s been the same for everyone. It’s not like somebody’s injured and they are trying to come back, and there’s been competitions going on. Their hasn’t been competition. We’ve been maintaining fitness as best we can. “

The podium at the 2015 U.S. Nordic Combined Championships, which were held in Park City and Midway, Utah: with winner Bryan Fletcher (c), second-place finisher Adam Loomis (l) and Taylor Fletcher in third. (Photo: USSA/Tom Kelly)

At least for the Fletchers, Park City remains a locale with an upside.

“We are at an advantage at altitude to be here and living here,” Jarrett said. “And we can assimilate sea level. So I feel pretty good about the way that they are, but it’s more that competition mindset.”

The remaining four U.S. Nordic Combined skiers, Adam Loomis, Ben Berend, Jasper Good, and Michael Ward, have remained in Europe to train.

Although race cancellations may impact quota spots, it also impacts the bottom line for his skiers.

“If we are not there, we are not paying to be there,” Jarrett said of expenditures. “We have had to pay some airline ticket changes, and things like that, but you know if we are not there we are not collecting travel money [from FIS], at the same time we are not spending money on accommodations and things like that.”

Beyond impacting institutional finances, race cancellations also impact small wallets. “It’s also they are losing the opportunity to make prize money, which also, when you look at the big picture, they have bills to pay and things like that. Certainly, having no event and no opportunity to earn money is another big big piece of the puzzle.”

With earning potentials compromised, the team must rework how it allocates funds. That puzzle problem is compounded by the team’s insecure quota spots.

“We project revenue based on quota spots, and collecting travel money based on those quota spots. So when there is cancellation you don’t collect that money and if they. If you have a stable quota then it doesn’t matter, they make it up in the next period, but our quota is going to start fluctuating,” Jarrett said.

So quota spots, funding and potential sponsorship dollars go hand in hand. Better results corresponds to better publicity, and hopefully in the long term, a more secure financial situation for athletes. This in turn comes back to the season’s races and subsequent cancellations. Jarrett says the lack of races, the lack of opportunities, ripple throughout the U.S Nordic Combined community.

“We have a bunch of young guys that need to get established on the World Cup list. We are going to lose some spots probably before we get more again. And so, we needed to have as many opportunities to get those extra spots for the next period, and the next period, and the next year. And so when they are cancelled, it has a ripple effect throughout the system. Because if you are starting four or five on World Cup, and then all of a sudden we can only start two, then that knocks two guys down to Continental Cup, and then that knocks two younger skiers out of Continental Cup.”

Now more than ever, in addition to quota spots, the nordic-combined community must think about money. “What we are faced with now is that all the athletes, all the staff, are full-time fundraisers, and tongue and cheek, part-time athletes. Everybody knows, athlete’s included, that if there’s no funds, it doesn’t matter how much you train, if you can’t get there, you can’t get there. So those guys, the athletes, I know the staff, wake up in the morning and they think about two things: how are we going to raise more money and what are we doing for training today?”

For the next two weekends Jarrett has his fingers crossed — quota spots and more are on the line.

January 20, 2016
‘The Indestructible Man,’ Lodwick Immobilizes Shoulder, Resumes Training in Park City

Todd Lodwick (U.S. Nordic Combined) after a strong jumping in the team competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, B.C., where Lodwick helped the U.S. win silver.

In 20 years of competing internationally, Todd Lodwick never had anything like this happen to him.

The risk was inherently always there, hitting the big jumps at speeds around 90 kilometers per hour, but the U.S. Nordic Combined veteran had essentially been lucky — and he still was despite crashing hard in a provisional jump on Jan. 10 at the World Cup in Chaux-Neuve, France.

The 37-year-old from Steamboat Springs, Colo., didn’t hit his head and remained conscious throughout, feeling no pain initially but realizing something was very wrong after hearing a crack and sliding down to the bottom, where he did a “10-point check” of his body. There, he discovered he couldn’t move his left arm high above his head.

First responders put the dislocated shoulder back into place, and that’s when the pain set in.

Todd Lodwick (c) tops the podium at the 2014 U.S. Nordic Combined Olympic Team Trials on Dec. 28 in Park City, Utah, with teammates Bryan Fletcher (l) in second, and Billy Demong in third. (Photo: Sarah Brunson/U.S. Ski Team)

“I was kind of numb,” Lodwick said on the phone while icing his shoulder between training sessions on Tuesday. “Your mind goes in a million directions.”

The medical attention he received was “brilliant,” Lodwick said. “[They] made sure I got the best care possible.”

Understanding he wasn’t going to compete the next day and needed to get his shoulder fully evaluated, Lodwick flew out Saturday morning to the U.S. Ski Team’s headquarters in Park City, Utah. He received an MRI that night, which revealed he had strained tendons and muscles as well as dislocated his left shoulder.

He was instructed to immobilize it for 2 1/2 weeks — four weeks before the 2014 Winter Olympics kick off in Sochi, Russia.

“It’s bad timing, but I feel very much in good hands with the staff and friends and family and support here in Park City and at home,” Lodwick said.

After hiking on the treadmill on Monday, he did intervals Tuesday morning and planned to train that afternoon.

“I’m just excited for each day to come and for the training to commence,” he said of resuming his pre-Olympic regimen.

While he was disappointed to miss out on this weekend’s World Cup in Seefeld, Austria, Lodwick said he was “taking it day by day” and listening his doctors’ recommendations. That will also dictate when he heads back overseas.

Fortunately, he said he’s not on major pain medication and is able to sleep through the night. And he can have piece of mind, knowing he prequalified for his sixth Olympics — the most of any American Winter Olympian — after winning the U.S. Nordic Combined Olympic Trials on Dec. 28 in Park City.

He described the incident as “one of those fluky things that happens in ski jumping,” adding that it won’t affect his confidence on the hill.

“I’m a veteran of the sport, and like I said, it’s the first time I’ve ever had an accident like this,” Lodwick said. “I know what it takes to get myself back in shape and hopefully back from this injury. … I’ve kind of got the reputation of the indestructible man.”

Pointing to the strength of the U.S. team, Lodwick added, “I have every intention of being part of that team. It’s going to be a privilege to walk in the Opening Ceremony, should I have the chance.”

“We have every intention of him competing in Sochi,” U.S. Head Coach Dave Jarrett wrote in an email.

“I’m a firm believer that things happen in life for a reason,” Lodwick explained. “How the cookie crumbles, we’re going to move forward with every intention to go to the Olympic Games.”

January 14, 2014
Weekend Roundup: Dénouement

The men’s classic sprint podium in Liberec: 1. Teodor Peterson (SWE), 2. Emil Jonsson (SWE). 3. Pal Golberg (NOR). Photo: Nordic Focus/FIS Cross Country.

After the drama — and exhaustion — of the Tour de Ski, most of the seven-race series’ participants took some much-needed rest to try to get ready for World Championships and replenish their ATP supplies. Instead of the distance skiers, sprinters were in the spotlight at this weekend’s World Cup competitions in Liberec, Czech Republic. With only one real sprint in the Tour de Ski this year, and a long break over Christmas, they were itching to get back to racing.

In the men’s classic sprint Teodor Peterson of Sweden took the win, reprising his place on the circuit as the man to beat. Teammate Emil Jønsson was second; as has been true so often in the last two seasons, the two tall Swedes will likely be dueling for the overall Sprint Cup title. However, Sweden couldn’t follow up on that success in the team sprint, with the Russians instead taking the victory on Sunday. Andy Newell (USA) finished sixth and Lenny Valjas (CAN) tenth, particularly impressive because Valjas completed the entire Tour de Ski. He was the top finisher in the sprint to have done so.

In the women’s sprint Mona-Liisa Mahlvaleto of Finland got her first win of the season, while Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland continued to roll after her Tour victory and won a photo finish for second. The Canadians were impressive, with all three women qualifying for the heats and Dasha Gaiazova taking a career-best fourth place finish after losing the same photo finish with Kowalczyk and Maiken Caspersen Falla of Norway; Perianne Jones was ninth. In the next day Falla and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg won the team sprint, while two young Americans, Sadie Bjornsen and Ida Sargent, teamed up for seventh place.

Biathlon returned to the site of 2012 World Championships, and things in Ruhpolding looked very similar to last March. Martin Fourcade of France was on a roll, anchoring the winning men’s relay and winning both the pursuit and mass start. While Miriam Gossner of Germany, a newcomer to the winners’ circle this year, powered her way to a sprint win under difficult conditions, Tora Berger of Norway rose to the top in the mass start, just as she did at World Championships. Both Fourcade and Berger had the lead in their World Cup total scores coming into this weekend, and they still have it going out.

It was a good weekend for the North American teams, too, starting with the men’s relay where the U.S. was in second place after two legs, thanks to excellent performances by Lowell Bailey and Leif Nordgren; despite fading in the second half, it was a good effort by the team. In the sprints, Scott Perras of Canada led the way with the first top-ten finish of his career, while Annelies Cook (USA) and Scott Gow (Canada) also had career-bests in 26th and 29th.

In nordic combined action in Chaux-Neuve, France, Taylor Fletcher led the U.S. in tenth in the large hill competition before teaming up with brother Bryan to place seventh in the team event.

It feels like ages ago, but U.S. Cross Country Championships just finished this week, with Sadie Bjornsen and Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess winning the skate sprints to wrap up the week of racing. After that excitement, as well as Canadian junior/U23 trials, the domestic race circuits were off for the weekend.

We also explored how geopolitics and history have increased the depth of the biathlon field; interviewed Slovenian World Champion biathlete (and Croatian at heart) Jakov Fak; and learned all you need to know about the Canadians’ Tour de Ski tour bus.

FIS Cross Country World Cup, Liberec, Czech Republic (results)

Saturday classic sprints: men’s report | women’s report | American report | Canadian report

Sunday freestyle team sprints: men’s report | women’s report | North American report

Notes and quotes

IBU Biathlon World Cup, Ruhpolding, Germany

Wednesday women’s 4 x 6 k relay: report | results

Thursday men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay: report | results

Friday women’s 7.5 k sprint: report | results

Saturday men’s 10 k sprint: report | Canadian report | results

Sunday 12.5 / 15 k mass starts: men’s report | men’s results | women’s blog post | women’s results

FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, Chaux-Neuve, France

Saturday large hill: results

Sunday 2-man team competition: blog post | results

U.S. National Championships, Soldier Hollow, Utah

skate sprint: men’s report | women’s report | notes and quotes | men‘s & women‘s photos | men‘s video | results

NorAm/Junior and U23 Trials, Thunder Bay, Ontario – notes and quotes

January 14, 2013
Pittin Picks Up Second-Straight Win; Spillane Makes Top 10

Johnny Spillane (USA) at the 2011 World Championships in Oslo. On Saturday, he notched a season-best ninth.

A day after Alessandro Pittin became the first Italian to win a nordic combined World Cup event, the Olympic bronze medalist repeated his success, edging Jason Lamy Chappuis of France on Saturday in Chaux-Neuve, France.

After ranking 22^nd of 54 athletes in the 118-meter large hill jump, Pittin went on to catch the leaders in the 10 k Gundersen start and pulled out the victory in a photo finish with Lamy Chappuis and Fabian Riessle (GER), who was third.

Pittin posted the second-fastest time Saturday after Magnus Moan (NOR), who ranked 30^th in the jump and first in the race. Not far behind the race leaders, American Bill Demong climbed his way to 12^th place with the third-fastest split.

While Pittin added another achievement to the Italian history books, and Lamy Chappuis, who was born in Montana and moved to France as a kid, maintained his top spot in the World Cup standings, American Johnny Spillane lowered his season-best to ninth on Saturday.

Spillane had previously notched his best result of 2011/2012 season on Friday, when he finished 13^th in Chaux-Neuve. The same day, Demong placed a season-best eighth, and Bryan Fletcher had his second-best result of the season in 14^th.

“Everything has been slowly coming together, mostly on the jumping side of things,” Spillane wrote in an email after Saturday’s competition. “I have been feeling good on the skinny skis but needed to do a better job on the jump hill to have a chance.”

On Saturday, the second of three consecutive days of competition, Spillane was the ninth fastest in the 10 k after ranking 13^th in the jump.

After seeing his best results in nearly two years following an injury that caused him to miss the beginning of last season, the 2010 Olympic silver medalist hadn’t met his podium expectations, but felt he was getting there.

“I’m feeling positive about the rest of the season,” Spillane wrote. “I feel like I’m in good shape but I still have work to do on the jump hill before I can be in there day in and day out.”

After Spillane, who was 7.9 seconds out of first, and Demong (+10.5), Taylor Fletcher was 31^st and his brother, Bryan Fletcher, 32^nd on Saturday. Both climbed from ranking a respective 49^th and 41^st in the morning jumping portion. Another American, Nick Hendrickson finished 41^st after ranking 49^th in the jump.

Saturday’s results.

January 14, 2012
NoCo: Solid WC Weekend Bodes Well for Oslo

Todd Lodwick was eighth in Sunday’s World Cup competition in Chaux Neuve (FRA), after jumping to start the cross-country in third place. Bryan Fletcher could easily have been top 10 on Saturday if the margins were on his side, Johnny Spillane is consistently jumping better and returning to race shape, and Bill Demong is showing promising colors. This was the final World Cup weekend before the World Championships in Oslo next month.

“Four guys in the top 30 is always a good day, for sure we wanted to be in the top half with everyone too. Things are coming together more and more,” said US Nordic Combined head coach Dave Jarrett after the competitions in France.

Jarrett’s conclusion on the weekend’s events is that things are on track.

“Todd jumped well but didn’t finish the race strongly. He was out of gas the last lap. Bryan had a great trial jump but his comp jump was a bit below his average. The good thing is that he now able to score points in a full-strength World Cup with a below average day. Johnny had a better day, jumping is coming slowly each jump and racing is coming around too. Billy is still looking for the loving feeling on the hill. Skiing is coming too,” Jarrett said to FasterSkier, summarizing the weekend in France.

Now the team is returning to base in Park City, Utah, to make sure all their i’s dotted and their t’s are crossed before heading back across the pond for the Worlds.

“We are going home now to get ready for Oslo and show up with our full Mojo,” said Jarrett.

Confidence-builder

Bryan Fletcher, who has moved in, established and defended his position in the top 30 on the World Cup this season, is excited about the upcoming championships. This last World Cup weekend helped his confidence.

“The weekend was a success, not on any huge level for me, but I am happy with my results. Things felt good this weekend my jumping was on par with what I was hoping for and my cross-country felt strong,” Fletcher said in an email to FasterSkier.

“The first day I surprised myself and was able to ski up to 13th place only to hit a wall on the last hill and lost my pack falling back to 21st place. However I was happy with my race over all it was a solid step to build some confidence,” the 24-year-old said.

Jarrett is also encouraged by Fletcher’s performance, and points out that his preliminary jump was particularly good, landing him an 18th place. Saturday Fletcher was 24th in the jumping and 21st overall.

“With just a few more meters he could have been top 10 again today. Anyway, he jumped well and skied well. He was in a group with some fast guys so it was hard to make up places. Solid nonetheless,” Jarrett noted.

Sunday Fletcher ran into bad conditions on the jump hill but still pulled off a decent jump and started the cross-country in 34th place, two minutes behind Jason Lamy-Chappuis (FRA) who went ahead and won the competition on home turf. Solid performance on the course landed him in 27th place overall, securely within his own season goal of consistent top 30 results on the World Cup.

“The second day I had some adverse conditions on the jump hill. However was able to put an OK jump together and had another solid race. I didn’t feel quite as good as the first day, but I was able to ski into points, which is tough from my starting position. I ended up 27th place,” Fletcher explained.

Prep time

From here it’s all about getting ready for the World Championships.

“There will be lots of training to gear up (for the Worlds),” Fletcher said, adding that he is looking forward to the process.

“I will be focusing on fine-tuning the things that are limiting me from being in the top 10. I will also be taking the time to gain some much needed rest and relaxation,” Fletcher said to FasterSkier.

Fletcher is also planning on racing into shape by participating in some races on home turf and some longer efforts, including the 32-kilometer Boulder Mountain Tour in Sun Valley, Idaho.

“I plan on doing a couple races as well when I am home. The biggest race will be the Boulder Mountain Tour. The BMT has always been a fun race for me, and having missed it last year I am looking forward to being able come back and ski this year. I find it’s always fun to mix it up a little bit with the other skiers,” Fletcher concluded.

The first Nordic Combined race at the World Championships in Oslo is on February 26.

Complete results from Saturday’s World Cup in Chaux Neuve here.

Complete results from Sunday’s World Cup event here.

Taylor Fletcher: COC in Harrachov (CZE)

Bryan Fletcher’s brother had a job to do with the US Nordic Combined team on the Continental Cup circuit and executed according to plan.

“It was a very successful trip for me! Not only did I score World Cup points, but I am now three for three on COC podiums this year,” Taylor Fletcher in an email to FasterSkier. The 20-year-old has raced with the World Cup crew for much of the winter. Just like his brother, Taylor Fletcher found the final major event weekend before the Worlds to provide extra confidence.

“I felt like this weekend was a very motivating weekend. I told (head coach) Dave Jarrett what I wanted to do, and went and did just that. It is a major confidence-builder as we are heading to Oslo,” Taylor Fletcher said.

Leading up to the Worlds, he will be paying attention to the details and honing his peak, as well as just getting some more raw volume under his belt. Taylor Fletcher is also trying to dial his match weight for optimal performance, something that matters more on the hill than on the course.

“I’ll be training a lot building up my intensity making sure I am the fastest I possibly can. I will do at least one race and possibly the Boulder Mountain Tour. But I will also slim down a little more and try to get to 65 kilos before Oslo to optimize my performance on the jump hill,” Taylor Fletcher said.

Complete results from the COC Friday here and Saturday here

January 25, 2011
NoCo: World Cup Makes One Last Stop Before Oslo

After a so-so weekend in Seefeld, Austria, last weekend, the team is moving on and looking ahead to Oslo. This weekend in Chaux Neuve, France, is the last chance to compete at the World Cup level before the World Championships in Oslo next month.

“I am excited to just compete and try to get some more points. After having two weekends of not my best races, I am just looking to improve upon the last two weekends,” said Bryan Fletcher, who has made a consistent splash into the top 30 this season.

Fletcher is encouraged by the improving conditions in Chaux Neuve, and notes that it could not get much worse.

“Conditions are looking better and better every day. When we showed up there was absolutely no snow,” Fletcher said in an email to FasterSkier.

“Today it has snowed off and on all day, and the temps have dropped down a bit so that is good they are able to make snow. So the competitions look like they are going to be good,” Fletcher added.

Aside from Bryan Fletcher, Johnny Spillane and Todd Lodwick, Billy Demong has joined the crew after staying home last weekend for the birth of his son Liam to round out the US team in Chaux Neuve. Taylor Fletcher, who raced the World Cup in Seefeld last weekend, has joined the COC crew in Harrachov, Czech Republic, to try earn some more points for the US nordic combined team.

While the US racers are looking to make their names known and feared in time for the Worlds in Oslo, hometown favorite and current World Cup leader Jason Lamy-Chappuis is excited about the competitions in friendly territory.

“There’s always a great atmosphere in Chaux-Neuve so I’m looking forward a lot to the competitions at home.”

The venue at Chaux Neuve is among the most modern on the World Cup circuit. The La Cote Feuilee-Hill officially opened on December 14th 2010 after the reconstruction a HS 118. Local hero Jason Lamy-Chappuis from Bois-d’Amont made the first jump, pulling off 115 meters, and enjoyed both the honor and the hill.

“It was an honor for me to make the first jump,” Lamy-Chappuis said to FIS Nordic Combined.

Chaux-Neuve is not only an indicator for the World Championships in Norway, but it’s also the last chance to score World Cup points before the season final in Lahti.

January 21, 2011