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

Tag: FIS sprint Beitostølen

Falla Impedes Her Buddy Østberg, Leaving Matveeva with Beitostølen Sprint Win

Russia’s Natalia Matveeva (l) on the podium last season at a World Cup skate sprint in Rybinsk, Russia, with Swedish winner Jennie Öberg and Switzerland’s Laurien van der Graaff in third. On Sunday in Beitostølen, Norway, Matveeva won a FIS classic sprint after Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla (not pictured) was disqualified. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

For the second time this weekend, a Norwegian skier was disqualified from an International Ski Federation (FIS) race in Beitostølen, Norway, and missed out on a victory because of it.

Despite a strong opening to Sunday’s 1.2-kilometer classic sprint, in which she won the qualifier by 2.22 seconds over Norwegian teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg and topped every heat thereafter, Maiken Caspersen Falla was ultimately at the hands of the jury by the end of the final.

Norwegian teammates and friends Maiken Caspersen Falla (l) and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg celebrate gold and silver, respectively, at the 2014 Olympic skate sprint in Sochi, Russia.

Facing off against Østberg, Russia’s 22-year-old Polina Kovaleva — who was third in the qualifier (6.44 seconds behind Falla) — another Russian Natalia Matveeva, and two more teammates, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen and Barbro Kvåle, the 25-year-old Falla ran into trouble in the final when she moved to change tracks on a technical turn.

Due to the sharpness of the turn and traffic around her, Falla explained she had no choice but to ski over her good friend Østberg’s skis.

“I saw that I [cut off] Ingvild in the bend, but what else could I have done?” Falla said in a post-race interview with Langrenn, according to a translation. “I was either running up the back of Astrid or into Ingvild.”

While she finished first in the final, Falla was ultimately relegated to last because of the move. She didn’t regret her decision, telling NRK, “I would do it again, because I did not have anywhere else to go.”

She added that the DQ should give her some added fuel moving forward, especially two weeks out from the World Cup opener in Kuusamo, Finland.

“It’s too bad to be disqualified” she told Langrenn. “It was one of best races I’ve done in three or four years. I can use this as extra motivation when I go [to the] World Cup.”

With Falla out, the women’s sprint victory went to the second racer across the line: Russia’s 29-year-old Matveeva, who finished second in both her quarterfinal and semifinal. Skisport.ru noted classic isn’t usually Matveeva’s strength. In 2007, she won a World Cup skate sprint in Duesseldorf, Germany, and last season, she reached the World Cup podium for the first time in three years when she placed second in a skate sprint in Rybinsk, Russia.

Despite the mishap with Falla, Østberg was two-tenths of a second from the win on Sunday, finishing just behind Matveeva in second. After reaching the final as a lucky loser from her semifinal, Jacobsen led out of the start, but slipped back on the climbs and ended up 2.9 seconds back in third. Kovaleva placed fourth (+8.3) and Kvåle was fifth (+12.1). The winner of last year’s classic sprint in Beitostølen, Kvåle, 23, was a lucky loser twice over, narrowly advancing from both the quarterfinals and semifinals with fast-enough times.

Results: Qualifier | Heats

November 15, 2015
Koos Opens Season with Training Races at Beito

BEITOSTØLEN, Norway – A seasoned racer who is a veteran of three Olympics and five World Championships, Torin Koos is aiming for a spot on the U.S. squad heading to the 2011 World Championships in Oslo in February. While a 17^th place in the skate sprint qualifier at Beitostølen (NOR) and a 58^th place in the 15 k classic Sunday may not seem like the most impressive application, Koos regards his season openers as just that: getting his feet wet and readjusted to the scene.

“Oh, it was a start. It always feels good to get the first race of the year under the belt,” said Koos after the Saturday sprint race, admitting that he was aiming a little higher than 17th.

“In the qualifier, I thought I was putting down one of my most fluid prelims yet. The legs didn’t feel incredibly snappy, and the glide on the skis was a little off, and I was hoping for a little more than 17th here,” he said.

After the qualifier, Koos and Scott Johnston, Koos’s coach with the Washington-based Methow Olympic Development Project, decided to get more creative with the wax to improve the glide for the heats.

“For the rounds, Scott Johnston got his mad scientist ski testing skills on and found a better overlayer, getting my skis in the game,” Koos said.

More than great skis

They nailed the wax, but a sprint is full of surprises outside the technical details that you can control – the terrain and the course setup also play a role. And after a poor start in his heat, Koos ended up missing out on a lucky loser spot by a less than a half-second.

“Unfortunately, at the start, my lane had a bit of a downhill…and instead of rolling into a false start, I checked myself right as the starter’s pistol fired. I was way back in the pack most of the race, but found some daylight up the final climb and made a good move into third.

“I heard I missed the lucky loser spot by two-tenths of a second. Okay day, and there’s many more chances to fight again,” said Koos, who is looking forward to his next events in Finland with the group led by the Maine Winter Sports Center.

“Sure, you want more. But I see myself racing myself into competition shape and getting back the great feeling for snow over these next weeks.”

Video from Beito sprint here:

Beito sprint race Saturday

Decent start

Johnston was also content with the season opener at Beitostolen.

“Overall we are both pleased with way the race went,” Johnston said, emphasizing that this was the first of many race weekends in a long season.

“We made the decision to train through this race so we could make the most of our first ten days on snow for the season,” Johnston said. “We are encouraged by this solid-if-not-spectacular result in a very strong field (the race penalty was 17 points), that shows all the components of his training to be in place.”

This is also Koos’ first season outside the U.S. Ski Team in many years, which makes for new experiences both logistically and support-wise. While in Norway, Koos and Johnston are working with a regional elite team based out of Sjusjøen/Lillehammer, coached by former World Cup racer John Anders Gaustad. The set-up has worked smoothly, and helped the duo make the most of their prep time in Norway.

“Team Sjusjoen, they’re a bunch of great guys and have been a big help in making us feel welcome,” Johnston said.

November 15, 2010
Dahl, Falla Capture FIS Sprint at Beito, Koos 17th

BEITOSTØLEN, Norway – “It’s really fun to win here. I won the classic sprint here last year, but you have to handle both techniques. This was a good indication that things are working,” said John Kristian Dahl (NOR) to Norwegian television station NRK after the FIS freestyle sprint.

Dahl qualified 5th, 2.25 seconds behind Anders Gloersen, before advancing to the finals and defeating the likes of Ola Vigen Hattestad and Oystein Pettersen. Dahl failed to make the Norwegian Olympic team last year despite winning one World cup sprint and finishing in the top-4 two other times.

He was followed in the final by Eirik Brandsdal in second and Pettersen in third. Gloersen took fourth on the 1.4km loop.

Petter Northug had his second sub-par race in a row. He did not qualify for Saturday’s sprint heats, and considers sitting out the classic race tomorrow to prepare for the World Cup opener in Gällivare (SWE) next week.

“Petter felt a bit cooked today. You could almost see that he gave up coming into the stadium,” Northug’s personal assistant Eirik Myhr Nossum said to the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.

Torin Koos (USA) was the top foreigner in the race. He qualified in 17th, 6.48 seconds behind Gloersen, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals, maintaining his spot and ending the day in 17th.

Harald Wurm (AUT), Oliver Wunsch (GER), and Andrew Musgrave (GBR) in 20th, 22nd, and 29th respectively were the only other non-Norwegians in the top-30.

Thomas Northug, younger brother of the famous Petter, won the family battle, easily outshining his elder sibling. Thomas qualified 10th and advanced to the semis, ultimately placing 11th.

In the women’s race, Maiken Caspersen Falla won wire-to-wire. She posted the fastest qualifying time by 1.9 seconds over Vesna Fabjan. The two were clearly a step above the field today, with Fabjan placing second in the final as well. The women’s course was somewhat shorter, measuring 1.1km.

Kari Gjeitnes (NOR) rounded out the podium. Marthe Kristoffersen was 4th, just ahead of veterans Celine Brun Lie and Astrid Jacobson.

The 20-year-old Falla, a sprint specialist, is looking to improve upon a solid 2010 season where she finished 20th in the classic sprint at the Vancouver Olympics and cracked the top-14 four times on the World Cup.

With only 25 women in the race, all starters advanced to the heats. The entire field was made up of Norwegians and Slovenians.

Racing in Beitostolen continues tomorrow with a 10/15km classic.

FIS Freestyle Sprint Results (PDFs):

Men’s 1.4km Sprint – Heats

Women’s 1.1km Sprint – Heats

Men’s 1.4km Sprint – Qualification

Women’s 1.1km Sprint – Qualification

November 13, 2010