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  • Thursday Rundown: Swirbul 3rd in Junior Worlds Skiathlon; U.S. NoCo Relay 7th (Updated)

    Thursday Rundown: Swirbul 3rd in Junior Worlds Skiathlon; U.S. NoCo Relay 7th (Updated)

    American Hailey Swirbul (University of Alaska Anchorage) leads Norway’s Lone Johansen up a climb during the second half of the women’s 10 k skiathlon on Thursday at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)

    (This article has been updated to include comments from Americans Hailey Swirbul and Gus Schumacher.)

    Junior World Championships (Goms, Switzerland): 10/20 k skiathlons

    Hailey Swirbul is 2-for-2 when it comes to podiums at this year’s Junior World Championships; in her second-straight race this week in Goms, the 19-year-old American earned a medal in a distance race. On Thursday, it was bronze in the women’s 10-kilometer skiathlon.

    The women’s 10 k skiathlon podium at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland, with Sweden’s Frida Karlsson (c) in first, Norway’s Lone Johansen (l) in second, and American Hailey Swirbul (r) in third. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)

    Swirbul, a sophomore at the University of Alaska Anchorage, closed the gap to the leaders over the final 5 k skate portion of Thursday’s race, doing so in tough, slow conditions with heavy snowfall. She ended up third in a sprint finish with Norway’s Lone Johansen, who took second by 0.7 seconds, as the two finished 35.5 seconds and 36.2 seconds behind the winner, Sweden’s Frida Karlsson, respectively.

    Karlsson won it in 32:55.7 minutes. She had been second at the transition from classic to skate halfway through the race, just behind France’s Laura Chamiot-Maitral in first. Four women came through the exchange together within 2.6 seconds of first, while Swirbul was about 15 seconds back in eighth.

    “Coming into the exchange I was right where I wanted to be,” Swirbul wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “I knew that some of the girls ahead of me would not be able to sustain their pace the entire skate leg. It was important for me to remember that and not try to close the gap too quickly with the Norwegian I was skiing with.”

    While Karlsson broke away over the final 5 k, Swirbul helped lead the chase, moving into second and 31 seconds back on a long, steep climb at 6.7 k.

    “I won’t lie, the skate leg was tough! I think everyone was suffering out there in the fresh snow,” Swirbul wrote. “I tried to conserve energy on the gradual downhill before the big climb to use on the hill.”

    On the last lap, she worked to distance herself from fourth place.

    “I knew that the fourth place skier was closing in on us the last lap,” she wrote. “Going up the final hill, I had to make a move to secure a podium spot and give what I had to ski away form the fourth place girl over the second to last big climb. The last few hundred meters were so intense! I didn’t have anything left to sprint it out for second place. Gotta work on that!”

    Two days ago, Swirbul placed second in the 5 k classic for her first individual medal and the best-ever finish for the U.S. at Junior Worlds.

    “This means so much,” she told race organizers after taking third in Thursday’s skiathlon. “I’m so happy to represent the United States here and show how we can improve in the future and what we have in our country.”

    In her email to FasterSkier, Swirbul explained that she entered Thursday’s race confident yet calm.

    “After my silver medal I believed in myself more than before,” she wrote. “However, I managed to stay calm and not put high expectations on myself for the skiathlon which allowed me to race my best. I was hoping to ski smart and relaxed and not be afraid to make it hurt! In a mass start that is really all I can control.”

    For much of the first leg, about 4 k, she skied with what she described as “a huge pack of girls, which was kind of stressful for me.”

    “It’s harder for me to match the stride of someone almost a foot smaller than I am in a classic track, so once the group broke up I was able to find my rhythm,” Swirbul wrote. “The snow storm made the tracks super slow where they weren’t skied in, so it was a waste of energy to try to pass people outside of the skied in track. I made that mistake a few times and ended up not passing anyone, just wasting energy plowing through powder.”

    But her skis felt fast in both the classic and skate legs, she noted. “The wax techs have been killing it!”

    With one race left, the women’s 4 x 3.3-kilometer relay on Sunday, Swirbul wrote that she was eyeing another podium.

    “I think it is fair to think that our relay team has a good shot at the podium. That would be the cherry on top :)”

    Karlsson told organizers that she was focused solely on the gold on Thursday.

    “It was very fun today and my body felt very good, then I was just going for the gold today,” Karlsson said. In her first Junior Worlds, she had previously placed third in the skate sprint earlier in the week.

    “It means a lot,” Karlsson, 18, added. “This is a very good sign that I’m doing the right thing. I have one more year left as a junior so I’m looking forward to next year’s Junior World Championships as well.”

    Also for the U.S., Kathleen O’Connell (Montana State University) placed 20th (+2:18.2), Molly Gellert was 40th (+3:59.4) and Sofia Shomento was 58th (+6:25.7).

    Canada’s Natalie Hynes (University of Alaska Anchorage) placed 24th (+2:40.0), Hannah Mehain was 37th (+3:54.9), Alexandra Racine 51st(+5:16.1), and Catherine Reed-Metayer 62nd (+7:17.7).

    Norway’s Harald Østberg Amundsen winning the men’s 20 k skiathlon at 2018 Junior World Championships in Goms, Switzerland. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)

    In the junior men’s 20 k skiathlon that followed, Harald Østberg Amundsen pulled out a 34.7-second victory over fellow Norwegian Jon Rolf Skamo Hope, who won the 10 k classic two days ago. Norway swept the podium with Jørgen Lippert in third, 1:00.1 minutes back, two days after Lippert placed third in the 10 k individual start.

    The win was Amundsen’s first individual gold after he was on Norway’s winning 4 x 5 k relay at last year’s Junior Worlds in Utah, where he placed third in the 10 k skiathlon. On Tuesday, he was fourth in the 10 k classic.

    “Unbelievable,” he said during a post-race arena interview. “I tried to keep calm on the classic part, and on the skate part just tried to keep the speed up. … I tried to go fast on the beginning and end of the uphills, and a bit controlled in the middle. I think the final was great, unbelievable.”

    American Gus Schumacher (Alaska Winter Stars) raced to 15th (+2:43.6) besting his two previous top 20’s this week (19th in the freestyle sprint and 17th in the 10 k classic) at his first Junior Worlds. He skied much of the race with Ben Ogden (Stratton Mountain School), who finished 18th (+2:51.2) for his second-straight top 20 (after placing seventh in the 10 k).

    “My classic skis were great today,” Schumacher wrote in an email. “The techs nailed it and I had really solid kick and good glide. I was able to run up the steepest hills and kick the buildup off right at the top and glide right with everyone. During that first 10k I think I did a good job staying relaxed and now letting myself push too hard up the big climbs. The pace in the pack wasn’t bad, definitely a little rushed at the beginning but I was able to settle in well.

    “On my second half I was still just focused on not pushing too hard and staying relaxed, while also keeping the pace fast and carrying speed through the corners,” he continued. “Generally I felt pretty good, but my body was just getting tired and I was hanging in there.”

    While he dropped Ogden over the last kilometer, Schumacher wasn’t able to shake Italy’s Luca Del Fabbro, who finished half a second ahead of him in 15th.

    “I pushed really hard up the last hill into first [ahead of Del Fabbro] but was a little weak over the top and he pulled up alongside me and crossed in front of me on the corner then almost fell,” Schumacher recalled. “Pulled up alongside on the flat, but had to get back on the inside and just couldn’t get past.

    “Overall I’m pretty happy, I think I paced well and I generally executed well,” he concluded. “I think it wasn’t my best possible, but it was definitely a well-executed race.”

    Also for the U.S., Hunter Wonders (Alaska Pacific University) placed 26th (+3:56.0), and Karl Schulz finished 60th (+8:30.3).

    Félix Longpré led Canada in 28th (+4:07.0), Etienne Hebert followed in 30th (+4:33.3), Antoine Cyr was 32nd (+4:45.4), and Reed Godfrey 54th (+7:18.4).

    Results: Women | Men

    ***

    The Austrian team (from left to right: Johannes Lamparter, Florian Dagn, Dominik Terzer, and Mika Vermeulen) celebrates its win in the normal hill/4 x 5 k team event on Thursday at 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Germany. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)

    Nordic Combined Junior World Championships  (Kandersteg, Switzerland): Normal hill/4 x 5 k Team Event

    In the nordic combined team event at Junior World Championships on Thursday, Austria stole the show, jumping to first then finishing the 4 x 5 k relay first by nearly 48 seconds over Germany in second.

    On the 106-meter normal hill in Kandersteg, Austria’s Johannes Lamparter, Mika Vermeulen, Florian Dagn, and Dominik Terzer combined for the best jumping score of the day, 11.8 points ahead of Norway (Simen Kvarstad, Andreas Skoglund, Jens Lurås Oftebro, and Einar Lurås Oftebro) in second. Germany jumped to third with Constantin Schnurr, Julian Schmid, Tim Kopp, and Luis Lehnert another 26 points back.

    That put Norway 16 seconds back for the start of the 4 x 5 k relay, and Germany 50 seconds out of first in third.

    The four Americans in the event, Tucker Hoefler, Jared Shumate, Stephen Schumann, and Ben Loomis, jumped to 11th out of 13 teams, and started the relay 2:46 minutes back.

    Germany celebrates its silver medal in the normal hill/4 x 5 k team event on Thursday at 2018 Nordic Combined Junior World Championships in Kandersteg, Germany. (Photo: JWSC2018.ch)

    Austria went on to hold its lead throughout the race, crossing the finish line first in 56:33.0 for the gold. Norway held onto second first Jens Oftebro’s first leg, then slipped to second behind Germany on the second leg. Ultimately, Germany claimed second, 47.8 seconds back, and Norway was third (+1:53.2).

    The field remained largely strung out, as the Czech Republic finished fourth (+2:39.7) after starting fourth, France placed fifth (+3:07.7), up from eighth at the start, and Finland finished sixth (+3:27.6), after starting ninth.

    The U.S. men improved to seventh (+3:36.4) thanks to a strong first leg from Loomis, who put them in seventh with the fourth-fastest first-leg time. Schumann then skied the fastest second leg and picked off two more places to tag in fifth at the second exchange. Hoefler slipped to seventh on the third leg, and Shumate held them there with the third-fastest anchor leg.

    Nordic combined has one more event at Junior Worlds: the individual normal hill/5 k on Saturday.

    Results: Jumping | Final

  • Thursday Rundown: Caldwell 9th in U23 Worlds 15 k (Updated)

    American Patrick "Paddy" Caldwell chasing Russia's Alexander Bolshunov during the men's 15 k freestyle individual start on Thursday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Bolshunov went on to win and Caldwell placed ninth for a career best. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)
    American Patrick “Paddy” Caldwell chasing Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov during the men’s 15 k freestyle individual start on Thursday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Bolshunov went on to win and Caldwell placed ninth for a career best. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)

    FIS Nordic U23 World Championships (Midway, Utah): 10/15 k freestyle

    Paddy Caldwell, of the Stratton Mountain School and U.S. Ski Team D-team, raced to the first top 10 of his career at a U23 World Championship on Thursday, placing ninth in the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.

    Caldwell started 44th (of 53) and crossed the finish in sixth before being bumped down three places to ninth. Upon being passed by the eventual winner, Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov, who started 30 seconds behind him in bib 45, Caldwell worked to keep pace with the Russian and ended up 1:03.6 minutes off his winning time. The silver medalist in Tuesday’s classic sprint, Bolshunov took the victory in 32:55.7 minutes, and Russia swept the men’s podium for the second-straight day at U23/Junior World Championships with Alexey Chervotkin in second (+21.8) and Denis Spitsov in third (+28.2).

    Also for the U.S., Adam Martin (Northern Michigan University) placed 22nd (+2:22.4), Jack Hegman (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) was 24th (+2:25.2), and Cal Deline (Dartmouth Ski Team) 37th (+3:48.6).

    Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) led Canadian men in 34th (+3:20.2), Alexis Dumas (CNEPH) was 38th (+3:52.9), Julien Lamoureux (CNEPH) 43rd (+4:16.7), and Scott James Hill (Team Hardwood) 49th (+6:15.2).

    In the women’s 10 k freestyle Thursday morning, Sweden’s Anna Dyvik won her second-straight race of the championships, finishing in 26:14.0 minutes. Norway took second through fourth with Tiril Udnes Weng in second (+16.8), Lovise Heimdal in third (+23.0), and Lotta Udnes Weng (Weng’s twin sister) just 0.1 seconds off the podium in fourth (+23.1).

    Dahria Beatty (AWCA/Canadian U25 Team) was the top Canadian in 16th (+1:25.8), and Petra Hyncicova (a University of Colorado-Boulder Ski Team member who’s skiing for her native Czech Republic) followed in 17th (+1:26.3).

    Canada’s Frédérique Vezina (CNEPH) placed 25th (+1:58.8) for a career best at her second U23 Worlds, Katherine Stewart-Jones (NTDC Thunder Bay/NST U25 Team) was 27th (+2:07.8), and Jenn Jackson (Lappe Nordic/Team Hardwood) 37th (+3:31.8).

    Kelsey Phinney (SVSEF) led the Americans in 30th (+2:24.6), Jesse Knori (University of Colorado-Boulder) was 32nd (+2:36.4), Alayna Sonnesyn (University of Vermont) 33rd (+2:51.4), and Nichole Bathe (University of Alaska Fairbanks) 39th (+4:19.8).

    Australia’s Casey Wright (University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team) followed in 40th (+4:22.0).

    Results: Men | Women

    ***

    FIS Nordic Combined Junior World Championships: 4 x 5 k team event

    [UPDATED] In the lone nordic-combined team event of Junior World Championships, Austria took the win in 46:17.3 with Samuel Mraz, Marc Luis Rainer, Florian Dagn, and Mika Vermeulen. The team ranked fourth after the jumping portion and started 23 seconds behind Japan in first, but captured the 9.7-second victory over France (Lilian Vaxelaire, Laurent Muhlethaler, Theo Rochat, Mael Tyrode), the third-ranked team after the jump.

    The Czech Republic started the relay in fifth and reached the podium in third (+15.3), with Ondrej Payout, David Zemek, Jan Vytrval, and Lukas Danek.

    The U.S. (Elijah Vargas, Grant Andrews, Ben Loomis, Stephen Schumann) finished seventh (+2:10.8) out of nine teams after starting sixth. Last year, the U.S. squad placed sixth at 2016 Junior Worlds in Rasnov, Romania, and in 2015 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, they were seventh.

    Japan slipped from first at the start of the relay to eighth at the finish (+2:46.4).

    Results

  • Sunday Rundown: La Clusaz, Nove Mesto, Ramsau, Klingenthal, Obertilliach, & Rossland (Updated x4)

    Sunday Rundown: La Clusaz, Nove Mesto, Ramsau, Klingenthal, Obertilliach, & Rossland (Updated x4)

    Eric Frenzel (r) leads German teammates Vinzenz Geiger (c) and Fabian Rießle (l) toward a sweep of the podium in the Nordic Combined World Cup individual normal hill/10 k on Sunday in Ramsau, Austria. (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined/Facebook)
    Eric Frenzel (r) leads German teammates Vinzenz Geiger (c) and Fabian Rießle (l) toward a sweep of the podium in the Nordic Combined World Cup individual normal hill/10 k on Sunday in Ramsau, Austria. (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined/Facebook)

    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.

    ***

    FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup in Klingenthal

    [UPDATE] Ben Loomis tallied two top 10’s and his U.S. Nordic Combined teammate Ben Berend notched eighth place this past weekend at the Continental Cup in Klingenthal, Germany.

    Loomis ended the three-day series on Sunday by placing fifth in the large hill/10 k for his second-best result at the Continental Cup level (he finished fourth last year in the normal hill/10 k competition in Park City, Utah). Loomis put himself in position by jumping to sixth then racing to fifth, 49.9 seconds behind Japan’s winner Go Yamamoto, who finished in 24:06.4.

    Florian Dagn of Austria placed second (+6.0) after jumping to first. Yamamoto jumped to second and headed out on the course seven seconds behind him.

    Norway’s Sindre Ure Soetvik placed third (+28.8), after starting the 10 k in third. Germany’s David Welde finished fourth (+36.0), moving up after jumping to eighth.

    Also on Sunday, Berend placed 15th (+2:25.3) and Jasper Good was 35th (+3:07).

    Berend started the long weekend out with an eighth-place finish in the large hill/5 k on Friday. He jumped to fourth and finished the ski race in eighth, 1:09.2 minutes behind Germany’s Maximilian Pfordte, who won in 10:58.9.

    Pfordte posted the best jump to start the 5 k first, then held his lead for a 16.4-second victory over Yamamoto in second. Dagn placed third (+18.3) after jumping to second, and Yamamoto’s jump ranked third.

    Also for the U.S., Good finished 21st (+2:05.8) for his best result of the weekend, Loomis was 28th (+2:50.5) and Stephen Schumann 29th (+2:52.1).

    On Saturday, it was Loomis who tallied another eighth place for the U.S. in the large hill/10 k. He jumped to 10th then improved to eighth, finishing 58 seconds behind German winner Tobias Simon. While Simon dominated the jump as well as the race, winning by 10.1 seconds, Yamamoto repeated in second place and Austria’s Thomas Joebstl reached the podium in third (+38.3).

    Berend finished 25th (+1:45.9) and Good 45th (+3:24.9) on Day 2.

    Results: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

    ***

    FIS Nordic Combined World Cup in Ramsau

    The Nordic Combined World Cup resumed this weekend in Ramsau, Austria, with Germany not only topping but sweeping the podium in both individual normal hill/10 k competitions.
    On Saturday, Team Germany swept the top four, with Johannes Rydzek notching his third individual win of the season, ahead of teammates Fabian Rießle (+1.5) and Eric Frenzel (+8.7). Vinzenz Geiger completed the sweep in fourth (+15.0), a career best for the 19 year old after placing seventh earlier this month in Lillehammer, Norway.
    Frenzel led after the jump on the 98-meter hill, which put him 2 seconds ahead of the second-best jumper, Austria’s Mario Seidl, in the 10 k Gundersen start. (Seidl went on to place seventh.)
    Rydzek posted the third-best jump and started 10 seconds back, while Rießle started another 10 seconds later in seventh. Rydzek went on to ski the fifth-fastest course time and Rießle was third fastest en route to first and second at the finish.
    Americans Taylor Fletcher and Bryan Fletcher finished 27th (+1:17.6) and 29th (+1:18.4), respectively, and Adam Loomis was 47th (+3:16.2).
    Taylor started 41st, 1:18 back, and Bryan started five seconds later in 43rd. Bryan posted the seventh-fastest course time and ended with a photo finish with Finland’s Arttu Maekiaho, which Maekiaho took by 0.1 seconds for 28th. Loomis started 50th.
    Day 2 in Ramsau went to Frenzel, who won the normal hill/10 k in 22:49.4. Rießle repeated in second (+0.8) and Geiger improved on his career best for his first podium in third (+23.4). Seidl again jumped to first and this time ended up fourth (+24.3).
    Frenzel started third and raced to first, Rießle moved up from fourth in the jump to second, and Geiger made the most of his second-best jump.
    Taylor Fletcher skied the third-fastest course time to move up from 46th after the jump to 22nd at the finish (+1:20.2). Bryan Fletcher finished 32nd (+1:33.5), losing one place after starting 31st.
    The Nordic Combined World Cup goes on holiday break until resuming Jan. 7-8 in Lahti, Finland.
    Results: Saturday | Sunday 
    ***

    NorAm Mini Tour in Rossland: Classic pursuits

    The NorAm mini tour in Rossland, British Columbia, wrapped up with a classic pursuit race on Sunday.

    In the women’s 10 k classic, APU’s Chelsea Holmes continued her strong form, winning the mini tour with an aggregate time of 1:08:04.4. Holmes finished the 10 k in 35:35.4 minutes, 6.2 seconds behind fastest woman of the day, Katherine Stewart-Jones (NTDC Thunder Bay).

    SMS Elite’s Erika Flowers continued her podium-filled visit to Canada with the third-fastest ski of the day, 48.1 seconds behind Stewart-Jones, to take second overall, 2:23.9 behind Holmes. AWCA’s Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt was the fifth fastest in the 10 k to hold on to third overall (+3:25.2), while Stewart-Jones was just 0.5 seconds back in fourth overall.

    NTDC Thunder Bay’s Evan Palmer-Charrette used a fourth-fastest ski in the 15 k to keep the overall title, with an aggregate time of 1:28:54.0. Alexis Dumas (CNEPH) skied 1:14.7 faster than Palmer-Charrette to climb from sixth at the start to second overall (+52.2). AWCA’s Jack Carlyle had the second-fastest time of the day, 29.9 seconds behind Dumas, to climb into third overall (+1:10.1).

    National Para-Nordic guide Erik Carleton had the third-fastest 15 k time, 1:01.3 back, but it wasn’t enough to catch Team R.A.D.’s Russell Kennedy, who placed fourth overall (+1:20.8).

    Full results (with tabs for the overall and time of the day)

    ***

    FIS Cross-Country World Cup in La Clusaz: Men’s and women’s relays

    Team Norway I emerged victorious in Sunday’s men’s 4 x 8 k mixed relay event in La Clusaz, France, with Didrik Tønseth leading the winning group’s first classic leg.

    After crossing in seventh, Tønseth handed off to Martin Johnsrud Sundby for a second classic leg. Sundby dropped a spot, finishing his classic leg in eighth. Sundby tagged off to Anders Gløersen for the first freestyle leg.

    Gløersen rocketed the team to first, and held the position straight through his 7.5 k. The final leg for Norway’s winning team went to Finn Hågen Krogh. The Norwegian men’s team completed the relay event in a total time of 1:11:25.7

    Second place overall, two-tenths of a second behind, was team Russia, led by Evgeniy Belov for the first classic leg. Belov handed off to Alexander Legkov for the second classic leg, with Legkov putting down the third fastest time by the time he returned to the exchange zone.

    The third and first freestyle leg for Russia went to Alexey Chervotkin, who maintained the team’s third place position. Anchoring the team was  Sergey Ustiugov, who managed to maneuver the team from third place to second during his final freestyle leg.

    The men's 4 x 7.5k relay podium on Sunday in La Clusaz, France with Russia in second (left four) Norway first (center four) and France third overall. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country twitter)
    The men’s 4 x 8 k relay podium on Sunday in La Clusaz, France, with Russia in second (left four) Norway first (center four) and France third overall. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/twitter)

    Rounding out the men’s mixed relay podium on Sunday was France I (+7.7).

    Jean-Marc Gaillard led team France’s first classic leg, racing in a sixth position into the exchange zone. Gaillard handed off to Alexis Jeannerod, who moved up to fifth place by the end of his classic leg.

    Skiing the third and first freestyle leg was Clement Parisse who held onto fifth place and tagged off to Maurice Manificat for the final freestyle leg. Manificat managed to move around Sweden’s Axel Ekstrløm and Germany’s Lucas Bøgl for third place overall.

    Neither Canada or the U.S. entered a men’s relay team due to illness.

    In the women’s 4 x 4 k relay event, it was another Norwegian team who stood atop the podium.

    Ingvild Flugstad Østberg led the women’s first classic leg, skiing in first place until her hand-off to Marit Bjørgen. Bjørgen maintained the first place position during her classic leg, tagging off to Ragnhild Haga.

    Haga completed the first freestyle leg for Norway, handing off to Heidi Weng, who anchored the team’s last freestyle leg. The Norwegian women finished in a total time of 39:23.3.

    In second was team Finland, 50.2 seconds behind Norway’s winning time. Aino-Kaisa Saarinen started the first classic leg for Finland, passing off to Anne Kyllønen.

    The women's 4 x 4 k mixed relay podium on Sunday in La Clusaz, France. Norway (c) took the win ahead of team Finland in second (l) and Sweden in third. (Photo: FIC Cross-Country/Twitter)
    The women’s 4 x 4 k mixed relay podium on Sunday in La Clusaz, France. Norway (c) took the win ahead of team Finland in second (l) and Sweden in third. (Photo: FIC Cross-Country/Twitter)

    Taking on the first freestyle leg for Finland was Riitta-Liisa Roponen, who tagged off to Laura Mononen for the final freestyle leg.

    Rounding out the relay podium in third overall was team Sweden (+1:08.9). Emma Wiken raced the first classic leg, who tagged off to Stina Nilsson for the second classic leg. Maria Rydqvist raced the first freestyle leg and handed off to Anna Dyvik, who anchored the team to third.

    Only one U.S. women’s relay team was entered on Sunday, with both Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen out due to illness. Sophie Caldwell led the U.S.’s first classic leg, followed by Rosie Brennan. Liz Stephen followed Brennan, taking on the first freestyle leg. Anchoring the team was Kikkan Randall in the final freestyle leg. The Americans finished in seventh overall (+2:26.0).

    Canada also entered a women’s team in Sunday’s relay. Emily Nishikawa led the first classic leg, and handed off to Cendrine Browne for the second classic leg. Dahria Beatty raced the first freestyle leg and tagged off to Sophie Carrier-Laforte, who anchored the team to 12th overall (+4:07.9).

    Results: Men | Women

    ***

    IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto: Men’s and women’s mass starts

    Gabriela Koukalová of the Czech Republic looks to her home crowd as she wins the women's 12.5 k mass start on Sunday at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. She fended off Germany's Laura Dahlmeier (r), who took second. (Photo: IBU)
    Gabriela Koukalová of the Czech Republic looks to her home crowd as she wins the women’s 12.5 k mass start on Sunday at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. She fended off Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier (r), who took second. (Photo: IBU)

    Despite skiing in 14th at one point in the men’s 15 k mass start on Sunday, France’s Martin Fourcade came back to win the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.

    That makes him seven for eight in individual races so far this season.

    Fourcade started with bib 1 as the overall World Cup leader and finished first in 36:18.9 minutes, despite a penalty on his second prone that put him in 14th and 22 seconds back heading out on his third loop.

    He rebounded with a clean third shooting to move into third, 2.5 seconds behind Ukraine’s Dmytro Pidruchnyi in first and 1.3 seconds behind Russia’s Anton Babikov in second.

    By the final shooting stage, Fourcade was back in first with clean shooting (0+1+0+0), 28 seconds clear of Babikov in second. Babikov had his first penalty of the day on the final stage (0+0+0+1) to drop out of contention.

    Germany’s Simon Schempp (1+1+0+0) came out on top of an eight-way battle for second place on the final loop. Schempp took it, 8.3 seconds after Fourcade and 1.1 seconds ahead of Babikov in third (+9.4).

    The Czech Republic’s Ondrej Moravec was 0.3 seconds off the podium in fourth (+9.7), Pidruchnyi placed fifth (+10.2), Russia’s Matvey Eliseev finished sixth (+11.0), Norway’s Ole Einar Bjørndalen was back in the top 10 in seventh (+11.3), France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet notched his second-straight top 10 in eighth (+13.7), and Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø finished at the back of that pack in ninth (+19.8).

    American Lowell Bailey missed the top 20 by 10 seconds in 21st (+1:17.1). He had three penalties, two of which came on the last stage (0+1+0+2) to drop him from ninth to 20th at the start of the final loop.

    Bailey retained his spot in ninth in the overall World Cup standings, while Fourcade continues to lead, 158 points ahead of Shipulin in second.

    In the women’s 12.5 k mass start, Gabriela Koukalová delivered to her home fans in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, racing to her second win of the season in 34:42.1.

    “I was so nervous before the race so it was amazing,”  Koukalová said, according to an IBU press release. “I have so many emotions; it’s even more emotional than at the Olympics. I would like to say thanks to all the spectators and I hope I was able to make a nice Christmas present to all of them.”

    The defending World Cup champion beat the current World Cup leader, Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, by 3.1 seconds after shooting a single penalty and cleaning the last two stages (0+1+0+0) to move into first. Dahlmeier missed two on the first stage to drop 23rd, but cleaned her last three stages (2+0+0+0) to capture second at the finish. She passed three athletes on the last lap, including Italy’s Dorothea Wierer, who ended up third (+9.7) with one miss (1+0+0+0).

    “I don’t really know what happened with those two misses,” she told German broadcaster ARD. “But in terms of skiing I had a great day on the course, and I had skis that were the bomb. It’s just a lot of fun when you can make the podium reaching the second place despite a large deficit in the beginning. I am overjoyed.”

    Germany’s Vanessa Hinz rebounded from Friday’s sprint (where she placed 73rd) to end up fourth (+15.5) with a single penalty (0+0+1+0). None of the 29 finishers hit every target, and American Susan Dunklee did not start.

    Dahlmeier leads the overall World Cup standings by 98 points over Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen, and Koukalova is third, just seven points behind Mäkäräinen. Dunklee is 11th.

    The IBU World Cup now goes on holiday break until resuming Jan. 5 in Oberhof, Germany.

    Results: Men | Women

    ***

    IBU Cup in Obertilliach

    The third IBU Cup was held on Dec. 16-17 in Obertilliach, Austria. In the men’s 20 k individual on Friday, the top three finishers were France’s Antonin Guigonnat, with a winning time of 49:58.6, Russia’s Yury Shopin in second (+32.2), and Germany’s Florian Graf in third (+35.6). Each of the top three had one miss, and Canada’s Matthew Hudec was the top North American in 34th (+4:11.3) with two penalties (0+2+0+0). Also for Canada, Carsen Campbell finished 38th with three penalties (1+2+0+0), Matthew Neumann was 53rd with three penalties (0+2+0+1) out of 118 finishers.

    In the women’s 15 k individual on Friday, Germany’s Karolin Horchler took the win with clean shooting (0+0+0+0) in 44:54.7. France’s Coline Varcin was 1.1 seconds back in second with one penalty (1+0+0+0), and third went to Russia’s Daria Virolaynen (+30.2), who had one miss as well (0+1+0+0). Canada’s Nadia Moser was the top North American in 35th (+5:10.8) with two penalties (0+1+1+0). Also for Canada, Erin Yungblut placed 66th with five penalties (0+3+0+2).

    In the men’s 10 k sprint on Saturday, two Norwegians took first and second with Henrik L’Abee-Lund winning in 23:29.9, and Vetle Sjastad Christiansen 13.9 seconds back in second. Third was claimed by Germany’s Phillipp Nawrath (+29.5) and all of the top three shot clean. Neumann led Canada in 47th (+2:20) with one miss (1+0). Campbell missed two (1+1) and finished 59th (+2:47.4), and Hudec was 64th (+2:58.9) with two penalties as well (1+1). Canada’s Pearce Hanna finished 87th, with two misses (2+0), out of 125 finishers.

    In the women’s 7.5 k sprint, Russia swept the podium with Virolaynen winning in 20:31.5, followed closely by Uliana Kaisheva (+3.7), and then Anna Nikulina (+23.1). Virolaynen missed one (0+1), Kaisheva cleaned (0+0) and Nikulina had a standing miss as well (0+1).  The top North American was Canada’s Megan Bankes in 30th (+2:08.1), with one prone penalty (1+0). Also for Canada, Sarah Beaudry finished 34th (+2:18.1), with two standing misses (0+2), Yungblut was 45th (+2:40.6) with clean shooting (0+0), and Moser finished 49th (+2:45.5) with two misses (1+1), out of 85 women.

    Results: Men’s individual | Women’s individual | Men’s sprint | Women’s sprint