Alexey Petukhov (bib 1) on his way to victory in the team sprint in Milan, Italy.
MILAN, Italy – You would have to be a fool to get between Alexey Petukhov and the podium too many times in one weekend, but we will never know what would happen thanks to Nikolay Morilov.
The Russian duo, anchored by Morilov, skied to a convincing win in the men’s team sprint in the downtown Milan Parco Sempione on Sunday, besting Swedes Calle Halfvarsson and Teodor Peterson and Italians David Hofer and Fulvio Scola.
Peterson prevented Petukhov form making a run at the podium in Saturday’s individual sprint, cutting the Russian off in the last 300 meters and causing a crash.
The two did not line up for the same legs in the team sprint finals, and Morilov made sure he was well clear off the front for the homestretch.
The narrow course, identical to the two lap individual event of the previous day, was fast and icy after temperatures dropped overnight, and remained cool throughout the day.
The exchange zone.
This made for fast and furious racing, with the flat terrain leaving little opportunity for rest.
The semifinals featured one major crash, with four teams going down—for the first time in two days of racing there were skiers with plenty of room to move, if only because the pack had left them behind.
Only Germany II was unable to get back in contact, and subsequent incidents were less significant, involving tight corners and vigorous jostling for position.
Petukhov took the Russians out fast in the finals, the one place safe from any contact. The pace was fast from the start, but tended to drop on the tighter corners and through the second 650-meter lap.
Any respite was short-lived, however. After the tag, the field accelerated hard in order to gain position heading into the first corner.
The transition zone was the crux of the race—a smooth exchange could catapult a team into the lead, while even a small misstep would relegate a skier to the back of the pack.
The wide stretch immediately following the tag provided room to pass, and as any good ski fan knows, hell hath no fury like a sprinter with an opening.
The pattern repeated throughout the race—hard attack from the tag, a dropped pace as the round progressed—at least until the final two legs.
Halfway through the race, Norway skied two abreast, controlling the race. If this were an individual sprint or the conclusion of the distance race, they would have been sitting pretty.
But the transition eliminated any surety.
The final tag-off.
Morilov came out of the fourth tag with purpose, ducking into third behind Norwegians Eirik Brandsdal and Tomas Northug as the race headed out to the far part of the course.
A loud roar greeted the pack as the skiers swung back into the stadium area, Hometown favorite Federico Pellegrino had slipped into the lead, and set the pace down the homestretch.
The glory was shortlived, however, as Russia began to take control of the race.
The pace continued to increase, and a number of skiers began to show the strain. When Petukhov took over for his final leg, he kept the pressure on, even opening a gap on the gradual grade up to the lap.
Gloeersen managed to get back on, but was in no position to make a move of his own.
Morilov took over for the final lap, with an inconsequential lead time-wise, but with the pack beginning to string out behind, the competition was thinning.
The last kilometer would not be a race of pure speed—the man with the most left in the legs to best endure two and a half more minutes of effort would be the victor.
Morilov remained in command with Peterson behind.
Through the final lap, Scola brought forth another bout of bell ringing and shouting from the home crowd when he cleared into third.
Brandsdal fought valiantly, but Saturday’s winner could not close the gap.
Morilov leading the sprint to the finish.
The podium, if not the exact ranking on it, was decided even before the race hit the homestretch.
Morilov easily held his lead, and Scula could not overtake Peterson.
“I pushed hard in front and nobody could attack me on the final straight” Morilov summed up his race succinctly.
Petukhov currently leads the Sprint Cup and has been exceptionally strong in skating, despite some bad luck.
Scola and Hofer in front of the home crowd.
The pair teamed up at the Vancouver Olympics to win bronze, though on Sunday, the two teams that bettered them were not present.
The Italian crowd could not get enough of the charismatic Scola, who wore a clown-like hat in the Italian colors to the podium ceremony after skiing a victory lap with Hofer in front of the appreciative throngs.
“It was a fantastic race,” Hofer said afterward. “I was never on the podium in an Italian city before.”
Norway I settled for a relatively distant fourth, well back of the final run for the finish, while Northug died hard in the last 500 meters, dropping Norway II abck to 8th.
World Cup racing continues next weekend in Oteppaa, Estonia with an all-classic weekend. Saturday features an individual sprint, and Sunday a 15km individual start.
The 2010/2011 Veissmann Tour de Ski is nothing if not draining. Consisting of eight events in ten days in two countries, the fifth edition begins December 31st and runs until January 9th.
The Tour begins with a freestyle prologue in Oberhof, Germany, on December 31st, followed by a classic pursuit start on January 1st. The Tour then moves to Oberstorf, Germany, for a sprint on January 2nd, and a pursuit on the 3rd.
After a two day break, the Tour resumes in Toblach, Italy, for a sprint on January 5th and a point-to-point pursuit start from Cortina to Toblach on the 6th.
The Tour de Ski wraps up in Val di Fiemme, Italy, as the Italians host a 10/15 k on January 8th, and then the final climb up Alpe Cermis on the 9th.
The Favorites
In the fifth edition of the event, all three top male finishers from last season are expected to contend. Lukas Bauer (CZE), Petter Northug Jr. (NOR) and Dario Cologna (SUI) are all registered, and while two have started the season quickly, the third – Northug – has only four World Cup starts to the season, having fallen ill just before the opener.
The Czech Republic's Lukas Bauer racing at the 2010 Olympic Games.
Bauer has come out swinging – the aging Czech distance specialist sits in seventh in the overall rankings, and has already collected two podium finishes, including a stage win in Kuusamo, Finland. He has finished in the top 30 in every distance race he has started (his one sprint wasn’t great, as he finished 104th, a full ten seconds away from qualifying).
Given his hot start, the fact that he is the defending and two-time Tour de Ski champion (2007/2008 and 2009/2010), Bauer is undeniably the favorite. While his utter lack of sprint skill is disconcerting, he has shown in the past that it is irrelevant, as in the two sprints on the Tour last year, he finished 54th and 60th. But Bauer recognizes that sprinting is still important – he has put extra time into improving his speed over the summer, and should be aiming to limit the damage during the two sprint stages.
After Bauer, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna is a must-watch. In his short four year World Cup career, Cologna has already won the World Cup overall, the Tour de Ski (2008/2009), and currently sits in second in the overall standings, a mere 22 points from the lead.
Cologna is dangerous because he is a true all-around skier, and more importantly, is extremely consistent. The last time Cologna finished outside of the top 30 on the World Cup was over a year ago, on December 12, 2009, in Davos. He has already stood on the World Cup podium three times this season, including a second place finish in the Kuusamo mini-tour, and a third place in the freestyle sprint in his hometown of Davos.
Despite finishing runner-up to Bauer in last years’ Tour, winning the 2009/2010 Crystal Globe, and being the most recognizable cross country ski name on the planet, Petter Northug has to be considered a bit of a dark horse. The dynamic Norwegian is just bouncing back from illness, and his absence from the early World Cup has put him in a large hole in the overall standings, as he sits in 18th.
Dario Cologna celebrating a victory at the Olympics
While Bauer is the distance workhorse, and Cologna is the all-around consistent performer, Northug is the sparkplug. Love him or hate him, the Norwegian is without a doubt one of the most talented and entertaining skiers on the circuit.
The question will be his health, and whether he has returned to his world-beating form. Over the last two World Cup weekends, Northug has done well, but not outstanding. The real concern should be with his famed sprint speed – his failure to win a sprint finish in the 30 k freestyle at the La Clusaz World Cup combined with his 28th place sprint in Davos the weekend before shows that his sprint is not where it has been in the past.
Northug may need a few extra races to get back to where he needs to be, as it is inconceivable that a skier of his talent will be held down for long. Expect him to speed up over the course of the Tour, and a podium finish is completely realistic.
The Chasers
While most of the buzz is about the top three finishers from last year, both the Russians and the Swedes also have strong contingents hitting the start line.
The Russians have nine men starting, headlined by Alexander Legkov and Maxim Vylegzhanin. Legkov currently sits atop the World Cup overall, and much like Bauer he is a sub-par sprinter, but an excellent stage racer.
Winner of the Kuusamo mini-tour and runner-up in 2006/2007 Tour de Ski, Legkov has the potential to gut out a victory, as he has the tools to distance ski as well as almost anyone, and won’t lose much time in the sprints. The only area for concern is his Tour de Ski record in the past three years, as he has finished 20th, 33rd and failed to complete the event since his second place in 2006/2007.
Legkov and Bauer.
Maxim Vylegzhanin is ranked third in the overall behind Cologna and Legkov, and as one would expect, has had great start to the season. He has finished in the top 15 six times, including fifth in the Kuusamo mini-tour, and besting Northug in the 30 k freestyle in La Clusaz, which certainly bodes well. He has a decent record on the Tour (21, 15, DNF), but just can’t seem to make the breakthrough to finish in the top 10.
The only surprise for the Russians is that 20 year old phenom Petr Sedov, who is currently 8th overall, will not be starting.
The Swedes are bringing seven men to the party, and could easily capture at the very least a couple of stage victories.
Emil Joensson is the current world cup sprint leader, and is currently fifth in the overall. He is practically a lock to make the podium in both sprints, and he can ski a mean 10 or 15 k, especially classic. Unfortunately for Joensson, as the Tour goes on, his distance racing will be sorely tested, and he simply lacks the ability to compete in the longer events, so it is unlikely he will be able to contend for a podium spot in the final races.
However, his team mate Marcus Hellner, who is fourth overall in the World Cup ranking has a much better shot. Often billed as Northug’s biggest rival, but not quite at the same level, Hellner started out the season strong with a home town win in Gallivaere, Sweden, but has been inconsistent since then, finishing fourth in Kuusamo, 33rd in the 15 k classic in Davos, seventh in the sprint, and finally 29th in the 30 k freestyle in La Clusaz.
In the 2009/2010 Tour de Ski, Hellner was saddled with the wooden medal despite having a very strong final climb. To stay in contention for the podium, Hellner will have to avoid the inconsistent distance days, and if he is close going into Alpe Cermis, his strong skate climbing means he can pick up a few spots.
Other strong Swedes include Daniel Rickardsson, a very good all around skier who will be in a position to crack the top 10, Johan Olsson, who hasn’t raced a World Cup since finishing 7th overall in Kuusamo, and the tough-as-nails Anders Soedergren.
Sweden’s Scandinavian counterparts, Finland, lack a real shot at the Tour overall. Sami Jauhojaervi is their best hope, as he is ranked 19th overall, and has had success on the Tour previously, but his horrendously inconsistent skiing (think two top 10’s, and three races 50’s or higher) will prevent him from being a true challenger. Matti Heikkinen gets the nod as well, but like Jauhojaervi lacks the staying power required for the lengthy event.
While the event is on home turf for both the Germans and the Italians, neither country has a skier competitive enough at the moment to challenge the top group.
Seven Italians are pegged to start, including Giorgio di Centa, and on-form sprinters Fulvio Scola and Renato Pasini.
Meanwhile, the Germans have only two men currently in the top 40 in the overall World Cup standings, but 13 men will start. Surprisingly Jens Filbrich and Tim Tscharnke are the two highest ranked German skiers, while stalwarts Axel Teichmann and Tobias Angerer are 46th and 58th respectively, and both will have to demonstrate a lot better form than they have thus far on the World Cup.
North American Contenders
This edition of the Tour will see five North American men fighting for position – and all five men bring their own unique set of skills to the event.
American’s Andy Newell and Kris Freeman will both take to the start line, and will hope to continue the good early-season World Cup results with top results, regardless of stage. Freeman has jumped out to the best start of his World Cup career, and sits in 13th place Overall, as a result of collecting points in each of his World Cup starts thus far.
Newell has had a decent start as he sits in 31st in overall on the back of his strong sprinting, in which he has earned points in all three of the sprints thus far on the circuit.
Newell
Both men have been typecast as specialists – Newell in sprinting, and Freeman in distance racing. However, both skiers have been working hard on diversifying their skiing, and have a bet running over who will score World Cup points first – Freeman in a sprint, or Newell in a distance race.
The biggest question mark surrounding Newell is whether he will be able to distance race well enough to stay in contention.
“I’m pretty excited to have a bunch of opportunities to do some distance races,” he said, “because I know I’m in good shape and I can distance race really fast — I just haven’t had the chance to show it.”
Newell knows he has strengths and weakness in distance racing; “I know I’m a good mass start skier for sure,” he said.
“I can ski well in packs but at the same time it’s like any time in a mass start race – you run the risk of blowing up,” he said, “It can be sometimes easier for sprinters like myself [to blow up] as you can build up so much lactic acid.”
Both Freeman and Newell are relatively new to the Tour de Ski. Freeman has never competed in the event before, and Newell he completed three races last year before bowing out, and he felt that he has not gotten “a true Tour experience.”
Regardless, Newell is going in confident; “I feel like I can be good at back to back to back races,” he said, “I think I’ve trained enough over the year that’s something I’ve gotten a lot better at.”
Like many other racers on the Tour, Newell is targeting consistency, and is thinking about having good races each stage, rather than focusing on finishing as his end goal.
While both Americans are working on their weaker race types, the best bet for top performances are their bread and butter events – the skate sprint for Newell, and something 15 k or longer for Freeman. It is difficult to imagine either skier truly contending for a place on the overall podium, but top 30 finish is a completely reasonable expectation.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to hang in there for some distance races and score some distance races,” said Newell, “I’m going to need to score some bonus seconds in sprints [to have a chance in the overall standing].”
The Canadian contingent showcases an all-around skier just coming into his prime, a young gun with loads of potential, and one of the best climbers on the circuit. Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey and Ivan Babikov are all world class talent who had excellent results on the Tour de Ski last season, and look to build on that success. In charge of the three skiers is Head Coach Justin Wadsworth – a rookie on the Tour de Ski.
“I think I’m pretty well organized,” said Wadsworth in an interview with FasterSkier, “and that’s key for keeping the nerves down.”
While he has never been involved with the Tour before, Wadsworth is confident – he has been to all the World Cup venues before, and the three skiers he is in charge of will be well served. The Canadians have a large staff of five wax technicians as well as a massage therapist, the legendary ‘Wolfman’.
Wadsworth is confident in his athletes ability to make the most of the Tour, and emphasized that Kershaw and Harvey have a shot in every stage, while Babikov will be able to take advantage of the difficulty of the last three stages, as he will be getting fitter every race.
Kershaw
After one of the hottest starts of his career, in which he has consistently skied in the top 30 while hitting a few top 10 finishes, Kershaw is hitting his stride as an all-around skier.
While he appears to be in form, and he is happy with how things went, Kershaw is still cautious about the event.
“The Tour de Ski is completely different [from the rest of the World Cup season],” said Kershaw in a recent interview with FasterSkier, “a whole lot of things have to go right.”
For Kershaw, having one or two really good days would make for a successful Tour, but his real ambition for the Tour de Ski is unrelated to results.
“To be honest, the only big goal is to stay healthy,” he said, “Over the different Tours, we’ve had a lot of illness on the team, and I’ve been lucky to avoid it for the most part.”
If he stays healthy, Kershaw has proven that he can race well in the Tour format. Last year he finished 16th in the event, benefitting from good sprinting, as well as six top 30 finishes.
While he has traditionally had strong results in Tour de Ski sprints, including a podium, this year Kershaw isn’t so focused on the sprint.
“The sprints are long days, and I don’t know how important they are in the overall,” he said. “[Lukas] Bauer won the Tour last year without ever qualifying for a sprint
Unfortunately for Kershaw, his favorite and best event, the 10 k classic, has been eliminated from the Tour this year. As a result, he’s keeping his eye out for the 20 k pursuit in Oberhof, Germany in Stage 4.
“The Tour really starts at the Pursuit in Oberstorf,” said Kershaw, “That’s the first place you’re really going to see some fireworks. Whether or not I’m looking forward to that, I have to be on my toes.”
Kershaw said he may have pushed his training a little bit too hard during the last week, and as a result is feeling a little flatter than he would like, but with some dedicated rest, is hoping to be back in top shape come December 31.
While Kershaw is still hoping to regain a little bit of energy, Alex Harvey is feeling well rested and ready to go, according to a recent interview with FasterSkier.
Harvey is still relatively new to the Tour – this will be his second time tackling the event. And he learned a lot from last year, and highlighted two major things that he is hoping to improve on – staying calm, and proper feeding.
The point-to-point race is something he is much more comfortable with the second time around. Last year Harvey described himself as “really nervous” prior to the start, as there was no opportunity to ski the course beforehand and he had a large gap he desperately wanted to close to the leaders. As a result, Harvey ended up with a severe diaphragm spasm, throwing off his rhythm. This time around, Harvey is a lot more comfortable, as he knows the course, and is aware that he needs to stay relaxed.
Second, he recognized the increased importance of feeding on an event like the Tour de Ski. In the long classic race last year, Harvey was skiing strong at the front of the chase group when he bonked hard with one kilometer to go.
“I didn’t feed enough during the day,” said Harvey, “you need to make sure your energy levels are always high, and it’s really hard to recover when you bonk that hard.”
If there was one area Harvey really targeted for improvement this year, it was his sprinting.
“On the sprinting side I was disappointed last year,” he said, “This year I wanted to make sure I can sprint well.” Last season Harvey managed to qualify just twice for a World Cup sprint. This season he has started just one, but finished ninth.
Harvey has been confident with his shape all fall, and his strong start on the World Cup has increased his confidence. “I knew I would be more consistent this year, and I know I usually improve as the season goes on,” he said.
And consistency is what Harvey is targeting for the Tour. While he has picked a few stages as key – the 20 k Pursuit in Oberstorf, the 36 k point-to-point, and the second last stage – he is confident in his shape regardless of the stage.
“If I have a good day, any of the stages I can do well,” he said.
As for the Final Climb, the 22 year old isn’t intimidated – he’s actually a little bit excited about it.
“It’s not complicated,” he said, “you have to ski well technically, but it’s all about the climbing. It’s just how your body is doing, even the skis only matter for the first part.”
While Harvey may not consider the Final Climb very complicated, that may be in part to being in close proximity with the man who is quite possibly the best at the event – team mate Ivan Babikov.
The first few stages don’t suit Babikov, as he has struggled in prologues and sprinting, but as the days get longer and the Tour gets tougher, Babikov, who is widely regarded as one of the toughest athletes on the circuit, will shine. His specialty is the last stage – in 2009 he won the quad-busting climb outright, and in 2010 he finished fourth. If Babikov can stay close during the opening stages, his climbing skill means he may threaten for a podium spot.
Both Canadians and Americans have spent the Christmas break in Davos, Switzerland, taking advantage of the high quality training location, and getting in large amounts of skiing and some good recovery as well.
The group has gone alpine skiing, and taken advantage of the many excellent coffee shops in the Swiss town, but the teams are now in Oberstorf preparing for the first stage – a 3.75 k prologue.
While the likes of Emil Joensson, Alexei Petukhov and Dario Cologna dominated the headlines, Andy Newell likely had the best disappointing day in the freestyle sprint in Davos.
Placing 13th for the second week in a row, Newell missed out on a spot in the semifinals by two inches at most.
Newell was his usual self in qualification, posting the fourth fastest time, and easily advancing to the heats.
“I felt good [in the qualification],” said Newell. “It is a little bit of a leg burner here at altitude.”
With the loaded field, there was nowhere to hide in the quarterfinals. Newell matched up against Ola Vigen Hattestad (NOR), Fulvio Scola (ITA), and Robin Bryntesson (SWE) among others.
Newell got off the line well, and settled into second place behind Bryntesson. Riding fast skis he glided into the lead on the descent to the stadium with Hattestad drawing even on the outside.
Hattestad dropped back into second, and Newell led out for the second lap. The two hit the big climb side by side and attacked over the top, opening a small gap on the field.
As was the case all day the rest of the heat closed on the descent, but with Hattestad in front, the two leaders looked in control.
Newell (foreground in black) lunges for the line just behind Scola (top in blue and white) in their quarterfinal heat.
They accelerated into the finish stretch and charged toward the line. Scola moved up on the outside, making up a good three meters, and bested by literal inches with a lunge to the line.
“I thought for sure I got him,” Newell told FasterSkier in an interview. “Even when we crossed the finish line I thought I had it.
“I skied the heat really well…and feel like I am in great shape,” he continued.
From the standpoint of an observer, Newell appeared to do everything right, staying toward the front, out of trouble, and relaxed.
US Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover speculated that Newell may not have seen Scola moving up on the far side of Hattestad as the three approached the line.
“I think he may have gotten caught off guard,” Grover said, but also noted that Newell controlled the heat well.
When asked if he would have done anything different, Newell responded, “maybe the only thing would have been to pole a little harder on the last two poles when I put my lunge in.”
Staying at the front was key given the tight corners. “If you aren’t in the top-3 skiers coming into the final corner, you don’t really have a chance,” Newell said. “I came in right behind Hattestad ready for the final sprint, but Scola had a great last 20 meters and put in a better lunge.”
This was the second consecutive sprint that Newell was the first man not to make the semifinals.
“I’m definitely feeling good enough to make it to the finals in all these sprints,” Newell said. “Its just a matter of getting through the quarterfinal.”
Newell feels that the quarters are actually the most challenging part of the race.
“Once you get through [to the semis], it can actually be easier to make the final,” he said.
This makes sense given that only 12 of 30 skiers advance from the quarterfinals, while half the semifinal skiers will earn a spot in the finals.
Today, fours skiers from one semi advanced to the final.
But Newell was not one of them.
“This was definitely a heart breaker and he’s for sure frustrated because he feels like his shape is good, but he hasn’t been able to demonstrate it,” said Grover.
He continued, “I think it really will come together, and the key right now is to be patient because it’s a very long season.”
With World Championships two-and-a-half months away, Grover said that Newell will be doing some significant training blocks, the first of which starts Monday.
With not enough Americans to field a relay team next weekend in La Clusaz, and the other race, 30km freestyle, Newell will have some time to train, before racing starts up after Christmas with the Tour de Ski.
“We’ve come into the season planning on achieving a top form a little bit later,” Grover explained.
Kikkan Randall, Newell’s teammates who has two podium finishes in the last ten days, feels for him, saying “I can definitely empathize with him, because today he got beat out by the size of his big toe.”
“While I know it’s probably frustrating for him to have been so close so many times, obviously what he’s done this year is working, and there’s a lot of racing left this season.”
Randall has experienced her own tough periods, and has found it can provide extra motivation.
“I’ve found that sometimes when the start of the year doesn’t work out quite as well as I want, it’s just good fuel and good momentum for the later half of the season,” she said. “And if you had to pick being strong at the end versus the beginning, I think skiing fast in Oslo will make up for all of it.”
Despite the disappointment and early end to his day, Newell is still 9th in the Sprint Cup standings, one podium result out of the top-3.
In three sprint starts this season, he has finished 6th, 13th and 13th. It speaks to Newell’s level that these are not satisfactory results. Last season, on his way to 4th in the Sprint Cup, Newell competed in 11 World Cup sprints qualifying for the heats each time.
He made the finals 3 times, and was outside the semis on four occasions.
His start to the 2011 season is on par with those numbers, but at this point it is clear that Newell will settle for nothing less than the podium.
Emil Joensson (SWE) reminded the ski world that despite recent strong distance results, he is still a sprinter first and foremost, outlunging Italian Fulvio Scola at the line to capture the victory in a frantic battle on the streets of Dusseldorf.
The 25-year-old defending Sprint Cup Champion added his seventh career World Cup victory, staging an impressive stretch run in the men’s final.
Joensson navigated the narrow twisty course with aplomb, not panicking as he rubbed elbows in the fight for position on the final lap.
Scola skied to the front early in the second lap, taking over from early leader Joensson. Trying to match the performance of teammate Arianna Follis, who just 10 minutes before, had won the women’s event, Scola led the pack down the final descent and into the finish stretch.
The World Cup sprint specialist had never finished on the podium, let alone climbed to the top spot. But with just 100 meters remaining, it was his race to lose.
Joensson held onto the second position, tight with eventual third-place finisher Oysten Pettersen (NOR) and Alexei Pethukov (RUS).
As the men charged toward the line, Joensson reeled in the Italian, and the only question would be whether there would be enough course left for him to take the win.
Both men drove a foot at the finish stripe, and despite his body remaining just behind Scola, Joensson had the reach by a mere four inches. Scola knew at once he wouldn’t be celebrating his first World Cup victory, raising his hands to his head in disappointment, before accepting congratulations from his coach and enjoying a still-groundbreaking day.
Seven years and nearly 40 individual World Cup starts later, he had his first podium, as well as a cool 10,000 Swiss Francs.
Joensson, who earned 15,000 Swiss Francs for his efforts, made his first finals appearance of the young season, despite having a sub-par qualification round.
For most people, placing 13th in qualification would be plenty good, but Joensson is often in the top spot, not seven seconds back.
“Qualification was really bad for me. In fact it was my worst qualifier ever,” Joensson said following the race. “But, then I felt better and better in every heat.”
He ultimately described the race as “pretty strange,” but was happy to walk away with the victory in just his second Dusseldorf city sprint.
Scola not only made the podium for the first time, he also was skiing in his first sprint final. Riding self-described “perfect” skis he did not worry about the likes of Joennson, Pettersen or Petuhkov, instead staying “focused only on myself.”
Pettersen staged a strong comeback in the final to take the third spot. Slow out of the start he was sitting toward the back of the pack for most of the first lap. Along with Petuhkov he clawed his way into contention and held of the Russian in the homestretch.
Scola, Pettersen and Petuhkov also matched up in the semis, with the Italian skiing the first half of the heat in last place. Sweden’s Jesper Modin led for two-thirds, closely followed by Renato Pasini (ITA).
Pettersen attacked into the second lap pulling Petuhkov with him, and the two overtook Modin while Scola snuck up on the inside of the lone climb.
“The Sausage,” as Pettersen is known, brought the race home with Petuhkov hot on his heels and Modin ran out of speed, but both he and Scola advanced as Lucky Losers.
Joensson beat out teammate Mats Larsson in the other semi, giving the Swedes half the A-final. John Kristian Dahl (NOR), the winner of the classic sprint in Kuusamo, finished his day just back of Larsson.
Andy Newell (USA), the lone North American qualifier in 3rd, drew an extremely tough assignment in the quarter finals, lining up with eventual winner Joensson, Olympic gold and silver medalists Nikita Kriukov and Alexander Panzhhinskiy of Russia, as well as former Sprint Cup Champion Ola Vigen Hattestad (NOR) and Mats Larsson (SWE).
According to US Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover, Newell skied an excellent tactical race.
Newell concurred telling FasterSkier in an interview, “Tactically I skied well, and despite the long travel day yesterday, I felt good.”
He started strong, holding position in second, skiing relaxed on Larsson’s tails. Joensson dropped the American to 3rd at the end of the lap, and when Hattestad made a strong move on the outside of the one wide corner early in the second loop to take over the lead, Newell found himself back in 4th.
But he stayed calm and followed Larsson back to the front getting by Hattestad on the inside of the last corner.
Newell was in excellent position as the pack dropped toward the finish stretch, but he opted to go wide for the kick, avoiding the inside right lane.
“I was right on Mats Larsson’s heels going into the final stretch,” said Newell. “Some lanes are often faster in Dusseldorf and it seems like the right lane that hugs the fence is always really fast, but you run a risk of getting pinched against the fence there if anybody sees you shooting for that lane right away.”
He hung back and opted to swing wide to the left around Larsson, still in 2nd. But that gave Joensson the short line along the fence, an advantage Newell couldn’t overcome.
The US Team watched video of past Dusseldorf races to identify the critical areas of the course. Grover points to the final corner as the crux, noting that if a skier can enter the curve in first or second, it is very difficult for anyone to get by.
Newell was where he needed to be at that point, but couldn’t match the Swedes’ closing speed.
“In terms of his fitness, I think he is feeling pretty confident,” said Grover, but pointed out that due to travel issues Newell did not arrive in Dusseldorf until 10:00pm Friday night. While both Newell and Grover agreed that the long travel day, which included ten hours in an airport, did not break Newell’s day, Grover did say that “it certainly did not help.”
Most of the North Americans were also missing gear. Though race skis arrived via van, Newell and teammate Kikkan Randall both raced the qualifier on old sets of poles borrowed from the Swedes.
With the airline strikes in Finland, US coaches told athletes to pack boots and racing clothes in their carryon a move that paid off, when their luggage did not arrive in time for the start.
The men’s course had been extended somewhat from previous years, with an additional 150 meters tacked on to make it one of the longest courses on the circuit. This, combined with all the corners, made for a controlled pace early, with hard bursts at critical points as athletes battled for position.
Both Grover and Newell did not feel that the extra distance had much impact on how the course skied, and despite the lack of significant climbs, there is no real rest making it a tough event.
While the Canadian men did not qualify anyone for the heats in the absence of Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey (both training in Italy), Stefan Kuhn and Len Valjas had solid days, just missing out on the heats in 33rd and 34th respectively.
For Valjas, this was his first World Cup skate sprint, and just his third start overall, while Kuhn had his best World Cup freestyle sprint finish outside the Tour de Ski, which prior to last year featured weaker sprint fields.
Phil Widmer (CAN), who has made the World Cup heats six times, did not have his best day placing 53rd. His teammate Brent McMurty rounded out the field for the Canadians in 56th.
Simi Hamilton was the second American in 51st.
According to Grover, Hamilton was not pleased with his result in his first Dusseldorf appearance. The US coach was sympathetic, but noted Hamilton’s lack of experience and is unconcerned.
“I know he wanted to a little bit better, but he is a young guy and he needs experience at this level,” Grover said. “This is just his second World Cup skate sprint…and people don’t usually do that great on these courses, against these fields the first time they ski them.”
Hamilton also missed several early races due to a strained knee, an injury that Grover says he is recovering from, but did leave him with some ground to make up.
Racing continue tomorrow in Dusseldorf with a team sprint. Hamilton will lead off for the first US team with Newell running second.
A US second team of Torin Koos and Chris Cook will also race. Both men did not ski well today, with Koos placing 63rd, and Cook 70th, avoiding last by .06 seconds.
Canada will also start two teams. Kuhn and Valjas will pair up for Canada I and Widmer and McMurtry represent as Canada II.
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/01/ts-men-final-Petukhov-1-web.jpg" "Petukhov coming through the stadium on the way to helping Russia to victory in the team sprint in Milan, Italy.")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/01/ts-men-final-norge-1-web.jpg" "The exchange zone.")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/01/ts-men-final-tag-1-web.jpg" "The final tag-off.")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/01/ts-men-final-sprint-1-web.jpg" "Petukhov leading the sprint to the finish.")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/01/ts-men-final-ital-1-web.jpg" "Italy.")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/01/ts-men-final-podium-1-web.jpg" "The men's team sprint podium: 1. Russia 2. Sweden 3. Italy.")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2010/02/Lukas-Bauer.jpg" "Lukas Bauer")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2010/02/Cologna-Win.jpg" "Dario Cologna")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2010/02/50-leg-bauer.jpg" "Legkov and Bauer.")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2009/03/andy_newell-2.jpg" "Andy Newell")
![Kershaw going "freaking hard" at the 2010 Olympics](http://images.fasterskier.com/2010/11/devon-lg-9769-ln.jpg" "Kershaw")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2010/12/newell-davos.jpg" "Newell (foreground in black) lunges for the line just behind Scola (top in blue and white) in their quarterfinal heat.")