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Tag: Kristian Tettli Rennemo

  • Sundby 2 for 2 in Beito, Takes 15 k Skate Despite Feeling in Slow Mo

    Sundby 2 for 2 in Beito, Takes 15 k Skate Despite Feeling in Slow Mo

    Martin Johnsrud Sundby racing to his second-straight win in Beitostølen on Saturday in the 10 k skate FIS race. (All photos: Inge Scheve)
    Martin Johnsrud Sundby racing to his second-straight win in Beitostølen, Norway, on Saturday in the 15 k skate FIS race. (All photos: Inge Scheve)

    BEITOSTØLEN, Norway — Martin Johnsrud Sundby skied into his second victory in as many days in Beitostølen, winning Saturday’s 15-kilometer freestyle FIS race by 16.6 seconds over Petter Eliassen in second. Another Norwegian, Didrik Tønseth, who was second on Friday, placed third.

    Sundby covered the course in 32:22.2, and told reporters after that he gave it “an 82 to 87 percent of max effort.”

    After winning Friday’s 15 k classic by nearly 23 seconds, he had “a horrible long day,”, he told NRK, with a final drug test at 10:30 that night. That left him a little groggy heading into Saturday’s 15 k skate.

    “I didn’t have any good feelings,” Sundby, 30, said. “My legs felt as if they were well over 30 years old today.”

    “My legs felt as if they were well over 30 years old today.” — Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby, after winning his second-straight race in Beitostølen on Saturday.

    But he found a way to lead very early on, starting last of 155 men on Saturday. Three seconds behind 2 k, he took control of the race and led by a comfortable margin for the remaining 13 k — increasing the gap as he went.

    “I just felt like every push was a slow-motion effort, but I was able to capitalize on my strengths,” Sundby told reporters afterward.

    “Technically, I stood well on my skis and won it,” he said to NRK.

    Deep and competitive field

    Petter Northug (Norway) on his was to 23rd in the FIS 10 k skate race on Saturday in Beitostølen, Norway. He finished more than a minute behind winner Martin Sundby.
    Petter Northug (Norway) on his was to 23rd in the FIS 15 k skate race on Saturday in Beitostølen, Norway. He finished more than a minute behind winner Martin Sundby.

    Behind him, there was a fierce fight for the remaining spots on the podium. Tønseth lost out on second to Eliassen by 2.7 seconds, and Norway’s Anders Gløersen and  Kristian Tettli Rennemo tied for fourth, 3.3 seconds after Tønseth.

    “I was one spot worse today, but it was really big for me to podium in the skate race,” Tønseth told FasterSkier. “I didn’t expect that.

    “It’s important to ski fast here in order to be named for the World Cup team next week, so now I just hope to maintain my performance until Finland next week,” he added.  “It’s always fun to ski fast, but it’s really just a prep for what’s coming next.”

    Norway occupied all of the top 10 with France’s Maurice Manificat placing 11th.

    Still a few pounds to go

    Norway’s Petter Northug finished 23rd, more than a minute behind Sundby, but he didn’t sound worried about the gap.

    “I still have a few steps and a few pounds to go in order to reach peak performance,” he told reporters after the race. “This is still training, but whenever you get a bib on, it becomes a tougher effort than just a hard intensity workout, and you see where you are in relation to your competitors.”

    “I still have a few steps and a few pounds to go in order to reach peak performance. This is still training.” — Petter Northug, after placing 23rd in Saturday’s 15 k skate in Beitostølen, 1:01.7 behind the winner

    Beitostølen’s races wrap up with a classic sprint on Sunday.

    Results

  • Brandsdal, Van der Graaf Speed to Victory at Bysprinten

    Brandsdal, Van der Graaf Speed to Victory at Bysprinten

    Laurien Van der Graaf (SUI), shown here in the Milan, Italy World Cup, won both women's events at Bysprinten on Saturday.

    No snow-speed records were broken at the sixth edition of Bysprinten, but the annual two-day ski festival on the streets of Mosjøen, Norway provided plenty of excitement for the 3,000 spectators who came out to see their favorite national team members ski as fast as possible. On Saturday, Eirik Brandsdal (NOR) prevailed in the men’s final sprint, and Laurien Van der Graaf (SUI) topped the women’s field.

    “I am very fond of Bysprinten. I often do it well and it’s fun to go with so many people in the streets,” said Brandsdal.

    Petter Northug, whose presence at the event was the most highly anticipated, provided a bit of drama in the semifinals when he tangled with Øystein Pettersen (NOR) and appeared to be out for the final. The jury ruled that Pettersen had blocked Northug, however, and sent him through. Northug ended up finishing fourth.

    The Norwegian celebrity made no excuses — “I’ve relaxed on the couch for three months, so my ass is getting a little wide. I am not quite in top shape today,” he told the NRK.

    In addition to the 1.5 k, the day’s program included a youth sprint, an elite 100 m individual sprint, and a “brothers relay” that set the Petter and Tomas Northug against Renato and Fabio Pasini (ITA) and Anders and Kristian Tettli Rennemo (NOR).

    The Northugs lived up to their promise to “defend the family honor,” and defeated the Pasinis in second and the Rennemos in third.

    In the 100 m dash, organizers had a radar gun on hand in anticipation of witnessing a new world record, but it was not to be — local newspapers reported that the direction of the straightaway was into the wind. Ola Vigen Hattestad (NOR) clocked in at 12.39 for the win over Petter Northug in second (12.60) and Anders Gløersen (NOR) in third (12.63).

    “It was really fun to go today. I was not as good technically, but I did everything I could,” said Hattestad to the NRK.

    Van der Graaf dominated the day from the get-go, taking the women’s 100 m in 13:48. Slovenia’s Katja Visnar took second (13.83) followed by Mari Eide (NOR) in third (13.96).

    “It has been really fun and I enjoyed myself,” said Van der Graaf.

    Men’s 1.5 k results

    Women’s 1.5 k results

    100 m results

  • Norway’s Northug Still Questionable For Kuusamo World Cup

    Petter Northug will more than likely sit out the second World Cup weekend, but the start lists could feature few Norwegians at all. According to Norwegian national team directer Aage Skinstad, if the temperatures drop below minus 18 Celcius, the Norwegians will not be competing. Frigid temperatures are quite likely on the courses in Rukantturi, north of Kuusamo. Some predict as low as 25 C to 29 C below, at which point there would be no races at all.

    The “Tour de Opening” begins with a sprint on Friday, continues with a distance race on Saturday, and concludes with a pursuit on Sunday.  The predicted cold can cause problems for the skiers, and Northug is no fan of cold temperatures.

    ”We won’t take any chances. Petter has to get entirely well before we let him race, and that can take some time,” said John Northug, Petter’s father and manager, to langd.se.

    The Norwegian team headed to Kuusamo also includes Kristin Stormer Steira, who raced the World Cup opener in Gällivare (SWE). She has been fighting stubborn foot injuries all through the summer and dryland season, and is still not 100 percent recovered. She reports feeling the injury more when classic skiing than in skating. As for the men’s team, both of the Norwegian wild cards from Gällivare, Sjur Rohte and Chris Jespersen, will be given another chance to prove themselves in Kuusamo.

    Norway’s team in Kuusamo:

    Women – Kari Vikhagen Gjeitnes, Celine Brun-Lie, Ingvild Flugstad Ostberg, Maiken Caspersen Falla, Therese Johaug, Marthe Kristoffersen, Marit Bjorgen, Vibeke Skofterud and Astrid U. Jacobsen.

    Men – Ola Vigen Hattestad, Johan Kjolstad, Oystein Pettersen, John Kristian Dahl, Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Simen Ostensen, Eldar Ronning, Kristian Tettli Rennemo, Chris Jespersen, Sjur Rothe and Petter Northug jr (grandfathered spot as reigning the World Cup champion).

    From www.Langd.se, November 22, 2010. By Kjell-Erik Kristiansen, translation by Inge Scheve

  • Norway: More running, less rollerskiing

    MERÅKER, NORWAY – According to the national team head coach Morten Aa Djupvik, there are no better, more efficient methods to increase overall capacity than running. Accordingly, the national team is changing the mix, increasing the amount of running, at the expense of roller skiing.

    The Norwegian national team started the new program with a bounding workout in Petter Northug’s home turf Meråkerfjellet on Monday. On a scale from 1 to 10 where 10 is utter exhaustion, Northug admitted that the initial foot workout was hard.

    “I’d say eight or nine on a scale from 1 to 10,” Northug said to Norwegian TV station TV2 after the workout.

    Northug and his teammates had just completed the workout that is characterized by the coaching panel as one of the toughest in the book, commonly known as hill bounding intervals or “moosehuf’ing.” Translation: six 6-minute intervals up steep suctiony dirt roads in the hills behind Northug’s hometown Meråker.

    “This is insanely hard, and it’s key to stay within your target heart rate zone,” says As Djupvik while reviewing his athletes’ heart rates from the morning running workout.

    More running
    During the Meråker training camp this week, the seven members of the men’s national team are accompanied by six guys and seven women from the U23 national team. Northug and his teammates will have to get used to their running shoes this fall leading up to the 2010-11 season with World Championship in Oslo. The national team coaches have evaluated the situation, and made some adjustments.

    “We’re increasing the amount of running substantially from last year, at the expense of roller skiing. We believe nothing beats running when it comes to increasing the capacity, and we think these changes will lift us another level this season,” Aa Djupvik says.

    While the snow and the season opener racers are still months away, Northug appears to be on track. ”I feel good, but the key is to stay injury free and train smart. I’m very confident of my training program, and the only adjustment I’ve made this season is more running,” Northug says.

    “Petter is better at bounding this season than he was in June. Aside from that, things are as usual, he’s improving slowly but surely,” Aa Djupvik concludes after the Monday workout.

    Northug expects more Norwegians on the podium
    While the goal for the workout wasn’t necessarily to be the first to the top, the two rookies on the team, Kristian Tettli Rennemo and Petter Eliassen, impressed everyone up the steep dirt roads. The margins on the international circuit were miniscule last season, and everything counts.

    “This year we’ve had great energy at the training camps, so now we have to make sure we carry everyone with us into the ski season. Who knows, we might just have five or six racers among the top in the World Cup,” Northug predicts.

    Watch Northug bound

    From www.langrenn.com and www.TV2.no, translation by Inge Scheve