Gabriela Koukalová of the Czech Republic celebrates her first individual victory at a World Championships or Olympics on Friday at 2017 IBU World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. She won the women’s 7.5 k sprint by 4 seconds. (Photo: IBU)
IBU World Championships (Hochfilzen, Austria): Women’s 7.5 k sprint
Gabriela Koukalová, formerly Soukalova, had been so close to a World Championships individual gold medal, yet through five World Championships and two Olympic Games, a world title still eluded her — until Friday.
In the second race of 2017 IBU World Championships (and first individual competition), the 27-year-old Koukalova, of the Czech Republic, raced to first in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint, edging Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, the World Cup Total Score leader.
Koukalova started 96th and cleaned both prone and standing before finishing with the fastest time in 19:12.6 minutes. That bested Dahlmeier’s time by 4 seconds, after the German (in bib 64) also cleaned both stages and took the lead from France’s Anais Chevalier (bib 17). Chevalier remained on the podium in third, 25.1 seconds off Koukalova’s winning time.
Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi missed a medal by 0.2 seconds in fourth (+25.3).
US Biathlon’s Clare Egan shot clean and landed 20th (+1:12.4) for her best individual World Championships result by 20 places (she previously raced at 2015 and 2016 World Championships). Egan led three Americans in qualifying for the pursuit, with Susan Dunklee placing 29th (+1:27.4) with three penalties (1+2) and Joanne Reid in 49th (+1:57.6) with two misses (1+1). Maddie Phaneuf missed the top 60 necessary for the pursuit in 78th (+2:56.6) with two standing penalties (0+2).
Biathlon Canada’s Rosanna Crawford placed 26th (+1:23.2) with one standing penalty (0+1) and was the lone Canadian to qualify for the pursuit. Megan Tandy missed the top 60 in 64th (+2:20.9) with one miss (1+0), Julia Ransom followed 65th (+2:24.7) with two misses (0+2), and Emma Lunder was 84th (+3:10.1) with three penalties (3+0).
The mixed relay podium on the opening day of 2017 IBU World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria, with Germany in first (c), France (with Martin Fourcade at far left) in second, and Russia in third (r). (Photo: Glen Crawford)
Germany was front and center for the first race of 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships on Thursday in Hochfilzen, Austria, but there was a sideshow that stole a good chunk of the limelight between France (namely Martin Fourcade) and Russia (namely Alexander Loginov).
The action began with the 2 x 6 + 2 x 7.5-kilometer mixed relay, a co-ed event where teams start women for the first and second legs, followed by men for the third and fourth legs.
Germany ran away with the lead with a rock-solid performance from third-leg Arnd Peiffer, who cleaned both his prone and standing stages without using any spare rounds, but the team had to credit second-leg Laura Dahlmeier, who built the lead in the first place.
Dahlmeier, the World Cup Total Score leader, raced from sixth to first after getting the tag from her teammate Vanessa Hinz just 9.8 seconds out of first. Dahlmeier used two spares to clean prone and another two to clean standing, yet she avoided the penalty lap and remained in third for much of her race — behind Italy’s Dorothea Wierer and France’s Marie Dorin Habert.
As she left the range for the last time and embarked on her last loop, Dahlmeier remained in third, nine seconds behind Wierer in first. Dorin Habert remained on Wierer’s heels, 1.6 seconds back.
Dahlmeier caught both by the second exchange and tagged Peiffer in first, 0.8 seconds ahead of France and 3.8 seconds ahead of Italy.
The rest was history as Peiffer extended the gap to 11.1 seconds over Italy’s Lukas Hofer after the first shooting stage on the third leg. With another clean bout one loop later, Peiffer was up to 20 seconds ahead of Hofer, who used one spare in prone and cleaned standing without a miss.
“After the prone shooting I was alone on the loop, that is a pretty thankless job,” Peiffer told German broadcaster ZDF after. “Then I tried to focus on my tempo, to keep pushing into the standing shooting, and that worked well. But it was not clear to me while on the course that it would work out like that.”
Germany’s Arnd Peiffer (r) tagging his teammate Simon Schempp during the final exchange of the mixed relay at 2017 IBU World Championships on Thursday in Hochfilzen, Austria. Peiffer tagged in first, and Schempp held the lead through the finish. (Photo: Glen Crawford)
Peiffer tagged German anchor Simon Schempp 21.2 seconds ahead of Italy’s last leg, Dominick Windisch, and 46.5 seconds ahead of France’s Martin Fourcade in third. Russia entered the final exchange with France, with Loginov tagging Anton Shipulin just 0.9 seconds behind France.
That’s where things got interesting. Schempp executed as needed to secure the win — cleaning prone without any spares and using just one in standing — and Windisch as his most immediate threat fumbled on the last stage when the he missed two and left the range in fourth, 32 seconds behind Schempp.
There, Fourcade moved into second with his second-straight flawless stage (0+0, 0+0), 17.9 seconds behind Schempp, and Shipulin remained in third (+18.6) after cleaning both stages as well (0+0, 0+0). Fourcade and Shipulin started the race together and jockeyed between third and fourth for the first two loops, until both moved ahead of Windisch and had the opportunity to battle for second place on the last loop.
For Fourcade, who had already won 10 races (including relays) this season and entered the World Championships mixed relay as a defending champion with France, it wasn’t so much about the silver. It was about beating Russia.
As Fourcade and Shipulin descended a downhill together on the last loop, Fourcade took the lead by the bottom and attacked on the long uphill that immediately followed. Shipulin remained on his heels as the two came within view of Schempp, who was skiing what appeared to be a casual pace off the front — although Schempp would later say he was going full speed.
“I think you could see that they wanted to get back up to [Schempp],” German men’s head coach Mark Kirchner told ZDF of Fourcade and Shipulin on the last loop. “But when they reached the highest point of the course it looked like they rather skied tactically, who becomes second and who becomes third. Then I was sure that this would end well for us.”
About 100 meters before the finish, Schempp glanced back to see Fourcade and Shipulin charging hard. Schempp appeared unfazed and maintained his pace, holding his arms up to celebrate before he crossed the line first.
Germany’s Simon Schempp (2) celebrates his team’s victory in the mixed relay on the opening day of 2017 IBU World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria, after he held off France’s Martin Fourcade (second from r) in second and Russia’s Anton Shipulin in third. (Photo: Glen Crawford)
Germany took the relay gold in 1:09.06.4 hours, while Fourcade finished 2.2 seconds later to secure silver for France. One second later, Shipulin anchored Russia to bronze (+3.2).
“Fourcade really attacked enormously,” German men’s assistant coach Andreas Stitzl told ZDF. “Thank God Fourcade and Shipulin were not totally in agreement, so it went our way.”
Schempp later said he realized those two were getting closer, “but there was a bit of a buffer,” he told ZDF. “I wasn’t certain, so I still skied full speed … Of course this is an enormously cool start for our team into the World Championships, immediately with a first place. And I think I am speaking for everyone that we are overjoyed.”
It was the first mixed-relay win for Hinz and Dahlmeier.
“These are big emotions, winning it all in a team together with the men,” Dahlmeier told ZDF. “I have never won a mixed relay before, and this is only my second one ever. I think this means a lot to the whole team, that we became world champions right in the first race.”
“I am still a little bit speechless,” Hinz said. “I was very happy that the coaches trusted me with this assignment, and it means quite a lot to me.”
During the flower ceremony, Germany’s four racers stood on the highest step of the podium. France followed them to the second step, with Anais Chevalier, Dorin Habert, Quentin Fillon Maillet, and Fourcade, and Russia was introduced third, with Olga Podchufarova, Tatiana Akimova, Loginov, and Shipulin.
As the four Russians approached the French team to shake hands in usual fashion, Fourcade shook the hands of the two women, but did not come in contact with the two men. As Russia proceeded to its spot on the podium, Fourcade clapped sarcastically, then stepped down from the podium and attempted to leave the ceremony. Not long after, he returned, likely having been instructed to.
“I’m a bit sad,” Fourcade said at the post-race press conference. “I just want to remember that one week ago the president of the Russian federation asked the IBU to take disciplinary sanctions against me because I did a tweet about Loginov and today they decide to not shake my hand on the podium so I’m a bit surprised the president of the Russian federation wants to disqualify his own athletes.”
While it’s tough to pin down exactly which tweet Fourcade was referring to, he wrote on Twitter, “We didn’t think it was possible so they did it………….” on Wednesday, the day before the opening race of World Championships, likely when he learned Loginov would be starting the relay. Loginov is coming off a two-year ban for EPO use and dominated the competition at last month’s IBU Open European Championships.
Russia’s Alexander Loginov (l) takes a tumble after tagging his teammate Anton Shipulin (third from l) in the final exchange of the 2017 IBU World Championships mixed relay in Hochfilzen, Austria. France’s Martin Fourcade (second from l) skated left after getting the tag from his teammate Quentin Fillon Maillet (far r). (Photo: ORF screenshot)
Whether the Russian men didn’t shake Fourcade’s hand on the podium, or vice versa; whether they were upset about his tweet or the fact that he appeared to go out of his way to trip Loginov in the exchange zone on Thursday (after Loginov had tagged Shipulin right after Fourcade), one thing is clear: there is some definite tension between Fourcade and Team Russia.
And it’s not all on Fourcade; this has been months in the making after World Cup athletes demanded that the IBU implement stricter anti-doping policies and measures. Fourcade walked out of a meeting last month, telling NRK, “I am pissed off.” The next day, the IBU Executive Board announced it would hold an “Extraordinary Congress” before World Championships to vote on rule changes. The IBU announced the Congress decisions on Wednesday, which included plans to impose higher fines and reduced quotas for nations that violate anti-doping rules. Moreover, 2021 World Championships will not be held in Tyumen, Russia.
An IBU press release on Thursday didn’t get into details beyond the mixed relay itself: “Today is not the best example of a sprint finish battle that I could have done,” Shipulin said, according to the release. “I hope the rest of the World Championships it will be better.”
In terms of shooting performance, Russia was the best of the 25-team field with a total of four spares (three of which came on Loginov’s standing stage) and zero penalties. France had eight spares and overcame one penalty (on Fillon Maillet’s standing stage), and Germany used a total of seven spares but avoided the penalty lap.
“I was expecting us to be in the mix and fight for the medals,” Kirchner told ZDF, “but you can’t plan it working out like this, standing on the first position is always a surprise.”
Norway’s Marte Olsbu (front left) and Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi (front right) leading early in the mixed relay at 2017 IBU World Championships on Thursday in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: Glen Crawford)
Italy (Lisa Vittozzi, Wierer, Hofer, Windisch) placed fourth, 28.7 seconds out of first and 25.5 off the podium, with six spares and zero penalties.
Vittozzi initially put the team in first at the first exchange, 1.8 seconds ahead of Norway’s Marte Olsbu in second. There, Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser followed 5.7 seconds back in third, and American Susan Dunklee was fourth, 7.6 seconds out of first.
Dunklee used two spares to clean prone and another two in standing (0+2, 0+2), but posted the second-fastest course time of the first-leg skiers to stick with the leaders through the first exchange. While Vittozzi hit all 10 of her targets (0+0, 0+0), Olsbu used a spare (0+1, 0+0) and Hauser required two (0+2, 0+0).
“It wasn’t overly tricky wind but there is more mental pressure in championship situations,” Dunklee wrote in an email about the conditions and why many of the top racers struggled on the range on Thursday. “The days when it matters most can be the days that it’s hardest to perform normally.”
She explained that she was disappointed with her shooting percentage but happy with her speed.
“My skiing feels sharper than it has all year and my body feels ready. That’s a big confidence booster going into the rest of the week,” Dunklee added.
Susan Dunklee racing the first leg of the 2017 IBU World Championships mixed relay for the U.S. She tagged off in fourth and the U.S. went on to finish 16th. (Photo: Glen Crawford)
The U.S. finished 16th (+3:20.2), with two penalties and 13 spares. Second-leg Clare Egan remained in the top 10 until her standing stage, where she skied a penalty lap (0+1, 1+3) and slipped to 17th by the exchange, 2:01 minutes out of first. There, Lowell Bailey took over and used one spare in each stage (0+1, 0+1) and skied the sixth-fastest third leg to hand off in 16th, 2:24.2 back. The team’s anchor, Sean Doherty had the team’s second penalty in his prone, but cleaned standing without any spares (1+3, 0+0) to finish 16th.
“We had a disappointing result as a team, but the Championships are long,” Dunklee wrote. “The most important thing is to take one day at a time and come to the venue fully focused and ready to make the most of each opportunity.”
Canada’s Julia Ransom (r) tagging teammate Rosanna Crawford after the first leg of the mixed relay at 2017 IBU World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. Canada went on to finish 13th. (Photo: Glen Crawford)
Canada finished more than a minute ahead of the U.S. in 13th (+2:18.2), with nine spares and zero penalties. Julia Ransom started the Canadians off and used four spares (0+3, 0+1) to tag Rosanna Crawford in 18th, 59 seconds out of first. Crawford used three spares as well in prone but also avoided the penalty lap, and cleaned standing (0+3, 0+0) to tag her boyfriend Brendan Green in 15th, 1:29 back.
Green improved one place to 14th, using just one spare in his prone stage (0+1, 0+0) and tagged Scott Gow 2:06.8 out of first. Gow cleaned prone and used one spare in standing (0+0, 0+1) to finish 13th, just 0.6 seconds ahead of Switzerland in 14th.
“The goal during my leg was to ski hard and push the shooting as much as I could,” Gow wrote in an email.
Both his shooting and range times were sixth-fastest among the anchor legs.
“My shooting was good, and all I can attribute it to is my prep the last two weeks,” Gow explained. “Shooting conditions were quite good, a little bit of wind here and there, so the environment wasn’t too much of a factor. I spent the last two weeks adding extra stress to my shooting and making sure all the fundamentals were in place, and that is what helped me today.
“I’m happy with my race and our team is optimistic for what is to come,” he added. “There were a lot of positives from the past two weeks within the whole team, so there a lot of possibilities.”
Personally, Gow’s main focus for the championships is the men’s relay after Canada earned a historic bronze in the event at 2016 World Championships.
“Last year our team had an incredible result in the relay and it would be great to have another awesome team result at these championships,” he wrote. “Aside from the relay, I’m looking most forward to the sprint. I’ve had some great sprints this year and I’d like to continue the good trend.”
IBU World Championships continue Friday with the women’s 7.5 k sprint at 8:45 a.m. Eastern time. Watch it live on Eurovisionsports.tv.
Germany’s mixed relay team, (from left to right) with Vanessa Hinz, Laura Dahlmeier, Arnd Peiffer, and Simon Schempp, after winning the first gold of 2017 IBU World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: IBU)
IBU World Championships (Hochfilzen, Austria): Mixed relay
The unshakable Germans. That was the takeaway from the first race of the 2017 International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Championships on Thursday in Hochfilzen, Austria, the 2 x 6 + 2 x 7.5-kilometer mixed relay, after second-leg Laura Dahlmeier put the team in a position to win, and teammate Arnd Peiffer and Simon Schempp held onto first through the finish.
After first-leg Vanessa Hinz put the Germans in sixth, 9.8 seconds behind Italy in first, Dahlmeier skied the fastest second leg to overcome using four spares rounds — two on her prone stage and two in standing. Skiing in third as she started her final lap, Dahlmeier passed Italy’s Dorothea Wierer and France’s Marie Dorin Habert to enter the second exchange in first, 0.8 seconds ahead of Dorin Habert in second and 3.8 seconds ahead of Wierer in third.
From there, Peiffer ran away with the lead, cleaning both stages without any spares and tagging Schempp with a 21.2-second lead over Italy’s Lukas Hofer in second. France’s anchor, Martin Fourcade was tagged third, 46.5 seconds out of first and less than a second ahead of Russia’s Anton Shipulin in fourth.
From there, Schempp cleaned his prone stage and used one standing spare to leave the range for the last time with a 17.9-second cushion to Fourcade in second, while Italy’s Dominik Windisch slipped to fourth after using two spares in standing. On the final lap, Fourcade and Shipulin continued battled for silver while Schempp skied a leisurely pace up front. Even as Fourcade and Shipulin came within view of the German at the finish, Schempp glanced back, unfazed in the finishing stretch and beat them both with 2.2 seconds to spare. Fourcade attacked on a long climb and Shipulin chased him closely in third to the finish, crossing the line 1 second after Fourcade for third place (+3.2).
Germany secured the first gold of 2017 World Championships with a total of seven spares and no penalties in 1:09:06.4 hours. France, with Anais Chevalier, Dorin Habert, Quentin Fillon-Maillet, and Fourcade, was second with eight spares and one penalty (on third-leg Fillon-Maillet’s standing stage). Russia took bronze with Olga Podchufarova, Tatiana Akimova, Alexander Loginov, and Shipulin, with four spares and no penalties.
Canada placed 13th with no penalties and nine spares, with Julia Ransom, Rosanna Crawford, Brendan Green, and Scott Gow. The U.S. (Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, Lowell Bailey, Sean Doherty) finished 16th (out of 25 teams) with two penalties (Egan and Doherty) and 13 spares.
IBU World Championships continue Friday with the women’s 7.5 k sprint at 8:45 a.m. Eastern time. Watch it live on Eurovisionsports.tv.
US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee ahead of Sweden’s Chardine Sloof during the second leg in the women’s 4 x 6 k relay at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
As they had done in the first two relays this season, Germany and France occupied the top two positions on the podium in the women’s 4 x 6-kilometer relay on Sunday at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. And to the joy of over 20,000 raucous fans in the sunny arena, home team Italy claimed the third place. So far, so not very unusual.
But at the halfway point of the race, Susan Dunklee had moved the U.S. team into second position, just 33 seconds behind Germany in first. A potential surprise was in the air.
“Head-to-head shooting and hunting people down on skis are two of my favorite racing experiences, so I was thrilled with today,” Dunklee stated, according to a US Biathlon press release.
Starting the race in bib 22 out of the last start row, her teammate Clare Egan had slightly moved up on the course coming into the first prone stage, and with a clean shooting performance left the range in fourth place just 3.1 seconds behind the leaders.
US Biathlon’s Clare Egan on the course skiing the opening leg of the women’s 4 x 6 k relay at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: IBU/Christian Manzoni)
“I rarely get to do mass starts but I love them,” Egan wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “I shot clean and was the first athlete off the mat so my plan worked. I just tried to position myself as best I could and then pass on the shooting range.”
She was able to keep up with the teams around her on the next loop, and with one spare in the standing shooting, she managed to hit all her targets, skiing back on the course in ninth place.
“Last week I also hit 9/10 targets, but then I had to use all three spares to get that last target down, because I got so nervous,” Egan explained. “So this week I really tried to prepare mentally for shooting my spares and it helped.”
On the final loop she managed to overtake the Austrian team while getting passed by Switzerland, and while Egan lost a bit more time to the French and German teams leading the race at that point, she tagged off to Dunklee in the ninth and just 21 seconds behind France and Germany.
Dunklee quickly began to close gaps and overtook several of the teams around her, including Sweden, Belarus, Slovakia and Norway.
“I felt sharper on skis than earlier this week,” Dunklee wrote in an email. “I think my body adjusted better to the altitude each day. I did not follow any sort of pacing plan today; I saw people ahead of me early and I went after them, and then held on as best I could on the last loop.”
In her prone shooting stage Dunklee needed two spares to hit all targets, leaving the range in fourth position. But she kept gaining ground on the loop and with a clean standing stage, while most of the athletes around her needed spares.
“I was disappointed to miss my last two shots in prone again, but standing felt good,” Dunklee wrote. “I took a few extra breaths before the first shot and then used an assertive cadence.”
Keeping Italy and Norway behind her on the final loop and only losing a few more seconds to Germany’s Maren Hammerschmidt, Dunklee tagged her teammate Joanne Reid in second (+32.9).
Reid, who is in her first full season with the US Biathlon World Cup team, was able to keep up with the leaders on the first loop, skiing close to the eventual podium finishers Anaïs Bescond of France and Alexia Runggaldier of Italy.
Reid cleaned the prone stage without any spares, but as most of the teams around her did the same, several teams remained close together. On the next loop, Reid was nearly able to hold her distance to the leaders, but was passed on the biggest climb by Ukraine’s veteran Valj Semerenko.
She may have invested a bit too much energy trying to keep up with the best teams on that loop, and in the following standing shooting Reid missed her first shots and eventually ran out of spares, having to ski twice through the 150-meter penalty lap to lose more than a minute and a half.
Reid tagged teammate Maddie Phaneuf in 13th position (+2:24.3). For Phaneuf, it was only her second time anchoring a U.S. World Cup relay.
“My very first World Cup two seasons ago, I anchored for our team (Susan Dunklee, Hannah Dreissigacker, and Annelies Cook) in Ruhpolding,” Phaneuf wrote in an email. “I remember our team did not have a very good race, and I got lapped.”
This time, it went better, especially due to her shooting performance only requiring one spare in standing (0+0, 0+1) and achieving a top-10 range time.
“I was pleased with my shooting today, especially coming out of the Individual race from earlier this week with so many mistakes,” Phaneuf explained. “The wind was much calmer on the range, which helped. The biggest thing for me was that I found myself less distracted by the atmosphere and more focused on my shooting, which I’ve been trying to deal with the past few races. It can be tough with all the TV cameras, excited crowds, and announcers!”
On the final loop Phaneuf was able to keep Slovakia’s Jana Gerekova behind her, but was unable to bridge the gap to two other teams due to a small mishap.
“By the last loop I was hanging with the Polish and Norwegian girls [Krystyna Guzik and Rikke Andersen], but I caught my ski on some fencing coming around a corner into a downhill and lost a lot of momentum,” she wrote. “I was really bummed, because then I lost the chance to draft these girls into the finishing stretch. But I am happy to see that my ski speed is improving with every race, and it’s making me more and more excited for World Championships in a couple of weeks.”
Back again in 13th place where she had begun, Phaneuf crossed the finish in 1:11:58.9 hours, 2:46.5 minutes behind the winners. The U.S. had two penalties and seven spares.
“Today was a great day for our team and I am proud of how all of my teammates performed and the effort they gave,” Dunklee commented. “We can see that we are not far off a top 10 or even better, and that is motivating.”
While the U.S. team faded back a bit in the second half of the race, several of the more experienced teams fought for the places on the podium.
From left to right: Germany’s Vanessa Hinz, Maren Hammerschmidt, Franziska Hildebrand and Laura Dahlmeier celebrate their victory in the women’s 4 x 6 k women’s relay at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo IBU/Christian Manzoni)
Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier struggled to control her last shots, gasping heavily in the thin air of the Antholz biathlon arena some 1,600 meters above sea level during the final standing stage. But with her last spare, she managed to avoid the penalty lap and secured the victory for her team with Vanessa Hinz, Hammerschmidt and Franziska Hildebrand. Dahlmeier even had enough time to grab a flag from a fan on the finishing stretch before crossing the line in 1:09:12.4 hours, with 12 spares and zero penalties.
“That’s why you have six spares in the relay,” Dahlmeier said with a laugh when asked by German broadcaster ZDF about her shooting stages, where she needed five spares to clean. “And when you ski over the line in first, you can’t have done all that much wrong. I wasn’t actually scared [of a penalty lap], but I made it a bit too suspenseful with my shooting and was happy the other girls had given me a lead.”
Germany had also won the two prior relay races of the season in Pokljuka, Slovenia, and Ruhpolding, Germany.
“Three relay competitions in this season, three victories – of course that makes us the favorites for the World Championships,” Hildebrand said, according to an IBU press release. “I think as a team we are strong enough to handle this pressure.”
Crossing the line 24.2 seconds behind Dahlmeier, France’s Marie Dorin Habert comfortably secured second place for her team on the final loop, with eight spares and zero penalties. Despite requiring fewer spare rounds, the French team of Anaïs Chevalier, Justine Braisaz, Bescond, and anchor Dorin Habert was not quite able to keep up on the course on Sunday.
“Maybe at the last shooting, almost,” Bescond said at the press conference when asked if, during the race, she thought her team might claim the victory. “Unfortunately we were not strong enough to catch the German team today.”
Just like it was the third victory for Germany, it was also the third second-place finish of the season for the French women. “We are happy, but we want to beat Germany, maybe at World Championships,” Chevalier said at the press conference.
On the final round Italy’s Dorothea Wierer tried everything to get a podium on her home course, following two weaker performances in the individual and mass start races, but Ukraine’s 22-year-old Anastasiya Merkushyna didn’t make it easy for her, fighting back to take a small lead. But on the last small climb into the arena, Wierer broke her resistance, celebrating her third place when she skied into the arms of the teammates Lisa Vittozzi, Federica Sanfilipo and Runggaldier awaiting her. Like the other teams on the podium Italy had no penalty, and required nine spares.
“I was going away from the shooting range with Merkushyna,” Wierer commented in the press conference on her last loop. “I felt really good, and I don’t know if she was only playing with me, but she seemed not so strong on skis. But then she made a little sprint and I pushed so hard to keep [up with] her. And on the last uphill I made another sprint hoping she would not take me anymore, but I wasn’t sure.”
“We are not always shooting so well,” she said when asked about Italy’s chances for the World Championships relay. “But I think we are getting better and more confident. And I think we will beat the German and also the French team!”
“I am kidding,” she added with a laugh, turning to Germany’s Hildebrand sitting next to her. “I am not kidding!”
Ukraine’s relay with Yuliya Zhuravok, Yulia Dzhima, Semerenko and Anastasiya Merkushyna finished fourth (+37.5), with six spares and zero penalties.
Canada 18th Despite Strong Shooting
Biathlon Canada’s Megan Tandy (center, bib 11) skiing the opening leg of the women’s 4 x 6 k relay for the 2017 IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: IBU/Christian Manzoni)
The Canadian relay of Megan Tandy, Julia Ransom, Emma Lunder, and Rosanna Crawford shot as well as some of the teams on the podium, requiring only eight spare rounds and incurring zero penalties, but could not keep up with the leaders.
After starting in the fourth row in bib 11 and skiing close to the top group on the first loop, Tandy required four spare rounds (0+2, 0+2) setting her back early in the race. She improved by two positions on the final loop, but tagged off in 18th place, more than a minute behind the leaders. Ransom improved one place to 17th with two solid shootings (0+0, 0+1) but doubled the deficit, and Lunder kept them in that position with a clean standing before losing one spot again on her last loop (0+1, 0+0) to exchange in 18th. Crawford (0+2, 0+0) was only briefly able to move the team up to 16th place before losing those positions to China’s Xuelan Wang and the Czech Republic’s Veronika Vitková (who rested their star Gabriela Koukalová on Sunday) on the last loop to ultimately finish 18th (+4:12.1).
“I think we were hoping for another top 10 today,” Crawford wrote in an email. “Antholz even on a calm day has tricky shooting, the altitude and the flat run into the range I think catches people off guard. We had some good skis today but [it] just wasn’t enough to keep us in contention. We had some great results though this week, with Emma’s 21st [in the individual race] and Scott [Gow] making his first Mass Start.”
Recently struggling a bit to get her speed up to her level from last season, Crawford posted the 15th-ranked course time on the fourth leg of Sunday’s relay after an extended recovery.
“We had decided to change the training plan around because skiing was just getting worse and worse each race,” Crawford explained. “So I didn’t race the pursuit in Ruhpolding or the Individual here, took a few days off and kept this week really easy … So hopefully the rest I took will pay off for World Champs.”
The IBU World Cup now enters a two-week break ahead of the World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria, which begin on Feb. 9 with a mixed relay.
During this period, there will also be the 2017 Open European Championships beginning this Wednesday in Duszniki-Zdrój, Poland, which several World Cup starters including representatives from the U.S. and Canada plan to race in.
Germany’s Nadine Horchler celebrates her first career victory in the women’s 12.5-k mass start on Saturday at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy, after distancing herself from teammate Laura Dahlmeier (yellow bib) and the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová (far left). (Photo: IBU/Christian Manzoni)
“That’s just biathlon for you,” biathletes often like to say when trying to explain the drastic ups and downs that are typical in their sport, both within one race and over the longer timeframes of a season or even a career.
On Saturday in a surprising race outcome that should give hope to many biathletes on the fringes of the World Cup level struggling with these constant shifts, Germany’s 30-year-old Nadine Horchler achieved the first victory and first podium of her career in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Antholz, Italy.
For years, Horchler had been in and out of the German World Cup team, frequently being relegated to the second-tier IBU Cup. Widely regarded as a consistent shooter, she struggled to get her skiing speed up to a level where she could be competitive in World Cup races.
At times, she had to deal with being replaced by her younger sister Karolin on the team, and lost her “cadre” status, having to train and race as a self-funded athlete.
But in beautiful weather conditions on Saturday, Horchler was not only one of two athletes to hit all 20 targets in the four-stage race, but also clung to the ski tails of Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová on the last loop, the winner of the first two mass starts and last season’s overall World Cup champion.
Up the last short climb leading into the bustling Antholz arena with about 20,000 screaming spectators, Horchler passed Koukalová and put a small gap on her, celebrating as she crossed the finish line first in a time of 36:11.5 minutes.
“I just had to wipe away a tear because I am so happy,” Horchler told German broadcaster ZDF. “On the last loop I just went for it come hell or high water … I noticed I was still feeling relatively well and skied up to her. … On the downhills I looked behind me and saw the others were getting close and the two of us had to hurry. Then I just passed her and hoped I would get to the finish line. And then the whole stadium was shaking. I could no longer hear my own heartbeat or my breath. Incredible.”
On the finishing stretch, her teammate and current overall World Cup leader Laura Dahlmeier secured the second spot on the podium for Germany, finishing 3.1 seconds after Horchler with three penalties. Dahlmeier also caught and passed Koukalová, who finished third (+8.0) with two penalties.
“I can very well remember winning my first race,” Dahlmeier told ZDF in an interview while standing next to Horchler. “That is something very special for every athlete. I am happy that Nadine managed to show that today, that was a long time in the making. You can really see that we have a strong team, and it’s beautiful so many girls can fight for the positions at the top … She clearly was the number one today.”
“I am very happy, because the beginning of the race was very hard. I had to change my poles three times,” Koukalová explained at the post-race press conference. “I am very happy for my standing shooting … There was no chance to race with Laura, she was too close to me after the last shooting. And I had the expectation that Nadine is many times stronger than me for the finish, so that’s fine.”
Other overall World Cup contenders also had a good race, just missing the podium. Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen, who had dominated the races in Ruhpolding, Germany, a week ago, finished fourth (+13.5) with four penalties and the best-ranked course time. Behind her, France’s Marie Dorin Habert took fifth (+19.0) with four penalties.
Racing in front of her home crowd, Italy’s Alexia Runggaldier followed up her first career podium in the 15 k individual on Thursday with a sixth place (+24.1) with one penalty. Sweden’s Anna Magnusson took seventh (+26.4) with one penalty for a career best, after leaving the range for the last time in third behind Koukalová and Horchler.
“I am really happy,” 21-year-old Magnusson told the IBU in an interview. “It was a crazy race, and so much fun to ski in the top … I was number three or four, and I knew there [were] many people behind me, so I just had to push myself really hard. I am really happy about the seventh place… In a couple of years we will be on top.”
Norway’s Kaia Wøien Nicolaisen in ninth place (+27.9) was the only other competitor besides Horchler without any misses, which helped her achieve her second-best World Cup result.
Starting in bib 30 at the back of the field, Horchler originally hadn’t qualified to compete in the elite mass start competition, but was called up from a “reserve standby list” thanks to her 19th place in the women’s individual race on Thursday, after Russia’s Olga Podchufarova had to cancel her start. Next up in line on the list would have been Biathlon Canada’s Emma Lunder, who achieved a career-best 21st in Thursday’s 15 k.
“I traveled here with a good feeling,” Horchler told ZDF. “In the individual I thought, ‘good place, but one miss too many,’ and today I just had nothing to lose. Yesterday I was very relaxed because I did not really expect to get a start, and so I am overjoyed today.”
Horchler’s previous best individual results had been two fifth places in a sprint and pursuit, also achieved in Antholz in one weekend of the 2012/13 season. Eager to qualify for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi she lost much of the season to overtraining, and already considered a career after biathlon completing an education as a nonmedical practitioner for psychotherapy.
But Horchler decided to give it one more shot, and last season won the overall IBU Cup (the equivalent to what Koukalová achieved for the World Cup) and a gold medal in the sprint at the 2016 Open European Championships in Tyumen, Russia, sharing the podium with her sister.
And despite those career highlights, she was not nominated to Germany’s 2016/2017 World Cup team, once again beginning her season on the IBU Cup before receiving her first call-up for the races in Oberhof, Germany, where she achieved 35th in the sprint and 17th in the pursuit. But the rollercoaster continued and in Ruhpolding she had to sit out again, before receiving another chance in Antholz when teammate Franziska Preuss got sick.
“I don’t know yet,” Horchler said at the press conference when asked what this victory could mean for her career. “It is amazing. Last week I was in the IBU Cup [in Arber, Germany], now I am here and I sit between Laura and Gabi, it’s unbelievable … My plan was that I drive to the [European Championships] on Monday, and now I don’t know.”
Now the late bloomer might even be a candidate for next month’s World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria, which would only be the second team nomination of her career after one selection in 2013.
Dunklee Takes the Lead, Briefly
US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee (bib 17, orange & purple suit) skiing past the crowded stands at the start of the women’s 12.5 k mass start at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: IBU/Christian Manzoni)
US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee, the only North American qualified for the women’s mass start, had the best first prone stage and briefly took the lead. In that first stage, she shot clean and second fastest of all competitors, returning to the course first, 2.7 seconds ahead of Russia’s Tatiana Akimova.
But similar to the last mass start in Oberhof two weeks ago, where Dunklee was third halfway through, she wasn’t able to hold it. In the next stage, the American missed two shots, falling back to 14th position. With three more misses (0+2+2+1) she fell back further to 25th, before being able to overtake France’s Anaïs Bescond on the final loop to finish 24th, 1:36.1 behind the winner Horchler. Dunklee skied the 16th-ranked course time overall.
“It was incredibly satisfying to shoot fast and clean and leave the range in first after the first shooting,” Dunklee said, according to a US Biathlon press release. “I hope to build on that in the future and follow it up with a better shooting percentage. My skiing is not at its sharpest; my body is feeling the strain of the high altitude and the intense race schedule.”
Leading a race before falling back with penalties. Winning a race you were not even originally slated to compete in. That’s just biathlon.
The IBU World Cup in Antholz concludes with the women’s 4 x 6 k relay and men’s 15 k mass start on Sunday.
Emma Lunder (Biathlon Canada) racing in last weekend’s IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, where she placed 89th. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
The next time your order a cup of joe, remember to be nice to the person on the other side of the counter; they could just be a World Cup skier. In a press release, Biathlon Canada was quick to point out that one of its national-team members, Emma Lunder, is a Starbucks barista in Canmore, Alberta.
But on Thursday, thousands of miles away at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Antholz, Italy, Lunder raced to a career-best 21st in the women’s 15-kilometer individual race. It was her first time racing that distance. In fact, it was twice as long as the 7.5 k sprint she had done in eight of her nine previous World Cup starts (not counting relays).
Emma Lunder (Biathlon Canada) on course during the women’s 15 k individual on Thursday at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: ARD broadcast screenshot)
The Biathlon Canada B-team member started last on Thursday, wearing bib 99. It’s a tall order waiting around that long in the longest-format race on the circuit, complete with four shooting stages, but the 25-year-old Lunder was generally unfazed.
“I would say this year I am definitely used to starting in the fourth seed, and getting a hang of dealing with the wait,” she wrote in an email after Thursday’s race. “I quickly ski tested with our techs, zeroed my rifle and then headed back to our wax room where I lay on a pile of ski bags and read my book for 45 minutes before warming up.”
Fortunately, the wait played to her favor. Gusting winds across the range gave most of the field troubles. But when Lunder set out on the course, those winds seemed to be less of an issue.
“I had absolutely no wind when I zeroed, which I found made it easier to make corrections during the race,” she wrote of her pre-race target practice. “I think I had fairly consistent wind for both prone and standing, and was happy not to have any big gusts blowing me around!”
Lunder explained that she had been working with her coaches and sports psychologist on improving her focus while shooting. She had struggled with her prone shooting over the last few weekends (including last week’s World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, and the IBU Cups in Martell, Italy, before that). On Thursday, Lunder was hoping to execute some new strategies.
Canada’s Emma Lunder leaving the range en route to second place in the IBU Cup 7.5 k sprint last season in December 2015 in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Pam Doyle)
With a clean first prone stage, she was already on par with a personal best as she left the range in 35th. (Lunder previously placed 30th in her first-ever World Cup three years ago in Pokljuka, Slovenia. With that result, she qualified for the 10 k pursuit, and went on to place 41st for her second-best result to date — up until Thursday.)
Lunder then cleaned her second shooting and first standing stage to put herself in 10th halfway through Thursday’s race. But she had no idea where she stood. Fortunately, she had plenty of skiers within sight, after race organizers started the fourth seed — which included Lunder — in 15-second intervals (as opposed to 30 seconds between racers).
“Skiing was a fun but extremely tough battle,” Lunder wrote. “… There were way more girls close to me that I could chase and ski with. … I actually wasn’t given any information of where I was until I’d finished in the range and was heading out for my last lap — I think the techs and coaches didn’t want to excite me before any of my shooting bouts, and I’m quite happy for it.”
She missed her first and only target of the day on her second prone, which put her in 24th with two loops to go, and cleaned her final standing stage, moving her back up into 15th. Leaving the range for the last time, she realized she was in a best-ever position.
“I really hoped I was fighting for points, and when I left the range after my last standing … I almost had an ‘oh crap’ moment because I knew I had to ski absolutely as hard as I possibly could for another 3km and I was already feeling the hurt,” she explained.
Canadian Emma Lunder, of Vernon, B.C., finishing 21st for her career-best IBU World Cup result on Thursday at the women’s 15 k individual (her first time racing that distance) in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: ARD broadcast screenshot)
“We had really competitive skis today thanks to our hardworking wax-tech crew, and they were all over the place for my last lap, screaming for me to fight up every hill and they got me all the way to the finish line!” Lunder added. “I was feeling the pain for my whole last lap, and it turned into just trying to survive rather than really being able to fight, but I know I did absolutely everything I could on the skis today, and I am so, so happy with my race.”
The Vernon, B.C., native ended up 21st, 3:29.7 minutes out of first, with one penalty (0+0+1+0). Lunder was one of just four out of 99 that shot 19-for-20. No one cleaned.
The winner, Laura Dahlmeier of Germany, had two misses (1+1+0+0) — for a total of two minutes added to her finishing time. Dahlmeier secured the win in 44:48.7 minutes, thanks to perfect shooting in the last two stages. It was her 11th World Cup victory.
“It was incredibly difficult today,” Dahlmeier told German broadcaster ZDF after starting 15th. “I tried to make it a little easier on myself. That’s why I twice went to the outmost positions [on the range]. But honestly it was just as windy, I had to fight just the same. It was hard to get into the race after those two misses. I just tried to do my own thing, and shoot clean in the end.”
Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier racing to her 11th IBU World Cup win on Thursday in the women’s 15 k individual in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: IBU)
Dahlmeier’s 11th World Cup win on Thursday gave her the overall World Cup lead and with it, the yellow bib, and allowed her to keep the red bib of the 15 k individual discipline leader.
“It is a dream come true to win in this beautiful setting,” Dahlmeier said of sunny Antholz. “That I can keep the red jersey and get the yellow one back, it doesn’t get better than that.”
Behind her France’s Anaïs Chevalier started 32nd and came within 3.8 seconds of Dahlmeier’s finishing time. Chevalier was one of the four women that missed just one target (0+1+0+0), along with third-place finisher Alexia Runggaldier of Italy (+46.0, 0+1+0+0).
For Runggaldier, it was her first World Cup podium.
“This morning I was a little anxious, and just thought, ‘Give it your best.’ I really wanted to qualify for the mass start [on Saturday],” she told ZDF. “I just told myself to do the best I can, just do that, and now I can’t believe it!”
Italy’s Alexia Runggaldier celebrating her first IBU World Cup podium in third on Thursday at the women’s 15 k individual in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: IBU)
The 25-year-old Runggaldier qualified for the 30-woman mass start based on that result. On Thursday, she said conditions weren’t easy even as a later starter in bib 59.
“It has already been difficult the last few days,” she said of target practice during training. “Yesterday it didn’t work well for me, so today I just told myself to focus, 20 shots, four series. And my coach told me out on the course ‘be patient!’ and I just tried to execute that.”
As for Lunder, she wrote that she was “extremely happy” with her shooting performance and pointed out that the last time she scored World Cup points was in 2014.
“… To be just out of top-20 today feels pretty amazing,” Lunder wrote. “Today was a huge day for me on the range, and I think there’s still work to be done on the skiing side of things, but I know I’m headed in the right direction.”
As of Thursday, Biathlon Canada had not made any formal announcement about its World Championships team.
“Today I left it all out there so no matter what happens [with selections] I am super proud of what I accomplished in this race!” Lunder noted.
Also on Thursday, Megan Tandy of Biathlon Canada’s A-team (officially the “Eh! Squad”) finished 33rd (+5:02.0) for a season best. She started 69th and shot four penalties (1+1+0+2) with the 61st-ranked overall course time.
“I can easily say this is my slowest season since I was a Junior!” Tandy wrote in an email. “That being said I was really pleased with today’s race because it represented a baby step forward in both skiing (I didn’t feel dead tired racing today and actually enjoyed skiing which is a first this season) and on the result list as well. Finally some points — what a relief!”
She described the wind as “up and down” with more wind for her first and last bouts, but “nothing unmanageable.”
“I made fairly aggressive sight adjustments in prone. The women had quite windy conditions during training the 2 previous days so even though the conditions were challenging at times I felt confident about clicking,” Tandy reflected.
Megan Tandy (Biathlon Canada) during her final shooting stage of the women’s 15 k individual on Thursday at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: ZDF broadcast screenshot)
After just two misses in her first two bouts and a clean third stage, Tandy was in contention for a top 30 with one shooting stage to go. In that final standing stage, she missed two, which left her disappointed.
“I am still so angry with myself especially because I missed the last 2 shots and up until those misses the potential for a good race was there!” she wrote. “But thats biathlon for you! I didn’t really think about bouncing back after my last shooting — it was the last loop so I gave everything I had, simple as that!”
Her final loop time was her fastest of the day, ranking 51st. At the end of the day, Tandy was pleased to feel “normal” again during a race.
“It was such a pleasure compared to a lot of races this year where I feel like after the first 1km my only goal becomes to survive until the finish line,” she wrote. “Shooting I think I did good work in 3 of my 4 bouts, particularly reacting to the wind prone so I feel confident and am looking forward to the relay this Sunday! 6km is also going to feel short and sweet after that 15km!!”
The women race a 4 x 6 k relay on Sunday in Antholz.
Canada’s third woman on Thursday, Julia Ransom finished 55th (+6:28.2) with four penalties (0+3+0+1). Rosanna Crawford did not race, but tweeted after, “Well if I had to sit out today’s race and be a fan instead I sure am glad @emmalunds made it an exciting race to watch, finishing 21st for a new personal best! Lucky number bib 99! #gretzky #ANT17 #gocanada”
Four U.S. women competed on Thursday, with Clare Egan leading the team in 59th (+6:58.6) with six penalties (1+4+0+1) that added six minutes to her finishing time. She started 80th and recalled some wind issues on her second shooting.
“I had the fastest skis I’ve ever had in my life today, and three out of four good shooting stages,” Egan said, according to a US Biathlon press release, of her first, third and fourth stages. “Unfortunately, a stupid mistake in the first standing stage foiled any chance I had at a good result. I tried to shoot through gusting wind instead of waiting until I could take a good shot. I made a strong comeback from that point on, but 59th place is hardly what I was hoping for.”
Joanne Reid (US Biathlon) racing to 60th in the women’s 15 k individual on Thursday at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
Her US Biathlon teammate Joanne Reid followed in 60th (+7:05.2), also with six misses (2+2+1+1). Reid started 23rd.
“There were definitely some gusts out there today, and what could be tricky conditions if you didn’t adapt correctly to them,” Reid told US Biathlon. “Wind is a lifetime learning experience — every race, every range, every point, and every day is different, so you’ll never know exactly what you’re supposed to do, or what you should have done in any situation. Biathlon is by its very nature sinusoidal, and it’s unfortunate when those troughs hit us all at the same time.”
Also for the U.S., Susan Dunklee started 46th and and finished 71st (+7:58.0) with eight penalties (0+4+2+2), and 21-year-old Maddie Phaneuf in bib 92 finished 81st (+9:18.9) with seven penalties (3+1+1+2).
“I think as a team we displayed some incredible bravery out there,” Reid noted. “It can be mentally very tough to keep fighting when you know how many minutes you lost. I especially salute Susan for her ability to come back from races like this with incredible grace, considering the high expectations constantly placed upon her. And Maddie, of course, our youngest, who is trying to adjust to a whole different level of skiers in an unfamiliar environment. Everyone has to start somewhere, and it’s tough to remember that sometimes with veterans on the team like Tim [Burke] and Lowell [Bailey], who have been starting biathlon races for almost as long as Maddie has been alive.”
“I know the four of us are eager to redeem ourselves in Sunday’s 4x6k women’s relay,” Egan said.
Dunklee will have another individual shot in the last set of races before World Championships (Feb. 9-19 in Hochfilzen, Austria) this Saturday in the 12.5 k mass start, as Dunklee is ranked 17th overall in the World Cup.
The men’s 20 k individual takes place Friday, starting at 8:15 a.m. EST. Watch it live on Eurovisionsports.tv.
Biathlon Canada’s Emma Lunder finishing 21st for her career-best IBU World Cup result on Thursday at the women’s 15 k individual (her first time racing that distance) in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: ARD broadcast screenshot)
IBU World Cup (Antholz, Italy): Women’s 15 k individual
In her first-ever 15-kilometer individual race, Canada’s 25-year-old Emma Lunder captured a career-best 21st at Thursday’s International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Antholz, Italy.
The last time Lunder scored World Cup points was at her very first IBU World Cup in 2014 in Pokljuka, Slovenia. There, she placed 30th in the sprint and went on to finish 41st in the pursuit, which stood as her best World Cup finishes — until Thursday.
In the women’s 15 k individual, a four-stage race that penalizes one minute for every missed shot, Lunder was one of the best shooters out there, shooting 19-for-20, missing one shot on her second prone stage (0+0+1+0). Out of 99 competitors, Lunder was one of four who missed just one. No one cleaned all four stages.
Lunder started last in bib 99 and ended up 21st at the finish, 3:29.7 minutes behind winner Laura Dahlmeier of Germany, who won in 44:48.7 with two one-minute penalties (1+1+0+0).
Dahlmeier started 15th and battled windy conditions for the victory, with a time that was 3.8 seconds faster than France’s eventual runner-up Anais Chevalier, who started 32nd and missed one (0+1+0+0). Italy’s Alexia Runggaldier notched her first World Cup podium in third (+46.0) after starting 59th and missing just one target as well (0+1+0+0).
“I was extremely happy with my shooting performance and hitting 19/20 targets on a tough day!” Lunder wrote in an email. “I think I had fairly consistent wind for both prone and standing, and was happy not to have any big gusts blowing me around!
“… To be just out of top-20 today feels pretty amazing,” she continued. “Today was a huge day for me on the range, and I think there’s still work to be done on the skiing side of things, but I know I’m headed in the right direction.”
Also for Biathlon Canada, Megan Tandy tallied a season-best individual result of 33rd (+5:02) despite four penalties, including two on her last standing stage (1+1+0+2), and Julia Ransom placed 55th (+6:28.2) with four penalties (0+3+0+1). Rosanna Crawford did not race.
Clare Egan was the top American in 59th (+6:58.6) with six penalties (1+4+0+1) that added six minutes to her time, and US Biathlon teammate Joanne Reid was right behind in 60th (+7:05.2) with six misses as well (2+2+1+1). Susan Dunklee in bib 46 started at the tail end of the group that appeared to face the windiest conditions, and finished 71st (+7:58.0) with eight penalties (0+4+2+2). Maddie Phaneuf finished 81st (+9:18.9) for the U.S, with seven penalties (3+1+1+2).
The men’s 20 k individual starts Friday at 8:15 Eastern time. Watch it live on Eurovisionsports.tv.
Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen celebrates her victory in the women’s 10 k pursuit at the 2017 World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: IBU)
Over her 12-year storied biathlon career since the 2004/2005 season, Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen had failed to reach the spot at the top of the podium during any World Cup race in Germany despite more than 50 race starts there.
But this weekend at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, the 34 year old ended that streak and made it two for two, following up a sprint win on Saturday with a victory in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit on Sunday that seemed never in doubt. She crossed the finish line in 30:58.0 minutes with just one penalty (0+0+1+0), more than a minute ahead of her closest challenger.
Maybe not thinking too much about her lead after the sprint was the winning strategy.
“Sometimes I was thinking about the results too much before the race and I never got a good race,” Mäkäräinen explained at Sunday’s post-race press conference. “When I finished thinking about which place I will get I have got better races. In biathlon you never know what will happen, better to live in that moment.”
In significantly improved conditions compared to the heavy snowfall during the men’s pursuit on Sunday morning, the preliminary decision happened early in the race when the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová and Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, who had started closest to Mäkäräinen each shot two penalties in the first prone stage while the Finnish biathlete stayed clean.
Her lead to Italy’s Dorothea Wierer, as the next challenger who avoided the penalty lap in the first stage, increased to 69 seconds. And after just one more miss for the rest of the race, Mäkäräinen’s lead didn’t dwindle much, as she repeatedly returned to the course before her competitors even had arrived for the shooting.
“It was fun, I was really enjoying the race,” Mäkäräinen said at the press conference. “Here in Ruhpolding there are a lot of people watching, a big support all the way. And on the shooting range I didn’t feel that much pressure. I tried to enjoy that moment, coming on the range alone with all the crowd cheering for me.”
The podium of the women’s 10 k pursuit at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, with (left to right) Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová in second, Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen in first and France’s Marie Dorin Habert in third place. (Photo: IBU)
After her initial setback, Koukalová shot flawlessly in the next three stages (2+0+0+0), including in the critical last shooting to claim the second place on the podium (+1:00.9), while the next three women chasing her all had to ski a penalty lap.
“I am very happy that I am feeling a little bit more stable than in the beginning of the season,” Koukalová said at the press conference. “But it’s becoming harder and harder [with] every start… I don’t know what happened [in the first shooting], I tried to focus for all targets but, I don’t know, sometimes it happens.”
France’s Marie Dorin Habert finished third (1+0+1+1, +1:23.1), defending her position on the last loop against an attack by Dahlmeier, who struggled a bit more on the range to place fourth (2+0+1+1, +1:32.7).
“Of course I am very happy about this position,” Dorin Habert said at the press conference. “I was very afraid [of Dahlmeier] on the last loop that she will come back… I don’t know if I prefer the pursuit to the sprint, I try to be strong in each race. But yes, this year the pursuit is better for me.”
Dahlmeier managed to overtake Sweden’s Hanna Öberg on the final loop but could not catch up to Dorin Habert.
“I am totally knocked out, I really exhausted myself,” Dahlmeier told German broadcaster ARD. “I felt strong on the course, but already had to ski alone or in front a lot during the prior loops. In the end I tried to bring out everything I had left, but I was just knocked out … We will have to analyze why the shooting misses especially in standing happened, but a fourth place now isn’t bad. “
The 21-year-old Öberg finished fifth (+1:39.4) with just one penalty in the final stage (0+0+0+1) for the best result in her first World Cup season. Last season, Öberg had been one of the stars of the Youth/Junior World Championships in Cheile Gradistei, Romania, winning the sprint and pursuit there and finishing second with Sweden’s relay.
“This is crazy,” Öberg told IBU TV in a post-race interview. “Fantastic. I was really confident on the range today. I am just a little bit sorry the last [shot] went out, but it’s incredibly good … I am taking a huge step since last year, and it’s so fun to see that I am closer to the lead.”
Dunklee Improves to 24th
American Susan Dunklee’s plan to catch up after starting 33rd (based on her sprint result the day before) hit an early setback when she missed three targets in her first prone stage, where Koukalová and Dahlmeier also had two misses.
Former German biathlon head coach Uwe Müßiggang mused in an analysis for ARD that the venue in Ruhpolding sometimes can become tricky due to thermal lifts in certain weather conditions creating hard-to-predict wind shifts.
“I am not entirely sure what went wrong in my first prone,” Dunklee wrote about her shooting in an email to FasterSkier. “There was more wind than at zero [pre-race target practice], but I checked the wind flags and took corrections. I don’t know if there are any funky thermals here. I don’t have a whole lot of experience with prone shooting on point 1 in Ruhpolding; I’m more familiar with how the wind works on points 10-15. Overall I am very happy with my shooting times today.”
American Susan Dunklee on the course in the women’s pursuit at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
But Dunklee didn’t let herself get discouraged after slipping back to 51st place when she came back on the course.
“You can never count on your position to hold steady in a biathlon race,” Dunklee said, according to a US Biathlon press release. “Whether you are in the lead or bringing up the rear, the task is the same … focus on one lap at a time and one stage at a time. It was disheartening to miss three in the first shooting stage, but my job was to continue executing my race plan no matter what.”
She went on to hit all but one shot in the next three stages (3+0+1+0), while also posting the eighth-ranked course time of the day — including the fastest time on the last loop, where she passed four more competitors to finish 24th (+3:07.2).
“The course was not deep, but if you strayed out of the narrow skied-in track, the fresh snow was excruciatingly slow which made it very extra difficult to pass,” Dunklee wrote in her email. “I posted my best ski splits of the year. My race shape has taken longer to come around than I expected this winter and I was a little worried about it. This performance gives me lots of confidence going forward.”
After also incurring two penalties in her first prone stage, Biathlon Canada’s Julia Ransom skied near the back of the field throughout the race and finished 53rd (+6:21.2) with three penalties (2+0+0+1).
Her teammates Rosanna Crawford and Megan Tandy were slated to start the pursuit in 55th and 56th, respectively, but chose not to race Sunday to get some additional rest. On her Facebook page, Tandy wrote, “The #goodnews: I’m not sick, nor have I been kidnapped or snowed in! The #badnews: no race for me today. We decided at the last minute that resting and recovering for next week is smarter than racing today.”
The IBU World Cup continues next week in Antholz, Italy, with the women’s 15 k individual on Thursday, Jan. 19, and the men’s 20 k individual on Friday, Jan. 20.
Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen on her way to a win in Saturday’s IBU World Cup women’s 7.5 k sprint in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: IBU)
Kaisa Mäkäräinen skied in a league of her own on Saturday.
The five biathletes currently leading the International Biathlon Union (IBU) women’s overall standings also occupied the top five of Saturday’s 7.5-kilometer sprint in Ruhpolding, Germany. But when Mäkäräinen shoots clean in a race, even those fast skiers cannot keep up with “the Finnish flash,” as an announcer for German TV broadcaster ARD dubbed her, as she finished in 20:51.8 minutes for her first World Cup win of the season and 20th victory of her career.
The Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová came closest (+22.0, with no penalties), knocking the German home-crowd favorite Laura Dahlmeier to third (+30.1 with no penalties).
“It was almost a perfect race,” Mäkäräinen told ARD after. “I didn’t feel super, super strong today, even though I had good skis and ski times, but it was quite the slow snow and really deep and tricky.“
“I was really tired in the finish because there are no places where you can rest, you have to work all the time here,” she added during the press conference.
While the course conditions weren’t exactly easy for Mäkäräinen, they were at least as difficult for her competitors, who might not have caught the Finn even if she had incurred a penalty.
In light snowfall and wind, the competitors nevertheless had to shoot near-flawlessly to be at the top on Saturday, which eight of the top 10, including all of the podium finishers, achieved. Mäkäräinen hit all of her targets for the first time in an individual race since almost a year ago at the same venue, also in a World Cup sprint in Ruhpolding.
“Quite slow, I took it like one shot at a time,” she said of her approach to ARD. “But in standing I feel better, especially after shooting clean there in the relay [on Thursday].“
Asked what was more important to her, winning the “yellow bib” of the overall World Cup (Total Score) leader or a medal at the upcoming IBU World Championships, she had to laugh.
“Both!” Mäkäräinen exclaimed. “Both! I would be happy with both, or one of them. It’s really hard competitions right now compared to last year, so every day has to be a good day.”
For now, Koukalová defended the yellow bib against her closest rivals, but explained in the press conference that this was not exactly her main goal for the year.
“Everybody asks me about the yellow bib all the time,” Koukalová said. “But I have to say again, this year it is not the main goal of the season to be the first one in Total Score. I try to focus for the World Championship in Hochfilzen [next month].”
She added that it was a good decision to start in a later start group as “conditions were getting better and better. It was very nice to ski on faster snow than for the first athletes.”
“It’s fun to race in front of this audience, to fully attack,” Dahlmeier told ARD. “You could see that Kaisa is in a bit of a different league in terms of ski speed. I couldn’t touch that today, but I still tried to give it my best. So I am super happy about another position on the podium.”
Starting late in the race with bib 75, France’s Marie Dorin Habert challenged for the podium, but with a miss in her standing stage (0+1) while the top three stayed clean, she came up 15.5 seconds short (no thanks to the 20-30 seconds it takes to ski through the 150-meter penalty lap) in fourth place (+48.6).
Also slated to start Sunday’s pursuit within a minute behind Mäkäräinen will be Italy’s Dorothea Wierer, who took fifth (+57.7) on Saturday with clean shooting, as well as Germany’s Franziska Hildebrand, who also cleaned for sixth place (+59.8).
“Of course it’s good, [shooting] zero-zero,” Wierer told IBU TV in a post-race interview. “But on the track I’m really not in a good shape at the moment. I don’t know what happened. I feel like I would be sick, but I’m not … [For the pursuit on Sunday] we have to shoot four times zero, if not Kaisa is really really fast at the moment. We have to hope that she has some mistakes and we [don’t], but that’s biathlon.”
Four North Americans onto the Pursuit
US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee shooting prone in the women’s 7.5 k sprint of the 2017 IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
Susan Dunklee once again led the North American woman in the sprint in 33rd (+2:13.5), despite a penalty in each of her shooting stages (1+1). She had the 29th-fastest time on the range, and skied the 20th-ranked overall course time, including a very fast first loop where she skied right behind Koukalová, who was entering her second loop and ultimately posted the third-fastest course time of the day.
“I put myself in the race right from the start, taking advantage of a great ride behind Gabi for a loop,” Dunklee said, according to a US Biathlon press release. “Unfortunately, my pace fell off in the loops after that and my range performance was mediocre.
“I will have a great pack of athletes within two seconds ahead of me to chase tomorrow,” she added, referencing experienced competitors such as Germany’s Franziska Preuss (who placed 31st on Saturday, +2:12.8) and Ukraine’s Valj Semerenko (30th, +2:11.8).
Biathlon Canada’s Rosanna Crawford at the start of the women’s 7.5 k sprint at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: ARD broadcast screenshot)
Canada’s Rosanna Crawford finished 55th (+2:54.0) with one standing penalty (0+1), also shooting fast with the 19th-ranked range time, but still searching for her ski speed from last season with the 78th-ranked course time.
Her Biathlon Canada teammate Megan Tandy, who lives and trains near Ruhpolding for part of the season, finished her race just one position and 0.3 seconds behind in 56th (0+1, +2:54.3).
Returning to the World Cup after a training block at home in Canmore, Alberta, skipping the races in Oberhof last week, the third Canadian Julia Ransom finished 60th (+3:07.2), also with one standing penalty (0+1) to make the top-60 cutoff for the pursuit.
Teammate Emma Lunder missed qualifying for the pursuit in 89th (3+0, +4:21.7).
Also missing the top 60 was Americans Joanne Reid in 71st place (0+2, +3:25.2), Clare Egan who was 77th (2+1, +3:51.0), and Maddie Phaneuf who finished in 94th place (0+2, +4:36.5).
US Biathlon’s Maddie Phaneuf at the start of the women’s 7.5 k sprint at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: ARD broadcast screenshot)
“Well…feeling like garbage on the skis doesn’t help with racing fast haha!” Phaneuf commented on her race on Facebook. “Not super happy with my shooting, 0,2 and ended up 94th. No Pursuit for me tomorrow. But on the bright side, I have clean laundry, currently drinking a glass of wine, and my standing shooting was the 8th fastest of the day! Next stop…Antholz, Italy on Monday.”
It was the first World Cup week of the season for Phaneuf, who also raced the second leg of the U.S. women’s relay, which finished 17th on Thursday. She was called up after posting 10th- and 12th-place IBU Cup finishes earlier this month. She saw her first World Cup start last season on U.S. soil in Presque Isle, Maine, finishing 65th in the sprint.
The women’s freestyle-sprint prologue podium on Thursday, the final day of 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Canada’s Dahria Beatty (AWCA/NST U25 Team) took first, Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Academy/USST) second, and Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg) third.
U.S. Cross Country Championships (Soldier Hollow): Freestyle-sprint prologue
[UPDATED] One and done. That was the case Thursday for the U.S. Cross Country Championship’s freestyle sprint at Soldier Hollow (SoHo) where only a qualifier was held to determine the final standings — no heats were contested. With just-under-freezing temps and a light snow falling, the men set off at 15-second intervals.
The men’s podium was an all-Canadian affair as they swept the top-three positions. Jess Cockney of the Canadian World Cup B-team placed first in 3:15.20. Julien Locke of the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) and Canadian National U25 Team skied to second (+2.69), his AWCA/U25 Team teammate Knute Johnsgaard was third (+2.72).
The top American skier was Alaska Pacific University’s Logan Hanneman in fourth (+3.37). The second-fastest U.S. skier was Sun Valley Ski Education Education Foundation (SVSEF) Gold Team skier Cole Morgan (+5.03). Morgan was the sixth-fastest athlete overall. The third American and seventh overall was John Hegman (+5.71) also of the SVSEF Gold Team.
The women’s skate sprint also featured a preliminary with no heats. Canada’s Dahria Beatty (AWCA/NST U25 Team) placed first in 3:13.60. Sugar Bowl Academy and U.S. Ski Team Development Team member Hannah Halvorsen was second (+3.15), and Team Gregg’s Caitlin Gregg third (+4.80). The third-fastest American was APU’s Chelsea Holmes (+7.24) who finished sixth overall.
The national championship week at Soldier Hollow has concluded.
IBU World Cup (Ruhpolding, Germany): 4 x 6 k women’s relay
[UPDATED: includes quotes from Canada’s Rosanna Crawford and Americans Susan Dunklee and Maddie Phaneuf]
The women’s 4 x 6-kilometer relay in Ruhpolding, Germany, came down to the very end, with Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier holding off France’s Celia Aymonier and Norway’s Marte Olsbu to the finish. Dahlmeier secured the win in the first women’s relay of 2017, crossing the line in 1:09:53, just 3.5 seconds ahead of Aymonier and 4.5 ahead of Olsbu.
The Germans used six spare rounds and avoided the penalty lap for the victory, with Dahlmeier lifting them from fifth at the final exchange to first at the finish.
While both Aymonier and Olsbu cleaned both shooting stages without any spares, Dahlmeier had to use one on the final standing stage. She had to pass Olsbu twice to secure the victory.
“I wanted to slowly pull myself up to her, not over-pace, and have enough energy left for the next climb,” Dahlmeier recalled in a post-race interview with Germany’s ARD. “At some point I knew we had the top equipment today. If I’m ahead for the last downhill then I will bring the win home.”
The German women’s 4 x 6 k relay team, with (from left to right) Vanessa Hinz, Maren Hammerschmidt, Franziska Preuss, and Laura Dahlmeier after winning Thursday’s IBU World Cup at home in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: IBU)
She teamed up with Vanessa Hinz, Maren Hammerschmidt and Franziska Preuss for the win. It was Preuss’s first race back after a long break due to illness. While she said she was “very nervous”, Preuss cleaned her prone stage and used two spares to clean standing.
On the second leg, Hammerschmidt and Fenne tangled on a downhill turn. The came through the exchange in second and fourth, respectively, behind Ukraine’s Anastasiya Merkushyna (who brought her team from 10th to first by the race’s halfway point).
“Thankfully, it still worked out fine in the end,” Hammerschmidt told ARD.
France took second, using a total of seven spares and no penalties, with Anais Chevalier, Justine Braisaz, Anais Bescond, and Aymonier, respectively.
Norway had near-flawless shooting all around with just one spare, used by third-leg skier Tiril Eckhoff, who teamed up with Kaia Wøien Nicolaisen, Hilde Fenne and Olsbu for third place.
The Norwegians held off Ukraine by 4.3 seconds for the final spot on the podium.
Canada placed 10th (+3:00.6), using just three spares and no penalties, with Megan Tandy, Rosanna Crawford, Emma Lunder, and Julia Ransom. Crawford elevated the team to eighth after the second leg, but they slipped two spots over the third and fourth legs.
“We had a great shooting day today, and some really fast skis,” Crawford said, according to a Biathlon Canada press release. “I think with just three spares for the whole team, our expectations should be quite a bit higher, but this year the ski speed seems to be below where we usually are.”
The U.S. women finished 17th (+5:08.2), with 11 spare rounds and no penalties, with Susan Dunklee, Maddy Phaneuf, Clare Egan, and Joanne Reid. Dunklee started the team off and raced to 11th at the first exchange, then they slipped back to 16th and finally 17th at the finish out of 23 teams.
“I enjoy the extra challenge of starting at the back of a mass start,” Dunklee said, according to a US Biathlon press release. “I’m good at weaving through crowds and it’s incredibly satisfying to pass lots of people.”
“Shooting on Point 2 is exactly where I wanted to be at that point in the race, and I felt comfortable there,” she added.
Dunklee tagged to Phaneuf, who, in her first World Cup race of the season, used two spare rounds to clean 10 targets.
“I’m happy to have the opportunity to be racing on the World Cup again,” Phaneuf told US Biathlon. “Today’s race went OK, the shooting was average for me and the skiing was tough. The atmosphere here in Ruhpolding is so amazing, so that made the racing very exciting. I’m looking forward to race the sprint on Saturday. Huge shoutout to the wax techs and staff for some fast skis and support.”
“It was wonderful to finally put together a full women’s team and we look forward to improving upon today’s performance in the coming weeks,” Dunklee added.
The men’s classic sprint podium at 2017 U.S. nationals at Soldier Hollow on Sunday: with winner Kevin Bolger (c) of the University of Utah, runner-up Moritz Madlener (l) of the University of Denver, and Jess Cockney (r) of the Canadian World Cup B-team in third.
U.S. Cross Country Championships (Soldier Hollow): Classic sprints
Jennie Bender of Bridger Ski Foundation and Kevin Bolger of the University of Utah won national titles in the classic sprints at 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow earlier Sunday afternoon. They each took narrow – but, for sprinting, relatively uncontested – victories, as each was in the lead coming into the stadium and led through the final 180-degree turn into the finishing straight.
The women’s classic sprint podium at 2017 U.S. nationals on Sunday at Soldier Hollow: with winner Jennie Bender (c) of the Bridger Ski Foundation, runner-up Becca Rorabaugh (l) of Alaska Pacific University, and Kaitlynn Miller (r) of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project in third.
In the women’s race, Bender took the victory over Becca Rorabaugh of Alaska Pacific University, who just edged out Kaitlynn Miller of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project for second. Miller had won the qualifier earlier in the day.
Dahria Beatty of Canada’s Alberta World Cup Academy in fourth, Anne Hart of Stratton Mountain School Elite Team in fifth, and Krista Niiranen, originally from Finland and now a sophomore at the University of New Mexico, in sixth made up the rest of the A-final. There was no B-final contested for either gender.
In the men’s race, Bolger’s victory marked his best performance in a national championship by a substantial margin: His previous best before today was 23rd, in the 15 k classic at SoHo in 2014. (His 37th in the sprint that same year marked his previous best finish in a national championship sprint.)
Bolger was followed to the line by Moritz Madlener, of the University of Denver, and Jesse Cockney, of the Canadian World Cup B-team. Cockney had qualified fourth that morning.
The rest of the A–Final was Canadian Bob Thompson, of National Team Development Centre (NTDC) Thunder Bay, in fourth, Petter Reistad of the University of Colorado in fifth, and Fredrik Schwencke of Northern Michigan University in sixth.
Madlener is German. Cockney and Thompson are Canadian. Reistad and Schwencke are Norwegian. The USSA selection criteria for World Championships in Lahti provide that, “For the purposes of the 2017 Championship Selection List, athletes that are not US citizens will not be included in the scoring, and US athletes will move up the results/scoring list as foreign athletes are eliminated.” American racers eliminated in the semifinals included, in no particular order, Ben Lustgarten of Craftsbury Green Racing Project, Cully Brown of the University of Vermont, John Hegman and Cole Morgan of Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) Gold Team, and Ben Saxton of Stratton Mountain School.
Earlier Sunday, Kaitlynn Miller won the women’s classic sprint qualifier. Starting sixth out of the 200+ woman field, Miller laid down an unbeatable time of 3:24.5 in difficult waxing conditions. She is the defending classic sprint champion from last year’s national championships.
Krista Niiranen, originally from Finland and now a sophomore at the University of New Mexico, was next fastest and tallied a time just 0.2 seconds behind Miller’s. Emily Nishikawa of the Canadian National Ski Team was third, Dahria Beatty of Canada’s Alberta World Cup Academy fourth, and Cendrine Browne from the Centre National d’Entrainement Pierre Harvey in Quebec clocked the fifth-fastest time.
The 30th skier making the cut for quarterfinals — Frederique Vezina, also of the Centre National d’Entrainement Pierre Harvey — was 16.53 seconds behind Miller.
Ben Saxton of the Stratton Mountain School Elite Team won the men’s sprint qualifier, notching the fastest time by 1.27 seconds over Etienne Hebert of Monteriski.
Canadians took the three of the top four spots in the qualifier, with Reed Godfrey of Canmore Nordic clocking the third-fastest time and Canada’s Jesse Cockney finishing fourth.
9.17 seconds separated the top 30 men who moved on to the quarterfinals. That included racers from at least six countries: the U.S. and Canada, but also collegiate skiers from Finland, Germany, France, and Norway. It also included one Under-18 competitor: Ben Ogden from the Stratton Mountain School.
It was a World Championships preview weekend on the Nordic Combined World Cup circuit, with two large hill/10 k individual competitions held in Lahti, Finland.
On Saturday, Germany’s Eric Frenzel took the win in 29:13.7, holding off Finland’s Eero Hirvonen by 4.1 seconds across the line. After posting the second-best jump, Frenzel started the 10 k in second, ahead of Hirvonen in third, but still full 1:06-minutes behind Norway’s Jarl Magnus Riiber, who dominated the jump with 135.2 points. Hirvonen started 1:29 back in third.
Riiber went on to place sixth at the finish with the 38th-ranked course time (out of 43 finishers). Germany had two on the podium with Johannes Rydzek in third (+26.4).
American Bryan Fletcher finished 15th (+1:29.8) after jumping to 22nd and starting the ski race 3:06 minutes back. He skied the sixth-fastest 10 k to end up 1:29.8 behind Frenzel at the finish.
Ben Loomis was the second American competing on Saturday. He finished the day in 40th (+5:18.5) after jumping to 35th.
On Sunday, Germany swept the podium with Fabian Rießle leading the charge, Frenzel in second and Rydzek in third. Rießle jumped to fifth and captured the win in 25:44.2, ahead of Frenzel (+4.2) and Rydzek (+11.6). Frenzel led after the jump and started the 10 k just 6 seconds ahead of Italy’s Samuel Costa, who ended up sixth at the finish (+40.6).
Rießle started 16 seconds after Frenzel and posted the third-fastest course time en route to the win.
Bryan Fletcher raced to 16th (+1:30.7) on Sunday, after jumping to 28th. Loomis did not start.
The NoCo World Cup moves to Val di Fiemme, Italy, for competitions next Friday through Sunday. Lahti World Championships will hold nordic-combined competitions Feb. 24-March 3.
Two North Americans started the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup women’s 12.5 k mass start on Sunday, with one of them finding out at the last minute that they were in for the 30-woman race.
American Susan Dunklee knew she had qualified well ahead of time after ranking 17th in the overall World Cup. She raced to ninth on Sunday, finishing 1:43.5 behind from the winner, Gabriela Koukalová of the Czech Republic, who cleaned the four-stage race to finish first in 37:20.5.
Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier made her first appearance of the week in the final race of the World Cup stop in Oberhof, Germany, placing second in the mass start, 31.5 seconds behind Koukalová, with one standing miss (0+0+1+0). The Czech Republic had two on the podium with Eva Puskarčíková in third (+45.4), with clean shooting.
Dunklee was in contention with the leaders until the last two standing stages, where she missed one target then two more (0+0+1+2) for a total of three penalty laps. Ninth place helped elevate Dunklee to 15th in the overall World Cup standings.
Canada’s Rosanna Crawford jumped into the race being listed as a reserve athlete on standby. Wearing bib 30, she finished 25th (+3:08.6) with two clean stages and two penalties (0+1+1+0).
France’s Martin Fourcade (bib 1) and Germany’s Simon Schempp (bib 3) shooting in the third stage of the men’s 15-kilometer mass start at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: IBU)
On Sunday in the men’s 15 k mass start, Germany’s Simon Schempp celebrated his first victory of the season, and it was a special one in front of thousands of cheering fans at home in Oberhof. On the final lap, he desperately tried to hang onto the ski tails of France’s biathlon star Martin Fourcade, who pushed hard on the first climb out of the shooting range unsuccessfully trying to create a gap.
“He started attacking immediately up the Birxsteig [climb],” Schempp told German TV broadcaster ZDF. “And I thought either you blow up or you can stick with him, and I could. Because I was in the draft, I saved a few percent, that probably was the decisive point in the end.“
Schempp kept right behind Fourcade, then started an attack on the last climb himself and outsprinted his rival on the finishing stretch, celebrating across the line with a time of 38:30.9 minutes, with just one penalty (0+0+1+0).
To the joy of the German fans, Schempp’s teammate Erik Lesser managed to overtake France’s Jean Guillaume Beatrix on the final loop closing up to the two athletes in front on the last meters, and outlunged Fourcade in a photo finish sprint (both +0.4 seconds).
“They pushed up the Birxsteig so incredibly hard,” Lesser told ZDF. “I thought I could only fight for position five. Then I saw that Beatrix wasn’t skiing very clean anymore either. So I just tried a full attack… I never would have believed that a second place would come out of that.“
“My father-in-law is probably watching the Tour de Ski today and saying, ‘Finally the guy makes a lunge,’ ” Lesser joked about the finish sprint. “I never would have believed that Fourcade still lets himself get beaten by the little Lesser. Finally all the strength training paid off.“
Fourcade had incurred two penalties in the third shooting stage, having to make up a 44 second gap to the top. In the final shooting he stayed clean, but already had to invest a lot of energy on the prior loop so he could not create a significant lead on the last one.
“I skied as fast as I could, but Simon was just faster and Erik as well,” Fourcade said during the press conference. “I tried my best in the beginning of the lap because we were too [many] people… I gave all I had. I must say I didn’t see Erik until he passed me in the sprint… It was a great competition, a great fight.”
Coming into the last shooting stage Lesser had been leading the race with Norway’s Ole Einar Bjørndalen, but both missed a target and had to a penalty lap while Schempp and Fourcade stayed clean.
Fourcade’s teammate Beatrix finished fourth with one penalty (+13.2), Bjørndalen was fifth (+19.5) also with one penalty.
No North American men competed in the mass start, with US Biathlon’s Lowell Bailey ,who would have been qualified via the overall World Cup standings skipping the race week in Oberhof for a training block. Bailey is currently ranked 19th overall.
American Jessie Diggins chasing Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg on the final climb of the 2017 Tour de Ski up the Alpe Cermis in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Østberg finished the Tour in fourth and Diggins fifth, tying a best-ever mark for the U.S., set in 2015 by Liz Stephen. (Photo: ZDF screenshot)
FIS Cross-Country Tour de Ski Stage 7 (Val di Fiemme/Alpe Cermis, Italy): 9 k freestyle
Heidi Weng of Norway proved that she was the threat everyone was fearing – despite a few races in the Tour de Ski with bad skis or low energy, Weng had a dominating performance up the Alpe Cermis and took her first ever Tour de Ski title.
At 6.2 k of the 9 k course, Weng passed Stina Nilsson of Sweden, who had started the day in the leader’s bib with a 19.2-second advantage. Weng just stepped on the gas from there, turning in the fastest climb time of the field and winning by 1:37.0.
Further up the hill, Nilsson was also passed by Krista Parmakoski of Finland, who gapped the Swede and earned second place.
And Nilsson had to hold off one more attack, from Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg near the top of the climb. Østberg had started in fourth place and got close to Nilsson, before the Swede found her second (or third, or fourth) wind and sprinted it in to the finish to secure third place and her first Tour de Ski overall podium.
Weng has three previous Tour de Ski podiums, but never a win. Parmakoski’s previous best overall finish was fourth, in 2014.
Jessie Diggins of the U.S. Ski Team started behind Østberg and almost made contact at one point, before the Norwegian slipped from her grasp. Diggins finished the Tour de Ski fifth (+3:09.0) — where she had started the day — to tie for the best-ever Tour finish with Liz Stephen, who was fifth in 2015.
Today, Stephen clocked the second-fastest time up the climb, behind Weng, and finished 14th (+6:45.6).
Rosie Brennan, the third and final U.S. woman to finish the Tour de Ski this year, landed 28th, +12:59.9. Her time was the 23rd-fastest up the Alpe Cermis.
The overall podium at the end of the 2017 Tour de Ski, with winner Sergey Ustiugov (c) of Russia, Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby (l) in second, and Switzerland’s Dario Cologna (r) in third after finishing in that order in the 9 k freestyle hill-climb pursuit, Stage 7 of the Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
In the men’s 9 k freestyle hill climb that followed, 24-year-old Sergey Ustiugov of Russia raced to his first Tour de Ski victory, heading out of the gate with a 1:12-minute head start over Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby and finishing 1:02.9 ahead for the win in 30:27.7.
Sundby put time into Ustiugov over parts of the course, particularly in the first kilometer along a flatter section leading up to the climb and then again between 6 and 8 k on Alpe Cermis itself.
Sundby skied alone throughout the pursuit race, with Switzerland’s Dario Cologna starting 52 seconds behind him. Cologna had a 29-second head start on Finland’s Matti Heikkinen, who entered the race in fourth, and 30 seconds ahead of France’s Maurice Manificat in fifth, but Manificat caught and even passed Cologna with about 0.5 k remaining. Cologna proceeded to pass Manificat back while Heikkinen skied about nine seconds back in fifth.
Canada’s Alex Harvey had started sixth and helped lead Manificat and Heikkinen in chasing down Cologna early in pursuit, but he faded to seventh, behind Sweden’s Marcus Hellner (who started seventh, 12 seconds after Harvey) by 8.5 k. There, Hellner trailed Heikkinen by 14.6 seconds, and Harvey was another 27.9 seconds back in seventh (and nearly a 54 seconds ahead of the man skiing in eighth at the time, Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krüger).
Half a kilometer later, it was all over with Cologna securing third overall in the Tour, 1:19.1 behind Ustiugov and 16.2 seconds behind Sundby.
With the fastest 9 k time of the day, Manificat moved up one place for fourth overall, finishing 1:26.9 after Ustiugov with a time of 29:20 minutes. Heikkinen was the second fastest on course, 6.1 seconds slower than Manificat, for fifth overall in the Tour (+1:31.3). Hellner took sixth at the finish (+2:05.8), ahead of Harvey in seventh (+2:39.7). For Harvey, it was his best overall finish in four competed Tour de Skis (last year, he finished 14th. His best result was 12th in 2012).
Norway swept the next five places with with Krüger in eighth (+3:27.2), Hans Christer Holund in ninth (+3:50.4), Niklas Dyrhaug in 10th (+4:24.9), Sjur Røthe in 11th (+4:56.4), and Didrik Tønseth in 12th (+5:07.7).
Canada had two in the final climb with Devon Kershaw finishing 25th (+9:32.2) after starting 23rd. Graeme Killick did not start after being positioned in 37th overall in the Tour.
Kershaw finished 8.1 seconds ahead of Noah Hoffman, the lone American racing to the top of Alpe Cermis. Hoffman moved up from 30th at the start to finish 26th (+9:40.3) overall, and in doing so, he posted the 15th-fastest time of the day, 1:05.3 back from Manificat.
Harvey’s time ranked 14th (+1:04.9). Norway’s Holund had the third-fastest time after starting 11th and ending up ninth, Hellner was fourth fastest, and Cologna fifth fastest.
Tour de Ski final results (with isolated climb times): Women | Men
US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee skis through the arena during the women’s 12.5 k mass start at the 2017 IBU World Cup on Sunday in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
After twice shooting clean on Sunday, American Susan Dunklee found herself in third place going out on the next loop of the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Oberhof, Germany, pushing hard to keep up with Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová and Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier.
“I was not skiing a sustainable pace,” Dunklee explained in an email to FasterSkier. “Sometimes it makes more sense to keep yourself in the race as long as you can and worry about consequences later.”
While Koukalová stayed clean also in the next two shooting stages to win the race in a time of 37:20.5 and Dahlmeier only shot one more miss to finish second (0+0+1+0, +31.5), Dunklee had to pay a bit for her tempo when she incurred a penalty in the first standing stage and two more in her last standing bout.
She left the range after the final shooting in ninth position, but was challenged on the long Birxsteig climb by four athletes who shot clean in the last stage: Norway’s Marte Olsbu, Sweden’s Anna Magnusson, Poland’s Magdalena Gwizdon, and Russia’s Tatiana Akimova.
“Skiing hard earlier in the race (e.g. with Gabi and Laura) meant that I didn’t have much fight in me on the first huge climb and I lost time there,” Dunklee wrote about the last loop. “To make up for it, I tried to conserve some energy for the last hills, rely on faster skis than the girls around me (our techs did a fantastic job today) and ski tactically.”
Dunklee fought back, and managed to overtake all of those four skiers again to finish ninth (+1:43.5) with three penalties (0+0+1+2) and the 12th-ranked overall course time. She was passed on that loop only by Finland’s veteran Kaisa Mäkäräinen, who had a rough day on the range with seven penalties, but skied the best course time to finish eighth (+1:39.9).
During the week’s races in Oberhof, Dunklee missed more targets than she usually does to finish 50th in the sprint with four penalties and 44th in the pursuit with nine penalties.
“I created a very specific periodization plan for my shooting this year and I believe in it,” Dunklee wrote. “Each week has its own focus, which creates subtle differences in how I approach the shooting. I have now learned that the type of focus I had for this week (and incidentally, Östersund) doesn’t work well. Today I shifted over early to the speed focus I had planned for next week and that was a good decision. My periodization plan is an experiment and a work in progress that I hope to have nailed for next year.”
“My standing shots all felt good except for my very last shot,” Dunklee said, according to a US Biathlon press release. “I couldn’t get the barrel to stay on the target. Rather than taking an extra breath to reset, I over held it. That is my only regret of the day.”
When the provisional start list was first released on Saturday, Biathlon Canada’s Rosanna Crawford narrowly missed the qualification for the elite mass start field (with starts being awarded to the top-25 ranked athletes in the overall World Cup plus five more not among those with the best results of the competition week). But she was excited to learn the night before the race that she would be “called up” from a reserve standby list to replace a sick athlete.
“I love Mass Start races, there is so much potential!” Crawford wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “The best are nervous and the rest of us are the underdogs wanting to prove we belong.”
Biathlon Canada’s Rosanna Crawford after finishing 25th in the women’s mass start at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: ZDF screenshot)
After a clean shooting performance in the Oberhof sprint, Crawford was able to shoot well again on Sunday, totaling just two penalties (0+1+1+0), but was unable to keep pace with the leaders with the 28th-ranked course time.
“Like the last two races, it’s skiing that is really holding me back,” Crawford explained.
“So I just went out for a good workout and a chance to work on my shooting. I am really angry at my prone miss, just like yesterday [in the pursuit] that was all me! But 18/20 is still a pretty good day. I can only hope that the ski shape turns around in the next few weeks. Our wax techs again did a good job today!”
Crawford waved to the spectators on the finishing stretch and took a bow as she crossed the line in 25th place (+3:08.6).
“The crowds here are pretty incredible, there was a lot of people cheering ‘Go Canada’ which really helped fuel me around the course,” she wrote.
The spectators were particularly fired up after seeing a double-victory for Germany’s Simon Schempp and Erik Lesser in the men’s mass start earlier on Sunday. And with the return of home-crowd favorite Dahlmeier after a longer rest and training period over the holiday break, as well as her teammate Franziska Hildebrand also fighting for a position at the top, they had every reason to cheer during the women’s race as well.
“I think I did everything right,” Dahlmeier told German broadcaster ZDF of her reason for skipping the sprint and pursuit races. “I did not exactly know good my form would be after the break. Today I had a bit heavy legs from training. But I am happy with the second place and glad that the return worked out like this. It was a lot of fun to ski in front of such an audience today.”
“The first three World Cup weekends were more strenuous, due to the good results and the yellow bib [of the overall World Cup leader],” she added. “When I go to the start, I want to give it 100 percent, not just coast along. So my feeling was that it would be useful to skip a race, and that this happened to be in Oberhof was due to the competition calendar. But I am glad that I could do this one race.”
“I didn’t have so good expectations for this,” Koukalová said at the press conference on her race week in Oberhof, with two victories and a second place. “The main goal of the season is the World Championships in Hochfilzen. So I hope that I am still not in the best shape now, because I know it is more difficult to win there than here.”
Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová (bib 1, first place) and her teammate Eva Puskarčiková (bib 12, third place) celebrate at the finish of the women’s 12.5 k mass start on Sunday at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: IBU)
Koukalová was also excited that teammate Eva Puskarčiková placed third (+45.4 with no penalties) to stand on the podium with her, and that they were the only two athletes in the field who shot clean. It was the second World Cup podium of the career for Puskarčiková, after a third place in the pursuit in Pokljuka, Slovenia, earlier this season.
“I don’t know how to say it, but I have many times deeper feelings than to stand there alone,” Koukalová said at the press conference. “It’s very positive and I am very happy for Eva, because she was still sick around Christmas and so she is something like a hero for me. It’s amazing, she is crazy.”
“I hope so, I hope it will be better and better,” Puskarčiková said with a smile when questioned if her confidence is increasing with each success now.
In a three-way sprint finish, the fourth place went to Kazakhstan’s Galina Vishnevskaya, the best result of the 22 year old’s career (+1:11.6 with one penalty), ahead of Ukraine’s Yulia Dzhima (+1:12.6 with three penalties) and Germany’s Hildebrand (+1:14.0 with two penalties).
If the IBU, which likes to stress its “biathlon family” motto, had a fair-play award, it should have gone to Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser, who voluntarily gave up a pole to Germany’s Vanessa Hinz after accidentally breaking hers by stepping on it. Hauser’s good deed was not rewarded, as she soon after fell on a steep downhill turn, clogging the sights of her rifle with snow and had to pull out of the race. Hinz finished 21st.
The IBU World Cup resumes with a men’s relay on Wednesday, Jan. 11 and a women’s relay on Thursday, Jan. 12 in Ruhpolding, also located in Germany.
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.
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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.
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.
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 placedfourth overall (+1:20.8).
Full results (with tabs for the overall and time of the day)
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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 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)
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).
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)
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.
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.
US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee on her way to finishing third in the women’s sprint at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. It was the third podium of her career. (Photo: IBU)
On Friday morning, Susan Dunklee woke up with a cold. A mild one, but enough to dull the nervous system and wreak havoc on her shooting, she feared. But she had a race ahead of her, the first of hopefully three this weekend, and the US Biathlon veteran forged ahead with her race-day routine in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.
“Once I started warming up, I felt mentally awake and ready,” Dunklee recalled in an email to FasterSkier. “The crowd here is electrifying and their energy carried me.”
About an hour after the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint, Dunklee was a sure thing for the podium. She had started 23rd out of 96 in the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup field, and finished first, 11.4 seconds ahead of Laura Dahlmeier. Laura Dahlmeier, the German who won the last three races in Pokljuka, Slovenia, last week (including a relay)? Yep, Dunklee beat her.
With the likes of last week’s sprint runner-up Justine Braisaz of France, Italy’s Dorothea Wierer and France’s defending World Cup champion Marie Dorin Habert behind her (and the list went on from there), Dunklee was in a very good spot. But a hot one, too.
“Biathlon is so unpredictable that I never trust in the result until all the racers are finished,” Dunklee said. “Last week with clean shooting in the sprint I watched my result drop from 1st to 11th, so I kept my expectations tempered today.”
Also last week, Dunklee placed fifth for a career-best pursuit result. So a podium, even a victory, was definitely within reach. She was first bumped to second place by Russia’s Tatiana Akimova, who started 37th and hit all 10 of her targets — just like Dunklee. Akimova took her time on the range but notched the eighth-fastest overall course time to take the win — her first ever and also her first World Cup top 10 — in 21:58.9 minutes.
France’s Anaïs Chevalier started 68th and came within 4.3 seconds of Akimova’s time for second, which bumped Dunklee another step down to third. But after all 96 finishers had crossed the line, Dunklee remained on the podium, ahead of not only Dahlmeier (fourth), Braisaz (sixth), Wieier (seventh), and Dorin Habert (11th), but ahead of Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen (fifth), France’s Anaïs Bescond (eighth), Norway’s Fanny Horn Birkeland (ninth), and Germany’s Franziska Preuss (10th), all in the top 10.
On Friday, she was 5.1 seconds out of first and 0.8 seconds out of second place. Asked how close she feels to the win and that next career mark, Dunklee replied that it was palpable.
“I know I am close and that it is reasonable to fight for a win on any given day,” she wrote. “The most important thing is to keep my focus on performing well and controlling what is within my power. The results will take care of themselves.”
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The women’s sprint podium at the IBU World Cup on Friday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, with (left to right) France’s Anaïs Chevalier in second, Russia’s Tatiana Akimova in first, and US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee in third. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
Few people would have predicted the women’s podium on Friday. Three athletes who had managed to shoot clean in both the prone and standing shooting stages stood at the top, while the presumed favorites all had to ski at least once through the penalty lap and ended up off the podium during the flower ceremony.
At the end of the race, it was Akimova, Chevalier and Dunklee, with Dunklee smiling broadly as she looked out to the crowd.
Starting early in the field, Dunklee had avoided the penalty lap in both of her shooting stages, and with the 15th-fastest overall course time, she had finished with the new time to beat: 22:04 minutes. Dunklee skied into the finish just a few seconds after Dahlmeier, who briefly held the lead despite two penalties.
“I left the range after standing just as Laura was leaving the penalty loop and I heard over the loudspeaker that we had the first and second splits so I knew I was having a good race,” Dunklee recalled. “When my ski form is on, I fight like hell to stick with a ride like that, but I just didn’t have it today. Instead I tried to keep her in sight as long as I could on that last loop.”
Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) after crossing the finish first through 23 finishers in the women’s 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. She went on to place third for her first podium of the season and the third of her career.
She ended up beating Dahlmeier by more than 11 seconds. When Dunklee came to a stop and saw her No. 1 position on a video wall, she raised her arms and waived to the thousands of cheering spectators in the stands.
Then her long waiting period began, with more than 70 athletes who could challenge her position behind her.
For the next few minutes Dunklee held her place at the top, with Mäkäräinen skiing very fast, but also incurring two penalties to finish in fifth (1+1, +18.2). The next challenger was home-crowd favorite Gabriela Koukalová of the Czech Republic, who had posted the best time after the prone stage prompting a huge roar by the audience. But then the usually sound shooter went on to miss three targets in her standing stage, zapping the energy out of the stadium, and she ended up 13th (0+3, +36.8). Notably, Koukalová skied the fastest course time, despite a spill on the last downhill.
Then, starting one position behind Koukalová and thus out of the focus of the international TV cameras for most of the race, Akimova emerged as a podium contender with perfect shooting. On the final lap she managed to virtually overtake and create a small lead on Dunklee, at the first split time by only 0.9 seconds, but by the end of the loop, the Russian crossed the line in a time of 21:58.9, 5.1 seconds ahead of Dunklee.
France’sBescond was the next athlete to shoot clean in both stages, but was slower on the course and ended up eighth (0+0, +24.8).
And even later in bib 68, Bescond’s teammate Chevalier emerged as the last athlete with a chance at the podium. She left the standing stage in first place with a small lead of 1.3 seconds on Dunklee, but lost some ground on the final loop. Chevalier pushed hard in the finishing stretch, and while it was not enough to beat Akimova, she remained 0.8 seconds ahead of Dunklee for seconds place (0+0, +4.3).
Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) after placing third in Friday’s 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. It was her third career podium in a sprint. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
During the press conference, Dunklee was asked if she was happy or sad about her position on the podium, after she had looked like the potential winner for a few minutes.
“I am very happy,” Dunklee replied. “Last week I crossed the line in first and slipped back all the way to 11th [despite] clean shooting, and this is quite an improvement over that. You never know with biathlon whether you are gonna hold a position when you cross the finish line. It’s just too unpredictable.”
Questioned if she believed she was now close to her first win, Dunklee shrugged and smiled: “Maybe. Hopefully it will happen this year.”
Dunklee said the atmosphere in the arena with more than 29,000 fans in attendance gave her additional motivation.
“Nove Mesto is one of my favorite venues to race at. The fans here have more energy than anywhere else,” she said at the press conference. “Like, we’re talking, all over the course, not just the stadium, but out on the trails … It’s electrifying.”
For the 26-year-old Akimova, it was not just her first World Cup victory, but even her first time on the podium and first time in the top ten (except for relays). That said, she wasn’t totally out of the blue, after winning the IBU’s “rookie of the year” award last season.
“Of course I did not really expect this,” Akimova said via a translator during the press conference. “And I am really happy and thrilled right now. As usual I just went into the race wanting to do my best … It was just a combination of different things that all came together today and made me win.”
Later questioned by journalists about the current controversy surrounding the Russian team in the wake of the McLaren report, Akimova stated, “I hope that everything will turn out good. Of course I am clean.”
Susan Dunklee (c) leads overall World Cup leader Laura Dahlmeier (r) of Germany in the women’s 7.5 k sprint on Friday at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. Dunklee went on to place third ahead of Dahlmeier in fourth. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
After placing 11th in the previous World Cup sprint, Dunklee used her opportunity to comment to discuss the McLaren report, rather than the race. On Friday, when asked about how she felt about sharing the podium, she said she was still “deeply saddened by the McLaren report and all that it implies.”
“It will be a long time before Russia can earn the sporting community’s trust again,” Dunklee wrote. “The IBU is currently investigating all the McLaren evidence and it is likely there will be massive shake ups, not just in this year’s results but from the past several years. No matter what may happen in the future I feel great about my performance today and the manner in which I earned it.”
Intensively celebrating her second place after the race and the flower ceremony, it was also the first World Cup podium for the 23-year-old Chevalier, improving on an eighth place in a pursuit in Kontiolahti, Finnland, during the 2013/2014 season. Chevalier spent most of last season on the second-tier IBU Cup, and she started this World Cup season with individual finishes outside the top 30.
“I changed a lot of things,” Chevalier explained her new career best during the press conference. “Because the beginning of my season was complicated. I did not expect these bad results. So I am very happy today to shoot clean…”
Asked if she believed her later start group might have been an advantage, Chevalier said, “I don’t think so. The track was very hard. So I don’t think the last bib [among the podium finishers] was an advantage.”
Due to two misses in her standing shooting stage, overall World Cup leader Dahlmeier finished off the podium in fourth (0+2, +16.5). But with none of the other favorites on the podium, either, she was not too disappointed about this outcome of the race day.
“It’s also nice if not the same people are always standing at the top, but if the field is ragtag mixed,” she told German broadcaster ARD during a post-race interview. “That’s the exciting thing about biathlon. So it’s nice that today others are standing on the podium.”
Ransom 26th, Five North Americans in Top 60
Biathlon Canada’s Julia Ransom at the start of the women’s IBU World Cup sprint in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. She went on to place 26th for her first top 30 this season. (Photo: ARD broadcast screenshot)
Among the first out of the gate in bib 6, Julia Ransom led Canada with a season-best 26th place (+1:06.5) thanks to a clean prone shooting and only one miss in standing (0+1). She skied the 43rd-ranked course time on her way to the fourth-best individual World Cup result of her career. Ransom has previously placed 19th twice — in the sprint at her home World Cup in Canmore, Alberta, and in a pursuit in Antholz, Italy — and 20th in the individual race at 2016 World Championships in Oslo, all last season.
Her teammates Rosanna Crawford and Megan Tandy finished half a minute behind her in 37th (1+1, +1:30.0) and 44th (1+0, +1:34.8), respectively. The fourth Canadian, Emma Lunder, who replaced Sarah Beaudry for this World Cup, finished 82nd (2+0, +3:02.2).
Dunklee’s teammate Joanne Reid notched her best sprint result in 52nd (0+1, +1:46.5) to qualify for Saturday’s pursuit. It is also her third-best result after a strong start to this season in Östersund, Sweden, where she placed 29th in the individual race and 47th in the pursuit.
US Biathlon women’s team member Clare Egan (l) and Joanne Reid (r) supporting their teammate Susan Dunklee, who placed third on Friday in the IBU World Cup women’s sprint in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
The third American, Clare Egan finished 62nd (+1:59.4) despite skiing the 33rd-ranked course time due to three penalties (2+1). Egan missed the top 60 qualification for the pursuit race by 1.6 seconds.
The times back to the winner from Friday’s sprint carry over into the pursuit race on Saturday, with a mass start of the 30 top-ranked athletes in the World Cup standings following on Sunday.
“The pursuit, I like that the best, that’s my favorite race,” World Cup leader Dahlmeier told ARD when asked about Saturday’s pursuit. “Especially here in Nove Mesto I have had good pursuit races in the past. So I am already incredibly excited for the race tomorrow.“
“This is a great position,” Dunklee said at the press conference. “The important thing is not to think too much about it and keep executing a good performance plan, like every other race.”
The women’s pursuit starts at 11:40 EST on Saturday, following the men’s 12.5 k pursuit at 9 a.m. EST. Watch both races live on Eurovisionsports.tv.
Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) after crossing the finish first through 23 finishers in the women’s 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. She went on to place third for her first podium of the season and the third of her career.
(Note: This is not a race report but rather a digest of the day’s events. Check back for complete race reports.)
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IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto: Women’s 7.5 k sprint
Susan Dunkleecame close last week, and now she’s there. The 30-year-old US Biathlon skier rocketed to third in the first women’s race of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, on Friday: the 7.5-kilometer sprint.
She finished 5.1 seconds behind Russia’s Tatiana Akimova, who not only achieved her first win, but her first World Cup top 10 as well, with clean shooting (0+0) in 21:58.9 minutes. France’s Anaïs Chevalier placed second, 4.3 seconds back, with perfect shooting as well (0+0), and Dunklee was the third woman in the top three to hit all 10 targets.
Dunklee started 23rd and displaced Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, who started 30 seconds ahead of her in bib 22, from first place by 11.4 seconds. Dunklee then had to wait for nearly 75 other finishers to secure her podium, bumped out of first by Akimova in bib 37 and finally to third place by Chevalier in bib 68. Dahlmeier ultimately placed fourth (+16.5) after two standing penalties (0+2).
Overall, Dunklee posted the fifth-fastest range time, ninth-fastest shooting, and 15th-fastest course time en route to the third podium of her career.
“I am very happy,” Dunklee said in a post-race press conference. “Last week I crossed the line in first and slipped back all the way to 11th with clean shooting, and this is quite an improvement over that. You never know with biathlon whether you are gonna hold a position when you cross the finish line. It’s just too unpredictable.”
Asked how she was feeling about Saturday’s pursuit, she said she was in a great position.
“The important thing is not to think too much about it and keep executing a good performance plan, like every other race,” she said.
Canada’s top finisher was Julia Ransom, who cracked the top 30 for the first time this year in 26th (+1:06.5) with a single standing penalty (0+1). Rosanna Crawford placed 37th (+1:30) with two misses (1+1), Megan Tandy was 44th (+1:34.8) with one prone penalty (1+0), and American Joanne Reid placed 52nd (+1:46.5) with one standing miss (0+1) to also qualify for Saturday’s pursuit.
The third U.S. woman racing on Friday, Clare Egan placed 62nd (+1:59.4) with three misses (2+1), missing the pursuit by 1.6 seconds.
The fourth Canadian woman, Emma Lunder finished 82nd (+3:02.2) with two penalties (2+0).
[UPDATE] The NorAm series kicked off its second stop on Friday with a three-race mini tour in Rossland, B.C.
The men’s 15 k freestyle had a more traditional result, with Canadians retaking the podium. Evan Palmer-Charrette of the Thunder Bay National Team Development Centre (NTDC) won in 40:36.7 minutes, 31.1 seconds ahead of Team R.A.D.’s Russell Kennedy. Erik Carleton of Rocky Mountain Racers and the Canadian Para-Nordic Ski Team edged out U.S. Ski Team and SMS Elite skier Andy Newell for third (+56.6).
Chelsea Holmes of Alaska Pacific University (APU) continued her dominating ways in the women’s 10 k freestyle, finishing in 29.37.8. Fellow American Erika Flowers (SMS Elite) was second, 1:49.2 behind with Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt of the Alberta World Cup Academy and Canadian U25 Team in third (+2:27.2).
FasterSkier is seeking photos from this weekend’s NorAm. Submit yours with caption and credit info to info@fasterskier.com.
The French men’s relay team after their IBU World Cup win on Sunday in Pokljuka, Slovenia, with (from left to right) Martin Fourcade, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Simon Desthieux, and Jean-Guillaume Béatrix. They beat Russia by 15.7 seconds for the win. (Photo: IBU)
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.
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Note: This recap has been updated to reflect the correct positions each of the four Canadian women exchanged in during Sunday’s 4 x 6 k IBU World Cup relay.
IBU World Cup in Pokljuka: Men’s & Women’s Relays
Germany and France reached the podium in both the men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer and women’s 4 x 6 k sprints on Sunday, the final day of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia.
France won the men’s race by 15.7 seconds over Russia with a total of seven spare rounds and zero penalties. Jean-Guillaume Béatrix started off by putting the French team in fourth, then Quentin Fillon Maillet elevated them to first, a position both Simon Desthieux and Martin Fourcade held for the victory in 1:11:56.5.
“When we started the relay, we thought that winning was possible,” Béatrix said, according to an IBU press release. “At the same time, the competition was very tough. There were many strong teams today.”
“I was very happy to tag Martin with a 20-second lead,” Desthieux said. “This is good for my confidence.”
Russia placed second with Maxim Tsvetkov, Anton Babikov, Matvey Eliseev, and Anton Shipulin, the four of which combined for one penalty (on Eliseev’s third leg) and six spare rounds.
Germany rounded out the podium in third, 21.5 seconds behind France, with Erik Lesser, Matthias Dorfer, Benedikt Doll, and Simon Schempp. In ninth after Lesser’s first leg, Dorfer brough the team to eighth and Doll raced them into second before Schempp lost one place to end up third. They used a total of 11 spares but avoided the penalty lap.
Canada placed 10th of 22 teams, 1:44.7 out of first with one penalty and seven spares. Christian Gow started the team out with clean shooting and tagged off in sixth at the first exchange, and his older brother Scott Gow also shot clean without any spares to move up to fourth at the second tag. Macx Davies required three spares and had to ski a penalty lap on his prone stage, then used another spare to clean standing and tagged off in 14th place. Brendan Green anchored the Canadians to 10th, using three spares but avoiding a penalty in prone, then cleaning standing without any spares.
“I had a somewhat disappointing pursuit race yesterday, and my goal for today was to refocus on the range and push the ski speed as much as possible,” 28-year-old Scott Gow told Biathlon Canada, according to a press release. “I was happy with the overall performance I was able to put forward for my leg of the relay, and I was especially happy with another clean shooting day.
“Today was an acceptable result for the team,” he added. “Christian and I are very proud of our results so far this season. We worked very hard all year to try and elevate our racing abilities to the next level, and we saw our hard work pay off today with great skiing and perfect shooting for both of us. It’s also a big confidence boost going forward with the season knowing we are capable of competing among the best.”
Germany’s Karen Hammerschmidt (l) tagging her teammate Laura Dahlmeier in second place at the final exchange of the women’s 4 x 6 k relay at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. Dahlmeier anchored the team to the win by 10.1 seconds over France. (Photo: IBU)
In the women’s relay on Sunday, Germany took first by 10.1 seconds over France, using nine spares but no penalties.
Vanessa Hinz started the Germans out and tagged off in fifth, and second-leg Franziska Hildebrand moved them up into second by the halfway point. Karen Hammerschmidt held that position, which was enough for Laura Dahlmeier who anchored them to the win in 1:11:31.1.
“This was a brutally beautiful race today,” Dahlmeier told German broadcaster ZDF after her third win in as many races in Pokljuka. “It was very fun, and I was very relaxed because I knew we were competing as a team. Even if you don’t have as much power left there are still three others. I was on top of my game and just enjoyed it. I really looked forward to the race, although yesterday I was knocked out. But on the course I had a good feeling right from the start.”
France in second and Ukraine in third (+37.7) both required just three spare rounds and no penalties per team. France secured second place with Anais Chevalier (who initially tagged off in 11th), Justine Braisaz (who picked off eight places to move into third), Celia Aymonier (who tagged off in first), and Marie Dorin Habert (who cleaned without any spares but came up 10 seconds short of Dahlmeier at the finish).
Ukraine reached the podium with Iryna Varvynets, Yuliia Dzhima, Olena Pidhrushna, and Anastasiya Merkushyna.
Canada placed 11th (+3:33.1) with a total of just four spares and no penalties. Sarah Beaudry initially tagged off in 23rd, Rosanna Crawford skied them into 18th, Megan Tandy shot clean without any spares and tagged off in 14th, and Julia Ransom anchored them to 11th out of 23 teams.
The U.S. did not field a men’s or women’s relay team, with just three men and three women in Pokljuka.
FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Davos: Freestyle Sprints
In the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint on Sunday it was Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov who emerged victorious, besting Finn Hågen Krogh of Norway and his Norwegian teammate Sindre Bjørnestad Skar for first.
After qualifying 29th overall, Ustiugov crossed first in his quarterfinal and held the led through his semifinal and into the final, winning in a time of 2:24.65. Krogh crossed 0.59 tenths of a second behind him for second place and Skar took the final podium spot, crossing 3.29 seconds after Ustiugov.
Also in the sprint final was Russia’s Alexey Petukhov, who finished just off the podium in fourth (+3.47), Norwegian Emil Iversen in fifth (+5.52) and France’s Lucas Chanavat —who won the qualifier — ended the day in sixth (+11.48).
Lucas Chanavat of France had the fastest men’s qualifying time in the Davos World Cup freestyle sprint on Sunday.
Canada’s Lenny Valjas was the top North American finisher for the day, qualifying 12th and advancing to the quarterfinals where he finished in 14th overall. No other Canadians made the sprint heats, with Alex Harvey left just outside advancing in 33rd, Devon Kershaw ending the day in 49th, Knute Johnsgaard 60th, Bob Thompson 67th, and Andy Shields 73rd. Jesse Cockney did not finish the race.
Simi Hamilton led the U.S. in 24th (+3.88). Andy Newellwas just outside the heats in 36th, and Eric Packer placed 95th (+21.62).
In the women’s 1.6 k freestyle sprint, Maiken Caspersen Falla of Norway took the overall win, crossing in a time of 2:44.63. Just 0.53 tenths of a second behind Falla was her Norwegian teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg in second place overall. The final women’s podium finisher, Hanna Falk of Sweden was 0.60 tenths of second off Falla in third.
U.S. Ski Team member, Jessie Diggins made the final, racing to a fifth place overall (+5.91), behind Sweden’s Jonna Sundling in fourth (+1.04) and ahead of Russia’s Natlalia Matveeva in sixth (+6.80).
The United States put three other women into the heats, including Sophie Caldwell who finished 11th, Sadie Bjornsen 15th, and Ida Sargent 20th.
American Caitlin Patterson ended the day 47th, Kikkan Randall 58th, and Liz Stephen 61st.
Dahria Beatty was the top Canadian on Sunday, finishing in 25th overall. Cendrine Browne ended the day 53rd and Sophie Carrier-Laforte 59th.
NorAm/SuperTour at Sovereign Lake: 10/15 k Freestyle
[UPDATE] It was Americans owning the podium again Sunday at Sovereign Lake, and a little bit more. It was warmer on Sunday, -7 Celsius, and snowed lightly throughout.
The men’s 15 k freestyle was first on the schedule. APU’s Scott Patterson won in 40:00.2, followed by Saturday’s A-finalist Matt Gelso at 13.2 seconds and Vail’s Tad Elliot at +26.6.
The top Canadian was Team R.A.D.’s Russell Kennedy in ninth, at 1:38.8 behind.
In the women’s 10 k freestyle, the podium was owned by APU’s Chelsea Holmes in 30:42.9. SMS Elite’s Katharine Ogden was second at 13.4 seconds, also winning the junior category. Her teammate Erika Flowers was third, 36.4 behind.
AWCA’s Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt was the top Canadian for the second day, placing 13th at 1:51.8.
Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt of the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) leads the American train around the bridge corner into the finish straight in the A-final of Saturday’s NorAm classic sprint at Sovereign Lake in British Columbia. She went on to finish fourth behind Julia Kern (second from r), Liz Guiney (back left) and Kaitlynn Miller (l), respectively. (Photo: Peggy Hung)
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.
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Canadian NorAm/U.S. SuperTour at Sovereign Lake: Classic sprint
[UPDATE] U.S. skiers filled the open category podiums on the first fully North American NorAm event in recent years on Saturday at Sovereign Lake near Vernon, B.C. With NorAm points, SuperTour points and FIS points on the line there was a great turnout of the top skiers.
In the open women’s 1.2-kilometer classic sprint, Julia Kern of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) won in 3:17.04 after qualifying fifth. Liz Guiney of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) finished second, 0.67 seconds back, and her CGRP teammate Kaitlynn Miller rounded out the podium in third (+0.91). Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt (Alberta World Cup Academy) was the top Canadian in fourth (+1.49) and the lone Canadian in the final. Jennie Bender (Bridger Ski Foundation) placed fifth (+3.8) and Heather Mooney was sixth (+19.84).
On the same 1.2 k course, Reese Hanneman (Alaska Pacific University) made up for his 15th qualifying time to take the men’s final win in 2:38.08. Cole Morgan of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) took second in the final (+0.87) after winning the qualifier, and Ben Saxton (SMST2) was third (+1.92). Matt Gelso (SVSEF) finished fifth (+3.88), after precipitating a semifinal crash that took three Canadians (Angus Foster, Simon Lapointe and Evan Palmer-Charrette) out of contention, but didn’t result in a protest. The lone Canadian man in the final, Antoine Briand (Pierre-Harvey Training Centre) placed sixth (+11.98).
Susan Dunklee being hoisted up by her US Biathlon support team at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia, after tying her career-best result in a pursuit. Dunklee placed fifth on Saturday for a season best as well. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
Another day at the front of the pack, and another day of (nearly) perfect shooting for Susan Dunklee, who raced from 11th to fifth for her first flower ceremony (top six) of the season at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia.
Dunklee (US Biathlon) cleaned the first three of four stages in Saturday’s 10-kilometer pursuit to move into second with one standing stage remaining. In that final shooting stage, she had her first miss of the day, yet still left the range in second, 22 seconds behind Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier in first. Dunklee finished out the race with the 21st-ranked course time on the last loop (her first-loop time was the fastest in the 56-woman field) and placed fifth, 24.1 seconds behind Dahlmeier — who won her second-straight race in Pokljuka. Dahlmeier finished first in 30:43.1 despite two prone misses on the second stage, which put her as far back as fifth (0+2+0+0). Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen finished second, 16.8 seconds back, with two penalties as well (0+0+1+1), and Eva Puskarcikova of the Czech Republic reached the podium in third (+18.7) with a single miss followed by three clean stages (1+0+0+0). One spot ahead of Dunklee, reigning World Cup champion Marie Dorin Habert of France clawed her way up to fourth (+18.8) after starting 17th, with one penalty (0+0+1+0).
For Dahlmeier, it was her 10th World Cup victory and fifth in a pursuit.
“My motto is ‘Scheiß da nix, dann feid da nix’,” Dahlmeier told Germany’s ZDF, which vaguely translates to “Don’t worry be happy,” or “Just do it.”
“That was worth gold today. I was a bit surprised about my two misses in prone. Apparently I already had an aberration in the first stage, then I clicked [adjusted the sights] and was a bit surprised that the two misses still happened,” she added. “… Then came the standing shooting, and there I tried to keep calm again. The race is only over once you cross the finish line, and that became true again today. I am happy that the race flipped again like this.”
Canada’s Julia Ransom cleaned three consecutive stages before missing two on the last standing. She finished 34th for the second day in a row, 2:33.5 behind Dahlmeier. Rosanna Crawford placed 49th with three penalties (2+1+0+0) and Clare Egan of the U.S. was 56th with six misses (2+0+1+3). Canada’s Megan Tandy, with seven penalties (1+1+3+2) did not finish.
In the men’s 12.5 k pursuit, the first man out of the start, Martin Fourcade of France, held his lead to the finish, hitting all 20 targets and winning in 30:27.4. Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen rose from fourth at the start to second at the finish (+6.0) with clean shooting as well, and Russia’s Anton Shipulin placed third for the second-straight day (+6.2), with one penalty in the last stage (0+0+0+1).
Friday’s sprint runner-up, Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway, ended up fourth (+48) with two misses on the last stage (0+0+0+2), Germany’s Simon Schempp placed fifth (+59.8) after starting sixth, and had one miss (0+0+1+0), and Michael Rösch of Belarus cleaned for sixth place (+1:21.0) after starting 16th.
Lowell Bailey (US Biathlon) finished 18th (+2:01.6) for the second day in a row, with one prone penalty in the first stage (1+0+0+0).
Biathlon Canada’s Christian Gow picked off two places for a new career best in 31st (+2:41.7) with a single prone penalty (0+1+0+0).
Tim Burke placed 42nd (+4:09.8) for the U.S. (after starting 53rd) with five standing penalties (0+0+2+3), Canada’s Scott Gow finished 48th (+4:39) with five misses as well (2+1+0+2), and the third Canadian in the race, Brendan Green was 57th (+5:36.4) with five penalties (+5:36.4).
Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (c) won her first World Cup race of the season on Saturday in the 15 k freestyle individual start in Davos, Switzerland. Joining her on the podium: Norway’s Heidi Weng (l) in second and Finland’s Krista Parmakoski (r) in third.
Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg is back on top of the podium after a 7.9-second win in Saturday’s 15-kilometer freestyle in Davos, Switzerland, over — you guessed it — her teammate Heidi Weng.
Østberg started 38th (out of 59) and led at every split to take the win in 37:44.4, her first this season and her first in a 15 k. Weng started a minute ahead of her in bib 36 and ended up second, while Finland’s Krista Parmakoski notched third (+16.7) for her third podium of the season, ninth in her career and second skate podium.
The next fastest woman, American Jessie Diggins finished 37.6 seconds off the podium in fourth (+54.3), ahead of Russia’s Yulia Tchekaleva in fifth (+1:00.5) and Switzerland’s Nathalie von Siebenthal in sixth (+1:05.6). Ragnhild Haga of Norway was seventh (+1:10.8), Finland’s Riitta-Liisa Roponen eighth (+1:21.4), Italy’s Ilaria Debertolis ninth (+1:32.2), and Sweden’s Anna Haag 10th (+1:35.5).
The U.S. had two in the points with Liz Stephen in 28th (+2:17.5). Kikkan Randall was 2.3 seconds outside the top 30 in 33rd (+2:30.2), and Caitlin Patterson placed 44th (+3:21.6). Rosie Brennan did not start.
Emily Nishikawa led Canada in 34th (+2:33.5) for her best result this season, Dahria Beatty was 42nd (+3:15.2), and Cendrine Browne 54th (+4:07).
Weng remains the Overall World Cup leader by 70 points over Østberg, Parmakoski ranks third, and Norway’s Marit Bjørgen, who is not competing this weekend in Davos, is currently fourth.
[UPDATE] In the men’s race earlier on Saturday, Martin Johnsrud Sundby racked up another victory in Davos’s 30 k freestyle, beating his fellow Norwegian Anders Gløersen by 13.7 seconds with a winning time of 1:07:31.6 hours. Gløersen took second for his first podium in a year (he was third in the Davos 30 k last December) and Finland’s Matti Heikkinen reached the podium for his second-straight race in third (+25.7).
Canada’s Alex Harvey placed 12th (+1:29.4) and his teammate Graeme Killick notched 21st (+2:24.2) for his second-best World Cup result (after placing 19th in a skiathlon last March at the Ski Tour Canada).
Devon Kershaw was the next top North American in 43rd (+3:52.9), six seconds ahead of the lone American in the race, Noah Hoffman in 44th (+3:58.9). Canada’s Andy Shields placed 64th (+6:33.9).
Susan Dunklee being hoisted up by her US Biathlon support team at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia, after tying her career-best result in a pursuit. Dunklee placed fifth on Saturday for a season best as well. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Canada’s Julia Ransom.)
Susan Dunklee laughed a little when she thought about her reputation as a World Cup biathlete. Often one of the fastest skiers in terms of course time, she said she’s also been known for some of the slowest shooting times.
Until this weekend.
The US Biathlon veteran broke through in Pokljuka, Slovenia, with her best results of the season so far: 11th place in Friday’s 7.5-kilometer sprint and fifth in Saturday’s 10 k pursuit. Both races entailed 95-percent shooting accuracy or better (on Friday, she cleaned the two-stage sprint with the second-fastest shooting and third-fastest range times overall).
Susan Dunklee (front) going head to head with Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier (1), Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser (12), and France’s Marie Dorin Habert (left) in the women’s 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
On Saturday, her range time ranked third and shooting time was fourth overall.
That was a big step up from last season, and she said it was something she’s been working on for the last two years.
“It’s pretty obviously where my weak link is, my shooting speed … that’s what’s been holding me back,” Dunklee said on the phone after Saturday’s race. “There’s no reason not to try to gain speed there. It took a lot of work…”
After starting 11th in the pursuit, 43 seconds behind the leader (Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, who won Friday’s sprint), Dunklee raced into sixth and 28 seconds back with a clean first prone and her distinctively fast skiing. Her course time on the first loop ranked first out of 56 finishers.
One loop later, Dunklee cleaned again to move into fourth, 18.7 seconds behind the leader. Dahlmeier had slipped into fifth with two penalties, and Norway’s Marte Olsbu, who started third, took the lead.
Still in fourth for the first standing bout, Dunklee recalled being in a sort of a trance.
“I was aware of everything going on around me in the range, but I wasn’t concerned by it. … I just had this detached kind of feeling,” she said.
That was a good thing — something she wasn’t necessarily used to feeling — but something she hoped for in future races.
“It’s a really good feeling to have in the race when the pressure’s on,” Dunklee said.
Entering the range in fourth, 28 seconds out of first and without anyone directly around her, Dunklee shot clean for the third-straight stage. Suddenly, she was in second, 0.7 seconds behind Olsbu, who had to ski one penalty lap and narrowly remained in first.
The rest of the top six left the range within 14 seconds of Olsbu and Dunklee — with Dahlmeier bringing up the tail end of the group in sixth.
On the second-to-last loop, Germany’s Franziska Hildebrand passed Olsbu and Dunklee, while Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen moved into fourth right behind Dunklee. With about 2.5 k remaining, Dahlmeier recaptured the lead and Mäkäräinen followed her just 0.7 seconds back in second. Hildebrand sat in third, Olsbu in fourth and Dunklee 3 seconds back in fifth.
For the final shooting, Dahlmeier led the group of six, including Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser, into the range. All were within 3.5 seconds of one another.
Dahlmeier hit all of her targets, Dunklee missed one, as did Hauser, Olsbu, Hildebrand, and Mäkäräinen. Eva Puskarčíková of the Czech Republic cleaned her five standing targets to move into fourth (after three consecutive clean stages: 1+0+0+0), yet Dunklee remained in second, 22 seconds behind Dahlmeier and 0.7 seconds ahead of Hauser in third.
“That penalty was a close miss,” Dunklee said. “I knew, ‘Oh, I just go in the penalty loop,’ and I wasn’t too concerned with what that meant.”
When Dunklee exited the penalty loop and headed back out onto the course, she had no idea where she stood. She couldn’t see anybody ahead of her, nor did she know how big the group was behind her.
“I knew I was probably fighting for a podium and I should push as hard as I could,” Dunklee said.
While she felt like she was missing her top-end skiing gear, which she expected at this point in the season, Dunklee used some course tactics to catch two of the five women that passed her at the beginning of the final loop: Hauser and Hildebrand.
“It’s really important to try to get to the front of the pack at the top of that first camel-hump,” Dunklee said of the Pokljuka course. “I was able to pass two people back so I was able to get back into the flower ceremony, which was great.”
Reflecting on the detached feeling she felt on the range, Dunklee said it was a different story out on the course.
“Out on the course, you’ve got to be hungry and you’ve got to be able to push yourself to a different zone,” she said. “I was missing that ability to fight on skis today. I was going at the pace I felt like I could maintain and not getting overly concerned with people passing.”
Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) finishing fifth in Saturday’s 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. “I felt pretty flooded,” she said of her finish. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
At the same time, she focused on putting everything she could into a strong finish.
“What was on my mind is, ‘I’m going to feel really bad about myself if I don’t give it everything I have,’ ” she said of her last loop. “… I figured I had nothing to lose.”
Dunklee finished 24.1 seconds behind Dahlmeier (who won her second-straight race) in the top six to reach the flower ceremony for the first time this season. That also met Dunklee’s goal of a top 10 in one of the first two World Cups.
“That was a big goal to put out there. I’m very pleased; I knew it wasn’t a sure thing” Dunklee said.
Acknowledging that she’s never had such competitive results this early in the season, Dunklee explained that she was fueled by some disappointment in Friday’s sprint.
“I was pretty bummed yesterday to get bumped down so far,” she said of crossing the finish first then ending up 11th.
As for her much-improved shooting this season: “It gives me a lot of confidence for sure,” Dunklee said. “The shooting speed has been my number-one focus for this year and much of last year, too … just seeing it pay off is wonderful. It’s very satisfying and it gives me a lot of faith in what I’ve [worked on].”
The women’s 10 k pursuit podium at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia, with German winner Laura Dahlmeier (c), Finnish runner-up Kaisa Mäkäräinen (l) and third-place finisher Eva Puskarčíková of the Czech Republic. (Photo: IBU)
While Mäkäräinen closed hard in the final 2 k (starting the loop in seventh, nearly 30 seconds behind Dahlmeier), she ended up second and 16.8 seconds behind Dahlmeier, with a total of two penalties (0+0+1+1).
The 25-year-old Puskarčíková held off France’s Marie Dorin Habert by 0.1 seconds for her first World Cup podium in third place (+18.7). Dorin Habert, the 17th starter, settled for fourth, with one penalty (0+0+1+0).
For Dahlmeier, it was her 10th World Cup victory and fifth in a pursuit. Asked what she credited her success to, the 23 year old told German broadcaster ZDF, “Staying cool. My motto is, ‘Scheiß da nix, dann feid da nix’,” (which vaguely translates to “Don’t worry be happy” or “Just do it”).
“That was worth gold today,” she continued. “I was a bit surprised about my two misses in prone. Apparently I already had an aberration in the first stage, then I clicked [adjusted the sights] and was a bit surprised that the two misses still happened.”
She was quick to regroup and cleaned the remaining two stages (0+2+0+0) to finish first in 30:43.1.
“I just try to keep it not too complex,” Dahlmeier told ZDF. “… In terms of skiing I didn’t feel quite as springy today, so I had to rely on the shooting. And that worked well for me.”
Asked if her three wins, four podiums, and one fourth-place in five individual races so far this season had sunken in, she said, “No.”
“It’s almost a bit unrealistic, but when looking at the men to [France’s] Martin Fourcade, you know what is possible,” Dahlmeier said. “That is my great goal, to one day be able to have successes comparable to Martin.”
Leading Canada for the second-straight day in 34th, Julia Ransom finished in the same position she started in. After cleaning the first three stages, Ransom moved into 20th and 1:09.8 out of first, but two misses on the final standing put her in 34th at the finish (+2:33.5, 0+0+0+2).
“I was in the top 25ish mix for majority of the race, inching up to 20th before the last shooting bout,” Ransom wrote in an email. “Pursuits are my favourite format so I was actually pretty stoked to jump into the chaos. Everything was great both on the skis and in the range until the focus unravelled a little and I found myself in the penalty loop!
“The field is so tight right now that those mistakes were hard to recover from and get back into the top 30,” she continued. “I am a little bitter-sweet about a second 34th. Happy I’m still in the points but really itching to be in the top 30!”
Also for Canada, Rosanna Crawford improved from 58th to 49th (+4:06.4) with three penalties, all of which came in prone (2+1+0+0), and Megan Tandy did not finish after shooting seven penalties (1+1+3+2). The second U.S. woman in the race, Clare Egan missed six (2+0+1+3) to finish 56th (+5:32.4) after starting 53rd.
With three women and three men in Pokljuka, the U.S. will not field relay teams on Sunday. But they’ll be cheering on the Canadians, Dunklee said.
“I am stoked for our relay team tomorrow,” Ransom said of teaming up with Sarah Beaudry, Crawford and Tandy. “I think we have a great opportunity on our hands and with a little luck, all four of us girls will have solid performances.”
The men’s 4 x 7.5 k starts at 5:15 a.m. EST, and the women’s 4 x 6 starts at 8:30 EST on Sunday. (Stream live at Eurovisionsports.tv).
US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee, an early starter in bib 9, racing to an early lead in Friday’s 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. She ended up 11th with clean shooting for a season best. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
For a good portion of Friday’s race, Susan Dunklee found herself in first place. Not fourth, not third, not even second. First.
The ninth starter out of the gate in the women’s 7.5-kilometer International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup sprint in Pokljuka, Slovenia, Dunklee cleaned the first of two shooting stages — prone — to put herself in second behind Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff, who was leading at the time by a mere 0.9 seconds.
Eckhoff started seventh.
Then there was Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen, in bib 18, who cleaned the first stage as well on a day with little to no wind and took the lead by 3.4 seconds over Eckhoff. But let’s get back to Dunklee.
The standing stage brought a miss for Eckhoff. That sent her to the penalty lap and into second behind Russia’s Olga Podchufarova, who started third and cleaned both stages to take an early lead. Dunklee hit all five of her targets once again and bested Podchafarova’s time leaving the range, taking the lead and holding it on the final loop to the finish. Dunklee crossed the finish 7 seconds faster than the Russian and claimed first — which held up through the first batch of early finishers.
Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser came close, hitting all of her targets as well, but came up 5.7 seconds short of Dunklee’s time at the finish. Then there were Dunklee’s most-immediate threats — Germany’s Franziska Hildebrand (bib 15), Mäkäräinen, and a surprise challenger: France’s Justine Braisaz (bib 23).
Hildebrand was the first to bump Dunklee out of the top spot by 16.9 seconds, then Mäkäräinen finished 5.6 seconds faster than Hildebrand to move Dunklee into third. After that, Braisaz topped Mäkäräinen’s time by more than 19 seconds and knocked Dunklee off the podium.
Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier was faster still (by 3.5 seconds) and turned out to be the fastest of the day, with a final winning time of 19:51.7 minutes. Braisaz held onto second place, and Norway’s Marte Olsbu, who started 45th, claimed third (+21.3). All of the top three shot 10-for-10; Mäkäräinen in fourth did not, with a single standing penalty costing her the podium (0+1, +22.8). Then there was Hildebrand in fifth (0+0, +28.4), and Slovakia’s Anastasiya Kuzmina in sixth (0+0, +30.7), ahead of the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalova in seventh (0+1, +39.4) and Eva Puskarcikova in eighth (0+0, +39.8), France’s Celia Aymonier in ninth (0+1, +40.8), Germany’s Miriam Gössner in 10th (0+1, +42.8), and Dunklee in 11th (0+0, +45.3).
France’s Justine Braisaz (r) racing to second in the women’s 7.5 k sprint on Friday at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. American Susan Dunklee (l) finished 11th after initially leading at the finish. (Photo: IBU)
Of the top 15 finishers, all of them cleaned the first prone stage and had one penalty or less. Those with the standing penalty were the minority: 11 out of the 15 hit every target.
So on a day with ideal shooting and racing conditions, Dunklee excelled — posting the second- and third-fastest overall shooting and range times of 105 finishers — but so did several others. Dunklee’s course time ranked 29th overall and she slowed on the final loop with the 48th-ranked third-loop time.
Regardless, 11th was her best result this season. But afterward, Dunklee didn’t really want to talk about the race. Instead, she used an email correspondence with FasterSkier as an opportunity to vocalize her thoughts on the McLaren report, the second part of which was released a couple hours before the women’s race on Friday.
“We raced a World Cup today, but that is completely insignificant compared to the news that came out in the McLaren report,” Dunklee wrote. “Today is a sad, sad day for our international biathlon community and the global Olympic movement. We face stunning revelations of systematic doping within our community. I respect my body and I respect my competitors and that is why I compete clean. Today we must all speak up and demand the International Olympic Committee [IOC] and International Federations to take a powerful stance for clean sport.”
Asked specifically what actions she thinks the IBU should take, Dunklee added that it should start with cooperating with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
“For clean sport to work, the IBU has a responsibility to work with and support WADA,” she wrote. “Currently the IBU is not in compliance with the WADA code after awarding Tyumen, Russia the World Championships for 2021. This is very concerning to many of us biathletes on the World Cup.
“We need stiff penalties for doping violations and tampered-with samples,” Dunklee continued. “The McLaren report needs to be looked at very carefully and punishments handed out to officials, administrators, doctors and athletes who have cheated. Currently the IBU fines countries with multiple doping violations in an 18 month period a slap-on-the-wrist sort of fee. What things actually matter and would be more effective? Reducing World Cup start spots and banning Olympic participation for federations found to have systematic cheating.”
“We raced a World Cup today, but that is completely insignificant compared to the news that came out in the McLaren report. Today is a sad, sad day for our international biathlon community and the global Olympic movement.” — Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) after placing 11th in Friday’s IBU World Cup 7.5 k sprint
Dunklee wasn’t the only one with plenty to say about Russia. Her US Biathlon teammate Lowell Bailey, who placed 18th in the men’s sprint, weighed in on how McLaren’s findings should be handled as well.
Lowell Bailey (US Biathlon) racing to 18th on Friday in the men’s 10 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
“It is now time for the IBU to reconsider its decision to hold the Tyumen World Cup in 2017 and the IBU World Championships in Tyumen 2021,” he wrote in an email after Friday’s race. “I expect that the IBU will follow the instructions set forth by WADA and the IOC to halt all competitions in Russia. To do otherwise would show the world that our leadership, the IBU Executive Board, is unwilling to defend clean athletes, the WADA Code, and a fair field of play.
“The WADA Code expressly forbids International Federations, such as the IBU, from holding international competitions in any country whose national federation is non-compliant with the WADA Code,” Bailey, an IBU athlete representative, explained. “WADA declared Russia’s Anti-doping agency non-compliant in November of 2015.”
He added that he agrees with IOC President Thomas Bach, who recently stated that “any athlete who took part in such a sophisticated manipulation system” should be excluded from future Olympics “in whatever capacity.”
“It is a privilege and honor to compete for one’s own country on the Olympic stage,” Bailey added. “For biathletes, and many other winter athletes, it is the most sacred field of play. It takes decades of hard work and sacrifice just to qualify for an Olympic Games, let alone stand on the Olympic podium. Any athlete who is willing to cheat has no place in an Olympic stadium, ever.”
Asked how much feedback he has received, as the athlete rep, on McLaren’s reports about Russia, Bailey wrote, “The overwhelming majority of clean athletes within the IBU are disheartened and appalled at the degree and scope of this recent doping scandal. They expect the IBU to react decisively to both levy consequences for past doping infractions and to revise and enact new anti-doping policies that are much more severe than the current punishment guidelines and will serve to effectively deter further doping in the future.”
Three Canadians, Two U.S. Women Qualify for Pursuit
Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier racing to her second win of the season on Friday in the women’s 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. (Photo: IBU)
In terms of the women’s race itself, Dahlmeier was able to take the sprint win with the second-fastest final loop, which moved her from third leaving the range to first at the finish. Overall, her course time ranked fourth.
“I like Pokljuka … it’s very beautiful, the weather here is always very nice. I am also used to altitude because of the Alps,” Dahlmeier said, according to an IBU press release.
But in bib 31 out of more than 100, she wasn’t overly confident her lead would hold.
“Some really strong athletes started late, and I was not sure of my win until after the last athlete was at the finish line,” Dahlmeier added.
For 19-year-old Braisaz, it was her first World Cup podium (after placing fourth in a World Cup sprint in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, last season).
“I am really happy about the race today,” Braisaz told the IBU. “I didn’t believe my coaches when they told me I was in the lead. Before the competition, I didn’t want to leave my bed this morning, I didn’t feel confident.”
Even Olsbu was surprised with her podium.
“My goal this season was to fight for the podium, but I didn’t think I could make it before Christmas,” she told the IBU.
On Saturday, she’ll start third in the 10 k pursuit, 21 seconds behind Dahlmeier in first, and two seconds ahead of Mäkäräinen in fourth. Braisaz will head out second, 4 seconds after Dahlmeier.
“It will be a good fight,” Olsbu predicted. “Kaisa starting right behind me, this will be very difficult.”
Aside from Dunklee, another North American had her best result of the season so far, with Biathlon Canada’s Julia Ransom placing 34th (+1:32.8) with clean shooting.
“The course is right up my alley with lots of transitions and fast downhills, and the range is usually pretty calm making for lots of clean shooting across the board,” Ransom explained in an email.
“Östersund was a bit of a mixed bag,” she wrote of last week’s World Cup. “After an abysmal relay performance from myself, I had a great race in the sprint but unfortunately we missed the skis. The pursuit was good on the ski side but a little rough on the shooting side. That is biathlon I suppose! On a whole, I think the team was looking forward to moving on and starting fresh. My goal of top 20’s and top 15’s still remain and I hope to pick up some momentum towards achieving that.”
While she was satisfied with her result on Friday, Ransom added that she had hoped for top 30. Her overall course time ranked 57th.
“After analyzing today, I am going to focus on picking up those extra seconds to move up (hopefully to top 20!)” she wrote.
Canada’s Megan Tandy also finished in the top 60 to qualify for the pursuit in 49th (+1:58.5) with a single standing penalty (0+1), as did American Clare Egan in 53rd (+2:08) with two standing penalties, and Canada’s Rosanna Crawford in 58th (+2:19.6) with three misses (2+1).
Canada’s Sarah Beaudry finished 75th (+2:58.2) with clean shooting (0+0). Joanne Reid (US Biathlon) was 85th (+3:16.8) with four penalties (3+1).
Matt Gelso (SVSEF) topping the SuperTour podium for the second-straight day in West Yellowstone, Mont. Joining him on Sunday’s 15 k classic podium: CGRP’s Ben Lustgarten (l) in second and APU’s Scott Patterson (r) in third.
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.
(Note: This Rundown has been updated to include comments from U.S. Nordic Combined’s Bryan Fletcher, who placed ninth on Sunday at the World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway.)
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U.S. SuperTour opener in West Yellowstone: 10/15 k classic
Matt Gelso made the case that he can win any discipline and format when it comes to cross-country skiing, topping the SuperTour podium for the second-straight day of the circuit’s opening weekend in West Yellowstone, Mont. Gelso, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) Gold Team, won the men’s 15-kilometer classic individual start in 42:57. He finished 32.2 seconds ahead of Ben Lustgarten of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) in second, and Scott Patterson, of Alaska Pacific University (APU), clocked in 1:16.8 back in third.
In the women’s 10 k classic, Liz Guiney (CGRP) tallied the distance victory in 33:52.8. Katharine Ogden, of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) and U.S. Ski Team D-team, finished 7.7 seconds back in second place, while Craftsbury put two on the podium with Kaitlynn Miller in third (+28.4).
Nordic Combined World Cup in Lillehammer: Two individual comps and a relay
German winner Eric Frenzel (c) with teammate Björn Kircheisen (l) in second and Norway’s Jørgen Graabak (r) in third on Day 3 of the Nordic Combined World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined/Twitter)
[UPDATE) Twenty-second in the jump. Ninth at the finish. That’s a bit more like it for U.S. Nordic Combined’s Bryan Fletcher. The American jumped to 22nd on Sunday on the large hill in Lillehammer, Norway, then raced to ninth in the 10 k Gundersen start cross-country race. He finished 1:22 minutes behind race winner Eric Frenzel, who notched his second-straight individual victory and third win (including Friday’s team event) of the Nordic Combined World Cup’s long weekend in 25:13.6.
“Going into the race on Sunday I was confident that with a good race I could move up quite well,” Fletcher wrote in an email. “So I just set out to ski my own race and right from the start I was moving up. Top 10 was the goal and I was happy to accomplish that.”
Germany went 1-2 with Björn Kircheisen in second (+10.8) and Jørgen Graabak of Norway finished third (+23.4) on Day 3 in Lillehammer. Fletcher’s younger brother Taylor Fletcher placed 26th (+2:21.1), moving way up from 48th in the jump (with the fastest overall course time). Also for the U.S., Ben Berend placed 49th (+4:30), and Ben Loomis was 52nd (+5:16).
On Friday, the German teammates started off the three-day series with a victory in the first 4 x 5 k team event of the season. They teamed up with Kircheisen and Fabian Riessle for first, beating Norway by 31.5 seconds with a winning time of 49:34.9.
Norway’s squad, with Mikko Kokslien, Espen Andersen, Håvard Klemetsen, and Graabak, finished second without anyone else in sight. Austria took third (+1:23.7) with David Pommer, Mario Seidl, Wilhelm Denifl, and Phillipp Orter.
Finland placed fourth, Japan was fifth, France sixth, the Czech Republic seventh, Italy eighth, and the U.S. ninth (+4:19.1), ahead of Russia in 10th.
The order for the U.S. team was Bryan Fletcher, Berend, Loomis, and Taylor Fletcher. They rose as high as sixth during Bryan’s first leg, but dropped to eighth and finally ninth.
On Saturday, in the individual normal hill/10 k competition, Frenzel overtook Rydzek for the win in 24:35. Rydzek started the day by winning the jump, and Frenzel ranked fourth heading into the 10 k Gundersen start. Frenzel overcame a 24-second deficit at the start to pass Rydzek and beat him by 15 seconds at the finish. Germany ended up sweeping the podium with Riessle in third (+25.8), after Riessle improved from 11th at the start with the second-fastest course time.
Also on Saturday, Taylor Fletcher led the Americans in 26th (+1:51.2) after jumping to 44th and starting 2:02 minutes back from Rydzek. Fletcher skied the ninth-fastest course time.
Bryan improved from 43rd at the start to 32nd (+2:32.9), Loomis ended up 43rd (+5:02.6) and Berend 44th (+5:33.4).
“Going into this weekend I was feeling good and had some solid jumps in training so I knew that I was capable of a decent performance,” Bryan wrote on Sunday. “However, I struggle to put all the pieces together through the weekend. The team event was a good performance on my part and it was fun to ski with our young guys too. In Saturday’s event, I was close but had a rather unusual race in which I just couldn’t get going and fell off the pace quickly. Sunday however it all came together with a decent jump and race to finish 9th. This is more indicative of my true level at the moment so I was happy to finally fall into form.
“This is definitely a result that I was hoping for in this period,” he continued. “I would like to finish in the top 10 consistently this year and it was a bit of a shaky start but I am starting to find the rhythm now. I hope to continue this momentum in Ramsau.”
Lowell Bailey came oh-so-close to fourth place on Sunday. Just two fewer misses and he could’ve been in the hunt, but that’s how biathlon goes.
US Biathlon’s top man so far this season, Bailey started 13th in the IBU World Cup 12.5 k pursuit on Sunday in Östersund, Sweden, and by the first prone stage, he was up to seventh with clean shooting. Two-and-a-half kilometers later, he was back in the range and shooting without a miss again. Bailey headed out on his third loop in fourth, and more or less held that position through the third shooting — cleaning yet again in standing.
Russia went 1-2 in the men’s 15 k pursuit on Sunday at the IBU World Cup in Ostersund, Sweden, with Anton Babikov (l) winning his first World Cup and Maxim Tsvetkov (r) placing second. (Photo: IBU)
But two misses on the final standing dropped him to ninth, and on the final loop, Bailey slipped six spots to 15th at the finish. With two penalties (0+0+0+2), Bailey finished 1:21.8 behind the winner, Russia’s Anton Babikov, who hit 19-of-20 targets en route to his first World Cup victory and podium. Russia took second place as well with Maxim Tsvetkov shooting clean (0+0+0+0) and finishing 10.5 seconds behind his teammate, and France’s Martin Fourcade pushed through four penalties (2+0+0+2) to place third (+15.2).
Fourcade started the day in first, after winning Saturday’s sprint, and lost the lead on the final stage, with two misses sending him to the penalty lap. On that last shooting, Babikov (the seventh starter) took control, and Tsvetkov (who started 11th) moved up from skiing in third for most of the race to second place.
Also for the U.S., Tim Burke placed 35th (+2:39.2) after starting 29th, with four penalties (0+1+2+1).
Canada’s Scott Gow finished 47th (+3:34.8) with three misses (0+0+2+1), Brendan Green was 50th (+3:45.5) wit five misses (1+3+0+1), and Macx Davies 51st (+3:54.6) with four penalties (0+0+2+2).
Gabriela Koukalová of the Czech Republic with her first-place prize after winning Sunday’s 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Ostersund, Sweden. (Photo: IBU)
In the women’s race, Gabriela Koukalová (formerly Soukalova, you’ll get used to it, we promise), took her third-place finish in Saturday’s sprint and catapulted herself into first on Sunday in the 10 k pursuit. Koukalova shot 19-for-20, missing just one on the first standing (0+0+1+0) to cross the finish line first, 8.4 seconds ahead of Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier.
While Koukalova, of the Czech Republic, took the win in 31:43.3, Dahlmeier placed second (after starting fourth) with two penalties (0+1+1+0). Italy’s Dorothea Wierer improved from 19th to third (+21.4) at the finish, with perfect shooting (0+0+0+0).
Switzerland’s Lena Häcki also cleaned for fourth (+36.3), after starting 12th.
The first out of the gate (the winner of Saturday’s sprint), France’s Marie Dorin Habert dropped to seventh, more than a minute and 15 seconds back, with six penalties (2+1+2+1).
American Susan Dunklee moved up to 22nd (+2:55.7) after starting 27th, despite five penalties (2+2+0+1).
Also for US Biathlon, Clare Egan improved to 30th (+3:35.4), up from 44th, with three misses (0+0+1+2).
Joanne Reid (US Biathlon) finished 47th (+4:59.6) with four misses (1+1+1+1), and Canada’s Julia Ransom finished 58th (+6:36.8) with eight misses (2+0+4+2).
Martin Johnsrud Sundby is the man to beat once again after winning the men’s 15-kilometer classic pursuit on Sunday in Lillehammer, Norway. The Norwegian started seventh and overcame a 50-second deficit to Sweden’s Calle Halfvarsson, the leader going into the final day of the mini tour. Halfvarsson dropped to fifth, while Sundby rose to first and brought another Norwegian Johannes Høsflot Klæbo to the top with him. Klæbo started sixth, 3 seconds ahead of Sundby, and placed second, 2.3 seconds behind him. Finland’s Matti Heikkinen took the final spot on the podium in third (+2.7), by 0.9 seconds over Norway’s Emil Iversen in fourth. Halfvarsson was 6.3 seconds back in fifth, his Swedish teammate Marcus Hellner sixth (+6.8), Norway’s Pål Golberg and Finn Hågen Krogh seventh (+9.9) and eighth (+15.0), respectively, and Canada’s Alex Harvey ninth (+16.2), ahead of Finland’s Iivo Niskanen in 10th (+52.0)
Canada had two in the points with Devon Kershaw rising from 43rd to 27th (+2:08.5). Len Valjas placed 48th (+3.44), Graeme Killick was 53rd (+3:53.9), Knute Johnsgaard 72nd (+6:20.3), Bob Thompson 81st (+8:16.3), Andy Shields 83rd (+9:57.3).
For the U.S., Noah Hoffman rose to 36th (+2:39.5) after starting 48th, Erik Bjornsen finished 57th (+4:33.3), and Eric Packer finished out his first overseas mini tour in 68th (+5:45.1).
Heidi Weng (c) held onto her lead to win the Lillehammer mini-tour by 16.1 seconds over Norwegian teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (l). Finland’s Krista Parmakoski was third after losing a shot at second thanks to a crash. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)
Heidi Weng of Norway started the 10 k pursuit in first place, and that’s where she finished it, 16.1 seconds ahead of teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg. Finland’s Krista Parmakoski rounded out the podium in third, after skiing up from a fifth place starting position and passing Østberg near the end of the race but then crashing on a downhill and losing valuable seconds. Nevertheless her effort gave Parmakoski the fastest ski time of the day.
Jessie Diggins, who started the race in third position after winning yesterday’s 5 k skate, made an early bid to ski with Østberg but ultimately lost ground, ending eighth, +1:39.4.
Instead it was Marit Bjørgen who took fourth, +57.5. Stina Nilsson of Sweden was one of the biggest movers of the day, skiing from 27th at the start all the way up to fifth, +1:26.1.
Following Diggins, Sadie Bjornsen finished 11th, +1:51.2. The American had started in a pack of skiers and stayed there for most of the race. Liz Stephen was 38th (+3:31.8), and Rosie Brennan and Caitlin Patterson 41st (+3:50.2) and 42nd (+3:56.8). Ida Sargent rounded out the U.S. results in 57th (+5:39.7).
Emily Nishikawa led the Canadians in 46th (+4:08.5), with Cendrine Browne and Dahria Beatty 52nd (+4:41.5) and 59th (+6:08.2).
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![Germany's mixed relay team, (from left to right) with Vanessa Hinz, Laura Dahlmeier, Arnd Peiffer, and Simon Schempp, after winning the first gold of 2017 IBU World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/jpg.jpeg")
![US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee ahead of Sweden’s Chardine Sloof during the second leg in the women’s 4 x 6 k relay at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image2-5.png")
![US Biathlon’s Clare Egan on the course skiing the opening leg of the women’s 4 x 6 k relay at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: IBU/Christian Manzoni)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image1-5.png")
![From left to right: Germany’s Vanessa Hinz, Maren Hammerschmidt, Franziska Hildebrand and Laura Dahlmeier celebrate their victory in the women’s 4 x 6 k women’s relay at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo IBU/Christian Manzoni)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image3-4.png")
![Biathlon Canada’s Megan Tandy (center, bib 11) skiing the opening leg of the women’s 4 x 6 k relay for the 2017 IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: IBU/Christian Manzoni)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image5-1.png")
![Germany’s Nadine Horchler celebrates her first career victory in the women’s 12.5-k mass start on Saturday at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy, after distancing herself from teammate Laura Dahlmeier (yellow bib) and the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová (far left). (Photo: IBU/Christian Manzoni)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image1-4-e1485035336241.png")
![US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee (bib 17, orange & purple suit) skiing past the crowded stands at the start of the women’s 12.5 k mass start at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: IBU/Christian Manzoni)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image2-4-e1485035465150.png")
![Emma Lunder (Biathlon Canada) racing in last weekend's IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, where she placed 89th. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Lunder14012017cm15.jpg")
![Emma Lunder (Biathlon Canada) on course during the women's 15 k individual at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: ARD broadcast screenshot)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Lunder-on-course.jpg")
![Canada’s Emma Lunder leaving the range en route to second place in the IBU Cup 7.5 k sprint last season in December 2015 in Canmore, Alberta. (Photo: Pam Doyle)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/EmmaLunder-skis_pamdoyle-ww.jpg")
![Biathlon Canada's Emma Lunder finishing 21st for her career-best IBU World Cup result on Thursday at the women's 15 k individual (her first time racing that distance) in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: ARD broadcast screenshot)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Lunder-big.jpg")
![Germany's Laura Dahlmeier racing to her 11th IBU World Cup win on Thursday in the women's 15 k individual in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/jpg.jpeg")
![Italy's Alexia Runggaldier celebrating her first IBU World Cup podium in third on Thursday at the women's 15 k individual in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/jpg-1.jpeg")
![Megan Tandy (Biathlon Canada) during her final shooting stage of the women's 15 k individual on Thursday at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Tandy-last-shooting-1.jpg")
![Joanne Reid (US Biathlon) racing to 60th in the women's 15 k individual on Thursday at the IBU World Cup in Antholz, Italy. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Reid19012017cm79.jpg")
![Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen celebrates her victory in the women’s 10 k pursuit at the 2017 World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image1-3.jpg")
![The podium of the women’s 10 k pursuit at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, with (left to right) Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová in second, Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen in first, and France’s Marie Dorin Habert in third place. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image2.jpg")
![American Susan Dunklee on the course in the women’s pursuit at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image3-3.png")
![Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen on her way to a win in Saturday's IBU World Cup women’s 7.5 k sprint in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image1.jpg")
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![The women's freestyle-sprint prologue podium on Thursday, the final day of 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Canada's Dahria Beatty (AWCA/NST U25 Team) took first, Hannah Halvorsen (Sugar Bowl Academy/USST) second, and Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg) third.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/IMG_8925-e1484318336142.jpg")
![The German women's 4 x 6 k relay team, with (from left to right) Vanessa Hinz, Maren Hammerschmidt, Franziska Preuss, and Laura Dahlmeier after winning Thursday's IBU World Cup at home in Ruhpolding, Germany. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/bzvbgtr57buyoasn1mf4.jpeg")
![The men's classic sprint podium at 2017 U.S. nationals at Soldier Hollow on Sunday: with winner Kevin Bolger (c) of the University of Utah, runner-up Moritz Madlener (l) of the University of Denver, and Jess Cockney (r) of the Canadian World Cup B-team in third.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/IMG_6187.jpg")
![The women's classic sprint podium at 2017 U.S. nationals on Sunday at Soldier Hollow: with winner Jennie Bender (c) of the Bridger Ski Foundation, runner-up Becca Rorabaugh (l) of Alaska Pacific University, and Kaitlynn Miller (r) of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project in third.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/IMG_6202-e1483928699674.jpg")
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![American Jessie Diggins chasing Norway's Ingvild Flugstad Østberg on the final climb of the 2017 Tour de Ski up the Alpe Cermis in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Østberg finished the Tour in fourth and Diggins fifth, tying a best-ever mark for the U.S., set in 2015 by Liz Stephen. (Photo: ZDF screenshot)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/Diggins-chasing-Oestberg.jpg")
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![Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová (bib 1, first place) and her teammate Eva Puskarčiková (bib 12, third place) celebrate at the finish of the women’s 12.5 k mass start on Sunday at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/image1-2-2.png")
![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)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/15625751_1355052184537050_4871656724869834955_o.jpg")
![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)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/Cz9kGZ9XgAEuAGW.jpg")
![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)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/Cz92zMFXEAE8D0E.jpg")
![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)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/pskpj8bjzd1u9byuqbcf.jpeg")
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![Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) after crossing the finish first through 23 finishers in the women's 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. She went on to place third for her first podium of the season and the third of her career.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/Dunklee-finish-2.jpg")
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![The French men's relay team after their IBU World Cup win on Sunday in Pokljuka, Slovenia, with (from left to right) Martin Fourcade, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Simon Desthieux, and Jean-Guillaume Béatrix. They beat Russia by 15.7 seconds for the win. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/uakzbyolib8zae682x5w.jpeg")
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![Lucas Chanavat of France had the fastest men's qualifying time in the Davos World Cup freestyle sprint on Sunday.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/IMGP0313-2.png")
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![Susan Dunklee being hoisted up by her US Biathlon support team at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia, after tying her career-best result in a pursuit. Dunklee placed fifth on Saturday for a season best as well. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/Dunklee10122016cm145.jpg")
![Norway's Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (c) won her first World Cup race of the season on Saturday in the 15 k freestyle individual start in Davos, Switzerland. Joining her on the podium: Norway's Heidi Weng (l) in second and Finland's Krista Parmakoski (r) in third.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/IMGP9869.jpg")
![Susan Dunklee (front) going head to head with Germany's Laura Dahlmeier (1), Austria's Lisa Theresa Hauser (12), and France's Marie Dorin Habert (left) in the women's 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/Dunklee10122016cm128-1.jpg")
![Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) finishing fifth in Saturday's 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. "I felt pretty flooded," she said of her finish. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/Dunklee10122016cm141-1.jpg")
![The women's 10 k pursuit podium at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia, with German winner Laura Dahlmeier (c), Finnish runner-up Kaisa Mäkäräinen (l) and third-place finisher Eva Puskarčíková of the Czech Republic. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/spr6w2ztwoqjerforftu-1.jpeg")
![US Biathlon's Susan Dunklee, an early starter in bib 9, racing to an early lead in Friday's 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. She ended up 11th with clean shooting for a season best. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/Dunklee09122016cm48.jpg")
![France's Justine Braisaz (r) racing to second in the women's 7.5 k sprint on Friday at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. American Susan Dunklee (l) finished 11th after initially leading at the finish. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/qfi3dyfkxssr7ai2ffin.jpeg")
![Lowell Bailey (US Biathlon) racing to 18th on Friday in the men's 10 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/Bailey09122016cm127.jpg")
![Germany's Laura Dahlmeier racing to her second win of the season on Friday in the women's 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/psp1yxoleeakq1tvmdu6.jpeg")
![Matt Gelso (SVSEF) topping the SuperTour podium for the second-straight day on Sunday in West Yellowstone, Mont. Joining him on Sunday's 15 k classic podium: CGRP's Ben Lustgarten (l) in second and APU's Scott Patterson (r) in third.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/IMG_3263.jpg")
![German winner Eric Frenzel (c) with teammate Björn Kircheisen (l) in second and Norway's Jørgen Graabak (r) in third on Day 3 of the Nordic Combined World Cup in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: FIS Nordic Combined/Twitter)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/Cy1jj_QWIAEM0ZQ.jpg")
![Russia went 1-2 in the men's 15 k pursuit on Sunday at the IBU World Cup in Ostersund, Sweden, with Anton Babikov (l) winning his first World Cup and Maxim Tsvetkov (r) placing second. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/babikov-and-tsvetkov.jpg")
![Gabriela Koukalová of the Czech Republic with her first-place prize after winning Sunday's 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Ostersund, Sweden. (Photo: IBU)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/lc7yhcmuaufehr0dwcdm.jpeg")
![Heidi Weng (c) held onto her lead to win the Lillehammer mini-tour by 16.1 seconds over Norwegian teammate Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (l). Finland's Krista Parmakoski was third after losing a shot at second thanks to a crash. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/12/Ostberg-Weng-Parmakoski.jpeg")