Devon and Nat return to recap the last three stages of this year’s Tour de Ski, including the climb up the Alpe Cermis and some epic American and Canadian performances.
The World Cup circuit is taking a break, so we’ll try to have a mailbag episode in the next week. Email us questions and comments at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support Fasterskier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com.
Stage 5 of the 2023 Tour de Ski was a sprint, but not a “normal” sprint. Typically, sprint races are won by pure sprinters, those who control the pace of heats, and rely on mad dashes in the homestretch to secure victory. Unlike a typical World Cup sprint race, Val di Fiemme’s sprint stage was a race that was bound to affect the overall Tour de Ski standings: any distance skier who could advance to the later heats would be sure to rise in the ranks with just two more stages remaining. A number of significant sprint specialists were absent from the Tour de Ski startlist, and other skiers normally known for distance prowess were vying for sprint advancement. Those skiers would use the tools available to them to make that possible. Predictably, the pacing was fast, and the tactics merciless. This was not a sprint that could be taken: this was a sprint that would be earned.
A number of those all-arounders advanced to the final, including Finland’s Krista Parmakoski who set a brutal pace in both her quarterfinal and semifinal heats. The final podium was pure Norwegian red: Lotta Udnes Weng in first, her twin sister Tiril Udnes Weng second, and Myhrvold third.
Canadians in the final standings included Catherine Stewart-Jones who qualified 28th, but did not advance beyond her quarterfinal (finishing 29th), and Dahria Beatty 34th.
Americans failed to advance to the final, but had fine showings, nonetheless. With a hard-fought 10th place finish, Rosie Brennan showed that her form is returning to the world-challenging status that’s become her norm in recent seasons. Week after week on the World Cup tour, Brennan delivers a level of consistency that rivals that of any American skier from the present, or the past. While this week’s Sprint in Val di Fiemme was not a stand-out result for her, it was an indication that Brennan is once again rounding into form, and preparing herself to contend in races—both sprint and distance—in the remainder of the World Cup season.
“I was very happy to make the semi finals today,” Brennan said. “Sprinting has been such a struggle for me this year, so it felt good to make a small step forward. There isn’t much snow here and it’s warm so the tracks were fast and breaking down, but everything held on just enough and my skis were good. I lacked the punch I needed to make the final, but any step forward is all you can ask for. There is still a lot left in the Tour, so I’m still just trying to focus one day at a time and take things as they come. ”
Behind Brennan’s 10th place finish, American finishers included Julia Kern 14th, Jessie Diggins 21st, Alayna Sonnesyn 38th , and Sophia Laukli 44th
Val di Fiemme offers a rolling sprint course with very little time for recovery. An initial uphill is followed by a rolling middle section. Later in the loop, the racers navigate a tight, tactically significant lefthand bend, a narrow spot in the course where speed can be gained, or lost. A wax-revealing downhill needs to be timed to create a slingshot effect over the final small rise.
With a number of Team Sweden’s sprint specialists sitting out the Tour de Ski, the Women’s field would be marked by racing that was likely to affect the overall standings (with a 60 second bonus for the winner). Distance skiers had great motivation to attempt to reach the later heats, meaning that the heats would be fast: no sprinters jockeying for position. It would come as no surprise that sprinters would be a bit tired after four challenging stages of Tour de Ski racing, and race strategy was dictated by the pace of the distance skiers.
The quarterfinals turned into tests of sustained speed. Heat times were incredibly fast, with blistering paces set by Parmakoski, Kerttu Niskanen (FIN), Eva Urevec (SLO), and current Tour de Ski leader Frida Karlsson (SWE). The sprinters appeared surprised by the early pace, with specialists like Dahlqvist and Faendrich finding themselves needing to accelerate late in their quarterfinal heats in order to advance. But those efforts took too much out of both of them, and neither would advance beyond the semifinals.
In her quarterfinal heat, Diggins found herself cut off at the narrow lefthand turn, and was unable to recover her speed by the finish. she would finish fourth in her quarterfinal. Julia Kern avoided that traffic jam in the same heat, but was only able to finish third. Neither would advance to the semifinals.
Semifinal 1 pitted the season’s dominant sprinter (Faehndrich) against four of the main TDS contenders: Parmakoski, Katherina Hennig (GER), L. Weng, and T.Weng. Parmakoski returned to her original strategy, driving the pace at the front and stringing out the semifinal field. Appearing exhausted, Faehndrich dangled off the back early on, and would not be a factor in the outcome of the heat. T. Weng and Hennig both caught Parmakoski in the finishing straight, with Brennan finishing fifth, and Faehndrich sixth.
Semifinal 2 was the days first race that was not run all-out, but stayed tightly grouped for most of the lap, seemingly playing to the advantage of Dahlqvist. Tereza Beranova (CZE) charged forward at the sharp left turn, but did not manage to gap the field. Finishing lanes became totally clogged behind her at the finish with Anna Dyvik (SWE) and Dahlqvist literally having nowhere to go. Mathilde Myhrvold (NOR) found an unobstructed lane, sprinting forward to win the semifinal, followed across the line by Beranova.
The women’s final involved Parmakoski, Myhrvold, Beranova, T. Weng, L. Weng, Hennig. Parmakoski had already succeeded in gaining time on Karlsson, who failed to advance beyond the quarterfinal. Her goals accomplished on the day, she seemed content to let the more others set the pace in the final. Hennig, on the other hand, seemed determined to make the other racers work for the win: she drove the pace through the rolling middle of the course, marked comfortably by T. Weng. Beranova lingered at the rear with L. Weng.
Racers crowded through the notoriously tight left-hander. Hennig exited in the lead, but both T. Weng and L. Weng executed the hill slingshot to perfection, passing Hennig in the finishing straight where she also lost the battle with Myhrvold for third.
Norwegians—and Twin sisters—atop the Tour de Ski podium. Lotta Udnes Weng with the win, followed by her twin sister, T. Weng, and Myhrvold in third. In a post-race interview, Lotta Weng commented on her victory: “We planned to let the other girls do the job, and we can just chill behind them.The waxers are doing a great job,” she continued. “That makes it easy for us.”
The overall Tour de Ski standings are tightening. Karlsson continues to lead, though with a smaller the margin over T. Weng, Parmakoski, and L. Weng. Brennan moves into 7th overall with two stages remaining.
Women’s Classic Sprint RESULTS
The FIS World Cup tour returned from a two-week holiday break, reconvening in Val Mustair, Switzerland for Stage 1 of the 17th Tour de Ski. A daunting mid-season challenge, the Tour de Ski (TDS) consists of seven stages contested over nine exhausting days, concluding next Sunday atop the Alpe di Cermis in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
At the start of this year’s tour, all eyes were on Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo (NOR), who finds himself in a prolonged battle for FIS World Cup points with Norwegian countryman, Paal Golberg. The Overall Crystal Globe competition is likely to be decided by their performances in the Tour de Ski, and today’s Freestyle Sprint stage may have been a taste of coming attractions. Showing speed and tactics that his rivals could not match, Klaebo coasted to the win in Val Mustair, followed by Federico Pellegrino (ITA) and Sindre Bjoernstad Skar (NOR).
Americans experienced results both good and bad: Ben Ogden qualified a remarkable 4th, but would suffer a broken pole at the very start of his quarterfinal and finish the day in 13th. JC Schoonmaker was the 21st qualifier, but would finish 6th in his quarterfinal and settle for 26th on the day. American results in qualifying also included Gus Schumaker 50th, Zak Ketterson 59th, Finn O’Connell 67th, Kevin Bolger 74th, Hunter Wonders, 80th, Scott Patterson, 94th.
Ogden offered an in-depth description of that broken pole, and the psychological process of re-grouping during a sprint race: “Today when I broke that early pole all I was thinking was how to catch up. I knew that my strength was in the flatter V2 before the steep climb, so I really just pinned it immediately after getting a new pole and surprised myself with how quickly I could get back to where I wanted to be amongst the other guys. My brain then went pretty quickly to damage control as I tried to evaluate how much energy I had used there. I was lucky to be feeling strong today and it didn’t really affect me too much. I think I was a little flustered and not exactly where I needed to be in the last minute or so, so that cost me a spot in the semi final, but I know that this could have happened regardless of the pole incident. It can be nice for the head to blame it on the pole, but overall it was just another learning experience out there and hopefully next time I can be in a better position and get through.”
Canadian Graham Ritchie qualified 14th, ultimately finishing the day in 21st, ahead of countrymen Antoine Cyr 32nd, Russell Kennedy 33rd, Olivier Léveillé 55th, Sam Hendry 85th, and Remi Drolet 91st.
In the Women’s field, the Stage 1 Sprint seemed most likely to be won by a sprint specialist while TDS contenders vied for finishing positions that would place them near the head of the field in Sunday’s 10 k Pursuit. The day played out much that way (though with a few surprising developments) as World Cup Sprint Leader, Nadine Faehndrich (SUI), took the win, followed by Maja Dahlqvist (SWE), and Lotta Udnes Weng (NOR).
Julia Kern (qualifying 6th) and Rosie Brennan (qualifying 14th) would’ve had high hopes for the day, but Kern tumbled in a rutted corner to finish sixth in her semifinal (finishing 11th on the day), while Brennan faded in her quarterfinal and failed to advance, ending the day in 14th. Other American qualifying places included Alayna Sonnesyn 38th, and Sophia Laukli 69th.
Among Canadians in qualifying, Katherine Stewart-Jones finished 48th, followed by Dahria Beatty 56th, and Lillian Gagnon 66th.
Naturally, the surprising story in qualifying was the performance of Jessie Diggins, whose qualifying time was only fast enough for 40th place (failing to qualify for the quarterfinal heats). Via her Facebook account, Diggins later commented on her own performance, saying, “Sometimes your body feels great and your brain is ready and it just doesn’t work out—and that’s ok. The only things that’s not ok is to give up.” That’s quintessential Diggins. She will enter Stage 2 in a position well behind her main rivals, but with racing abilities like those Diggins has so often shown, her chances to contend for the overall TDS crown are likely to improve with each passing kilometer.
Sprint Quarterfinals are sometimes treated as a bit of an afterthought in typical race reporting, but in Val Mustair, much of the action that’s likely to affect the week’s results occurred in the quarterfinals. Sweden’s Frida Karlsson—a serious contender for the TDS crown—advanced out of a fast quarterfinal in which she drove the pace. That speed in Karlsson’s heat—and a high-quality field in the second quarterfinal—forced Kern to employ a different strategy than she might normally undertake, leading out the first lap ahead of L. Weng and Dahlqvist. The strategy seemed to be working, as Kern distanced Dahlqvist on the uphill. Even so, Dahlqvist showed her class by attacking over the top, and scorching the downhill to win the heat. Kern held on for second, narrowly ahead of L. Weng in third (who would claim a lucky loser spot).
Brennan dangled off the back of the pack at the start of quarterfinal 5, but worked her way back through the field at the end of lap one. Looking for space to pass, she took a very wide line up the hill, advancing two places into third, a position she was unable to improve before the finish. Her finishing time was not fast enough to claim a lucky loser spot. Brennan would end the day in 11th.
Throughout the heats, Faehndrich continued dancing up the hill, showing a top speed that none of the others possessed. L. Weng and Karlsson claimed lucky loser spots in their semifinal, which could prove to be truly significant in the week long tour standings.
The sprint final included Karlsson, Maja Dahlquist (SWE), L. Weng, T. Weng, Faehndrich, and World Cup distance leader Anne Kjersti Kalvaa (NOR). Having already shown that she is the fastest skier on the Val Mustair course, Faehndrich went straight to the lead, immediately gapping the field on the first hill. She navigated the subsequent downhill poorly, allowing the field to reel her in as they passed through the stadium at the end of lap 1. But the second time up the hill was a replay of the first, with Faehndrich’s higher tempo allowing her to gap the field and stay away through the finish. Dahlqvist surged in the finishing straight to push L. Weng down into third.
With the Women’s Stage 1 Sprint concluded, the TDS overall contenders are now identifiable: T. Weng, L. Weng, Kalvaa, and Karlsson . . . with Americans Diggins and Brennan poised to strike. Faehndrich has now won consecutive World Cup sprint events in her home country and in front of Swiss fans. “At the moment, it’s like a dream,” she said.
The Val Mustair sprint venue consists of a two lap course with a significant mid-lap uphill, followed by a challenging, S-turn downhill that empties into the finishing straightaway. It was those S-turns that would prove significant in the day’s strategy, and in the mastery Klaebo displayed in his course management. His choice to set up the turns far wider than his rivals (carrying far more speed and avoiding ruts that worried so many racers) was key to his cruising to ultimate victory.
Klaebo may be the world’s premier sprinter; nonetheless, he found himself overtaken in the finishing stretch two weekends ago by his longtime rival, Federico Pellegrino (ITA) who appears to be drawing much positive energy from the recent birth of his first child. Always one who seems to ski and race with joy, Pellegrino is riding a wave of optimism and success that saw him challenging Klaebo in the Stage 1 Sprint at Val Mustair. The stage was set for an excellent Sprint competition.
As in the women’s sprints, the Men’s quarterfinals offered insight into the way the day would go, and demonstrated the ease and confidence with which Klaebo seemingly races. Boxed out on the uphill where he would usually make his move (and caught behind a stumbling Chanavat who stepped on his own pole, but managed to recover), Klaebo bided his time, then incorporated an entirely different line on the curving final downhill. He set up the turn so wide that it looked as if he was exiting the race course . . . only to re-set on the second half of the S, rocketing past all other racers. He entered the finishing straight with a commanding lead that he would hold easily through the finish.
The day’s second quarterfinal also proved significant, as Ogden—the fourth qualifier—suffered a broken pole in just the first few meters of racing. Coaches were on hand to deliver a quick replacement, but Ogden would spend a great deal of energy clawing his way back to the field before the first climb. Continuing to improve with each passing week, Ogden’s form may be at a career high point, but the effort of chasing no doubt depleted his finishing sprint, and Ogden would fail to advance out of his quarterfinal, finishing the day in 13th.
Reached for comment after his day of racing, Ogden offered a new American perspective on his expectations—and occasional frustrations—in World Cup racing. “There are minutes and hours after these races where all you can think about is what could have been,” he said. “But then when you take a step back it’s easy to put things into perspective and remember that it wasn’t more than two years ago when skiing in a world cup heat was a reach-goal of mine. So, the bottom line is at the moment, yes, immensely frustrating but in the big picture, I am happy with where I’m at as an athlete, and I’m stoked for every opportunity over here. ”
Klaebo’s semifinal included Chanavat, Renaud Jay (FRA), Sindre Bjoernstad Skar (NOR), and Pellegrino. Despite that gathering of stars, Klaebo advanced easily, employing his wide-turn strategy and coasting to the finish line. Pellegrino came second, with Chanavat and Skar advancing as lucky losers. A sprint final showdown between Klaebo and Golberg was not to materialize, as Golberg appeared a bit fatigued—or even a bit disinterested—in his semifinal, allowing Michal Novak (CZE) and Richard Jouve (FRA) to advance.
The problem to solve in every World Cup sprint final remains the same: what to do about Klaebo? He has tremendous speed, he’s tactically brilliant, and he’s supremely confident. Perhaps the only strategy is to try to run him off his feet. Good luck with that . . .
The men’s sprint final involved Klaebo, Jouve, Pellegrino, Skar, Novak, and Chanavat. From the gun, the tall Frenchman went straight to the front, perhaps determined to make the pace so fast that a long day of sprinting would finally tire Klaebo. Chanavat led to the hill, where Klaebo’s wider line allowed him to float to the front in the company of Pellegrino who drove his speed over the top of the rise and into the lead. Again, Klaebo chose the widest line through the corners, maintaining speed and gliding through to the front. The second time up the hill he simply turned on the after-burners, and the race was all but over. His sinuous downhill line carried him to the finishing straight which he was able to ease across with no worry of being caught. Pellegrino collected second, ahead of Skar.
Commenting in a post-race interview on the elevation of Val Mustair, Klaebo remarked, “Sprinting here at 1600 meters is really tough . . . I’m pretty glad I made the decision to stay in Davos for Christmas.”
Klaebo leads the Tour de Ski after Stage 1, ahead of his main rival, Golberg, who earned 10th place on the day. Stage 2 may reveal which of them was able to preserve their energy in the interest of a week-long battle that’s just getting started.
Racing at the Tour de Ski continues on Sunday in Val Mustair with Men’s and Women’s 10 k Classic Pursuits.
Tour de Sprint Stage 1 Freestyle Sprint Women’s Results
Tour de Sprint Stage 1 Freestyle Sprint Men’s Results
Just the other day, a guy walked into a local cross-country ski area where a women’s World Cup race broadcast was streaming. Another patron asked him who he thought would win? He didn’t know what the race was or who the favorite was. But without so much as the bat of an eye, he replied, “Weng”—The odds were in his favor.
Weng family members involved in World Cup skiing are a combination of cousins, sisters, twins: for those who follow cross-country racing, watching a women’s event may seem something like a Norwegian twist on the old Abbott and Costello baseball gag about “Who’s on First?” (if you haven’t seen this classic comedy routine, check it out. It’s held up remarkably well) with Bud Abbott’s made-up names all replaced with “Weng.”
Americans are accustomed to family names in sports. Baseball has many: the Perrys (Gaylord and Jim), and the Ripkens (Cal and Billy) are two of the more notable. Then there’s the Williams sisters in tennis, and the Staal brothers in hockey. But the closest American sports fans could come to the Weng dynasty would be if Cooper Manning strutted onto the football field and began slinging touchdowns like his brothers Peyton and Eli.
There is sibling dominance in other Nordic events. Biathlon has the Boe brothers and the Oeberg sisters. But none of them add up to the mathematical triumvirate like the Wengs.
Part of the Weng confusion is due to nomenclature—sometimes, the Weng’s full names are abbreviated by using first initials only; sometimes the first two initials; other times, the entire name is used. T. Weng is the same as T.U. Weng, which are both ways of identifying Tiril Udnes Weng. These differing templates can vary from race to race, making it seem as though there are new Wengs popping up out of the woodwork every weekend.
The confusion is also magnified by percentages and the Wengs’ proficiency. For instance, in the Lillehammer women’s 10-kilometer freestyle, 58 skiers lined up for the start. Three of them, or roughly 5 percent of the field were Wengs.
In most North American sports, the number of participants is large enough so that a few duplicate names don’t present much confusion. Siblings and relatives simply don’t compete against each other often enough to make things as muddled. But in Lillehammer, three Wengs finished within 20 seconds of each other; close enough to give fits to even the stoutest of play-by-play announcers.
The ubiquitous presence of Wengs can be daunting to sort out. I’ll try and prevent this from becoming something like Bubba’s recitation of how many ways there are to make shrimp in Forest Gump. So, here’s a primer on knowing your Wengs:
To the North American audience, the best known of the Wengs is Heidi. At 31 years of age, she has won an Olympic medal, multiple World Championship medals, and World Cup Crystal Globes. Heidi has a mind numbing 260 World Cup starts and she’s stood on the World Cup podium a whopping 104 times going back to 2009. No, that’s not a misprint—104 podiums! That’s more World Cup podiums than most of her competitors have races. She is currently ranked 15th in the overall World Cup standings.
Over the course of her career, Heid has shown remarkable consistency; however, the numbers clearly show that distance is her forte. Over the last five years she’s won only a handful of sprint points.
Heidi’s ski career was nurtured by her grandmother when the young Weng began skiing as a 3-year-old. Heidi is multi-talented, having also won the 2010 Norwegian trail running championship.
Heidi’s sister Merete also competed in cross country for Norway, finishing 29th in the 2013 national championships in the 30-kilometer classic. Fortunately, for those who have difficulty keeping the Weng’s identity straight, Merete does not compete at the World Cup level.
Next is Tiril Udnes Weng, Heidi’s cousin. Tiril is 26 years old and has raced the World Cup since 2015. She has 98 World cup starts with five podium performances, and she has won World Championship gold. Tiril has been on a tear lately, with four of her podium finishes coming this year leading to her current domination of the World Cup rankings. She is currently in first place in the overall World Cup points, second in distance, and first in sprint. She is proving to be quite the all-around skier showing excellent performance balance between sprint and distance events. Last year she finished 16th overall, so she has made a remarkable performance jump.
Then there is Lotta Udnes Weng who is Tiril’s twin sister. That would also make her 26 years old and also Heidi’s cousin. Her first World Cup race also came in 2015. She’s already amassed 81 World Cup starts, earning one World Cup podium. Lotta is currently 11th in the overall cup standings having moved up from 28th last year. Like her twin, she also shows good balance between distance and sprint events.
Given the Weng’s strength across all events, it’s a real possibility that this winter could present an all Weng podium. Though, as of now, bookmakers don’t appear to have set odds on that particular outcome.
So that’s the cheat sheet on knowing your Wengs. Think you now have the Weng lineup straightened out? Sorry to break the news to you, but lurking in the wings is Tora Roenneberg Weng, a17-year-old junior whose star is on the rise. If she makes it to the national team, then the possibility of an all-Weng relay team will exist. Wait for her to join the World Cup tour: then the real confusion could start.
This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and the A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com.
We’ve arrived at the final event of the 2021/22 World Cup Season and the second new event of the day. It was a fast and furious mixed team sprint in Falun, Sweden, happening just hours after the mixed team relay which ran in the morning. In the first iteration of this event, teams composed of one woman and one man raced six laps of a 1 k course each, making for 12 k of skiing total.
To keep things spicy, the last two teams in the exchange after the even-numbered laps 2 -10 were eliminated. So although seventeen teams started the competition, only seven made it to the finish. In order to limit the chaos, given the number of teams, there was no tagging in the exchange, just a finish line and a start line for the athletes to gauge themselves.
The atmosphere in the Lugnet Ski Stadium was festive as fans enjoyed the 45°F degree weather and sunshine. “I think this is very nice to be together with the men,” said Nadine Fähndrich of Switzerland, “it makes more team spirit between the men and the women.” She alluded to the feeling of both the athletes and the spectators during the mixed team relay in which Team USA I took the gold in an exciting race. “I’m excited for the [race] and to [enjoy] the atmosphere here,” she concluded.
With Team USA I taking the victory and Team USA II coming in 14th, the Americans did not enter a team in the mixed sprint event. Out of the seventeen teams that started, twelve nations were represented in the start list and only five nations made it to the finish.
The women started and as would be expected, Jonna Sundling skiing for Sweden I, was at the front. She was paired with Calle Halfvarsson who earned his first podium finish since 2018 in the 15 k freestyle on Saturday.
The first round of eliminations at 2 k took Estonia and France II out of the running. As Sundling concluded her second lap, she had created a +2.1 second gap and Halfvarsson seized this opportunity. Instead of waiting around for the rest of the field, he pushed hard and grew the gap to +3.84 seconds on his next 1 k lap. This same lap saw Benjamin Moser of Austria fly off the course on the corner descending into the stadium, taking himself and his teammate Teresa Stadlober out of the race. Latvia was also eliminated in that round.
Once Sweden I had made their move, it stuck. At 5 k they were +9.61 seconds ahead, at 7 k they were +22.2 ahead, at 11 k the gap was up to +26.84. After 23:05.91 of cumulative race time, Halfvarsson crossed the finish line waving a Swedish flag.
“It’s easy when I go with Jonna [Sundling],” he said to FIS after the race, “she is so fast, it’s no match.” For her part, Sundling said, “It was a little bit exciting before the race, how to ski, how should our tactic be… but it felt like we did a really good race and ended up first so it’s really fun.”
Rewinding a bit, the women’s third lap saw Fähndrich shoot off the course in the same fashion as Moser. Minutes later, Joni Maki of Finland I and Harald Østberg Amundsen of Norway I both went down on the corner entering the exchange area. A quick recovery by Amundsen ensured that his team stayed in the race but Maki and his partner Jasmi Joensuu were eliminated, along with Fähndrich and Janik Riebli for Switzerland.
The fourth round of elimination took out Slovenia and Finland II, though due to the tight nature of the eliminations, the women were starting unless it was clearly evident that they were one of the last two. Thus we saw Anamarija Lampic (SLO) battling Tiril Undes Weng of Norway II for second, even though Slovenia had already been eliminated.
Entering the 10th exchange and the fifth elimination, Sweden I was 19 seconds ahead, with Norway I and II duking it out behind. This meant that it was the twins, Tiril and Lotta Udnes Weng battling each other for their final lap.
With Canada II and France I eliminated, the men took off for their sixth and final lap. Amundsen of Norway I was just ahead of Martin Nyenget of Norway II, though entering the stadium Nyenget used the slip stream to move in front of his compatriot. With Sweden I well across the line in gold medal position, a tight sprint between the two Norwegians ultimately went to Nyenget, meaning Norway II earned silver and Norway I came away with the bronze.
Italy with Nicole Monsorno and Federico Pelligrino finished fourth. Sweden II ended up fifth, and Germany I came in sixth. Canada I (Dahria Beatty and Graham Ritchie) were the last team to avoid elimination and finish in seventh.
With the last race of the day complete, the World Cup season has come to a close. For North-American ski fans, Canadian Nationals will be combining with US Super Tour Finals for a culminating event series in Whistler, Canada. The racing begins March 20th and you can find more details about the event here.
Results: Mixed Team Sprint
Onward and upward. Day two in Oberstdorf, Germany featured a 1.5-kilometer classic sprint with three sharp toothlike climbs. Seemingly riding the edge of their capability inside the tracks, athletes pumped their way up each pitch before wrapping around a bend and descending an equal grade back toward the stadium.
After what Matt Whitcomb called an “off day”, the Americans demonstrated their ability to rebound. To not let the sensations or disappointment from one day percolate into subsequent races. Onto the next.
This was clearly demonstrated in the qualifying round: three, four, nine, eleven. Diggins was the fastest of the crew finishing 2.24 seconds behind top qualifier Natalia Nepyaeva of Russia, who stopped the clock at 3:38:08. Diggins was 0.8 seconds behind Anamarija Lampic of Slovenia, who won both sprint events, skate and classic, during the Tour de Ski, and took second the weekend after the Tour in the freestyle sprint in Dresden. Lampic also popped the second fastest qualifying time of the day.
Sadie Maubet Bjornsen nearly matched Diggins time in fourth (+2.35), followed by Sophie Caldwell in ninth (+5.38), and Rosie Brennan in eleventh (+5.90). The only other country to put three athletes in the top ten was Norway, a testament to the strength of the American women on a day where our expectations meet reality.
Also starting for the U.S., Caitlin Patterson took 61st (+24.18), and Alayna Sonnesyn finished 66th (+26.7).
In the quarterfinals, Maubet Bjornsen wore the lowest bib number in the first heat, which is curious as this is often the choice of the top two qualifiers (see Diggins comments on heat selection below). Maubet Bjornsen took second in a tight finish with Lotta Udnes Weng and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen of Norway, moving with Weng into the first wave of semis.
Caldwell won the third heat of the semis in a photo finish with Ane Appelkvist Stenseth of Norway. Brennan was eliminated after finishing fourth in the fourth heat to finish 16th for the day, a top result in the event.
“Sprint is always such a bitter sweet event for me,” Brennan emailed. “While today was the best classic sprint of my career, I still felt that I made some mistakes and didn’t ski as well as I felt. The course here is long and has some good striding which I was really excited about. I know there are probably some sprinters that aren’t excited about the length but I felt the course did a good job of including all kinds of skiing and really rewarding good skiers. I am really happy with my feelings and for sure have a little list of things to work on moving forward.”
Diggins charged full gas through the fifth heat of the quarters for the win, beating out Sweden’s Linn Svahn who advanced alongside her.
In the first semi, Caldwell and Maubet Bjornsen took it out with the leaders, matching Nepryaeva’s long powerful bound up the climbs and the speedy out-of-the-track tempo of Anna Svendsen of Norway. Coming into the final downhill, Svendsen, Nepryaeva and Caldwell pulled ahead, creating a small gap to the remaining women. Caldwell held her tuck longer than the other women, collecting herself for a spicy double pole sprint to the finish. Sliding across the line at the heels of Nepryaeva, Caldwell stayed ahead of the Norwegian to take second in the heat. Maubet Bjornsen finished fifth between Nadine Faehndrich of Switzerland and her opponent from the quarters, Weng.
“It was one heck of a thrill out there today on the courses for next year’s World Championships,” wrote Maubet Bjornsen in an email to several outlets. “This is certainly one of the hardest sprint courses I have sprinted on, but I really enjoyed it! My legs felt a lot stronger than last weekend, but still not quite recovered enough to put together the race I was dreaming of today. Finishing 9th is still and achievement, but I know I am capable of more when I have my full strength.
Striding hot out of the gate, Diggins also held a position at the front, matching Lampic, who dictated the pace, up the climbs and tucking into her draft on the descents. On the last and longest climb, Diggins was overtaken by Svahn and Heidi Weng of Norway and she was unable to regain her position on the subsequent downhill. Though her tempo was faster than her opponents in the final double pole sprint, she finished fourth. As her time would have won the previous heat, Diggins and Svahn advanced with Lampic and Weng as the lucky losers.
Again taking the reins from the start-beep, Lampic surged to the front of the group and stayed there, though she could not drop the strong group of women in her wake. Up the final climb, Nepyaeva matched Lampic stride for stride, her long powerful pushes keeping her alongside the Slovenian’s green and black suit.
Like a slingshot, Nepryaeva sped around Lampic as they rounded the final curve into the straightaway. The duo duked it out double poling in perfect synchrony, but Lampic recovered no ground on the Russian. Nepraeva stopped the clock at 3:27:08, the fastest split of the day.
Racing for the last podium position, Diggins and Caldwell flew into the final straight in neighboring tracks, with Svahn not far behind. Firing on all cylinders, Diggins pulled ahead of Caldwell to take third by just over a second (+2.44). After being left behind by the Americans, Svahn finished fifth (+5.16), followed long after by Stenseth (+30.20). The Norwegian had fallen off the pace midway through the round, ceding her chances to contend with the pack.
Due to poor WiFi connection, athletes chose to send comments via email. Reflecting on her performance, Diggins expressed that she “loved” the long sprint course.
“You had time to try out different tactics and that last hill saw some moves, for sure. We had awesome skis today so I was able to use a little bit of a slingshot to get into good position in the finishing lanes, and I just worked to stay smooth and calm in the first half, while looking for openings to get into better position.”
Diggins explained that heat selection is variable, and did not feel today’s variance from a usual bracket was explained by the length of the course. Her choice to race in the fifth quarter and second semi were based simply on her perception of the opportunity to advance.
“I chose the latter heat because it was wide open, and seemed to be a good path forward out of the quarters. But you never know how it’s going to go, and I was happy to secure lucky loser time in the fast semifinal!”
After finishing 22nd in the skiathlon, some might question from the comfort of their couches whether Diggins is on the same form that we have seen in previous years. As was discussed with Matt Whitcomb, “success breeds expectation.” We expect to see Diggins at the top of the results sheet day in and day out, and that pressure can creep into an athletes self-expectation as well. When asked how she handles this, Diggins explained that she does not dwell on what is on the paper or posted in the comments.
“That’s a great question about handling expectations and pressure…and my plan for that has always been to set really concrete process-oriented goals, work as hard as I can to meet them, and then regardless of the result on paper I can decide if it was a “good” day for myself or not based on my effort, focus, technical progress and strategy.”
In her post-race remarks, Caldwell offered an insightful perspective that took into account her strengths as a sprint specialist versus an all-arounder like Diggins or Maubet Bjornsen.
“This sprint was definitely one of our longest ones, and for sure the longest one of the year. I think it’s really exciting to have varying sprint courses throughout the year and this is about as far from the Dresden course as you can get. I used to think short and flat suited me best, but now I don’t really know what I like, especially for classic, but I try to be excited for any kind of sprint so I don’t count myself out before it begins. That said, I do think that there are already a lot more distance races than sprints, so when it gets much over 3 minutes, it’s starting to favor distance skiers more, which is fine to do sometimes, it’s just too bad when there are already so few sprints if too many of them start getting really long. But I personally really enjoyed the course and the race today. I don’t think it’s too much different for recovery for me whether the course is 3 mins or 3:30, but I think for the men it is probably harder because if they’re in the second half of the bracket, they have a lot less recovery. I usually just try to move around until I’ve flushed my legs out and then relax for a little bit and then start moving around again before my next heat!
“Today was a really awesome day for our team. I was psyched to make my first classic final in years, and I think only my third ever. I’ve now had three 4th places in the last four races, which is a little bittersweet, but it’s important to remind myself that 4th is still a really strong result, especially in a tough classic sprint. It was great to ski with Sadie in my semi and I know she’s bouncing back from giving her all in the tour, but is getting stronger each day and a good result today is a huge step in the right direction. And Jessie was on fire all day and it was awesome to see her get another classic podium. So really fun to have such a strong day for our women and even though it was a tough day for the guys, I know they will be fighting back in Falun!”
Between the city sprints in Dresden and today’s event in Oberstdorf, Caldwell headed to Austria for an altitude camp. She explains the role this plays in balancing training and recharging, and how the sprinters use an altitude stint to build fitness without losing their top end speed.
“Simi and I just took a little break in Seefeld during the distance weekend in Nove Mesto and it’s was really nice both physically and mentally. The schedule this year is very demanding, with almost no weekend off, so we felt it was important to find in a couple times to work in a break, remove ourselves from the World Cup, and take some time for ourselves. I was really tired right after Dresden and didn’t realize it until I allowed myself to take a break, so it was nice to have a few days of true recovery and then I felt I was able to train really well for 9 or 10 days before coming here. Seefeld is at mild altitude, but I think it’s only at 3,700 ft, so as long as I keep my easy skis easy, I don’t feel too many effects of altitude and don’t worry about not being sharp when coming down a little in elevation.”
Racing for Canada, Maya Macisaac-Jones posted the top qualifying time in 35th (+14.28), followed by Dahria Beatty (+15.79), Katherine Stewart-Jones in 50th (+18.58), and Katherine Weaver 65 (+26.08).
Today in Val Müstair, Switzerland Stage 3 of the Tour de Ski (TdS) the 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint course was one star of the show. In two laps of the course, the women ascended a steep climb — even for World Cup standards — navigated technical and high-speed corners, hopped over a small jump, tucked over manufactured rollers, all within roughly 3:30 minutes.
With the added technical features over 1.4 k, at an altitude of roughly 4,000 feet, today’s race became an endurance test.
“It was a really different course than the courses we’d been racing … I think it was taking the girls three and a half or just over three and a half [minutes] which is quite long compared to Davos and Toblach, which I think were closer to 2:35 or 2:45,” the U.S. Ski Team’s Sophie Caldwell said in a call. “It was a brutally long course, and I think the pacing was really key on a day like today.”
To be precise, the winning qualifying times for the four other women’s sprints run this season are the following: 2:56.50, 2:56.43, 2:46.28, and 2:35.95 on Saturday in Toblach, Italy. Caldwell’s teammate Sadie Bjornsen marked that fastest time in Toblach.
At one minute longer than the Stage 1 Tour de Ski sprint, Tuesday was a test as fatigue begins to sap energy reserves.
Sweden’s Stina Nilsson was remarkable as she won the day in Val Müstair. She won the qualifier in 3:30.52, then made the clean sweep through the finals to win her second consecutive sprint.
Nilsson’s winning time in the finals was 3:31.91 minutes, a blink slower than her qualifying time. Through the two laps, Nilsson was patient until hitting the course’s steep punchy climb a second time. That is where and when she made her move. Up and over the climb, she was untouchable down the straight and across the line.
Behind Nilsson into the descent off the final steep climb were Caldwell and U.S. teammate Jessie Diggins. The two U.S. skiers came into the finish-straight nearly side by side, stride for stride until the lunge. Caldwell took second (+2.27) in a photo finish with Diggins (+2.27) who took third. Norway took the next three spots with Ingvild Flugstad Østberg placing fourth (+3.54), Maiken Caspersen Falla fifth (+4.58), and Lotta Udnes Weng in sixth (+20.73).
Caldwell began her day qualifying in fourth, 2.15 seconds behind Nilsson’s winning time. But even before her qualification run, Caldwell took time to assess the course and determine where others were losing time and fading through the 1.4 k circuit.
“Even before my qualifier, because actually, I started twenty-second … I had twelve minutes to watch where people go,” Caldwell said about her pre-qualification course study. “There were some girls that basically came to a stop going up the hill — because I think it’s easy to go out hard there and just implode. So I knew that that was going to be really important, and I think I paced my qualifier well. But I knew that I would have to keep doing that to move through. So I always tried to conserve as much energy on the first lap as possible, and then be prepared to respond to a move on the hill the second lap and just push hard over the top and just ski the downhills well.”
Caldwell stayed true to her plan, never fulling throttling to the point of fumes, but never tempering her pace to allow others to regain ground. She placed second in her quarterfinal to Østberg, and second again to Nilsson in her semi as she advanced.
“Going into [the final] I wanted to keep [Nilsson] in contact, keep her in sight, but I also knew that I had to ski my own race and if I tried to just go with her that could end with an implosion on my part,” Caldwell said of her final’s strategy. “I think I tried to get in a good position and stay in second or third for as long as I could but she was putting in just such a good move on the uphill each time that it was pretty impossible to stick with her. So after she sort of put in a gap, I tried to ski my own race and relax where I could and save a little energy for the downhill sprint finish.”
The second and third place for the U.S. was not in question during the final moments of the race. Diggins is a closer with seasoned grit able to close out sprints on massive stages.
“[Jessie] was kind of right behind me after the big hill final and I knew we both had good skis and we both really like those technical downhills,” Caldwell said about Tuesday’s finish. “It was fun skiing through there knowing she was right there. And then when she pulled up next to me I had to dig deep to find some mental toughness because I know how tough she is. It was pretty awesome having a sprint finish with her. … I’m pretty sure it came down to the fact that my Salomon boot is one size bigger than hers, that’s how close it was.”
Caldwell exited the Tour after the third stage to prepare for the upcoming season which features Seefeld, Austria’s World Championships in February.
For Diggins, the Tour pursuit continues. With her third place today, along with her third place in the Stage 1 sprint and a sixth place in Sunday’s 10 k skate, Diggins leads the Tour. Diggins placed third overall in last season’s TdS yet the leader’s bib she secured today in the 13th edition of the TdS is a first for the Olympic and World champion. She will carry a narrow 1.1-second lead into Wednesday’s 10 k classic mass start.
“Anytime you do well it’s really fun and it’s an honor,” Diggins said in a call after the race. “It’s a really hard competition, there’s a lot of really, really strong girls out there and so it’s really, really cool to be pulling on that overall leader’s bib for the first time ever. That’s just really fun but I’m not going to let it put a lot of pressure on me, it doesn’t change anything about my tactics. I’m just going to take it day by day and every race you race as hard as you can and do the best you can.”
Teammate Sadie Bjornsen qualified in sixth (+3.40). She contested the second quarterfinal where she ended up third. Bjornsen missed out advancing by .31 seconds as Norway’s Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen crossed the line in second place. Bjornsen placed 13th overall. Bjornsen has stated she will exit the Tour after Stage 5. She currently sits in eighth overall, 1:19.4 minutes behind Diggins.
For Canada, Dahria Beatty placed 39th and Emily Nishikawa 48th.
Women’s Qualification | Women’s Results | Women’s TdS Standing after Three Stages
-David Brown contributed
Beginning this Saturday in Toblach, Italy with a freestyle sprint is the 13th edition of the Tour de Ski (TdS). According to the International Ski Federation (FIS), over the course of seven stages the men will race 80.918 kilometers, the women 60.67 k.
The TdS has become both a staple and a spectacle of the annual World Cup calendar. With a jam-packed series of races primacy is placed on both the ability to recover well and wither less as the TdS transpires.
Prognostication can be tricky in a long-form template like the TdS. So much can go astray during seven races not to mention the travel and dicey germ-avoidance.
Last season’s winner on the women’s side, Heidi Weng of Norway, sits 18th overall in the World Cup standings (14th in distance). She has four top-20’s in the four distance events she’s contested with her best result an eighth in Lillehammer’s 10 k skate. Although featuring two sprints in the first three stages, the TdS remains a distance skier’s paradise.
Weng has skied solidly on the World Cup, but she has yet to show the form that made her a TdS overall winner in 2017 and 2018. Norway has won the last five iterations of the TdS: Marit Bjørgen won once in 2014/2015, Therese Johaug twice (2013/2014, 2015/2016), and Weng the last two years.
If Norway is to keep the streak alive, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, last year’s TdS runner up, could be the heir apparent. She currently ranks second in the World Cup overall and 15th on the sprint list.
Johaug, having returned from an 18 month doping ban, has been on a distance race tear. She has won all five World Cup distance events this season. Johaug, however, will not be lining up for the TdS.
Only five different women have earned distance podiums this season — Johaug, Østberg, Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla and Ebba Andersson, and Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski. Along with Johaug, Kalla and Andersson are skipping the TdS. (Andersson sits third overall on the World Cup, Kalla fifth.) With the TdS missing three of the five top ranked World Cup distance skiers, daily stages and the overall podium are up for grabs.
Last season’s third overall finisher, Jessie Diggins of the U.S. Ski Team (USST), often cites the TdS as a point in the season when her form trends towards podium performances. She sits eighth in the current distance standings and could very well have a stout TdS.
Russia’s Natalia Belorukova and Yulia Nepryaeva look strong as does Sadie Bjornsen (USST), and Austria’s Teresa Stadlober.
With less than predictable distance stage podiums for the women, it may simply come down to a drag race on the Alpe Cermis final climb Jan. 6.
The men’s scene is also open to interpretation. Last season’s TdS winner, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna, was in fact a surprise victor. Prior to Cologna’s stage two win in last year’s TdS, it had been nearly three years since the four time TdS overall winner had won a World Cup. Cologna sits 21st overall on the World Cup currently. Given last year’s resurgence, anything is possible for the Swiss skier.
Then there’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby form Norway. He finished on the TdS podium the last three years. At thirty-four-years-old, Sundby is ranked first on the distance list, with a second, a third, and a fourth place in distance races this season.
Sundby won the TdS on two occasions – in 2013/2014 and in 2016. His 2015 win was stripped after he tested positive for excessive levels of Salbutamol. He placed second in the past two Tours.
In a field rife with talent, Sundby’s ability to race and rebound and race and rebound will be tested. Sjur Røthe, Emil Iversen, and Didrik Tønseth— all from Norway— look in form. And there’s Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. The winner of last season’s overall World Cup has had flashes of his past explosive self. He could be a TdS protagonist.
The men’s field is notably tight. Along with the Norwegians, several Russians could pop a podium, a stage win, and the overall. Russia comes with a loaded team ready to exploit. Alexander Bolshunov leads the overall World Cup – he’ll turn twenty two on Dec. 31st. He’s backed by teammates Evgeniy Belov, Andrey Melnichenko, and Denis Spitsov.
Canada’s Alex Harvey placed third overall last year and he looked stronger as the TdS progressed.
Stage 1: Dec. 29, skate sprint in Toblach, Italy.
Stage 2: Dec. 30, 10 k/15 k skate in Toblach, Italy.
Stage 3: Jan. 1, skate sprint in Val Müstair, Switzerland.
Stage 4: Jan. 2, 10 k/15 k classic mass start in Oberstdorf, Germany.
Stage 5: Jan. 3, 10 k/15 k skate pursuit in Oberstdorf, Germany.
Stage 6: Jan. 5th, 10 k/15 k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
Stage 7: Jan 6th, 9 k final climb skate pursuit in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
United States
Women: Sophie Caldwell, Sadie Bjornsen, Jessie Diggins.
Men: Ben Lustgarten, Simi Hamilton, Erik Bjornsen, Kevin Bolger.
U.S. Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover noted in a text that Caldwell, Hamilton, and Bolger will likely cease the TdS after the stage three sprint. Additionally, this is a small team for the U.S. at the TdS. Several athletes turned down TdS nominations including Scott Patterson (USST), Andy Newell (SMS T2/Salomon), Kyle Bratrud (SMS T2), Rosie Brennan (APU), Rosie Frankowski (APU), Caitlin Patterson (CGRP), and Julia Kern (SMS T2). These skiers plan on racing U.S. Nationals this January in Craftsbury, Vermont.
Canada
Women: Emily Nishikawa, Dahria Beatty
Men: Alex Harvey, Lenny Valjas, Bob Thompson
Norway
Women: Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, Maiken Caspersen Falla, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, Kari Øyre Slind, Kathrine Rolsted Harsem, Heidi Weng, Lotta Udnes Weng, Tiril Udnes Weng Mari Eide, Anna Svendsen
Men: Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Hans Christer Holund, Emil Iversen, Didrik Tønseth, Simen Hegstad, Krüger, Sjur Røthe, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget, Eirik Brandsdal, Finn Hågen Krogh
Russia
Women: Yulia Belorukova, Lidia Durkina, Anna Zherebyateva, Mariya Istomina, Natalia Nepryaeva, Anna Nechaevskaya, Anastasia Sedova, Elena Soboleva
Men: Evgeniy Belov, Alexander Bolshunov, Maxim Vylegzhanin, Andrey Larkov, Andrey Melnichenko, Gleb Retivykh, Andrey Sobakarev, Denis Spitsov, Sergey Ustiugov
Sweden
Women: Mia Eriksson, Ida Ingemarsdotter, Moa Molander Kristiansen, Stina Nilsson, Maria Nordström, Linn Sömskar, Lisa Vinsa
Men: Calle Halfvarsson, Simon Lageson, Teodor Peterson, Daniel Rickardsson, Oskar Svensson, Viktor Thorn, Karl Johan Westberg
Finland
Women: Mari Eder, Anne Kyllönen, Laura Mononen, Krista Pärmäkoski, Susanna Saapunki
Men: Ristomatti Hakola, Matti Heikkinen, Lauri Vuorinen
Italy
Women: Elisa Brocard, Anna Comarella, Ilaria Debertolis, Caterina Ganz, Greta Laurent, Sara Pellegrini, Lucia Scardoni
Men: Francesco de Fabiani, Stefano Gardener, Enrico Nizzo, Dietmar Noeckler, Federico Pellegrino, Maicol Rastelli, Giandomenico Salvadori
Switzerland
Women: Nathalie von Siebenthal, Laurien van der Graaff, Nadine Fähndrich
Men: Dario Cologna, and Jovian Hediger, Jonas Baumann, Livio Bieler, Roman Furger, Käser Erwanm, Beda Klee, Toni Livers, Jason Rüesch, Schaad Roman
Austria
Women: Therese Stadlober
Germany
Women: Julia Belger, Victoria Carl, Pia Fink, Laura Gimmler, Katharina Hennig, Sandra Ringwald, Elisabeth Schicho, Anne Winkler
Men: Thomas Bing, Lucas Bögl, Janosch Brugger, Jonas Dobler, Sebastian Eisenlauer, Andreas Katz, Valentin Mättig, Florian Notz, Max Olex, Thomas Wick
France
Women: Anouk Faivre Picon, Delphine Claudel, Laura Chamiot-Maitral
Men: Maurice Manificat, Lucas Chanavat, Adrien Backscheider, Jean-Marc Gaillard, Baptiste Gros, Renaud Jay, Richard Jouve, Jules Lapierre, Clement Parisse
FasterSkier will update team start lists as we gather more information.
In a place like Norway, where the pool of cross-country athletes appears eternally deep, when you see competitors raise the bar, there’s nothing else to do but jump.
On Saturday in Beitostølen, Norway the known knowns were self-evident: Maiken Caspersen Falla and Johannes Høsflot Klæbo took the freestyle sprint wins during the second day of FIS race competitions.
As both athletes were overall World Cup sprint champions last season, there are no shockers there. (Klæbo has won two consecutive sprint crystal globes, Falla three.) But other skiers rose to the occasion and proved they too can jump nearly as high as Falla and Klæbo.
The women raced a 1.3 k skate sprint course with 54 women racing the qualifier. And this is where things got interesting. Nineteen-year-old junior Kristine Stavås Skistad, who has raced a single World Cup, the 2018 Drammen classic sprint in which she placed 51st, won the qualifier in 2:44.68 minutes. What is startling when scrolling through the qualification results is her birth year: 1999. The next closest Norwegian athlete in age finishing in the top-10 of qualification on Saturday was Anne Kjersti Kalvå, born in 1992.
In last season’s World Junior Championships, Skistad placed fifth in the 5 k classic, and second in the skate sprint. So certainly she is an up and comer. But the fact that she held her own in a world-class field of Norway’s best, is a statement.
Falla qualified in fourth (+1.63), and moved through to the finals by winning both her quarterfinal and semifinal.
Skistad, however, maybe played it a bit coyer. She squeaked into the semis by placing second in her heat by .30 seconds to Slovenia’s Eva Urevc. She then placed second to Falla by .22 seconds in the first semifinal. (That semi proved the faster of the two semifinals — both Kari Øyre Slind and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen advanced as lucky losers from the Falla semi.)
Falla is Falla – a veteran with big experience and the know how to throttle the engine when it matters. She won the final in 2:39.17 minutes, a pace over five seconds faster than Skistad’s winning qualification time.
In the all Norwegian final, Skistad placed second (+0.93), Lotta Udnes Weng was third (+1.28) Tiril Kampenhaug Eckhoff, both a World Champs and Olympic medalist in biathlon, was fourth (+1.34), Slind fifth (+1.53), and Jacobsen sixth (+2.89).
More Klæbo and a bit of Iversen
It is time to refresh the syntax and remember Klæbo’s name can be used as a verb. With that in mind, Klæbo Klæboed in the men’s 1.7 k skate sprint. But like Falla on the women’s side, the twenty-two-year-old Klæbo was tested.
Tefre Gjøran, a year older than Klæbo at 23, was the fastest qualifier, finishing in 3:12.27 minutes. Klæbo was second (+1.12), and Emil Iversen third (+1.62).
In the end, it was Iversen, seeming like an aged vet at 27, who made life spicey for Klæbo.
Klæbo and Iversen advanced to the second semifinal. And it was Iversen who pushed the pace and was the catalyst for speed. Although not a massive margin, a second is still a second — but we are talking sprints here — Iversen won the second semi in 3:11.95, 1.12 seconds faster than second-place skier Klæbo.
“I was not good enough to fight him then,” Klæbo said to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, according to a translation, as he spoke about Iversen’s charge in the semis. “I had to be cynical and save me to the final. But Emil has a lot of effort, you saw how much he had in the finals too.”
It was a final highlighted by a Klæbo-Iversen dual. Klæbo won in 3:14.16 outpacing perhaps a new rival this season in Iversen, by 0.18 seconds.
In the all-Norway final, Eirik Brandsdal placed third (+1.88), Gjøran fourth (+1.96), Sindre Bjørnestad Skar fifth (+7.94), and Finn Hågen Krogh sixth (+9.94).
Great Britain’s Andrew Young was 10th overall, James Clugnet 17th, and Andrew Musgrave 24th. They were the only non-Norwegians in the top-30.
“Top 10 is really good, the level here is really high,” Young told FasterSkier’s reporter in Beitostølen. “I had really good skis, and I was surprised nobody else wanted to take the lead at the start so I just went for it. I tried not to use too much energy. I knew Klæbo would go fast. So I just wanted to make sure I was on his tails when he came past. I was really pleased with my skiing. I wasn’t so defensive, I wasn’t so passive, and not let the others control the race. I tried to control it and be in that spot where I wanted to be.”
Young was passed in the final stretch by Skar and Krogh, who both advanced to the finals as lucky losers in the second semifinal.
Canadians Russell Kennedy placed 51st, Maks Zechel 94th.
Kennedy has skied well in the early season, with solid results at Frozen Thunder and Friday’s 15 k classic in Beitostølen.
“It is very deep, but it makes it fun there are lots of rides and always somewhere to push,” Kennedy emailed on Saturday about his experience racing to 22nd overall in the 15 k classic yesterday. “I was very happy with that. I don’t know if surprised is the right word. Last weekend in Olos, [Finland] I had a really good skate race and a good classic race against some big names. I was excited I ended up so high up the results for sure! It was a tough day with skis and I was lucky to be on fast skis even though they were a little slick on the last laps.”
Racing concludes in Beitostølen tomorrow with a 10 k/ 15 k skate.
Women’s qualification | Women’s final | Men’s qualification | Men’s final
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 cross-country Beitostølen, Norway: 1.3 k freestyle sprints
In Beitostølen on Saturday, the second day of FIS races there sent the women on 1.3-kilometer skate sprint course. Reigning World Cup overall sprint champion from Norway, Maiken Caspersen Falla, won the final in a time of 2:39.17 minutes. Falla was the fourth fastest qualifier.
Norwegians Kristine Stavås Skistad, the day’s fastest qualifier, placed second in the final (+0.93), Lotta Udnes Weng was third (+1.28).
The men’s sprint was held on a 1.7 k course with last season’s World Cup sprint champion Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR) winning the final in 3:14.16 minutes. Friday’s runner-up in the 15 k classic, Emil Iversen (NOR), was second (+0.18). Also from Norway, Eirik Brandsdal placed third (+1.88).
Great Britain’s Andrew Young was 10th overall, James Clugnet 17th, and Andrew Musgrave 24th. They were the only non-Norwegians in the top-30.
Canadians Russell Kennedy placed 51st, Maks Zechel 94th.
Women’s results | Men’s results
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Bruksvallarna, Sweden: 10k/15 k classic
Saturday, Bruksvallarna hosted day two of its FIS cross-country races with men’s and women’s distances races. The women began the day with a 10 k classic event.
Friday’s runner-up in the 5 k freestyle, thirty-one-year-old Charlotte Kalla of Sweden, won Saturday’s classic race in 27:54.1 minutes. Frida Karlsson (SWE) placed second (+25.2), Stina Nilsson (SWE) third (+38.2).
The men skied a 15 k classic event. In that race, Sweden’s twenty-nine-year-old Calle Halfvarsson bested the 149 starters with a winning time of 37:14.6 minutes. Sweden took the next two spots on the podium, as Viktor Thorn placed second (+39.1), and Gustav Eriksson third (+1:02.5).
![The U.S. women's relay after taking a historic third in the 4 x 3.3 k relay at 2017 Junior World Championships on Sunday at Soldier Hollow in Midway Utah, with (from left to right) Hailey Swirbul, Katharine Ogden, Julia Kern, and Hannah Halvorsen. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF1266.jpg")
For fans of North American skiing, some of the last races of U23 and Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, proved beyond captivating, surpassing most expectations and previous results.
But for the U.S. junior women’s relay, a group of four that had set a goal two years ago at a U.S. development training camp, the podium was exactly where they had envisioned themselves.
Relay bronze
Hailey Swirbul, Julia Kern, Hannah Halvorsen, and Katharine Ogden went out and achieved that very goal on Sunday, racing to third in the 4 x 3.3-kilometer relay on the final day of Junior Worlds.
According to Ogden, who became the first American to capture an individual bronze two days earlier in the women’s 10 k skiathlon, the foursome were at a camp two years ago in Lake Placid, N.Y., when they walked into a store together. In the 1980 Olympic village, they found red-white-and-blue tube socks — just like the socks the U.S. Ski Team women wear in World Cup team events — on sale. They each bought a pair and made a goal of wearing them together in the relay at World Juniors.
“The four of us have a group message, and it wasn’t unusual to open that message and see a note from someone who just couldn’t contain their excitement for this relay and had to share it with the rest of us… and this was up to two years ago!” Swirbul explained in an email. “We didn’t just think or hope we were capable of this result, I think we all KNEW we could do it deep down. It was kind of surreal to wake up on the morning of the race and think, ‘Today is the day, this is what we have been waiting for for so long! Let’s do this.’ ”
So just by getting to the relay start line on Sunday, they achieved their goal. But they knew they were capable of a top, even best-ever, result.
![Hailey Swirbul tucking into the stadium as the first skier on the U.S. women's 4 x 3.3 k relay team at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF4963.jpg")
Swirbul started the team off by skiing to eighth in the first classic leg.
“My leg of the race started out fast — exactly what I had expected going into it,” Swirbul wrote. “The first kilometer flew by, and before I knew it, I was cresting the peak of the biggest climb of the course with legs that felt like they were made of lead! I tried to stretch them out on the downhill and hung onto the girls around me through the rolling last kilometer of the race. That 3k was tough!!”
She tagged off to Kern, who moved the team into sixth by the race’s halfway point. Kern came down with a cold last Wednesday and sat out Friday’s skiathlon to rest of for the relay.
“I was feeling a lot better today but definitely not 100% healthy,” Kern wrote in an email. “My goal was to go out and ski the best leg I could and fight hard to the finish because every second counts. I wasn’t really nervous until I was hanging around in the start pen waiting to see Hailey throw down a strong first leg. I was most nervous that I wouldn’t be able to ski well since I am not completely healthy and let the team down.”
She focused on skiing strong over the second half of the course, “since it played my strengths and I knew people would be hurting at the point,” Kern wrote. She tagged Halvorsen in sixth, about 25 seconds out of third and 45.5 seconds behind Italy in first.
Skiing the first skate leg for the U.S., Halvorsen focused on third place. She attacked on the climb known as “Horseshoe Hill”, passing Sweden and France to take that position, but France’s Laura Chamiot-Maitral passed her back on the downhill.
After the race, Halvorsen told the U.S. Ski Team media that she had learned a lot about pacing the 3.3 k after placing 13th in the 5 k freestyle earlier in the week (following Ogden, who fifth).
“I realized I just needed to trust myself and not start so fast — just be calm and slowly catch up,” she said.
![The final exchange of the 4 x 3.3 k relay, with Americans Hannah Halvorsen (second from left) before tagging Katharine Ogden (l) in fourth, right behind France in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF5169.jpg")
Halvorsen tagged Ogden in fourth at the final exchange, just 2.1 seconds out of third.
“I knew that no matter what, I needed to catch up to third place,” Ogden reflected in an email. “I honestly didn’t even think about pacing myself and just went hard from the tag.”
On the long, sustained climb on the backside of the 3.3 k loop, Ogden passed France’s Lena Quintin to move into third. As she soared down the other side, within view of her teammates, Ogden continued to push the pace to lock up third.
“I know Katharine’s technique really well so when I spotted a black dot skiing along I knew it could only be Katharine,” wrote Kern, Ogden’s teammate for the last two seasons at the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) in Vermont. Kern, Ogden and Halvorsen are all members of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) development “D” team.
“I waited a few more seconds but still no one came and I knew she had third locked in!” Kern wrote.
“I was crying when I saw her all alone,” Swirbul told the USST.
“I came into the finish and saw the team standing there cheering for me and it was an incredibly special moment,” Ogden reflected.
She finished third, 25.8 seconds behind Russia in first and just 5.2 seconds behind Italy in second. France’s Quintin finished about 40 seconds later in fourth. The bronze was the first for a U.S. women’s relay at Junior Worlds.
![The first U.S. women's team to podium at Junior World Championships: (from left to right) Hailey Swirbul, Katharine Ogden, Hannah Halvorsen, and Julia Kern, after placing third in the 4 x 3.3 k on Sunday at 2017 Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF5334.jpg")
“This week at worlds has been amazing,” wrote Ogden, 19, who left the championships with two bronze medals in her final year of Junior Worlds eligibility. “Wonderful skiing and good weather and unprecedented results for the whole team…”
“It was really incredible to stand up at the medals ceremony the other night,” she told the USST. “The only thing I can think of that would be better is standing up there with my friends.”
“This has been a dream for us for more than two years,” Swirbul, and 18-year-old University of Alaska Anchorage freshman, told the USST. “To see that dream come true — I was crying, happy, hugging and screaming — all in one emotion.”
“I was so happy but not in shock — because I knew we could do it,” Halvorsen, 18, of the Sugar Bowl Academy, told the USST.
Halvorsen, of Truckee, Calif., brought her little sister up on the podium with her.
“After having my whole family here: parents, grandparents, four brothers, and baby sister, it was special to bring the littlest one up to the podium,” Halvorsen wrote in an email.
“There is no one I would rather be on the podium with than my best friends and teammates,” Kern, 19, wrote. “Not only did I share the experience with my best friends, but on home soil with all my family and friends there to celebrate with us!
“I am just proud of our team because everyone skied so well and brought their A game today,” Kern continued. “And to have [USST development coach] Bryan Fish there to help us make it happen was amazing because he has worked so hard to help us become the fastest skiers we can be and this has always been a dream of his as well!”
“I am so lucky to be in this generation with these tough competitors that double as amazing teammates, and I think our country is just getting started with more exciting results to come!” Swirbul wrote.
Russia took the lead on the third leg and stayed ahead of Italy for gold, finishing first in 34:45.3 minutes, with Polina Nekrasova, Lidia Durkina, Anna Zherebyateva, and Mariya Istomina. Italy secured second (+20.6) with Martina Bellini, Anna Comarella, Francesca Franchi, and Christina Pittin, while France was fourth (+1:05.0) with Juliette Ducordeau, Flora Dolci, Chamiot-Maitral, and Quintin. Sweden finished fifth (+1:20.3), and Canada placed 12th (+4:41.3) of 12 teams, with Natalie Hynes, Lisle Compton, India McIsaac, and Annika Richardson.
In the junior men’s 4 x 5 k relay that followed, Norway eked out the win over Russia by 0.4 seconds, with Herman Martens Meyer, Jon Rolf Skamo Hope, Harald Østberg Amundsen, and Thomas Helland Larsen, in 49:36.1. After the first leg, which Germany’s classic-sprint winner Janosch Brugger led, the race was a Norway-Russia battle for first, with Russia leading through the second and third exchanges before Larsen outlunged Vladislav Vechkanov at the finish.
Russia took silver with Vechkanov, Egor Kazarinov, Kirill Kilivnyuk, and Yaroslav Rybochkin, ahead of France, which skied most of the race in third in finished in that position (+1:05), with Martin Collet, Camille Laude, Hugo Lapels, and Arnaud Chautemps.
Of 12 teams, the U.S. finished ninth (+4:28.8) with Bill Harmeyer, Kam Husain, Wyatt Gebhardt, and Hunter Wonders, after skiing in sixth during the first two classic legs, then slipping to ninth on the third leg.
Canada followed in 10th (+5:21.6), with Antoine Blais, Ryan Jackson, Philippe Boucher, and Gareth Williams, after skiing in ninth for the first two legs.
***
Another Ninth for Caldwell, Hegman 11th
![Paddy Caldwell switching to skate skis during the halfway point of the men's 30 k skiathlon on Jan. 4 at 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF3050.jpg")
The day before, in the last races of U23 World Championships on Saturday, American Paddy Caldwell matched his personal best from two days earlier in the 15 k freestyle, placing ninth in the men’s 30 k skiathlon.
Caldwell had been 10th at the ski change halfway through the race, following his U.S. teammate Jack Hegman in ninth by half a second.
![Paddy Caldwell, of the Stratton Mountain School and U.S. Ski Team, racing to ninth in the men's 15 k freestyle at 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: U.S. Ski Team/Tom Kelly)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/DSC2790-XL.jpg")
“Starting off in the classic leg I was trying to stay relaxed and maintain position,” Caldwell wrote in an email. “For the first half of the classic I was at the tail end of the lead group then started to lose some time over the last part of the classic.”
He and Hegman started skiing together about 8 k into the 15 k classic leg, and remained together for most of the rest of the race. At the transition, they were about 44 seconds behind eighth place and 13 seconds ahead of 11th.
“I was really struggling with breathing during the classic leg so I tried to relax for the first part of the skate leg and maintain our position,” Caldwell wrote. “We put in a surge on the second lap of the skate to try to catch the group ahead of us (5th-8th) but they were just out of contact. On the last lap I put in one last push early on to break away from the French skier in 10th and got just far enough ahead to hold him off on the last climb before the long decent into the stadium.”
With the sixth-fastest skate leg, Caldwell (SMS/USST D-team) finished ninth, 9.2 seconds ahead of France’s Jean Tiberghien in 10th. Nearly 20 seconds after Tiberghien, Hegman finished 11th (+1:53.5) for a career best at his first U23 Worlds.
![American Jack Hegman (SVSEF) racing to 24th in the men's 15 k freestyle on Thursday at 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF3662.jpg")
“I think I am slightly better at skating, but felt really good about my classic skiing today,” Hegman, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) Gold Team, wrote in an email. “ I think I was able to gain some good time on the classic portion and then hold on in the skate. In the skate portion I tried to follow Paddy as long as I could and conserve energy. I lost quite a bit of time in the last 2k but thankfully didn’t lose too many places.”
With a top 12 at U23 Worlds, Hegman meets the U.S. selection criteria for 2017 World Cup Finals, which will take place in Quebec City in mid-March.
“For the entire skate leg, when I realized I was in the top 12, all I was thinking about was holding onto that top 12 position,” Hegman wrote.
The two led three U.S. men in the top 15, with Adam Martin (Northern Michigan University) not far behind in 15th (+2:23.3). For Martin, it was his first skiathlon in three years (he finished 40th in the 20 k skiathlon at 2014 Junior Worlds in Val di Fiemme, Italy).
![Adam Martin (Northern Michigan University) racing to 15th in the men's 30 k skiathlon on Saturday at 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. It was his first top 20 in two U23 Worlds. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF3692.jpg")
“I wanted to go out hard enough to establish a decent position, but also wanted to conserve sufficient energy to ski a strong back end of the race,” Martin wrote of Saturday’s eight-lap race.
He skied most of it with the Czech Republic’s Petr Knop, who ultimately finished 14th, 1.4 seconds ahead of Martin.
“Sometimes I was following, and sometimes I led and tried to catch up to the skiers in front of us,” Martin wrote.
“I’ve never been top 20 at one of these competitions before, so top 15 is cool,” he added. “I think I’ve had very decent races this week!”
“It is awesome to see three of us in the top 15 today,” Hegman wrote. “I think having the momentum from this week with so many good performances helped us quite a bit today. Also our skis were awesome today (and all week).”
“I am really happy with my results all week,” wrote Caldwell, who notched top 20’s in all three races, including 18th in the classic sprint to start the championships. “It was an amazing week of racing for USA and I was really happy to end on a high note.”
Russia swept the men’s 30 k skiathlon podium with Alexander Bolshunov, Alexey Chervotkin, and Denis Spitsov, respectively, after the three skied together for most of the race, well ahead of France’s Jules Lapierre and Switzerland’s Jason Rueesch in pursuit of them. As the Russians descended down the final hill — clear of any outside contenders for the podium — they locked arms and coasted into the stadium together. Just before the finish line, they stopped to cross as one.
According to a USST press release, the competition jury had to review timing and scoring records, as well as consult photo assets and the finish referee to determine who finished first, second and third. Gold went to Bolshunov, who also won the 15 k freestyle two days earlier, with an official finish time of 1:15:31.5 hours. Chervotkin was listed as second (+0.2) and Spitsov third (+0.5).
Lapierre crossed 11 seconds later in fourth, about three seconds ahead of Rueesch in fifth (+14.3).
Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) led the Canadian men in 26th (+5:44.6). Alexis Dumas of the Pierre Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH) finished 33rd (+9:02.7) out of 36 finishers. Several North Americans did not finish, including Canada’s Julien Lamoureux and Julien Smith, and American Cal Deline.
In the U23 women’s 15 k skiathlon earlier on Saturday, Canada had three in the top 30, with Dahria Beatty (Alberta World Cup Academy/Canadian National U25 Team) in 19th (+2:18.1) for her third top 20 of the week. Katherine Stewart-Jones (NTDC Thunder Bay/NST U25 Team) placed 21st (+2:29.3) for her best result at U23 Worlds, and Frederique Vezina (CNEPH) notched a personal-best 29th (+3:36.2). The team’s fourth skier, Jenn Jackson, did not finish.
Jesse Knori, of the University of Colorado-Boulder (CU) led the U.S. women in 30th (+3:40.1). Alayna Sonnesyn (University of Vermont) followed in 31st (+3:42.5), Nichole Bathe (University of Alaska Fairbanks) was 33rd (+4:36.9), and Corey Stock (Bridger Ski Foundation) 36th (+5:42.1).
Another CU skier, Petra Hyncicova, who raced for her native Czech Republic, placed 22nd (+2:30.7) for her second-best result of the week after placing 20th in the classic sprint.
Norway’s 19-year-old Lotta Udnes Weng won the 15 k skiathlon for her first gold of U23 Worlds, finishing in 40:50.9 minutes and besting Finland’s Johanna Matintalo by 3.8 seconds. Russia’s Yana Kirpichenko captured third (+13.9), edging Weng’s twin sister, Tiril Udnes Weng in fourth (+15.6).
“On paper, this is not my best distance,” Lotta Weng, a six-time Junior Worlds medalist, told the USST. “But I knew I could do well in both classic and skate, and that if I had a really good day, I could ski for a gold medal … I knew I would have a good sprint and I was just trusting it.”
Skiathlon results: Men | Women
***
![American Ben Loomis (10) racing to a career-best ninth in the individual normal hill/5 k competition on Feb. 4 at Nordic Combined Junior World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (U.S. Ski Team - Tom Kelly)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/DSC4727-X2.jpg")
Ninth for Loomis
Also on Saturday, in the last individual competition of nordic-combined Junior Worlds, 18-year-old American Ben Loomis notched his first top 10 in his third Junior Worlds appearance.
Loomis started the day by jumping to 10th on the normal hill at Utah Olympic Park in Park City, his home training base. That put the U.S. Nordic Combined skier 58 seconds out of first and 11 seconds behind Finland’s Arttu Mäkiaho in ninth for the start of the 5 k race at Soldier Hollow. While Loomis didn’t catch Mäkiaho (who raced to second place for his second-straight individual medal after winning the normal hill/10 k to start the week), Loomis picked off one place to finish ninth, 1:22.3 minutes behind the winner, Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger.
“My goals for the 5k competition were to jump into the top ten, and to not lose any ground during the race,” Loomis wrote in an email. “I was able to do this, but was still hoping for a higher finish.”
He explained that a snow flurry during the jumping competition left the last 20 starters on the hill waiting for it to pass. Loomis was the fourth-to-last to jump, out of 49 starters.
“I was able to stay relaxed, focused and have my best competition jump of the week,” he explained. “The home hill advantage made a huge difference in my jumping. Prior to this week, I had little jumps on the hill this winter. Luckily, I know the hill well and was able to get in rhythm with the jump very quickly.”
Considering his starting position in the 5 k, which is half the distance of the usual 10 k in nordic-combined competitions, Loomis said he knew he needed to move up quickly, but do so in a controlled manner.
“5 k really places a big importance on the jumping,” Loomis told the USST. “It’s a lot harder to make up time, and these Europeans are really quick.”
He paced his first 2.5 k, and by the second lap, he worked with Norway’s Lars Ivar Skaarset — who had caught Loomis after starting 12th — to rein in Slovenia’s Matevz Malovrh, who started fourth and was fading. While Skaarset finished 17.4 seconds ahead of Loomis for eighth place, they both beat Malovrh, who placed 10th, 1.8 seconds behind Loomis.
“Overall, I am very happy with my 9th place result. I was hoping for a little more, but to be 9th in the world is very special,” Loomis wrote. “I am already looking forward to next year’s competitions and approaching them with even more experience.”
Earlier in the week, Loomis placed 18th in the normal hill/10 k and skied the third leg of the men’s 4 x 5 k team event, in which the U.S. placed seventh (with Elijah Vargas, Grant Andrews, Loomis, and Stephen Schumann). After Vargas tagged Andrews in 10th, Andrews skied them into ninth, and Loomis brought the U.S. up to seventh, which Schumann held during the final leg.
The U.S. had two in the top 15 on Saturday, with Schumann in 15th (+1:44.3), up from 20th after the jump. Grant Andrews placed 33rd (+2:40.0) and Tucker Hoefler finished 46th (+3:56.9).
Geiger won Saturday’s normal hill/5 k after jumping to first then starting with a 4-second lead over Japan’s Yuto Nakamura in second. Mäkiaho passed seven people to finish second, 22.6 seconds after Geiger, who won in 12:14.9 minutes. France’s Laurent Muhlethaler started fifth and captured third (+23.9), while Nakamura missed the podium in fourth (+42.8).
“It’s great to be on top of the podium today, after the 10k it was so hard for me due to some illness and an injury after I fell at the World Cup in Chaux Neuve,” Geiger said. “It just feels amazing to be Junior World Champion now.”
Results: Normal hill/5 k
![The Russian men finishing in unison to take first, second and third in the men's 30 k skiathlon, the final race of 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Alexander Bolshunov (8) was deemed the winner, Alexey Chervotkin (1) was second, and Denis Spitsov (11) third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/Russias-Chervotkin-Spitsov-and-Bolshunov.jpg")
FIS Nordic Combined Junior World Championships (Park City and Midway, Utah): Normal hill/5 k
![American Ben Loomis (6) leads Norway's Lars Ivar Skaarset (7) during the third leg of the nordic-combined 4 x 5 k team event on Thursday at 2017 Nordic Junior Worlds at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Loomis brought the U.S. from ninth to seventh, and his team ultimately finished seventh. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/ben-loomis-relay.jpg")
[UPDATED] In the individual normal hill/5-kilometer Gundersen on Saturday, the last nordic-combined competition of 2017 Nordic Junior World Championships, American Ben Loomis captured his first top 10 in his third Junior Worlds in ninth place.
Eighteen-year-old Loomis jumped to 10th then picked off one place in the 5 k to finish ninth, 1:22.3 minutes behind the winner, Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger.
Geiger led after the jump and started the ski race 4 seconds ahead of Japan’s Yuto Nakamura in second. Geiger was able to hold off Finland’s hard-charging Arttu Mäkiaho, who raced from ninth to second, by 22.6 seconds. France’s Laurent Muhlethaler raced from fifth to third (+23.9) for the final spot on the podium, while Nakamura slipped to fourth (+42.8).
The U.S. had two in the top 15 with Stephen Schumann in 15th (+1:44.3), up from 20th after the jump. Grant Andrews placed 33rd (+2:40.0) and Tucker Hoefler finished 46th (+3:56.9).
***
FIS Nordic U23 World Championships (Midway, Utah): 15/30 k skiathlon
It was a Russian affair and a head scratcher for the photo-finish crew at U23 World Championships on Saturday, with three Russians putting enough time on the rest of the field in the men’s 30-kilometer skiathlon that they had time to slow to a stop and inch across the line in unison.
The jury ultimately had to decide who won, awarding it to Alexander Bolshunov in 1:15:31.5 hours, 0.2 seconds ahead of Alexey Chervotkin in second. Denis Spitsov was listed as third (+0.5). France’s Jules Lapierre came closest to the Russians in fourth, finishing 11 seconds later.
The field was considerably strung out by the end of the race, with Switzerland’s Jason Rueesh finishing 14.3 seconds out of first in fifth and Norway’s Gaute Kvaale crossing the line in sixth (+33.0), ahead of France’s Valentin Chauvin in seventh (+49.1), and Andorra’s Irineu Esteve Altimiras in eighth (+56.8).
American Paddy Caldwell (SMS/USST) placed ninth for the second-straight race at U23s, finishing 1:24.4 behind the winner.
The U.S. men had three in the top 15 for their best day of the championships, with John Hegman (SVSEF) placing a 11th (+1:53.5) and Adam Martin (NMU) 15th (+2:23.3) for their best results at U23 Worlds.
Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) led the Canadian men in 26th (+5:44.6). Alexis Dumas (CNEPH) finished 33rd (+9:02.7) out of 36 finishers. Several North Americans did not finish, including Canada’s Julien Lamoureux and Julien Smith, and American Cal Deline.
In the women’s 15 k skiathlon, Lotta Udnes Weng achieved her first gold of U23 Worlds, holding off Finland’s Johanna Matintalo by 3.8 seconds and crossing the line in 40:50.9 minutes. Russia’s Yana Kirpichenko reached the podium in third (+13.9), fewer than two seconds ahead of Weng’s twin sister, Tiril Udnes Weng in fourth (+15.6).
Dahria Beatty, of the Alberta World Cup Academy and Canadian National U25 Team, led the North Americans in 19th (+2:18.1), and teammate Katherine Stewart-Jones (NTDC Thunder Bay/NST U25 Team) was 21st (+2:29.3) for her best U23 Worlds result.
The Czech Republic’s Petra Hyncicova (University of Colorado-Boulder) followed in 22nd (+2:30.7), and three Canadian women finished in the top 30 with Frederique Vezina (CNEPH) in 29th (+3:36.2). Jenn Jackson did not finish.
Jesse Knori (University of Colorado-Boulder) was the top American in 30th (+3:40.1), Alayna Sonnesyn followed in 31st (+3:42.5), Nichole Bathe (University of Alaska Fairbanks) in 33rd (+4:36.9), and Corey Stock (Bridger Ski Foundation) in 36th (+5:42.1).
Mathilde Petitjean, who races for her native Togo but trains with the Quebec-based CNEPH, finished 38th (+6:04.8) of 38 finishers.
***
FIS Cross-Country World Cup (PyeongChang, South Korea): 15/30 k skiathlon
![The women's 15 k skiathlon podium at the PyeongChang World Cup in South Korea, with Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk (c) in first, American Liz Stephen (l) in second, and Japan's Masako Ishida in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/C3zPZkaUcAADYaB.jpg-large.jpeg")
The second day of World Cup racing in PyeongChang, South Korea, took place this Saturday, with a skiathlon event for both genders. The women raced a total of 15 kilometers, the first 7.5 k leg classic and the second 7.5 k leg freestyle. Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk came away with the women’s win (her first in three years), getting back to her old ways of breaking away from the pack to finish first in 43:54.7 minutes. Liz Stephen of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) claimed second place (+56.0), while Japan’s Masako Ishida took third (+1:14.8).
For Stephen, second matched her best individual result in a from two years ago, when she placed second in a 10 k freestyle in Rybinsk, Russia. This year at the Tour de Ski, Stephen posted the second-fastest time up the final climb in Val di Fiemme, Italy. For Ishida, it was her first podium since 2009.
Caitlin Patterson, racing for the U.S., finished just off the podium with a career-best fourth (+1:21.4) for her first top 20 on the World Cup, and American Liz Guiney placed 13th (2:21.7) for her first top 20 as well. Jessica Yeaton, who trains with Alaska Pacific University and races for Australia, came in 24th (4:58.6).
Two Canadian women competed with Annika Hicks leading the team in 26th (+5:17.8) followed by Sadie White in 29th (+6:54.7) for their first World Cup top 30s.
In the men’s 30 k skiathlon that followed, Russia’s Petr Sedov broke away during the skate leg to take a decisive victory over Norway’s Daniel Stock and Mathias Rundgreen, finishing in 1:18:49.6 hours, 22.5 seconds clear of second place. It was Sedov’s first World Cup win and podium, and the first individual podiums for Stock and Rundgreen as well.
Rundgreen edged Russia’s Konstantin Glavatskikh for the final spot on the podium, with both being listed as 42.1 seconds behind Sedov.
While Rundgreen held off three others for third place, including Sweden’s Gustav Eriksson in fifth (+46.8), Japan’s Keishin Yoshida in sixth (+47.1), and Russia’s Alexander Utkin in seventh (+49.0), American Noah Hoffman kept his distance ahead of the second chase group to finish eighth (+1:06.2) for his best result in a non-World Cup stage since placing eighth in a 2012 skiathlon in Canmore, Alberta. (Hoffman won the time of day in the 15 k pursuit four years ago in Kuusamo, Finland.)
Also for the U.S., Scott Patterson was next across the line in ninth (+1:28.4) for his first World Cup points, and Matt Gelso finished 19th (+5:00.8) for his first top 20.
Brian McKeever of Canada’s Para-Nordic Ski Team was the lone Canadian finisher in 29th (+8:48.9). Bob Thompson was listed as placing 32nd of 37 after being lapped, and Simon Lapointe did not finish.
***
The NorAm mini tour at the Nakkertok Nordic Centre continued on Saturday with Eastern Canadian Championships with classic individual start races.
In the men’s 15 kilometre, Lappe Nordic’s Andy Shields took a lead in the first lap and held on to win in 39:14.7, just 0.7 seconds ahead of CNEPH’s Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier. Team R.A.D.’s Russell Kennedy collected his second bronze of the weekend, 24.7 seconds back.
SMS Elite’s Anne Hart won the women’s 10 k in a reversal of Friday’s sprint podium. Hart’s 30:03.3 finish gave her a 9.3 second edge on CNEPH’s Sophie Carrier-Laforte and 20.0 seconds on AWCA’s Maya MacIsaac-Jones.
For the 123 men and 77 women doing the full distance, the weekend is a mini tour. For the younger categories, it is three separate events allowing the kids who couldn’t skip school on Friday to race Saturday and Sunday.
There should be over 700 finishers today with 768 on the start list. The volunteers will have more hours of work even after the open categories have finished.
Results will update continuously as more categories start.
![Paddy Caldwell (SMS/USST) racing to a career-best ninth in the men's 15 k freestyle individual start on Thursday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/paddy-15-k-skate.jpg")
(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Paddy Caldwell.)
Three years ago, American Patrick “Paddy” Caldwell made his debut at Junior World Championships, racing to 10th in the 20-kilometer skiathlon in Val di Fiemme, Italy. It was the first time he had ever done a skiathlon; he was 19 years old and a college freshman at the time.
Now a 22-year-old Dartmouth sophomore, who continues to train with the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) as a member of the U.S. Ski Team’s development “D” team, Caldwell (son of four-time Olympic cross-country skier Tim Caldwell and cousin of current U.S. Ski Team standout Sophie Caldwell) is in his third U23 World Championships. The skiathlon distance has increased to 30 k, yet that classic-to-skate race remained his main focus for this year’s U23 Worlds at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.
Earlier this week, he broke through with his best-ever sprint result at the championships, reaching the quarterfinals and placing 18th overall in the classic sprint. Then, on Thursday in the men’s 15 k freestyle, he cracked the top 10 for the first time in his U23/Junior Worlds career.
“I was really excited going into today’s race,” Caldwell wrote in an email on Friday morning. “15km FS is one of my favorite race formats. I have been targeting this week of races all year and was really looking forward to this race in particular.”
While the sprint was a primer for Caldwell, he said it also boosted his confidence leading into the two individual distance races at U23s.
“I have been working on my sprinting a lot this year and I am psyched to be mixing it up in the heats!” he wrote.
He described the conditions on Thursday as hard-packed with a fair amount of moisture, “which made for some fast skiing.”
It was overcast — grey and spitting rain at times — a stark contrast from the preceding bluebird days. But with temperatures just below freezing, the course remained firm.
“My strategy for the day was to pin it from the start and hold on,” said Caldwell, who started 44th of 53 in the men’s three-lap, individual start race, in a post-race interview with the U.S. Ski Team. “It was a really tight race and I definitely paid for my first lap, but I am happy to have put it all out there.”
After being passed by Russia’s eventual winner Alexander Bolshunov, who started 30 seconds behind him in bib 45, Caldwell initially finished sixth, 1:03.6 minutes behind Bolshunov. Three later starters ultimately bumped the American to ninth, including Russia’s Alexey Chervotkin, who took second at the finish, 21.8 seconds behind Bolshunov (who won in 32:55.7).
“I started off with a fast first lap and was getting splits between 1st and 4th for the first five or six kilometers,” Caldwell recalled in an email. “Bolshunov caught me around 7 kms into the race… I skied with him for about 1.5km but on the big downhill halfway through the 5km loop another skier slotted in between us and Bolshunov ended up gapping us before I could get around the other skier — it would have been sweet to ski with him some more but who knows how long I could have stuck with him. I could see him for the rest of the race which was a good gauge and kept me pushing to make up time on him.
![The all-Russian podium in the men's 15 k freestyle on Thursday at 2017 U23 World Championships, with Alexander Bolshunov (c) who won by nearly 22 seconds over Alexey Chervotkin (l) in second, and was 28.2 seconds ahead of Denis Spitsov (r) in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF8375.jpg")
For the second-straight day of 2017 Junior/U23 World Championships, Russia claimed all of the medals in the men’s race, with Denis Spitsov placing third (+28.2).
“It’s very, very cool,” Bolshunov, the silver medalist in Tuesday’s classic sprint, told the U.S. Ski Team media. “I couldn’t explain my emotions now, it’s really cool.”
“I was really excited to be in the mix with the top guys today,” Caldwell told the U.S. Ski Team. “U23s have been my focus all year and I am psyched to have improved on my results from past U23 and World Junior races.”
Next up for Caldwell, Saturday’s skiathlon, which will be his first since placing 20th in the 2015 skiathlon in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
“I have only done two skiathlons (Val de Fiemme and Almaty) but both were really fun and exciting races,” he wrote. “Mass start races are always a blast!”
![Adam Martin (Northern Michigan University) racing to 22nd in the men's 15 k freestyle at 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF3348.jpg")
Four American men raced the 15 k, with Adam Martin (Northern Michigan University) placing 22nd (+2:22.4), Jack Hegman (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) 24th (+2:25.2), and Cal Deline (Dartmouth Ski Team) 37th (+3:48.6). For Martin, 22nd was his best at U23 Worlds by one place, and Hegman and Deline also notched personal bests at their first U23 Worlds.
Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) led Canadian men in 34th (+3:20.2) for his best result at his U23 Worlds debut as well. Alexis Dumas, of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH) followed in 38th (+3:52.9), tying his U23 best. Julien Lamoureux (CNEPH) was 43rd (+4:16.7) in his first race of U23 Worlds, and Scott James Hill (Team Hardwood) 49th (+6:15.2).
Second-Straight Win for Dyvik; Beatty 16th
![Dahria Beatty (AWCA/Canadian U25 Team) racing to 16th in the women's 10 k freestyle on Thursday at 2017 U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF2714.jpg")
In the women’s 10 k freestyle, Dahria Beatty (Alberta World Cup Academy/Canadian National U25 Team) notched her second top 20 of the week in 16th, after placing 12th in Tuesday’s classic sprint.
She finished the two-lap 10 k in 27:39.8, more than a minute faster than her 10 k freestyle time at 2017 U.S. nationals last month (where she finished 17th. Beatty went on to place fourth in the classic sprint and win the freestyle prologue at U.S. nationals).
On Thursday, she was 1:25.8 minutes back from the winner, Sweden’s Anna Dyvik, who racked up her second-straight gold of the championships with the best time of the day in 26:14.0.
“Today’s race played out fairly similarly to the 10k skate at US Nationals, but not on an extreme of scale,” Beatty wrote in an email, referring to the conditions. “I was skiing where I wanted to be for the first two thirds of the race but then I really struggled at the end.
“Today’s race was extremely hard,” she added. “The courses here are really tough by any standard and the altitude makes it even harder. I tried to go out fairly conservatively by my standards today as I like starting fast. I was able to start smooth and build through the first lap into the second and was sitting in a good position just in the top 10.”
Despite trying to pace her race, Beatty described “blowing up” in the last 2.5 k.
“The last big climb was a very painful one today,” she wrote. “I haven’t quite figured out the 5k course here at Soldier Hollow yet and how to save something in my legs for the end but I was happy with my effort. I raced hard and used the tactics that I thought would give me the best result possible. I was hoping to be able to be in the top 12 but am still pleased to have skied at that pace for part of the race.”
![Sweden's Anna Dyvik racing to her second-straight gold medal of 2017 U23 World Championships on Thursday in the women's 10 k freestyle at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF2091.jpg")
Beatty started 32nd (of 44) and Dyvik in bib 33 passed her around 5 k.
“I only skied with her for a few hundred meters, she was moving fast and I knew if I tried to stay with her I would end of blowing up and really paying for it later in the race,” Beatty wrote.
The top Canadian in the last two U23 races, Beatty planned to race Saturday’s 15 k skiathlon.
“I’m looking forward to the Skiathlon with hopes of being able to put together a bit stronger of a performance all the way to the finish line not just for part of the race,” Beatty wrote. “Mass starts are always exciting and I am looking forward to doing some pack skiing, it was pretty windy out there today.”
Dyvik outlasted four Norwegians for the win, which she took by 16.8 seconds over Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng (Heidi Weng’s cousin) in second. Norway claimed second through fourth place, with Lovise Heimdal in third (+23.0), and Lotta Udnes Weng (Weng’s twin sister) just 0.1 seconds off the podium in fourth (+23.1).
Half a second behind Beatty, the Czech Republic’s Petra Hyncicova (University of Colorado-Boulder Ski Team) finished 17th (+1:26.3) for her first top 20 at her second U23 Worlds.
Canada’s Frédérique Vézina (CNEPH) finished 25th (+1:58.8) for a career best at her second U23 Worlds as well, Katherine Stewart-Jones (NTDC Thunder Bay/NST U25 Team) was 27th (+2:07.8), and Jenn Jackson (Lappe Nordic/Team Hardwood) 37th (+3:31.8).
Kelsey Phinney (SVSEF) led the Americans in 30th (+2:24.6), Jesse Knori (University of Colorado-Boulder) was 32nd (+2:36.4), Alayna Sonnesyn (University of Vermont) 33rd (+2:51.4) in her first U23 Worlds race, and Nichole Bathe (University of Alaska Fairbanks) 39th (+4:19.8).
Australia’s Casey Wright (University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team) followed in 40th (+4:22.0).
![American Patrick "Paddy" Caldwell chasing Russia's Alexander Bolshunov during the men's 15 k freestyle individual start on Thursday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Bolshunov went on to win and Caldwell placed ninth for a career best. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF4221.jpg")
FIS Nordic U23 World Championships (Midway, Utah): 10/15 k freestyle
Paddy Caldwell, of the Stratton Mountain School and U.S. Ski Team D-team, raced to the first top 10 of his career at a U23 World Championship on Thursday, placing ninth in the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.
Caldwell started 44th (of 53) and crossed the finish in sixth before being bumped down three places to ninth. Upon being passed by the eventual winner, Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov, who started 30 seconds behind him in bib 45, Caldwell worked to keep pace with the Russian and ended up 1:03.6 minutes off his winning time. The silver medalist in Tuesday’s classic sprint, Bolshunov took the victory in 32:55.7 minutes, and Russia swept the men’s podium for the second-straight day at U23/Junior World Championships with Alexey Chervotkin in second (+21.8) and Denis Spitsov in third (+28.2).
Also for the U.S., Adam Martin (Northern Michigan University) placed 22nd (+2:22.4), Jack Hegman (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) was 24th (+2:25.2), and Cal Deline (Dartmouth Ski Team) 37th (+3:48.6).
Evan Palmer-Charrette (NTDC Thunder Bay) led Canadian men in 34th (+3:20.2), Alexis Dumas (CNEPH) was 38th (+3:52.9), Julien Lamoureux (CNEPH) 43rd (+4:16.7), and Scott James Hill (Team Hardwood) 49th (+6:15.2).
In the women’s 10 k freestyle Thursday morning, Sweden’s Anna Dyvik won her second-straight race of the championships, finishing in 26:14.0 minutes. Norway took second through fourth with Tiril Udnes Weng in second (+16.8), Lovise Heimdal in third (+23.0), and Lotta Udnes Weng (Weng’s twin sister) just 0.1 seconds off the podium in fourth (+23.1).
Dahria Beatty (AWCA/Canadian U25 Team) was the top Canadian in 16th (+1:25.8), and Petra Hyncicova (a University of Colorado-Boulder Ski Team member who’s skiing for her native Czech Republic) followed in 17th (+1:26.3).
Canada’s Frédérique Vezina (CNEPH) placed 25th (+1:58.8) for a career best at her second U23 Worlds, Katherine Stewart-Jones (NTDC Thunder Bay/NST U25 Team) was 27th (+2:07.8), and Jenn Jackson (Lappe Nordic/Team Hardwood) 37th (+3:31.8).
Kelsey Phinney (SVSEF) led the Americans in 30th (+2:24.6), Jesse Knori (University of Colorado-Boulder) was 32nd (+2:36.4), Alayna Sonnesyn (University of Vermont) 33rd (+2:51.4), and Nichole Bathe (University of Alaska Fairbanks) 39th (+4:19.8).
Australia’s Casey Wright (University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team) followed in 40th (+4:22.0).
***
FIS Nordic Combined Junior World Championships: 4 x 5 k team event
[UPDATED] In the lone nordic-combined team event of Junior World Championships, Austria took the win in 46:17.3 with Samuel Mraz, Marc Luis Rainer, Florian Dagn, and Mika Vermeulen. The team ranked fourth after the jumping portion and started 23 seconds behind Japan in first, but captured the 9.7-second victory over France (Lilian Vaxelaire, Laurent Muhlethaler, Theo Rochat, Mael Tyrode), the third-ranked team after the jump.
The Czech Republic started the relay in fifth and reached the podium in third (+15.3), with Ondrej Payout, David Zemek, Jan Vytrval, and Lukas Danek.
The U.S. (Elijah Vargas, Grant Andrews, Ben Loomis, Stephen Schumann) finished seventh (+2:10.8) out of nine teams after starting sixth. Last year, the U.S. squad placed sixth at 2016 Junior Worlds in Rasnov, Romania, and in 2015 in Almaty, Kazakhstan, they were seventh.
Japan slipped from first at the start of the relay to eighth at the finish (+2:46.4).
![Canada's Dahria Beatty (8) chasing Norway's Thea Krokan Murud (3) in the fifth quarterfinal of the women's classic sprint on Tuesday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Beatty finished 12th on the day while Murud went on to place second in the final. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF6899.jpg")
A year ago, Canada’s Dahria Beatty had eight World Cup starts to her name. Not too shabby considering she was 21, but now another year older, the Whitehorse, Yukon, native has more than doubled that amount with a grand total of 21 World Cup starts — one of which included her 15th-place breakthrough at the Ski Tour Canada classic sprint in Canmore, Alberta.
Beatty lives and trains in Canmore as a member of both the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA) and Canadian National U25 Team. She led the NorAm (Continental Cup) standings at the end of last season, reiterating her position as one of Canada’s top talents. Just under a month ago, she won the freestyle sprint prologue at U.S. nationals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.
Then on Tuesday, on the same 1.3-kilometer sprint course at Soldier Hollow, Beatty notched a career-best individual result at her second U23 World Championships, placing 12th in the classic sprint. She started the day by qualifying in eighth, 3.85 seconds back from the fastest qualifier, Sweden’s Anna Dyvik, who rounded the course in 3:39.4 minutes.
“My qualifier was pretty solid. I skied well, I made one small tactical mistake on the last climb but the rest of the race went smoothly,” Beatty reflected in an email. “This is a really taxing course and by the finish shoot my legs were pretty exhausted … it was a fight to get across that line. I was happy to qualify 8th and to post another consistent qualifier. Overall my qualifying speed has improved this year which I am very happy with.”
She was one of three Canadian women to qualify in the top 30, with Jenn Jackson (Lappe Nordic/Team Hardwood) posting the 22nd-ranked time (+12.99) and Katherine Stewart-Jones (NTDC Thunder Bay/NST U25 Team) qualifying in 28th (+16.61).
Maya MacIsaac-Jones, Beatty’s teammate on the AWCA and national U25 Team, missed advancing to the heats in 32nd (+20.68), 3.7 seconds out of 30th.
![American Kelsey Phinney (6) racing alongside Norway's Lotta Udnes Weng (5) during their quarterfinal of the women's classic sprint on Tuesday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF6679.jpg")
All four of the U.S. women qualified, with Kelsey Phinney (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) leading them in sixth (+2.77), followed by Nichole Bathe (University of Alaska-Fairbanks) in 14th (+8.8), Jesse Knori (University of Colorado-Boulder) in 19th (+12.07), and Corey Stock (Bridger Ski Foundation) in 26th (+15.11).
Out of those seven North Americans, Beatty was the lone woman to advance to the semifinals, which had been her “base” goal to start the day. She finished third in her quarterfinal (the fifth and final quarterfinal) and advanced as a lucky loser with a fast-enough time.
“My quarterfinal was going well, but I had a stumble cresting the last hill and l lost contact with the top 2 women,” Beatty reflected in an email. “My heat was really fast and I was able to recover from the stumble and move onto the semis as lucky loser. When I finished I had a feeling it was a fast heat but you always have to wait and see.”
Norway’s Thea Krokan Murud won her quarterfinal in 3:35.2, which would hold up as the fastest time of the day until the final. Germany’s Pia Fink took second in that heat (+1.25) and Beatty was third (+2.45), ahead of Russia’s Yana Kirpichenko in fourth (+7.13) and Stewart-Jones in fifth (+12.63).
Without much time to recover before the second semifinal, Beatty explained that she was still pretty tired by the start of it. She ended up sixth in that semifinal, 8.04 seconds behind Murud, who won it in 3:37.42.
“Overall it was great to be in the semi finals and I learned a lot about tactics and where my weaknesses lie,” Beatty wrote. “I just didn’t have enough in the tank today to contend for the final but I am happy to have race my first international semi final and am looking forward to the 10k skate Thursday.”
With a previous U23 best result of 20th in the 2015 classic sprint in Almaty, Kazakhstan (and 15th in the 5 k classic at 2014 Junior Worlds the year before), 12th was Beatty’s best ever at a world championship.
“Racing well on the World Cup had definitely helped my confidence in myself and race knowledge. I feel I am right in the mix with these top women and on the perfect day I could be on that podium,” she wrote. “Going into today I had set base goal (I would be happy with the day if I achieved this) at making the semi finals. My target goal was making the final and my dream goal was being on the podium. My goals will stay pretty similar for the distance races. There are two more races and we’re at altitude so you never know what can happen.”
![Jesse Knori (University of Colorado-Boulder) leading Estonia's Anette Veerpalu during their quarterfinal of the women's classic sprint at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. Knori finished third in that heat (while Veerpalu was sixth). While she didn't advance to the semifinals, Knori was the top U.S. woman in 15th on the day. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF6774.jpg")
While Beatty reached the semifinals, the two other Canadians and four Americans were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Knori led three U.S. women in the top 20 overall, placing 15th on the day after finishing third in her heat, 7.18 seconds behind Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng (who won that heat by 1.07 seconds over another Norwegian Lovise Heimdal).
Canada’s Jackson raced in that same quarterfinal and finished fifth (+8.72), behind Italy’s Caterina Ganz in fourth (+7.56), for 21st overall.
Both fourth in their quarterfinals, Phinney ended up 16th and Bathe 18th overall. Phinney finished 3.81 seconds behind Weng’s twin sister, Lotta Udnes Weng, in first. Bathe finished 7.14 seconds behind the winner of her quarterfinal, Germany’s Sofie Krehl.
![American Corey Stock (Bridger Ski Foundation) leads Australia's Casey Wright (University of Alaska Anchorage) in the third quarterfinal of the women's classic sprint at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. They finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in that heat. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com).](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/Corey-Stock-and-Casey-Wright-third-quarterfinal-classic-sprint.jpg")
Stock ended up 22nd after finishing fifth in Phinney’s quarterfinal, 10.08 seconds behind Lotta Weng. Also in that quarterfinal, Australia’s Casey Wright, of the University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team, finished sixth (+12.37). Wright qualified in 25th and ultimately placed 29th overall.
Canada’s third woman, Stewart-Jones placed 24th after finishing fifth in the same quarterfinal as Beatty.
In the first quarterfinal, the Czech Republic’s Petra Hyncicova (Knori’s teammate at the University of Colorado-Boulder) finished fourth, 4.33 seconds behind Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist in first. Hyncicova qualified in 21st and ended up 20th overall.
![Sweden's 22-year-old Anna Dyvik celebrates her win in the U23 World Championships women's classic sprint on Tuesday, nearly 3 1/2 seconds clear of second place. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF7735.jpg")
Dahlqvist and Murud won the first and second semifinals, respectively, then took a back seat to Dyvik — the qualifying winner who finished second in both her quarterfinal and semi — in the final. Dyvik took control early and avoided a crash near the back to win the final in 3:32.40, the fastest time of the day. She won by more than three seconds for her first U23 Worlds medal, after earning gold in the relay and bronze in the skiathlon at 2014 Junior Worlds.
Behind her, Murud claimed silver (+3.42), edging Dahlqvist, the second Swede on the podium in third (+3.76).
Norway’s Heimdal took fourth (+6.03), while Krehl and Lotta Weng, who fell, finished fifth (+33.34) and sixth (+1:13.17), respectively.
Junior Worlds racing continues on Wednesday with the 5/10 k freestyle individual starts.
Results: Qualifier | Brackets | Overall
![The women's classic sprint podium on Tuesday at U23 World Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, with Sweden's Anna Dyvik (c) in first, Norway's Thea Krokan Murud (l) in second, and Sweden's Maja Dahlqvist (r) in third. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/02/SMF7917-2.jpg")
![Norway’s Fredrik Riseth celebrates his win in the men's classic sprint at U23 World Championships on Tuesday at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. He beat out Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov by 1.05 seconds for the victory. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/SMF7884.jpg")
FIS Nordic U23 World Championships (Midway, Utah): Classic sprint
[UPDATED] All four American women and three Canadians qualified for the women’s classic sprint heats on the first day of U23 World Championships on Tuesday, and in the men’s qualifier, three Americans finished in the top 30 to advance to the quarterfinals at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.
Kelsey Phinney led the Americans in sixth in the women’s 1.3-kilometer qualifier, clocking in 2.77 seconds off the fastest women’s qualifying time of 3:39.40, set by Sweden’s Anna Dyvik.
Canada’s Dahria Beatty qualified eighth (+3.85), followed by Nichole Bathe (USA) in 14th (+8.8), Jesse Knori (USA) in 19th (+12.07), Jenn Jackson (CAN) in 22nd (+12.99), Corey Stock (USA) in 26th (+15.11), and Katherine Stewart-Jones (CAN) in 28th (+16.61).
In the men’s 1.5 k qualifier, American Cole Morgan claimed with the 11th-fastest time, 8.19 seconds behind Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov, who topped the qualifying round in 3:36.52.
Also for the U.S., Paddy Caldwell qualified 20th (+14.68) and Jack Hegman 23rd (+15.59), while Cal Deline missed the top 30 by 0.14 seconds in 31st.
In the quarterfinals, Morgan finished second by 0.85 seconds to Bolshunov, and both automatically advanced to the semifinals. There, the Russian finished second to Norway’s Fredrik Riseth while Morgan took fifth, 9.67 seconds out of first. Overall, Morgan placed ninth on the day for his best result at a Junior or U23 World Championship.
The top North American woman on Tuesday, Beatty finished third in her quarterfinal, 2.45 seconds behind the winner of her heat, Norway’s Thea Krokan Murud. Beatty advanced to the semifinals as a lucky loser, where she ended up sixth, 8.04 seconds behind Murud, who won that heat as well. Overall, Beatty placed 12th for her first top 20 at U23 Worlds.
Meanwhile, Stewart-Jones raced in the same quarterfinal as Beatty and finished fifth (+12.63) for 24th overall.
Knori was the top U.S. woman in 15th overall after placing third in her quarterfinal, 7.18 seconds behind Norway’s Tiril Udnes Weng, who won that heat.
Phinney was right behind in 16th overall after finishing fourth in her quarterfinal, 3.81 seconds behind Weng’s sister, Lotta Udnes Weng, in first. Stock also raced in that quarterfinal and finished fifth (+10.08) for 22nd overall.
Petra Hyncicova, who skis for the University of Colorado-Boulder but is representing her native Czech Republic at U23s, took 20th on Tuesday. She qualified in 21st then finished fourth in her quarterfinal, 4.33 seconds behind Sweden’s Maja Dahlqvist in first.
Dahlqvist went on to win the first semifinal and Norway’s Murud won the second semi. Both met in the final, where Dyvik — who had placed second from the first semifinal — dominated throughout to take the win in 3:32.40. Murud finished 3.42 seconds back in second, and Sweden had two on the podium with Dahlqvist in third (+3.76).
On the men’s side, Caldwell ended up 18th after placing fourth in the same quarterfinal as Morgan, finishing 6.17 seconds behind Bolshunov in first.
Hegman placed 28th on the day after finishing sixth in his quarterfinal, 5.71 seconds behind Norway’s Chrisander Skjoenberg Holth in first.
Norway’s Riseth won his quarterfinal and semifinal before taking the victory in the final, by 1.05 seconds over Bolshunov with a winning time of 3:32.78. Norway had two on the podium with Joachim Aurland in third (+2.3).
Results:
Women’s qualifier | Women’s brackets | Women’s overall
Men’s qualifier | Men’s brackets | Men’s overall
***
FIS Nordic Combined Junior World Championships (Park City & Midway, Utah): Individual normal hill/10 k
![Finland’s Arttu Mäkiaho winning the normal hill/10 k competition on Tuesday, the first day of Nordic Combined Junior World Championships, at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. He won by nearly 22 seconds. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad.com).](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/SMF9035.jpg")
[UPDATED] On the first day of Nordic Combined Junior Worlds, with the jumping taking place at Utah Olympic Park in Park City, Utah, and racing at Soldier Hollow in nearby Midway, Stephen Schumann achieved his first top 10 in the individual normal hill/10 k.
Schumann jumped to 28th then clocked the fifth-fastest cross-country time to place 10th overall, 55 seconds behind Finland’s Arttu Mäkiaho, who won in 25:54.5 minutes.
Mäkiaho started the 10 k in ninth, based on his jump, with a 35-second starting deficit to jump leader Laurent Muhlethaler of France. While Muhlethaler dropped to 17th in the 10 k, Mäkiaho clocked the third-fastest ski time to win the first nordic-combined competition of the championships.
Austria’s Mika Vermeulen finished 21.6 seconds back in second, after picking off 27 places in the ski race. He jumped to 29th and skied the fastest 10 k in 24:48.1.
Germany’s Martin Hahn rounded out the podium in third (+25.6), moving up from 26th in the jump with the fourth-fastest ski time.
Four Americans competed, with Ben Loomis landing in the top 20 in 18th (+1:38.5), Koby Vargas in 37th (+3:44.0) and Grant Andrews in 44th (+4:25.6).
Junior/U23 World Championships continue Wednesday with the junior 5/10 k freestyle individual starts, plus women’s and men’s ski jumping. Complete schedule
Results: Normal hill/10 k
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World University Games cross-country skiing (Almaty, Kazakhstan): 5/10 k freestyle pursuits
![Jørgen Grav of Ford Sayre competing for Norway at the World University Games in Almaty, Kazakhstan. (Photo: Almaty2017.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2017/01/FISU8721.jpg")
Cross-country ski competitions continued at the World University Games on Tuesday with pursuit races based off the finish times from Monday’s 5 and 10 kilometer classic races.
In the men’s 10 k pursuit, Dmitriy Rostovtsev overtook Russian teammate (and yesterday’s winner) Valeriy Gontar to win by 14.7 seconds. Armenia’s Sergey Mikayelyan moved from fourth up to third place (+52.0) to claim the final podium spot.
Jørgen Grav of Norway, a former University of Vermont skier now in graduate studies at Dartmouth College and competing for Ford Sayre, placed 36th, +5:14.4.
For Canada William Dumas (Skinouk) skied from 48th all the way up to 40th to lead the team and finish +5:26.0. Carrington Pomeroy (Nakkertok) moved from 57th up to 48th (+6:01.2), Conor Thompson (Université Laval) finished 52nd (+6:33.3), Gavin Shields (Lappe Nordic) 58th (+6:54.6), Jordan Cascagnette (Team Hardwood) 62nd (+7:24.8), and Alexis Morin (Université Laval) 68th (+8:44.1).
Vincent Mason of the University of Wyoming had the best U.S. finish, clocking in at 55th (+6:36.6). Teammate Will Timmons finished 63rd (+7:29.9) and Sam Wiswell 71st (+9:27.9). Mitchell Hollman (Air Force Academy) 74th (+10:25.1), Kevin Geisen (Western State) 78th (+12:07.6), and Cameron Moore (Western State) 79th (+12:50.0).
In the women’s 5 k skate pursuit, Anna Nechaevskaya of Russia moved up and stole the lead from Russian teammate (and yesterday’s winner) Lilia Vasilieva (+18.1). Anna Shevchenko of Kazakhstan kept her hold on third place (+21.3).
Elise Sulser of the University of Wyoming again led the United States, slipping one spot to finish 24th (+3:47.1). Her teammate Meghan Kent was 47th (+6:39.9) and Yara Thomas 50th (+7:20.0). Emma Malmqvist (Colorado Mesa University) placed 53rd (+8:04.7), Sierra Jech (State University of New York) 55th (+8:26.9), and Sierra Foster (Oregon State University) 61st (+10:00.3).
For Canada, Christel Pichard-Joliceur (Université Laval) finished 31st (+4:35.9). Shelby Dickey (Highlands Trailblazers) followed in 41st (+5:35.9), then Emma Camicioli (Rocky Mountain Racers) in 44th (+5:53.0) and Kyla Vanderzwet (Nakkertok) 45th (+5:54.8).
World University Games biathlon (Almaty, Kazakhstan): 15/20 k individual
In the women’s 15 k individual, the first biathlon competition of the Universiade, Kazakhstan took four of the top five places with much of their World Cup team competing on home turf. Alina Raikova won over Galina Vishnevskaya by 2:21.1 thanks to just two penalties to Vishnevskaya’s four. Ukraine’s Nadiia Bielkina was third, +2:23.6 with five penalties.
The lone Canadian finisher was Jessica Paterson of the University of Alberta, who finished 23rd (+13:06.1) with eight missed shots.
In the men’s 20 k individual, Baptiste Jouty of France came out on top by 41.0 seconds over Sergey Korostylev of Russia, with two penalties for each racer. Third place went to Semen Suchilov, also of Russia, +1:05.5 with three missed shots.
Seamus Boyd-Porter of Memorial University led Canada with a 36th-place finish, +13:33.1 and eight missed shots. Taij Isaac Mann of MacEwan University finished 42nd with two missed shots (+19:37.2), and Sasha Eccleston 45th with seven missed shots (+23:07.8).
No American biathletes competed.
Katharine Ogden didn’t worry too much about the slush at Junior World Championships on Tuesday. She tested her skis once, remained confident in her kick and resolved to “hammer the whole thing” because 5 kilometers is pretty short, the 18-year-old Stratton Mountain School and U.S. Ski Team D-team member explained in an email.
“I didn’t notice too much of a change in the conditions between laps, although by my second lap I’m not sure I would have noticed much, it was definitely a sufferfest out there,” she wrote.
Ogden raced to 13th in the 5 k classic individual start on the second day of U23/Junior World Championships in Rasnov, Romania, leading the U.S. team on a classic distance day with temperatures in the mid-to-upper 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
![American Katharine Ogden (6), of the Stratton Mountain School and U.S. Ski Team, chases Germany’s Antonia Fraebel during the junior women’s 5 k classic at the Junior World Championships on Tuesday in Rasnov, Romania. (Photo: FIS Nordic JWSC & U23 WSC)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/ogden.jpg")
The sixth starter, Ogden finished 56.8 seconds behind the winner Marte Mæhlum Johansen of Norway, who completed the two-lap race in 15:34. In Ogden’s second junior world championships, the result was her third best after placing sixth in the 10 k skiathlon and 11th in the 5 k freestyle last year in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
“I’m psyched about my race and I’m hoping to carry the momentum into the skate 10k which is a much better event for me,” she wrote of Thursday’s race. “I’m mostly focused on the skate race here.”
When asked how Rasnov compares to Almaty, Ogden explained they are “pretty similar in some ways but completely different in others.
“Almaty was a huge industrial city while Rasnov is a small rural mountain town,” she wrote. “The low snow has been common to both venues, however the situation is much worse here in Romania. It’s pretty awesome that we get the opportunity to travel to these crazy places and race because neither place is one that I would ordinarily get to experience.”
Finishing 21.2 second off her teammate’s pace and 1:18 behind the winner, Julia Kern (SMS/USST) notched her second-straight top 20 in as many races at this year’s junior worlds.
Kern finished 18th, and like Ogden, whose time ranked 18th at the halfway point, Kern sped up on her second lap to improve from the 24th-fastest split at 2.5 k.
“Honestly, my plan was to feel it out as I went along because when I saw the first starters lap, they looked like they were in a lot of pain and that it was super slow and grueling,” Kern wrote in an email. “I also had talked with my coach Matt Boobar about water ‘feeds’, where he would dump cold water on me while I was racing so I could cool off a little. I found the cold water helped me cool off a little in the heat.”
She started the race 26th out of almost 80 junior women and felt the conditions were likely similar for everyone: “hot, wet, slow, and slushy,” she wrote.
“Quickly after I had started out, my body set into a pace automatically that was appropriate,” Kern explained. “Is was so slow out there that it was really hard to go significantly faster without wasting a lot of energy; it was almost like the speed you were going was hard to change. … I definitely didn’t feel like I was having a good race just by how slow I was skiing, but I guess the results showed otherwise.”
Her goal had been a top 25, so 18th place exceeded that.
“I am very happy with my result today and pleasantly surprised!” she added. “The coaches had done a great job giving splits out on course, but I knew that when they said I was top 20, there were plenty of fast girls still behind me. It is hard to tell how I feel about the actual race because I don’t think it felt good for anyone; it was all about who could fight through the pain the fastest.”
Finishing 5.3 seconds behind the winner, Norway’s Lotta Udnes Weng placed second for the second-straight day and Germany’s Antonia Fraebel took third (+10.7).
![Canada's Hannah Mehain racing to 44th in the women 5 k classic on Tuesday at Junior World Championships in Rasnov, Romania. (Photo: FIS Nordic JWSC & U23 WSC 2016/Facebook)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/12747241_1733128283597891_8466385121798580815_o.jpg")
Canada’s Marie Corriveau placed 37th, 2:04.8 behind the winner, and explained in an email that she found it difficult to push hard in the slushy conditions.
“I am not used to skiing in those conditions,” Corriveau, of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre in Quebec City, wrote. “I know it was the same for everybody, but usually I take advantage because of my good technique, but today it was almost impossible to ski well.
“I am not feeling bad [about] my race, because i know I gave everything!” she added. “For sure, I would expect better for a 5km classic, but with the circumstances, I am pretty happy with this 37th place!”
Behind her, Canada’s Hannah Mehain placed 44th, Natalie Hynes was 58th and Sadie White 62nd. For the U.S., Vivian Hett placed 48th, and Leah Lange was 52nd.
Three Americans in the U23 men’s 15 k classic finished in the top 30, with Adam Martin of Northern Michigan University leading the way in 23rd. Paddy Caldwell (Dartmouth/SMS/USST) placed 27th and Kyle Bratrud (CXC) was 29th.
Unlike the junior women, who raced two laps, the men rounded the 2.5 k loop six times. A few men opted to double pole on skate skis and two of them, including Canada’s Julien Locke, were disqualified for violating classic technique.
“Preparing for this race presented some challenges I haven’t encountered before,” Martin, who previously raced at 2014 Junior World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy, wrote in an email. “To preserve snow, race organizers only allowed athletes to ski in short time periods on Sunday and Monday. I don’t think this affected me as I was able to pick my skis and execute the intervals I had planned, but it was definitely something new.”
![A bird's eye view of the race course at U23/Junior World Championships in Rasnov, Romania. (Photo: FIS Nordic JWSC & U23 WSC 2016/Facebook)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/12514092_1733112910266095_466505905666402118_o.jpg")
The 21st starter out of approximately 70, Martin recalled the snow feeling significantly slower on his third lap.
“I usually make an effort to start very hard, but considering the conditions, my focus was more on being relaxed at the beginning,” he explained. “I am happy with that strategy because it didn’t take long to feel the effort.”
Considering this was his personal best at a world championships, after placing 26th in the 10 k classic at 2014 junior worlds, Martin wrote that it felt great to improve.
“But to be honest it’s hard for me to celebrate too much when there are 22 guys beating me by up to three minutes at the event,” he added after finishing 3:02.2 behind the winner, Jens Burman of Sweden, who took gold in 40:02.
Russia’s Alexey Chervotkin was 26.8 seconds back in second place, and Norway’s Mikael Gunnulfsen placed third (+36.6).
In an email to FasterSkier, U.S. Ski Team Chris Grover recently explained that Martin had turned down World Cup starts for the Ski Tour Canada. In his place, there is one opening on the men’s roster that can be filled with an “outstanding performance” at U23 World Championships.
“As a collegiate skier … I think in some sense NCAAs is my only obligation each year for NMU,” Martin wrote of his decision to decline the spot. “Furthermore, I think I have some improvements I need to make especially in sprinting before I am ready to race a World Cup. Finally, I’m very excited to race some fast guys at NCAAs in a few weeks; I think they will be very high quality competitions.”
Finishing 25.2 seconds back from Martin on Tuesday, Caldwell placed 27th (+3:27.4) in his second U23 World Championships (after placing 15th in the 15 k freestyle and 20th in the 30 k skiathlon in Almaty last year). He started 19th and hung in the top 30 throughout his six laps.
Also in his second appearance at U23 worlds, Bratrud, in bib 22, notched his second-career top 30 after placing 19th in the 15 k freestyle last year. On Tuesday, he finished 3:46.1 back after posting faster splits earlier in the race.
![Canada’s Scott James Hill racing to 36th in the men's 15 k classic at U23 World Championships in Rasnov, Romania. (Photo: FIS Nordic JWSC & U23 WSC 2016/Facebook)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/10329191_1733112796932773_7897438602242453641_n.jpg")
“The race course today was pretty insane,” Bratrud wrote. “Originally it resembled Eagle glacier [in Alaska] which had me pretty stoked but as the race went on it broke down pretty bad. I’m not sure I have ever raced in conditions like that. Definitely an experience. Maybe the longest 15k I have ever done, at least feeling wise.
“I have been targeting these races my whole season so I was definitely disappointed with my result, but all things considered I am not super worried,” the 23-year-old Minnesota native added. “I didn’t feel great warming up and I generally don’t classic well in these type of conditions nor have I raced on them this year or more then a handful of times in my entire career. The wax techs worked extremely hard to give us great skis in these extremely challenging conditions. I am really looking forward to the skate race and the races moving forward [this season] in Germany and Italy.”
About 16 seconds outside the top 30, Canada’s Scott James Hill placed 36th (+4:03.3), Jack Carlyle was 42nd, and Alexis Dumas finished 53rd.
American Logan Hanneman was 55th, coming off 15th place in the freestyle sprint on Monday. He started 53rd, the latest of the North Americans aside from Locke, of Canada, who started 59th but was disqualified for skating.
In the junior men’s 10 k classic, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo claimed his second-straight gold in 28:57.8. Coming off three medals at the Youth Olympic Games, South Korea’s Magnus Kim (who is half Norwegian) placed second, 11.2 seconds back, and Finland’s Lauri Lepisto earned bronze (+25.4).
American Cully Brown finished 35th (+2:01.9), Ian Torchia was 43rd, Thomas O’Harra 54th, and Henry Harmeyer 65th for the U.S.
Ryan Jackson was the top Canadian in 46th, followed by Antoine Blais in 52nd, Joey Foster in 56th, and Philippe Boucher in 67th.
In the U23 women’s 10 k classic, Heather Mooney, a former Middlebury skier, was the top American in 38th (+4:27), just ahead of Canada’s Frédérique Vezina in 39th (+4:31).
Russia’s Anastasia Sedova won gold in 28:49.4, while Germany’s Victoria Carl finished 13.1 seconds back in second, and Petra Novakova of the Czech Republic was third (+17).
Also for the U.S., Kristen Bourne placed 40th, Felicia Gesior was 42nd, and Kelsey Phinney 44th.
Canada’s Kendra Murray finished between Gesior and Phinney in 43rd, Jenn Jackson was 45th and Sophie Carrier-Laforte was 46th.
![Jasper Good (U.S. Nordic Combined) racing to a career-best 11th in his fourth Junior World Championships on Tuesday in Rasnov, Romania. (Photo: Romina Eggert/Facebook)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/12747529_637696939704838_879662155884721196_o.jpg")
Also on Tuesday, 19-year-old Jasper Good raced to 11th for U.S. Nordic Combined in the normal hill/10 k Gundersen. In his fourth Junior World Championships, it was his first individual top 20.
Fifteenth on the hill, he posted the 13th-fastest ski time to finish 11th, 3:48.9 behind the winner, Austria’s Bernhard Flaschberger. Germany’s Vinzenz Geiger crossed the line nearly a minute later in second (+59.6). Germany’s Terence Weber held onto third (+1:08.5) by three-tenths of a second over Eero Hirvonen of Finland in fourth.
“This year’s World Junior Championships are full of schedule changes and an extreme lack of snow here in Rasnov,” Good wrote on his Facebook page. “We were able to get the first individual competition off yesterday and I had a career best finish of 11th place! I didn’t ski my best race, but I was able to move up from 15th after jumping! I’m happy with this and excited to improve in the next competition! “
Also for the U.S., Stephen Schumann placed 31st, Jared Shumate was 37th and Koby Vargas 44th.
Racing continues Thursday with the cross-country 10/15 k freestyle individual starts, replacing the skiathlons. Friday’s junior relays have been shortened to 4 x 2.5 k for the women (and remain 4 x 5 k for the men), and Wednesday’s nordic combined event was postponed.
Nordic combined has two remaining competitions: the normal hill/5 k on Thursday and normal hill/4 x 5 k team event on Friday.
![Organizers unload snow onto the course Wednesday during the off-day at U23/Junior World Championships in Rasnov, Romania. (Photo: FIS Nordic JWSC & U23 WSC 2016/Facebook)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/12734063_1733411983569521_3298376136529072423_n.jpg")
![American Julia Kern (SMS/USST) racing to a career-best 16th in the Junior World Championships freestyle sprint on Monday in Rasnov, Romania. (Photo: Pete Leonard)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/julia-kern-skate-sprint.jpg")
Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Canada’s Marie Corriveau and American Ben Saxton.
Julia Kern’s biggest hurdle on Monday? Hands down: the heat.
“The conditions today we’re a very good representation of how poor this winter has been,” 18-year-old Julia Kern, of the Stratton Mountain School and U.S. Ski Team D-team, wrote in an email on the opening day of U23/Junior World Championships racing in Rasnov, Romania.
Kern placed 16th in the junior women’s 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint, qualifying with the 14th-fastest time then placing fourth in her quarterfinal, 2.8 seconds out of first.
“It was about 50 degrees and sunny, so pretty darn hot, and man made snow,” she continued. “Almost the entire course was deep slush, making it hard to power through a sprint like I usually do. My approach was to ski light and quick, but still getting power through the legs and poles. I hammered the first hill, leaving a little left in the tank to really work the flats and the finish.
“The heat was definitely one of my biggest challenges today because I tend to overheat very quickly,” Kern, a Massachusetts native, added. “I found that pouring some water on my hair and staying in the shade before I started helped.”
Sixteenth marked her career best at Junior World Championships since placing 32nd and 38th in the classic sprint and skiathlon, respectively, at last year’s junior worlds in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
“My goals for these championships were pretty conservative because I wasn’t sure how I compared with others after having injuries this year and I also had no strong sprint results thus far,” wrote Kern, who had compartment-syndrome surgery last spring followed by a back injury at the start of the season. “My goal was to make the heats and I achieved that. Anything more than that was just a bonus!”
She was one of two North American junior women to reach the heats on Monday: Canada’s Marie Corriveau qualified 29th and went on to place 25th when she finished fifth in her quarterfinal, 12.41 seconds behind the winner of that heat.
Kern had qualified 14th, 9.63 seconds behind the top qualifier, Anastasia Kirillova of Belarus.
“I was pretty confident about my qualifier,” Kern explained. “I felt like I was gaining on the Russian who started in front of me. By the time I was half way down the downhill, my legs were burning more than they ever have, to the point where I couldn’t feel them. I knew that I had given it my all. The heats were a lot different since the course is really tight, barely 2 people wide.”
In her quarterfinal, she found herself in sixth early after what she considered “a really bad start”. The pack remained together until a 180-degree turn, where Kern recalled one of the two Germans in the heat stepping on the skis of France’s Delphine Claudel, causing Claudel to spin around and face Kern.
“I tried to ski as quickly as I could around her, but had lost contact to the first 3 girls,” Kern wrote. “I worked the flat and downhill, almost catching up the 3rd, but not quite. I was still content with how I raced and was really excited to place 16th!”
Sweden’s Emma Ribom won the heat in 3:07.28 and would ultimately place fifth in the final. Norway took first and second overall with Amalie Håkonsen Ous, who won the final in 2:55.77, and runner-up Lotta Udnes Weng, 0.22 seconds back. Sweden’s Jenny Solin placed third, 0.71 behind the winner.
In an email, Corriveau explained she started her quarterfinal with the goal of staying behind the leaders as long as possible.
“I stayed with them the first part of the sprint, but after this point I was not able to follow anymore, they were really too fast for me,” the 18-year-old Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH) athlete wrote. Weng won her heat.
“I am feeling very good about my result today, especially that it was my first international race, so I am very happy with a top 25 to start the week!” Corriveau wrote.
After being officially named to the Ski Tour Canada team for the World Cups March 1-12, Corriveau explained she would likely leave for Ottawa on Friday.
Also in the junior women’s sprint, Americans Sarah Bezdicek placed 36th, Leah Lange was 42nd and Nicole Schneider 52nd. For the Canadian team, Sadie White placed 44th, Hannah Mehain was 47th and Natalie Hynes 70th.
In the junior men’s 1.3 k sprint, Henry Harmeyer was the top American in 35th, Zak Katterson placed 51st, Thomas O’Harra was 58th, and Leo Hipp 66th. For Canada, Antoine Blais finished 41st, William Dumas was 44th, Philippe Boucher 52nd, and Joey Foster 63rd.
Another Norwegian topped the junior field, with Johannes Høsflot Klæbo winning the final in 2:31.42, by 0.67 seconds over Korea’s Magnus Kim in second place. Italy’s Giacomo Gabrielli edged Russia’s Denis Spitsov by 0.07 seconds for third, 1.02 seconds behind Klæbo.
![American Logan Hanneman (c) racing to third in his quarterfinal of the freestyle sprint at U23 World Championships in Rasnov, Romania. He ended the day 15th overall. (Photo: Pete Leonard)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/Logan-Hanneman-quarterfinal.jpg")
In the U23 men’s 1.3 k skate sprint, Logan Hanneman of Alaska Pacific University pulled out a career-best 15th at his second U23 World Championships (fourth including junior worlds as well). Hanneman, 22, had previously placed 16th in the classic sprint at 2013 junior worlds and 23rd in the classic sprint at Almaty U23’s last year.
“After Nationals in Houghton, I headed home to heal and rest my back, as well as to put in some good weeks of training,” Hanneman, who placed ninth in the U.S. nationals skate sprint in January, wrote in an email. “The skiing back home in Fairbanks has been absolutely amazing, so I was able to get many weeks of very solid training in. Unfortunately, those amazing conditions were nowhere to be found here Romania. I probably should have gone training out in an ungroomed field if I wanted to be prepared for the slush that was on the race course today.”
After qualifying in 25th, Hanneman raced to third in his quarterfinal, 2.57 seconds behind the winner.
“Out of the start, I was last……I need to work on my starts,” he explained. “From there, I was just patient and kept making moves where I could. Coming down the downhill into the finishing rise, I was fourth and a little behind 1st – 3rd, but I just went really hard and was able to real another guy in and pass him. I was satisfied because the guy I passed in the finish [Norway’s Håvard Solås Taugbøl] was 7th in the Lahti World Cup Sprint just 2 days earlier. It was a great feeling.”
While he finished 0.39 seconds ahead of Taugbøl, Hanneman was one place and 2.39 seconds away from automatically advancing to the semifinals.
“My main goals were to make it out of my quarterfinal and place high in the sprint,” Hanneman wrote of his goals for the championships. “Perhaps a very good placing in this sprint may have given me a chance to race [at the Ski Tour] Canada, but who knows exactly. Due to the conditions that were not very well suited for me, I am very happy with the result. After skiing the little bit during my warm up, I honestly could tell that it was going to be a tough one.”
“I probably should have gone training out in an ungroomed field if I wanted to be prepared for the slush that was on the race course today.” — Logan Hanneman, top North American in 15th in Monday’s skate sprint at U23 Word Championships
Behind him, Ben Saxton placed 25th for the U.S., after qualifying in 29th then placing fifth in his quarterfinal, 10.59 seconds behind the winner of that heat. In an email, the 22-year-old Saxton, of the SMST2 Team, explained this would be his only race of the week.
“I got a tough lane draw, but I won my start and slotted into second behind a German guy,” Saxton explained of his quarterfinal. “It was really relaxed up the hill, and when we hit the top everyone punched it as hard as they could. On the top section there was some real WWE style skiing going on, but that’s what these races are usually like, this time though it ended up with me in 4th place around the 180 degree turn and not much way to get back on the leaders. I think I felt quite good, I’m just mad at myself for not anticipating the physical contact that came up top and suffering because of it.”
Also for the U.S., Paddy Caldwell finished 43rd and Akeo Maifeld-Carucci was 48th.
“Logan and Julia were standouts at 15 and 16th, respectively but we felt like the day left us wanting more,” U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan Fish wrote in an email. “Logan skied smart and surged from the 5th and out sprinted Haavard Taugboel (7th overall last weekend in the Lahti World Cup sprint) into 3rd in his heat. Unfortunately, he did not move on as a Lucky Loser. Ben Saxton started strong in 3rd in his heat for most of his quarter, but ran into traffic and faded toward the finish.”
![Canada's Julien Locke (Black Jack) placed 16th in his first-ever race outside of North America -- the freestyle sprint at U23 World Championships -- on Monday in Rasnov, Romania. (Photo: CCC)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/Cb1HigzVIAAVY4D.jpg")
Canada’s top finisher on Monday, Julien Locke of Black Jack placed 16th on the day after qualifying 27th then placing third in his quarterfinal, 0.94 seconds out of first. Not only was it his debut U23 World Championships, but his breakthrough result came in his first race outside of North America.
“Today’s race was my main focus for the week, and also for the year,” Locke, 22, wrote in an email. “My goal since May was to be in the A-Final, so to come up short is disappointing. Despite that, it was fun to be in the mix and I believe that while the level here is high, it’s well within reach.”
He planned to race Tuesday’s 15 k classic individual start then return to Canada on Thursday morning. Locke was on the bubble of being selected to the Ski Tour Canada (STC), but was not on the final list released Monday.
“It’s been quite neat to be here in Romania,” he wrote. “I had a few great rollerskis through some small villages down in the valley. The people (many of whom were working in their fields alongside the road) were very friendly and seemed very intrigued to see skiers on their roads. Up here at the venue, the organizers have been working very hard to put on the races. Given the weather, they have done an impressive job to make the races happen.”
“Today’s race was my main focus for the week, and also for the year. My goal since May was to be in the A-Final … I believe that while the level here is high, it’s well within reach.” — Julien Locke, top Canadian in 16th in U23 World Championships skate sprint
Locke led three other Canadian U23 men, with Scott James Hill in 39th, Angus Foster in 50th and Jack Carlyle in 56th.
France’s Lucas Chanavat won the final in 2:35.78, outlasting Sweden’s Karl-Johan Dyvik by 0.92 seconds. The second Frenchman on the podium, Jean Tiberghien placed third (+1.11).
In the U23 women’s sprint, also 1.3 k long, Jenn Jackson of Canada’s Thunder Bay National Development Centre (NDC) placed 29th overall in her first world championships.
In an email, Jackson, who turned 21 on Saturday, described being “on the edge with my health the week before leaving for Europe.” She took a turn for the worse upon arriving in Seefeld, Austria, on Feb. 13 and was unable to train for several days.
“So I wasn’t as primed to race as I’d hoped, very well rested though,” Jackson wrote. “Being unable to deliberately prepare for the races was frustrating. On Saturday the tightness and pain in my chest had subsided enough that I was okay’d to do intensity. It was a painful wake up call after being without any hard efforts since Eastern [Canadian Championships], clearing the rust out of the pipes.”
She raced to 25th in the qualifier before placing sixth in her quarterfinal, 2.63 seconds behind the winner.
“I had a good start from an outside lane and held my ground to hit the hill in third,” Jackson wrote of her quarterfinal. “The two girls ahead of me spread across the trail and I swung to follow on the outside, which would ultimately be the end of my contention in the race. I got pushed to the edge of the track and lost a lot of speed running up behind the girl in front of me. The two of us got gapped by the rest of the field and I didn’t have the jam to get back on…
“I didn’t feel outclassed by the competition and I know my decision on who to follow up the hill was my undoing,” she added. “But that was a decision in the moment, not a mistake, so again, I’m content with how I raced.”
Jackson was one of 12 women chosen to represent Canada at the Ski Tour Canada. She plans to fly to Ottawa on Thursday.
“My coach and I agreed that if I was going to make the most of the opportunities of both U23’s and Ski Tour that this was the best option,” she wrote.
In terms of a goal for her last race of U23’s — Tuesday’s classic individual start — Jackson isn’t getting stuck on numbers.
“As with today’s sprint, I don’t have a number goal because I don’t know how my body will handle the full race effort. A top 20 would be really great, another top 30 would be nice, and being the top North American is also on my check list,” she wrote.
Two-hundredths of a second away from 30th, which would have qualified her for the heats, Canada’s Alannah Maclean placed 31st on Monday. She made the cut for the STC team, as did Sophie Carrier-Laforte in 40th, while Kendra Murray placed 47th for Canada.
Kelsey Phinney was the top American in 34th (0.69 seconds out of qualifying), Felicia Gesior placed 39th, and Heather Mooney was 46th.
Sweden’s Jonna Sundling topped the U23 women’s final in 2:52.14, edging Switzerland’s Nadine Fähndrich by 0.36 seconds. Another Swede, Maja Dahlqvist rounded out the podium in third (+1.33).
“Our athletes have done a good job staying composed and focused despite the schedule changes and inability to get on snow,” Fish wrote. “The athletes and staff hadn’t been able to ski until Sunday – the day before the sprint today. On Sunday, each gender got 1 hr to test their skis and ski the sprint course in preparation for the sprint race.”
He explained that it was 11 degrees Celsius (52 Fahrenheit) on Monday, and the manmade snow was melting fast.
“The competition schedule has been changed and condensed,” Fish wrote. “The skiathlon was replaced with a mass start skate and tonight it was decided to change it again to an interval start skate due to the narrow width. The [organizing committee] has worked hard to host these championships in the very warm conditions.”
Updated U23/Junior World Championships schedule:
– Tuesday: Junior 5/10k and U23 10/15 k classic
– Wednesday: Course closed due to predicted rain throughout the day
– Thursday: Junior 10/15 k and U23 10/15 k freestyle
– Friday: Junior relays
![An exhausted-and-ecstatic Fredrik Riseth of Norway after winning his first Junior World Championships title on Tuesday in the 1.3 k classic sprint. (Photo: FIS)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/02/riseth01.jpg")
Last year in his FIS Junior World Ski Championships debut, Thomas O’Harra placed 54th in the freestyle sprint in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Another year older and with another season of training under his belt, the 18-year-old Alaska Pacific University (APU) skier placed 14th on Tuesday in the opening race of 2015 Junior Worlds in Almaty, Kazakhstan: the 1.3-kilometer classic sprint.
![Thomas O'Harra (APU) leading his freestyle-sprint quarterfinal with Sun Valley's Miles Havlick (3) and Kris Freeman last month at 2015 U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/Thomas-OHarra-leading-quarterfinal-5-followe-by-Havlick-and-Freeman.jpg")
O’Harra qualified 18th and went on to place third in his quarterfinal, 2.92 seconds behind the winner of his heat, Ludek Seller of the Czech Republic, and 0.35 seconds behind Russia’s Alexander Bakanov, who also automatically advanced in second.
O’Harra’s quarterfinal was the slowest of the five, which prevented him from moving on to the semifinals as a lucky loser. But at the end of the day, 14th was still way better than 54th.
“I don’t know if I can say I was expecting it, but I definitely knew that if I had a good race, I could get into the top 30,” O’Harra wrote in an email on Tuesday. “Coming into the sprint, my goal was to qualify. Ultimately though, my goal was to get into the top 10. Once I had qualified, I focused more on trying to advance out of my quarterfinal.”
He reflected that his quarterfinal was “pretty hard right off the bat … everyone was jostling for position.” Knowing that he needed a top-two in his heat to guarantee a spot in the semifinal, O’Harra followed Bakanov in his track to the finish and lunged between the Russian’s legs as Bakanov let up near the line. And while it wasn’t quite enough, O’Harra was pleased to finish well within the top 30.
“Today was a much better experience than last year’s sprint!” he wrote. “Last year I tripped myself going up the first hill and ended up 54th — not exactly super-duper. I think that a year’s more experience helped a lot. I was definitely a lot more collected and calm this year, both going into the race and during the race.”
He was also optimistic about another top 30 in Wednesday’s 10 k freestyle.
“I think that I’m in a really good place right now, but I didn’t actually try to peak specifically for these races, mainly because there is still a lot of racing left this season,” he wrote.
“Last year I tripped myself going up the first hill and ended up 54th — not exactly super-duper. I think that a year’s more experience helped a lot.” — Thomas O’Harra, 14th in 2015 Junior World Championships 1.3 k classic sprint
O’Harra led the North Americans in the junior men’s sprint, which Norway’s Fredrik Riseth won outright in 3:01.25. The Norwegian qualified fifth behind Finland’s Lauri Vuorinen (the top men’s qualifier in 3:01.88), and Riseth went on to win his quarterfinal and his semifinal before beating Bakanov by 4.85 seconds in the final.
Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo made the podium as well in third, 8 seconds behind Riseth. Germany’s Marius Cebulla was fourth (+10.04), Sweden’s Oskar Svensson finished fifth (+10.11), and Vuorinen was sixth (+21.67).
Riseth’s father, Svein Riseth, told Langrenn that he was impressed with his son’s result. While he knew Fredrik was in great shape, Svein wasn’t sure he had enough left after dominating his quarterfinal and semifinal. The contender he was most concerned about was Fredrik’s Byåsen IL teammate, Høsflot Klæbo.
“Johannes is not only a good skier, but he is mentally and tactically strong,” Svein said, according to a translation. “It is outrageously fun two Byåsen runners entered the podium. Not just for the team but for [Trondheim] skiing.”
While no other North American men qualified in the top 30, Canada’s Julian Smith (Georgian Bay) placed 39th, 3.82 seconds from 30th. Americans Evan Weinman (Middlebury) and Peter Holmes (University of New Hampshire) were 46th and 48th, respectively, Canada’s Alexis Dumas (CNEPH/NST-Junior) ranked 53rd, Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier (CNEPH/NST-Junior) was 56th, American Gavin Hess (UNH) 58th, and Canadian Philippe Boucher (CNEPH/NST-Junior) 59th.
Stewart-Jones Leads Three Canadian Women in the Heats
![Canadian National Junior Team members Katherine Stewart-Jones (19) and Maya MacIsaac-Jones (29) chase Russia's Natalia Nepryaeva (2) in the quarterfinal of the 1.3 k classic sprint on the opening day of 2015 Junior World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan. (Photo: Lisa Patterson/CCC)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/02/U23Sprint-heats-Maya-and-KSJ.jpeg")
In the women’s 1.3 k classic sprint, Katherine Stewart-Jones knew what was coming, or at least what to expect, in her third time qualifying for the Junior Worlds heats.
The 19-year-old Canadian National Junior Team member qualified in 19th, 13.61 seconds behind Russia’s Yulia Belorukova, the top qualifier in 3:29.24. Stewart-Jones then finished fourth in her quarterfinal, 9.77 seconds after another Russian, Natalia Nepryaeva, who won the heat. Their quarterfinal was the second slowest and Stewart-Jones did not advance, putting her in 19th overall.
“I am satisfied with my result,” Stewart-Jones, the top North American female junior of the day, wrote in an email. “I definitely had the goal to make it past the quarter-finals because last year I was extremely close. I can’t really be disappointed with how it turned out because I gave everything I had.”
“I definitely had the goal to make it past the quarter-finals because last year I was extremely close. I can’t really be disappointed with how it turned out because I gave everything I had.” — Katherine Stewart-Jones, 19th in 2015 Junior World Championships 1.3 k classic sprint
Last year at Junior World Championships, she placed 15th in the freestyle sprint, and the year before, she was 25th at the 2013 Junior Worlds in Liberec, Czech Republic.
But for the first time on Tuesday, she raced against one of her fellow national-junior team members in the heats: Maya MacIsaac-Jones of Rocky Mountain Racers (RMR).
“We both had a really good start so it was fun to ski at the front together for the first part of the race,” Stewart-Jones explained. “After the long downhill I was in third place but then I made a bit of a tactical mistake. At the start of the long uphill I went right behind a Russian but she slowed down. When I went to make the pass and change lanes I lost my momentum.”
MacIsaac-Jones, 19, made the top-30 qualifying cutoff in 29th and ended up fifth in her first time racing the heats at that level, 12.05 seconds behind the winner.
“Katherine and I have raced together for a long time, and since there are so many things at World Juniors that are different from racing in Canada, it was nice to have a familiar face beside me,” MacIsaac-Jones wrote in an email. “My ‘realistic’ goal for today was to qualify, and my ‘dream’ goal was to get a top-15 result. I am very happy to have qualified for the heats, especially to have qualified with two of my teammates, but I am disappointed that I wasn’t able to move on past the quarter final.”
Her previous best in her last Junior Worlds in 2013 was 36th in the classic sprint. On Tuesday, she placed 25th overall. The third Canadian woman to make the rounds, Sophie Carrier-Laforte (Skinouk/NST-Junior) qualified in 23rd and placed 22nd overall after finishing fifth in her quarterfinal, 12.21 seconds behind Austria’s Lisa Unterweger, who won the heat.
“It was a lot of fun to be racing with so many other Canadian girls in the heats today,” MacIsaac-Jones wrote. “We have all been training really hard for these championships, so it feels great to show the world what Canadian girls can do!
“This experience is definitely different from my experience in Liberec 2013,” she explained “I feel like I am in a lot better distance racing shape than I was in Liberec, and I should have a chance to race most or all of the distance races, which will be a lot of fun. This being my second Championships, I feel like I have a bit of a better idea of what to expect and how to prepare for racing on the international scene.”
Stewart-Jones was also looking forward to the distance races after placing 31st in the skiathlon in Val di Fiemme last year.
“I would like to make a top 15 in a distance race and I believe that I can,” she wrote.
Nakkertok Head Coach Kieran Jones wrote in an email that Stewart-Jones’ performance on Tuesday wasn’t a surprise.
“We have been targeting top 30’s at World Juniors since the start of the year. While I was pretty excited for the classic sprint, I would say that it’s definitely not her strongest event,” he noted. “It’s more of a good indicator that the fitness and speed is where we want it to be. Katherine is rock solid — once she gets rolling, she’s great at managing her energy, enthusiasm, and focus.”
He explained that she’s shooting for top-30 results in both Wednesday’s 5 k freestyle and Friday’s 10 k skiathlon.
“Personally, I think she has a shot at a top 10 in the 5 km if everything goes to plan,” Jones wrote. “She is also really looking forward to the relay — this year the Canadian women’s team is one of the strongest it has been in a long time, and she wants to help them have a strong finish.”
![Germany's Victoria Carl after notching her second Junior World Championships title and third podium in the first race of 2015 Junior Worlds in Almaty, Kazakhstan. (Photo: FIS)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/02/64164_G08_W01.jpg")
Just 0.26 seconds from qualifying in the top 30, Julia Kern of the Cambridge Sports Union led the U.S. junior women in 31st. Vivian Hett (Northern Michigan University) placed 36th, 3.89 seconds from 30th, and Hailey Swirbul (Aspen Valley Ski & Snowboard Club) was 40th.
Canada’s Annah Hanthorn (Whitehorse) finished 45th, and American Kristen Bourne (NMU) placed 46th.
Germany’s Victoria Carl racked up her second Junior Worlds title since she last raced at the championships in 2013 (where she won the 5 k freestyle and placed second in the classic sprint). Carl, 19, qualified fourth and won her quarterfinal and semifinal before topping the final as well in 3:29.01, 1.64 seconds ahead of Belorukova in second.
Another one of the women in the Stewart-Jones/MacIsaac-Jones quarterfinal, Nepryaeva placed third in the final, 2.18 seconds back from the win. The Russian edged Norway’s Lotta Udnes Weng by 0.2 seconds for the podium, and Weng’s sister Tiril Udnes Weng placed fifth, 6.42 seconds after Carl. Germany’s Jenny Mann finished sixth in the final (+30.43).
First Impressions
The junior classic sprint was originally scheduled for Monday, then pushed back a day to allow more time to extend the 800-meter loop to 1.3 k. In addition to concerns about dirt and rocks on the trail, the air quality in Almaty continues to pose one of the biggest problems for athletes, with several U.S. athletes bringing ventilation masks to the championships.
“The air quality is certainly an issue, but we all share this challenge,” U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Bryan Fish wrote in an email. “Many of our athletes purchased filtering masks before arriving. The same ones used [at the Summer Games] in Beijing.
“They don’t wear them all the time — primarily when skiing,” he added. “The trails are uphill, so it depends how high the inversion is. Unfortunately there is no way to escape it in the city. All the teams are staying in the city except Russia is an hour away in the mountains.”
According to O’Harra, “Skiing here is… thin. When we arrived, there was only about 2.5k of trail, and that was full of rocks. The volunteers and organizers have done an amazing job, though! They have been blowing snow around the clock, and their hard work definitely shows,” he wrote. “The smog varies. It pretty much always sits down in the bottom of the valley, and most days it creeps up to where the trails are as we ski. It was definitely hazy today, but there have been worse days. I don’t think that it hindered my performance, but I still don’t like having it around.”
MacIsaac-Jones wrote that the skiing over the last week had not been ideal; the postponement of the first race “altered everyone’s race preparations, and we have been dealing with heavy smog all week.”
She added that there was adequate snow on the sprint course, “and there should be enough for the skate race tomorrow. The snow here is artificial, cold and hard-packed right now, which is great for me because it is similar to the snow I am used to training on in Canmore, Alberta,” she wrote.
“The skiing here is nothing like I have seen before,” Stewart-Jones explained. “The race site is built at the top of a huge sand hill in the middle of the city. All the trails weave around the hill and the snow is all man made. … The smog is definitely an issue; I have been coughing a lot more than usual.”
Through email exchanges, her coach Jones has been keeping tabs on the conditions.
“That stuff is out of our control,” he wrote. “That’s always been the message — control what you can, and don’t worry about anything else. … Kath is great at that, so I wasn’t worried.”
— Chelsea Little contributed reporting