Eldar Roenning (NOR) on his way to the win in Saturday's 15 k classic in Otepaa, Estonia.
Heading into Saturday’s 15 k classic race, it had been more than four years since Eldar Roenning won a World Cup distance race. But even before he left the starting gate in Otepaa, Estonia, the Norwegian knew that it was going to be a solid day.
“I had a good feeling—I was feeling that I was good enough for the podium,” he said.
Roenning wasn’t just good enough for the podium—he was good enough for the win. On an unyielding course in Otepaa, the classic specialist skied to a convincing 15-second victory over Sweden’s Daniel Rickardsson.
Estonia's Andrus Veerpalu.
Estonian legend Andrus Veerpalu did everything he could to please Otepaa’s rabid crowd with a fast final lap, but in the end, he finished fifth, with seven seconds separating him from the podium. Russia’s Maxim Vyleghzhanin was third, with Sweden’s Marcus Hellner in fourth.
While Veerpalu couldn’t deliver the goods, it certainly wasn’t due to a lack of support from the Estonian fans.
The blue-and-white-clad faithful had turned out for the women’s race in the morning, but not in nearly in as many numbers as for the men’s, which began at two o’clock in the afternoon.
Flying paper flags and plied with beer and samples of Jagermeister, the Estonians were especially boisterous for their countrymen, blowing airhorns and noisemakers for all 14 of them that started the men’s race. They also mustered their enthusiasm for the rest of the international field, lining some of the most distant uphills on the five-kilometer loop—some of which were as far as a 10-minute walk from the stadium.
There didn’t appear to be the 15,000 fans that organizers claimed would show up, but what they lacked in numbers, they made up in volume.
“They cheer pretty much for everybody,” said Norwegian Tord-Asle Gjerdalen, who finished 22nd. “The best is that they cheer you by name. They know your name, and they go for it—they go, ‘Gjerdalen, Gjerdalen!’”
The athletes needed all the help they could get on Otepaa’s five-kilometer loop, which included several big, steady climbs—some of which led into short ramps that seemed near-vertical. You know a course is tough when it forces the World Cup men into a herringbone, which happened in multiple places on Saturday.
Both Martin Johnsrud Sundby (NOR) and his teammate Petter Northug started quickly, setting the first- and second-fastest times,
Petter Northug (NOR) getting a split from Norwegian coach Roar Hjelmeset.
respectively, at the five-kilometer mark. But both saw their hopes swallowed up by Otepaa’s ascents, as Sundby lost 51 seconds and Northug lost 38 in the last 10 kilometers.
“I felt like I had it in my pocket, but I stiffened up,” Northug told NRK, the Norwegian broadcaster. “I paid for it.”
Roenning, though, was ready to step up where his teammates left off, moving up from third at the five-kilometer mark. Aside from Northug, he is the only Norwegian to win a distance race in the last two years, according to NRK.
Roenning is a much stronger classic skier—some three-quarters of his individual World Cup podiums have come in the discipline—but according to Gjerdalen, Roenning likes double-poling, not climbing. Nonetheless, Roenning’s striding skills were apparent, as he was one of few men who didn’t have to go to herringbone on one particularly steep section near Otepaa’s jumping hill.
Roenning may also have been helped by the fact that he was fresh, having skipped the 2011 edition of the Tour de Ski. Rickardsson and Hellner were the only men coming off the Tour to crack the top five; Veerpalu eschewed the eight-stage race,
Russia's Maxim Vylegzhanin.
while Vylegzhanin was forced to miss it when his pre-race hemoglobin levels tested too high.
Vylegzhanin had been “sad and upset” to be held out of the start of the Tour, but on Saturday, he said he was mainly curious to compare himself to the other men, since he hadn’t raced in an international field since competing in La Clusaz, France, in mid-December.
He just managed to eke out the final spot on the podium in Otepaa, topping Hellner by less than a second.
Rickardsson, in second, had been sick in the days following the Tour de Ski, spending the first five days of an altitude camp in Italy in bed. Saturday’s 15 k was his first race back, and he used deliberate pacing to move up from seventh after one lap to second at the finish.
Rickardsson said that the 15 k will likely be his best event at the 2011 World Championships in Oslo, but with a month still to go, the men weren’t taking anything for granted.
Roenning acknowledged that he’s among the contenders, but he also maintained that there were “10 or 15 skiers” who can challenge for the win in Norway.
“Today is a good test,” he said.
Roenning will start Sunday’s classic sprint, and he said in the press conference that it will serve as an important qualifier for the Norwegian team sprint team for Oslo.
With a victory in the same event in Otepaa in 2008, Roenning will certainly be a threat to win. But while the men’s distance field was missing favorites like Swiss World Cup leader Dario Cologna and Russian strongman Alexander Legkov, the start list for Sunday includes Emil Joensson (SWE), the current leader of the sprint standings. Northug will also be in attendance, along with his 20-year-old younger brother Tomas, the reigning world junior sprint champion.
Part of the trail system in Otepaa, Estonia, where this weekend's World Cups will be held. Photo courtesy of the Otepaa organizing committee.
On Saturday morning, I will be just one of the nearly 15,000 people expected to fill the stadium and line the trails for this weekend’s World Cup races in the ski-crazed nation of Estonia.
The country of 1.3 million—the same population as the state of Maine—has produced six Olympic medals in cross-country skiing over the last decade, courtesy of three legends: Kristina Smigun-Vaehi, Jaak Mae, and Andrus Veerpalu.
Just how serious about cross-country skiing is Estonia? Since arriving in the country on Friday afternoon, I’ve already gotten inside looks at wax cabins and official race timers, interviews with top athletes, and even live coverage of the annual night race between each nation’s service staffs—all from the comfort of the couch in the apartment where I’m staying. Not just one, but two
An Estonian television reporter tries on the yellow bib of the overall World Cup leader.
of Estonia’s television stations are in on the action, showing three separate reports on the World Cup over the course of the last half hour.
For good reason: the races this weekend will showcase a good chunk of the sport’s best athletes, many of whom are returning from a weekend of rest after the conclusion of the 2011 Tour de Ski.
Both Veerpalu and Mae will be racing in Saturday’s 15/10 k classic race, along with Petter Northug (NOR), Marcus Hellner (SWE), and Maxim Vylegzhanin (RUS). (Overall World Cup leader Dario Cologna (SUI) has a cold and is sitting out, along with the Czech Republic’s Lukas Bauer and Russia’s Alexander Legkov.)
On the women’s side, Marit Bjoergen (NOR), Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), and Therese Johaug (NOR) will stage a battle for the women’s podium.
The Canadians are the only North Americans to contest the races on Saturday—in addition to the national team’s Dasha Gaiazova, a number of athletes in Estonia for the U-23 and World Junior Championships are also competing, including Jesse Cockney, Michael Somppi, Kevin Sandau, Graeme Killick, and Emily Nishikawa.
Veerpalu and Mae are unknown quantities—last year, they took second and third in the distance races here, but neither has shown good form this season.
Veerpalu, the 2009 world champion in the 15 k classic, won the Estonian national championship in the same event on Tuesday, which he called one of his best races this season—but his biggest competition there was Mae, who took the silver medal by finishing 16 seconds behind.
Nonetheless, Northug told Estonian media on Friday that he was “afraid” of Veerpalu.
“I think this is the first time this year when we’ll see Veerpalu fit,” Northug said.
I haven’t been to Otepaa to see the trails yet, but there’s no question they’re difficult: None other than Justyna Kowalczyk (POL), for whom anything short of a vertical face is a “tourist track,” told Estonian television that the courses were the hardest in the world.
Racing kicks off at 11:15 EET (Eastern European Time)—that’s 4:15 a.m. for those of you scoring at home (i.e., with Eastern Standard Time).
We’ll have live coverage and photos from the races on Saturday and Sunday, as well as the upcoming World Junior and U-23 Championships beginning Wednesday. Check back early and often!
The 2010/2011 Veissmann Tour de Ski is nothing if not draining. Consisting of eight events in ten days in two countries, the fifth edition begins December 31st and runs until January 9th.
The Tour begins with a freestyle prologue in Oberhof, Germany, on December 31st, followed by a classic pursuit start on January 1st. The Tour then moves to Oberstorf, Germany, for a sprint on January 2nd, and a pursuit on the 3rd.
After a two day break, the Tour resumes in Toblach, Italy, for a sprint on January 5th and a point-to-point pursuit start from Cortina to Toblach on the 6th.
The Tour de Ski wraps up in Val di Fiemme, Italy, as the Italians host a 10/15 k on January 8th, and then the final climb up Alpe Cermis on the 9th.
The Favorites
In the fifth edition of the event, all three top male finishers from last season are expected to contend. Lukas Bauer (CZE), Petter Northug Jr. (NOR) and Dario Cologna (SUI) are all registered, and while two have started the season quickly, the third – Northug – has only four World Cup starts to the season, having fallen ill just before the opener.
The Czech Republic's Lukas Bauer racing at the 2010 Olympic Games.
Bauer has come out swinging – the aging Czech distance specialist sits in seventh in the overall rankings, and has already collected two podium finishes, including a stage win in Kuusamo, Finland. He has finished in the top 30 in every distance race he has started (his one sprint wasn’t great, as he finished 104th, a full ten seconds away from qualifying).
Given his hot start, the fact that he is the defending and two-time Tour de Ski champion (2007/2008 and 2009/2010), Bauer is undeniably the favorite. While his utter lack of sprint skill is disconcerting, he has shown in the past that it is irrelevant, as in the two sprints on the Tour last year, he finished 54th and 60th. But Bauer recognizes that sprinting is still important – he has put extra time into improving his speed over the summer, and should be aiming to limit the damage during the two sprint stages.
After Bauer, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna is a must-watch. In his short four year World Cup career, Cologna has already won the World Cup overall, the Tour de Ski (2008/2009), and currently sits in second in the overall standings, a mere 22 points from the lead.
Cologna is dangerous because he is a true all-around skier, and more importantly, is extremely consistent. The last time Cologna finished outside of the top 30 on the World Cup was over a year ago, on December 12, 2009, in Davos. He has already stood on the World Cup podium three times this season, including a second place finish in the Kuusamo mini-tour, and a third place in the freestyle sprint in his hometown of Davos.
Despite finishing runner-up to Bauer in last years’ Tour, winning the 2009/2010 Crystal Globe, and being the most recognizable cross country ski name on the planet, Petter Northug has to be considered a bit of a dark horse. The dynamic Norwegian is just bouncing back from illness, and his absence from the early World Cup has put him in a large hole in the overall standings, as he sits in 18th.
Dario Cologna celebrating a victory at the Olympics
While Bauer is the distance workhorse, and Cologna is the all-around consistent performer, Northug is the sparkplug. Love him or hate him, the Norwegian is without a doubt one of the most talented and entertaining skiers on the circuit.
The question will be his health, and whether he has returned to his world-beating form. Over the last two World Cup weekends, Northug has done well, but not outstanding. The real concern should be with his famed sprint speed – his failure to win a sprint finish in the 30 k freestyle at the La Clusaz World Cup combined with his 28th place sprint in Davos the weekend before shows that his sprint is not where it has been in the past.
Northug may need a few extra races to get back to where he needs to be, as it is inconceivable that a skier of his talent will be held down for long. Expect him to speed up over the course of the Tour, and a podium finish is completely realistic.
The Chasers
While most of the buzz is about the top three finishers from last year, both the Russians and the Swedes also have strong contingents hitting the start line.
The Russians have nine men starting, headlined by Alexander Legkov and Maxim Vylegzhanin. Legkov currently sits atop the World Cup overall, and much like Bauer he is a sub-par sprinter, but an excellent stage racer.
Winner of the Kuusamo mini-tour and runner-up in 2006/2007 Tour de Ski, Legkov has the potential to gut out a victory, as he has the tools to distance ski as well as almost anyone, and won’t lose much time in the sprints. The only area for concern is his Tour de Ski record in the past three years, as he has finished 20th, 33rd and failed to complete the event since his second place in 2006/2007.
Legkov and Bauer.
Maxim Vylegzhanin is ranked third in the overall behind Cologna and Legkov, and as one would expect, has had great start to the season. He has finished in the top 15 six times, including fifth in the Kuusamo mini-tour, and besting Northug in the 30 k freestyle in La Clusaz, which certainly bodes well. He has a decent record on the Tour (21, 15, DNF), but just can’t seem to make the breakthrough to finish in the top 10.
The only surprise for the Russians is that 20 year old phenom Petr Sedov, who is currently 8th overall, will not be starting.
The Swedes are bringing seven men to the party, and could easily capture at the very least a couple of stage victories.
Emil Joensson is the current world cup sprint leader, and is currently fifth in the overall. He is practically a lock to make the podium in both sprints, and he can ski a mean 10 or 15 k, especially classic. Unfortunately for Joensson, as the Tour goes on, his distance racing will be sorely tested, and he simply lacks the ability to compete in the longer events, so it is unlikely he will be able to contend for a podium spot in the final races.
However, his team mate Marcus Hellner, who is fourth overall in the World Cup ranking has a much better shot. Often billed as Northug’s biggest rival, but not quite at the same level, Hellner started out the season strong with a home town win in Gallivaere, Sweden, but has been inconsistent since then, finishing fourth in Kuusamo, 33rd in the 15 k classic in Davos, seventh in the sprint, and finally 29th in the 30 k freestyle in La Clusaz.
In the 2009/2010 Tour de Ski, Hellner was saddled with the wooden medal despite having a very strong final climb. To stay in contention for the podium, Hellner will have to avoid the inconsistent distance days, and if he is close going into Alpe Cermis, his strong skate climbing means he can pick up a few spots.
Other strong Swedes include Daniel Rickardsson, a very good all around skier who will be in a position to crack the top 10, Johan Olsson, who hasn’t raced a World Cup since finishing 7th overall in Kuusamo, and the tough-as-nails Anders Soedergren.
Sweden’s Scandinavian counterparts, Finland, lack a real shot at the Tour overall. Sami Jauhojaervi is their best hope, as he is ranked 19th overall, and has had success on the Tour previously, but his horrendously inconsistent skiing (think two top 10’s, and three races 50’s or higher) will prevent him from being a true challenger. Matti Heikkinen gets the nod as well, but like Jauhojaervi lacks the staying power required for the lengthy event.
While the event is on home turf for both the Germans and the Italians, neither country has a skier competitive enough at the moment to challenge the top group.
Seven Italians are pegged to start, including Giorgio di Centa, and on-form sprinters Fulvio Scola and Renato Pasini.
Meanwhile, the Germans have only two men currently in the top 40 in the overall World Cup standings, but 13 men will start. Surprisingly Jens Filbrich and Tim Tscharnke are the two highest ranked German skiers, while stalwarts Axel Teichmann and Tobias Angerer are 46th and 58th respectively, and both will have to demonstrate a lot better form than they have thus far on the World Cup.
North American Contenders
This edition of the Tour will see five North American men fighting for position – and all five men bring their own unique set of skills to the event.
American’s Andy Newell and Kris Freeman will both take to the start line, and will hope to continue the good early-season World Cup results with top results, regardless of stage. Freeman has jumped out to the best start of his World Cup career, and sits in 13th place Overall, as a result of collecting points in each of his World Cup starts thus far.
Newell has had a decent start as he sits in 31st in overall on the back of his strong sprinting, in which he has earned points in all three of the sprints thus far on the circuit.
Newell
Both men have been typecast as specialists – Newell in sprinting, and Freeman in distance racing. However, both skiers have been working hard on diversifying their skiing, and have a bet running over who will score World Cup points first – Freeman in a sprint, or Newell in a distance race.
The biggest question mark surrounding Newell is whether he will be able to distance race well enough to stay in contention.
“I’m pretty excited to have a bunch of opportunities to do some distance races,” he said, “because I know I’m in good shape and I can distance race really fast — I just haven’t had the chance to show it.”
Newell knows he has strengths and weakness in distance racing; “I know I’m a good mass start skier for sure,” he said.
“I can ski well in packs but at the same time it’s like any time in a mass start race – you run the risk of blowing up,” he said, “It can be sometimes easier for sprinters like myself [to blow up] as you can build up so much lactic acid.”
Both Freeman and Newell are relatively new to the Tour de Ski. Freeman has never competed in the event before, and Newell he completed three races last year before bowing out, and he felt that he has not gotten “a true Tour experience.”
Regardless, Newell is going in confident; “I feel like I can be good at back to back to back races,” he said, “I think I’ve trained enough over the year that’s something I’ve gotten a lot better at.”
Like many other racers on the Tour, Newell is targeting consistency, and is thinking about having good races each stage, rather than focusing on finishing as his end goal.
While both Americans are working on their weaker race types, the best bet for top performances are their bread and butter events – the skate sprint for Newell, and something 15 k or longer for Freeman. It is difficult to imagine either skier truly contending for a place on the overall podium, but top 30 finish is a completely reasonable expectation.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to hang in there for some distance races and score some distance races,” said Newell, “I’m going to need to score some bonus seconds in sprints [to have a chance in the overall standing].”
The Canadian contingent showcases an all-around skier just coming into his prime, a young gun with loads of potential, and one of the best climbers on the circuit. Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey and Ivan Babikov are all world class talent who had excellent results on the Tour de Ski last season, and look to build on that success. In charge of the three skiers is Head Coach Justin Wadsworth – a rookie on the Tour de Ski.
“I think I’m pretty well organized,” said Wadsworth in an interview with FasterSkier, “and that’s key for keeping the nerves down.”
While he has never been involved with the Tour before, Wadsworth is confident – he has been to all the World Cup venues before, and the three skiers he is in charge of will be well served. The Canadians have a large staff of five wax technicians as well as a massage therapist, the legendary ‘Wolfman’.
Wadsworth is confident in his athletes ability to make the most of the Tour, and emphasized that Kershaw and Harvey have a shot in every stage, while Babikov will be able to take advantage of the difficulty of the last three stages, as he will be getting fitter every race.
Kershaw
After one of the hottest starts of his career, in which he has consistently skied in the top 30 while hitting a few top 10 finishes, Kershaw is hitting his stride as an all-around skier.
While he appears to be in form, and he is happy with how things went, Kershaw is still cautious about the event.
“The Tour de Ski is completely different [from the rest of the World Cup season],” said Kershaw in a recent interview with FasterSkier, “a whole lot of things have to go right.”
For Kershaw, having one or two really good days would make for a successful Tour, but his real ambition for the Tour de Ski is unrelated to results.
“To be honest, the only big goal is to stay healthy,” he said, “Over the different Tours, we’ve had a lot of illness on the team, and I’ve been lucky to avoid it for the most part.”
If he stays healthy, Kershaw has proven that he can race well in the Tour format. Last year he finished 16th in the event, benefitting from good sprinting, as well as six top 30 finishes.
While he has traditionally had strong results in Tour de Ski sprints, including a podium, this year Kershaw isn’t so focused on the sprint.
“The sprints are long days, and I don’t know how important they are in the overall,” he said. “[Lukas] Bauer won the Tour last year without ever qualifying for a sprint
Unfortunately for Kershaw, his favorite and best event, the 10 k classic, has been eliminated from the Tour this year. As a result, he’s keeping his eye out for the 20 k pursuit in Oberhof, Germany in Stage 4.
“The Tour really starts at the Pursuit in Oberstorf,” said Kershaw, “That’s the first place you’re really going to see some fireworks. Whether or not I’m looking forward to that, I have to be on my toes.”
Kershaw said he may have pushed his training a little bit too hard during the last week, and as a result is feeling a little flatter than he would like, but with some dedicated rest, is hoping to be back in top shape come December 31.
While Kershaw is still hoping to regain a little bit of energy, Alex Harvey is feeling well rested and ready to go, according to a recent interview with FasterSkier.
Harvey is still relatively new to the Tour – this will be his second time tackling the event. And he learned a lot from last year, and highlighted two major things that he is hoping to improve on – staying calm, and proper feeding.
The point-to-point race is something he is much more comfortable with the second time around. Last year Harvey described himself as “really nervous” prior to the start, as there was no opportunity to ski the course beforehand and he had a large gap he desperately wanted to close to the leaders. As a result, Harvey ended up with a severe diaphragm spasm, throwing off his rhythm. This time around, Harvey is a lot more comfortable, as he knows the course, and is aware that he needs to stay relaxed.
Second, he recognized the increased importance of feeding on an event like the Tour de Ski. In the long classic race last year, Harvey was skiing strong at the front of the chase group when he bonked hard with one kilometer to go.
“I didn’t feed enough during the day,” said Harvey, “you need to make sure your energy levels are always high, and it’s really hard to recover when you bonk that hard.”
If there was one area Harvey really targeted for improvement this year, it was his sprinting.
“On the sprinting side I was disappointed last year,” he said, “This year I wanted to make sure I can sprint well.” Last season Harvey managed to qualify just twice for a World Cup sprint. This season he has started just one, but finished ninth.
Harvey has been confident with his shape all fall, and his strong start on the World Cup has increased his confidence. “I knew I would be more consistent this year, and I know I usually improve as the season goes on,” he said.
And consistency is what Harvey is targeting for the Tour. While he has picked a few stages as key – the 20 k Pursuit in Oberstorf, the 36 k point-to-point, and the second last stage – he is confident in his shape regardless of the stage.
“If I have a good day, any of the stages I can do well,” he said.
As for the Final Climb, the 22 year old isn’t intimidated – he’s actually a little bit excited about it.
“It’s not complicated,” he said, “you have to ski well technically, but it’s all about the climbing. It’s just how your body is doing, even the skis only matter for the first part.”
While Harvey may not consider the Final Climb very complicated, that may be in part to being in close proximity with the man who is quite possibly the best at the event – team mate Ivan Babikov.
The first few stages don’t suit Babikov, as he has struggled in prologues and sprinting, but as the days get longer and the Tour gets tougher, Babikov, who is widely regarded as one of the toughest athletes on the circuit, will shine. His specialty is the last stage – in 2009 he won the quad-busting climb outright, and in 2010 he finished fourth. If Babikov can stay close during the opening stages, his climbing skill means he may threaten for a podium spot.
Both Canadians and Americans have spent the Christmas break in Davos, Switzerland, taking advantage of the high quality training location, and getting in large amounts of skiing and some good recovery as well.
The group has gone alpine skiing, and taken advantage of the many excellent coffee shops in the Swiss town, but the teams are now in Oberstorf preparing for the first stage – a 3.75 k prologue.
Remo Fischer used a strong attack late in the third leg of the men’s 4x10km relay in La Clusaz, France, to open up a gap on Russian Petr Sedov, and set up the first World Cup relay win for the Swiss men.
Fischer’s move rested on the foundation built by teammate Dario Cologna. The former World Cup overall champion teamed with Alexander Legkov (RUS), the current World Cup leader, to break apart the usual early pack on the second classic leg.
The duo opened an impressive 35-second gap on Lukas Bauer and the third place Czechs, while Norway sat in 4th at the halfway point +46.7.
“It is an amazing day,” said Fischer following the race. “At the moment it is hard to believe.”
Sweden, one of the pre-race favorites, appeared out of contention after Daniel Rickardsson struggled on the second leg, dropping the team 1:20 behind.
Fisher and Sedov grew the lead over the course of the first skate leg before the Swiss attacked during the last 2.5 kilometers.
“My legs were a bit stiff [when Fischer attacked],” Sedov said. “For sure I was at first a bit sad but second place is not bad.”
Fischer came into the final exchange 11 seconds ahead of the Russian and it was all up to Curdin Perl.
Perl skied an excellent race in Saturday’s 30km mass start, placing 7th for one of the top World Cup finishes of his lengthy career.
But he matched up against Maxim Vylegzhanin, who not only won the 30km, he did so by besting none other than Petter Northug.
Perl was up for the task, however, not giving an inch, and slowly widened the gap. Over the last five kilometers, Vylegzhanin looked the stronger skier, but couldn’t gain a second.
With plenty of time to take a Swiss flag from the crowd, Perl cruised down the finish stretch into the arms of his waiting teammates.
Vylegzhanin crossed 30 seconds back for second, while an epic battle raged behind for the final podium spot.
Martin Koukal bombed out for the Czechs, over two minutes of the pace on the fourth leg, bringing the team home in 7th.
That left Norway, Finland and Sweden to fight for third.
Sweden was back in the race thanks to an impressive third leg from Anders Soedergren, who is clearly skiing well after a 6th in Saturday’s 30k.
Soedergrn posted the fastest time on the leg and closed the gap on Norway and Finland to nine seconds.
Hellner took over, chasing Matti Heikkinen (FIN) and Northug, but was unable to make up ground over the first portion of his race, but finally gained contact.
As the skiers entered the final 2.5km lap, the trio of chasers had closed on Vylegzhanin, but would not be able to challenge for second.
Northug showed little inclination to lead, and Heikkinen was left to push the pace. And push he did, attacking hard on several occasions. With just three career appearances in World Cup sprint heats, Heikkinen must have know he had to shake Northug before the homestretch.
But Northug would not go away, and as expected, he accelerated into the stadium blowing by Heikkinen.
Hellner crossed right on the Finn’s heels, but never looked to have enough left to challenge in the sprint.
Canada finished 9th, with Alex Harvey winning a photo finish over Norway II. Devon Kershaw had an excellent day, turning in the third fastest time on the second leg, while Ivan Babikov was 6th continuing to move the team up during the skate.
Young Len Valjas scrambled, digging a hole of 1:18 – not a poor performance for his first ever World Cup distance event.
“Overall the team did a pretty good job today,” Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth told Own the Podium. “Lenny hasn’t had much World Cup experience but did a great job leading the way and the rest of the guys were solid.”
Petter Northug racing at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.
In Switzerland last weekend, Russia’s Alexander Legkov skied to his second podium of the year, continuing a strong start to the winter. But in an interview afterwards with the Russian newspaper Sport Express, he said he was trying to relish the results as much as possible, knowing that soon, Norwegian star Petter Northug would be back on the circuit at full strength.
“Make no mistake—a couple of races, and Northug will return to the level we’re all used to,” Legkov said. “Therefore, I’m enjoying the victories over him now.”
Good thing, too. Because if Saturday’s mass start race in La Clusaz was any indication, it could be a while before Legkov gets the better of Northug again.
After battling illness and overtraining for the first month of the season, Northug came roaring back in the 30 k freestyle, putting in a near-superhuman effort to catch Legkov and his teammate Maxim Vylegzhanin in the final kilometer.
Vylegzhanin then did the impossible, just holding off the Norwegian in a sprint, but the message was clear: Northug is back.
Legkov, who did a lot of work in the early stages of the race, was third. Devon Kershaw (CAN) was the top North American, finishing 13th, while his two teammates Ivan Babikov and Alex Harvey were 16th and 24th. Kris Freeman (USA) looked strong for the first half of the race, but faded to finish 25th.
While he made his presence known in the final kilometers, Northug was nowhere to be seen at the start of the race. With just 103 World Cup points on the season, he was given bib 22, outside of the seeded group.
An attack by Anders Soedergren (SWE) and Sergei Dolidovich (BLR) animated the race over the first few kilometers, but the breakaway wasn’t given much of leash—La Clusaz’s trails, winding around wide-open fields, meant that nobody ever got out of sight.
Freeman made a few appearances at the front; Babikov and Kershaw also mixed in among the leaders for the first half of the race. Northug, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen, sitting no higher than 16th place before the finale.
His patience was probably wise, because for the majority of the race, the only real action came when the field arrived at the first three intermediate sprints. Those offered 15 World Cup points to the first athlete across a banner at 6.25 kilometers, 13.75 kilometers, and 21.25 kilometers.
Legkov and Lukas Bauer (CZE) collected the lion’s share, earning a total of 35 and 30 points, respectively. (Points were also awarded for second and third place in those sprints.)
But it was the efforts of Petr Sedov, the 20-year-old Russian phenom, that really broke the race open, with roughly five kilometers to go.
Sedov is a lanky, three-time world junior champion who has turned heads with top-10 finishes on the World Cup this year. And on Saturday, he turned the screws on plenty of veterans with his powerful, fluid skate technique.
At the 27.5-kilometer mark, the Russians had a stranglehold on the race, as Sedov and his teammates Legkov and Vylegzhanin held three of the top four spots. Their efforts whittled the front group down to 10, which included heavy hitters like Northug. Bauer, Soedergren, and Dario Cologna (SUI).
The pace was too much for the North Americans, who were all left behind. Kershaw and Babikov made it into the first chase group, while Harvey and Freeman were farther back.
As the leaders neared the final intermediate sprint, which organizers had placed at 28.75 kilometers, they were presented with what seemed like an interesting dilemma: go for the points and risk fading on the homestretch? Or conserve energy for the finish?
Legkov, though, went for broke. He attacked on the hill leading into the sprint, and was the first to the banner, collecting the 15 points. And with Vylegzhanin just behind, he kept on charging—all the way up the climb and over the top.
Only two men could respond: Cologna, and Northug. Head down, upper body swaying in his familiar climbing technique, Northug led the pair away from the pack and towards the Russians. After his mediocre performances in Switzerland last weekend, it didn’t seem plausible for Northug to close the gap—but he finally made contact with Legkov and Vylegzhanin at the very top of the hill. Cologna couldn’t hang on.
The ensuing descent dropped the leaders into the stadium, where they fanned out for the uphill finish. After figuring in the first 29.8 kilometers of the race, Legkov was finally out of gas; despite an impressive sprint, he couldn’t match the closing speed of Vylegzhanin and Northug.
Northug almost never loses sprint finishes, and as he swung to the far righthand side of the trail, it seemed that he was about to add to his legend.
But after blowing up in the closing stages of his race last week in Switzerland, Vylegzhanin had saved just enough on Saturday. And after more than 50 World Cup starts and a handful of podiums, the 28-year-old finally took his first win.
All in all, it was an impressive display by the Russian team, who took two of three podium places and added Sedov and Ilia Chernousov in 10th and 11th, respectively.
With the Swedes only putting two in the top 20, the Russians will be the favorites in the men’s relay tomorrow—though the Norwegians also looked strong in the 30 k.
In the post-race press conference, Vylegzhanin said that he would anchor his team. With Northug typically taking that position for the Norwegians, fans could be in for a reprise of Saturday’s thrilling finish.
Dario Cologna (SUI) celebrating a victory earlier this year
The distance of the first race of the World Cup finals may have been unfamiliar, but the pair of names atop the results sheet on Friday were anything but.
Though rarely raced on the World Cup, the 3.3/2.5k prologue was just right for Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk and Switzerland’s Dario Cologna, as each skied to a convincing victory in the first of three races held in Falun, Sweden.
Men
Cologna finished five seconds ahead of Mats Larsson (SWE) and Maxim Vylegzhanin (RUS), and the key to his win was the pacing.
The defining feature of the course was its brutal climb, known as the Mordarbacken (which translates to “murder hill”)—some 500 meters long and cresting just after the one kilometer mark.
On it, Cologna said that he stayed in control, saving enough to “push hard on the downhill and the last part of the race.”
“I think that was the key to win today,” he said.
By no means was Cologna dogging it, though: At the checkpoint at the top of the climb, he was sixth, just three seconds out of the lead.
But 3.3 kilometers is a tricky distance, and some skiers held too much back going up the Mordarbacken.
Devon Kershaw (CAN) struggled with pacing today
Canadian Devon Kershaw tweeted after his race that he started “WAY TOO SLOW,” and the splits confirmed that. He was already 17 seconds out at the time check just one kilometer in, which left him 47th in the field of 53. He moved up to 29th by the finish, but clearly wouldn’t have minded if the race had been twice as long.
Petter Northug, who has already wrapped up the World Cup overall, was fourth, ten seconds behind Cologna. He told Norwegian newspapers before the race that he was worried about his arms after double poling all three of his heats in the sprint in Stockholm on Wednesday, but the result from today still leaves Northug in the hunt. After the prologue, he is positioned second in the finals standings, seven seconds behind Larsson.
Andy Newell led the way for the American men in 48th, 45 seconds behind Cologna and just a half second behind the Norwegian sprinter Ola Vigen Hattestad. Alex Harvey (CAN), Ivan Babikov (CAN), and Brian Gregg (USA), the three other North American competitors, were 21st, 46th, and 53rd, respectively.
The top three in Friday’s race were awarded bonus seconds in the overall World Cup finals standings: Cologna got 15, Larsson ten, and Vylegzhanin five.
Tomorrow, racers will start the 20 k pursuit based on those standings, which means that Larsson will go first, seven seconds ahead of Northug. Emil Joensson (SWE) and Cologna follow, 20 and 26 seconds behind, respectively, while all but two skiers in the rest of the field are within two minutes. Harvey is the closest North American in 27th, 1:21 back.
Larsson, a sprinter, will have a hard time to hold off Northug, Cologna, and the rest of the pack. Most likely, it will be Northug stretching things out from the gun, with Cologna and Marcus Hellner (SWE) the only strong distance skiers within striking distance.
With those latter two fighting it out for the third position of the World Cup overall, tomorrow’s race is especially important, and the competition between the two could reduce their incentive to keep Northug under wraps.
Women
The Mordarbacken was all but built to Kowalczyk’s specifications, as her lithe and wiry is suited to steep climbs. Indeed, she said that she had made the prologue her goal for the finals.
Strong in both sprinting and in longer races, Kowalczyk said that 2.5 kilometers is her best distance. On Friday, she showed why, putting on a clinic to win over Marit Bjoergen (NOR) and Charlotte Kalla (SWE).
Bjoergen was the only woman to stay within ten seconds of Kowalczyk, and Olga Savialova (RUS), in fourth, was way back, nearly thirty seconds behind.
Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) racing at the Olympics.
Over eight minutes, that’s a staggering margin. To put it in perspective, if the race had been a 30 k, the proportional gap to fourth place would have been more than five minutes.
With the 15 bonus seconds she earns for the win, Kowalczyk will begin tomorrow’s 10 k pursuit with a 16 second advantage over Bjoergen, and nearly 40 over Sweden’s Anna Olsson.
Bjoergen and Kowalczyk have dominated the distance races over the last month, and the other women in the pursuit will be hard pressed to keep the pair close. Kalla has the best chance of catching the two, but even she starts thirty seconds behind Bjoergen and 47 after Kowalczyk, so it looks to be another Norway-Poland duel for the win.
Kikkan Randall (USA) was the top North American finisher in the women’s race, finishing 36th, 1:08 back, and Canada’s Dasha Gaiazova was 45th. With her 15th place in the sprint in Stockholm, Randall will be starting 30th in the pursuit, just over two minutes behind Kowalczyk.
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2010/02/Lukas-Bauer.jpg" "Lukas Bauer")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2010/02/Cologna-Win.jpg" "Dario Cologna")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2010/02/50-leg-bauer.jpg" "Legkov and Bauer.")
![](http://images.fasterskier.com/2009/03/andy_newell-2.jpg" "Andy Newell")
![Kershaw going "freaking hard" at the 2010 Olympics](http://images.fasterskier.com/2010/11/devon-lg-9769-ln.jpg" "Kershaw")
