Tag: Nove Mesto IBU World Cup

Dunklee Nearly Repeats Podium in Fourth; Ransom Ties Career Best in Nove Mesto Pursuit

France’s Anaïs Chevalier hoisted on the shoulders of her coaches and crew to celebrate her victory in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit on Saturday at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. Before Friday, she had never reached the podium. (Photo: IBU)

(Note: This article has been updated to include comments from Canada’s Julia Ransom.)

Beaming with excitement, France’s Anaïs Chevalier could barely believe her good fortune of this race weekend in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, immediately following the first International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup podium of her career in Friday’s sprint with her first victory in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit on Saturday. She crossed the line first in 30:38.1 minutes, after shooting just one penalty in the four shooting stages (1+0+0+0).

In the finish the 23-year-old biathlete cried tears of joy and covered her mouth with her hands in disbelief, as both teammates and competitors came up to congratulate her. With a strong skiing performance on the last lap, Chevalier held off Italy’s hard-charging Dorothea Wierer by 9.5 seconds. Wierer had moved up from seventh at the start, shooting two penalties but remaining clean in the final one that decided the race (0+1+1+0).

“It’s incredible. I’ve been crying until I got in here I think,” an emotional Chevalier later told reporters, according to an IBU press release.

“I was scared,” she recounted of trying to hold off Wierer on her last loop. “I was only enjoying the last final. It was crazy… I did not expect this [keeping all other athletes behind]. I was a little bit nervous on my first shooting, that’s why I missed one I think. But after that I only focused on my race, only on my job, and it worked.”

American Susan Dunklee (l) during the flower ceremony after placing fourth in the IBU World Cup pursuit on Saturday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, alongside France’s Marie Dorin Habert (c) in fifth, and Germany’s Franziska Preuss (r) in sixth. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

Behind Chevalier and Wierer, US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee chased after Russia’s Tatiana Akimova on the final lap in an attempt to repeat her podium finish from Friday.

“I attacked hard on the first hill and I put some time into her,” Dunklee described in an email about the final loop. “[Akimova] started her attack on the second hill right about when my legs were flooded.”

Dunklee could not quite catch up to Friday’s sprint winner, Akimova, who took third (+19.4), and placed fourth (+28.0) with two penalties (0+1+1+0). As she finished, Dunklee happily waved to Nove Mesto’s crowd filling the stadium. The result was her best in a pursuit, and fourth-best overall.

“With two misses and my best effort on skis, I am very satisfied with my result today,” Dunklee wrote.

Akimova was also pleased with the outcome — her second-straight podium after having never landed a Wold Cup top 10 before this weekend.

“I am twice as surprised as I was yesterday, despite the place,” Akimova said via a translator during the press conference. “I am very, very happy right now … The coaches gave me information about my position, plus I saw Dorothea in front and was trying to keep up with her.”

“I was trying really hard to stay with Wierer and not to think about Dunklee behind me, but she was very fast, so I am happy I finished in third place,” Akimova said, according to an IBU press release.

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In the first prone shooting stage of the pursuit, in front of some 35,000 roaring fans in the arena and lining the course, Dunklee shot clean while Akimova and Chevalier, who started just in front of her each missed a shot. That allowed Dunklee to take the lead on the next lap. Still, she did not yet think about her elusive first World Cup victory.

“That was still very early in the race and I knew a lot could happen,” Dunklee wrote. “I had to stay focused on one lap at a time. In some ways when skiing in the front it’s easy to stay relaxed and ski your own pace. You don’t see your competitors.”

Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) racing to fourth for her career best in a pursuit on Saturday at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

In the second prone stage, Dunklee missed one and had to ski a penalty lap. Germany’s current World Cup leader Laura Dahlmeier took the lead with her second clean shooting, about 12 seconds ahead of Chevalier, with her teammate Franziska Preuß skiing in third.

But in the first standing stage, the lead switched again when Dahlmeier shot two penalties and Preuß one. In this standing shooting Dunklee also added another miss to her tally, and so the winners of the sprint Akimova and Chevalier who stayed clean were skiing in front again, with Wierer in third.

Chevalier entered the stadium about 10 seconds ahead of Akimova in the final shooting stage, already beginning to shoot quickly before her competitors had even reached the mat, and the French skier managed to stay calm again to clean every target. Wierer overtook Akimova by shooting much faster and on the final lap, she reduced her gap to Chevalier by half.

“It was good because I was only 23 seconds behind [starting the race] and not a minute and something like in the other [pursuit] races,” Wierer explained at the press conference. “So I knew I just had to do a good shooting. Normally I really like the pursuit. But I also knew there were a lot of strong girls. Today I felt really comfortable and really good on the skis.”

Asked about the conditions on the range with only two athletes shooting clean for all stages, Wierer added, “It was not so difficult today. But I had a little problem, I had a frozen finger, this one [moving her right trigger finger], so that is not so good for shooting.”

According to statements by multiple athletes, the conditions on the course in Nove Mesto were very difficult on Saturday. In the men’s pursuit Czech Republic’s Ondrej Moravec fell and broke his rifle stock in half. Some German athletes and wax technicians complained to broadcaster ARD that the tracks were prepared very icy and with so little snow in some sections that they ruined a few pairs of good skis.

“All corners were impossible to ski aggressively,” Dunklee wrote. “Too bad they don’t make race skis with metal edges.”

Ransom Ties Career-Best 19th

Starting out in 26th place after the sprint, Canadian Julia Ransom steadily moved up through the field with three clean shooting stages. She came into the final shooting with a good chance at a top-15 position, but then missed her final shot. She left the penalty lap still holding the place she had after the third shooting, 18th, but lost one place to Norwegian Marte Olsbu on the final lap to finish 19th (0+0+0+1, +1:48.5).

With this result Ransom tied her career best in a World Cup, with two more 19th-place finishes in a pursuit in Antholz, Italy, and in a sprint at her training grounds in Canmore, Alberta, both last season.

“I knew that I would have to have a very solid shooting day to move up with all the women ahead of me,” Ransom wrote in an email on Sunday. “And although happy with 19, missing my very last shot is incredibly annoying. The course definitely had icey sections on it that proved problematic for some while climbing. However I chose a new pair of skis that had better edges and was set through the ice patches!

“The fans here are incredible!” she added. “Every inch of the course was lined with spectators all dressed up and cheering loudly with noise makers and trumpets. Great energy here.”

Her teammate Rosanna Crawford improved by five positions from the sprint to finish 37th with two penalties (1+0+1+0, +2:51.8). It was the best result in an individual-start race of her season so far.

Dunklee’s teammate Joanne Reid placed 54th (+4:29), also shooting two penalties (1+0+1+0), losing two positions from her starting position. It was the second time Reid qualified for a World Cup pursuit, after a 47th place earlier this season in Östersund, Sweden.

Canada’s Megan Tandy finished 57th, falling back from a 44th place at the start due to five penalties including three in her final shooting stage (1+1+0+3, +5:32.7).

Mass Starts on Sunday

The IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto concludes with the first mass start races of the 2016/2017 season for the women and men on Sunday, for which the 25 best athletes in the overall World Cup standings plus five athletes not among those who had the best performances in the sprint and pursuit are qualified.

For the U.S., Dunklee will be at the start, while Ransom could be called up as a “Reserve Standby Athlete” as the next runner-up by the event results rankings.

For the men, Lowell Bailey (who placed ninth on Saturday in the men’s pursuit) will represent the U.S. with no other North American athlete qualified or on standby. (Stay tuned for men’s pursuit report.)

Results | Mass start provisional start list

France’s Anaïs Chevalier after winning her first IBU World Cup on Saturday, the women’s 10 k pursuit in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: IBU)

December 17, 2016
Saturday Rundown: La Clusaz, Nove Mesto & Rossland (Updated x3)

Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) after achieving fourth place on Saturday for a personal-best pursuit result at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

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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IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto: 10/12.5 k pursuits

[UPDATE] Third one day, fourth the next. That’s the streak Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) is riding after notching her third career podium on Friday in the women’s sprint, followed by a fourth place in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit on Saturday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.

Dunklee posted the fastest range time and third-fastest shooting time overall and shot 18 for 20 (0+1+1+0) en route to fourth (Dunklee’s best pursuit result), 28 seconds behind France’s Anaïs Chevalier, who won in 30:38.1 minutes. Italy’s Dorothea Wierer landed on the podium in second (+9.5) and Friday’s sprint winner, Tatiana Akimova of Russia, placed third (+19.4). Chevalier missed just one in the first prone stage (1+0+0+0) to improve on her second-place sprint finish on Friday, which was her first podium. Wierer rose from seventh at the start to second with two penalties (0+1+1+0) and Akimova had just one miss on the first stage as well (1+0+0+0).

Canada’s Julia Ransom tied her career best by racing to her first top 20 of the season in 19th (+1:48.5) after starting 26th. She cleaned three straight stages (0+0+0+1), and skied into 18th after the third and fourth stages, before losing one place to Norway’s Marte Olsbu (19th, +1:47.2) at the finish.

Also for Biathlon Canada, Rosanna Crawford finished 32nd (+2:51.8), up from 37th at the start, with two penalties (1+0+1+0). Megan Tandy finished 57th (+5:32.7) with five penalties (1+1+0+3), after starting 44th.

American Joanne Reid slipped two spots to 54th (+4:29) with two misses (1+0+1+0).

According to the provisional start list for Sunday’s mass start, Dunklee will be the lone North American woman competing.

US Biathlon’s Lowell Bailey raced from 20th at the start to ninth at the finish, 1:22.1 minutes behind French winner Martin Fourcade, for his best result of the season in the men’s 12.5 k pursuit.

The first starter with a two-second head start, Fourcade hit 19 of 20 targets and cleaned the last two shooting stages (0+1+0+0) to win the second-straight men’s race in Nove Mesto. Russia’s Anton Shipulin, who started second, ended up second again at the finish (+30.2) after a penalty on each of the last two stages (0+0+1+1). France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet and Germany’s Simon Schempp both cleaned all four stages (0+0+0+0) and battled to the very end in a fight for third. Fillon Maillet took third place by one-tenth of a second, 38.3 seconds behind Fourcade, while Schempp finished fourth (+38.4).

Bailey steadily picked off places throughout the race with just two penalties (1+0+1+0), and after leaving the range for the last time in 11th, he moved up two more spots on the final loop to place ninth for his first individual top 10 of the season.

Canada’s Scott Gow finished 40th (+3:31.2) after starting 18th, with a total of three penalties (0+2+1+0). Brendan Green moved up slightly from 54th at the start to 52nd (+5:30.6) with five penalties (1+0+3+1), and American Russell Currier was lapped.

Bailey was listed as the lone North American on the provisional start list for Sunday’s men’s mass start.

Results: Women | Men

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FIS Cross-Country World Cup in La Clusaz: 10/15 k freestyle mass starts

The men’s 15 k freestyle mass start podium on Saturday at the World Cup in La Clusaz, France, with Norway’s Finn Hågen Krogh (c) in first, Martin Johnsrud Sundby (l) in second, and Russia’s Alexander Legkov (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/Twitter)

It was a good day for Alex Harvey of the Canadian men’s team as well as Dahria Beatty of Canada’s women’s team, and for the U.S., Erik Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan and Liz Stephen, all of which landed in the top 30 in La Clusaz, France. Two U.S. favorites, Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen did not start the freestyle mass starts due to illness.

Harvey raced to seventh in the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle mass start, finishing 26 seconds behind Norwegian winner Finn Hågen Krogh. The big news of the day was Krogh beating his teammate and reigning overall World Cup champion Martin Johnsrud Sundby by 0.3 seconds in 34:09.3. Sundby won the last two distance races: a 15 k classic pursuit in Lillehammer, Norway, and 30 k freestyle last weekend in Davos Switzerland.

While Sundby had to settle for second on Saturday, he held off Russia’s Alexander Legkov, who placed third, 3.1 seconds behind Krogh.

Russia had two in the top five with Sergey Ustiugov in fifth (+25.3), behind Norway’s Didrik Tønseth in fourth (+12.1). Right behind Ustiugov, Finland’s Matti Heikkinen placed sixth (+25.4), 0.6 seconds ahead of Harvey in seventh.

Erik Bjornsen led the U.S. men with his first top 20 of the season and second-best result of his career, placing 20th (+1:02.3). (He had previously finished 18th in a 15 k classic in February 2014.) Two weekends ago in Lillehammer, Bjornsen placed 24th in the classic sprint.

Noah Hoffman finished 49th (+2:14.6) and Eric Packer was 66th (+4:12.5) for the U.S. Canada’s Knute Johnsgaard placed 63rd (+3:50.1), while Andy Shields was lapped for 70th place, Devon Kershaw did not finish, and Len Valjas didn’t start.

The all-Norwegian women’s 10 k freestyle mass start podium at the La Clusaz World Cup in France, with winner Heidi Weng (c), runner-up Marit Bjørgen (l), and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/Twitter)

In the women’s 10 k freestyle mass start, Heidi Weng outlasted her Norwegian teammate Marit Bjørgen by 2.1 seconds for first, crossing the finish line in 23:43.5. Bjørgen placed second and it was an all-Norwegian podium with Ingvild Flugstad Østberg in third, 0.8 seconds behind Bjørgen and 2.9 seconds after Weng.

Rosie Brennan was the top U.S. woman in 22nd (+1:31.9) for her first top 30 this season and Liz Stephen was next across the line in 23rd (+1:36.5). Kikkan Randall placed 36th (+2:10.6), and Caitlin Patterson 37th (+2:12.7).

Canada’s Dahria Beatty landed in the points for her second-straight race and notched her best distance result in 26th (+1:38.7), Cendrine Browne was 41st (+2:32.3), Emily Nishikawa 48th (+2:52.4), and Sophie Carrier-Laforte 59th (+5:59.8).

Results: Men | Women

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NorAm Mini Tour in Rossland: Freestyle sprints

Andy Newell and Erika Flowers celebrated their reunion in Rossland with a couples victory in the freestyle technique sprints today. The Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team couple is racing in the NorAm as a bonus race before their Christmas break in Bozeman, Mont.

Flowers, who was second in the interval start on Friday, won the A-final in 3:15.65, 0.44 seconds ahead of AWCA’s Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt. Nakkertok’s Katherine Stewart-Jones was 7.09 seconds back, just 0.04 seconds ahead of yesterday’s winner, Chelsea Holmes of APU.

On the men’s side, Newell won comfortably in 2:44.81 after winning the qualifier and each heat. Black Jack’s own Julien Locke was second, 1.05 seconds back. Yesterday’s winner, NTDC Thunder Bay’s Evan Palmer-Charrette was third, 0.05 seconds behind Locke.

Sunday, the mini tour wraps up with a classic pursuit, where the leader after two days starts first and everyone else chases with the first person at the finish line winning the overall.

“Starting at the front tomorrow,” Palmer-Charrette wrote, “the plan is quite simple, stay there!! I’ll have some nerves on the start line knowing there’s a group of guys hunting me down so the big focus is to ski smooth and stay relaxed.”

On the women’s side with larger gaps, Holmes shared the most interesting race plan.

“My strategy for tomorrow is… no surprise here… I think the expression is to go out ‘like a bat out of hell’ and do my best. It will be a hard race any which way — for sure!”

Results

December 17, 2016
Dunklee and Two Podium Newbies in Nove Mesto Top Three

US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee on her way to finishing third in the women’s sprint at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. It was the third podium of her career. (Photo: IBU)

On Friday morning, Susan Dunklee woke up with a cold. A mild one, but enough to dull the nervous system and wreak havoc on her shooting, she feared. But she had a race ahead of her, the first of hopefully three this weekend, and the US Biathlon veteran forged ahead with her race-day routine in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.

“Once I started warming up, I felt mentally awake and ready,” Dunklee recalled in an email to FasterSkier. “The crowd here is electrifying and their energy carried me.”

About an hour after the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint, Dunklee was a sure thing for the podium. She had started 23rd out of 96 in the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup field, and finished first, 11.4 seconds ahead of Laura Dahlmeier. Laura Dahlmeier, the German who won the last three races in Pokljuka, Slovenia, last week (including a relay)? Yep, Dunklee beat her.

With the likes of last week’s sprint runner-up Justine Braisaz of France, Italy’s Dorothea Wierer and France’s defending World Cup champion Marie Dorin Habert behind her (and the list went on from there), Dunklee was in a very good spot. But a hot one, too.

“Biathlon is so unpredictable that I never trust in the result until all the racers are finished,” Dunklee said. “Last week with clean shooting in the sprint I watched my result drop from 1st to 11th, so I kept my expectations tempered today.”

Also last week, Dunklee placed fifth for a career-best pursuit result. So a podium, even a victory, was definitely within reach. She was first bumped to second place by Russia’s Tatiana Akimova, who started 37th and hit all 10 of her targets — just like Dunklee. Akimova took her time on the range but notched the eighth-fastest overall course time to take the win — her first ever and also her first World Cup top 10 — in 21:58.9 minutes.

France’s Anaïs Chevalier started 68th and came within 4.3 seconds of Akimova’s time for second, which bumped Dunklee another step down to third. But after all 96 finishers had crossed the line, Dunklee remained on the podium, ahead of not only Dahlmeier (fourth), Braisaz (sixth), Wieier (seventh), and Dorin Habert (11th), but ahead of Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen (fifth), France’s Anaïs Bescond (eighth), Norway’s Fanny Horn Birkeland (ninth), and Germany’s Franziska Preuss (10th), all in the top 10.

It was Dunklee’s first podium this season and the third of her career. She has placed second once (last season in Presque Isle, Maine) and third twice (also in Olso, Norway, in March 2014) — all in sprints.

On Friday, she was 5.1 seconds out of first and 0.8 seconds out of second place. Asked how close she feels to the win and that next career mark, Dunklee replied that it was palpable.

“I know I am close and that it is reasonable to fight for a win on any given day,” she wrote. “The most important thing is to keep my focus on performing well and controlling what is within my power. The results will take care of themselves.”

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The women’s sprint podium at the IBU World Cup on Friday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, with (left to right) France’s Anaïs Chevalier in second, Russia’s Tatiana Akimova in first, and US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee in third. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

Few people would have predicted the women’s podium on Friday. Three athletes who had managed to shoot clean in both the prone and standing shooting stages stood at the top, while the presumed favorites all had to ski at least once through the penalty lap and ended up off the podium during the flower ceremony.

At the end of the race, it was Akimova, Chevalier and Dunklee, with Dunklee smiling broadly as she looked out to the crowd.

Starting early in the field, Dunklee had avoided the penalty lap in both of her shooting stages, and with the 15^th-fastest overall course time, she had finished with the new time to beat: 22:04 minutes. Dunklee skied into the finish just a few seconds after Dahlmeier, who briefly held the lead despite two penalties.

“I left the range after standing just as Laura was leaving the penalty loop and I heard over the loudspeaker that we had the first and second splits so I knew I was having a good race,” Dunklee recalled. “When my ski form is on, I fight like hell to stick with a ride like that, but I just didn’t have it today. Instead I tried to keep her in sight as long as I could on that last loop.”

Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) after crossing the finish first through 23 finishers in the women’s 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. She went on to place third for her first podium of the season and the third of her career.

She ended up beating Dahlmeier by more than 11 seconds. When Dunklee came to a stop and saw her No. 1 position on a video wall, she raised her arms and waived to the thousands of cheering spectators in the stands.

Then her long waiting period began, with more than 70 athletes who could challenge her position behind her.

For the next few minutes Dunklee held her place at the top, with Mäkäräinen skiing very fast, but also incurring two penalties to finish in fifth (1+1, +18.2). The next challenger was home-crowd favorite Gabriela Koukalová of the Czech Republic, who had posted the best time after the prone stage prompting a huge roar by the audience. But then the usually sound shooter went on to miss three targets in her standing stage, zapping the energy out of the stadium, and she ended up 13^th (0+3, +36.8). Notably, Koukalová skied the fastest course time, despite a spill on the last downhill.

Then, starting one position behind Koukalová and thus out of the focus of the international TV cameras for most of the race, Akimova emerged as a podium contender with perfect shooting. On the final lap she managed to virtually overtake and create a small lead on Dunklee, at the first split time by only 0.9 seconds, but by the end of the loop, the Russian crossed the line in a time of 21:58.9, 5.1 seconds ahead of Dunklee.

France’s Bescond was the next athlete to shoot clean in both stages, but was slower on the course and ended up eighth (0+0, +24.8).

And even later in bib 68, Bescond’s teammate Chevalier emerged as the last athlete with a chance at the podium. She left the standing stage in first place with a small lead of 1.3 seconds on Dunklee, but lost some ground on the final loop. Chevalier pushed hard in the finishing stretch, and while it was not enough to beat Akimova, she remained 0.8 seconds ahead of Dunklee for seconds place (0+0, +4.3).

Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) after placing third in Friday’s 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. It was her third career podium in a sprint. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

During the press conference, Dunklee was asked if she was happy or sad about her position on the podium, after she had looked like the potential winner for a few minutes.

“I am very happy,” Dunklee replied. “Last week I crossed the line in first and slipped back all the way to 11^th [despite] clean shooting, and this is quite an improvement over that. You never know with biathlon whether you are gonna hold a position when you cross the finish line. It’s just too unpredictable.”

Questioned if she believed she was now close to her first win, Dunklee shrugged and smiled: “Maybe. Hopefully it will happen this year.”

Dunklee said the atmosphere in the arena with more than 29,000 fans in attendance gave her additional motivation.

“Nove Mesto is one of my favorite venues to race at. The fans here have more energy than anywhere else,” she said at the press conference. “Like, we’re talking, all over the course, not just the stadium, but out on the trails … It’s electrifying.”

For the 26-year-old Akimova, it was not just her first World Cup victory, but even her first time on the podium and first time in the top ten (except for relays). That said, she wasn’t totally out of the blue, after winning the IBU’s “rookie of the year” award last season.

“Of course I did not really expect this,” Akimova said via a translator during the press conference. “And I am really happy and thrilled right now. As usual I just went into the race wanting to do my best … It was just a combination of different things that all came together today and made me win.”

Later questioned by journalists about the current controversy surrounding the Russian team in the wake of the McLaren report, Akimova stated, “I hope that everything will turn out good. Of course I am clean.”

Susan Dunklee (c) leads overall World Cup leader Laura Dahlmeier (r) of Germany in the women’s 7.5 k sprint on Friday at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. Dunklee went on to place third ahead of Dahlmeier in fourth. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

After placing 11th in the previous World Cup sprint, Dunklee used her opportunity to comment to discuss the McLaren report, rather than the race. On Friday, when asked about how she felt about sharing the podium, she said she was still “deeply saddened by the McLaren report and all that it implies.”

“It will be a long time before Russia can earn the sporting community’s trust again,” Dunklee wrote. “The IBU is currently investigating all the McLaren evidence and it is likely there will be massive shake ups, not just in this year’s results but from the past several years. No matter what may happen in the future I feel great about my performance today and the manner in which I earned it.”

Intensively celebrating her second place after the race and the flower ceremony, it was also the first World Cup podium for the 23-year-old Chevalier, improving on an eighth place in a pursuit in Kontiolahti, Finnland, during the 2013/2014 season. Chevalier spent most of last season on the second-tier IBU Cup, and she started this World Cup season with individual finishes outside the top 30.

“I changed a lot of things,” Chevalier explained her new career best during the press conference. “Because the beginning of my season was complicated. I did not expect these bad results. So I am very happy today to shoot clean…”

Asked if she believed her later start group might have been an advantage, Chevalier said, “I don’t think so. The track was very hard. So I don’t think the last bib [among the podium finishers] was an advantage.”

Due to two misses in her standing shooting stage, overall World Cup leader Dahlmeier finished off the podium in fourth (0+2, +16.5). But with none of the other favorites on the podium, either, she was not too disappointed about this outcome of the race day.

“It’s also nice if not the same people are always standing at the top, but if the field is ragtag mixed,” she told German broadcaster ARD during a post-race interview. “That’s the exciting thing about biathlon. So it’s nice that today others are standing on the podium.”

Ransom 26th, Five North Americans in Top 60

Biathlon Canada’s Julia Ransom at the start of the women’s IBU World Cup sprint in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. She went on to place 26th for her first top 30 this season. (Photo: ARD broadcast screenshot)

Among the first out of the gate in bib 6, Julia Ransom led Canada with a season-best 26^th place (+1:06.5) thanks to a clean prone shooting and only one miss in standing (0+1). She skied the 43^rd-ranked course time on her way to the fourth-best individual World Cup result of her career. Ransom has previously placed 19^thtwice — in the sprint at her home World Cup in Canmore, Alberta, and in a pursuit in Antholz, Italy — and 20^th in the individual race at 2016 World Championships in Oslo, all last season.

Her teammates Rosanna Crawford and Megan Tandy finished half a minute behind her in 37^th (1+1, +1:30.0) and 44^th (1+0, +1:34.8), respectively. The fourth Canadian, Emma Lunder, who replaced Sarah Beaudry for this World Cup, finished 82^nd (2+0, +3:02.2).

Dunklee’s teammate Joanne Reid notched her best sprint result in 52^nd (0+1, +1:46.5) to qualify for Saturday’s pursuit. It is also her third-best result after a strong start to this season in Östersund, Sweden, where she placed 29^th in the individual race and 47^th in the pursuit.

US Biathlon women’s team member Clare Egan (l) and Joanne Reid (r) supporting their teammate Susan Dunklee, who placed third on Friday in the IBU World Cup women’s sprint in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

The third American, Clare Egan finished 62^nd (+1:59.4) despite skiing the 33^rd-ranked course time due to three penalties (2+1). Egan missed the top 60 qualification for the pursuit race by 1.6 seconds.

The times back to the winner from Friday’s sprint carry over into the pursuit race on Saturday, with a mass start of the 30 top-ranked athletes in the World Cup standings following on Sunday.

“The pursuit, I like that the best, that’s my favorite race,” World Cup leader Dahlmeier told ARD when asked about Saturday’s pursuit. “Especially here in Nove Mesto I have had good pursuit races in the past. So I am already incredibly excited for the race tomorrow.“

“This is a great position,” Dunklee said at the press conference. “The important thing is not to think too much about it and keep executing a good performance plan, like every other race.”

The women’s pursuit starts at 11:40 EST on Saturday, following the men’s 12.5 k pursuit at 9 a.m. EST. Watch both races live on Eurovisionsports.tv.

Results | Pursuit start list

December 16, 2016
Friday Rundown: Dunklee Rockets to Third in Nove Mesto; Rossland Mini Tour (Updated)

Susan Dunklee (US Biathlon) after crossing the finish first through 23 finishers in the women’s 7.5 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. She went on to place third for her first podium of the season and the third of her career.

(Note: This is not a race report but rather a digest of the day’s events. Check back for complete race reports.)

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IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto: Women’s 7.5 k sprint

Susan Dunklee came close last week, and now she’s there. The 30-year-old US Biathlon skier rocketed to third in the first women’s race of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, on Friday: the 7.5-kilometer sprint.

She finished 5.1 seconds behind Russia’s Tatiana Akimova, who not only achieved her first win, but her first World Cup top 10 as well, with clean shooting (0+0) in 21:58.9 minutes. France’s Anaïs Chevalier placed second, 4.3 seconds back, with perfect shooting as well (0+0), and Dunklee was the third woman in the top three to hit all 10 targets.

Dunklee started 23rd and displaced Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, who started 30 seconds ahead of her in bib 22, from first place by 11.4 seconds. Dunklee then had to wait for nearly 75 other finishers to secure her podium, bumped out of first by Akimova in bib 37 and finally to third place by Chevalier in bib 68. Dahlmeier ultimately placed fourth (+16.5) after two standing penalties (0+2).

Overall, Dunklee posted the fifth-fastest range time, ninth-fastest shooting, and 15th-fastest course time en route to the third podium of her career.

“I am very happy,” Dunklee said in a post-race press conference. “Last week I crossed the line in first and slipped back all the way to 11th with clean shooting, and this is quite an improvement over that. You never know with biathlon whether you are gonna hold a position when you cross the finish line. It’s just too unpredictable.”

Asked how she was feeling about Saturday’s pursuit, she said she was in a great position.

“The important thing is not to think too much about it and keep executing a good performance plan, like every other race,” she said.

Canada’s top finisher was Julia Ransom, who cracked the top 30 for the first time this year in 26th (+1:06.5) with a single standing penalty (0+1). Rosanna Crawford placed 37th (+1:30) with two misses (1+1), Megan Tandy was 44th (+1:34.8) with one prone penalty (1+0), and American Joanne Reid placed 52nd (+1:46.5) with one standing miss (0+1) to also qualify for Saturday’s pursuit.

The third U.S. woman racing on Friday, Clare Egan placed 62nd (+1:59.4) with three misses (2+1), missing the pursuit by 1.6 seconds.

The fourth Canadian woman, Emma Lunder finished 82nd (+3:02.2) with two penalties (2+0).

Results

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NorAm mini tour in Rossland: 10/15 k freestyle

[UPDATE] The NorAm series kicked off its second stop on Friday with a three-race mini tour in Rossland, B.C.

The men’s 15 k freestyle had a more traditional result, with Canadians retaking the podium. Evan Palmer-Charrette of the Thunder Bay National Team Development Centre (NTDC) won in 40:36.7 minutes, 31.1 seconds ahead of Team R.A.D.’s Russell Kennedy. Erik Carleton of Rocky Mountain Racers and the Canadian Para-Nordic Ski Team edged out U.S. Ski Team and SMS Elite skier Andy Newell for third (+56.6).

Chelsea Holmes of Alaska Pacific University (APU) continued her dominating ways in the women’s 10 k freestyle, finishing in 29.37.8. Fellow American Erika Flowers (SMS Elite) was second, 1:49.2 behind with Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt of the Alberta World Cup Academy and Canadian U25 Team in third (+2:27.2).

FasterSkier is seeking photos from this weekend’s NorAm. Submit yours with caption and credit info to info@fasterskier.com.

December 16, 2016
With New Mindset, Scott Gow Hits Career-Best 18th; Bailey 20th in Nove Mesto Sprint

Scott Gow (Biathlon Canada) racing to 34th, one of the best results of his IBU World Cup career, last season in the men’s sprint in Canmore, Alberta. On Thursday, Gow tied a career best in 18th in the World Cup sprint in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: Daniel S. Guay)

For the third time in the last week, Scott Gow hit 100 percent of his targets: 10 in the sprint and 10 in the relay at the last International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia, and another 10 in the 10-kilometer sprint on Thursday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.

And for the second time in his career, Gow, the oldest of two brothers on Biathlon Canada’s World Cup team, finished in the top 20 — tying his career-best of 18th.

“It feels great to achieve the second top-20 result of my career,” Gow said, according to a Biathlon Canada press release, referring to his 18th place in the 20 k individual at last season’s World Championships.

“My goal was to try and replicate my performance from last week in Pokljuka. I am very pleased to have shot clean, again, and to have a decent ski time,” he added. “Being in this group with the top 20 means that I’m finishing among the sport’s elite. That feels good knowing that I have the potential to compete with the best when I’m performing well.”

Gow started 15th of 101 finishers and cleaned the first prone stage with the 10th-fastest shooting and range times before repeating his shooting performance in standing. There, his shooting time slowed to 40th (and range time 34th), but his course time improved on the second loop, and he continued to speed up for the final, third loop. Overall, Gow’s course time ranked 40th.

“I trained very hard this year to increase my skiing and shooting abilities, and I also worked very hard to improve my consistency across both disciplines,” the 26-year-old Gow wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “I’ve been able to achieve great results in the past, but they always seemed few and far between. The reason I would have a good race one day but then fall into a dry spell was because my mental approach to racing wasn’t ideal, so I changed my mindset away from ‘hoping for the best’ to ‘I’m going to do my best,’ and it has worked very well for me at this point in the season.”

He added that he applies that mindset of not accepting anything less than a 100-percent effort to every aspect of his training and racing, whether it’s an easy combo or intensity session, or his precision in shooting, for example.

On Thursday, Dec. 15, France’s Martin Fourcade became the first man to win all three IBU World Cup sprints before the holiday break with his eighth win this season (and fifth individual victory) in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: IBU)

At the end of the day, Gow finished 46.5 seconds behind French winner Martin Fourcade, who racked up his eighth win (of nine races) this season in 23:48 minutes, despite one standing penalty (0+1). He made up more than 13 seconds on the final lap to surpass the race leader at the time, Russia’s Anton Shipulin, and beat him by 1.6 seconds at the finish.

Shipulin, the 16th starter, shot clean (0+0) and led until Fourcade in bib 31 crossed the line, and Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen ended up 6.4 seconds back in third with one miss (0+1).

Of the top 20, seven men hit all their targets on Thursday. Gow was one of them.

“The shooting conditions were perfect,” Gow wrote. “There was almost no wind from the start of zero to the end of the race, so the environment wasn’t messing with anyone today.”

He explained that Nove Mesto features a long stadium approach to the range, which took some consideration.

“It was important for me to make sure I didn’t ski too hard into the range and lose control of sights and rifle stability,” Gow told Biathlon Canada. “I definitely can’t shoot any better than I did today, so if I want to break into the top 10, I will have to find some time on the ski course. Skiing smarter and utilizing the course to my full advantage will help me do that, but I’ll need to have faster legs and skis in order to keep progressing.”

Gow led two Canadians in the top 60 required to qualify for Saturday’s pursuit. Brendan Green placed 54th (+1:48.1) with a miss in each stage (1+1). Christian Gow did not start.

Lowell Bailey racing to 20th, for his sixth-straight individual top 20 this season, on Thursday in the IBU World Cup sprint in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

For the U.S., two men also qualified for the pursuit, with Lowell Bailey in 20th (0+1, +47.5), and Russell Currier in 55th (1+1, +1:52.8). Tim Burke did not start because of illness, according to a US Biathlon press release.

“I was happy that my ski speed bounced back from last week,” Bailey said, according to the press release. He skied the eighth-fastest course time on the last loop and 17th fastest overall for his sixth-straight top six (in an individual race) this season.

“This is a challenging course, with some monster extended climbs and challenging downhills,” he said. “It’s also a difficult range in that you have a long approach with little rest before the shooting. I took my time in prone, which definitely cost me a few places, but I knew it was windy and I had to take a little bit of extra time to adjust for that. All in all, I’m happy with the result and looking forward to the pursuit on Saturday.”

American Russell Currier racing to 55th in the men’s 10 k sprint on Thursday at the IBU World in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

For Currier, it was his first top 60 in a World Cup sprint since the 2014 Olympics (where he placed 60th), which meant Saturday’s pursuit would be his first at this level in nearly three years.

“The coaches and I were all pleased to have me in the top 60. The difference between a 60th and 61st is a lot in the sprint,” Currier wrote in an email. “Conditions were sub perfect, to be honest, The snow was sugary and mashed up. It didn’t get to much worse as the race progressed, but a bib 78 start didn’t help. The wind in the Nove Mesto range is tricky. It was calm when I set up for prone but a slight breeze that didn’t notice picked up on my third shot and landed me a miss.”

As for the U.S. men’s team, which is down to two so far this week, Currier said that it was “unfortunate … but the staff and coaches stayed positive and organized.”

He added that the crowd in Nove Mesto was “amazing,” in his first time back since the venue was being constructed four years ago.

“I’ve been to Nove Mesto a few times, and the fans are always incredible,” Gow explained. “The atmosphere is electric, full of energy and the fans seem to cheer for everyone. They genuinely love watching us race and it’s always fun having 30,000 people screaming while you try to rip around the course. Nove Mesto is definitely in my top 5 world cup venues.”

Notably absent from the Canadian roster is Nathan Smith, who missed last week’s World Cup in Pokljuka as well and is currently back in Canada.

“I flew back to Alberta from Slovenia last Tuesday [Dec. 6] to get rest and thorough medical tests,” Smith explained in an email. “It was a tough decision, as obviously I train all year to race and really don’t want to miss any. I also originally had plans to spend Christmas Break with my girlfriend in France, which all had to be changed.

“I hadn’t been feeling like myself in high intensity and time trials for some time,” he continued. “Perhaps 3-4 months. I thought I might have turned a corner shortly before leaving to Sweden, but evidently by how I performed I had not. Both myself and my coaches agreed that continuing to race wouldn’t be productive, and just delay my recovery from whatever is the root cause.”

As of this Wednesday, Dec. 14, Smith hadn’t determined what was wrong.

“Since getting home I haven’t done any training, and went through medical tests to check for mono, virii, hormone imbalances, etc. So far nothing concrete has surfaced, which could mean a case of over training,” he wrote. “Regardless of what the cause is, rest was needed, and I will ease back into training to aim for a comeback later in the winter. Whether that be after new year’s, World Champs, or the third trimester of racing.”

His coach Matthias Ahrens (also head coach of the Canadian team) explained that they were still investigating “the underlying health issues for [Smith’s] loss in performance, certain red flags have shown in last week’s tests and need further investigation and tests,” he wrote on Wednesday.

“Until then I can not comment on his status but would be very surprised if this was caused by or is overtraining,” Ahrens added.

He couldn’t say when Smith was expected to return to training or competition, as that was dependent on his next test results.

“Therefore I am also not able to comment on our team’s plan for whom we send to the [World Cups] after Christmas,” he added.

Fourcade Calls For Action

Russia’s Anton Shuplin (l) racing to second in the men’s 10 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. (Photo: IBU)

For the men’s winner, Fourcade, there was a lot of talk about Russia after the IBU confirmed it received a list of 31 Russian biathletes involved in the doping scandal outlined by the McLaren report.

Asked specifically how he felt about sharing the podium with a Russian on Thursday, Fourcade told German broadcaster ARD, “I think everyone in Germany and certainly in France knows how hard I fight against doping. … First of all, I want to see the facts. … If that is the truth, I want to be really aggressive against it with sanctions. I think it’s the athletes’ role to do that on their own. Otherwise they have to do something else for their salary. I am very proud of my clean performances.”

In another interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK, he emphasized that the numbers involved were staggering.

“It’s not like it’s only one or two, it’s 31, added to the 12 we had the last few years in biathlon,” Fourcade said. “And I hope if my federation don’t get big balls enough to take [on] the problem, the athletes have to do it on their own.”

Elaborating on that, he spoke of a strike.

“If nothing is done in January, I will ask my colleagues in the international teams — I mean Norway, I mean Germany, Czech Republic, all of the nations — to not compete,” he said.

Results

(The women’s 7.5 k sprint starts at 11:30 a.m. EST on Friday. Watch it live on Eurovisionsports.tv.)

December 16, 2016