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Tag: Salen

  • Sunday Rundown: Harvey Wins World Champs Gold in Lahti; PyeongChang + Vasaloppet (Updated)

    Sunday Rundown: Harvey Wins World Champs Gold in Lahti; PyeongChang + Vasaloppet (Updated)

    Canada’s Alex Harvey (3) celebrates his win in the men’s 50 k freestyle mass start, his first individual gold medal at a World Championships, on Sunday at 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland. He beat Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov (l) by 0.6 seconds while Norway’s Sjur Røthe (9) can be seen coming in for sixth place, behind (not pictured) Finland’s Matti Heikkinen, Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave and Norway’s Martin Johnsurd Sundby, respectively. (Photo: NBC Sports screenshot)

    FIS Nordic World Championships (Lahti, Finland): Men’s 50 k freestyle mass start

    After a week of missing out on the medals at 2017 Nordic World Championships, Canada’s Alex Harvey, a four-time World Championships medalist from 2011, 2013 and 2015, achieved his first individual gold medal in the final race of this year’s World Championships in Lahti, Finland.

    Harvey, 28, won the men’s 50-kilometer freestyle mass start in a drag race to the finish. Entering the final descent into the stadium with Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov, Harvey rode his fast skis past both of them then had the most finishing kick in the final straightaway for a 0.6-second victory. He finished in 1:46.28.9 hours, while Ustiugov followed him across the line in second and Finland’s Matti Heikkinen from behind for third (+1.4), after passing Sundby around the outside of the last corner.

    Canada’s Alex Harvey (c) celebrates gold in the men’s 50 k freestyle mass start on Sunday at 2017 Nordic World Championships in Lahti, Finland, with Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov (l) and Finland’ Matti Heikkinen (r) joining him on the podium in second and third, respectively. (Photo: Cross Country Canada/Twitter)

    Sundby appeared to miss a pole plant soon after Heikkinen passed him and let off the pace a few meters before the finish. That’s where Great Britain’s Andrew Musgrave continued to accelerate and took fourth place, 2.9 seconds behind Harvey and 0.1 seconds ahead of Sundby in fifth. Norway’s Sjur Røthe followed another 0.4 seconds back in sixth, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna was seventh (+8.9), Norway’s Petter Northug eighth (+12.3), France’s Maurice Manificat ninth (+13.4), and Norway’s Hans Christer Holund 10th (+14.3).

    “I had really good skis,” Harvey said in a post-race interview with FIS. “I knew if I came into the corner in second place, that was the optimal position. So I was able to fight hard and hit that last corner in second and slingshot by Martin along the flat and then that was good after that.”

    “This is the best race of my life, for sure,” he added. “So I’m really happy.”

    Tad Elliott (Ski Club Vail) led the Americans in 27th (+3:16.8). Noah Hoffman (U.S. Ski Team) finished 50th (+8:53.1) and Kyle Bratrud (CXC Team) did not finish.

    Canada started four men, with Devon Kershaw finishing 38th (+5:45.5), Graeme Killick 43rd (+7:04), and Knute Johnsgaard in 55th (+12:03.3).

    For Harvey, the medal is his fifth at three World Championships and his first individual gold after winning the classic team sprint with Kershaw in 2011.

    Results

    ***

    IBU World Cup (PyeongChang, South Korea): Men’s and women’s relays

    Between the men’s and women’s relays on Sunday at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in PyeongChang, South Korea, Canada had two teams in the top eighth, with its men’s team finishing seventh in the 4 x 7.5 k and women’s team eighth in the 4 x 6 k. Behind them, the U.S. men finished 10th and U.S. women 14th.

    France won the men’s relay by 33.8 seconds over Austria, using a total of 10 spare rounds but avoiding the penalty lap. Martin Fourcade anchored France to the win in 1:12:09.5 hours, after Jean-Guillaume Béatrix initially tagged them in first, his older brother Simon Fourcade raced them into second with near-perfect shooting (using just one spare to clean), and Simon Desthieux picked off one more place to give Fourcade a 16-second lead for the final leg.

    Austria achieved second place with Lorenz Wäger, Simon Eder, Julian Eberhard, and Dominik Landertinger combining for zero penalties and nine spares.

    Norway finished third (+45.4) with Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen, Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Vegard Gjermundshaug, and Henrik L’Abée-Lund. They had one penalty on Gjermundshaug’s third leg, and used a total of eight spares.

    Canada’s Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Nathan Smith, and Brendan Green finished seventh (+3:03.1) with zero penalties and nine spares. After Christian tagged his older brother Scott in ninth, Scott raced them into sixth place before Smith slipped four places to 10th at the final exchange. On the final leg, Green raced them into seventh, requiring two spares to clean.

    The Americans finished about nine seconds later in 10th (+3:12.8) with Lowell Bailey, Leif Nordgren, Paul Schommer, and Sean Doherty combining for zero penalties and nine spares, just like Canada. Bailey had originally put them in second at the first exchange, Nordgren dropped to seventh, then Schommer to 13th, before Doherty finally brought them back to 10th out of 24 teams.

    In the women’s relay, Germany pulled off a 22.8-second win over Norway, with one penalty and eight spares. Nadine Horchler put Germany in third at the first exchange, then Maren Hammerschmidt raced them into first by the race’s halfway point. From there, Denise Herrmann, a former cross-country World Cup regular, had to ski a penalty lap and tagged off in second, 13.5 seconds out of first. With teammate Laura Dahlmeier sitting out the relay, Franziska Hildebrand anchored Germany to the win in 1:07:35.6 after she used just one spare to clean.

    Norway placed second with Kaia Wøien Nicolaisen, Hilde Fenne, Tiril Eckhoff, and Marte Olsbu accumulating one penalty and 11 spares. Olsbu beat out the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová by one-tenth of a second at the finish, as the Czechs placed for third (+22.9), with Jessica Jislová, Eva Puskarčíková, Lucie Charvátová, and Koukalová (with a total of one penalty and nine spares).

    Canada took eighth (+1:34) with Rosanna Crawford, Julia Ransom, Megan Tandy, and Emma Lunder. Crawford tagged in second at the first exchange, Ransom slipped one place to third, Tandy lost another place to tag in fourth, and Lunder ultimately anchored them to eighth.

    The U.S., with Clare Egan, Susan Dunklee, Joanne Reid, and Maddie Phaneuf, finished 14th (+3:08.3) with one penalty and 10 spares. After Egan had a penalty on the first leg, Dunklee skied the fastest second leg to move the team from 19th to 14th, then Reid put them in 11th by the final exchange. Twenty-one teams competed in the women’s race.

    Results: Men | Women

    ***

    Ski Classics 90 k Vasaloppet (Sälen to Mora, Sweden)

    John Kristian Dahl (r) of Team United Bakeries outlunges Ski Classics sprint leader Andreas Nygaard (r) of Team Santander for the win in Sunday’s 90 k Vasaloppet in Mora, Sweden. (Photo: Visma Ski Classics)

    [UPDATED] In Sunday’s 93rd annual 90-kilometer Vasaloppet from Sälen to Mora, Sweden, the ninth event of the Ski Classics series, John Kristian Dahl (Team United Bakeries) outlasted Andreas Nygaard (Team Santander) by one-tenth of a second for the win in 3:57:18.1 hours. The race came down to a five-way fight for first, with Stian Hoelgaard (Team Leaseplan) finishing 0.6 seconds back in third. The top 15 men were all within 21.7 seconds of the podium, and Brian McKeever, a member of Canada’s Para Nordic Ski Team, placed 20th (+2:31.1).

    “It has been a fight all day,” Dahl said, according to a Ski Classics press release. Three days ago, he had been unsure about starting the Vasaloppet following a back injury. “I was tired already after 30 k and had to let go of the lead group, but I fought my way back taking it step by step and hill by hill.”

    In the women’s race, Britta Johansson Norgren (Lager 157 Ski Team) broke away from the field to win by 1:37.9 minutes in 4:19.43.4.

    Astrid Øyre Slind (Team United Bakeries) finished second, and Sara Lindborg (Team Serneke) placed third, 9 minutes and 4.2 seconds behind Norgren. Kateřina Smutná (Team Santander) dropped out of the race about halfway through.

    “I am very tired but also so happy to win today,” Norgren said, according to the press release. “It felt pretty easy until Oxberg [Sweden] with 30 k to go, but then it got really tough and I had to fight all the way to the finish.”

    It was Norgren’s first Vasaloppet win after placing second the last three years. She increased her lead in the overall Ski Classics to 215 points over Smutná, while Tord Asle Gjerdalen continues to lead the men’s overall standings ahead of his Santander teammate Nygaard, who is 349 points behind in second place. Gjerdalen did not race Sunday’s Vasaloppet.

    Results

  • Halfway Through Joint Camp, North Americans Discuss Sweden

    Halfway Through Joint Camp, North Americans Discuss Sweden

    Five of the U.S. women’s nordic team members pose with their rollerskis in Salen, Sweden. From left to right: Liz Stephen, Kikkan Randall, Ida Sargent, Jessie Diggins and Holly Brooks. (Matt Whitcomb/USSA photo)

    Just over a week ago, five U.S. Ski Team women and one Canadian packed their bags in various parts of the world and set off to meet in Sweden. Usually faced with the task of preparing for months of overseas travel, some might have scratched their heads.

    What do you bring for just two weeks?

    Swedish national team member Anna Haag (l) and American Kikkan Randall at a rollerski session in Salen, Sweden. (Matt Whitcomb/USSA photo)

    Americans Kikkan Randall and Liz Stephen had already been in Europe for nearly a month, first competing in the Blink rollerski festival in Norway in July and later meeting their good friend, Anna Haag, at her home in Orsa, Sweden.

    There, the two U.S. Ski Team (USST) veterans previously trained with Haag and the rest of the Swedish women’s ski team last summer. Things went so well that Haag invited Randall, Stephen and their North American counterparts back.

    Of the newcomers – Holly Brooks, Jessie Diggins, Ida Sargent and Canadian Chandra Crawford – most found themselves in awe of the situation. Here they were, at their first joint camp with Sweden for 10 days of dryland and on-snow training in Sälen and Torsby, Sweden, respectively.

    Halfway through, Brooks wrote in an email that they were still grasping the length of the trip.

    “We keep talking about how it’s funny that we traveled thousands of miles for a short, two week trip,” she wrote. “Many of us are used to flying to Europe and staying in Europe.

    “I think coming over for a short summer trip is a great experience,” Brooks added. “For me specifically, it reinforces that I can adapt to the travel & ten-hour time change. The more I do it, the better I get at it.  I think it will help guide my travel plans for the upcoming winter.”

    A mixture of Swedes and North American national-team members during a distance rollerski on Day 1 of the Swedish/U.S. joint training camp in Salen, Sweden. (Matt Whitcomb/USSA photo)

    The accommodations aren’t too shabby, either. Most are staying at mountainside cottages during their dryland portion in Sälen – home of the 90-kilometer Vasaloppet. They wrap up training there on Friday with four or five 10-minute classic intervals, then drive down to the Torsby ski tunnel for four days on snow.

    “In a lot of ways the climate and terrain reminds me of Alaska,” wrote Brooks, who lives in Anchorage. “It’s fairly mild – sometimes raining, sometimes sunny, often a mix. It’s really mild and never too hot to train. They have the same kind of flowers including Fireweed, which is a signature in the summertime in Alaska.”

    In a blog post, Stephen wrote that Orsa was her favorite place on earth, especially while staying with the Haag family.

    “Ok, maybe being home in Vermont with my own family is pretty high up there too, but this is about as good as it gets,” she added.

    Up in Sälen, Stephen wrote in an email that training was going really well and she enjoyed participating in the dryland part of camp this year after experiencing Torsby last summer.

    “Everyone is making new friends, learning from one another, pushing one another and relaxing well together when the session is over,” she wrote. “We are training hard, but it is not too different than we do when we are home, which is good to see. To be a great nordic skier you have to train a lot, rest really well, eat a ton, and know how to hurt a lot.”

    Brooks described what it’s like to share two workouts and three meals per day with the Swedish women’s team. They talk about everything from racing plans, altitude training, music videos and significant others, she wrote.

    Participants in the Swedish/U.S. women’s training camp, including U.S. Ski Team member Ida Sargent (in pink), trail running near Salen, Sweden. (Chandra Crawford photo)

    “It’s great to see that these girls aren’t doing anything ‘special’ or secret … [and] de-mystify the Scandinavian ski tradition,” Brooks added. “They are regular girls, just like us. We’re all fit, and we’re all motivated. I’m excited to have more international friends on the World Cup for the upcoming season!”

    The all-around fitness has been a driving factor at the camp. On Thursday, Crawford tweeted about trail running with the group: “Anytime I run in the general vicinity of [Stephen], [Randall], [Brooks], [Haag] and the gang, it’s a zone 3 frolic!”

    In an email, she wrote they’ve been training hard and soaking up the “novel elements,” which add to the fun.

    “For example, [Thursday] we did the run all off the trails,” Crawford wrote. “Crazy stuff! We would cross trails occasionally but stuck to the sometimes knee-deep bogs and moss.”

    One day, they did intensity in a race format; the fastest in each heat moved up, the slowest moved down and the middle two stayed put. Crawford explained that made for great action between four heats and created the thrill of racing.

    “The local ski club came out and cheered,” she wrote. “We are all enjoying making new friends.”

    ***

    For more photos from the camp, visit USSA Nordic’s Facebook page.

    Note: Anna Haag posted a new blog on Friday with a shout out to her North American friends. Read it here.

  • Crawford on Joining the Americans in Sweden

    Crawford on Joining the Americans in Sweden

    Chandra Crawford taking a break from rollerskiing last week in Östersund, Sweden, where she met one of her Canadian national team technicians, Micke Book. Crawford is joining the U.S. women’s two-week joint camp with Sweden, which starts Aug. 6. (Courtesy photo)

    The first North American to arrive in Sweden last week, Canadian Chandra Crawford came two days earlier than everyone else, starting her journey Wednesday in Östersund near the Norwegian border. There, she visited Canadian national-team technician Micke Book and his family, and rollerskied before making her way 460 kilometers north on Friday.

    Crawford (l) with Canadian national team technician Micke Book in Östersund, Sweden. (Courtesy photo)

    Up in Torsby, the home of Sweden’s famous ski tunnel, she worked out alongside U.S. Ski Team members Kikkan Randall, Liz Stephen, Holly Brooks, Jessie Diggins and Ida Sargent on Saturday. It was her first time on snow since training with the American women in Alaska at the North American Women’s Training Alliance in late June.

    FasterSkier caught up with Crawford via email on Saturday following their tunnel session, which involved some equipment testing, according to tweets from Randall and Brooks. Crawford described the snow as smooth and enjoyed the feeling of getting some strides in. Later that day, the group picnicked outdoors before tuning into the Olympics.

    On Monday, the five Americans and Crawford will get down to business with the Swedish women’s team during its two-week camp, which starts about 150 kilometers north in Sälen. They’ll later head back down to the ski tunnel in Torsby, according to Canadian women’s coach Eric de Nys, for more skiing with the Swedes.

    While Randall and Stephen previously trained in Sweden with Anna Haag and her teammates, this marks the first large-scale joint camp between the different countries.

    ***

    FasterSkier: When did you start planning for this trip? How did it come about?

    Anna Haag (l), Emil Jonsson and Kikkan Randall on a trail run in Orsa, Sweden. Photo by Liz Stephen.

    Chandra Crawford: Like everyone who experiences the contagious enthusiasm of Kikkan and Liz, it’s not long before we are all swept up in the greatness and end up over here in Sweden. For me the balance between training with the American crew and doing good work back in Canada has been really great, and meeting up with these girls every second month is a real privilege. I’m grateful to all the support from CCC and the US team for this collaboration.

     (Note: Crawford is the lone Canadian World Cup team member in Sweden. Perianne Jones recently got married near the team’s headquarters in Canmore, Alberta, and Dasha Gaiazova is training with the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre in Québec.)

    FS: What are you most excited for? What are some of your goals?

    CC: I’m most excited for the excellent training with a big group of top international skiers and to take home good info from comparing my strengths, weaknesses and training style to the other girls.

    FS: Where will you be staying?

    CC: The camp is in Torsby and there’s also dryland happening in Sälen, which sounds like a wilderness kind of place.

    ***

    Related: North Americans Off to Sweden | Randall and Stephen Tour Sweden (June 2011)