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Tag: Sara Pellegrini

  • 2018/2019 Tour de Ski Preview (Updated)

    2018/2019 Tour de Ski Preview (Updated)

    The start of the men’s 15 k classic mass start at Stage 6 of the 2018 Tour de Ski on Saturday in Val di Fiemme, Italy, with (front row, left to right) Canada’s Alex Harvey, Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov, Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin, Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby, and Switzerland’s Dario Cologna. (Photo: Salomon/NordicFocus)

    Beginning this Saturday in Toblach, Italy with a freestyle sprint is the 13th edition of the Tour de Ski (TdS). According to the International Ski Federation (FIS), over the course of seven stages the men will race 80.918 kilometers, the women 60.67 k. 

    The TdS has become both a staple and a spectacle of the annual World Cup calendar. With a jam-packed series of races primacy is placed on both the ability to recover well and wither less as the TdS transpires.

    Prognostication can be tricky in a long-form template like the TdS. So much can go astray during seven races not to mention the travel and dicey germ-avoidance. 

    Last season’s winner on the women’s side, Heidi Weng of Norway, sits 18th overall in the World Cup standings (14th in distance). She has four top-20’s in the four distance events she’s contested with her best result an eighth in Lillehammer’s 10 k skate. Although featuring two sprints in the first three stages, the TdS remains a distance skier’s paradise.

    Weng has skied solidly on the World Cup, but she has yet to show the form that made her a TdS overall winner in 2017 and 2018. Norway has won the last five iterations of the TdS: Marit Bjørgen won once in 2014/2015, Therese Johaug twice (2013/2014, 2015/2016), and Weng the last two years.

    Austria’s Teresa Stadlober leads Norway’s Heidi Weng (2) and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, American Jessie Diggins (3) and others around a downhill corner during the women’s 10 k classic mass start at Stage 6 of the 2018 Tour de Ski in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

     

    If Norway is to keep the streak alive, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, last year’s TdS runner up, could be the heir apparent. She currently ranks second in the World Cup overall and 15th on the sprint list.

    Johaug, having returned from an 18 month doping ban, has been on a distance race tear. She has won all five World Cup distance events this season. Johaug, however, will not be lining up for the TdS.

    Only five different women have earned distance podiums this season — Johaug, Østberg, Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla and Ebba Andersson, and Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski. Along with Johaug, Kalla and Andersson are skipping the TdS. (Andersson sits third overall on the World Cup, Kalla fifth.) With the TdS missing three of the five top ranked World Cup distance skiers, daily stages and the overall podium are up for grabs.   

    Last season’s third overall finisher, Jessie Diggins of the U.S. Ski Team (USST), often cites the TdS as a point in the season when her form trends towards podium performances. She sits eighth in the current distance standings and could very well have a stout TdS. 

    Russia’s Natalia Belorukova and Yulia Nepryaeva look strong as does Sadie Bjornsen (USST), and Austria’s Teresa Stadlober.

    With less than predictable distance stage podiums for the women, it may simply come down to a drag race on the Alpe Cermis final climb Jan. 6.

    Switzerland’s Dario Cologna (c) celebrates his fourth Tour de Ski overall title. He was joined by Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby (l) and Canada’s Alex Harvey (r) on the podium in second and third, respectively. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)

     

    The men’s scene is also open to interpretation. Last season’s TdS winner, Switzerland’s Dario Cologna, was in fact a surprise victor. Prior to Cologna’s stage two win in last year’s TdS, it had been nearly three years since the four time TdS overall winner had won a World Cup. Cologna sits 21st overall on the World Cup currently. Given last year’s resurgence, anything is possible for the Swiss skier.

    Then there’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby form Norway. He finished on the TdS podium the last three years. At thirty-four-years-old, Sundby is ranked first on the distance list, with a second, a third, and a fourth place in distance races this season.

    Sundby won the TdS on two occasions – in 2013/2014 and in 2016. His 2015 win was stripped after he tested positive for excessive levels of Salbutamol. He placed second in the past two Tours.

    In a field rife with talent, Sundby’s ability to race and rebound and race and rebound will be tested. Sjur Røthe, Emil Iversen, and Didrik Tønseth— all from Norway— look in form. And there’s Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo. The winner of last season’s overall World Cup has had flashes of his past explosive self. He could be a TdS protagonist.

    The men’s field is notably tight. Along with the Norwegians, several Russians could pop a podium, a stage win, and the overall. Russia comes with a loaded team ready to exploit. Alexander Bolshunov leads the overall World Cup – he’ll turn twenty two on Dec. 31st. He’s backed by teammates Evgeniy Belov, Andrey Melnichenko, and Denis Spitsov. 

    Canada’s Alex Harvey placed third overall last year and he looked stronger as the TdS progressed.

    The Stages

    Stage 1:  Dec. 29, skate sprint in Toblach, Italy.

    Stage 2: Dec. 30, 10 k/15 k skate in Toblach, Italy.

    Stage 3: Jan. 1, skate sprint in Val Müstair, Switzerland.

    Stage 4: Jan. 2, 10 k/15 k classic mass start in Oberstdorf, Germany.

    Stage 5: Jan. 3, 10 k/15 k skate pursuit in Oberstdorf, Germany.

    Stage 6: Jan. 5th, 10 k/15 k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

    Stage 7: Jan 6th, 9 k final climb skate pursuit in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

    Teams

    United States

    Women: Sophie Caldwell, Sadie Bjornsen, Jessie Diggins.

    Men: Ben Lustgarten, Simi Hamilton, Erik Bjornsen, Kevin Bolger.

    U.S. Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover noted in a text that Caldwell, Hamilton, and Bolger will likely cease the TdS after the stage three sprint. Additionally, this is a small team for the U.S. at the TdS. Several athletes turned down TdS nominations including Scott Patterson (USST), Andy Newell (SMS T2/Salomon), Kyle Bratrud (SMS T2), Rosie Brennan (APU), Rosie Frankowski (APU), Caitlin Patterson (CGRP), and Julia Kern (SMS T2). These skiers plan on racing U.S. Nationals this January in Craftsbury, Vermont.

    Canada

    Women: Emily Nishikawa, Dahria Beatty

    Men: Alex Harvey, Lenny Valjas, Bob Thompson

    Norway

    Women: Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, Maiken Caspersen Falla, Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen, Kari Øyre Slind, Kathrine Rolsted Harsem, Heidi Weng, Lotta Udnes Weng, Tiril Udnes Weng Mari Eide, Anna Svendsen

    Men: Martin Johnsrud Sundby, Hans Christer Holund, Emil Iversen, Didrik Tønseth, Simen Hegstad, Krüger, Sjur Røthe, Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget, Eirik Brandsdal, Finn Hågen Krogh

    Russia

    Women: Yulia Belorukova, Lidia Durkina, Anna Zherebyateva, Mariya Istomina, Natalia Nepryaeva, Anna Nechaevskaya, Anastasia Sedova, Elena Soboleva

    Men: Evgeniy Belov, Alexander Bolshunov, Maxim Vylegzhanin, Andrey Larkov, Andrey Melnichenko,  Gleb Retivykh, Andrey Sobakarev, Denis Spitsov, Sergey Ustiugov

    Sweden

    Women: Mia Eriksson, Ida Ingemarsdotter, Moa Molander Kristiansen, Stina Nilsson, Maria Nordström, Linn Sömskar, Lisa Vinsa

    Men: Calle Halfvarsson, Simon Lageson, Teodor Peterson, Daniel Rickardsson, Oskar Svensson, Viktor Thorn, Karl Johan Westberg

    Finland

    Women: Mari Eder, Anne Kyllönen, Laura Mononen, Krista Pärmäkoski, Susanna Saapunki

    Men: Ristomatti Hakola, Matti Heikkinen, Lauri Vuorinen

    Italy

    Women: Elisa Brocard, Anna Comarella, Ilaria Debertolis, Caterina Ganz, Greta Laurent, Sara Pellegrini, Lucia Scardoni

    Men: Francesco de Fabiani, Stefano Gardener, Enrico Nizzo, Dietmar Noeckler, Federico Pellegrino, Maicol Rastelli, Giandomenico Salvadori

    Switzerland

    Women: Nathalie von Siebenthal, Laurien van der Graaff, Nadine Fähndrich

    Men: Dario Cologna, and Jovian Hediger, Jonas Baumann, Livio Bieler, Roman Furger, Käser Erwanm, Beda Klee, Toni Livers, Jason Rüesch, Schaad Roman

    Austria

    Women: Therese Stadlober

    Germany

    Women: Julia Belger, Victoria Carl, Pia Fink, Laura Gimmler, Katharina Hennig, Sandra Ringwald, Elisabeth Schicho, Anne Winkler

    Men: Thomas Bing, Lucas Bögl, Janosch Brugger, Jonas Dobler, Sebastian Eisenlauer, Andreas Katz, Valentin Mättig, Florian Notz, Max Olex, Thomas Wick

    France

    Women: Anouk Faivre Picon, Delphine Claudel, Laura Chamiot-Maitral

    Men: Maurice Manificat, Lucas Chanavat, Adrien Backscheider, Jean-Marc Gaillard, Baptiste Gros, Renaud Jay, Richard Jouve, Jules Lapierre, Clement Parisse

    FasterSkier will update team start lists as we gather more information.

    antibiotics

  • Saturday Rundown: Val di Fiemme, Oberhof, Soldier Hollow, Planica (Updated x3)

    Saturday Rundown: Val di Fiemme, Oberhof, Soldier Hollow, Planica (Updated x3)

    Left to right: Chelsea Holmes, Caitlin Gregg, and Caitlin Patterson standing on top of the podium for the women's 10-kilometer freestyle event at the 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.
    Left to right: Chelsea Holmes, Caitlin Gregg, and Caitlin Patterson standing on top of the podium for the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle event at the 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah.

    U.S. Cross Country Championships (Soldier Hollow): 10 k skate

    [UPDATED] Don’t bet against Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg) in a distance skate event. The 36-year-old took another national title in the 10-kilometer freestyle individual start at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, earlier today in the first event of the 2017 U.S. Cross Country Championships. Gregg’s winning time was 27:00.6 on a cold, slow-snow morning at SoHo.

    Chelsea Holmes (Alaska Pacific University) was second, 2.2 seconds back, with Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) third (+14.5). Katharine Ogden (Stratton Mountain School, +20) was fourth, Becca Rorabaugh (APU, +58.4) fifth, and Rosie Frankowski (APU, +1:05) sixth to round out the extended podium.

    In the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle event, Central Cross Country Ski Association’s Kyle Bratrud took first in a time of 34:52.0. Second place wen tot Ski and Snowboard Club Vail’s Tad Elliott  finished in a time of 35:14.6, while University of Denver’s Mori Madelaner (+35:22.4) rounded out the podium in third. Patrick Caldwell of Stratton Mountain School was seven tenths of a second out of third place in fourth overall (the third American on the day) in a time of 35:23.1. Fifth went to Kris Freeman of Team Freebird in a time of 35:28.0. 

    Results: Women | Men

    ***

    IBU World Cup (Oberhof): 10/12.5 k pursuits

    [UPDATED] In the men’s 12.5 k pursuit on Saturday in Oberhof, Germany, France’s Martin Fourcade got back to his winning ways, shooting 19-for-20 (0+1+0+0) on a cold and gusting afternoon for a 1:09.9-minute victory in 36:45.7. He started eighth.

    Germany’s Arnd Peiffer started 15th and finished second with three penalties (0+0+1+2), and for the second-straight race, Italy’s Dominik Windisch placed third (+1:32.4), with five misses. Windisch was just 0.2 seconds ahead of Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen in fifth (+1:32.6), also with five penalties (1+1+2+1).

    Tim Burke (US Biathlon) raced to 26th (+3:18.9) after starting 35th, with four penalties, all in standing (0+0+2+2). Also for the U.S., Russell Currier placed 34th (+4:29.8), up from 46th at the start, with five penalties (2+0+1+2).

    Canada’s Scott Gow finished 45th (+5:45.7) with seven misses (1+1+2+3).

    No North American men are listed on the provisional start list for Sunday’s 15 k mass start.

    In the women’s 10 k pursuit that followed, France made it a double on the day with Marie Dorin Habert taking a 38.8-second victory in 34:33.3. She started third and had two penalties (1+0+0+1) en route to the win, ahead of Friday’s sprint winner Gabriela Koukalova of the Czech Republic in second, with two clean stages followed by three misses (0+0+1+2).

    Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen started second and ended up third (+1:19.1) with four penalties (1+0+1+2) amid blustery conditions in Oberhof.

    Canada’s Rosanna Crawford finished 22nd (+3:47.9), one spot down from starting 21st, with four penalties (0+1+1+2).

    For the U.S., Susan Dunklee placed 44th (+6:20.4), up from starting 50th, despite nine misses (1+3+4+1). Clare Egan finished 49th (+7:25.6) after starting 52nd, with seven misses (4+0+0+3).

    Dunklee was listed as the lone North American starter in Sunday’s 12.5 k mass start, as she is currently ranked 17th overall in the IBU World Cup. Crawford is next in line on the “reserve standby athletes” lists by her event results of the week, should another qualified athlete have to cancel (e.g. due to illness).

    Results: Men | Women

    Mass start provisional start lists: Men | Women

    ***

    Alex Harvey (Canadian World Cup Team) en route to 19th in the men's 15 k classic mass start on Saturday, which puts him sixth overall in the Tour de Ski with one stage remaining in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Salomon/Nordic Focus)
    Alex Harvey (Canadian World Cup Team) en route to 19th in the men’s 15 k classic mass start on Saturday, which puts him sixth overall in the Tour de Ski with one stage remaining in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (Photo: Salomon/Nordic Focus)

    FIS Cross-Country Tour de Ski Stage 6 (Val di Fiemme, Italy): 10/15 k classic

    Russian Sergey Ustiugov’s Tour de Ski winning streak came to an end on Saturday at the penultimate stage of the seven-stage Tour, with Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby breaking away on the final 2.5 k lap to win the men’s 15-kilometer classic mass start at Stage 6 in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

    Ustiugov had to outlast a chase pack to settle for second, 2.2 seconds behind Sundby, who won in 40:40.0. Finland’s Matti Heikkinen reached the podium in third (+2.8), ahead of Italy’s Francesco de Fabiani in fourth (+3.2), Russia’s Andrey Larkov in fifth (+3.3), Norway’s Niklas Dyrhaug in sixth (+3.5), Switzerland’s Dario Cologna in seventh (+3.8), and Russia’s Alexander Bessmertnykh in eighth (+3.9). Behind Heikkinen, the fourth- through eighth-place finishers were all within 1.1 seconds of the stage podium.

    Canada’s Alex Harvey ended up 19th (+38.7) after losing seconds to the leaders on the second half of the course. He finished ahead of teammates Devon Kershaw in 27th (+1:12.1) and Graeme Killick in 32nd (+1:31.0).

    For the U.S., Noah Hoffman scored points for the second-straight day in 30th (+1:17.1). Erik Bjornsen crashed on an early downhill and dropped out of the race around the halfway point.

    Ustiugov previously built a more than 1 1/2 minute lead in the Tour, so he remains 1:11.9 minutes ahead of Sundby in the overall with one stage (the 9 k final climb) to go. Cologna remains in third (+2:04.1), Heikkinen is fourth (+2:32.9), France’s Maurice Manificat fifth (+2:34.6) after finishing 13th on Saturday, and Harvey slipped from fourth to sixth overall (+2:42.5), ahead of Sweden’s Marcus Hellner, who finished 10th for seventh overall (+2:54.5).

    Kershaw is 23rd overall (+7:19.1), Hoffman 30th (+9.42.7), and Killick 37th (+11:25.1) heading into the final stage.

    Stina Nilsson of Sweden (center) celebrates another win in the Tour de Ski, which puts her atop the overall standings; Anne Kylloenen of Finland (left) was second in the 10 k classic mass start and Charlotte Kalla of Sweden third.
    Stina Nilsson of Sweden (center) celebrates another win in the Tour de Ski, which puts her atop the overall standings; Anne Kyllönen of Finland (left) was second in the 10 k classic mass start and Charlotte Kalla of Sweden third.

    In the women’s 10 k classic mass start to start the day, Stina Nilsson of Sweden won her fourth stage of this year’s Tour, racing aggressively from start to finish and picking up extra bonus seconds along the way.

    Nilsson pushed the hills late and nobody from the already-fractured main pack could keep up. She notched a 3.0-second win over Anne Kyllönen of Finland, who collected her first individual podium of the season. Charlotte Kalla joined her Swedish teammate on the podium in third (+3.7), also her first podium of the year; she had been fourth in the 5 k freestyle the day before in Toblach, Italy.

    Krista Parmakoski of Finland was fourth, +9.4, Teresa Stadlober of Austria fifth, +10.1, and Yulia Tchekaleva of Russia sixth, +10.5.

    With the bonus seconds that Nilsson picked up along the way, she stole the overall Tour de Ski lead from Norway’s Heidi Weng, who finished seventh (+17.5). Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, also of Norway, had been in second place but slipped even farther. After leading at the start of the race, she slipped through the pack and then off the back, crossing the line 18th (+1:08.5). She is now fourth in the Tour de ski, behind Parmakoski.

    Jessie Diggins of the U.S. skied to eighth place (+19.5) and retained her fifth place overall Tour standing. Teammate Liz Stephen raced to 19th (+1:11.2), and moved into the top 20 of the Tour standings for the first time. Rosie Brennan scored points again in 28th (+2:06.1).

    Results: Men | Women

    Tour standings (through Stage 6): Men | Women

    ***

    FIS Cross-Country OPA Cup (Planica, Slovenia): 10 k classic

    [UPDATED] A quartet of American sprinters turned to distance classic skiing, placing as high as fifth, in 10-kilometer classic interval start races at the OPA Cup in Planica, Slovenia, earlier Saturday.

    U.S. Ski Team member Simi Hamilton posted the day’s best result for the Americans, finishing fifth in the men’s race, 13.8 seconds back from winner Jean Tiberghien of France. Hamilton, who started in the final third of the 110-skier field, worked his way into the race, placing 14th at the 3.8 k mark and seventh at 7.5 k before moving up into fifth by the finish. His teammate and the other American in the race, Andy Newell, placed 58th, 1:30.7 back, finishing strong after placing 67th at the 7.5 k time checkpoint.

    Mickael Philipot (+2.0) and Valentin Chauvin (+8.6) rounded out the all-Gallic podium.

    In the women’s race, Ida Sargent (USST) was the leading American in 17th. She finished 1:10 behind winner Sara Pellegrini of Italy. Sargent likewise worked her way into the race, placing 26th and 18th at intermediate checkpoints before moving up to 17th by the finish.

    Three places and less than ten seconds back, Sophie Caldwell (USST) finished 20th, 1:19.7 back of Pellegrini. Caldwell started out somewhat faster than the three other Americans who raced today, placing as high as seventh at the first checkpoint.

    The final podium, reminiscent of the 2006 World Cup soccer final, was Pellegrini in first, Italian Caterina Ganz in second (+7.6), and Delphine Claudel of France in third (+14.6).

    Conditions in Planica were clear and cold and just a few degrees above the FIS-legal cutoff, with race-time temperatures between 3° F and 5° F.

    Racing in Planica concludes tomorrow with interval start 10 and 15 k classic races, replacing the 7.5/15 k skiathlon that was originally scheduled.

    Results: men | women