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From the FasterSkier archive — posts syndicated from athletes’ and coaches’ own blogs between 2004 and 2012, kept online as published. Current coverage is at fasterskier.com.

Tag: Simon Schempp

  • Stars Bjørndalen, Domracheva and Shipulin Bid Adieu at Biathlon auf Schalke

    Stars Bjørndalen, Domracheva and Shipulin Bid Adieu at Biathlon auf Schalke

    Italy’s Dorothea Wierer and Lukas Hofer in first place (center), Germany’s Franziska Preuß and Simon Schempp in second place (left), and Darya Domracheva of Belarus with her husband Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway in third place (right) on the podium of the 2018 “Biathlon auf Schalke” event. The invitational was billed as the last international race for Domracheva and Bjørndalen, the winningest biathlete of all time. (Photo: Event organizer)

    The “Biathlon auf Schalke” two-person mixed relay show race in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, has become a Christmas holiday break fixture on the winter sports calendar. Many biathletes are in awe of the event, featuring a temporary ski course in and around a massive domed arena that usually serves as the home pitch for the Bundesliga soccer club Schalke 04, along with a raucous atmosphere in a sold-out venue and millions watching the broadcast live on TV in several countries.

    It’s no real surprise that some living legends of the sport would pick the frantic event that brings biathlon from the mountains to the city as the final race for their storied careers.

    In 2018 in its 17th season and with 46,421 fans in attendance, no North American team was represented among the ten invited teams.

    The event on Saturday evening mainly drew its fascination from being billed as the final race in the long and successful athletic careers of Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway, age 44, and Darya Domracheva of Belarus, 12 years his junior. Combined, the husband-and-wife team could display 12 Olympic gold medals in their personal trophy case, to name just one of their many achievements. By their own admission in a series of interviews with German TV host network ZDF and other broadcasters before, during and after the event, the day certainly was an emotional highlight for Bjørndalen and Domracheva.

    “It’s just fantastic, vielen vielen Dank, thank you so much for your support, you are the best!” Domracheva hollered in a fun language mix in an interview with ZDF after the race, drawing a big cheer when her words echoed through the arena via the public address system.

    “You couldn’t have dreamed it [better],” her husband Bjørndalen also added in German. “This is incredible, so many people  … I never experienced fans as good as this in my life. Thanks again Schalke, this is incredible!”

    Darya Domracheva of Belarus skiing in front of Italy’s Dorothea Wierer during the 2018 Biathlon auf Schalke event. Wierer went on to win the race with her partner Lukas Hofer. (Photo: Event organizer Facebook page)

    First World Team Challenge Victory for Italy

    In terms of the athletic merit of the event, the 2018 edition saw the first victory in the history of this competition for an Italian team, with current International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup women’s total score leader Dorothea Wierer successfully pairing up with teammate Lukas Hofer.

    Over the course of the evening, the Italian pairing turned out to be an ideal combination of the fastest shooter on her race legs and the fastest skier on his. The duo narrowly won the “first half” mass start race of the event which was followed by a 30-minute intermission. Wierer and Hofer also created a convincing lead in the pursuit, which was featured as the “second half” of the evening’s racing.

    But their victory was briefly in doubt when Hofer missed three targets in his final standing stage — a bit unusual on a range with no wind influence. Having to circle the penalty loop (though shorter than in regular World Cups) and now on tired legs, the three penalties allowed Germany’s clean-shooting Simon Schempp – who raced with his fellow national team member and girlfriend Franziska Preuß – to catch up to Hofer on the final lap that meandered through a “winter village” concourse around the arena.

    “I knew [Lukas] is super on skis, but when he missed three that was still becoming pretty suspenseful,” Wierer laughingly remembered the situation in an interview with ZDF after the race, according to a translation. “But luckily that triggered a little bit of adrenaline.”

    Hofer slowed down on the winding 1.3-kilometer course that provided few opportunities for overtaking other skiers before coming back into the main arena where he began to push hard on the only notable straight section along the shooting range. He managed to create a small gap between himself and Schempp and defended that to the finish line to secure the victory in a time of 33:23.6 minutes. Schempp finished 1.2 seconds behind.

    “My knees were trembling like a sewing machine,” Hofer said about his problems in the final shooting stage. “Luckily it somehow still worked out fine. I had to ski a tactical final loop, and it’s just great to finally stand at the top of the podium.”

    “It’s just a grandiose event,” Schempp said, seemingly not minding the narrowly lost victory (and sponsored car prize). “It’s so incredibly fun to race here in front of such an audience. And when a German team is also in the mix in front, that creates such an atmosphere … That gives you back a lot as an athlete. Just a lot of fun.”

    “You really feel like a soccer player with so many people watching,” Wierer added. “Even if you are just trying to have a conversation, it’s so loud you hardly understand anything with all this noise. And it’s great that everyone is being cheered for. Really cool.”


    Norway’s Ole Einar Bjørndalen on course during the 2018 Biathlon auf Schalke, billed as the last international race of his storied career. (Photo: Event organizer)

    Third Place for the Biathlon Legends

    But the real story of the night unfolded a little behind the race for the top of the podium.

    In the first event of the evening, Bjørndalen had proven once more that he still ‘got it’, winning a shootout competition to determine the start order against a host of athletes known as fast and accurate shooters.

    The semi-retirees Bjørndalen and Domracheva initially struggled a bit with the speed of the athletes still active week to week on the World Cup. Although they were able to hold their own and finished the event’s first half in third place, 6.1 seconds behind Italy and 2.7 seconds behind the French team of Anaïs Bescond and Emilien Jacquelin.

    “The course is not so difficult, but when you are in a bad shape it becomes difficult,” Bjørndalen told broadcaster ZDF at halftime, according to a translation. “We didn’t prepare so well, though Darya is still strong but I am flailing a bit in the skiing. Maybe next round will be better.”

    Despite admitting he had prepared for the event with a brief training camp in Norway and then a course inspection a day before most competitors had arrived at the venue, the athlete nicknamed “the cannibal” for eating up gaps to other athletes on the course in the prime of his career had some problems keeping speed with the fastest skiers on Saturday.

    Domracheva was able to hold up well on the range and course. With her signature elegant ski technique she kept right behind Germany’s currently best-ranked World Cup athlete Preuß on a loop, and stuck within viewing distance of the fast skiing Wierer. With a series of cleaned targets, Domracheva and Bjørndalen managed to keep themselves in podium contention and at one point even maneuvered into the lead, to the joy of the spectators who cheered for them at least as loud as for the German home teams.

    Then came the final exchange to the men, which required athletes to shoot a standing stage before skiing another full loop.

    “It was mega-cool to watch the final leg, very exciting,” Preuß told ZDF, according to a translation. “I believe everyone watching today saw how the suspense was bubbling up again. That’s how you wish a race should be.”

    Bjørndalen had incurred one penalty in his final shooting and skied back on the main course in third position behind Hofer and Schemp. But just a few seconds back, Benedikt Doll, who formed an “injury replacement” second team for Germany together with Denise Herrmann, managed to catch up and pass the Norwegian on the final lap. Being aware that a fourth place just off the podium for the final race for the biathlon star would be an anticlimactic result, Doll waited a few meters before the finish line for the man who he considers his biathlon idol. Doll then grabbed and lifted up Bjørndalen’s arm before skiing into the finish side by side. Intentional or not, Bjørndalen slid his ski boot over the line 0.1 seconds ahead of Doll.  

    “It was a very nice gesture. It is impressive that he does it at home. Thank you very much,” Bjørndalen told Norwegian broadcaster NRK about Doll’s actions, according to a translation. During the victory ceremony, he and Domracheva then called Doll up to the podium and hung their awarded medals around his neck, who seemed to reluctantly accept the honor.

    Darya Domracheva of Belarus (in foreground) is waiting to greet her teammate and husband, Norway’s Ole Einar Bjørndalen, as he skis towards the finish line together with Germany’s Benedikt Doll at the 2018 Biathlon auf Schalke event, billed as the last race of Bjørndalen’s career. (Photo: Event organizer Facebook page)

    Bjørndalen will retire as the winningest biathlete of all time, following a 25-year career that is a rare achievement in any endurance sport. To honor Bjørndalen, ZDF showed some old footage and interviews from early in his athletic career in the lead-up to the race.

    Bjørndalen amassed eight Olympic gold medals of 13 total Olympic medals, 20 IBU World Championship golds of 45 total championships medals, and 95 World Cup wins with an additional World Cup win in cross-country skiing. Even France’s current biathlon star Martin Fourcade would have to keep competing for numerous years to have any chance at matching those numbers. Bjørndalen’s Olympic record is only surpassed by fellow Norwegian cross-country skiing star Marit Bjørgen.

    Domracheva has four Olympic and two World Championship gold medals to her name, most recently anchoring the women’s relay to the gold medal for Belarus at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. She told ZDF in an interview that she considers the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, to be the peak of her athletic career, where she won gold in the individual, sprint and pursuit disciplines.

    Domracheva reportedly plans to still race in one more event at home in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, for which 100,000 spectators are expected to show up.

    Darya Domracheva of Belarus and Ole Einar Bjørndalen of Norway waiving to the crowd before the victory ceremony of the 2018 Biathlon auf Schalke invitational race. (Photo: ZDF screenshot)

    With homes all over Europe in Beitostølen (Norway), Minsk (Belarus) and Obertilliach (Austria), and already active in other career ventures from sports broadcasting to fashion design, the pair told reporters they have not yet decided where they will ultimately settle in the next few years, wanting to decide that once their young daughter is of school age. For now, their only firm plans are to spend New Year’s Eve together in Norway.

    Another Farewell: Russia’s Anton Shipulin

    Anton Shipulin – Russia’s best biathlete of the last few years – also announced last week that Schalke would be the final race of his international career.

    “Thank you very much, dear fans, for your support,” he posted on his social media accounts, according to a translation. “Without you, this adventure would have been more difficult. My victories are also your victories. I will always remember this. You are the best. I hope we will be able to please you once again at the ‘Christmas race’ [World Team Challenge], which will be held on December 29 and will be the final in my professional career.”

    Last winter, Shipulin had been among a number of Russian athletes barred by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from starting at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, and claims that to this day he has not yet received a satisfying official explanation by either the IOC or IBU for that blow to his athletic career, according to a fairly rare international interview he gave German home broadcaster ZDF before the race.

    Shipulin came back with a vengeance to close out the 2017/18 IBU season, winning the sprint at the World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland, during the race week immediately following the Olympics.

    Overall he has achieved 11 World Cup victories in individual races during his career and won seven medals at World Championships including one gold. Arguably his biggest success, the gold medal from the men’s relay at the 2014 Olympics at home in Sochi, Russia, hangs in the balance as the IOC and International Biathlon Union keep investigating allegations, though for now publicly only against retired teammate Evgeny Ustyugov. Shipulin’s fourth-place mixed relay result from those Olympics has already been voided.

    Shipulin conveyed in statements that the international sports bodies and anti-doping authorities have treated his case unfairly during the last two seasons, and the murky situation about his ability to participate in future major sports events combined with the unpleasant prospect to see old results annulled seemingly has exhausted his motivation to keep training and competing.

    Russia’s Anton Shipulin claimed his continued compliance with anti-doping regulations in a Russian and English post on his Instagram social media account from December 13, 2018. (Photo: Instagram screenshot)

    “I never violated anti-doping rules. I have always completed doping tests in good conscience,” he told ZDF in an interview, according to a translation, reiterating comments he made in social media posts including one from December 13, 2018, in which he called the most recent investigations triggered by Austrian and Italian authorities that reportedly included a team hotel search a “witch-hunt” and “total nonsense”.

    On Saturday, the pre-determined final race together with his teammate Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht didn’t quite go as storybook-scripted as for Bjørndalen and Domracheva. Incurring too many penalty laps, the Russian duo was never really in contention for the podium and ended the race in seventh place (+1:48.8).

    Yurlova is a veteran of racing at Schalke, winning the event a year ago together with Alexey Volkov, as well as in 2012 when she had teamed up with Shipulin and is currently in full World Cup race mode. Also, like her teammate Shipulin, Yurlova was not allowed by the IOC to start in PyeongChang and reportedly could still be under investigation by international sports and legal authorities. But so far has not been publicly charged with any concrete violations. She is married to an Austrian national, and by living in that country is under the supervision of the local anti-doping agency for much of her off-season.

    Shipulin had not yet raced in an IBU event this season, citing a lack of training time in the summer. Though prior to his announcement last week it had been widely expected that he would be back with the Russian team in time for the races in January or at the latest for the World Championships in Östersund, Sweden.

    Similar to Domracheva, Shipulin might still make an appearance in a farewell race at home. He told ZDF that he looks forward to now spend time in Tyumen, Russia, with his family, and said he was also happy to have more opportunities for his other sports passion: fly fishing.

    Final Results “Biathlon auf Schalke” World Team Challenge 2018

    1 Dorothea Wierer / Lukas Hofer (Italy), 33:23.6 minutes

    2 Franziska Preuß / Simon Schempp (Germany I) +1.2

    3 Darja Domratcheva / Ole Einar Bjørndalen (Belarus/Norway) +24.2

    4 Denise Herrmann / Benedikt Doll (Germany II) +24.3

    5 Lisa Theresa Hauser / Dominik Landertinger (Austria) +1:04.1

    6 Veronika Vítková / Michal Krčmář (Czech Republic) +1:09.5

    7 Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht / Anton Shipulin (Russia) +1:48.8

    8 Juliya Dzhyma / Artem Pryma (Ukraine) +2:12.3

    9 Anaïs Bescond / Émilien Jacquelin (France) +3:11.3

    10 Fuyuko Tachizaki / Mikito Tachizaki (Japan) +4:58.0

    Shooting range and part of the ski course inside the domed Veltins Arena during the 2018 ‘Biathlon auf Schalke’ invitational race event. (Photo: Event Organizers Facebook Page)

     

    While the International Biathlon Union has adopted the mixed and single-mixed relay formats as exciting new disciplines in recent years, the “Biathlon auf Schalke” also dubbed the World Team Challenge by the organizer is an invitation-only private event not sanctioned by the IBU (even though there are plans to cooperate in the future, especially regarding a junior competition leading up to the main event), so there were no World Cup points much less internationally recognized medals to win in the race. That will happen towards the end of the season in March at the IBU World Championships in Östersund, Sweden.

    The regular IBU World Cup season will continue on January 10th, 2019, in Oberhof, Germany.

     

     

  • Thursday Rundown: Ogden, Bergström NCAA Champs; Kontiolahti Men’s Sprint

    Thursday Rundown: Ogden, Bergström NCAA Champs; Kontiolahti Men’s Sprint

    The women’s 5 k classic podium at 2018 NCAA Skiing Championships in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with Dartmouth’s Katharine Ogden (c) in first, Colorado’s Anne Siri Lervik (l) in second, and University of Alaska Anchorage’s Hailey Swirbul (r) in third. (Photo: Clarkson Creative/DartmouthSports.com)

    On the first day of NCAA Skiing Championships at Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs, Dartmouth College freshman Katharine Ogden and University of Utah senior Martin Bergström were crowned champions in the women’s 5-kilometer and men’s 10 k classic races, respectively.

    Ogden won the women’s individual-start race by a whopping 46.9 seconds, finishing in 14:47.2 minutes to become Dartmouth’s first female cross-country skier to win an NCAA title, according to a Dartmouth press release. Anne Siri Lervik of the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) placed second and Hailey Swirbul, of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and a two-time individual medalist at this year’s Junior World Championships, placed third (+51.0).

    “There isn’t much more to say about Katharine’s performance today other than she absolutely crushed it!” said Dartmouth Director of Skiing and Women’s Nordic Head Coach Cami Thompson Graves, according to the Dartmouth press release. “It was such a treat to watch her perform so well.”

    Martin Bergström (University of Utah) after winning his third-straight NCAA Skiing Championships title with a win in the 10 k classic on Thursday in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. (Photo: University of Utah)

    CU, this year’s NCAA Championships host, had three women in the top 11 with last year’s classic champion Petra Hyncicova placing sixth and Christina Rolandsen finishing 11th.

    The CU Buffs took the lead in the team standings on Thursday by nine points over the University of Denver (DU). Utah is currently 41 points back in third, Dartmouth moved up to fourth, and the University of Vermont, which led after Wednesday’s Day 1 alpine races, slipped to fifth.

    In the men’s race, Bergström, who won both races at last year’s NCAA Championships, posted an 8.5-second victory over CU’s Petter Reistad with a winning time of 27:37.1. Dag Frode Trollebø of DU placed third (+14.7) ahead of his DU teammate Eivind Kvaale in fourth (+38.9). On his 22nd birthday, Ian Torchia, of Northern Michigan University and the U.S. Ski Team Development Team, was the top American finisher in fifth (+46.2).

    Alpine slalom races will take place on Friday, while NCAA Championships will conclude with 15/20 k freestyle mass starts on Saturday.

    Results: Women | Men

    Team results (through Day 2 of 4)

    ***

    IBU World Cup (Kontiolahti, Finland): Men’s 10 k sprint

    First, a little geography lesson. Kontiolahti, Finland, is only about 100 kilometers from the Russian  border, so most of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup (and World Championships) events held there attract a mostly Russian crowd.

    The men’s 10 k sprint podium at the IBU World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland, with Russia’s Anton Shipulin (c) in first, Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs (l) in second, France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet (r) in third. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    And here’s a little more background: Russia’s Anton Shipulin showed up for Thursday’s IBU World Cup in Kontiolahti raring to go after having been barred from last month’s Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

    So Shipulin hadn’t raced since Jan. 21 in Antholz, Italy. The International Olympic Committee’s decision to ban him from the 2018 Games went public on Jan. 23.

    Back in action in Kontiolahti, in front of Russian fans, Shipulin delivered a 5.8-second win in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint, shooting clean and finishing in 23:51.6.  It was the 31 year old’s third non-relay podium of the season and first World Cup win of 2017/2018, and he did so on a relatively moderate evening by Kontiolahti standards (at -6 degrees Celsius, or 21 Fahrenheit) with a “stiff breeze” on the range, according to an IBU press release.

    “I felt very good on the tracks and shooting and today it was enough to win,” Shipulin told the IBU. “I am very happy about this … all of the Russian fans gave me a lot of support on the tracks.”

    Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs tied his career best in second place, after shooting a perfect 10-for-10 as well. He acknowledged his mom and women in general after the race.

    “This is very important for my team,” Rastorgujevs told the IBU. “I would also like to congratulate all of the ladies and especially my mom on International Women’s Day.”

    France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet also shot clean to place third (+17.3) for his third non-relay World Cup podium of the season.

    Fillon Maillet was one of the earliest starters in bib 6 yet held off Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø, the 30th starter, by 1.7 seconds for the last spot on the podium. Bø had been a race leader after cleaning prone but missed two standing targets (0+2) to slip out of contention and into fourth at the finish (+19.0).

    Germany’s Olympic sprint champion, Arnd Peiffer placed fifth (+27.4) with one miss (0+1), and France’s Simon Desthieux finished sixth (+28.3) with one prone penalty (1+0), and Germany took seventh and eighth with Erik Lesser (+30.6; one penalty) and Simon Schempp (+32.0; two penalties), respectively. Italy had two in the top 10 with Lukas Hofer in ninth (+35.2; one penalty) and Dominik Windisch in 10th (+38.3; one penalty).

    Lowell Bailey of the U.S. posted his best sprint result of the season in 16th (+48.4) after cleaning prone and missing one standing target (0+1). After starting 22nd, he recorded the 13th- and 14th-fastest overall shooting and range times, respectively, and 23rd-ranked course time.

    After the Olympics, Bailey returned home to Lake Placid, N.Y., for a brief training block. Despite a hefty amount of travel over the last week and a half, he explained in an email that he felt good in his first race back.

    “I felt better than I have for most of the season.  Sometimes that can happen.  I guess that’s the part of the unpredictability of biathlon,” Bailey wrote of Thursday’s race. “The conditions were great today; hard tracks and calm winds on the range.  There was a bit of wind, but compared to the three weeks in South Korea, it seemed pretty tame.

    “Shooting felt solid today,” he added. “That missed shot in standing was sooo close, but not close enough!”

    Overall, Bailey stated that he was happy with his performance and looking forward to the rest of the races in Kontiolahti.

    Leif Nordgren (US Biathlon) raced to 17th for his best result in three seasons on Thursday in the men’s 10 k sprint at the IBU World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

    His teammate Leif Nordgren finished just one place behind him in 17th (+49.9) for his best result in three years. A later starter in bib 55, Nordgren also cleaned prone and missed one standing (0+1) with the fifth-fastest shooting time and seventh-fastest range time. Overall, his course time ranked 28th out of 100 finishers. Nordgren’s individual career best on the World Cup is 16th in a sprint in February 2015. He has finished 17th three times; the last time was in a pursuit in March 2015.

    Brendan Green shot clean to lead the Canadian team in 34th (+1:29.5). American Sean Doherty followed in 35th (+1:29.7) with three penalties (1+2), and Tim Burke placed 38th (+1:36.1) for the U.S., also with three misses (1+2).

    In his World Cup debut, American Alex Howe finished 68th (+2:23.1) with two misses (1+1).

    Canada’s Christian Gow finished 79th (+2:47.4) with two penalties (1+1), and Scott Gow was 86th (+3:01.7) with three misses (1+2).

    This year’s Kontiolahti World Cup does not include a pursuit race. The women’s 7.5 k sprint is scheduled for Friday at 11:45 a.m. EST in Kontiolahti, and the single mixed relay and mixed relay will follow on Saturday. Racing in Kontiolahti will conclude with men’s and women’s mass starts.

    Results

  • Swedish Biathlon Caps Best Olympics with Relay Gold; U.S. Men 6th to Tie 1972 Mark

    Fredrik Lindström crosses the line first to secure a gold medal for his Swedish teammates in the men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay on Friday to close out biathlon competitions at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Madshus USA, Concept2, Boulder Nordic Sport, and Swix Sport US for their generous support, which made this coverage possible.

    Remember when it was a big deal when Sweden won a Biathlon World Cup? The team in bright yellow has made it a habit at the 2018 Winter Olympics, winning their first Olympic relay gold and fourth medal over the last two weeks on Friday — the last biathlon race of the PyeongChang Games.

    “It’s dreams coming true at that moment,” Fredrick Lindström, the Swedish men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay anchor said in a post-race press conference on Friday. “It’s my third Olympics and to be on top with these guys feels great. I don’t know what to say.”

    Lindström had taken gold in perhaps the most ideal way for an athlete in his position, by heading out on the last 2.5 k loop in first place, almost 41 seconds ahead of anyone else. While he had missed his first shot in the final standing stage of the race, Lindström cleared it with the use of one spare bullet. Meanwhile, his closest challenger for the win — Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen, who had followed him into the range and lined up alongside him to shoot — missed his first two targets and went on to miss more, ending up with a penalty lap after using all three spares.

    That was the end of gold for Norway and for Svendsen, who was all too familiar with the penalty lane in the closing moments of an Olympic relay. Four years ago in the men’s relay in Sochi, Russia, Svendsen as Norway’s anchor had been in the medal hunt until the final shooting. There, he used all of his spares and still left a target standing, which sent him to the penalty lap. After leading by as much as 20 seconds in the middle of that race, Norway finished fourth.

    But as they say, that’s biathlon. And on Friday, it was Sweden’s day and Lindström skiing on his own for a 2.5 k victory loop around the course. But he didn’t slow down. As the 28 year old skated up the final climb, he was greeted by several members of his team bowing up and down in a unison to celebrate the history that was about to be made. Lindström descended down into the stadium, not looking back and still pushing toward the line, before skiing to the sidelines a few meters before the finish to grab a small Swedish flag.

    Fredrik Lindström crosses the line first to secure a gold medal for his Swedish teammates in the men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay on Friday to close out biathlon competitions at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    It wasn’t like the oversized French flag Martin Fourcade had been seen waving earlier in the Games, in the pursuit and again in the mixed relay. It was understated, like Sweden’s biathlon team before these Olympics, but he waved it proudly as he crossed the line to a sea of swarming teammates.

    Sweden (with Peppe Femling, Jesper Nelin, Sebastian Samuelsson, and Lindström) finished first with a cumulative time of 1:15.16.5 hours and a total of seven spares and zero penalties. Skiing alone and finishing 55.5 seconds behind them,  Svendsen crossed the line in second for Norway (with teammates Lars Helge Birkeland, Tarjei Bø, and Johannes Thingnes Bø), after tallying 12 spares and one penalty.

    In stark contrast to Lindström’s wide-eyed smile as he finished, Svendsen, 32, who had previously earned bronze in the mass start and silver with Norway’s mixed relay in PyeongChang, hung his head. His teammates met him at the finish and tried to improve his mood, but he was down.

    “It was a good battle. We wished each other luck before the start and it was a good fight,” Lindström said of contending with Svendsen for two out of three loops.

    Norway’s third-leg skier Johannes Thingnes Bø (1) racing his team into fourth to first in the men’s 4 x 10 k relay at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Johannes Bø had tagged Svendsen in first at the last exchange, 0.4 seconds ahead of Sweden, with Samuelsson handing off to Lindström. In the prone stage that followed, both Lindström and Svendsen cleaned without a miss. They left the range together, more than a minute clear of Germany’s Simon Schempp in third (who had missed three but avoided a penalty three spares). Germany had been 13.7 seconds back at the last exchange.

    “Emil had to go first the first loop, I went first the second loop, and on the shooting we were equal until that standing,” Lindström reflected. “I don’t know, I was the lucky man today. I feel proud that I managed that situation and to bring the gold to Sweden.”

    Even without gold, Svendsen is the third-most medaled biathlete in Olympic history, according to the International Biathlon Union (IBU). A four-time Olympian, he has eight medals, four of which are gold.

    “I think that’s awesome,” Svendsen said when asked about his medal tally at the press conference. “It feels very good and yeah, what can I say? Thank you.”

    Finishing more than a minute after Norway and exactly 2:07.1 minutes behind Sweden, Germany (with Erik Lesser, Benedikt Doll, Arnd Peiffer, and Schempp) placed third after Schempp incurred a penalty in the final standing stage. While he was still far enough ahead of Austria’s Dominik Landertinger to hang onto bronze, that penalty put Schempp nearly a minute behind Svendsen at the start of his last loop.

    While he waved to the crowd as he finished, Schempp later said he wasn’t happy with his performance. The German team accrued 10 spares and three penalties (two of which came in Doll’s second leg).

    “I just was disappointed in my race,” Schempp told German broadcaster ARD of his finish-line body language, according to a translation. “But at the end of the day we won the medal. That is the most important thing, that’s what matters, but of course, I can’t be satisfied with my shooting bouts. It was so incredibly gusty … I waited crazily long with my spare shots today because I thought the gusts would be over soon and then I could shoot. But unfortunately that was not the case, so I was on the range forever, losing a lot of time and then still didn’t hit every target. It was like a vicious cycle.”

    Lesser and Canada’s Christian Gow Up Front 

    Sweden had positioned itself for a medal from the gun, with first-leg skier Femling tagging Nelin in fifth, 27.3 seconds back, at the first exchange. Germany’s Lesser had put his team in first on that leg with near-perfect shooting — cleaning prone and using one spare in standing (0+0, 0+1). Lesser tagged Doll 18 seconds ahead of Slovakia in second, which had put itself in contention with a flawless first leg from Matej Kazár. (Slovakia dropped to 15th on the second leg and was lapped on the third leg.)

    Canada’s first-leg skier Christian Gow (12) leading the field, including France’s Simon Desthieux and Germany’s Erik Lesser (far l), to the top of a climb in the men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Canada attracted some serious TV time when Christian Gow took the lead on the first climb out of the stadium. He went on to hit five targets in a row in prone and left the range in second, 1.2 seconds behind Lesser in first. One loop later, Gow had slipped to eighth and about 20 seconds back when he needed three spares to clean. He ended up tagging his brother and teammate Scott Gow in ninth, about 48 seconds out of first.

    “It wasn’t planned, for sure,” Gow, 24, told FasterSkier after about his decision to lead on the first loop. “Right at the top of the first climb, everyone was kind of moving over to the right, staying in kind of two lines, and there’s quite a bit of space there, so I took the opportunity to move up just because I’ve done so many relays where you’re stuck in the middle of the pack. …  I saw an opportunity to get to the front — I didn’t think it would be the front — but that’s what ended up happening, and I just did my pace and no one wanted to pass me.

    “I’m really happy to have cleaned the prone for sure because it’s great if you can lead it, but if you can’t knock down the targets it doesn’t mean too much,” he continued. “In the standing I’m trying to be a bit easier on myself, just because it’s a new situation to be way up in the front like that and having a great day. I wish I would have held it together a bit better than I did. I think I let the nerves get to me a little bit more than I should of, but a lesson learned and I’m happy with the first two-thirds [of my race].”

    Sweden’s Steady Rise

    Nelin raced Sweden into second place, 16 seconds behind the Czech Republic in first by the second exchange. He cleaned prone with one spare and avoided a penalty with three spares in standing while Germany’s Doll, who had been skiing alone in first before the standing shooting, dropped to fifth and almost 38 seconds back with two costly penalties.

    The Czech Republic’s Michal Šlesingr cleaned standing without a miss to take the lead with one loop to go in the second leg, 6.8 seconds ahead of Austria’s Simon Eder in second. Nelin followed another 8 seconds back in third, and tagged just 0.2 seconds ahead of Austria in the exchange.

    The third leg saw Johannes Bø, who had been tagged 31 seconds back in fourth, put Norway in first with a clean prone and a single spare in standing. Samuelsson, who had previously taken silver in the 12.5 k pursuit and placed fourth in the 20 k individual race at these Olympics, put Sweden in a position to win gold, using just one spare to clean prone and shooting without a miss in standing. He latched onto Bø, leading the Norwegian on their final loop and handing off to Lindström just 0.4 seconds behind Norway.

    The Swedish men’s gold-medal relay team, with Peppe Femling, Jesper Nelin, Sebastian Samuelsson, and Fredrik Lindström, after winning the last biathlon race of the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Earlier this season, Sweden won the men’s relay at the IBU World Cup in Oberhof, Germany. The order was the same, except Martin Ponsiluoma skied the first leg, rather than Femling. While the win was a big deal for Sweden, it was against a slightly watered-down field, with some of the top biathletes opting to skip the Oberhof World Cup at the start of the new year.

    Friday’s victory marked Sweden’s first Olympic relay gold in biathlon after it earned bronze in 1976 in Innsbruck, Austria, and again in 1992 in Albertville, France.

    “It means a lot. It’s the first medal for men’s relay team in biathlon for Swede,” Samuelsson said. “Of course we are really satisfied. We did four good races everyone today and we’re super happy.”

    U.S. Ties Olympic-Best 6th

    While Austria finished Friday’s relay in fourth (+2:52.5), and France placed fifth (+3:26.6), the U.S. men tied its country’s best Olympic relay result in sixth (+3:50.2) with Lowell Bailey, Sean Doherty, Tim Burke, and Leif Nordgren. They had been 10th after Bailey’s first leg, in which he used two spares in each stage, and improved to sixth, then fifth on Doherty’s and Burke’s legs.

    Doherty used just one spare in prone and cleaned standing without a miss, leaving the range in sixth and 42 seconds back with one loop to go. He then tagged Burke in sixth, about 54 seconds out of first, and Burke held that position with a flawless prone stage followed by three spares in standing. He picked off one place on his last loop to tag Nordgren in fifth, 1:38.8 minutes back.

    The second-leg skier in the U.S. men’s relay, Sean Doherty racing his team into sixth on Friday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. They went on to finish sixth to tie the best U.S. Olympic relay result. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    “I’m real happy about that,” Doherty, 22 and in his second Olympics, said of his shooting. “I feel like I struggled with the prone earlier on [at these Olympics] and I got that kind of dialed in today, which was nice. Standing was good. I had a little break in the wind and I took full advantage. I shot pretty fast, pretty aggressive, but I hit all five from the clip and that’s what really moved things up.

    “We had a few days after the individual [race] to go back to the drawing board, come back to some of the fundamentals of shooting,” Doherty explained. “It’s nice to kind of reinforce that I’m capable of hitting targets and fixing things. When you’re not shooting well, you don’t have to keep not shooting well, if that makes sense.”

    Nordgren incurred the team’s only two penalties on his prone stage, but because of the strung-out field, he hung onto sixth, losing time to those ahead of him. He used three more spares in standing but stayed out of the penalty lap, finishing about about 24 seconds behind France in fifth.

    “Honestly it is a little disappointing,” Nordgren said after. “I know we were gunning a lot more as a team. I had some mistakes there in prone, too. That hurt a lot since we were right there in contention with some top teams in the world…

    “I will say we had amazing skis today so I pushed really hard on the first loop and I think I got a couple seconds on [Austria’s] Landertinger,” Nordgren added. “And then just in prone … I was just getting thrown around by the wind. It is has given me trouble the whole couple weeks here I obviously never quite figured it out.”

    In addition to tying the best U.S. relay result at an Olympics (of sixth place in the men’s relay at the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan), sixth was a big improvement for this team, which placed 16th at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. It was also the best Olympic relay result for Bailey and Burke, after they placed eighth in the 2014 mixed relay and ninth in the 2006 Olympic men’s relay.

    Tim Burke (l) on the range during a difficult standing shooting with France’s Martin Fourcade. While Burke cleaned with three spares, Fourcade had to ski a penalty lap in the men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Asked whether this was his last Olympic race, Burke said it was.

    “Today was a good for me so yeah, I would say yes,” the 36-year-old four-time Olympian said. “Biathlon is a crazy sport; it is so up and down from one race to the next. The emotional rollercoaster is amazing. I am done though.

    “It has been my life for so long. It is what I know. It is what I love,” he added. “But it is time for the young guns to step up and take my place.”

    Bailey told reporters while the race was still going on that he was glad to finish his Olympic career with a race that didn’t include any penalty laps.

    “On a day like today, you saw that France was in the loop, now Germany, so the top nations are in there,” he said. “I cannot tell you how challenging this range is. It is so much different than most of the other ranges we shoot on.

    “Every Olympics has been different,” Bailey, also 36 and a four-time Olympian as well as 2017 world champion, reflected of his career. “In Sochi I had my career best with eighth place in the individual, and I will always have that. I will always know what I am capable of. That said, I know what I am capable of and I didn’t reach the bar that I set for myself. But all four Olympics have been honestly an incredible honor to put on Team USA uniform and go out there and compete for my country.

    “I know that it’s time to make the next step, to make the next transition,” he continued. “I’m really excited for our future, my family’s future. And I’m really excited for the future of US Biathlon.”

    Canada 11th

    Canada’s Scott Gow leading American Sean Doherty on the second leg of the men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Canada finished the race in 11th (+5:40.3). Scott Gow had brought them up to seventh with perfect shooting on both his stages (0+0, 0+0) and tagged Macx Davies about a minute out of first.

    “My race pan today was to really emphasize the wind flags, and if it changes direction don’t be afraid to correct for it,” Scott Gow said. “In standing when I came in, it was quite windy, so I just waited a extra couple of seconds and then started to shoot when I felt like it was calm. It is hard to remember that sometimes because you are in the race mode and you just want to get it over with so you can try and just get back on course, so I was happy with that execution.”

    Davies, in his first Olympic race, needed three spares to clean prone and slipped to 10th, then had a penalty in standing to leave the range in 12th with one loop to go. He tagged Canada’s anchor Brendan Green in 13th, 4:29 behind. Green went on to use one spare in each of his shooting stages (0+1, 0+1) to bring the team up to 11th at the finish.

    Macx Davies skiing the third leg for Canada’s 4 x 7.5 k men’s relay at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    “It wasn’t a great race for me, but I fought through it and pushed myself so that’s all I can ever really do,” the 25-year-old Davies said. “Coming into this race I was kind of just excited to get an Olympic start. We didn’t know if I was in or not until yesterday morning. Then kind of sitting around today, slowing realizing that it was happening tonight and getting a little bit more nervous and a little bit more excited as it went on. That was exciting.

    “Being part of the team, being part of Team Canada, it’s such a great feeling, great atmosphere,” Davies added. “Everyday you see someone do something amazing and that just inspires you to keep pushing yourself and do everything in your power to succeed.”

    As for Green, he said it’s safe to say these were his last Olympics.

    “I’ve been to three Games now and they’ve all been very unique and special in their own way,” the 31-year-old Green said. “I think Korea did a great job hosting. Volunteers are spectacular and so friendly. It’s too bad the weather didn’t cooperate a little bit more, but we did our best We all fought hard and I think we’ll be going away motivated and looking forward to more.”

    What’s Next?

    While the IBU World Cup season resumes March 8-11 in Kontiolahti, Finland, then makes its next stop in Oslo, Norway, March 15-18, both the Canadian and U.S. teams have stated they will boycott the season-ending World Cup in Tyumen, Russia, March 22-25.

    “The latest decision by the IBU was to send the World Cup tour to Tyumen, Russia for our World Cup final,” Bailey said on Friday. “Team USA is boycotting. The Czech team is boycotting. Canada is boycotting. We are trying to rally more support. I know that as an [IBU] athletes’ rep, we had almost every country had athletes that wrote letters to the IBU saying that we do not want to go to Tyumen. We don’t think it’s the right thing for clean sport, and still, the executive board with Anders Besseberg at the helm decided that it was in their best interest to go to Tyumen. So it’s time for a change. IBU leadership needs to change. Besseberg needs to step down. He’s lost the trust of the athletes.”

    “We won’t go to Russia,” Green said. “Instead we’ll go back to Canada for nationals. … I think until Russia is compliant we’ll probably continue to take a hard stance until things change.”

    Results

  • Friday Olympic Rundown: Sweden Bests Norway in Men’s Biathlon Relay, U.S. Record-Setting 6th

    Fredrik Lindström of Sweden crosses the line after securing a gold medal for his Swedish teammates in the men’s relay to close out biathlon competitions at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Madshus USA, Concept2, Boulder Nordic Sport, and Swix Sport US for their generous support, which made this coverage possible.

    ***

    2018 Olympics (PyeongChang, South Korea): Biathlon Men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay

    Full report

    Germany were the favorites coming into this men’s relay and Erik Lesser started them off with a near-perfect relay leg to sit in first place, but shooting collapses by Benedikt Doll and Simon Schempp left the team with bronze medals at the finish.

    On a windy, gusty day, the relay instead came down to a race between Norway and Sweden. Coming into the last shooting stage Fredrik Lindström of Sweden and Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway were stride for stride. Each missed their first shot in standing, but Lindström pulled himself together and hit the next four shots, then hit the final target using a spare round. Svendsen, on the other hand, kept missing and ended up skiing a penalty loop – just as he had when anchoring the Norwegian team in the Olympics in Sochi four years ago.

    A strong leg from Tim Burke, who cleaned prone and then survived on spare rounds while chaser Martin Fourcade of France headed to the penalty loop, helped the U.S. secure a best-ever sixth-place finish in the Olympic men’s relay. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Then, that left Norway off the podium. This time, Norway still earned silver, as behind him Schempp had his own shooting woes.

    An exciting relay with multiple lead changes in the end turned into something of a blowout, with Lindström able to celebrate on his final loop before joining overjoyed teammates Peppe Femling, Jesper Nelin, and Sebastian Samuelsson at the finish. It was the first Olympic relay gold medal in the history of Swedish biathlon, and the team did it with phenomenal shooting – just seven spare rounds despite difficult conditions. They were the only team to avoid the penalty loop, which most teams visited more than once.

    The Norwegian squad of Lars Helge Birkeland, Tarjei Bø, Johannes Thingnes Bø, and Svendsen finished 55.5 seconds back. The Germans with Lesser, Doll, Arnd Peiffer, and Schempp crossed the line +2:07.1, and the Austrian squad of Tobias Eberhard, Simon Eder, Julian Eberhard, and Dominik Landertinger were the first ones out of the medals, +2:52.5.

    The American team of Lowell Bailey, Sean Doherty, Tim Burke, and Leif Nordgren finished sixth, +3:50.2, tying the best-ever men’s relay finish by an American team at the Olympics. They had 14 spare rounds and two penalty loops.

    The Canadian squad of Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Macx Davies, and Brendan Green finished 11th, +5:40.3, with 11 spare rounds and a penalty loop.

    Results

  • Fourcade Beats Schempp by a Toe in PyeongChang Mass Start

    France’s Martin Fourcade (right) and Germany’s Simon Schempp (left) lunging for first at the finish of the men’s 15-kilometer mass start at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. In a photo finish, Fourcade was deemed the winner with Schempp claiming the silver medal. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Madshus USA, Concept2, Boulder Nordic Sport, and Swix Sport US for their generous support, which made this coverage possible.

    ***

    After both athletes had lunged over the finish line and fallen down, France’s Martin Fourcade initially thought he just lost an exciting finish sprint against Germany’s Simon Schempp in the men’s 15-kilometer mass on Sunday night at the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

    He slammed his pole into the snow and shook his head in anguish. Not again.

    Almost exactly the same had already happened to Fourcade four years ago at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, as he narrowly lost a sprint finish for the gold medal in the mass start to Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen.

    “I was sure that Simon did it,” Fourcade said of Schempp at Sunday’s post-race press conference. “It was just because four years ago in Sochi, Emil did me a lot of pain, and tonight I was sure that history was repeating again.”

    “I didn’t know who was in front of the other, and Martin as well,” Schempp recalled at the press conference. “So we were both waiting.”

    During the race Fourcade had incurred two penalty laps (1+0+0+1) while Schempp had missed just one target (0+0+0+1). However, Fourcade made up for that by skiing the fastest course time of the day.

    France’s Martin Fourcade (r) and Germany’s Simon Schempp (l) pushing to the finish of the men’s 15-kilometer mass start at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. After a photo-finish lunge, Fourcade was deemed the winner while Schempp claimed silver. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    But while they both had finished with the same time of 35:47.3 minutes, the photo-finish image evaluated by the race jury for about a minute would prove they were not exactly even: Fourcade had moved the tip of his boot just about half a foot before his opponent over the line.

    Now it was Schempp who looked a bit frustrated, tilting up his head and letting out a sigh after he saw the official result on the big video wall. But that feeling did not last for long, with pride about the strong performance he had just shown after a difficult season and the happiness about his first Olympic medal in an individual-start race in his third Olympics taking over.

    “For me, it was not too hard; I was happy to get one of these three medals,” Schempp said.

    “Of course I am enormously happy,” he had previously told German broadcaster ZDF immediately after the race, according to a translation. “I had to wait a long time for this, and now until the last individual-start race. I think it was incredibly suspenseful for all viewers.”

    Behind them the above-mentioned 2014 Olympic gold medalist Svendsen placed third to claim the bronze medal this time, 11.2 seconds out of first, with two penalties. He was on the winning side of a final sprint with Schempp’s teammate Erik Lesser, who placed fourth (+11.6), with two penalties. Germany’s third man in the top five, Benedikt Doll finished another few seconds back in fifth (+18.8), with one penalty, only slowing in the last 100 meters after he realized third and fourth place were out of reach.

    Fourcade Starts on Wrong Foot

    Initially the race had not started out well for Fourcade, with little indication that he could end the day with his historic fourth Olympic gold medal.

    On the first loop, he led the mass start field of only 30 athletes, comprised of the medal winners from the previous sprint, pursuit and individual races in PyeongChang, as well as the other top 15 in the current World Cup Total Score standings and filled up with the next-best performers of the last week not among those two groups.

    It was truly an elite field, including all seven different biathletes who had become International Biathlon Union (IBU) world champion in the mass start discipline in the last seven iterations.

    The whole pack stayed close together within a few seconds, with Germany’s Lesser bringing up the back, not investing any energy with fruitless maneuvers to gain a few positions.

    In the first prone shooting stage, 14 athletes remained clean while Fourcade missed a target, forcing him to ski a penalty lap. Then as he returned to the course, he stumbled briefly when his ski caught a V-board and he fell on his behind. He left the range in 19th position and 25 seconds behind South Korea’s Timofey Lapshin, who was leading into the next loop to the delight of local fans in the stands.

    But Fourcade quickly narrowed the gap on the next loop, and after a clean second prone shooting had moved up to eighth place, less than ten seconds behind Germany’s Doll, who had led the field for large parts of the prior loop and now also kept that position after the shooting stage.

    In that second prone, one of the presumed favorites and 15 k individual winner Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway ruined his race with three penalties, falling back to 27th and almost 1:15 out of first. He eventually finished 16th (+1:20.0) after cleaning the remaining standing stages (0+3+0+0).

    Obviously having very fast skis, all four German athletes in the race stayed at or near the top throughout the next loop.

    “The way they were able to aggressively put their mark on this race, all four of them, from the first to the last loop … we surely didn’t expect that considering this level of competition,” German men’s head coach Mark Kirchner later told ZDF.

    (From left to right) Germany’s Simon Schempp, his teammate Erik Lesser (19) and France’s Martin Fourcade lead the field on the third loop of the men’s 15 k mass start at the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. Fourcade went on to win the race, while Schempp finished second and Lesser fifth. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    After again shooting clean in the first standing while Doll incurred a penalty, Fourcade took the lead going out on the course, with Schempp and Lesser followed within two seconds of him.

    On the third loop, Fourcade, Schempp and Lesser pushed hard for a high tempo and swapped leads several times. The gap to a group led by Czech Republic’s Ondrej Moravec and Austria’s Simon Eder ballooned after Eder had been less than 7 seconds behind leaving the range. At a split time following the longest climb, the group clocked in 24 seconds behind, and that time back grew to 30 seconds on that loop.

    Just before the range, Lesser and Schempp briefly looked at each other, then Lesser increased the frequency pushing hard for a few meters to move into first, knowing that would give him the first-lane position on the shooting range. From years of racing against each other, the German athletes were aware Fourcade often prefers to have that position in a final shooting as a demonstration of confidence, so it might have been a little psychological trick to irritate him.

    But Lesser’s race tactic did not exactly work out, as all three failed to clean their targets in the final shooting. Fourcade and Schempp both had to ski one penalty lap, while Lesser missed two shots and came back on the course in fifth, just behind teammate Doll and Norway’s Svendsen, who had both managed to hit all targets to move back into podium contention.

    About 20 seconds ahead, Fourcade kept the speed fairly high leading in front of Schempp throughout the loop, but did not attempt one of his signature ferocious attacks up a climb for which he is feared by his opponents.

    “I thought about a few scenarios how this could play out,” Schempp told ZDF, according to a translation. “I knew either he attacks on the first very steep and long climb, but there he only pushed the tempo and I could stay with him. And then he rather decelerated and I knew I had not other choice but stay behind him in his draft to save some energy for the finish stretch, because my current shape is not good enough to try and get away from him. … So then I knew it would end in a finish sprint. I tried to push hard into the downhill maybe taking the momentum with me, but unfortunately that was not enough.”

    “I tried to be faster than Simon in the first part of the loop, but he was still in my skis,” Fourcade said of the last loop. “So then I knew it will be a tight finish. I gave everything I had, but I know that Simon is a really good sprinter and that is not my main quality.”

    On the final downhill, Fourcade led the duo into the arena with Schempp drafting behind him. Fourcade briefly stumbled in the final right turn but retained his balance, not losing much speed. Entering the finishing straight, Schempp initially motioned toward a lane to the left of Fourcade, but when Fourcade veered that way as well before picking the center Schempp switched over to the right lane and poled all-out.

    France’s Martin Fourcade lunging for his second gold of the 2018 Olympics, and fourth Olympic gold of his career, in PyeongChang, South Korea, winning the men’s 15 k mass start on Sunday. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    “I chose my corridor late because earlier this season in Hochfilzen [in the pursuit’s finishing race for third place] I did it a bit early, and then he went right into the one I wanted to go in as well,” Schempp told ZDF. “I still had that in the back of my mind.”

    “Our last sprint in Hochfilzen together was not a fair one,” Fourcade recalled of the same race, unprompted in his interview with ZDF. “And I thought during the final loop, ‘Beat him, but just do it in a fair way,’ because Simon is one of the best opponents I fight with. So thanks Simon for this fight, and it makes my gold more valuable.”

    “Choosing the finish stretch corridor, that’s the prerogative of the athlete who has pushed the tempo on the final loop,” Schempp explained in an interview with ZDF later in the evening. “So I could ski behind him, save a bit of energy, and in turn he gets that advantage. Poetic justice.”

    With the finish line approaching, Schempp managed to pole closer and finally next to the French athlete. “I felt that Simon was taking me meter after meter,” Fourcade recalled at the press conference.

    Both athletes lunged far as they approached the line, and with slightly higher velocity Schempp seemed to move past Fourcade as they slid and fell, causing Fourcade’s frustrated initial reaction as he looked over and saw the German coming to a stop slightly ahead of him.

    “After the finish line I thought I was in his back,” Fourcade told ZDF.

    But as the photo finish revealed, right on the line Fourcade had still been in front by about half the length of his foot this time and was the lucky winner.

    Any signs of initial frustration from Schempp were quickly replaced as he celebrated with his teammates and staff who rushed to congratulate him, and later was hoisted up on their shoulders.

    “The finish line came maybe five meters too early for me,” Schempp told ZDF. “But still, I am also totally happy and satisfied about silver. It was a suspenseful competition, and I am so glad it worked out. … I have had a few photo finishes in my career when I was in first, and now it’s the other way around. Martin was incredibly strong on the course today, and he had one more penalty than me, so he also fought enormously for gold, and I did my best.”

    Behind them, Lesser had tried to attack up the last big climb to break away from Norway’s Svendsen and his teammate Doll, but Svendsen managed to stay on his ski tails and in the finish sprint claimed the bronze medal by 0.4 seconds. It was his fourth individual medal in four Olympics (plus one gold medal in the men’s relay in 2010).

    France’s Martin Fourcade (c) in first, Germany’s Simon Schempp (l) in second, and Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen (r) in third, during the flower ceremony of the men’s 15 k mass start at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    Four years ago at the Sochi Olympics, Svendsen had won the gold medal just ahead of Fourcade, as Fourcade recalled at the press conference.

    “It means very much, it’s been really bad Olympic Games for me,” Svendsen said in the press conference when asked about his bronze medal. “So I didn’t really believe in a medal at all. When I came into a position to get a medal I really fought hard. And to be on the podium with these guys, it’s a very good feeling.”

    When the experienced podium finishers were asked about their “secret” for a finish sprint, Svendsen added: “For me, I was thinking a lot about Marit Bjørgen from yesterday, what she did on the last few hundred meters [when] she didn’t allow the Swedish girl to catch her. That helped me a lot today, maybe that was the key to beating Lesser and Doll.”

    Disappointed, Lesser initially did not talk to German media following the race. Only several hours later, he posted an image of him hugging Schempp after the race and superimposed with the words “in the end the only thing left for me is to congratulate” to his Facebook fan page, adding a paragraph that according to a loose translation reads:

    “Wow!!! That was tight, annoying, hammer, humbling, pleasant, unbelievable, mega, crass, semi, phenomenal… no one has a leg up on our team. Everyone on our team is now individual-race World Champion and in possession of an individual-race Olympic medal. No other team can show that off.”

    On his Instagram account he wrote in English “Once again #wtf !!! It’s amazing to be part of this great team” to a photo of the team’s coaches and staff hoisting up Schempp.

    “Another really strong shooting performance, just one miss, that is great,” Doll told ZDF right after the race. “For two loops I skied at the top of the field, so that gives me some self-confidence … On the final lap, that kind of head-to-head duel isn’t really my strength, unfortunately I couldn’t win that today. It was difficult, even though we had the better ski today. We could have made a little more out of that, me and Erik, but that’s just the way it is.”

    Making History Instead of History Repeating Itself

    For Fourcade it was the fourth Olympic title of his career. In the mass start he had already won silver in both the 2010 Vancouver and 2015 Sochi Olympics. He now also has a gold medal in each non-relay discipline (sprint, pursuit, 15 k individual, and mass start).

    “Today I am so satisfied because I was second eight years ago in Vancouver in the mass start, I was second four years ago, and today I finally win this competition,” Fourcade said at the press conference. “So I am really proud.”

    As an added bonus, Fourcade is now tied with two French fencers for having won the most gold medals at either a Summer or Winter Olympic Games in the history of his country with six total.

    “That’s something really incredible. I grew up watching biathlon on TV and sport at the Olympics, so being the best French Olympian ever is something I am really proud of,” Fourcade said at the press conference. “But then you need to compare, because if I was Norwegian I would not be the best Olympian ever.”

    “After effort and suspense Martin Fourcade makes us tremble and dream a second time by winning a new gold medal for France. A legend of the Olympic Winter Games and biathlon,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on his official Twitter account, according to a translation, alongside with an image of the photo finish.

    Deep Respect for Each Other

    Fourcade’s opponent Schempp had not been in optimal health going into these championships after dealing with persistent back problems that forced him to miss several races on the 2017/2018 World Cup competition calendar. So in the end he was happy that despite losing out on gold so narrowly, he had been able to reach his first Olympic medal in a non-relay race. Last year, Schempp had won gold in the mass start at the 2017 World Championships, back then also his first title excluding relays.

    France’s Martin Fourcade (2) leading Germany’s Arnd Peiffer (1) and Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø (3) early in the men’s 15 k mass start at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. They went on to place first and second, respectively. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    “I wasn’t really afraid [of the back injury returning], I was just hoping it would hold up,” Schempp told ZDF in a studio interview later Sunday evening. “It was very tedious and often also frustrating in January, because I did a lot to get it under control and a lot of people helped me with that. … But then 10 days before we flew over here, I just thought, ‘Woah, I don’t know if it will work out like this, if that will be enough.’ But then shortly before [the races] it got enormously better, there was a big leap, but I still didn’t know how it would be in the stress of a competition. … Until now it was pretty good and I hope it stays that way.”

    In his interviews right after the race, Fourcade had been very congratulatory of how hard his opponents had made it for him and how highly the won medal ranks for him.

    “I must apologize to the German fans because I know how much I disappointed them tonight,” Fourcade told ZDF. “But Simon is one of my best opponents. When I was on the podium with Simon and Emil I told them that I could not have a [better] podium for me tonight. It was the best podium I could hope for. You know, Simon is an incredible champion, and I am so proud I beat him in the sprint.”

    “We are on very good terms, and two years ago I have visited him at home,” Schempp later said of Fourcade to ZDF. “In general we get along very well. Maybe not so great on the tracks, but later in the finish, respectively before competitions. Of course he also has this crazy killer instinct and can assess race situations very well.”

    The close race also brought up memories of past events with an end like this.

    At the 2003 World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, two gold medals had been awarded in the women’s pursuit race to France’s Sandrine Bailly and Germany’s Martina Glagow after the photo finish had been deemed too close to call.

    But with the help of more modern technology there was a visible difference this time, and the German team readily accepted that when questioned if they thought it was fair that after a 15 k race you lose an Olympic gold medal merely by inches.

    “I think there are plenty of other sports were decisions are this close,” coach Kirchner told ZDF. “If you think about alpine skiing where races also get decided by hundredth of a second, or in others like bobsledding even by a thousandth, that’s the way it is. The athletes know they are fighting for every second, and in the end there has to be a winner. When the clock is running you know that it’s fair, there is no subjective judging.”

    No North Americans qualified for the top-30 men’s mass start field at these Olympics.

    The biathlon competitions in PyeongChang continue with the mixed relay on Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. local time. (6:15 a.m. EST).

    Results

  • Sunday Olympic Rundown: Klæbo Anchors Another Norwegian Gold; Fourcade Edges Schempp in Mass Start

    Johannes Høsflot Klæbo anchoring the Norwegian men’s 4 x 10 relay to gold on Sunday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, while Denis Spitsov (background) celebrates silver for the Olympic Athletes for Russia. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Madshus USA, Concept2, Boulder Nordic Sport, and Swix Sport US for their generous support, which made this coverage possible.

    2018 Olympics (PyeongChang, South Korea): Men’s 4 x 10 k relay

    International report

    North American report

    For a while in the men’s 4 x 10-kilometer relay on Sunday, it looked like the Russians might run away with the win. But that was just two classic legs and 20 k into the race, with a lot more racing to come.

    While Kazakhstan’s Alexey Poltoranin had handed off in first at the first exchange, just ahead of Andrey Larkov of the Olympic Athletes from Russia, Italy, France and Norway skied together behind them, with Norway’s Didrik Tønseth trailing off the back, 18 seconds behind.

    On the next classic leg, Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov put a hurt on the field. Within the first 3.3 k lap, he was 25 seconds ahead of Kazakhstan’s Yevgeniy Velichko in second, who was followed closely by Italy, Norway and France in third through fifth. Sweden’s Daniel Rickardsson had fallen farther behind to more than a minute back in sixth place, after his teammate Jens Burman lost contact with the lead group on the first leg.

    By the second exchange, Russia was 24.5 seconds clear of second place, while Italy’s Francesco de Fabiani tagged Giandomenico Salvadori in second, France’s Maurice Manificat tagged Clement Parisse in third (+28.0), and Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby tagged Simen Hegstad Krüger in fourth (+32.1). Kazakhstan’s Velichko had fallen off the pace and was another 19 seconds back in fifth.

    Over the next 10 k, the first skate leg, Krüger and Parisse reeled in Russia’s Alexey Chervotkin, catching him before the end of their second lap. One lap later, Krüger came through the final exchange in first, tagging Johannes Høsflot Klæbo 0.4 seconds ahead of France in second. Chervotkin tagged Russia’s anchor Denis Spitsov in third, 16.2 seconds back, while Finland’s Matti Heikkinen passed Italy’s Salvadori on the last climb to put Finland in fourth (+58.6).

    Team France celebrates its bronze-medal finish in the men’s 4 x 10 k relay at the 2018 Olympics on Sunday in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

    Early in the final leg, France’s Adrien Backscheider took the lead ahead of Klæbo. The two held Spitsov off until the end of the second lap, where Spitsov came through the stadium first to start the final loop. Spitsov and Klæbo soon upped the pace, dropping Backscheider, and shortly after the 8.27 k checkpoint, Klæbo truly put the jets on to accelerate away from Spitsov. He dropped the Russian on a climb just before the final uphill, where it was clear that the gold was Norway’s.

    As he sped down into the stadium, Klæbo relaxed his arms, skied to the sideline and took a flag from the stands. He looked back for a moment and then crossed the finish line first in 1:33:04.9 hours, while Spitsov followed 9.4 seconds later for silver for Russia. Backscheider held on for bronze (+36.9) as his team exuberantly celebrated with him at the finish.

    Finland placed fourth (+1:40.5), Sweden fifth (+2:05.6), Germany sixth (+2:08.2), Italy seventh (+2:35.2), and Kazakhstan eighth (+3:31.4). Canada was ninth (+3:41.0) for its second-best Olympic relay result (with Len Valjas, Graeme Killick, Russell Kennedy, and Knute Johnsgaard), and the U.S. finished 14th (+9:24.2), out of 14 teams, with Andy Newell, Reese Hanneman, Scott Patterson, and Noah Hoffman.

    Results (will be posted here)

    ***

    France’s Martin Fourcade lunging for his second gold of the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, winning the men’s 15 k mass start on Sunday. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Biathlon: Men’s 15 k mass start

    Full report

    Martin Fourcade is the champion once again. Six days after he won the 12.5-kilometer pursuit for his first gold in PyeongChang, the 29-year-old Frenchman did it again in the men’s 15 k mass start on Sunday, winning in a photo finish at the line.

    He took charge on the first loop, leading the field into the range for the first prone shooting. There, Fourcade shot a penalty and slipped to 19th, but it wasn’t over.

    Clean shooting on the second prone brought him up to eighth, 9.4 seconds out of first. Germany’s Benedikt Doll took that lead at that point after his second stage without a miss. Meanwhile Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø shot three misses on that second stage and dropped out of contention.

    One loop later, Fourcade moved into first with a clean standing. He left the range about 1 second ahead of Germany’s Simon Schempp and 2 seconds ahead of Germany’s Erik Lesser, after both made it through the first three stages without a miss. Doll missed one to slip to seventh, almost 30 seconds behind.

    After Fourcade and Schempp exchanged leads over the next loop, Lesser moved into first just before the final shooing, Going head to head, Fourcade and Schempp both missed one while Lesser missed two. Fourcade and Schempp still left the range in first and second, respectively, separated by 0.4 seconds, while Lesser slipped to fifth, 22.5 seconds back.

    Doll left the range in third (+19.2) after cleaning and Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen moved into fourth (+21.9) with a clean standing stage as well.

    In the end, Fourcade outlunged Schempp for the win in 35:47.3 minutes, with Schempp finishing less than a tenth of a second behind for silver, and Svendsen beat out Lesser in the finishing stretch by 0.4 seconds to claim bronze, 11.2 seconds behind, while Lesser settled for fourth (+11.6). Doll followed them in fifth (+18.8), Austria’s Julian Eberhard placed sixth (+30.7) with three penalties, Norway’s Erlend Bjøntegaard seventh (+32.1) with two misses, Norway’s Tarjei Bø eighth (+34.6) with three penalties, Sweden’s Jesper Nelin ninth (+34.6) with two misses, and Slovenia’s Jakov Fak 10th (+36.1), just ahead of the Czech Republic’s Ondřej Moravec in 11th (+36.3), with one miss each.

    Results

  • Fourcade Rebounds for Pursuit Gold in PyeongChang; Burke 17th

    France’s Martin Fourcade defending his Olympic gold from four years ago on Monday in the men’s 12.5 k pursuit at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Madshus USA, Concept2, Boulder Nordic Sport and Swix Sport US for their generous support, which made this coverage possible.

    ***

    Imagine for a moment, if you can, that you’re a two-time Olympic gold medalist from four years ago, and so far this winter, you’ve been on the podium in every biathlon World Cup you’ve raced but one (the first race, a single-mixed relay in November).

    Your name is Martin Fourcade and you’re an 11-time world champion from France. You’re also a 29-year-old dad and you’ve spent the last four years since the last Olympics more or less preparing for gold in another race: the first race of the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

    Now imagine that in that race, which you came into feeling more prepared than ever, you finished eighth after missing three targets in the first prone shooting stage.

    Fourcade recalled in a press conference on Monday that his result in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint on Sunday wasn’t frustrating. It was disappointing.

    “It was a really strange feeling,” Fourcade said after Monday’s 12.5 k pursuit. “… I was disappointed because yesterday I did not understand why I missed three, and I wanted this Olympic gold in the sprint more than any of the competitions. I worked really hard for this competition. I worked on my shooting for being good in the sprint, I worked on my skiing to be good in the sprint, and I think I was relaxed, I was in a good mood, I had good preparation. … And after the race [yesterday] I was really sad because I didn’t understand what I did bad.”

    On Monday morning, he reviewed a photo of his missed shots in the sprint and figured out his error. The red flags that show the strength and direction of the wind in the range were waving more violently than he had remembered feeling during that prone bout.

    “I realized it was not because I was unlucky … it was because I did a mistake, and from that time it was really much more easy to turn my anger into strength for the competition today,” Fourcade said. “It’s a bit masochist, but it works.”

    Fourcade started the second race of the 2018 Games, the pursuit, 22 seconds behind Germany’s Arnd Peiffer (who won Sunday’s sprint) in eighth. Peiffer held his ground through the first loop and first prone shooting in first, hitting all of his targets and leaving the range in second, just 0.8 seconds behind Austria’s Julian Eberhard, who also cleaned and started the race in fourth.

    France’s Martin Fourcade (8) skiing in the pack en route a gold medal in the men’s biathlon pursuit on Monday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Fourcade missed his third shot and emerged from the penalty loop still in eighth, now 28 seconds out of first. He and Peiffer both cleaned the second prone, putting Peiffer back into first and Fourcade up to sixth, 21 seconds behind, while Eberhard missed one to drop to seventh.

    All the while, the little red flags blew in various directions, twirling around their posts. Gusts kicked up flurries of snow into the air, under a pitch black sky past 9 p.m. Korea time — the start of the men’s pursuit.

    It was once again frigid out there and only those who were shooting carefully enough and could feel their fingers (or were managing it regardless) were succeeding.

    On the third loop, Fourcade hooked up with a chase group in an effort to catch Peiffer, and by the end of that 2.5 k loop, they did. Heading into the range for the first standing shooting, Fourcade put himself in second, just ahead of Germany’s Simon Schempp in third and behind Peiffer in first. Fourcade and Peiffer lined up in the second and first shooting positions, respectively, putting the pressure on Peiffer in particular.

    Then, Peiffer missed his first shot. He hit the remaining four, but it wasn’t enough — Fourcade had knocked down all five and had taken his time to do so, posting the 28th-ranked shooting time. While Peiffer skied his first penalty lap of the day, Fourcade headed back to the course in first place. Peiffer slotted into second, 20.3 seconds behind.

    “I think it was a key time of the competition because on the third shooting, the wind was really tricky, challenging, probably it was the most difficult shooting of today,” Fourcade recalled of that standing stage. “I took a bit more time then my opponents to shoot my first ammunition and then when I realized I was the only one who shot clean, I knew that I was the only one who could decide who would be the Olympic champion. I didn’t say that I was sure I would win, but the decision was in my hand.”

    He rounded the fourth loop on his own and entered the range for the last time all alone. Then, Fourcade cleaned all five targets with the ninth-fastest shooting time, and turned to the stands behind him with a celebratory fist pump.

    “My finish line was not the real finish line, it was the last ammunition of my last magazine on the fourth shooting,” Fourcade said. “I really put all my energy into this shooting and I think if I had to fight with any athlete on the tracks, I wasn’t able to do it because after this shooting I was totally empty.”

    He didn’t need to fight with anyone on that last loop. Behind him, Germany’s Benedikt Doll had moved into second with a clean final stage, 36 seconds back, and Sweden’s Sebastien Samuelsson was up to third, another eight seconds behind.

    On that final loop, Fourcade locked up gold, coming into the stadium with enough time to grab a large French flag from the stands, about 100 meters from the finish. Meanwhile, Doll and Samuelsson duked it out for second, with Samuelsson closing the gap to Doll then challenging him on the final climb.

    “I saw Sebastien behind me and my legs felt weaker and weaker in the long uphill,” Doll, the 2017 sprint world champion, said at the press conference. “And he came closer and closer, and then he [caught] me so I was thinking, ‘OK, now I need to make a new tactic for sprinting for the finish.’ ”

    The 20-year-old Samuelsson overtook Doll, 27, as they crested the last climb and led the downhill toward the stadium finish.

    “I knew we had really good skis today and I knew that if I can catch him at the top, I had a really good chance,” Samuelsson reflected. “My plan was to go a little bit later because I wanted a wind shadow, but [my team’s] waxers were … yelling a lot and then I just had to go. I was helped a lot with my skis today.”

    Sebastien Samuelsson of Sweden celebrating silver in the men’s 12.5 k pursuit at his first Olympics on Monday in PyeongChang, South Korea. It was also his first non-relay podium at the World Cup/World Championships level. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    In the end, Samuelsson got him by 3 seconds for silver, finishing 12 seconds after Fourcade claimed the win in 32:51.7 minutes. Doll, who had started the pursuit in sixth, settled for bronze, 15 seconds behind Fourcade, for his first medal in his first Olympics with a single penalty (0+1+0+0).

    “I couldn’t follow [Samuelsson] and he had faster skis,” Doll concluded. “He was a little bit stronger, and so I think he’s the right holder for the silver medal.”

    In addition to shooting 19-for-20 (0+0+1+0), Samuelsson, who started the race in 14th, raced the fastest overall course time of the day, 8.6 seconds faster than Fourcade, who was second fastest. The young Swede reportedly told the International Biathlon Union (IBU) on Periscope that he’d cut his hair if he won a medal at his first Olympics in PyeongChang.

    “I think nobody was thinking I’d be able to cut my hair after these Olympics, but now I have to do it, I have said so,” Samuelsson said at the press conference. “But I heard that my teammate said maybe you should keep the hair until the relays because you never know what will happen if you cut it.”

    Samuelsson’s previous individual World Cup best was 13th in a sprint last season. He won a relay with his four-man team this season in the 4 x 7.5 k in Oberhof, Germany. After Monday’s pursuit, Fourcade said he congratulated him.

    “I told Sebastien in the changing room, it’s not a bad day to start his first Olympics with his first international podium. I know a guy who did that eight years ago in the Olympics in Vancouver,” Fourcade said, referring to his first Olympic medal (silver) in the mass start at the 2010 Games.

    Fourcade went on to win the pursuit and 15 k individual race at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where he also took silver in the sprint.

    “Martin is, I mean, the perfect biathlete,” Samuelsson said. “I knew when he finished eighth yesterday that today he would be really fighting for the gold medal. For me, it’s a big victory for me to just be on the podium and Martin is unbelievably good.”

    “Martin was not happy [after the sprint],” Doll said when asked about Fourcade. “Of course three mistakes in the prone shooting, it’s horrible, so it was for sure that today that he will fight and give everything to win, and in the end his plan fulfilled. He was I think the fastest skier or maybe Sebastien was the fastest skier, I don’t know, but he was the best biathlete today.”

    France’s Martin Fourcade after winning the men’s 12.5 k pursuit on Monday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. He also won the pursuit at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    In his book, “Martin Fourcade: Mon rêve d’or et de neige” (My dream of gold and snow), which came out in November, Fourcade wrote about how nervous he was the night before his first gold medal in Sochi.

    “Four years ago before the Olympics in Sochi, I was simply shaking because I had a lot of fears,” Fourcade said at Monday’s press conference when asked about that passage from the book. “Many things changed in my life since Sochi. When I came here in Korea, I knew that I will be a happy man even without any Olympic gold in this event, so I think it helped me to take it more easy and I was in a really good mood and really satisfied with how I prepared this competition.”

    Asked now if that fear is gone, he said it was.

    The men’s 12.5 k pursuit podium at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, with France’s Martin Fourcade (c) in first, Sweden’s Sebastien Samuelsson (l) in second and Germany’s Benedikt Doll (r) in third. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    Finishing 47.5 seconds after Doll was Norway’s Tarjei Bø in fourth (+1:02.6). Bø started 13th and posted the fourth-fastest course time to overcome three penalties (0+0+1+2). He held off three others in a sprint to the line, with Schempp following in fifth (+1:02.7), after starting seventh, Switzerland’s Benjamin Weger placing sixth (+1:03.1), up from 15th at the start, and France’s Simon Desthieux placing seventh (+1:03.7), up from 12th. Peiffer ended up eighth (+1:14.1) with three penalties (0+0+1+2), and Sunday’s silver medalist Michal Krčmář of the Czech Republic finished 30th (+3:49.9) with seven misses (2+0+3+2).

    Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø finished the race in 21st (+2:51.0), up 10 places from starting 31st based on his sprint result, with six penalties on Monday (0+2+4+0).

    “We both [knew] before the Olympics that it will not be only a fight between us because we know the shooting range [here] is challenging,” Fourcade said of Johannes Bø, his main rival this season. “I thought that at our best level, we could be difficult to beat, but the wind and the Olympic situation will bring many opportunities for outsiders to take [medals], yesterday Arnd did in a magnificent way. It’s not a competition about Johannes today. It’s biathlon.”

    Burke Up to 17th

    Tim Burke (US Biathlon) racing to 17th in the men’s 12.5 k pursuit at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, up from 47th at the start. (Photo: NordicFocus/US Biathlon)

    Three Americans and one Canadian qualified for the pursuit in the sprint top 60, and US Biathlon’s Tim Burke raced all the way up to 17th (+2:19.6) after starting 47th, with two penalties (0+1+1+0) and the 15th-fastest overall course time.

    “I am very happy with the race,” Burke said in a post-race interview with FasterSkier. “I really felt like I put it together for the opportunities I was given in the race today, but this is not normal biathlon. You saw that they moved the downhill [competition] to a different day; we can’t do that in biathlon we have too many events, so we have to go on these days when it’s honestly unfair conditions like today. I benefited a lot from having very little wind in my standing positions, and I was able to move up a lot. Others I know were not so lucky. Unfortunately that is part of an outdoor sport.”

    Asked how he reset after the sprint the day before, Burke said he talked about it with his coach.

    “I was disappointed in the result not the performance,” he recalled. “I felt like I executed well. I felt like I hit my cues on the course and on the range, and it just didn’t happen yesterday. The game plan going into today was nothing, there was nothing new, stick to the things that have been working well for me in the World Cup and that’s what I did.”

    After Burke, Lowell Bailey was the next best American on Monday, finishing 32nd (+3:51.6) after starting 33rd. He cleaned the first two stages but missed five between the two standing bouts (0+0+3+2).

    American Lowell Bailey (33) racing to 32nd in the men’s 12.5 k pursuit at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea (Photo: NordicFocus/US Biathlon)

    “Unfortunately today, the weather got involved and I had one stage that really just threw my race off,” Bailey told FasterSkier after. “Wind, I mean, that third stage was just absolutely ridiculous. … There was nothing longer than 20 seconds of those big gusts and that time it was like two minutes. I got through of about 40 seconds of standing there waiting, time bleeding off the clock at that point I just started pulling the trigger, I couldn’t hold on the target, you just got to do your best on that point.”

    Then there was Leif Norgren, also of the U.S., who finished 50th (+5:48.7), up from 58th at the start, with five penalties (2+2+0+1).

    “Physically I think it was improvement from yesterday,” Nordgren told FasterSkier. “I still struggled with the wind and shooting, and it makes it kind of frustrating because with windy conditions like these it’s a big opportunity to move up in the pursuit and I wasn’t able to capitalize on that today. So a little disappointed in that regard, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.”

    Canada’s lone man in the pursuit, Nathan Smith crossed the line in 54th (+6:06.5), after starting 44th, with four misses (0+0+1+3).

    While he raced up to 37th after the first three stages, Smith dropped to 51st with three misses in the last standing.

    “Three penalties on the last standing was really a lot of time spent in the loop,” he reflected.

    Physically, he said the race felt, “really, really hard.”

    Biathlon at the Olympics continues with the women’s 15 k individual on Wednesday and men’s 20 k individual on Thursday.

    Results

  • Monday Olympic Rundown: Dahlmeier and Fourcade Win Pursuits, Burke 17th, Crawford 19th

    Keep calm and be the best: one missed shot early on did not keep France’s Martin Fourcade from defending his Olympic gold medal in the men’s biathlon pursuit. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Madshus USA, Concept2, Boulder Nordic Sport, and Swix Sport US for their generous support, which made this coverage possible.

    ***

    2018 Winter Olympics (PyeongChang, South Korea): Men’s 12.5 k pursuit

    Full report

    “Use this rage as energy!” Martin Fourcade wrote on Instagram after finishing eighth in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint on Sunday.

    Um, yeah. The French biathlon star defended his gold medal from the 2014 Olympic pursuit with just one missed shot in Monday’s 12.5 k competition, taking the lead after the third shooting stage and never giving it back. He finished with a comfortable enough margin to grab the French flag and take his time waving it down the finishing straight.

    A large pack of chasers were all in contention for second place coming into the final shooting stage, but of them all only Benedikt Doll of Germany and Sebastian Samuelsson of Sweden cleaned their targets. Samuelsson took his time to do so, and left the range with a nearly eight-second deficit on Doll. But he gradually worked his way up to the German on the trails, before putting in a spurt on one of the last small uphills on the course. The 20-year-old Swede managed to hold his lead on the swooping downhills into the stadium and not get consumed by the draft effect, and celebrated crossing the line in second place. Samuelsson’s previous best result was 13th place in a World Cup. It is Sweden’s first Olympic biathlon medal since 2010.

    Tarjei Bø of Norway finished fourth (+1:02.6) after missing three shots; all the medalists had only a single penalty apiece. Germany’s Simon Schempp was fifth (+1:02.7), also with three penalties, and Switzerland’s Benjamin Weger finished sixth with two missed shots (+1:03.1), narrowly edging France’s Simon Desthieux (+1:03.7).

    For the U.S., Tim Burke finished 17th (+2:19.6) with just two missed shots after starting in 47th position after a disappointing sprint race. Lowell Bailey placed 32nd (+3:51.6) with five penalties — all in standing — and  Leif Nordgren 50th (+5:48.7), also with five missed shots.

    For Canada, Nathan Smith finished 54th (+6:06.5) with four missed shots.

    Results

    ***

    Biathlon: Women’s 10 k pursuit

    Full report

    With just one missed shot, Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier took her second gold medal of this young Olympic Games when she won the 10 k biathlon pursuit by 29.4 seconds. Dahlmeier finished no better than 13th in the 2014 Olympics — where she was only 20 years old – but four more years of experience have made her nearly unbeatable, if last year’s triple gold haul from World Championships serves as a basis for comparison. But even if she only nets these two golds, she has already made history: no other woman has ever won both the sprint and the pursuit at the same Olympic Games.

    Dahlmeier started in bib 1 but the other medalists used stellar performances to move up after disappointing sprint races. Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia edged France’s Anais Bescond by just 0.2 seconds to take silver. Kuzmina had started in bib 13 and won her medal despite four missed shots – she had the fastest course time of the whole field – while Bescond had started 19th but had hit all but one of her targets.

    Fourth place went to the sprint silver medalist Marte Olsbu of Norway (+1:07.3), fifth to Hanna Öberg of Sweden (+1:08.9), and sixth to Denise Herrman of Germany (+1:19.4).

    Rosanna Crawford of Canada started 53rd after a tough sprint race, but shot 18/20 and moved up to 19th place (+2:27.7), the best Olympic result of her career.

    Montana State University student Johanna Talihärm, representing Estonia, missed four shots to finish 26th (+2:59.4). Just behind her was Canada’s Julia Ransom in 28th (+3:03.0) with one missed shot.

    The lone American in the race, Emily Dreissigacker, set a new career best with 47th place (+5:01.4), and Canada’s Emma Lunder finished 53rd (+6:16.8). Teammate Megan Tandy did not start.

    Results

  • Peiffer’s Bad Day Turned Golden; Bailey 33rd in PyeongChang Sprint

    Germany’s Arnd Peiffer (front) on his way to winning the men’s 10 k sprint at the Alpensia Biathlon Center on Sunday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. The German was one of just four men to shoot clean in windy conditions. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Madshus USA, Concept2, Boulder Nordic Sport and Swix Sport US for their generous support, which made this coverage possible.

    ***

    Arnd Peiffer’s race day before the men’s 10-kilometer sprint at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang began anything but ideal, not giving any indication that it would end as one of the luckiest days in the athletic career of the German, standing at the top of the podium and flanked by Michal Krčmář of the Czech Republic in second and Italy’s Dominik Windisch in third place.

    “Shortly before ski testing, the bolt on my rifle broke. Then I slipped outside the wax cabin [on a flight of stairs] and badly bruised my elbow,” Peiffer told German broadcaster ARD about a series of mishaps that also included a cut to his hand, a forgotten key for his rifle storage locker and a poor warmup. “Somehow nothing was really working as planned, but then in the race everything did.”

    About an hour before the race during dry firing target practice (without loaded ammunition clips), the bolt on Peiffer’s rifle that triggers the shots just snapped. On short notice the weapon had to be disassembled and the bolt replaced with the help of men’s head coach Mark Kirchner (a successful biathlete himself with a gold medal in the sprint and two in relays at the 1992 and 1994 Olympics), a problem that according to Peiffer “happens about once every six months to a year… That’s not so bad, but something you don’t really want to occur right before a race”.

    “I am generally not superstitious at all,” Peiffer recounted during an interview with ARD in the Olympic broadcasting center late Sunday night. “But Mark told me, ’22 is a good bib number, I once became world champion with that… And [teammate Erik Lesser] also had a broken bolt before the individual race at the [2014] Olympics in Sochi when he shot clean four times and won silver, that was surely a good omen.’ I was like, yeah, that won’t help me today either.”

    Yet after he had started his race, Peiffer was indeed the lucky one, hitting 10-for-10 shots in every bit as difficult wind conditions as the day before during the women’s sprint when his teammate Laura Dahlmeier won gold, while the presumed favorites such as France’s Martin Fourcade and Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø missed too many targets to contend for the medals.

    In his prone shooting, Peiffer reacted correctly to a strong gust of wind from the left side of the range, adjusting his sights with several clicks on his rifle. Then in the standing shooting he took advantage of manageable conditions to shoot in rhythm and again remained clean. On the final loop he skied the 10th-fastest time (18th overall), crossing the line in a time of 23:38.8 minutes. That mark would not be beaten anymore by the 65 athletes starting behind him.

    “I have waited a long time for this individual medal,” he said during his in-studio interview with ARD. “I won one in 2011 [at IBU World Championships] and since then had a few chances that I didn’t take advantage of, and sometimes didn’t have any chance at all. So that it worked out today, with a pretty mediocre course time, is a gift that I am very grateful for.”

    It was Peiffer’s first individual medal at Olympics, following a silver medal in the men’s relay in Sochi and no podium in Vancouver in 2010. Most of the World Cup successes for the 30-year-old biathlete have been in sprints, and he won the title in this discipline at the 2011 World Championships in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia. His first World Championship medals also came in PyeongChang, back in 2009, when he took bronze with the relay and mixed relay, which he fondly remembered.

    Germany’s Arnd Peiffer is hoisted up by his coaches, staff and teammates, celebrating his victory in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint on Sunday at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld.com)

    “I am honestly completely surprised that my result was so amazing, that I am standing at the very top,” he had told ARD right after the race. “I am just happy about my performance, because in Vancouver and Sochi I twice had a bad sprint [finishing outside the top 30]… So for today I just was determined to have a good one, have a good shooting performance, and if it had been a sixth place I’d also have been happy.”

    The silver medal in Sunday’s sprint went to Krčmář, who also hit 10-for-10 and finished 4.4 seconds shy of Peiffer’s time. Starting behind Peiffer in the middle of the field, that clean shooting performance opened a window of opportunity to wedge himself between the times set by Peiffer and Windisch, who ultimately placed third (+7.7) with one penalty.

    “For me, it was very hard in the last loop,” Krčmář said at the post-race press conference. “I [had no] power in last loop and my teammate on the track said to me, ‘You are five seconds behind Arnd’. I do maximum [went as hard I could], but Arnd [was really] better today.”

    He made up 2.4 seconds on that final loop, but could not catch up to Peiffer’s time. It was the first sprint podium for the 27-year-old Krčmář at the World Cup or championships level, and at these Olympics it came just at the right moment.

    “It’s true, for me a big, big medal. First in career,” Krčmář said. “It’s for me [a] very surprising day because I [felt bad] in the training here. My shooting in training [was] not so good. And now, zero-zero. I am lucky man today because I [had] very good condition in standing shooting and on the track.”

    Windisch missed one target in his standing bout, and came back on the course 12.2 seconds behind Peiffer’s time and 5.4 seconds behind Krčmář. He narrowed that gap on the final loop, but it wasn’t enough to catch either one.

    “The wind was not easy because it continued to change … but maybe it was the best for me because I had something to think about and to be concentrated on my work,” Windisch said at the press conference. “I didn’t think about results, and maybe that was my secret today.”

    For Windisch, 28, it was the second Olympic medal of his career after he held Italy to bronze in the mixed relay in Sochi four years ago.

    “The relay is always a tough race because you are racing also for your friends or for three other persons. Maybe it’s more pressure there,” Windisch said when asked to compare the two achievements. “But to win an individual medal [means] a little more because it’s really hard to reach it, because there are so many different good athletes. I think the emotions are really big. But also [for the] relay the emotions are maybe bigger because the whole team celebrates the medal.”

    Down On Their Luck

    Having started in bib 5, Austria’s Julian Eberhard led the race early on until Peiffer beat his time, and in the end he just missed a medal by 0.7 seconds when Windisch bumped him off the podium to fourth place (+8.4, with one penalty).

    During the race, Eberhard, who has three World Cup victories to his name, broke a pole on the loop after prone shooting and had to ski about 300 meters before receiving a spare. But he couldn’t explain why he lost time on the final downhill before the finish.

    “I definitely started today with the goal to get the victory. I did my job, and it was very close. Only eight seconds are missing, so of course this is very bitter now,” Eberhard told Austrian broadcaster ORF, according to a translation. “Especially considering that before the downhill 500 meters before the finish I was clearly in second place … Those are the little details that have to work out for a gold medal.”

    Norway’s Erlend Bjøntegaard led the race after the prone stage with his time and in the end finished fifth (+17.4), also just missing the podium after he missed two targets in his standing stage (0+2). He had been selected as the final athlete on the Norwegian men’s Olympic roster, effectively replacing biathlon legend Ole Einar Bjørndalen, a decision debated controversially in his home country. But on Sunday, Bjøntegaard, 27, justified his start.

    “It feels incredibly strange when you put it that way,” Bjøntegaard told Norwegian broadcaster NRK when told he might have been one miss away from the podium, according to a translation. “It slowly dawns on me that I was so close to an Olympic medal and the gold. There is a lot of buzzing in my head. I’m happy, but also a little disappointed and mad at myself. It’s strange to look at the results list. Very strange. I’m struggling to take it in, but it’s slowly coming to me that I was so close.”

    A number of athletes could have echoed same feeling, including three of Peiffer’s teammates.

    Benedikt Doll, the defending sprint world champion, placed sixth (+17.6) after missing his final shot. Mass-start world champion Simon Schempp came almost as close in seventh (+21.4, with one penalty), and Erik Lesser, whose past rifle troubles had served as a positive example for Peiffer, was not far behind in 11th place (+31.9, also missing his final shot), despite starting the race with a bruised ribcage.

    “I am rooming with Arnd and lost our team-internal duel. So that totally annoys me,” Lesser jokingly told ARD.

    “I think that is the hallmark of our men’s team. Today I was the lucky one who got through. From my point of view, it could have been any one of the other three as well. I am not just saying that, I truly believe that,” Peiffer told ARD.

    “I will definitely drink a small beer with my coaches, wax techs and teammates, I won’t let myself be denied of that,” he added with a laugh, although it was already past midnight local time. “And then I’ll be looking forward to [the pursuit], because now the pressure is gone. We have a great starting position, the others also did a great race even if that won’t be at the center of attention now. We can be really proud of that.”

    As for the presumed “Big Two” race favorites who have dominated the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup this season, with France’s Fourcade standing on the podium in every individual race he started and Norway’s Johannes Bø having won eight races including three sprints, on Sunday they looked like mere mortals for once.

    While Peiffer was approaching the finishing stretch, Fourcade, who had started in a later group in bib 54, missed three prone shots. He came out of the penalty lap with a split time that ranked 56th overall. That setback would have taken just about any other athlete completely out of contention, but with a clean standing shooting and the fastest overall course time of the day, Fourcade limited the damage and rose to eighth at the finish (+22.1).

    Bø, currently ranked second behind Fourcade in the World Cup Total Score, also missed three shots in prone and another one in standing (3+1), crossing the line 1:12.7 back in 31st.

    Their uncharacteristic days left openings and opportunities for the three podium finishers.

    “I think on these conditions, it’s possible for everything and nothing, so today it was our lucky day and maybe not the day for Bø and Fourcade,” Windisch said at the press conference. “It was really difficult to shoot, and I think they will have many other chances at these Olympic Winter Games and they will be here [at the press conference] the next time.”

    “I don’t know how this could happen,” Peiffer said at the press conference, still a bit incredulous about the outcome. “The other two [Fourcade and J.T. Bø] were dominating the season in ski times and on the range, so I didn’t expect that anyone would be in front of them, for sure not me.”

    Four North Americans Qualify for Pursuit

    American Lowell Bailey racing to 33rd in the first men’s race of the 2018 Olympics, the 10 k sprint, on Sunday in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    The best North American in the difficult conditions was US Biathlon’s 2017 individual-discipline world champion Lowell Bailey, who began his race by cleaning all his prone targets, leaving the range with a split time that ranked him in eighth overall.

    Then Bailey was shown on the international broadcast as one of the last remaining podium contenders still out on the course when he came into the range again for his standing shooting, in which he missed the fourth shot and thus had to ski through the 150-meter penalty lap.

    That set him back to 24th place, and after losing about 30 more seconds on the final loop he crossed the line 1:15.6 out of first in 33rd.

    “I had a good performance on the range, I was happy with the shooting but, unfortunately, I just didn’t have it in the legs,” Bailey said, according to a US Biathlon press release. “I just haven’t had the ski shape that I had last year. I haven’t gotten the speed going this year and that’s the way biathlon is. It wasn’t a bad race. I had a really good first lap, I just didn’t have it on the second and third laps. With any luck I’ll feel better and better as the Games go on.”

    Tim Burke (US Biathlon) en route to 47th in the men’s 10 k sprint at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    His teammate Tim Burke finished 47th (+1:47.5) with four penalties (2+2).

    “Physically I felt descent. It wasn’t a bad start,” Burke told FasterSkier after the race. “Shooting was tough. I had four penalties. It was real tricky today; it’s a bit of a lottery and that’s the way it goes. … I thought I had similar wind [to zeroing] when I was shooting prone, but what makes it really tough here is it switches literally from one shot to the next. I am really curious to talk to the coaches and see where I was at because I felt totally fine and normally I don’t miss all these shots.”

    “It’s a tough course because you have longer climbs,” he said of the course at the Alpensia Biathlon Center, after skiing the 28th-ranked time of the day. “A lot of biathlon courses today, the climbs are only 30 seconds long before you get a break and here you have a couple climbs that are significantly longer than that, so that suits me well.”

    Leif Nordgren (US Biathlon) en route to 58th in the men’s 10 k sprint at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Leif Nordgren will join them in Monday’s pursuit after finishing 58th (+2:10.2) with a missed shot in each of his shooting stages (1+1).

    “I’m satisfied that I made the pursuit and there’s another [race] day tomorrow, but yeah, the shooting was quite tough today and the wind,” Nordgren said after. “I made two mistakes and that was too much to have a great race today.”

    Asked about the challenging conditions, he added:

    “The wind was obviously number one, but actually the cold is another thing. If your hands ever get cold, it impacts the shooting tremendously. If you pause just for a second to even think about how cold your hands are that can throw off the shooting right away. So little things like that. It doesn’t take much to really lose that focus.”

    Sean Doherty (US Biathlon) racing to 65th in the men’s 10 k sprint at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    The fourth American starter Sean Doherty missed four of his five prone targets, having to shoot about in the middle of the lane positions on the wind-exposed range. The penalties set him back almost 2 minutes, and even a clean standing shooting was not enough to overcome that deficit. He ultimately finished 65th (+2:16.4, 4+0), only about 2.5 seconds out of the top 60 needed to qualify for the pursuit.

    “The wind today is very highly variable and I really thought I had a handle on it in zero [target practice],” Doherty said after. “I had a good zero, I had a good shooting warm up. I had pretty good confidence in what I am doing with things. I came in and I thought I had it under control and obviously something is off. … When I came in I did not assess the wind to be that severe, I guess I didn’t give it enough credit. … But everything else went well. The skiing feels strong. Standing shooting was fine.”

    Doherty skied the 48th-ranked course time for the day.

    “The course is skiing well,” he said. “It’s very fast and firm and this is a good hard course. … I am happy with the skiing, I felt fairly energetic and I am pretty encouraged with that, but it’s just the range. You leave a lot out there when you miss four.”

    The Canadians also struggled with the windy conditions and demanding course.

    Nathan Smith was able to cope best, shooting clean in prone before having to ski one penalty lap in his standing bout (0+1) to finish 44th (+1:43.5).

    “I was happy with my shooting,” Smith said of his race. “Nine out of ten so that’s good for the windy conditions. … My shooting has been really good this year. Whenever I race I’m probably like 90 percent average or something. I usually shoot pretty quick and this year I haven’t been afraid to slow down when I need to be to hit those targets.”

    On the course Smith only skied the 77th-ranked time of 87 starters, after he missed every World Cup race since the sprint in Annecy, France, before Christmas.

    “Skiing was hard,” Smith said. “I haven’t raced for two months so it’s hard to jump into the top level of racing when you have just kind of been racing by yourself for a bit after getting sick … When you’re not feeling tip top, I think the biggest difference is when you’re going over hills and stuff, you’re tired and you’re just like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m getting to a downhill,’ and you can’t really push hard through all those transitions.”

    Unfortunately he was Biathlon Canada’s only team member to qualify for the pursuit, while others missed the top 60 by mere fractions of a second.

    Scott Gow missed four shots in his prone stage before cleaning all targets in standing (4+0), finishing 2:14.0 back in 61st place. That was just 0.1 seconds behind Romania’s Cornel Puchianu, who had incurred just one penalty, and finished 60th.

    Gow told FasterSkier he took special care to bundle up before the race to keep warm fingers and a feeling for the trigger, but when he reached the prone stage, the wind had changed directions from the zeroing target practice, posing yet another problem.

    “I had a fairly consistent wind from the left I would say, then when I came in to shoot in the race, it had switched directions,” Gow said. “So I thought I had accounted for it and I could hear that I was actually, we call it splitting, but hitting like half the target there and I didn’t want to chance making an overcorrection. So it was disappointing. I think luck-of-draw type of thing. It was too bad.”

    The four penalty laps set him back two minutes and all the way to 84th place at the split time, and despite hitting all his targets in the following standing stage, Gow couldn’t quite make up that deficit.

    On the course he skied the 46th-ranked time of the day overall and the 29th-ranked final loop.

    “It’s a really hard course,” Gow said. “It’s basically three big hills with a couple downhills in-between. There’s no transitional areas, there’s no flatter spots. So it feels like you’re always grinding up a hill just to go back down and have to go up it again. … I felt like I could go a little harder on the first two-thirds of the course, and then just make sure I drop back a little bit on the last climb before you come back into the stadium just for the shooting sake. Then also with the wind, especially the headwind, to try and ski behind people if possible to get a good draft. … Overall I would say I did a fairly solid job with my race plan.”

    Christian Gow (Biathlon Canada) racing to 62nd in the men’s 10 k sprint at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    His brother Christian Gow was just behind him in 62nd, 2:14.7 back with three penalties (2+1). Thus he also was less than a second out of the top 60.

    “The conditions are tough today,” Christian said after. “It’s windy. It’s not nearly as bad as it was this afternoon, that was crazy. But regardless, it’s changing a lot, which I think is the hardest thing.”

    “I corrected in prone and so I have to talk to the coaches and see if it was me or if I missed the correction, where those misses were,” he said of his shooting performance. “Then standing I think was a bit more my fault than anything. Shooting on lane 30 here, it’s quite sheltered. It blocks most of the wind, so it was pretty calm when I shot there and I still came away with a miss.”

    Christian skied the 61st-ranked course time, acknowledging that he was impacted by the cold temperatures and wind.

    “Today I felt a bit heavier than I would have liked to on the track,” he said of his skiing. “It’s a tough course for sure, really big climbs in it, and you’ve got to manage your energy so that you can do them time and again. … The wind, absolutely you get thrown around by it, but I kind of figure that everyone is getting some of that at some point.”

    Brendan Green (Biathlon Canada) en route to 82nd in the men’s 10 k sprint at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    The fourth Canadian starter Brendan Green cleaned prone and was also shown on the international broadcast as a potential late contender when he came into the range for his standing shooting. But with strong wind he then missed three shots, ultimately finishing the race in 82nd place (+3:09.2, 0+3).

    “It was a tough day,” Green said. “The conditions were obviously very challenging. But on a day like today that … opens up the door a bit, there’s a good opportunity, but I just was not able to put together a solid performance today. … Standing I just had a lot of gusts, just couldn’t quite overcome the wind for standing.”

    “It’s a very challenging course,” he said of the conditions. “The cold weather and the wind. The snow is very dry and very slow, kind of like a sandpaper feel to it. But hopefully the weather starts to cooperate and things start to warm up a bit and the wind drops.”

    The biathlon competitions in PyeongChang continue Monday with pursuits for the women at 7:10 p.m. local time (5:10 a.m. EST) and men at 9 p.m (7 a.m. EST). The times back to the winner from the sprint carry over into the pursuit race.

    Both races can be streamed in the U.S. at Stream.nbcolympics.com.

    Results

  • Sunday Olympic Rundown: Krüger Leads Norwegian Skiathlon Sweep; Peiffer Surprise Winner in Biathlon Sprint

    Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krüger celebrates after winning gold in the men’s 30 k skiathlon on Sunday at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Madshus USA, Concept2, Boulder Nordic Sport and Swix Sport US for their generous support, which made this coverage possible.

    ***

    2018 Winter Olympics (PyeongChang, South Korea): Men’s 30 k skiathlon

    Full report

    It was an improbable move: Norway’s Simen Hegsted Krüger attacked a few kilometers from the finish of the men’s 30 k skiathlon, and the rest of the field let him go. Krüger didn’t let up and at one point had a lead of 25 seconds with just about two kilometers to go, all the more impressive because he had crashed just meters into the race and broken a pole, having to then make up 35 to 40 seconds to get back to the lead pack.

    Norwegian teammates Martin Johnsrud Sundby and Hans Christer Holund tried to close the gap to Krüger in the final kilometer, but the 24 year old hung on for a 8-second win. Sundby was second and Holund was third (+9.0) to give Norway a medal sweep.

    Denis Spitsov of the Olympic Athletes of Russia, also in his first Olympics, finished fourth, 12.7 seconds back. Maurice Manificat of France was fifth (+14.2), Dario Cologna of Switzerland sixth (+25.1), Andrew Musgrave of Great Britain seventh (+25.7), and Alex Harvey of Canada edged Martin Jaks of the Czech Republic for eighth (+33.4 and +33.8, respectively). Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway, one of the pre-race favorites, finished 10th (+43.4).

    For the U.S., Scott Patterson led the way in 18th (+1:07.5). Erik Bjornsen finished 42th (+4:34.7), Paddy Caldwell 51st (+6:58.1), and Noah Hoffman 54th (+7:08.7).

    After Harvey’s top-10 finish, the next Canadian across the line was Devon Kershaw in 36th (+3:35.3). Graeme Killick finished 45th (+5:19.6), and Knute Johnsgaard was lapped and did not finish.

    University of Utah alum Snorri Einarsson finished 56th (+7:13.9) in Iceland’s best result in Olympic cross-country skiing since 1994.

    Results

    ***

    Arnd Peiffer on his way to winning the 10 k sprint at Alpensia Biathlon Center today. The German was one of just four men to shoot clean in windy conditions. (Photo: FlyingPointRoad)

    Biathlon: Men’s 10 k sprint

    Full report

    With the race favorites each picking up a bevy of penalties, Germany’s Arnd Peiffer skated to a gold medal in the men’s 10 k sprint on Sunday. Both he and silver medalist Michal Krčmář of the Czech Republic shot clean, and were two of only four men in the field to do so. With that performance, Peiffer — whose lone senior Championship-level individual medal came when he won the World Championships sprint back in 2011 — made Germany two-for-two in biathlon races so far after Laura Dahlmeier’s win in the women’s sprint on Saturday.

    The top of the results sheet was tight, with Krčmář finishing just 4.4 seconds slower than Peiffer. Krčmář only has one World Cup podium to his name, coming last season. Dominik Windisch of Italy finished with the bronze medal (+7.7) despite one missed shot, and edged out Austria’s Julian Eberhard (+8.4) seconds, who also had one penalty.

    Erlend Bjøntegaard of Norway was fifth (+17.4) with two penalties, and Benedikt Doll (+17.6) and Simon Schempp (+21.4) gave Germany an impressive three spots in the top seven.

    Those pre-race favorites? Martin Fourcade of France missed three shots in prone and despite cleaning standing, couldn’t make up enough time on the final loop for a top result. He finished eighth, +22.1. Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway missed three shots in prone and then another in standing, finishing 31st, +1:12.7.

    For the U.S., Lowell Bailey cleaned prone and then collected one penalty in standing to end the day 33rd (+1:15.6). Tim Burke had four penalties to land 47th (+1:47.5), and Leif Nordgren will join them in Monday’s pursuit after finishing 58th (+2:10.2) with two missed shots. Sean Doherty missed four of his five prone targets and was unable to come back from that blow, finishing 65th (+2:16.4).

    The Canadians also suffered shooting woes. with Nathan Smith able to limit the losses to one penalty and finish 44th (+1:43.5). He is the only team member to make the pursuit. Brothers Scott and Christian Gow missed four and three shots, respectively, to earn the unlucky honor of being the first two men outside the pursuit cutoff in 61st (+2:14.0) and 62nd (+2:14.7). Brendan Green cleaned prone but then missed three shots in standing to finish 82nd (+3:09.2).

    The women’s 10 pursuit and men’s 12.5 k pursuit are set for Monday at 5:10 a.m. and 7 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

    Results

    Pursuit start lists: Women | Men 

  • Friday Rundown: Ruhpolding Men’s Relay

    Friday Rundown: Ruhpolding Men’s Relay

    The Norwegian men’s relay after winning the 4 x 7.5 k on Friday at the IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, with Lars Helge Birkeland (l), Tarjei Bø (far r), Emil Hegle Svendsen (second from r), and Johannes Thingnes Bø (second from l). It was their second win of the season (after winning with Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Henrik L’Abée-Lund, and Erlend Bjøntegaard, and Birkeland in the first men’s relay of the 2017/2018 season in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    IBU World Cup (Ruhpolding, Germany): Men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay

    Less than a week after Sweden won the men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay in Oberhof, Germany, with an up-and-coming group, Norway posted its second win (in three relays) this season, with an all-star lineup on Friday in Ruhpolding, Germany.

    Lars Helge Birkeland, Tarjei Bø, Emil Hegle Svendsen, and Johannes Thingnes Bø took the lead during Johannes Bø’s anchor leg and ultimately the win in 1:13:11.1 hours, 24.9 seconds ahead of France in second and 53.4 seconds ahead of Russia in third.

    On a bluebird day with no wind in the range, according to an International Biathlon Union (IBU) press release, the Norwegians avoided the penalty lap and used seven spares to clean. First-leg skier Birkeland put them in second with near-perfect shooting (0+0, 0+1), just 0.4 seconds behind Germany’s Erik Lesser, who cleaned without any spares, in first. (Birkeland was also on the Norwegian team that won the first relay of the season in Hochfilzen, Austria.)

    Norway remained in second during Tarjei Bø’s second leg, in which he had to use three spares to clean prone (0+3, 0+0). He tagged Svendsen in second, 0.6 seconds behind Italy, which had risen to first thanks to Lukas Hofer’s fast skiing and solid shooting (0+0, 0+2).

    Svendsen slipped slightly to third place by the final exchange despite only needing one spare to clean (0+0, 0+1), but was still just a second out of first at the tag. France had moved into first place with a predictably strong third leg from Martin Fourcade (0+0, 0+0), in which he brought the team from seventh to first place, just ahead of Italy’s Dominik Windisch and Norway’s Svendsen.

    Johannes Bø skied the third-fastest anchor leg and cleaned prone and used two spares in standing (0+0, 0+2) to overtake France’s Antonin Guigonnat and Italy’s Thierry Chenal, who slipped to second and seventh, respectively, by the finish.

    Guigonnat shot well, requiring just one spare (0+1, 0+0), but finished nearly 25 seconds after Bø for second place. Russia reached the podium with Anton Shipulin picking off two places, after being tagged in fifth.

    In all, France had zero penalties and six spares, with Simon Desthieux, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Fourcade, and Guigonnat, and Russia used a total of just four spares and had no penalties with Alexey Volkov, Maxim Tsvetkov, Anton Babikov, and Shipulin.

    Germany finished fourth (+1:26.5) with zero penalties and 10 spares, with Lesser, Benedikt Doll, Arnd Peiffer and Simon Schempp. After Doll dropped to fifth on the second leg, they skied in fourth on the last two legs.

    Austria took fifth (+1:39.8) with zero penalties and six spares, with David Komatz, Simon Eder, Daniel Mesotitsch, and Dominik Landertinger. Sweden followed in sixth (+1:50.6) with zero penalties, six spares and three of the same men who won last Sunday’s relay (Sebastian Samuelsson, Martin Ponsiluoma and Fredrik Lindström) with new member Torstein Stenersen. Italy finished seventh (+1:58.5) with one penalty and 11 spares.

    Of 26 teams in the relay, Canada placed 14th (+3:22.3) with one penalty and 10 spares, and the U.S. finished 24th (+16:21.6) with eight penalties (four of which stemmed from cross-firing) and 13 spares.

    Notably, the U.S. had been fourth and just 3 seconds out of first after Lowell Bailey’s first leg, which he cleaned without any spares (0+0, 0+0). Leif Nordgren then dropped to 22nd with a penalty in each of his shooting stages (1+3, 1+3) and the 25th-ranked second-leg time. Tim Burke as the team’s third leg had to ski two penalty laps as well (0+2, 2+3), and anchor Sean Doherty was penalized for cross-firing in his last standing stage (0+1, 4+1), according to a US Biathlon press release, and the team was hit with four additional penalties.

    “We have a solid team and I know we didn’t show our true potential today,” Bailey said, according to the release. “But the most important relay is still to come. We’ll just have to wait until then.”

    “I was happy to put together a good race on the track and in the range,” he said. “The first lap was a bit of a roller derby with no easy way to get to the front. I was fortunate to clean without extra rounds because this allowed me to leapfrog up to the lead pack exiting the range. I tried to keep an even pace for loop two and I thought I would be able to hang in second or third, but no one wanted to pass so I had to lead for most of the loop.

    “I had struggled in standing in the previous race so I wanted to get back to taking good shots in standing,” he added. “Although I didn’t shoot as quickly as some of the other guys, I felt good about the stage and the fact that I didn’t have to use extras. It was a fight to catch the lead group on the last loop, but fortunately I had some help from [Italy’s Thomas] Bormolini (of Italy) and we worked together to get back in contact with the lead group.”

    Canada finished 14th with Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Macx Davies, and Brendan Green. On the opening leg, Christian Gow put them in 11th with clean prone shooting and just one spare needed to clean standing (0+0, 0+1), but they slipped one spot to 12th with a penalty on Scott Gow’s second leg (0+0, 1+3). Davies then dropped two more places to 14th despite avoiding the penalty lap (0+3, 0+1), and Green held that position to the finish (0+1, 0+1).

    The women’s 4 x 6 k relay will be held Saturday in Ruhpolding, with Canada starting Emma Lunder, Julia Ransom, Sarah Beaudry, and Rosanna Crawford. For the U.S., it will be Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan, Emily Dreissigacker, and Joanne Reid. Watch it live on the Olympic Channel at 8:30 a.m. EST.

    Results

  • Friday Rundown: Annecy, St. Ulrich, Rossland (Updated)

    Friday Rundown: Annecy, St. Ulrich, Rossland (Updated)

    Tim Burke (US Biathlon) racing to 10th in the men’s 10 k sprint at the IBU World Cup on Friday in Annecy, France. (Photo: US Biathlon/NordicFocus)

    IBU World Cup (Annecy, France): Men’s 10 k sprint

    (Note: This rundown has been updated to include quotes from US Biathlon’s Tim Burke and Sean Doherty.)

    Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø racked up his third-straight individual win of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup season on Friday (and fourth non-relay win of 2017/2018), topping the men’s 10-kilometer sprint in Annecy, France. And he did so in head-turning fashion, beating French superstar Martin Fourcade, the race’s runner-up, by 21.1 seconds on Fourcade’s home turf.

    Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø racing to his third-straight win of the season on Friday in the IBU World Cup men’s sprint in Annecy, France. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    On a pristine day in Annecy, Bø started 24th and consistently clocked the fastest times throughout the race. He cleaned prone, then standing, and finished 41.8 seconds faster than Germany’s Simon Schempp, the race leader until that point who also shot clean (0+0).

    Fourcade started 31st and shot a flawless 10-for-10 as well, yet trailed Bø from start to finish. After prone, Fourcade was 8.3 seconds back in second. After standing, he was 14.7 seconds out of first with one loop to go. Bø skied the fastest course time on every loop to remain out of reach, and also shot faster than Fourcade, who clocked the second-fastest overall course time.

    Ultimately, the 24-year-old Bø crossed the finish line with the fastest time of 22:16.9 minutes, Fourcade was second and France’s 26-year-old Antonin Guigonnat achieved his first World Cup podium in third (+34.7) with clean shooting. In fact, the top-four finishers all shot clean, with Schempp in fourth and the third Frenchman in the top five, Simon Desthieux in fifth (+45.7).

    Guigonnat’s previous best World Cup result was 24th in a 20 k individual in 2015 in Oslo, Norway.

    France’s Antonin Guigonnat placed third in Friday’s IBU World Cup men’s 10 k sprint for his first podium and first top 20 of his World Cup career. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    “It seems unreal to be here besides two monsters like these guys,” Guigonnat told the IBU, according to a press release. “After standing I was informed I had 7 seconds on Schempp and at that moment I trusted myself to hold that gap. I always trust in myself to be able to do something great like today.”

    Fourcade, who has either placed second or third behind Bø in three consecutive races, was not excited about second place.

    “Never cool, because I expected to win,” Fourcade said in an English interview with German broadcaster ZDF. “… But when you find someone better you just have to congratulate him and wait for the next chance. For now, with zero mistakes Johannes is not beatable. I will take the Christmas break to work on my shape, and expect to have a better shape in January to try and challenge him, because for now in the three last competitions I didn’t challenge him enough. I want to be faster, but he is good, he is really good.”

    “That’s good words from the World Cup leader,” Bø replied to ZDF in English. “… Every victory I had this season Martin has been right behind me, so I just have to continue being at 100 percent. I always have to think about myself, and then afterwards we will see if I am in front or second, but it has been a good start.”

    Only one man in the top 11 didn’t shoot clean: Russia’s Anton Shipulin in sixth (+54.9), who missed one in prone (1+0), but made up for it with the sixth-fastest overall course time and fifth-fastest overall shooting time.

    US Biathlon’s Tim Burke achieved his first top 10 in two seasons, placing 10th, 1:08.2 behind Bø with clean shooting.

    “I feel like I executed the perfect race for the shape I am in right now,” Burke wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “I know I am not in top form right now so this was about the best I could do considering that.

    “I have worked a ton on my shooting in the past year and I know that I’ve reached a higher level in training than ever before. It was nice to be able to show some of those improvements today,” he continued. “It feels great to be back in the top ten. Last season I was only racing in about half of the races and I had a top finish of 11th.  But I have to say that I am more pleased with how I executed the race today than the actual result.”

    In a US Biathlon press release, Burke noted that “perfect shooting conditions and a fast track” made for a tight race, as he had expected. “This was a good confidence boost for me heading into the holiday break,” he said.

    Sean Doherty (US Biathlon) racing to 17th for the second-straight individual IBU World Cup race on Friday in the men’s 10 k sprint in Annecy, France. (Photo: US Biathlon/NordicFocus)

    Also for US Biathlon, Sean Doherty placed 17th (+1:20.2), also with 10-for-10 shooting, for the second-straight individual race to tie his season best from last week’s pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria.

    “I feel I executed a great race plan today,” Doherty wrote in an email. “The sprint is all attack right from the start, and this aggressive racing demands that you are on every transition from the first 100 meters. I carried this mentality through the range and the last lap.”

    After starting in bib 7 and cleaning the first shooting stage, Doherty took the race lead by 22 seconds.

    “Prone was solid and I was happy to execute my plan on the range, had no idea I was leading, just keep the pedal down for another lap,” he wrote. “Being an early bib you can’t look too hard at the place number on the split times. … Coming into standing I just reminded myself of the same focus points I have been working on since May. Focusing on those fundamentals really helps block out any extraneous thoughts that might want to sneak into your mind.”

    Scott Gow (Biathlon Canada) after placing 16th in the IBU World Cup men’s sprint on Friday in Annecy, France. (Photo: Glen Crawford)

    Biathlon Canada’s Scott Gow notched his second top 16 of the season to put himself at the top of the list for Olympic team selection, based on Biathlon Canada’s “Priority 2” criteria. Gow started near the back of the field in bib 99 and ended up 16th (+1:13.5) with clean shooting.

    “I’m very happy with another top 16,” Gow wrote in an email. “This result has solidified my priority 2 Olympic criteria which is a big relief. I’m also happy with my performances so far this early in the season. I’m normally a slow starter so it’s a good sign that I’m hitting good results before Christmas. I just hope I can make it last…”

    “Conditions were rock solid today,” Gow explained. “The fresh snow we got overnight mixed with the wet snow and created a very hard glaze. It was hard to hold a solid edge and the downhills were squirrelly. There was zero wind all day today, so range conditions were perfect.”

    His younger brother Christian Gow tallied Canada’s second-result in 30th (+1:44.2), also with clean shooting. He was one of 19 men (out of 103 finishers) that hit every target on Friday.

    A total of four Americans qualified for Saturday’s pursuit, with Lowell Bailey placing 35th (+1:49.5) with a prone penalty (1+0), and Leif Nordgren finishing 56th (+2:18.1) with one prone miss as well (1+0). Paul Schommer placed 85th (+3:19.3) to miss the top 60 required for the pursuit.

    “… It was a strong Nations Cup points day for the team as a whole,” Doherty noted.

    Canada’s Brendan Green and Nathan Smith did not qualify for the pursuit, after Green finished 86th (+3:21.0) with five penalties (3+2) and Smith was 91st (+3:36.4) with two misses (0+2).

    The women’s and men’s pursuits will be held Saturday in Annecy, with the women’s 10 k race starting at 5:45 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) and the men’s 12.5 k at 8:45 a.m. EST.

    “It’s always chaotic with a lot of action during pursuits and I’ll try to filter all of that out,” Scott Gow wrote. “As for skiing, there’s a lot of transition areas where I think a lot of time can be made.”

    Results| Men’s pursuit start list

    ***

    OPA Cup (St. Ulrich, Austria): Freestyle sprints

    The women’s 1.2 k freestyle sprint podium at Friday’s Alpen Cup in St. Ulrich, Austria, with two U.S. Ski Team members in the top three: Sophie Caldwell (c) in first, Ida Sargent (r) in third, and Russia’s Natalia Matveeva (l) in second. (Photo: Sophie Caldwell/Instagram)

    With this weekend’s World Cup races in Toblach, Italy, being solely distance events, five U.S. Ski Team (USST) sprinters ventured to St. Ulrich, Austria, to compete in the Alpen Cup (also known as OPA Cup) skate sprints on Friday.

    Longtime couple Sophie Caldwell and Simi Hamilton came away with wins, with Caldwell winning the women’s 1.2 k freestyle sprint final ahead of Russia’s Natalia Matveeva in second and Caldwell’s USST teammate Ida Sargent in third. Another World Cup regular, Switzerland’s Laurien van der Graaff placed fourth, while Germany’s U23 World Championships classic sprint silver medalist Antonia Fräbel finished fifth. Italy’s Greta Laurent was sixth, Germany’s Hanna Kolb seventh, Austria’s Lisa Unterweger eighth, and Julia Kern (USST) ninth.

    In the men’s 1.4 k, Hamilton took the win in a photo finish, just ahead of USST teammate Andy Newell in second and Switzerland’s Gianluca Cologna in third. France’s Jean Tiberghien placed fourth and Russia’s Gleb Retivykh finished fifth.

    “#OPA men’s sprint was a nail-biter,” U.S. Ski Team Women’s Coach Matt Whitcomb wrote on Instagram with a finish-line photo on Friday. “Super close race for @simihamilton, @andynewellskier and @gianlucacologna. Well-run race by the OC in St Ulrich…

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BcuedeHDyxy/?hl=en&taken-by=matt.d.whitcomb

    Earlier in the day, Caldwell won the qualifier by 2.82 seconds over Matveeva with a top time of 2:27.85. Sargent qualified sixth, 4.6 seconds behind Caldwell, and Kern qualified ninth (+5.54). Canadian-born Swiss skier Heidi Widmer qualified 11th (+6.66) and went on to place 14th overall.

    In the men’s qualifier, Newell clocked the fastest time in 2:47.93. Retivykh was 2.01 seconds back in second, and Hamilton qualified third (+3.26).

    Two more days of OPA Cup racing remain in St. Ulrich, with the 5/15 k classic individual starts on Saturday and 10/15 k freestyle pursuits on Sunday, according to the International Ski Federation (FIS) events calendar.

    Final results: Women | Men

    Women’s qualifier| Men’s qualifier

    ***

    NorAm Mini Tour (Rossland, B.C.): Classic Interval Start)

    Winner Brian Gregg (LNR/Team Gregg) flanked by second place Scott Hill (r, BXC) and Bob Thompson (l, NTDC TBay) (Photo: Kai Symington-Kruss)
    The NorAm men’s 10 k classic podium on Friday in Rossland, B.C., with Brian Gregg (Team Gregg/Loppet Nordic Racing) in first, Scott Hill (r) of BXC in second  and Bob Thompson (l) of NTDC Thunder Bay in third. (Photo: Kai Symington-Kruss)

    The NorAm series continued this weekend with the Black Jack Ski Club hosting the first Canadian mini-tour of the season.

    Racing started Friday with classic interval start races, with 10 kilometres and two laps for the men, and 5 k and one lap for the women.

    Brian Gregg, representing Loppet Nordic Racing (LNR) and Team Gregg, dominated in 29:34.0 minutes, for his second win of the season after topping the 15 k classic mass start in West Yellowstone. Team BXC’s Scott Hill followed 28.2 seconds back in second. Last weekend’s sprint winner Bob Thompson, of the National Team Development Centre (NTDC) Thunder Bay, notched his second podium of the season in third (+39.4).

    Fresh off the World Cup, Canadian national team sprinters Jess Cockney (World Cup Team) and Julien Locke (U25 Team) finished seventh and 13th, respectively.

    Caitlin Gregg (Loppet Nordic Racing/Team Gregg) on her way to victory. (Photo: Kai Symington-Kruss)
    Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/Loppet Nordic Racing) on her way to a win in the NorAm women’s 5 k classic on Friday in Rossland, B.C. (Photo: Mark Richards)

    It was a big day for Team Gregg with Brian’s wife Caitlin Gregg winning the women’s 5 k in 16:08.0. Annika Hicks, of the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA), finished 46.8 seconds back in second, while Sophie Carrier-Laforte of the Centre National d’Excellence Pierre Harvey/Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH) narrowly edged out a group of women to take third (+1:16.1).

    The Rossland NorAm continues with freestyle sprints on Saturday, followed by 10/15 k freestyle pursuits on Sunday.

    Results

    CNEPH's Sophie Carrier-Laforte charging the downhill on her way to third place. (Photo: Kai Syminton-Kruss)
    Sophie Carrier-Laforte charging the downhill on her way to third place in the NorAm women’s 5 k classic on Friday in Rossland, B.C. (Photo: Mark Richards)
  • U.S. Men, Canadian Women 9th in Extra Windy, Hochfilzen Relays

    U.S. Men, Canadian Women 9th in Extra Windy, Hochfilzen Relays

    Leif Nordgren (US Biathlon) skiing the second leg of the IBU World Cup men’s 4 x 7.5 k relay on Sunday in Hochfilzen, Austria. The U.S. men ended up ninth overall out of 26 teams. (Photo: IBU/NordicFocus)

    Strong gusts of wind on the range required strong nerves and a lot of luck in the women’s and men’s relay races that concluded the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, on Sunday afternoon.

    While the relays concluded with teams on the podium one might expect there, tempestuous weather conditions that at times made it almost impossible to hit the targets also gave outsiders a good chance, and both the U.S. men and Canadian women remained in contention for a long time. The men’s 4 x 7-5-kilometer relay was particularly wild with more than 100 penalty laps, and it began with a big surprise.

    Belgium’s starter Michael Rösch tagged off in first place for the first time in the history of that team, representing a country that until now, rarely had enough athletes for a relay and had thus far had a 24th place at the 2016 World Championships to its credit. And on his tails was Norway’s Ole Einar Bjørndalen, and shortly behind them US Biathlon’s Lowell Bailey in third.

    The three aforementioned athletes all raced in the Olympic relay more than a decade ago at the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy, but back then Rösch raced for Germany and won gold with his team.

    “I wanted to tag off in first at all costs, to see the Belgian flag at the top,” Rösch told TV broadcaster ARD on Sunday while the race was still going on. “But Ole made it really hard for me. … I was on my last fumes, I tumbled into the finish, I was just seeing black, but it definitely was worth it.”

    Just a turn behind, Bailey had gotten off to a strong start for the U.S. team, temporarily taking the lead out of the arena on the first lap before shooting clean in his prone stage to put himself in the lead group of seven. Facing strong wind in his standing stage, Bailey missed two targets but avoided the penalty lap with his last spare in that stage (0+0, 0+3), and tagged off to teammate Leif Nordgren in third position, 23.8 seconds out of first.

    Nordgren ended up with a penalty in his first prone after missing two targets, and returned to the course in fifth. While his penalty had increased the gap to first by 50 seconds, Nordgren made up a few seconds with a clean standing bout, hitting all targets without requiring a spare (1+3, 0+0).

    Italy and France passed him on the final loop, and Nordgren handed off in seventh, 1:34.2 minutes behind Norway setting the pace up front.

    “The team came pretty close to a good result today in a relay with nasty weather,” Nordgren wrote on his Instagram account. “Personally I’m quite disappointed with my skiing, it’s been a struggle to find the top gears so far this season and I’m far from where I know I should be. It’s a long season though and there is still plenty of time to turn it around.”

    US Biathlon’s Tim Burke loading a spare in his prone stage of the men’s relay at the 2017/2018 IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. The team went on to finish 9th. (Screenshot: ARD broadcast)

    Taking over next for the U.S. was Tim Burke, who pointed out this was one of the most challenging races in terms of wind that he’d experienced.

    “This was definitely one [of the] windiest races that I have taken part in,” Burke wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “We knew it would be very challenging right from the start but our team tried to look at it as an opportunity for a top result. I feel like our team did a great job at avoiding any big disasters on the range and this allowed us to stay near the front for most of the race.”

    After only needing one spare in his prone shooting to hit his last target, Burke incurred a penalty in his standing stage (0+1, 1+3), but kept his position on the final loop in a hard race against Switzerland’s Jeremy Finello to exchange still in seventh, now another minute back (+2:49.4).

    “I was not surprised to see a mix of different teams near the front today,” Burke wrote. “It was one of those days that any team could find themselves with multiple penalty loops after a windy shooting stage.“

    Taking over from Burke as the U.S. anchor leg was Sean Doherty, coming off two strong shooting performances in the sprint and pursuit earlier this week.

    U.S. relay anchor Sean Doherty taking aim in difficult wind conditions during his standing stage of the men’s relay at the 2017/2018 IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. His team finished ninth. (Screenshot: ARD broadcast)

    In his prone stage, Doherty again shot clean and fast (with the second-fastest prone shooting time on his leg) and overtook Switzerland to move into sixth. He kept that position on the course, vying for a position in the top five with the teams from France, Italy, Ukraine, and Russia also in his vicinity.

    “Today was a crazy one for sure,” Doherty wrote in an email. “The conditions on the course were decent, firm tracks and we had good skis. The wind was whipping, so that really just made some sections a lot harder than normal when you added in the head wind. I have done races in bad weather before but today was amongst the most windy.

    In the standing stage, Doherty hit his first four shots in another fast sequence before missing the last one. It looked as if he had thought that final shot was also a hit as he dropped his rifle slightly, but then realized he had to load spares. Unable to clear the last target, Doherty ended up with the team’s third penalty.

    “With the shooting you try to get a general idea of how far the wind is pushing the shots and do the best you can,” Doherty explained. “It’s a total toss up and the finish order is just a ranking of who battled the wind the best and had most to least luck along the way.”

    He set out on his last loop in eighth place with Ukraine’s Dmytro Pidruchnyi and Switzerland’s Mario Dolder right ahead of him, and Russia’s Anton Shipulin ten seconds behind.

    “The fight on the last lap is always tough,” Doherty wrote. “Although I felt better today I was not able to hang with the two guys I left the range with. I was able to ski a good lap but not enough to hold off Anton.”

    After Shipulin passed him up the big last climb, Doherty came to the finish in ninth position, 3:38.3 minutes behind the winners with a team total of three penalties and 13 spares.

    “We were not too excited with the end result because we saw the potential was there for a top 5,” Burke concluded for the team. “We are also all far from our best on the tracks right now, but are hopeful that will come with more racing.”

    Norway Successful with Its ‘Second Unit’

    Norway’s Lars Helge Birkeland, Erlend Bjøntegaard, Henrik L’Abée-Lund and Ole Einar Bjørndalen (left to right) following their victory in the men’s relay at the 2017/2018 IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    Norway started the men’s relay race without Emil Hegle Svendsen, who was sidelined with a cold, and also rested brothers Johannes Thingnes Bø and Tarjei Bø, both of whom had already won races this season.

    But shooting was more important than skiing in a relay decided by strong crosswinds on the range, and that’s where the Norwegians coped by far the best. While Norway also required nine spares, which usually is a rather average performance in a relay, on Sunday this was the top shooting performance of the men’s relay.

    After veteran Bjørndalen, Henrik L’Abée-Lund and Erlend Bjøntegaard had created a fairly comfortable lead of almost a minute on the first three legs, Lars Helge Birkeland anchored them to the victory by shooting clean in prone and only needing one spare to hit every target in his final stage despite some widely spread shots.

    “It is really nice; a good start for Norway and good self confidence for the the rest of the season,” L’Abée-Lund said at the post-race press conference.

    “It’s always fun to compete on the highest level with the best guys,” Bjøntegaard said. “I think I did pretty good on my leg today. It was tough conditions as it was for everyone else. I am just happy to show what I am capable of.”

    “It feels great, it was an amazing feeling on the last loop, and really satisfied with my own leg,” Birkeland said. “I just decided to be offensive and attack and don’t think about the others and just do my own race. … We have a really strong team with a lot of good guys, so we don’t need to have all the best at the start to have a chance to win.”

    All hopes for Germany’s Simon Schempp to contend with Birkeland for first were dashed when Schempp required three spares to clear both his prone and standing stages, narrowly avoiding the penalty lap twice.

    Due to the huge distances between the top-three teams, the final loop was more of a cool down for their anchors, with Norway taking the win in 1:21:21.8 hours, just under two minutes ahead of Germany, with Erik Lesser, Benedikt Doll, Arnd Peiffer and Schempp, in second (+1:54.9, with zero penalties and 17 spares).

    “At least we avoided the penalty loop, for me it was definitely close in standing,” Peiffer told German broadcaster ARD. “There was so much wind that it was impossible to shoot calmly and controlled. … It was clear that today there would be some upsets, like Belgium being in the mix in front. You just had to somehow avoid the penalty lap.”

    “The last years in Hochfilzen we have never been on the podium, so it’s the first time in like six years we are back again,” Peiffer said at the press conference. “So that’s a good start for us because normally we are struggling here and we don’t know why.”

    France, which had rested its star Martin Fourcade and started Jean-Guillaume Beatrix, Simon Desthieux, Emilien Jacquelin, and anchor Quentin Fillon Maillet, finished another 40 seconds later in third (+2:34.0, with three penalties and 13 spares).

    Another 20 seconds back, Sweden with Peppe Femling, Jesper Nelin, Sebastian Samuelsson, and Fredrik Lindström crossed the line in fourth (+2:54.8, with three penalties and 12 spares).

    “Today was very hard, very strange result, because when we look at all the penalties on the result list it was just crazy,” Beatrix said at the press conference. “I am satisfied for the team, and I am also really satisfied for the newcomer Emilien because it’s his first two weeks on the World Cup and first relay, and he did a every good job and brought us to the podium.”

    “Today I was a little bit stressed, because the French guys are so strong and I had to be at their level, so I am happy to do a good relay today,” the 22-year-old Jacquelin said.

    And what happened to the brave team from Belgium? With three athletes who had just made an overnight trip from an IBU Cup race in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, they came through the second exchange in second place after Florent Claude only needed one spare in standing. On the last two legs, however, three penalties for both Tom Lahaye-Goffart and Thierry Langer put them in 16th at the finish (+6:24.9) , which was still a team-best relay result for Belgium.

    Just ahead of them in a finishing sprint anchored by Brendan Green was Biathlon Canada, with a lineup that earned bronze at the 2016 World Championships in Oslo, Norway. On Sunday, however, the Canadians’ race began with difficulties for brothers Christian Gow (1+3, 2+3) and Scott Gow (1+3, 2+ 3), each having to ski three penalty laps and exchanging in 21st position already 4:45.7 minutes back. Then Nathan Smith (0+0, 0+2) and Green (0+3, 0+3) were able to move them up a bit again, with Smith putting them as high as 13th by the final exchange and Green anchoring them to 15th (+6:22.5, with six penalties and 20 spares).

    Of 26 teams in the men’s relay, Norway and Germany were the only ones that succesfully avoided the penalty lap.

    Hochfilzen World Champs Women’s Podium Repeats

    Later on Sunday afternoon in the women’s 4 x 6 k relay in slightly better conditions than the men’s race, last season’s reoccurring winner Germany struck gold again.

    Germany with (left to right) Vanessa Hinz, Franziska Hildebrand, Maren Hammerschmidt and anchor Laura Dahlmeier shows off their medals following their victory in the women’s relay at the 2017/2018 IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    The victorious world-champion quartet of Vanessa Hinz, Franziska Hildebrand, Maren Hammerschmidt,and Laura Dahlmeier won with a large lead ahead of Ukraine (+44.9) and France (+1:04.5). The first-, second- and third-place teams were a repeat of last season’s World Championships relay in Hochfilzen this past February.

    Fighting for position with Ukraine and Switzerland on the third leg, Hammerschmidt got her team on the road to victory when she cleaned every target within 24 seconds despite difficult conditions to reclaim the lead, erasing the gap she had been handed of almost 30 seconds to first.

    “For me it was very important to have a good standing shooting today, because the last two days were not so good,” Hammerschmidt said at the press conference. “I thought it was one of my best standing shootings, and I was so happy to go on the last loop and fight for every second to give to Laura.”

    Dahlmeier returned to the World Cup after missing last week’s opening races with a cold, then had no major problems defending the lead. Dahlmeier used just one spare in each of her shooting stages, while Switzerland’s Irene Cadurisch as the closest pursuer had to ski a penalty lap. Germany finished in a time of 1:14:36.4, with zero penalties and nine spares.

    “It’s a really cool feeling to be here again,” Dahlmeier said at the press conference. “Especially with the team. We know we can make a good race, but it’s important for every person to be good on the range and on the tracks. Relays are special races.”

    “From the last year we have good memories about Hochfilzen … and today it was a good place, too,” Hildebrand said “I was really impressed with [Ukraine’s] Yulia Dzhima’s standing shooting, because she took all targets out while I used two extra bullets and was happy I could go out on the track again.”

    Ukraine’s Olena Pidhrushna anchored her team, with Vita Semerenko, Yulia Dzhima and Valj Semerenko, to second (+44.9), thanks to the best team shooting performance of zero penalties and five spares, and despite a fall on the first leg by Vita Semerenko.

    “I think our team spirit is very strong, without that we wouldn’t be on the podium, so I am very thankful to all the girls and our staff for making this happen,” Valj Semerenko said at the press conference, via a translator.

    “My start this season was not so good … Actually today I was so nervous ahead of the relay,” Pidrushna explained. “But I saw that we had a little bit of extra time at the last exchange, and I calmed down a little bit and it worked well in the end. … And I think my team believes in me [to anchor it successfully].”

    Twenty seconds behind her, France with Marie Dorin Habert, Celia Aymonier, Justine Braisaz and the current women’s World Cup leader Anaïs Bescond, passed Russia’s Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht on the final loop to claim third place  (+1:04.5, with two penalties and 13 spares).

    “Honestly at the beginning when I started I didn’t think a podium was still possible, but loop after loop I thought maybe I can still catch a podium [position],“ said Bescond, who skied the fastest course time on the final leg amidst strong competition.

    A few seconds behind, Russia with Victoria Slivko, Tatiana Akimova, Irina Starykh, and Ekaterina Yurlova-Percht finished fourth (+1:09.0, with no penalty and nine spares).

    Another 16 seconds back, Switzerland, with Elisa Gasparin, her older sister Selina Gasparin, Lena Häcki and Cadurisch finished fifth (+1:25.7, with two penalties and 12 spares) for Switzerland’s best women’s relay result, which fulfilled its national qualification criteria for the Olympics.

    Canada in Contention

    For Biathlon Canada, Emma Lunder started off the race in the middle of the field, and managed hit all her targets with one spare in her prone stage to leave the range in 16th position.

    Biathlon Canada’s starter Emma Lunder (r) exchanging to Rosanna Crawford in the women’s relay at the 2017/2018 IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. Crawford temporarily moved up to fifth before the team finished in ninth position. (Screenshot: ARD broadcast)

    While a number of competitors, including France’s Dorin Habert, incurred penalties, Lunder again needed just one spare to clean (0+1, 0+1) and moved Canada up to 1oth. After losing a few more seconds on her last loop to the leaders, with Germany’s Hinz up front, she tagged Rosanna Crawford in 12th position, 51.7 seconds back.

    Crawford started out fast and also needed just one spare to hit all five prone targets, improving by three places to ninth.

    “It was a tricky shooting day today, you really had to be aware of the wind, and be prepared to do a correction even part way through a bout of shooting,” Crawford wrote in an email. “In prone I made a correction of 5 left and 2 up and it was enough to keep me pretty centred.”

    Then in her standing stage, she picked off four more positions with clean shooting and no spares to leave the range in fifth place, while most teams around her needed spares or even incurred a penalty in seemingly difficult wind conditions.

    “I was really happy with my standing today,” Crawford explained. “I saw Brendan [Green] right before zero and he said that it’s worthwhile to take your time and make each shot a good one. So I really thought about that as I came into the shooting, there was a big gust right off the start, so I waited and could hear the women around me missing. Each shot was really precise. My shooting time was 33 seconds which is really slow for standing but still the 2nd fastest of my leg, which says a lot about the wind today!”

    Biathlon Canada’s Megan Bankes shooting in her standing stage in the women’s relay at the 2017/2018 IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. The team finished ninth overall. (Screenshot: ARD broadcast)

    Crawford tagged Megan Bankes in fifth (+36.3), after having regained 15 seconds on the leaders and skiing the second-fastest course time on the final loop.

    “It’s always fun to tag off in a high position but today was a bit of a lucky draw for what you got in the range,” Crawford concluded.

    The 20-year-old Bankes as Biathlon Canada’s youngest team member started out just as fast, nearly maintaining that time gap on the first loop.

    “I was super stoked to be tagged in such a good place, but I definitely still felt that I was able to ski my own race,” Bankes wrote in an email. “I wanted to ski my best, and not lose to much time on the tracks, but also be controlled on the range, because I knew it was going to be a tricky shooting day.”

    She was able to get through the prone stage with two spares in a stage when all leading teams needed them, keeping her in fifth. Bankes followed that up with just one spare in her standing shooting, temporarily moving up to fourth after overtaking Sweden’s Mona Brorsson.

    “Coming into the range I was focussed on my own shooting more than anything else,” Bankes wrote. “I knew that the wind was pretty variable, and that I needed to make sure I took good, smart shots, and correct appropriately for the wind. I was super happy with how I ended up doing on the range, and also with my speed on my first couple of laps.”

    On the last loop, Brorsson and Russia’s Starykh passed her, and Bankes came through the final exchange in sixth place (+1:28.8).

    “I died a bit at the end, but I still managed to tag Julia in a good position, so for me it was a pretty great race!” Bankes concluded.

    Shown on television in the exchange zone, looking back at the final curve to see when Bankes would arrive, Ransom took over as the anchor and skied a very fast first loop, just 1 second off the fastest pace on that loop.

    She then managed to still clean all five targets in a controlled fashion, leaving the range again in fifth position, with Switzerland in sight and Russia nearby as well.

    After a slower second loop, Ransom struggled to clean all her targets in the final stage, but avoided the penalty lap with her last shot and left the range in ninth position. Sweden’s anchor Anna Magnusson was still in sight, 10 seconds ahead, but extended her lead on the final loop, while Japan’s anchor Rina Mitsuhashi was already more than a minute behind Ransom in 10th.

    Ransom crossed the line in ninth place (+2:31.6) with zero penalties and nine spares for the team.

    “A top 10 is a decent result for our team, it’s nice that we were fighting for a top 6 for most of the race,” Crawford wrote. “Our team has come a long way and I’m really proud to be a part of this team! Emma and Megan had a great leg and Julia an awesome prone and then it was quite windy for her standing, but most teams have their strongest women on the last leg, so it’s always a hard fight!”

    In other good news for Biathlon Canada this weekend, the team finished eighth in an IBU Cup mixed relay and national team member Megan Tandy raced to 11th place in the sprint followed by ninth place in the pursuit this weekend in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.

    “Another #perfect #shooting day! I was hoping for more, but you gotta work with what you got – in my case very heavy legs skiing. Nonetheless, a solid race,” Tandy wrote on Instagram after shooting clean in both the sprint and mixed relay.  

    The U.S. Women and Nation Cup Standings

    US Biathlon could not start a women’s relay on Sunday because it only has three women currently on the World Cup circuit: Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan and Emily Dreissigacker. US Biathlon had hoped that its fourth woman Kelsey Dickinson, would qualify for the first trimester of World Cup racing by scoring necessary points at the IBU Cup opener in Sjusjøen, Norway. But unfortunately that did not work out.

    In addition to Dickinson missing out on the World Cup starts because of that technicality, and her teammates now missing out on one of only three opportunities on the World Cup competition calendar to prepare for the relay in the upcoming Olympics, this also means they lost out on valuable points for the Nation Cup Score. That ranking is its own award category in the World Cup season (last year Germany won it for both the women and men), but more importantly for the North American teams, also determines the starting quota for the following season.

    With a third of the races counting towards that already completed (unlike at World Championships the races at the Olympics don’t apply, neither do pursuits and mass starts), the U.S. is currently in 21st position for the women with 676 points and in danger of losing its fourth starting position for next year again, which would make team selections and travel planning even harder.

    While certainly not impossible — last year the U.S. women also did not start a relay in Pokljuka, Slovenia — it will be a bit of an uphill battle to make that up the rest of the season, requiring a number of strong results. For instance, South Korea is currently 357 points ahead in 17th, the benchmark for a fourth quota spot.

    The Canadian women are currently in 14th position with 1220 points. Last season they were 15th and the U.S. 14th. For the men’s teams, Canada is currently in 12th position with 1260 points, the U.S. is 13th with 1198.

    The teams will now travel to Annecy-Le Grand Bornand, France, for the next World Cup from Thursday, Dec. 14, to Sunday, Dec. 17.

    Results: Men | Women

  • Sunday Rundown: Davos, Hochfilzen and Sovereign

    Sunday Rundown: Davos, Hochfilzen and Sovereign

    CGRP's Caitlin Patterson charging up the wall climb. (Photo: Peggy Hung)
    Caitlin Patterson (Craftsbury Green Racing Project) charging up the wall climb en route to the win in the women’s 10 k freestyle on Sunday at the Sovereign Lake NorAm/SuperTour near Vernon, B.C. (Photo: Peggy Hung)

    NorAm/SuperTour (Sovereign Lake near Vernon, British Columbia): 10/15 k freestyle

    VERNON, B.C. — The combined NorAm and SuperTour event at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre continued with individual-start distance races and continued with the theme of U.S. domination of the leaderboard.

    Ian Torchia, of Northern Michigan University (NMU) and the U.S. Ski Team D-team, started the day with a big victory in the men’s 15 k freestyle, finishing in 36:29.7 minutes and on the heels of Canadian Para-Nordic guide Graham Nishikawa, who started 30 seconds ahead of him and ended up sixth. Jack Hegman of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) placed second, 19.0 seconds back, to complete his good weekend. Canadian Para-Nordic superstar Brian McKeever rounded out the podium in third, 22.6 seconds back.

    Graham Nishikawa and Ian Torchia worked together after Torchia closed the 30 second gap. (Photo: Peggy Hung)
    Graham Nishikawa (l) and Ian Torchia worked together after Torchia closed the 30-second gap en route to a victory in the men’s 15 k freestyle on Sunday at the Sovereign Lake NorAm near Vernon, B.C. (Photo: Peggy Hung)

    The women were next to get some time in the sunshine with two laps for 10 k. Caitlin Patterson of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CRGRP) upgraded from Saturday’s silver to gold on Sunday with winning time of 27:13.0. Rosie Frankowski of Alaska Pacific University (APU) snatched second, 30.7 seconds back. Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg) raced to third, 1 second behind Frankowski.

    Former Canadian national-team biathlete Zina Kocher started her new cross-country career as the top Canadian in seventh (+1:31.2).

    The weather was a repeat of Saturday: -2 degrees Celsius, windless and sunny. Smiles were evident everywhere, even for athletes who didn’t quite nail the pacing on an unforgiving course.

    Results

    ***

    France’s Maurice Manificat (c) after winning the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle on Sunday in Davos, Switzerland. He finished ahead of Russians Sergey Ustiugov (l) and Alexander Bolshunov in second and third respectively. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/Twitter)

    FIS Cross Country World Cup (Davos, Switzerland): 10/15 k freestyle 

    Women’s report

    Men’s report

    After a day of sprinting, cross-country racers returned to the Davos World Cup venue on Sunday for the women’s 10-kilometer and men’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start competitions.

    For his first World Cup win in almost two years, France’s Maurice Manificat took the men’s 15 k race title in a time of 33:56.2. Exactly 4 seconds flat behind Manificat in second place was Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov. Ustiugov’s teammate Alexander Bolshunov, finished 10 seconds behind Ustiugov and 14.6 seconds behind Manificat for the men’s third and final podium spot.

    The remainder of the men’s top ten included Norway’s Simen Hegstad Krüger in fourth (+21.3), Switzerland’s Dario Cologna in fifth (+26.5), Sweden’s Marcus Hellner in sixth (+35.4), Russia’s Denis Spitsov in seventh (+36.1), Hans Christer Holund of Norway in eighth (+36.9), Russian Alexey Chervotkin in ninth (+54.2), and Alex Harvey of Canada in 10th (+1:01.2).

    The next best male North American finisher was American Patrick Caldwell in 41st (1:50.2).

    Canada’s Devon Kershaw placed 44th (1:59.8), Graeme Killick 59th (+2:27.8), Russell Kennedy 68th (+2:43.4), and Julien Locke in 94th (4:27.5). Knute Johnsgaard did not start.

    For the U.S., Noah Hoffman finished 48th (2:05.5) and Scott Patterson 88th (3:46.2). Simi Hamilton did not start and Andy Newell did not finish.

    The women’s 10 k freestyle podium on Sunday at the Davos World Cup in Switzerland, with Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg (c) in first and Ragnhild Haga (l) in second, and Finland’s Krista Parmakoski (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Twitter)

    In the women’s 10 k, 75 starters finished the 10 k course with Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg claiming first in a time of 25:28.5. Her Norwegian teammate, Ragnhild Haga finished 5.9 seconds behind her for second place. Krista Pärmäkoski of Finland raced to the third and final podium spot, 7.9 seconds back from Østberg’s winning time.

    Rounding out the women’s top ten was Heidi Weng in fourth (+14.5), Austria’s Teresa Stadlober in fifth (+16.4), Switzerland’s Nathalie von Siebenthal in sixth (+16.4), Finland’s Kerttu Niskanen in seventh (+24.9), Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla in eighth (+26.8), Norwegian Marit Bjørgen in ninth (+35.9), and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen in tenth (+37.6).

    Leading the U.S. women was Sadie Bjornsen in 12th (+44.6), seven seconds outside the top ten. The next two Americans finishers were within 3.1 seconds of each other, with Kikkan Randall finishing 14th (+56.8) and Jessie Diggins in 15th (+59.9).

    Also scoring World Cup points for the Americans, Rosie Brennan finished in 17th (+1:11.2) and Chelsea Holmes in 29th (+1:32.9).

    The U.S.’s Liz Stephen and Sophie Caldwell finished in 40th (+1:58.5) and 52nd (+2:20.1), respectively.

    For the Canadians, the team was led by Cendrine Browne in 45th (+2:05.9), followed by Emily Nishikawa in 50th (+2:18.4). Dahria Beatty placed 73rd (+2:53.0) and Katherine Stewart-Jones 79th (+3:44.6).

    Results: Women | Men

    ***

    IBU World Cup (Hochfilzen, Austria): Men’s and women’s relays

    Men’s and women’s relays took place on the final day of racing in Hochfilzen, with Norway winning the men’s 4 x 7.5 k and Germany topping the women’s 4 x 6 k by considerable margins.

    Norway’s Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Henrik L’Abée-Lund, Erlend Bjøntegaard, and Lars Helge Birkeland raced to first in 1:21.21.8 hours, nearly two minutes clear of Germany in second, after taking the lead on L’Abée-Lund’s second leg. They avoided the penalty loop and used a total of nine spares, and never lost hold of first place for the rest of the race.

    Germany raced to second (+1:54.9) with Erik Lesser, Benedikt Doll, Arnd Peiffer, and Simon Schempp, with zero penalties and 17 spares, after Peiffer lifted them from fourth to second on the third leg. Schempp held them there, despite using a maximum of three spares on each of his shooting stages, in the final leg.

    France claimed third (+2:34.0) with Jean-Guillaume Béatrix, Simon Desthieux, Emilien Jacquelin, and Quentin Fillon Maillet, despite three penalties and 13 spares. Two of their penalties came on Beatrix’s first leg and another in Fillon Maillet’s final shooting. After being tagged in fifth, Jacquelin raced them up to third on the third leg and Fillon Maillet held onto that position for the last spot on the podium.

    The U.S. men finished ninth (+3:38.3) with Lowell Bailey, Leif Nordgren, Tim Burke, and Sean Doherty, after they combined for three penalties and 13 spares. Bailey avoided the penalty lap and put them in third at the first exchange, while Nordgren slipped to seventh after a penalty, Burke remained in seventh with one penalty as well, and Doherty had one more penalty to anchor the team to ninth.

    Canada placed 15th (+6:22.5) with six penalties and 20 spare rounds, with Christian Gow, Scott Gow, Nathan Smith, and Brendan Green. After being tagged in 21st, Smith raced them up to 13th, using just two spares to clean. Green anchored them to 15th after using six spares and skiing the 15th-ranked time on that last leg.

    In the women’s relay that followed, Germany won by 44.9 seconds over Ukraine, with Vanessa Hinz, Franziska Hildebrand, Maren Hammerschmidt, and Laura Dahlmeier using nine spares while staying out of the penalty lap.

    After Hinz raced them into first, Hildebrand slipped to fourth after using four spares on the second leg. Hammerschmidt raced the fastest third leg to put them back in first, and Dahlmeier held them there to the finish, crossing first in 1:14:36.4.

    Ukraine (0 penalties, 5 spares) took the lead on the second leg but ultimately settled for second with Vita Semerenko, Yuliia Dzhima, Valj Semerenko, and Olena Pidhrushna. Dzhima put them in second heading into the race’s halfway point, but Valj Semerenko lost two places to tag Pidhrushna in third. Pidhrushna used just two spares on the final leg to bring them to second, about 20 seconds ahead of France in third.

    Despite a tough first leg for Marie Dorin Habert, in which she had two penalties and tagged off in 14th, France rose to third place at the finish (+1:04.5) thanks to strong skiing and shooting from anchor Anaïs Bescond.

    The team had a total of two penalties and 13 spares. Celia Aymonier used four spares to put them in ninth after the second leg, and third-leg Justine Braisaz lifted them one more place to seventh before Bescond skied the fastest last leg to pick off four more places.

    Canada placed ninth (+2:31.6) with Emma Lunder, Rosanna Crawford, Megan Bankes, and Julia Ransom, with no penalties and nine spares. Crawford put them in fifth after the second leg, Bankes lost one place on the third leg, and Ransom slipped three more with three spares on her final shooting to finish ninth.

    The U.S. did not enter a women’s team.

    Results: Men | Women

  • Johannes Bø Wins Race No. 2 in Hochfilzen; Doherty 17th for Best Pursuit

    Johannes Bø Wins Race No. 2 in Hochfilzen; Doherty 17th for Best Pursuit

    US Biathlon’s Sean Doherty (79) racing to 22nd in the IBU World Cup men’s 10 k sprint on Friday in Hochfilzen, Austria. On Saturday, he raced up to 17th for his best pursuit result on the circuit. (Photo: US Biathlon/NordicFocus)

    One day after winning the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup men’s sprint, Johannes Thingnes Bø held onto first place in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit on Saturday in Hochfilzen, Austria. In difficult conditions with heavy snowfall and strong gusts of wind, the Norwegian decided the race when he shot clean in the final standing stage. He reached the finish line uncontested on the last loop in a time of 36:41.1 minutes, almost a minute ahead of Slovenia’s Jakov Fak (+58.8 with one penalty) and last season’s Overall World Cup winner Martin Fourcade (+1:10.0 minutes with five penalties).

    “Best start of the season so far in my career,” the 24-year-old Bø said after his third victory of the season in a post-race press conference. “I have to enjoy it, you never know what the next races will bring.”

    2:12.8 minutes behind him, US Biathlon’s Sean Doherty finished 17th for his best career result in a World Cup pursuit, improving by on an 18th place from a pursuit last season in Kontiolahti, Finland.

    A day after scoring his first points of the new World Cup season in 22nd and shooting a perfect 10-for-10 in Friday’s 10-kilometer sprint, Doherty shot 18-for-20 in the pursuit (1+0+1+0).

    “I am very happy with the race today,” Doherty wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “The execution on the range was good in the tough conditions we had today. It’s nice to have a solid back-to-back set of races here. … The ski shape is still a ways off but it’s heading in the right direction.”

    In very difficult conditions in the first standing stage, several of the top racers like Norway’s Henrik L’Abee-Lund and Germany’s Arnd Peiffer incurred multiple penalties and to slip out of contention. Meanwhile, Doherty hit all but one of his targets in that stage and moved up to 16th. On the next loop he maintained that position about 1:50 back.

    “The course was slow today, although not too soft,” Doherty commented on the conditions. “Fortunately it was not as snowy and windy as yesterday afternoon. There was a steady wind but it was manageable. I am pleased with my work on the range. If you want to compete at this level you have to shoot well.”

    After the race up front had been decided in a final duel between Bø and Fourcade in the last stage, Doherty once again shot clean in the last standing stage and moved up to 11th. On the final loop, he could not quite hold that position and a small group passed him, yet coming onto the finishing stretch he was able to keep Ukraine’s Dmytro Pidruchnyi 0.4 seconds behind him in a push for 17th (+2:12.8).

    “Unfortunately I didn’t quite have the legs to back up the solid shooting, as was clear on the last lap,” Doherty wrote. “Looking over my shoulder I saw that big pack of guys and I just tried to give it all I had. I wasn’t able to hang on but I was glad to be in that situation nonetheless.”

    Starting out in 19th place based on his sprint result, Biathlon Canada’s Nathan Smith finished the day in 31st, 3:02.2 after Bø with three penalties (1+1+0+1).

    After the first shooting stage, Smith had moved into 14th despite incurring a penalty.

    “The wind was a bit changeable, especially in the first prone where it was blowing quite strongly,” he explained in an email after the race.

    Smith skied the next lap in a group that included Germany’s Simon Schempp, who eventually would finish the race in podium contention, and got into a slight tangle with Schempp in a right-hand turn at the far point of the course, but both remained on their feet.

    “I started pretty aggressive on the first lap but wasn’t able to maintain the speed of those around me after that,” Smith wrote. “I didn’t see who was tangling with me on that turn, but it was definitely an odd place to attempt an inside pass. I can’t say yet that things are turning around in the skiing department. I think I will just have to be very very patient.”

    In the second prone stage, Smith incurred another penalty and dropped to 29th place, almost two minutes behind the leaders. He cleaned the first standing stage that followed, then had one more miss in the fourth and final stage.

    “My shooting was pretty good once again today, given the challenging conditions,” Smith wrote. “It was definitely tougher conditions today, although the temperature was low enough that the falling snow wasn’t sticking to my glasses. The tracks were a little soft, and quite slow, especially out of the track where athletes were skiing.”

    He started the final loop in 27th position and “like the previous ones, I was mostly focused on trying to minimize the number of skiers passing me,” Smith wrote. “It’s fun to pass but when you’re not feeling it its important to try and conserve energy.”

    On the final meters of the race, he went head to head with Italy’s Thomas Bormolini and finished 0.4 seconds behind him for 31st.

    “I thought I could take Bormolini but he got the middle track,” Smith recalled. “I tried my best in the outside and made a little ground, but the snow was just too deep over there. Tactically it would’ve been best to be in front heading through the tunnels [that are leading into the stadium].”

    Smith’s teammate Brendan Green finished 33rd (+3:15.7), also with three penalties ( 1+0+1+1), after climbing nearly 20 places from his starting position by using his extensive experience to deal with snowy conditions that he described as “a classic Hochfilzen day”.

    “Today was a much better race for me,” Green wrote in an email. “Yesterday felt completely off for some reason, so to be able to put together a solid performance today is reassuring. … I’m quite happy with the shooting considering the conditions. I was really hoping to shoot clean in the last bout, which would have made for a really great day, but all in all I’m happy with how I performed.”

    After incurring that third penalty in the last standing stage, Green, who started 52nd, came back on the course in 37th place. He recalled seeing a group ahead of him, which he was able to catch by skiing the 17th-fastest course time on the final loop.

    “I attacked early on and skied my way past a train of 5 athletes, and was able to hold them off for the rest of the loop with the exception of [Belgium’s] Michael Roesch. This was my strongest ski of the season which is hopefully a sign that my shape is coming around. It seems that no matter what I do, I struggle to find my form early on in the season.”

    Doherty’s teammate, Lowell Bailey, the only other American who qualified for the pursuit, moved up from 53rd to finish 36th (+3:20.6) with three penalties (0+2+1+0).

    The two remaining Canadian starters, Scott Gow and Christian Gow, finished 48th (+5:08.4) and 49th (+ 5:13.7), respectively, with Scott ending up with seven penalties (1+1+3+2), while his younger brother Christian had five penalties (2+0+1+2) and improved five places from the sprint.

    Bø and Fourcade in Sync… Until Final Shooting

    The two dominant athletes of the IBU World Cup season so far swapped the lead out on course and dueled on the range in Saturday’s pursuit. In the end the podium was nearly a repeat of Friday’s sprint, with Bø in first, and Fak and Fourcade flipping positions in second and third, respectively.

    Medal ceremony for the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit at the 2017/2018 IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, with Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø (c) in first place, Slovenia’s Jakov Fak (l) in second place, and France’s Martin Fourcade (r) in third place. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    In the first shooting bout, Bø incurred two penalties to lose his 12-second head start on Fourcade, but he set out on his second loop just a second behind Fourcade. In the second prone stage, the two both shot clean, after shooting alongside each other and almost hitting their targets in a synchronous rhythm, before starting the third loop together.

    While not quite able to hold up with Fourcade and Bø on the course with the 35th-ranked overall course time, Fak, who had started the day in third, was able to keep in touch with the leaders due to another solid shooting performance.

    The 30-year-old, Croatian-born Fak, who has been racing for Slovenia since the beginning of the 2010/2011 season, is coming back from a slight slump last season, but is looking back on a storied career that includes a third place in the 2014/2015 World Cup Total Score and two gold medals at the 2012 and 2015 IBU World Championships.

    By his own account, in preparation for the new season Fak mostly trained with the Ukrainian women’s team, which is coached by one of his old mentors. “They shoot good and I wanted to beat them and I guess that also works in the men’s field,” he said with laugh at the press conference.

    In the first standing stage, Bø and Fourcade each incurred a penalty, and while Fourcade shot his sequence slightly faster, Bø was able to easily make up a six-second gap on the next loop, taking the lead again up the first big climb.

    “[I] had a perfect race together with Johannes,” Fourcade said at the press conference. “We each did half the [work] in the front and it was a smart move because we wanted to keep the advantage and we knew the answer would be on the final shooting.”

    Fak also had his only miss of the day in the third stage, but managed to improve his position as conditions worsened and a number of athletes had several penalties in this stage. Russia’s Maxim Tsvetkov and Germany’s Schempp were the first ones to clean this stage to leap into  podium contention. Bø’s older brother Tarjei also cleaned.

    Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø shooting in the standing position in difficult weather conditions on his way to the victory in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit at the 2017/2018 IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    In the final stage Johannes Bø and Fourcade again stood side by side on the range, but this time Fourcade missed three while Bø hit every target to embark on the last loop with nearly a minute lead.

    “He got the answer, and I didn’t…,” Fourcade sighed when he tried to explain what had happened in his final shooting. “With the snow conditions I went on my shooting mat a little late, I first had to open my rifle [sights snow cover] and I was simply a bit late compared to Johannes by just one or two seconds. … Then I heard that Johannes had a good shooting and I tried to shoot faster to catch him, and that was totally wrong today.”

    “The people are always speaking about a fight of Martin against the Norwegian team,” Bø stated in the press conference. “Of course both me and him think about this, but still we fought together out there, we exchanged in the first position [helping each other], and that was a smart move for us.”

    Fak managed to shoot clean again to leave the range for the last time in second, and while he could be relatively sure of second place, a fierce fight for third ensued behind him.

    “It was very hard on the track, but I managed to stay calm on the shooting range and tried to shoot as [few] mistakes as I could,” Fak said. “It was only one mistake and so I am pretty happy about that, because if we look at the weather it was not so easy on the shooting range. On the track I used my shooting as an advantage, and it got me in the second position on the last lap, so I just needed to go a little faster in the beginning and then cruise to the finish.”

    A group of Schempp, Tsvetkov and Tarjei Bø also came through the final stage with a clean shooting performance, and Fourcade joined them after he had completed his three penalty laps.

    Fourcade led that group going into the longest climb of the course, then tried to break away, pushing hard over the crest of the hill with only Schempp able to stay on his tails into a corkscrew downhill section.

    Schempp and Fourcade had a minor tangle as they positioned themselves on the slightly uphill finishing stretch, and Fourcade ended up outlasting Schempp in the final meters by half a second

    “It was a big fight with Simon but also with Tarjei and Maxim Tsvetkov from Russia,” Fourcade said. “It was a big battle, and then at the finish line we crossed our skis. The advantage of being in the first position is that you can choose your own line, it’s what I did, and when I crossed my skis with Simon because I saw he chose the same line I went to the other line. … I said to Simon that I was sad, because I didn’t want to do it this way, but I fought really hard on the track to get the first position and choose my own track because it’s a big advantage.”

    “In the finish sprint I really wanted to take the innermost lane, so wide right, and thought he’d take the middle lane,” Schempp told German broadcaster ARD in a post-race interview, according to a translation. “But then he still pulled onto my side and we tangled up and got a little bit into each other’s way, but everything is all right.”

    Tarjei Bø came to the finish a second later in fifth (+1:11.9) with two penalties  (1+0+1+0), while Tsvetkov finished sixth (+1:12.3), up from a 20th starting position, with just one penalty (1+0+0+0).

    “I am happy I am in the top six, but I am a bit sad that I can’t fight today for a top three,” Tsvetkov told the IBU in an interview, via a translator.

    “[Actually] I can’t understand why I missed today,” he added with a laugh when questioned about his lone penalty, which only he, Fak, and two more athletes achieved in this race.

    The IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen concludes on Sunday with the first men’s 4 x 7.5 k and women’s 4 x 6 k relays of the season.

    Fourcade announced during the press conference that he plans to skip the relay to focus on next week’s races in front of a home crowd in Le Grand Bornand, France.

    Results

  • Saturday Rundown: Davos, Hochfilzen and Sovereign (Updated)

    Saturday Rundown: Davos, Hochfilzen and Sovereign (Updated)

    Bob Thompson (304) of NTDC Thunder Bay leading Sun Valley’s Jack Hegman (307) and Patrick Stewart-Jones (317) of the AWCA during their quarterfinal of the NorAm men’s 1.3 k classic sprint on Saturday at Sovereign Lake near Vernon, B.C. (Photo: Peggy Hung)

    NorAm/SuperTour (Sovereign Lake near Vernon, British Columbia): Classic sprints

    On the opening day of the NorAm Continental Cup series in Canada (which doubled as a U.S. SuperTour), American Kaitlynn Miller of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) started Saturday with a nearly three-second win in the classic-sprint qualifier at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre, then went on to win her quarterfinal and semifinal before topping the final as well.

    The women’s 1.3 k classic sprint podium and top five at the first NorAm of the season on Saturday at Sovereign Lake near Vernon, B.C., with (from left to right) Caitlin Patterson (CGRP) in second, Kaitlynn Miller (CGRP) in first, Hannah Halvorsen (APU/USST) in third, Kelsey Phinney (SVSEF) in fourth, and Liz Guiney (CGRP) in fifth. (Photo: Peggy Hung)

    Miller was the fastest women’s qualifier by 2.87 seconds on the 1.3-kilometer course with a time of 2:59.39. Ultimately, she won the final in 2:57.53, 0.93 seconds ahead of her teammate Caitlin Patterson in second and 2.59 seconds clear of the third American on the podium, Hannah Halvorsen of Alaska Pacific University (APU) and the U.S. Ski Team (USST) D-team, in third place.

    Halvorsen previously qualified third behind Kelsey Phinney, of the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) in second. Phinney finished fourth in the final (+2.85), while a third Craftsbury skier, Liz Guiney placed fifth (+3.53). The lone Canadian in the six-woman final, Sophie Carrier-Laforte of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre (CNEPH) placed sixth (+4.38).

    Thompson Fends Off Five Americans

    Of the six racers in the men’s 1.3 k freestyle sprint final, five of them were American. Bob Thompson, of the Thunder Bay National Team Development Centre (NTDC), bested them all for the win in 2:29.31, just 0.03 seconds ahead of Ben Saxton, of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) Elite Team, in second place. Cole Morgan (SVSEF), the qualifying winner who had so far dominated all of his heats, ended up third overall, 0.48 seconds behind Thompson.

    Sun Valley and APU each had two athletes reach the men’s final with Jack Hegman (SVSEF) taking fourth (+0.51), and APU’s Reese Hanneman and Tyler Kornfield placing fifth (+7.75) and sixth (+7.9), respectively.

    To start the day, Morgan posted the fastest men’s qualifying time in 2:31.00, while last weekend’s SuperTour skate sprint winner Nick Michaud, of the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF), qualified in second, 0.78 seconds back. Americans took the top-three qualifying spots with Logan Hanneman (APU) in third (+1.59), while Thompson was the top Canadian qualifier in fourth (+2.34).

    Morgan won both his quarterfinal and the first semifinal to advance to the final, along with Thompson who placed second in that semifinal (and placed second to Hegman in the quarterfinals). Saxton won the second semifinal (after finishing second to Logan Hanneman in the quarterfinals) and Kornfield was second behind Saxton in that semifinal to automatically advance to the final. Reese Hanneman and Hegman made it to the final as lucky losers after placing third and fourth, respectively, in the first semifinal.

    Live results

    Qualifier results

    ***

    IBU World Cup (Hochfilzen, Austria): Men’s and women’s pursuits

    Men’s report

    Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø notched his second-straight win in Hochfilzen after Martin Fourcade of France missed three on the final shooting stage of the men’s 12.5 k pursuit on Saturday. Bø, who started the race 12 seconds ahead of Fourcade in second, cleaned the final standing stage to leave the range nearly a minute ahead of Slovenia’s Jakov Fak in second. Meanwhile, Fourcade, who had been skiing in first just ahead of Bø before the last stage, dropped 1:19 minutes back to fifth.

    Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø (1) heading out of the start, 12 seconds ahead of the second starter, France’s Martin Fourcade (yellow bib), on Saturday in the IBU World Cup men’s 12.5 k pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    While Bø skied the win in 36:41.1 minutes and Fak, the third starter, finished 58.8 seconds later in second place, Fourcade made up two places on the final loop to place third (+1:10.0) after passing Germany’s Simon Schempp and Russia’s Maxim Tsvetkov.

    Schempp settled for fourth (+1:10.5), and Bø’s older brother, Tarjei Bø, passed Tsvetkov as well to claim fifth (+1:11.9), while Tsvetkov finished sixth (+11:12.3).

    On another snowy afternoon in Hochfilzen, Johannes Bø had three penalties, two of which came in the first stage (2+0+1+0). Fak was one of four men in the race with just one miss (0+0+1+0) — no one cleaned — while Fourcade missed five (1+0+1+3). Schempp had four penalties (3+1+0+0) but held onto his starting position in fourth, Tarjei Bø improved from 14th at the start to fifth with just two misses (1+0+1+0) and Tsvetkov raced up from 20th to sixth with a single miss (1+0+0+0).

    American Sean Doherty tied his second-best World Cup result in 17th (+2:12.8) after starting 23rd and 1:39 out of first. He had two penalties (1+0+1+0).

    Canada’s top finisher, Nathan Smith placed 31st (+3:02.2) after starting 19th and missing three shots (1+1+0+1). His teammate Brendan Green rose to 33rd (+3:15.7), up from 52nd at the start, with three penalties as well (1+0+1+1).

    Four Canadians qualified for the pursuit, with Scott Gow placing 48th (+5:08.4) with seven penalties (1+1+3+2). His younger brother Christian Gow crossed next in 49th (+5:13.7) after missing five (+5:13.7).

    The other American man in the race, Lowell Bailey placed 36th (+3:20.6), up from 53rd, with three misses (0+2+1+0).

    Kuzmina Gets First Win in Three Years

    Slovakia’s Anastasia Kuzmina cleaning one of two standing stages in the women’s 10 k pursuit at the IBU World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, en route to a 10-second win. (Photo: IBU/biathlonworld)

    In the women’s 10 k pursuit that followed, Slovakia’s Anastasia Kuzmina overcame a 22-second starting deficit to win her first race in three and a half years, shooting 19-for-20 (1+0+0+0) and finishing in 34:31.2. Kuzmina (the sister of Russia’s Anton Shipulin) started second behind Friday’s sprint winner Darya Domracheva of Belarus. Domracheva had a single miss as well in Saturday’s pursuit (0+0+1+0) but slipped to second after her penalty in the first standing stage, while Kuzmina cleaned the last three stages to take the win.

    Domracheva settled for third (+11.8) and Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen rose to second (+10.2) after shooting 18-for-20 (1+0+0+1) and skiing the fastest course time to rise from her starting position in sixth.

    Italy’s Dorothea Wierer slipped one place to fourth (+51.6) after starting third and missing two (1+0+0+1), while Norway’s Marte Olsbu raced up from 13th to fifth (+58.2) with a single penalty (1+0+0+0). Ukraine’s Yuliia Dzhima improved from 20th to sixth (+1:08) with one miss as well (0+0+0+1).

    Canada’s Emma Lunder achieved her second-best career World Cup result in 27th (+2:31.6) after starting 42nd and cleaning three stages after missing one in the first prone (1+0+0+0). Her teammate Rosanna Crawford improved from 49th at the start to 39th at the finish (+3:44.3) with four penalties, one in each stage (1+1+1+1).

    The U.S. had one woman qualify for the race, Clare Egan, who finished 53rd (+5:21.6) with seven penalties (2+2+2+1).

    For the third and final day of World Cup racing in Hochfilzen, the men’s and women’s relays will be held Sunday.

    Results: Men | Women

    ***

    FIS Cross Country World Cup (Davos, Switzerland): Freestyle sprints

    Women’s report

    Men’s report

    The women’s skate sprint podium at Saturday’s World Cup in Davos, Switzerland, with Kikkan Randall (r) of the U.S. Ski Team in third place, Sweden’s Stina Nilsson (c) in first, and Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla (l) in second. (Photo: Reese Brown/US Ski & Snowboard)

    Kikkan Randall returned to the podium on Saturday in the first freestyle sprint of the 2017/2018 World Cup season, placing third in the women’s 1.5-kilometer skate sprint behind Sweden’s Stina Nilsson and Norway’s Maiken Caspersen Falla, respectively, in Davos, Switzerland.

    Americans made up half of the women’s final, with Jessie Diggins racing to fourth and Ida Sargent sixth, with Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg between them in fifth.

    Nilsson started the day by winning the qualifier in 2:51.71 minutes, while Østberg had the second-fastest qualifing time, 2.57 seconds back. Switzerland’s Nadine Fähndrich posted the third fastest qualifying time (+2.73), and for the U.S., Diggins qualified fourth (+3.37), Sargent fifth (+3.78), Randall sixth (+4.11), Sophie Caldwell ninth (+4.87), and Sadie Bjornsen in 11th (+5.38).

    Nilsson then won her quarterfinal and the first semifinal before outlunging Falla by eight-hundredths of a second for the final win in 2:47.99. Randall (who won her quarterfinal and advanced to the final as a lucky loser in third in the first semifinal) finished 2.53 seconds after Nilsson for third overall, and Diggins (who won both her quarterfinal and the second semifinal) was 4.41 seconds back in fourth. Østberg finished 5.62 seconds back in fifth, and Sargent crossed the line 14.49 seconds back in sixth.

    Caldwell placed eighth overall after winning her quarterfinal then placing fourth in the second semifinal, behind Diggins, Sargent and Germany’s Sandra Ringwald, respectively. Ringwald did not advance to the final, either, for seventh overall. Bjornsen placed 13th on the day after finishing third in her quarterfinal.

    Also for the U.S., Julia Kern (U.S. Ski Team D-team) finished in 57th in the qualifying round, 16.55 seconds out of first.

    Dahria Beatty was the top Canadian in 53rd (+15.53), followed by Katherine Stewart-Jones in 55th (+16.18) and Cendrine Browne in 64th (+18.27). 

    In the men’s 1.5 k skate sprint, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo rocketed to his sixth-straight win in as many World Cup races this season, topping the qualifier in 2:23.10 (by 1.27 seconds over France’s Lucas Chanavat and 1.73 seconds over Italy’s Federico Pellegrino in third) then winning his quarterfinal and semifinal comfortably before capping the day with a victory in the final in 2:28.07. Pellegrino placed second in the final, 1.8 seconds back, and Russia’s Alexander Bolshunov tallied his third podium of the season in third place (+4.64). Finland’s Ristomatti Hakola placed fourth (+5.39), France’s Richard Jouve was fifth (+8.65) and Russia’s Gleb Retivykh was sixth in the final (+18.34).

    Americans Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton both qualified for the heats in 10th and 12th, respectively. Hamilton went on to place ninth overall after finishing second in his quarterfinal (behind France’s Renaud Jay) and fifth in the second semifinal (which Hakola won). Newell’s day ended in the quarterfinals, where he placed fifth, 2.44 seconds behind Klæbo, who won that heat. Overall, Newell was 21st.

    Canada’s Alex Harvey qualified for the heats in 21st and went on to place 23rd overall after finishing fifth in his quarterfinal, 1.14 seconds behind Retivykh in first.

    Also for Canada, Julien Locke missed qualifying in the top 30 by 1.07 seconds in 36th (+7.84). Russell Kennedy placed 48th (+9.39), Knute Johnsgaard was 52nd (+10.35), Jess Cockney 54th (+10.83), Devon Kershaw 63rd (+11.78).

    For the U.S., Erik Bjornsen finished 58th (+11.12) and Paddy Caldwell 108th (+24.04) in the qualifier.

    Results:

    Women’s final | Women’s qualifier

    Men’s final | Men’s qualifier

  • Tarjei Bø Wins First IBU World Cup Since 2013; Scott Gow Tallies Career-Best 16th

    Tarjei Bø Wins First IBU World Cup Since 2013; Scott Gow Tallies Career-Best 16th

    Norway’s Tarjei Bø celebrates his victory in the men’s 10 k sprint at the 2017/2018 IBU World Cup in Östersund, Sweden, his first win in four years. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld)

    Biathlon Canada’s World Cup Team at the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup in Östersund, Sweden, had a number of things to be happy about on Saturday afternoon as the first men’s 10-kilometer sprint race of the new season wrapped up.

    Christian Gow was already smiling at the cameras as he stood in the starting-gate booth. Beginning the sprint as the very first starter in a large field of 108 athletes from 30 nations, Gow soon would have every reason to smile, as all alone on the range he shot clean in both his prone and standing stages under the watchful eyes of the spectators and his coach Matthias Ahrens, who watched through the lens of his spyglass. Gow kept himself ahead of the field and was the first athlete across the line after avoiding being passed.

    “I enjoyed starting with bib 1 more than I expected,” Gow wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “I found that there are some extra elements that you don’t really consider when you start in the middle of the pack. The biggest differences are not having any information on splits for the first loop and that shooting on the range with no other athletes is kind of eerie. It is normally such a busy place, so to have it all to yourself and the entire crowd focused solely on you can add extra pressure. I am really happy with how I managed that today.”

    Biathlon Canada’s Christian Gow shooting clean in the standing stage of the men’s 10 k sprint at the 2017/2018 IBU World Cup in Östersund, Sweden, on his way to a career-best sprint result. (Screenshot: ZDF)

    He had to wait for a long time for the other starters to finish the race so he could know where his time stood. In the end, it was good enough for 26th place, 58.1 seconds back from the winner, Norway’s Tarjei Bø, in a very tight race at the top.

    “I knew that the entire field was still to come, but that I had done my job so all I needed to do at that point was wait,” Gow wrote. “I am quite happy with my placing. With my time back from the leader being under one minute, I was hoping for a top 20, but am very satisfied anyways. Finishing in the top 30 is awesome, I have been on the cusp a half-dozen times, but only within it once before.”

    Last season, in the World Championships pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria, Gow finished 23rd.

    Starting a few minutes behind him in bib 24, his older brother Scott also cleaned both stages and skied a little faster, initially crossing the line in fifth..

    “It was almost frustrating having to wait so long to finally see the full results,” Scott Gow wrote in an email. “I knew I had a good day, but I also felt like a lot of skiers were finishing in front me as the race wore on.”

    In the end, a few more athletes finished with better times, and he got pushed back to 16th. Even so, 16th was a personal-best World Cup result for Gow, improving on a 17th place in an individual race in Antholz, Italy, and an 18th place in a sprint in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, both during the 2016/2017 season.

    “Any finish in the top 30 and especially top 20 is very good for us,” Gow said of his team. “Today’s results helps increase my Olympic qualification which is a nice boost in confidence as the race season gets underway.”

    With a top 16, Gow jumped a rank in Biathlon Canada’s Olympic criteria standards; he’s now halfway to Priority 2 (along with teammate Julia Ransom, who placed ninth earlier this week). Both need another top 16 to fulfill that second priority.

    “It had rained a bit this afternoon and during our zero,” Scott Gow explained of Saturday’s conditions. “The rain made the track very fast and hard-packed, and the downhills were particularly tricky. The course also held up really well from start to finish so definitely fair conditions in that respect.”

    Aside from the eventual winner, another athlete helped by that was teammate Nathan Smith. Starting very late in bib 103, he also managed to hit all 10 targets ultimately finished 24th (+54.3) between the Gow brothers.

    While not close to his career-best results in the top five, most of which he achieved in 2014/2015, it was another step up for Smith, who placed 37th in the 20 k individual race on Thursday and missed most of the last season to illness.

    “I expect to feel better this weekend in the sprint but will have to be realistic considering the cold and being ‘rusty’ after not racing last year, other than a few races,” he had predicted in an email after the individual on Thursday.

    The fourth Canadian, Brendan Green finished 55th with two penalties (1+1), still also qualifying for the pursuit of the best 60 starters on Sunday.

    Bailey Leads Five Americans in 22nd

    US Biathlon’s Lowell Bailey also shot clean on Saturday, finishing 22nd and 49.8 seconds back from the winner, and six seconds ahead of Canada’s Smith.

    ”I’m happy with the race, especially after coming off of a cold this past week,” Bailey wrote in an email. “Our performance goals are to steadily progress with the season. I think this is a good step in the right direction.”

    Last season, Bailey had achieved his career best in a sprint with a second place in the World Cup test event for the Olympic courses in PyeongChang, South Korea. Those races will be his main focus this season.

    “The conditions on the track were MUCH faster than the Individual, which proved one of the slowest conditions I’ve encountered in my career!” Bailey explained. “The range was a bit tricky, with shifting winds, and I had at least one prone shot that was on the edge of the target.”

    The other starters for US Biathlon struggled a bit more on the range today. Tim Burke placed 52nd, 1:42.3 back with three penalties (3+0), joining Bailey in the pursuit on Sunday.

    “As seems to be the case in this race each year, the field is incredibly tight for tomorrow’s pursuit. It will be an exciting race,” Bailey stated in a US Biathlon press release.

    Leif Nordgren finished 66th with two penalties (1+1), Sean Doherty was 82nd with three penalties (2+1), and Paul Schommer was 94th with four penalties (1+3).

    While the three Canadians and Bailey shot clean, the men at the top of the field incurred at least one penalty and thus had to rely on their ski speed in this race.

    Another Day, Another Bø Brother

    Norway’s Tarjei Bø lunges across the finish line in the men’s 10 k sprint at the 2017/2018 IBU World Cup in Östersund, Sweden, to claim the victory just 0.7 seconds ahead of France’s Martin Fourcade. (Photo: IBU/Biathlonworld.com)

    On Thursday in the men’s 20 k individual race, France’s Martin Fourcade was beaten by Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø, gapped by over two minutes in a dominating performance. On Saturday afternoon, Johannes missed too many targets to challenge Fourcade again, ultimately finishing 11th (+34.4 with three penalties).

    But starting towards the back of the field in bib 94 when Fourcade had already ended his race, Bø’s older brother Tarjei snatched another victory away from Fourcade, who had already looked like the winner of the day after making up a deficit to two other athletes with one of his trademark furious final laps.

    This time he was beaten by mere inches.

    Still 7 seconds ahead of Fourcade when Bø left the range, after he also had to ski once through the penalty loop, Bø’s lead dwindled on the final lap. At the next split time, only a 3.1-second advantage remained, with 400 meters to go it was even down to 0.9 seconds heading into a downhill corkscrew into the arena.

    “You can never trust those guys giving you the times,” Bø later joked about his coaches frantically yelling splits during the press conference. “Because they want to push you, so even if they say it’s one second you can also be behind.”

    Pushing all out on the finish stretch, Bø lunged and crashed across the line in a time of 22:40.6 minutes, which was 0.7 seconds ahead of Fourcade’s time, causing the spectators in the ski arena of Östersund to erupt in a big roar.

    “I was totally blacked out, to be honest,” Bø said at the press conference. “I had this incredible fight with Martin. Already when I warmed up I saw his last 500 meters, so I knew I had to just keep on pushing. It was such a relief after I woke up from the dead there, to see that I was number one… It’s always a mental game when you fight against such great athletes as Martin.”

    It was Tarjei Bø’s first World Cup victory since the 2013 season, a sprint win at home in Oslo, Norway.

    “It was a really tough time,” the 29-year-old Bø recounted the last few seasons of his career. “In 2016 I felt I sort of came back into the top. … I was going somewhere again. But then last season was a new punch in the face … I missed so much training. This season I tried not to push so hard in the summer to keep this flow in the training and not get stopped by all these sickness problems again. This win is definitely a relief after so many years with struggles.”

    “It was quite a good biathlon competition until Tarjei came to the finish,” Fourcade said with a laugh at the press conference. “Of course I am a bit disappointed because I hoped for the victory for a long time … But that’s biathlon, and I am happy for him to be back on the top of the podium … I think I lost many times with less than one second, so I am used to that, but I am used to the opposite as well, so I will not cry.”

    “Finally, I can say that I am equal with [my brother] Johannes again,” Bø added. “Fighting with Martin, who also has a brother [Simon Fourcade]… And when the younger brother becomes better than you, it’s so nice to beat them every once in a while.”

    Germany’s Erik Lesser finished third, just 3.7 seconds back, after he also incurred one penalty lap in his standing stage, in his case with his last shot of the race. Lesser skied the 10th-ranked course time of the day, but was especially buoyed by his blazing-fast speed on the shooting range.

    Lesser triggered the first shot in prone after only about eight seconds, almost twice as fast as some athletes use to take their position, and completed the stage roughly ten seconds faster than the two other podium finishers. His range time overall ranked as the best and shooting time as the second-best of the day, just 0.6 seconds behind Italy’s Dominik Windisch (however, Windisch also missed four targets to finish 62nd).

    “Not 100% satisfied, I didn’t do my job on the final shot,” Lesser told German broadcaster ZDF while the race was still going on. “Though I’d rather miss the final than the first shot… But on the course it was top. In prone everything worked out, and I think the shooting time was again where I’d like it to be.”

    “I am very happy that I won my first podium in a sprint competition, I never was on a podium [in that] before so right now I am very happy about this,” he later added at the press conference.

    Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen had to settle for fourth place (+13.3), but could be seen walking out of the mixed zone smiling as Bø approached the finish to push him off the podium, and Lesser’s teammate Simon Schempp placed fifth (+15.0), both of which each had one standing penalty.

    Switzerland’s Mario Dolder with a career-best sixth place (+16.0) and Sweden’s Fredrik Lindström in seventh position (+16.7) shot clean, but could not match the course times of the podium finishers on Saturday. Out of the entire field, nine athletes shot clean. Four of them were North Americans.

    The race week in Östersund concludes on Sunday with pursuits for both the women and men.

    “The level is incredible, I think 30 athletes within one minute,” Fourcade said in the press conference. “I don’t know if I have already seen that in a pursuit, so tomorrow will be a great fight.”

    Results | Pursuit start list

  • North American Biathletes Test Speed at German Nationals

    North American Biathletes Test Speed at German Nationals

    US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee competing in the women’s sprint as an international guest at the 2017 German National Biathlon Championships on Sept. 9 in Langdorf, Germany. (Photo: Niklas Breu)

    Dozens of German biathletes from all parts of the country descended on the small town of Langdorf (Arber) in the Bavarian Forest mountain range last weekend for their national championships. Since guests are allowed to compete in the races (a sprint and a pursuit), a number of international biathletes — including a handful of North Americans — made use of this opportunity during a training block in Europe for a performance test against some tough competition.

    The American contingent of national-team members and a few more representatives from the Craftsbury Biathlon Club of Vermont was led by 2017 IBU World Championships silver medalist Susan Dunklee and fellow national-team veteran and 2013 silver medalist Tim Burke.

    “It was a great event,” Dunklee wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “The large crowd of spectators and high level of competitors made it great practice for the winter.”

    Last season’s World Championships gold medalist Lowell Bailey did not travel with the rest of the men’s team, neither did World Championship participants Clare Egan and Maddie Phaneuf of the women’s team.

    Joining Dunklee were national-team members Joanne Reid, Emily Dreissigacker (Craftsbury Biathlon Club/US Biathlon B-team), as well as Hallie Grossman (Craftsbury/ US Biathlon National Development Group).

    On the men’s side, Burke was joined by multi-time youth/junior world champion Sean Doherty, fellow Olympian Leif Nordgren, national-team rookie Paul Schommer (A-3 team), Michael Gibson (Craftsbury), and Alex Howe (Craftsbury/US Biathlon National Development Group).

    The Canadian national team did not make the long journey overseas this summer, opting to prepare at home instead, but team member Megan Tandy (who lives and trains in Germany for large parts of the year) joined Dunklee, Reid and a group of other international athletes for a short training camp and the two races.

    “I train mostly alone so to have coaches and teammates for a week was awesome,” Tandy wrote in an email. “Great for some friendly competition, coaching feedback, some laughs and I learned a few things, too. I always appreciate the chance to train with other athletes!”

    New Biathlete Herrmann Tops Women’s Races, Dunklee Leads Americans

    Germany’s Denise Herrmann en route to a victory in the women’s pursuit at the 2017 German National Biathlon Championships on Sept. 10 in Arber, Germany. (Screenshot: BR “Blickpunkt Sport” broadcast)

    Germany’s Denise Herrmann, who switched from being a cross-country sprint specialist to biathlon only a year ago, was the standout female athlete of the weekend, winning the national title in both the sprint and pursuit.

    In the sprint on Saturday, Sept. 9, the German biathlon B-team member shot clean on her way to the victory in a time of 18 minutes, 2.5  seconds on the 7.5-kilometer course, ahead of national-team members Maren Hammerschmidt (+30.9 with zero penalties) and Laura Dahlmeier (+36.0 with zero penalties). Finland’s biathlon star Kaisa Mäkärainen placed fourth after shooting two penalties (+42.2, 1+1).

    In a field of 44 starters, Dunklee led the North American women in 15th place (+2:29.6) with three penalties (2+1). She was the fourth-best non-German woman.

    “Of course every time you toe the line you want the win but I wasn’t among the fastest there this weekend,” Dunklee explained. “My goal is to be at my best in February and my focused work at these races will help get me there. The course had a nice flow with rolling terrain which made it great for practicing uphill V2 and transitions.”

    Reid placed 18th (+2:45.8) with one penalty (0+1), while Tandy finished just behind her in 19th (+2:48.7) after having to circle three penalty laps (2+1). Dreissigacker placed 31st (+3:57.4) also with three penalties (1+2), and Grossmann was 40th (+4:57.9) with five penalties (2+3), out of 44 finishers.

    In the following 10 k pursuit on Sunday in rainy conditions, Herrmann was able to rack up her second title in as many days in 30:17.5 after shooting three penalties (0+1+1+1). Dahlmeier, by her own account not a big fan of rollerski races, was unable to catch her despite another flawless shooting score and she finished second, 43.4 seconds back. Third place went to Mäkäräinen, who overcame five penalties (+1:37.8, 3+1+1+0), while Nadine Horchler in fourth overall claimed the bronze medal among Germans, moving up from sixth at the start after a solid performance on the range (+1:48.5, 0+0+0+1).

    “I am really happy for her, that she now has been able to execute her abilities in both races,” Dahlmeier, a seven-time world champion, said of Herrmann to German broadcaster BR. “Her shooting, her racing, keeping her nerves in check. That demonstrates she has really taken another step forward. Still, this was a summer race without big pressure, but things are clearly moving in the right direction for her.”

    The newly crowned national-champion, Herrmann was invited to a TV sports talk show hosted by the network later that evening for a more wide-ranging interview about her career, transition from cross-country to biathlon and the upcoming Olympics.

    Germany’s Denise Herrmann dry firing in her kitchen. (Screenshot: Bavarian TV/BR)

    “I was hoping to be able to translate my training performances into a good result, but I really wouldn’t have expected two titles this weekend,” Herrmann said. “When I made the switch [to biathlon] the Olympics in PyeongChang were my big stated goal, and I knew this wouldn’t be easy, also because this team might be the most competitive in the world. I am on my way now. Of course this was only a summer competition, but I can finally execute my shooting performances from training. I know what is left to do the next two months, and am looking forward to the winter.”

    The program showed her training diligently on the shooting range, even doing “dry fire” practices at every opportunity while steaming coffee in her home kitchen. So far, Herrmann has pre-qualified for Germany’s IBU Cup team, but she started a few World Cups last season, including the Olympic test events in PyeongChang, South Korea, where she was part of the winning relay team.

    “Being able to race in that relay made me incredibly happy,” Herrmann explained, remembering that day from last March. “Shooting in the first lane there, I had a few other distracting thoughts in my head. But that is the mental challenge and the allure of biathlon, and I would like to create more experiences like that.”

    Clean Pursuit for Tandy on Her Birthday

    Megan Tandy rollerskiing in Germany in August 2016. (Courtesy photo)

    Dunklee again led the North Americans in 12th place in the pursuit (+3:42.1, fourth-best international) moving up three places from the sprint, with three penalties (0+1+0+2).

    Seven seconds behind her, Tandy of Canada finished 14th (+3:49.1), just 0.1 seconds behind Germany’s Marie Heinrich (+3:49.0 with two penalties), after moving up from her starting position of 19th thanks to four clean shooting stages. She did so on her 29th birthday.

    “The sprint was quite disappointing,” Tandy wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “Not the result I was aiming for… During the pursuit I really pulled the shooting together: for me it was a perfect day on the range with solid shooting times and 20/20 – it doesn’t get much better than that! To top it off, Sunday was my [29th] birthday so I was pretty pleased.”

    Tandy was also happy with her performance considering she lives about an hour away from the nearest biathlon range. She estimated she had accumulated several thousand fewer shots in practice than most of her competitors this year.

    “I had two 20/20 races on the World Cup circuit during the 2015-16 season, but I think this is the first time since then… so it has definitely been awhile!” she wrote. “The plus side is that I really value my time on the shooting range and I am approaching shooting training with such an intense focus that I am sure this summer has been some of my highest quality shooting training ever.”

    “My race form is not where it needs to be yet, but I am feeling stronger than I was at this time last year and I believe I am making good progress,” Tandy wrote of her skiing. “The potential for a great season is there, but I still have a lot of work to do before the snow flies!”

    Reid finished the pursuit in 21st place (+6:10.3) with three penalties (0+2+1+0), Dreissigacker moved up one spot to 30th (+7:34.6) with three penalties (1+0+2+0), and Grossman repeated in 40th (+12:21.9) with nine penalties (2+2+3+2).

    Nordgren Leads North American Men in Sprint

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BYnPJq7jDqT/?taken-by=leifcnordgren)

    The men’s 10 k sprint title went to Germany’s Benedikt Doll in a time of 24:33.3 despite two penalties (1+1) for his first national title. In a bit of a surprising outcome, Doll won the sprint at the 2017 World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria, last season. On Saturday he prevailed over teammates Matthias Dorfer (+17.6, 0+1) and Simon Schempp (+24.2, 2+1), respectively. Switzerland’s Mario Dolder was the top non-German in fourth overall (+29.0, 1+0).

    Leif Nordgren placed 15th with a single standing miss to lead the North American men in the sprint, finishing 1:21.3 back from Doll. Nordgren was the third-best international guest behind Dolder and his Swiss teammate Benjamin Weger, who was ninth overall.

    “It was a fun weekend at the German summer championships in Langdorf, the race shape is not there yet though!” Nordgren wrote on Instagram.

    Just two seconds behind him, Burke placed 18th (+1:23.4, fifth-best international) with three penalties (2+1). Doherty was 27th (+2:14.3) with four penalties (2+2), Schommer finished 34th (+2:54.0) with five penalties (4+1), and Gibson placed 48th (+4:32.5) with five penalties (3+2) in the field of 54 finishers.

    Howe did not start, but posted on social media about supporting his wife Emily Dreissigacker:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BY1RgL9jIO_/?taken-by=howecow

    Burke 7th in Pursuit

    In the men’s 12.5 k pursuit on Sunday, Germany’s Schempp improved from third at the start to claim the championship in commanding fashion in a time of 30:41.1 with a single penalty (0+1+0+0). His fellow senior national team member Erik Lesser moved up from seventh to claim the silver medal (+1:14.5 with two penalties), while Doll swapped positions on the podium with Schempp, coming in third place (+1:22.0 with four penalties). Sprint silver medalist Dorfer fell back to fifth place (+1:43.2 with four penalties).

    “Totally satisfied with my performance the first weekend of the nationals,” Schempp posted on Instagram.

    Tim Burke (USBA) racing to third in the men’s mass start at US Biathlon Rollerski Championships on Aug. 13 in Jericho, Vt. (Photo: John Lazenby/Lazenbyphoto.com)

    For the U.S., Burke moved up from 18th to seventh place with three penalties (0+0+2+1). He finished 2:16.9 minutes after Schempp and battled with local juniors David Zobel and Lucas Fratzscher to the line. Zobel placed sixth (+2:16.1 with one penalty) and Fratzscher eighth (+2:17.2, moving up from 23rd with clean shooting). Burke was the top non-German in the pursuit.

    “These races were a good opportunity for me to see where I am at after the spring/summer training season,” Burke wrote in an email. “The races over here definitely have more of a ‘winter feel’ with bigger crowds and larger start fields. Overall, I was satisfied with my results. I felt like I did well in the areas that I have been focusing on this summer, and I now have clear areas of focus heading into the winter.”

    Nordgren finished 18th (+3:33.5) slipping three positions and incurring two penalties on the shooting range (1+0+0+1). Schommer came in 29th (+5:06.1) improving by five places despite five penalties (3+1+1+0). Doherty was 30th (+5:22.0) after starting 27th, also with five penalties (1+3+1+0). Gibson finished 42nd (+8:17.8) improving by six places while registering six penalties (1+1+2+2), and Howe was unable to start after missing the sprint.

    The German athletes will continue their national championship races with mass start and relay events in Ruhpolding next weekend. Meanwhile, the US athletes planned to use the week for testing and on-snow training in a ski tunnel at the World Cup venue in Oberhof, Germany, before returning to the U.S., according to Dunklee and Burke.

    “Hopefully there will be a few more weeks of sunny fall training [in Germany] before it is time to hit the snow, before heading home to Canada for National team trials in early November,” Tandy wrote of her next plans.

    The Hohenzollern Ski Stadium venue at the Arber will host another IBU Cup in January, when some of the German and North American athletes competing last weekend might return there.

    Results:

    Sprint: Women  | Men

    Pursuit: Women | Men

  • Fourcade Wins Despite Ammo Flub; ‘Squirrel Drama’ in Women’s Mass Start in Oslo

    Fourcade Wins Despite Ammo Flub; ‘Squirrel Drama’ in Women’s Mass Start in Oslo

    France’s Martin Fourcade (c) in first, Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs (l) in second and Austria’s Simon Eder (r) in third on the podium following the men’s 15 k mass start at the season-finale 2017 IBU World Cup in Oslo, Norway. (Photo: IBU)

    Between breaking historic biathlon records and waiting for the imminent birth of his second child, France’s IBU World Cup dominator Martin Fourcade forgot one crucial detail of Biathlon 101 before Sunday’s final race of the season in the men’s 15-kilometer mass start: loading his ammunition clips.

    Fourcade only realized he had started with four empty clips when he crouched down on the shooting mat for the first prone shooting, then signaled for help. His coach standing at the range reacted the fastest and threw him a full clip. Fourcade inserted it into his rifle and went on to hit all five shots, leaving the range in 18th  position and 21 seconds behind the leaders, almost the time it takes to ski a penalty lap.

    But what he and his coach had done strictly was not allowed: Fourcade would have had to wait and receive the spare clip from a race official, because the range is a “no-coaching zone”. While the race went on, Fourcade’s name was marked with an asterisk on the timing screens, and the race jury and technical delegate started discussing if Fourcade maybe should be disqualified or hit with a time penalty.

    Fourcade later said he was aware the violation was under review, but decided to keep racing like normal. Before the second shooting he had compensated the gap passing the whole field to take the lead again, and received additional spare magazines this time from an official kneeling next to the first-lane shooting mat.

    Seemingly undeterred by the problems, Fourcade went on to clean not only the second stage, but also the two standing stages to create a lead of almost 25 seconds, already celebrating as he left the famous Holmenkollen arena for the final loop. He was the only athlete in the field to shoot clean in all four stages, crossing the line in a time of 37:32.2 minutes under the huge applause of thousands of fans in the stands who had just witnessed a demonstration of his abilities. But would his victory stand?

    “I am simply an idiot, because I forgot to reload my magazines before the start,” Fourcade explained during a press conference later. “Today I had a really good day in spite of this huge mistake. I succeeded getting back the time I lost, and then shot clean. I am really happy and proud of my competition. It was probably one of the best days in my career, but it was a competition full of stupidness.”

    Behind him, Austria’s Simon Eder and Latvia’s Andrejs Rastorgujevs – usually known as a fast skier but shaky shooter – manged to also clean the final standing stage and went out on the last loop together. Rastorgujevs was faster there, overtaking and then distancing Eder to achieve the first World Cup podium of his career with two penalties in the race (0+1+1+0), 17.4 seconds behind Fourcade. Eder finished third (+32.4) with one penalty (0+0+1+0) to claim his third individual podium of the season (plus two in single mixed relays and two in men’s relays).

    In his long career, Rastorgujevs, 28, had been on the podium at IBU European Championships, winning gold in 2014 and at Summer Biathlon World Championships on rollerskis, but never in a World Cup where he only had four fourth-place finishes to his name.

    “The first podium in I think more than five years for me, after a lot of fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eigth, ninth, tenth places,” Rastorgujevs said during the press conference. “I am really happy, and I want to say a big thanks to my team and my service guys, who have worked very hard for this second place … I think today is a special day, and it’s also a big party for my team … Now I think this is opening the door for more podiums. We will see what happens next season.”

    “Yesterday I joked about a podium [in an interview], I don’t know why I did that, but I am really happy I got this podium today,” Eder explained. “The third race in a row is always a problem for my body, I already know this. I prefer to have a rest day, so I knew it was gonna be hard today. I am happy I got the third place. I saw Andrejs behind me which made me happy, and tried to keep up with him as long as possible hoping for the third or maybe second place but he was too strong for me.”

    Lowell Bailey (US Biathlon) shooting during a standing stage in the men’s 15 k mass start, the last race of the 2016/2017 IBU World Cup season, on Sunday in Oslo, Norway. He went on to finish 15th. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)

    Halfway through the race, US Biathlon’s Lowell Bailey had been in the lead after two clean prone shooting performances, taking the first lane in the standing shooting. But he missed two targets in that stage and had to ski a penalty lap, and then missed another one in the final shooting.

    “I think this was one of my best races of the season in terms of ski speed. I felt composed and focused in prone, and was happy with two cleans,” Bailey wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “In the first standing, I didn’t necessarily plan on shooting on point 1, but [Russia’s Anton] Shipulin did not want to lead in and I thought, if anything, it would be a bit of an advantage to be on point 1 if the wind came up. Those two misses set me back a fair amount, but I’m happy I stayed in the race mentally, only had one miss in the last standing, and was able to ski my way back into a top-fifteen.”

    Bailey finished the race in 15th place with three penalties (0+0+2+1), 1:10.4 behind Fourcade. But had Fourcade actually won, or would he be disqualified or relegated back?

    After the race, the competition jury could be seen on the TV broadcast deliberating the case for several minutes, and ultimately they decided to not take any actions against Fourcade.

    “I knew after the first shooting I was under disqualification [review], because the way I got back my full magazine is not the way exactly to do it,” Fourcade said. “It was a possibility to be disqualified, so I wanted to show to everyone, to all the other athletes, to the audience, to the jury also, that it was my day. And if they decided to not give me the victory, I knew in my heart that I had it.”

    “I think the jury was right,” Bailey wrote in his email. “I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to make a simple, costly mistake, and I think he definitely didn’t gain any advantage by NOT loading his clips.”

    Aside from Rastorgujevs and Norway’s fourth-place finisher Emil Hegle Svendsen (+42.2 with two penalties), the athlete who would have stood to benefit the most from a punishment for Fourcade was Germany’s Simon Schempp, who had been in the lead in the mass-start score World Cup standings before the race. But just coming back from a lengthy illness after last month’s World Championships where he won the men’s mass start, Schempp only finished with a 20th place (+1:28.5 with three penalties) in the same discipline on Sunday, and thereby still lost that title to Fourcade.

    “The hope was there, but with my current form it is very tough,” Schempp told ARD after the race. “I gave it everything I had. I am disappointed, but something like that can’t be fixed when you come here basically without any training. I lost a lot of points in the standings the last weeks, and I can still feel the illness in my bones. I can’t help it, it happens.”

    But Schempp also did not want to get the award back “off the course” by a disqualification.

    “I wanted to thank and to give all my respect to the team of Germany and to Simon Schempp, who decided to not ask for a protest,” Fourcade said in the press conference, unprompted. “That’s a big gesture. I really take my hat off to Simon Schempp. I must say how impressed I am by their class, they deserve much more than a crystal globe today.”

    Bailey finished the season in eighth in the World Cup Total Score standings, a career best all the more impressive considering he skipped an entire week of races in Oberhof, Germany, for a longer rest and training break after Christmas. That paid off, with a gold medal in the men’s 20 k individual at World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria, a second place in the sprint at the World Cup in PyeongChang, South Korea, and another second place in Kontiolahti, Finland, in the single mixed relay together with his teammate Susan Dunklee.

    “This is, by far, the best season of my life,” Bailey wrote reflecting on his season. “At 35 years old, I can say that I’ve waited a long time for this season. I have so many people to thank, first among them, my wife Erika for believing in me through it all, and being by side every step of the way. It’s been so great to have her and my daughter on the tour for the majority of the season.”

    Eckhoff Wins Final Mass Start at Home Despite ‘Squirrel Drama’

    Norway’s Tiril Eckhoff crossing the finish line with the Norwegian flag to celebrate her victory in the women’s 12.5 k mass start at the 2017 IBU World Cup on Sunday in Oslo, Norway. (Photo: IBU)

    “I hope I didn’t kill it,” was the first comment by Tiril Eckhoff after Sunday’s race to broadcaster NRK.

    What the Norwegian was referring to was the only small thing that disturbed her victory in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start at her home venue in Oslo: a streaking squirrel crossed the course in a ditch before the longest climb seven kilometers into the race, right in front of a six-person lead group that included Eckhoff, France’s Justine Braisaz and American Susan Dunklee.

    The little animal seemingly was confused which way it should try to escape, then jumped up when Braisaz tried to break, with Eckhoff almost running over it as well.

    “That squirrel was my favorite part of the race,” Dunklee wrote in an email to FasterSkier. “It ran in front of me then I saw it collide with Justine. I couldn’t help but laugh!”

    “Braisaz drove over the squirrel, so I just had to take my ski up and hope it goes well,” Eckhoff told NRK. “It’s good to see some wildlife in the forests of Norway.”

    After the race she could have a good laugh about the incident, which her home country’s TV broadcaster dubbed “Eckhoff vs. ekhorn” and “ekhorndrama” by the Norwegian word for squirrel.

    Reportedly the squirrel got away alive. And luckily it had not been Eckhoff vs. moose, another common dweller of the Norwegian forests.

    Shooting 19-for-20 after she earlier in the season had never hit more than 16 shots in a four-stage race (0+0+1+0), Eckhoff took the lead after the final shooting ahead of Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová, and pushed hard throughout the last loop to create a gap that allowed her to grab a Norwegian flag before the last ski bridge in the Holmenkollen arena, waving to the fans as she skied down the homestretch before crossing the line in a time of 34:23.1.

    “I was very fed up with [always] going to the penalty loop,” Eckhoff said at the press conference. “So I just said to myself, ‘Now I’m gonna take those targets down,’ and I managed that, so now I’m really happy … because that has been my main issue.”

    Eckhoff had won gold medals in the sprint and the women’s relay at last year’s World Championships at home in Oslo, where she grew up and still lives. But partly due to illnesses she struggled with this season, she didn’t return to form until after this year’s Hochfilzen World Championships. She went on to notch a second place in the sprint in PyeongChang, South Korea, and then a sprint win in Kontiolahti, Finland.

    Behind Eckhoff, Koukalová finished Sunday’s race in second place (+22.6) with one penalty (0+1+0+0), thereby securing the World Cup title in the mass start discipline ahead of Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier, who finished ninth after shooting three misses (+54.2), not able to defend the small lead she held before the final but winning the overall World Cup Total Score title for the first time.

    After the race, Sweden’s Hanna Öberg also received the IBU award for the “Rookie of the Year”.

    “I was not under pressure today,” Koukalová said with a big smile at the press conference. “I had no expectations. I tried to imagine that I’m already somewhere else, at the athletes’ party this evening for example … It’s one of the best seasons of my life.”

    “I am totally exhausted, and happy that there is no more race tomorrow,“ her rival Dahlmeier told German broadcaster ARD after the race. “The miss at the end ruined a better result today, and on the course it was also really tough for me. I have reached my limit now … I hope some energy comes back to celebrate the season tonight.”

    Before the final shooting Dahlmeier’s teammate Franziska Hildebrand had been in the lead by almost 20 seconds thanks to three clean shooting performances, with her first individual podium of the season within her grasp. But she missed her very last shot, causing her coach to let out an audible swear, and she had to ski a penalty lap, which allowed the clean-shooting Eckhoff and Koukalová to pass her.

    Coming back on the loop still in third place, Hildebrand was chased down by Finland’s Kaisa Mäkäräinen and Czech Republic’s Veronika Vitkova, who passed her shortly before the finish skiing down into the Holmenkollen arena. Mäkäräinen claimed the third place on the podium (+34.5) with two penalties (0+0+1+1), while Vitkova finished fourth (+36.1) and Hildebrand fifth (+39.0). Mäkäräinen’s teammate Mari Laukkanen, the winner of the preceding sprint and pursuit races in Oslo, finished sixth (+40.0) to round out the most successful weekend of her biathlon career.

    “It has been some hard time the last two weeks,” Mäkäräinen said in the press conference, referring to the passing of Finnish shooting coach Asko Nuutinen. “I’m sure that has somehow affected my results in a negative way, and now yesterday and today I managed to get the power and do some better races. So I am happy with the result today. I just tried to focus on what I do, not thinking about the result that much.”

    “It’s been a very special week with what happened to the Finnish girls, and I am very impressed with Kaisa and Mari,” Eckhoff said at the press conference.

    Halfway through the women’s mass start, Dunklee had been in the lead after shooting clean in both of her prone stages, then held on with the top group on the course, mostly letting Eckhoff dictate the tempo.

    But after also struggling on the range in Saturday’s pursuit race with ten penalties, Dunklee, who recently exhibited remarkably consistent shooting performances, started to miss and incurred three penalties in the first standing stage and another two in the last one (0+0+3+2).

    “I am not entirely sure what has been off in standing this weekend,” Dunklee wrote in her email. “It’s frustrating. Maybe the biathlon gods thought it was time for a dose of humility. My ski form is the best it has been all year.“

    In the end she came to the finish in 20th place, 1:43.8 behind the winner Eckhoff.

    Still, Dunklee managed to retain the 10th position in the World Cup Total Score standings, another career best to end a season that included a silver medal in the mass start at the World Championships and another podium at the World Cup in Kontiolahti in the single mixed relay with Bailey.

    “This is the sort of history making team that every athlete dreams of being part of during their lifetime,” Dunklee reflected on the season. “We have staff who have worked for decades believing this level is possible. Now the door has been opened. I don’t think they will have to wait decades for the next relay medals or World Championships podiums.”

    Results: Men | Women

    Final World Cup Total Score standings: Men | Women

  • Saturday Rundown: Quebec City, Oslo and Lillehammer (Updated x4)

    Saturday Rundown: Quebec City, Oslo and Lillehammer (Updated x4)

    The men’s 15 k classic mass start podium on Saturday at World Cup Finals in Quebec City, with Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (c) in first and Niklas Dyrhaug (l) in second, and Russia’s Alexander Bessmertnykh (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/Twitter)

    FIS Cross-Country World Cup Finals (Quebec City): 10/15 k classic mass starts

    During Saturday’s 15-kilometer classic mass start at World Cup Finals, Canada’s Alex Harvey was in it until the end. But so were Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klæbo and Niklas Dyrhaug, and Russia’s Alexander Bessmertnykh, to name a few.

    Sitting in second with a few hundred meters to go, Harvey was primed to make his move on Dyrhaug, who was leading at the time. But then came 20-year-old Klæbo, the season-long Sprint World Cup champion, who proved to have more left in the tank than anyone else and passed them both to lead into the finishing straight.

    Klæbo took the victory — his first in a World Cup distance race — on a bluebird day under a beating sun in 35:23.7 minutes, 0.6 seconds ahead of Dyrhaug. Bessmertnykh followed another 0.2 seconds back in third (+0.8) just ahead of Harvey in fourth (+1.2).

    Norway’s Sjur Røthe took fifth (+1.7), Switzerland’s Dario Cologna placed sixth (+1.9), and Norway’s Pål Golberg was seventh (+2.5), half a second ahead of another Norwegian Didrik Tønseth in eighth (+3.0). The top nine were within 3.7 seconds of first, with Russia’s Andrey Larkov in ninth.

    Devon Kershaw was the second Canadian in the points on Saturday in 28th (+1:08.4), after breaking a pole and working his way back up from outside the top 60.

    Erik Bjornsen led the U.S. men in 31st (+1:16.8), about a second ahead of Canada’s Graeme Killick in 32nd (+1:17.7).

    Also for the U.S., Matt Gelso finished 37th, Andy Newell 45th, Scott Patterson 46th, Noah Hoffman 48th, Ben Lustgarten 49th, David Norris 50th, Simi Hamilton 54th, Paddy Caldwell 59th, Jack Hegman 62nd, Cole Morgan 64th, and Brian Gregg 69th.

    For Canada, Bob Thompson finished 55th, Knute Johnsgaard 57th, Len Valjas 61st, Russell Kennedy 63rd, Evan Palmer-Charrette 65th, Andy Shields 66th, Jess Cockney 67th, Brian McKeever 68th, Joey Foster 70th, Gareth Williams 72nd, Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier 74th, and Julien Locke 75th.

    The women’s 10 k classic mass start podium on Saturday at World Cup Finals in Quebec City, with Norway’s Marit Bjørgen (c) in first, Norway’s Heidi Weng (l) in second and Finland’s Krista Parmakoski (r) in third. (Photo: FIS Cross-Country/Twitter)

    In the women’s 10 k classic mass start earlier in the day, Norway’s Marit Bjørgen racked up her seventh victory of the season after leading a pack of two other Norwegians and Finland’s Krista Pärmäkoski and holding them off to the finish.

    Bjørgen put a few meters into the foursome as she entered the finishing stretch and held her lead across the line in 24:23.6 minutes. Norway’s Heidi Weng finished 0.6 seconds back in second to lock up the Distance World Cup title, in addition to the Overall World Cup title she secured on Friday.

    Pärmäkoski finished 2.9 seconds after Bjørgen in third, and Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg missed the podium in fourth (+7.8).

    Behind them, Germany’s Nicole Fessel outlasted a large chase pack to place fifth (+18.6), just ahead of Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla in sixth (+19.9) and Anna Haag in seventh (+19.1).

    Sadie Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team led the North American women in 15th (+29.9) after skiing at the back of that chase pack in the final stretches of the race. Also for the U.S., Jessie Diggins placed 27th (+1:06.9) and Sophie Caldwell 38th (+1:56.0).

    Canada was led by Emily Nishikawa in 37th (+1:51.7). Behind her, Cendrine Browne finished 41st (+2:28.2), Dahria Beatty was 53rd, Annika Richardson 54th, Katherine Stewart-Jones 56th, Frederique Vezina 59th, Annika Hicks 60th, Sophie Carrier-Laforte 61st, Andrea Dupont 62nd, Katherine Weaver 63rd, Alannah MacLean 64th, Sadie White 66th, Lisle Compton 67th, Mia Serratore 68th, and Laura Leclair 69th.

    For the U.S. Caitlin Patterson finished 44th, Liz Guiney 45th, Kaitlynn Miller 47th, Chelsea Holmes 48th, Rosie Brennan 50th, Julia Kern 52nd, Erika Flowers 55th, Becca Rorabaugh 57th, and Jennie Bender 58th.

    One day left in the 2016/2017 World Cup season remains, with the women’s and men’s 10/15 k freestyle pursuits on Sunday in Quebec City.

    Results: Men | Women

    World Cup Finals standings (Day 2 of 3): Men | Women

    ***

    Finland’s Mari Laukkanen pointing to the sky in honor of her late shooting coach, after she won the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit on Saturday at the 2017 IBU World Cup in Oslo, Norway. (Photo: IBU)

    IBU World Cup (Oslo, Norway): Women’s and men’s pursuits

    Less than 24 hours after winning her first IBU World Cup on Friday in the women’s 7.5 k sprint, Finland’s Mari Laukkanen immediately capitalized on her ideal position with a start-to-finish victory in Saturday’s 10 k pursuit that was never in doubt, cleaning the first three shooting stages before incurring one penalty in her final standing shooting (0+0+0+1) to cross the line in a time of 29:33.3 minutes.

    In addition to experiencing the most successful weekend of her biathlon career by far, it was an emotional day for the 29-year-old Finn due to a personal reason. Laukkanen spread her arms like wings skiing down the homestretch with a commanding lead, pointing repeatedly to the sky and a black ribbon she wore around her right upper arm, before kneeling in the snow in the finish for a few seconds. With those gestures, she reportedly wanted to commemorate her shooting coach Asko Nuutinen, who passed away Friday after suffering a heart attack during the World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland, a week ago. He was 60 years old.

    “It’s been a really emotional day for me. We have heard really really sad news that last night we lost our longtime shooting coach,” Laukkanen told reporters with a trembling voice in the press conference. “After this it was more or less only about working for him. Working as he has asked me to do for years and years. So I wasn’t thinking about losing or winning today, I was only thinking about him. And I feel really big pleasure that I was able to come to the finish like this, that I can own the victory for him.”

    “I knew it will be difficult after the first victory in my career took me so long,” she added. “And to do it again immediately with good shooting. But as I said I didn’t think about winning or losing today, just doing my work.”

    Finishing 26.5 seconds after her, the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Koukalová reached the finish, moving up from her fourth place starting position with a clean shooting performance (0+0+0+0).

    “I wanted to miss all targets yesterday because I was so tired I didn’t even want to race,” Koukalová confided in the press conference. “It’s difficult to concentrate, three World Cups after the main goal of the season [the World Championships] is too much. Last year it was many times easier… I tried to catch her, but about one kilometer before the finish I saw her far away so I was happy I didn’t have to fight with anyone and was just enjoying the last meters.”

    Despite four penalties (1+1+0+2), France’s Justine Braisaz defended the third place on the podium against a three-person chase group on the last loop (+1:01.4), falling back only one position after having finished the sprint in second.

    “I did not expect such a good place today during the race,” Braisaz commented in the press conference. “Because in the last shooting I completely [failed]. I really wanted to have a clean shooting today, and I did not succeed. So I am happy and surprised, too.”

    Her teammate Anais Bescond who had started the pursuit in third place fell back to 22nd position (+2:53.5) with seven penalties.

    Slovenia’s Teja Gregorin finished fourth with one penalty (+1:08.2), Austria’s Lisa Theresa Hauser shot clean as the only athlete aside from Koukalova on her way to move up from 22nd to fifth place (+1:12.5), while Norway’s Marte Olsbu finished sixth like in the sprint despite three penalties (+1:15.9).

    Unlike in Friday’s sprint race where Germany’s Laura Dahlmeier had still given up a seemingly commanding lead in the sprint World Cup discipline standings to Koukalova, she held onto her lead in the pursuit standings on Saturday, moving up from the 31st starting position to ninth place with a penalty in each of her standing shootings (0+0+1+1, +1:53.8). A 22nd place would have been sufficient to win the “small crystal globe” award in the pursuit. Laukkanen’s teammate Kaisa Mäkäräinen finished 8th  with two penalties in the standing stages (+1:51.2), and thereby claimed the third place in the World Cup pursuit ranking.

    “I knew that I didn’t need to have a perfect race today, just a good one, but that’s always easier said than done,” Dahlmeier told broadcaster ARD after the race. “I am incredibly happy that it worked out and that I could secure myself another small globe… It’s a bit of a weird feeling, standing at the start gate in the middle of the field and the clock ticks and ticks as one athlete after another skis out on the course. And you can only observe how far they have gone and have to wait and be patient, and not make a false start. But then the snow burns, then the chase begins!”

    US Biathlon’s Susan Dunklee experienced an uncharacteristically problematic day on the shooting range and fell back to 37th place (+4:00.2), after starting seventh and less than a minute behind Laukkanen. Dunklee had three misses between two prone stages and seven more in her standing shootings (2+1+4+3) therefore having to ski more than an additional kilometer in the penalty lap.

    “It is a testament to her fighting spirit that she notched the fourth-fastest ski time — one of her best ranks of the season — and never gave up despite suffering a biathlon blowout on the range,” teammate Clare Egan said of Dunklee, according to a US Biathlon press release. “Bad races happen to the best and Susan is no exception, but not everyone fights through till the end no matter what.”

    Egan herself started the pursuit in 34th position and initally was able to make up ground, but then fell back slightly to 41st place (+4:13.9) with four penalties (0+2+0+2).

    “I am satisfied with my race even though the result was not what I was hoping for, and that’s how I would summarize my entire season as well,” Egan said after the final race of her season. “I’ve made a good step forward but my competitors also work hard all summer and we seem to improve at a similar rate.”

    Canada Biathlon’s Julia Ransom moved up to 47th place (+5:04.8) with three penalties (1+0+1+1), after starting in 52nd position.

    [UPDATED] Later on Saturday in the last men’s 12.5 k pursuit of the season, the three best athletes of the season fought throughout the race exchanging in the lead, before they stood next to each other on the range for the final shooting to decide the winner.

    Russia’s Anton Shipulin managed to shoot clean with his elaborate rifle stock in the design of a red dragon, proudly waving to the cameras as he left the arena while his two competitors had to ski into the penalty lap. France’s Martin Fourcade – who had already secured himself the overall World Cup Total Score title as well as the award for the pursuit discipline – was left to duke it out against Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø, the winner of Friday’s sprint.

    On the last big climb before the Holmenkollen arena, Fourcade accelerated with a series of explosive jump-skate steps to decisively gap Bø. He even got fairly close to Shipulin on the finish stretch, who had slowed down a bit to grab a Russian flag before skiing over the line in a time of 32:11.9 minutes with one penalty (0+0+1+0), 5.7 seconds ahead of Fourcade who had incurred two penalties (1+0+0+1). While Fourcade shook hands with Shipulin, Bø came into the finish in third place, 21.6 seconds back and also with two penalties (1+0+0+1).

    “It was a crazy race, but I am happy that I managed to finish first,” Shipulin said in the press conference through a translator. “Tough conditions on the shooting range, I had to really work to concentrate on my shooting. On the last loop I was all alone until I saw Martin chasing me, then I got a little bit scared but I managed to [keep him behind].”

    It was Shipulin’s second win of the season, for which he credited his recently improved shooting performance.

    “It was a really exciting competition with Johannes and Anton,” Fourcade agreed with his rival. “I expected to fight with them for the victory on the last loop, but then Anton was simply stronger in the last shooting. My strategy was to be focused on my technique and skills and not on the results, like I did too often in the past few weeks focusing on records and not the victory.”

    Asked about his blazing attack on the final climb, Fourcade added: “Of course I train for that, but I think a lot of athletes do. I talked to Johannes, it was my revenge for the [2016] World Champs where he did exactly the same to me on the last uphill. But I know how it is, it can be different already tomorrow.”

    “I am happy with a new podium of course,” Bø said in the press conference. “I was not at my best in the skiing today. But I still managed to shoot 18 out of 20. As Martin said it was [annoying] that we did not shoot zero [misses] and could not fight with Anton in the finish, but it was quite interesting and fun to stand there in the last shooting … I expected Martin’s attack the second he did it, but I had no energy to fight with him. That was quite strong.”

    Sweden’s Fredrik Lindström placed fourth with no penalties (+44.7), and was the only man in the field who managed to shoot clean in all four stages.

    “For the podium, I was never really close“, Lindström told the IBU in a post-race interview. “But it was a great day anyway. Four times zero [misses], and especially in the standing stages that makes you climb a lot in the standings. Super happy with my performance.”

    US Biathlon’s Lowell Bailey, who had to start closer to the back of the field in 44th position, almost two minutes behind the leaders based on his sprint result, managed to move up 21 spots in the race despite three penalties (2+0+1+0).

    “I’m happy with the race, considering it started out pretty rough with the first two misses,” Bailey told US Biathlon after placing 23rd (+2:23.3). “I just read the wind wrong and didn’t correct enough. After that, I tried to keep my head in the race and make the best of it. I was happy with my skiing and glad to clean the last stage; this brought me up nine spots and I was able to gain another in the last loop. Now, it’s just one race to go. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

    Shooting quickly, Bailey recorded the ninth-ranked range time of the day and the ninth-fastest last loop.

    His teammate Sean Doherty started 35th but fell back after having to ski six times through the penalty lap (1+3+1+1) to finish 46th (+4:05.6).

    For Sunday’s mass starts as the final races of the 2016/2017 IBU World Cup season, the only qualified North American starters will be Dunklee (currently in 10th position in the World Cup Total Score standings) and Bailey (currently in eighth).

    The women’s season award in the mass start discipline once more will be decided between Germany’s Dahlmeier and Czech Republic’s Koukalova, while Germany’s Simon Schempp will try to defend his narrow lead on Fourcade. But during Saturday’s final loop, the French star did consider saving energy for the final competition.

    “No,” he simply quipped when asked about this in the press conference. “Of course the mass start is important tomorrow because it will decide about the [mass start] crystal globe. But I think today the pursuit was also really important, and you fight for victory and being one of the best athletes. You can’t be satisfied with only a third place when you can claim a second, and I think all athletes in my position would do the same.”

    Results: Women | Men

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    Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby after winning the Norwegian 54 k classic Birkebeinerrennet, part of the Ski Classics series, on Saturday in Lillehammer, Norway. (Photo: Ski Classics)

    54 k Birkebeinerrennet (Rena to Lillehammer, Norway): Part of the Ski Classics series

    [UPDATED] Not even a snowmobile clipping him and sending him tumbling 20 k before the finish could keep Norway’s Martin Johnsrud Sundby from winning the Birkebeinerrennet on Saturday in Norway. Representing Team United Bakeries, Sundby set a high pace from the start and broke the group down to three by 9 k, with Petter Eliassen of Team LeasePlan and Simen Østensen of Team BN Bank sticking with him until about 30 k in the 54 k marathon.

    With about 20 k to go, Sundby collided with a Ski Classics TV production crew snowmobile while trying to double pole in the snowmobile’s tracks. He was OK and went on to win by 48 seconds over Eliassen in second, and smiled about the incident after the finish.

    “It came in with tremendous speed and mowed me down,” Sundby told NRK, according to a loose translation.

    Ski Classics CEO David Nilsson told NRK he didn’t know exactly how that happened and emphasized that it was unacceptable.

    “We always put safety first, but it is a difficult balancing act with the snowmobile at high speed to get TV pictures,” he said, according to a loose translation. “The skiers often ski in the [snowmobile] track and here it happened and somehow the driver missed it.”

    While Sundby pulled out the win in 2:20:53.5 hours, Eliassen took second and Østensen followed another 3.5 seconds later for third place.

    In the women’s race, Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk (Team Santander) pulled out a 4 minute and 15 second win over Sweden’s Britta Johansson Norgren (Lager 157 Ski Team). Japan’s Masako Ishida (Team United Bakeries) was another 48.6 seconds back in third.

    “I’m really happy to win this race,” Kowalczyk said, according to a Ski Classics press release. “Everything went well and the cheering on the course was amazing. I will do the rest of the races in Visma Ski Classics, but this victory was the most important for me. Of course, I want to win again in Årefjällsloppet like I did last year, but to win here in front of this audience means so much to me.”

    Tord Asle Gjerdalen, who finished fourth in the men’s race, and Johansson Norgren continue to lead the overall Ski Classics standings with three races to go. The next stop is the Årefjällsloppet in Sweden on March 25.

    “It was a great race and we kept a high tempo up all the way,” Sundby said, according to the press release. “I was able to use uphills for my advantage and get a gap. I had good skis, the conditions were perfect, and to win here was one of my goals for the season. I have the Norwegian Championships in two weeks, and I haven’t counted out the option of going to Finland for the Visma Ski Classics finale.”

    Results