Nathan Smith and Rosanna Crawford celebrate their second-place finish in the World Cup single mixed relay in Ostersund, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
In the first race of the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup season, Rosanna Crawford and Nathan Smith reached the podium, placing second in the single mixed relay in Östersund, Sweden. Three seasons after the event was introduced, Crawford and Smith made history for Canada on Sunday. It was Canada’s first relay podium, and it was also Crawford’s first time in the top three at the World Cup.
“It feels amazing,” Crawford said. “I feel so lucky to share the podium with my teammate who I’ve trained with for so long.”
On the same day, Canada’s four-person mixed relay — Julia Ransom, Zina Kocher, Scott Gow, and Brendan Green — finished ninth for Biathlon Canada’s best result in the event in four years. The U.S. placed 10th with Susan Dunklee, Annelies Cook, Leif Nordgren, and Lowell Bailey.
Meanwhile, some 1,000 kilometers north in Kuusamo, Finland, the International Ski Federation (FIS) Cross Country World Cup season kicked off with the Ruka Triple last Friday. In the classic sprint that day, U.S. Ski Team veteran Andy Newell rocketed to fourth, his best World Cup result in three seasons, and his teammate Ida Sargent placed seventh in the women’s sprint.
On Saturday, Canadian Alex Harvey placed second in the 10 k freestyle for his first-ever podium before Christmas. In the women’s 5 k freestyle, Americans Sadie Bjornsen and Jessie Diggins took 14th and 16th, respectively, to put themselves in 11th and 19th overall going into the final pursuit.
The first Nordic Combined World Cup of the season in Kuusamo was ultimately canceled after a string of postponements due to wind. They’ll start the season next weekend in Lillehammer, Norway.
Rosanna Crawford with coach Roddy Ward after placing a career-best fifth in the IBU World Cup 10 k pursuit on Sunday in Hochfilzen, Austria. “Such a fun race today, I moved from 34th to 5th for a new personal best with 19-for-20 shooting,” Crawford wrote on Facebook. (Photo: Chris Lindsay)
While Roddy Ward, biathlon Canada national team coach, was referring to athlete Rosanna Crawford when he said, “Way more is possible,” it’s easily a sentiment that could be applied to the rest of the international nordic circuits after this past weekend of racing.
The weekend’s racing began Friday with the IBU World Cup 7.5/10 k sprint in Hochfilzen, Austria, that saw Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway and Kaisa Mäkäräinen of Finland claim victories in their respective races. American Tim Burke turned in the top North American finish after placing 13th, while teammate Susan Dunklee paced 29th for the women.
Tim Burke on his way to 25th in the IBU World Cup 12.5 k pursuit on Sunday in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)
The action continued in Hochfilzen on Saturday with the men’s 4 x 7.5 k and the women’s 4 x 6 k relays. Russia proved dominant in the men’s race, winning by roughly 20 seconds. Canada finished a team-best sixth place while the U.S. team was lapped after a combination a poor starting position and sub-par skis. In the women’s relay, Germany proved as strong as the Russian men, topping their field by over 20 seconds. The Canadian women were unable to match their male counterparts, however, and finished 11th.
In the final day of IBU World Cup racing, one Canadian athlete demonstrated what exactly was possible. Crawford, who started the 10 k pursuit in 34th, wanted to improve her position, but when she crossed the line for a career-best fifth place it was apparent improving her position was just the beginning. On the men’s side, Burke was the top North American in 25th position.
The weekend also brought FIS Cross Country World Cup action to Davos, Switzerland. Norwegians Therese Johaug and Maritn Johnsrud Sundby won Saturday’s 10/15 k classic interval starts. A trio of Americans made up of Liz Stephen, Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen went 20-21-22 in the 10 k to give the Americans three skiers in the top 30. Canadian Emily Nishikawa placed 29th for her best-ever World Cup finish. In the 15 k, Canadian Alex Harvey also found success, skiing to 17th, which he said was one of his best distance performances at altitude.
In Sunday’s sprint, Ida Sargent returned to the spotlight after placing 16th, while teammates Kikkan Randall and Sophie Caldwell joined her in the top 30 after finishing in 20th and 22nd positions. On the men’s side, Canadian Lenny Valjasreturned to form to place 13th while American Andy Newell placed 15th.
Andy Newell (l) of the USST trails eventual 3rd place finisher Erik Brandsdal of Norway (r) and Alexey Petukhov of Russia (c) who eventually finished fourth in the 1.3 k freestyle sprint in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
The real story of the day, however, was that Norway continued its winning streak with both its men and women sweeping Sunday’s races and earning 10 of 12 podium positions in Davos.
Not just over the mountains from from Davos, Livigno, Italy hosted the La Sgambeda Marathon. While the women’s 42 k freestyle was dominated by Riitta-Liisa Roponen of Finland, American Holly Brooks was able to hold on for an impressive second place.
Back across the home front, NorAm racing continued in Rossland, British Columbia despite warm conditions and a lack of snow. Both races were classic distance races with 7.5/11 k on Saturday and 11/15 k on Sunday, and Canadian Alysson Marshall and American Kris Freeman topped their respective fields each day.
Last Thursday, the FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup opened in Park City, Utah, where Taylor Fletcher posted the two best American performances in fifth and eighth place.
The IPC World Cup also opened last Wednesday in Vuokatti, Finland, with Canadian Mark Arendz taking silver in his first race on Thursday: the 15 k standing biathlon. Two days later, his Canadian Para Nordic teammates Chris Klebl and Brittany Hudakboth earned bronze in the 10 k sit-ski and 5 k standing, respectively. Also on Saturday, American Oksana Masters captured a career-best World Cup silver in the 5 k sit-ski, and Andy Soule just missed the podium in the 10 k sit-ski (behind Klebl) in fourth.
On Sunday, Masters carried her momentum to win gold in the women’s sit-ski sprint, becoming the first American female Paralympic nordic skier to do so since the early 2000s. On Tuesday, she took her first-ever international biathlon silver in the biathlon sprint.
Kikkan Randall (U.S. Ski Team) celebrates her victory in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. The American superstar won yet another freestyle sprint in preparation for the Sochi Olympics in February. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
It was a spectacular weekend for sprinting as the World Cup continued in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, with both an individual and team sprint. FasterSkier was on site at the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Midway, Utah, as well as the biathlon World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany. Action in the nordic ski world also took place at the Nordic Combined World Cup in Chaux-Neuve, France.
Canadian Dasha Gaiazova just missed the semifinals for 13th overall. American Sophie Caldwell was the only other North American to make the rounds after qualifying in 25th and finishing 15th.
The World Cup men’s classic team sprint podium in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic: (from left to right) runner-up Norway I, winner Russia I, and Norway II in third. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
On the men’s side it was Sergey Ustiugov of Russia who came out on top in the freestyle sprint. He was followed by Italian Federico Pellegrino and Russia’s Alexey Petukhov, respectively.
American Andy Newell qualified second to start off the day but was unable to capitalize on his previous speed in the finals and finished in 17th. Teammate Simi Hamilton, who also qualified for the finals, finished 20th overall.
The Russians were once again triumphant in Sunday’s team sprint, with the team of Maxim Vylegzhanin and Nikita Kriukov winning the men’s competition over Norway I and Norway II. The win set the Russians up as the favorites going into the Olympics that will be hosted in their home country next month.
Newell and Hamilton placed fifth overall for one of the best U.S. men’s team sprint results in recent memory.
Norway had some redemption in women’s team sprint with Østberg and Maiken Caspersen Falla. They bested the Finnish and Russian teams, who placed second and third, respectively.
With Randall and Sadie Bjornsen recovering this Sunday, Caldwell and Ida Sargent stepped up to that challenge and skied an impressive race. They went on to place sixth in the final.
Reese Hanneman (APU) celebrates his win in the classic sprint at the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Midway, Ut. The win marks Hanneman’s first national championship. (Photo: U.S. Ski Team – Tom Kelly)
The 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships wrapped up last Friday with classic sprints. In the women’s race, Russian Natalja Naryshkina of CXC won the sprint over Rosie Brennan (APU) and Nichole Bathe (UAF). Brennan was crowned national champion as she was the first American in the race.
Reese Hanneman (APU), who won the qualification round and every one of his heats that followed, dominated the men’s race. He was followed by Erik Bjornsen (APU/U.S. Ski Team) and Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess (Bend Endurance Academy). Hanneman made the podium in every race in which he competed, and is now the overall SuperTour leader.
This weekend also marked the end of the Canadian Olympic Team Trials in Canmore, Alberta. Based on the results from the week’s results, Canada will name two men (one distance ski athlete and one sprint skier), and two women (one distance ski athlete and one sprint skier). The four athletes will be named at Cross Country Canada’s Olympic Team announcement on January 14 in Calgary, Alberta.
As if the weekend wasn’t busy enough, the women’s 15 k individual took place in Ruhpolding, Germany, on Friday as part of the fifth week of the IBU World Cup in which Canadian Rosanna Crawford finished 26th and teammate Maggie Heinicke crossing the line in 30th. The top American finisher was Susan Dunklee who finished 41st.
The men raced in their 20 k individual on Saturday in Ruhpolding. Lowell Bailey was the only North American to place in the top 30, finishing 25th. Scott Perras was the top Canadian in 36th.
Todd Lodwick in the 2014 Olympic Team Trials for Nordic Combined at Utah Olympic Park, Park City Cross Country. Lodwick suffered an injury in France and is now going through rehab in Park City, Utah. (Photo: Sarah Brunson/U.S. Ski Team)
Dunklee was the top North American in Saturday’s 10 k pursuit, placing 33rd. In the men’s 12.5 k pursuit, Canadian Nathan Smith placed 16th with Bailey not far behind in 21st.
In the world of nordic combined, American Todd Lodwick crashed in Friday’s provisional jump in Chaux-Neuve, France, sustaining an injury to his shoulder. He immediately flew to Park City, Utah, where he is currently receiving further evaluation and taking part in rehab before next month’s Olympics.
The next day, the World Cup races continued. Billy Demong finished 18th in Saturday’s HS 10 k and Bryan Fletcher placed 28th. In Sunday’s team sprint, the two Americans teamed up for seventh.
FIS Cross Country World Cup, Nove Mesto, Czech Republic
The men’s classic sprint podium in Liberec: 1. Teodor Peterson (SWE), 2. Emil Jonsson (SWE). 3. Pal Golberg (NOR). Photo: Nordic Focus/FIS Cross Country.
After the drama — and exhaustion — of the Tour de Ski, most of the seven-race series’ participants took some much-needed rest to try to get ready for World Championships and replenish their ATP supplies. Instead of the distance skiers, sprinters were in the spotlight at this weekend’s World Cup competitions in Liberec, Czech Republic. With only one real sprint in the Tour de Ski this year, and a long break over Christmas, they were itching to get back to racing.
In the men’s classic sprint Teodor Peterson of Sweden took the win, reprising his place on the circuit as the man to beat. Teammate Emil Jønsson was second; as has been true so often in the last two seasons, the two tall Swedes will likely be dueling for the overall Sprint Cup title. However, Sweden couldn’t follow up on that success in the team sprint, with the Russians instead taking the victory on Sunday. Andy Newell (USA) finished sixth and Lenny Valjas (CAN) tenth, particularly impressive because Valjas completed the entire Tour de Ski. He was the top finisher in the sprint to have done so.
In the women’s sprint Mona-Liisa Mahlvaleto of Finland got her first win of the season, while Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland continued to roll after her Tour victory and won a photo finish for second. The Canadians were impressive, with all three women qualifying for the heats and Dasha Gaiazova taking a career-best fourth place finish after losing the same photo finish with Kowalczyk and Maiken Caspersen Falla of Norway; Perianne Jones was ninth. In the next day Falla and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg won the team sprint, while two young Americans, Sadie Bjornsen and Ida Sargent, teamed up for seventh place.
Biathlon returned to the site of 2012 World Championships, and things in Ruhpolding looked very similar to last March. Martin Fourcade of France was on a roll, anchoring the winning men’s relay and winning both the pursuit and mass start. While Miriam Gossner of Germany, a newcomer to the winners’ circle this year, powered her way to a sprint win under difficult conditions, Tora Berger of Norway rose to the top in the mass start, just as she did at World Championships. Both Fourcade and Berger had the lead in their World Cup total scores coming into this weekend, and they still have it going out.
It was a good weekend for the North American teams, too, starting with the men’s relay where the U.S. was in second place after two legs, thanks to excellent performances by Lowell Bailey and Leif Nordgren; despite fading in the second half, it was a good effort by the team. In the sprints, Scott Perras of Canada led the way with the first top-ten finish of his career, while Annelies Cook (USA) and Scott Gow (Canada) also had career-bests in 26th and 29th.
In nordic combined action in Chaux-Neuve, France, Taylor Fletcher led the U.S. in tenth in the large hill competition before teaming up with brother Bryan to place seventh in the team event.
It feels like ages ago, but U.S. Cross Country Championships just finished this week, with Sadie Bjornsen and Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess winning the skate sprints to wrap up the week of racing. After that excitement, as well as Canadian junior/U23 trials, the domestic race circuits were off for the weekend.
Russian Maxim Vylegzhanin (bib 8) on his way to 15 k classic pursuit victory in the second stage of the 2012/2013 Tour de Ski on Sunday in Oberhof, Germany. It was his first World Cup stage win. Photo: Marcel Hilger.
Germany knows how to put on a ski race, and the country delivered this weekend, hosting both the first two stages of arguably skiing’s biggest circus, the Tour de Ski, as well as an entertaining arena-based biathlon relay.
The Tour kicked off in Oberhof, where Kikkan Randall of the United States and Petter Northug of Norway won the opening prologues. While Northug plans to make it the first victory on his way to the overall title, Randall’s position is less certain; in the pursuit the next day, Polish multi-time Tour champion Justyna Kowalcyk put a big gap on the field, and Randall and the rest of the women will be battling for a podium position. Currently, Therese Johaug of Norway and Anne Kylloenen of Finland sit in second and third. The men’s race is closer; although Northug was likewise unable to stay in the leader’s bib, he’s still right in the mix. Russians Maxim Vyleghzanin and Alexander Legkov put their stamp on the pursuit and currently lead the standings with Northug in third, just 17 seconds out.
While Randall’s prologue win was notable for the U.S. and she now leads the three American women in the top 30 of the standings, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for all the North Americans. Jessie Diggins crashed in the prologue and then Kris Freeman had a much more devastating accident in the pursuit, where he collected an ugly contusion. He says he’ll continue racing, but it’s unclear how things will go. Noah Hoffman had a bad prologue and Andy Newell had a rough pursuit; Canada’s Devon Kershaw just feels terrible. For Canada the bright spot is Alex Harvey, who wasn’t even sure he’d complete the Tour but now sits in fifth, just six seconds behind Northug. Ivan Babikov is also having a good showing.
Meanwhile, biathletes competed in their own Germany circus on Saturday, showing up to a soccer stadium in Gelsenkirchen packed with 50,000 fans (truly, only the Germans could think of this). Ten two-person, man-woman teams competed in several events, and were accompanied by sideshows like a celebrity shooting competition and Magdalena Neuner doing a trapeze descent from the roof. While the Tour is leaving Germany for Switzerland, the Oberhof volunteers have to stay on top of their game because the IBU Cup has arrived there and biathlon racing will begin on Thursday.
Most domestic skiers were resting up or training for U.S. Nationals, which kicks off in Soldier Hollow, Utah, this week, and if they raced at all they likely competed in small, local races as tune-ups. American junior biathletes, however, had a full schedule with three races in Mount Itasca, Minnesota, for the World Youth and Junior Championships team trials. Sean Doherty (Vermont Collegiate Biathlon) and Anna Kubek (Mount Itasca) swept all three races and headline the roster for the Championships, which will take place in late January in Obertilliach, Austria.
![Nathan Smith and Rosanna Crawford celebrate their second-place finish in the World Cup single mixed relay in Oestersund, Sweden. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/11/Group29112015cm3.jpg")
![Rosanna Crawford with coach Roddy Ward after placing a career-best fifth in the IBU World Cup 10 k pursuit on Sunday in Hochfilzen, Austria. “Such a fun race today, I moved from 34th to 5th for a new personal best with 19-for-20 shooting,” Crawford wrote on Facebook. (Photo: Chris Lindsay)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/12/Rosanna-Crawford-with-coach-Roddy-Ward.Such-a-fun-race-today-I-moved-from-34th-to-5th-for-a-new-personal-best-with-19-for-20-shooting1.jpg")
![Tim Burke on his way to 25th in the IBU World Cup 12.5 k pursuit on Sunday in Hochfilzen, Austria. (Photo: USBA/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/12/Burke14122014cm150-1.jpg")
![Andy Newell (l) of the USST trails eventual 3rd place finisher Erik Brandsdal of Norway (r) and Alexey Petukhov of Russia (c) who eventually finished fourth in the 1.3 k freestyle sprint in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/12/davos14-386.jpeg")
![Kikkan Randall (U.S. Ski Team) celebrates her victory in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. The American superstar won yet another freestyle sprint in preparation for the Sochi Olympics in February. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/01/71385bfc1adbe44c50a65ea4a40d9cf0.jpg")
![The World Cup men's classic team sprint podium in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic: (from left to right) runner-up Norway I, winner Russia I, and Norway II in third. (Photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/01/mens-podium.jpg")
![Reese Hanneman (APU) celebrates his win in the classic sprint at the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Midway, Ut. The win marks Hanneman's first national championship.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/01/D7A4348_social.jpg")
![Todd Lodwick in the 2014 Olympic Team Trials for Nordic Combined at Utah Olympic Park, Park City Cross Country. Lodwick suffered an injury in France and is now going through rehab in Park City, Ut. (Photo: Sarah Brunson/U.S. Ski Team)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/01/IMG_0727-L.jpg")
