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.
Fully Fischer: Caldwell Breaks Through in Oberstdorf // Fischer Athletes Top Podiums at US Nationals
It was a historic day in Oberstdorf for US Ski Team member Sophie Caldwell as she skied to a victory in the 4th stage of the Tour de Ski on Tuesday. This was her first World Cup win, although not her first time on the podium, (3rd in the 2014 Skate Sprint in Lahti) and she was incredibly pleased with the result. Despite challenging weather conditions, and a soft and slushy man-made course, Caldwell was able to stay upright on the tricky downhills and really push on the uphills, staying in the pack until the final flats where she outsprinted Heidi Weng and won by a lunge at the line. Caldwell’s win is only the 3rd World Cup victory by an American woman, and the first win in a classic sprint.
Fischer Athletes have made a great showing at US Nationals this week in Hougton, Michigan, snagging five of the twelve podium spots in the first two races of the weeklong event. Caitlin Patterson skied to a victory in the 10k Classic on Sunday, winning by over 30 seconds and sharing the podium with Chelsea Holmes who came in third. Patterson returned the next day to hammer in the skate sprint races and claim another spot on the podium in third. In the men’s Skate Sprint races, Reese Hanneman notched the fastest qualifier time and held his position throughout the day, eventually sharing the podium with Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess who finished second.
Therese Johaug of Norway celebrates her win in the 10 k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy – and being the first woman to beat Marit Bjørgen in this edition of the Tour de Ski. (Photo: Val di Fiemme/www.fiemmeworldcup.com)
After skiing together and taking turns leading through the first 9 k, the final stretch to the finish became a three-way thriller between the usual suspects among the Norwegian women where Therese Johaug eked out everything to beat Marit Bjørgen to the line.
For Johaug, winning the sprint finish in the 10 k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy, was a huge victory in a Tour de Ski that has been a bit off for the defending champion. Johaug crossed the line in 33:10.4, just over 1 second ahead of Bjørgen and 5.5 seconds ahead of Heidi Weng in third place.
“I was determined to stick with Marit (Bjørgen) up the last hill, and I knew I had great skis, and my double-poling was really strong toward the end of the race,” Johaug said to NRK reporters after the race. “It was amazingly fun to win today. It feels so good after struggling a bit so far in the Tour de Ski. Now I felt my body was with me, and I love these courses here in Val di Fiemme.”
The podium trio had a huge gap to Aino-Kaisa Saarinen of Finland, who clocked in 1:13.1 behind Johaug. Liz Stephen delivered a strong fifth place, 1:39.6 behind Johaug; Polish star and classic specialist Justyna Kowalczyk was disappointed in seventh place.
A clan with a plan
The Norwegian trio on course, with Marit Bjoergen in the lead. (Photo: Val di Fiemme/www.fiemmeworldcup.com)
The Norwegian women, who have been dominating the podium so far in this Tour de Ski as well as in the World Cup season as a whole, had a plan prior to the sixth stage today.
Bjørgen’s plan was to conserve energy and prepare for the final stage up Alpe Cermis tomorrow. Johaug, who has been struggling more this Tour, was told to hold back – at least on the first lap. She managed to stick to the plan exactly one lap. Two meters into the second lap, Johaug was in the lead and set the pace. And the trio already had a huge gap on the rest of the field.
But group plans had to go out the window because of the presence of sprint “preems”: bonus seconds awarded to each of the first skiers across the line at two intermediate points during the race.
The time didn’t mean much to Bjørgen, who already had a roughly two-minute lead in the Tour de Ski after winning every single previous stage. But each second counted dearly for Weng and Johaug. Before today’s stage Weng sat in second place and Johaug in third, but Johaug is an expert at the final stage climbing up the Alpe Cermis. She wanted to narrow the gap to Weng so she could be sure of passing her; Weng wanted to widen the gap to prevent that from happening. It all came down to the bonus seconds.
At the 5 k mark, Weng was in the lead, 0.4 seconds ahead of Johaug and 0.8 seconds to Bjørgen. Approaching the sprint, Bjørgen predictably let Weng and Johaug fight for the bonus seconds. Johaug had the longest toe across the sprint line, collected the 15 bonus seconds and reduced the overall gap to Weng by 3 seconds. Weng cashed in 12 seconds and Bjørgen received 10 seconds in the sprint.
Thriller sprint finish
Johaug reacting to having won the sprint finish. (Photo: Val di Fiemme/www.fiemmeworldcup.com)
Bjørgen pulled the group of three into the final kilometer, looking confident going into the finish. She turned on the turbo on the last hill, but lost the sprint finish to Johaug after, perhaps, a tactical mistake. Johaug was able to stay in Bjørgen’s draft all the way down the hill, and was still tucking behind her as Bjørgen started double-poling. When Bjørgen decided to switch tracks before entering the finishing lanes, she handed Johaug the opportunity to pass her.
In almost every other time the pair has faced off in a sprint finish, Bjørgen has won – so it may not have seemed like a big deal. But Johaug turned it up to an extra gear and pulled away from her older teammate, stopping Bjørgen’s Tour de Ski winning streak.
It wasn’t an accident.
“I worked yesterday with my coach on my classical technique,” Johaug said in a FIS press release. “I knew Marit would be strong on the last hill but I could follow her.”
The effort was taxing: Johaug collapsed in the snow before sitting up and screaming in victory. She was excited and almost as surprised as anyone else.
“Shit, I’ve got more speed than her,” Johaug told NRK she thought as she drew even with the Tour leader.
Weng stuck with Bjørgen and Johaug all the way to the finish chutes, but had to settle for third place for the stage. She is still solidly in second place overall, and with a good day tomorrow, her 39 second lead to Johaug could be enough to defend that second place to the top of the monster hill Alpe Cermis.
It was a tough day for Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland. The four-time Tour de Ski champion bled more time to the leaders, and is now more than seven minutes back from another title. (Photo: Val di Fiemme/www.fiemmeworldcup.com)
Neither Saarinen nor Stephen of them was able to make up time on the final kilometer.
It was by far the best result all season for Saarinen, who struggled with a foot injury in the off-season.
“This was no longer a step, but a leap forward,” she told Finland’s Helsingen Sanomat newspaper. “I have received what I went for… It is a pretty good performance. Yes, it is on the way up and I’m beginning to seriously think about properly profiting at Falun [World Championships].”
As for Steven, on paper it was her best classic result yet. (With less than a full World Cup field present at such a late stage in the Tour – for example teammate Sadie Bjornsen dropped out of the seven-stage event – the race might have been less competitive than some others. On the other hand, the Norwegians didn’t seem to treat it that way, and Saarinen, like today, finished fourth in this event at the 2014 Olympics.)
“I had great skis today. It’s so warm and it was perfect klister skiing out there,” Stephen in a USSA press release. “These courses really suit the way I ski, steep hills and long hills. I really liked being in Val di Fiemme with the memories of World Championships.”
Stephen beat Norway’s Ragnhild Haga by 10.9 seconds, and has thereby made herself a serious threat to Haga’s fourth place in the overall Tour de Ski. Stephen, known as one of the best climbers on the circuit, sits less than a minute behind Haga in sixth place in the overall standings.
“It’s my favorite event of the whole year,” Stephen said in the press release. “It’s just you and the mountain, the gates and the people. I won’t sleep much tonight because I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk, a four-time Tour winner who has dominated the classic ski stages in previous editions of the event, finished in seventh place, 1:47.2 behind Johaug. She sits in fifth overall, but more than seven minutes back from Bjørgen. It’s a huge change from previous seasons, and even Kowalczyk can’t put her finger on what went wrong.
She initially tried to go with the Norwegian trio, and indeed lasted almost a kilometer longer than every other woman. But then she was dropped, and after a few more kilometers could not hold onto fourth place.
“At some point, I disconnected the electricity,” she told the Polish media. “Then I learned about what it’s like to be a skier on tour with fatigue.”
She slipped through the field; by the finish, she looked crushed and despondent.
“It’s hard for me to analyze at the moment the cause of my poor performance skiing,” she told Eurosport Poland. “If it wasn’t the Tour de Ski, I might not have finished. There was even talk about that. What kept me alive was only thinking how foolish it would be to abandon when there is still a chance of a good placing in the event. My goal is to finish the Tour de Ski.”
Marit Bjoergen (NOR) going for the 5k classic Tour de Ski stage win in Cortina-Toblach, Italy (ITA). (photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
Norway’s Marit Bjørgen was untouchable again, for the fourth day in a row as she won the 5k classic in Toblach, Italy, and widening her overall gap to 1:34.3.
Bjørgen doesn’t look like she’s planning to slow down. She doesn’t feel that way either, as she tells reporters after the race.
“I don’t really feel particularly worn down after these four races, so that’s good,” Bjørgen said to Norwegian TV station NRK after the race.
Bjørgen had nearly 20 seconds down to Polish archrival Justyna Kowalczyk over the fast 5k course. She was over 10 seconds faster than fellow national team racer Therese Johaug, and 13 seconds ahead of Heidi Weng.
But while reporters and commentators hold Bjørgen as the likely overall winner barring illness or accidents, Bjørgen still doesn’t take anything for granted.
“We are still three races from the top of Alpe Cermis. A lot can happen, and a lot has happened in the last races before,” she said.
“But I’m in good shape and I feel like I’m in a great flow. It all feels so easy, and I haven’t really felt very tired after any of the events in the Tour so far,” said Bjørgen, pleasantly understating the facts.
Sadie Bjornsen was eighth in the 5k classic, earning herself some honorable mention from the Norwegian TV commentators as she progressed through the course.
“Sadie Bjornsen is one to watch among the American girls. She’s done surprisingly well throughout the Tour this year,” they noted during the event.
Bjornsen was excited about her performance as well, as she told FasterSkier in a phone call after the race, “I love 5 k classics, and I was just going to go out there and lay it all out. … I think that I started more aggressive than I maybe ever have. I was constantly getting splits on the course that I was two seconds off from the lead, four seconds off from the lead, so I knew it was a tight race.”
Sweden’s Emma Wiken was close to breaking into the Norwegian domination with her fourth place today, and Justyna Kowalczyk was fifth after posting the fastest time at the 1.7k mark.
At the end of the day, this leaves the usual three Norwegians on the overall podium after four of seven stages: Bjørgen in first, with Weng in second place, 1:34.3 behind, and Johaug in third place, 2:16.5 behind Bjørgen.
All in awe of the queen
Her fellow national team racers are impressed and full of admiration of Bjørgen.
Tour de Ski title defender Therese Johaug, who was third in the 5k today and delivered a much stronger performance today than in the sprints yesterday, has already surrendered the overall title to Bjørgen.
Therese Johaug (NOR) on her way to third place. (photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
“It’s incredible to watch her ski. She’s incredibly strong. There is nothing we can do about her now. Mom’s in charge,” Johaug said, referring to the 34-year-old Bjørgen as the mother of the team.
Third-place finisher in today’s 5k, Weng is also impressed with her teammate.
“I can’t wait for Bjørgen to be standing at the top of the podium after the final stage,” Weng said to NRK after the race.
“She’s deserved that more than anyone I know,” Weng added.
As for her own performances, which have landed her in a solid second place overall, Weng is more than content.
“I’m just enjoying myself out there, and I’m gaining quite a bit on Therese (Johaug) at the end of the race, so that’s promising,” Weng said after the 5k.
“I’m a bit slow off the start, but I build a lot of steam toward the end. I was really ready to do another lap,” she said with a smile.
Ingvild Flugstad Østberg is now fourth overall in the Tour de Ski, but leaves the Tour after today’s 5k. Her main goal with the Tour was to put in a request for a spot on the relay team that will represent Norway at the 2015 FIS World Championships in Falun next month. She certainly has made herself a hot candidate.
“I feel like I’ve done a lot of good races lately, and I still feel like I have room to improve. But it’s a bit sad to leave here now, it’s so fun to race!”
When Østberg leaves the Tour, Justyna Kowalczyk moves up to fourth place overall, but almost three and a half minute back from Bjørgen. The Norwegian women’s dominance is no coincidence. It’s a combination of endurance, experience, strength, technique and a deep team that lifts the overall performance. That foundation has been laid over years.
Bjørgen willing to sacrifice Falun for Tour de Ski
In the nine-year history of Tour de Ski, Bjørgen has collected nine stage victories, and 21 Tour de Ski podiums. She has 29 Olympic and World Championship medals, she has won the overall World Cup three times, the sprint World Cup four times and the distance World Cup twice. But she has never won the overall Tour de Ski.
Today Bjørgen touched her own Tour de Ski record: The only female skier to have four stage wins in one and the same tour. She did that in the 2011/2012-season, when she was second overall behind Kowalczyk.
After the sprint victory at Val Müstair, Switzerland, yesterday, Bjørgen told reporters she is willing to sacrifice potential medals at the World Championships in Falun, Sweden, next month for the overall Tour de Ski 2015 victory.
“I’m taking that chance just by being here,” Bjørgen said to NRK prior to the 5k in Toblach.
It is no secret that seven races in nine days can take a toll on the body, wear skiers down and leave them susceptible to illness and injuries. It has happened to numerous Tour de Ski athletes before, and several skiers are sitting out the Tour just to avoid the exposure – including Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla.
Therese Johaug (NOR), Marit Bjoergen (NOR) and Heidi Weng (NOR), (l-r) share the podium of Wednesday’s 5k classic stage in Cortina-Toblach (ITA) during the Tour de Ski. (photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)
Marit Bjørgen racing to an opening victory in the 2015 Tour de Ski in Saturday’s 3.3 k freestyle prologue. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)
Marit Bjørgen won the women’s 3.3-kilometer Tour de Ski prologue in Oberstdorf, Germany, on Saturday with an impressive 10.7-second margin down to Norwegian teammate Heidi Weng in second place.
The Norwegian women did as they have for most of the season: they split the podium and then some. The top four spots went to the Norwegians, with Bjørgen, Weng, Ragnhild Haga and Therese Johuag. Then Germany’s Nicole Fessel squeezed herself into fifth place, followed by Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg in sixth place. Sadie Bjornsen and Liz Stephen both delivered impressive top-10 finishes, placing seventh and eighth, respectively.
Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland was 10th in the prologue after snowplowing herself out of the podium contention. Although Kowalczyk has a large disadvantage after the prologue, she is definitely not out of the competition, as classic is her strength and the prologue was skate. Kowalczyk has won the overall Tour de Ski four times, has 14 stage wins, and is the most-winning female skier in Tour de Ski history.
Bjørgen has won 29 Olympic and World Championship medals, but has yet to win Tour de Ski overall. Saturday was a good start. She skied confidently, making time on her competitors on descents, accelerating through the dreaded turns, and carrying her speed over the bumps. The star cruised into her seventh Tour de Ski stage win with a good buffer to her competitors.
“I tried to hold back a little on the first lap, and then ski harder on the second lap, which I managed to do as planned,” Bjørgen said to Norwegian TV station NRK after the race.
Podium finishers from the women’s 3.3 k prologue in Oberstdorf, Germany: all Norwegian. Marit Bjørgen (c) won by 10 seconds over Heidi Weng (l), with Ragnhild Haga two more seconds back in third. (Photo: FIS Cross Country/Instagram)
Heidi Weng couldn’t contain her excitement for her own second place, which is her best World Cup finish to date.
“I’ve never skied this well in a skate race,” Weng said to NRK after the prologue. “I don’t understand what’s happening with my skating. I’ve done three World Cup skate races and I’ve been on the podium three times. And I get to start ahead of Therese [Johaug] tomorrow. That’s really good, then I will try to hang onto her for as long as I can in the pursuit. It’s a dream start for my Tour de Ski.”
“I felt like I skied slow,” she continued, marveling that the opposite was true. “The plan was to start slower and speed up on the second lap, but I got so stiff on the first lap, so when I got to the big hill on the second lap, I could just think about digging, digging, digging to get to the top and then not crash on the downhill.”
But just as much as Weng is happy about her own finish, she’s stoked about teammate Ragnhild Haga, who delivered her first ever World Cup podium finish. Haga was only 2 seconds behind Weng, and a second faster than Therese Johaug in fourth place. For Haga, the podium was not something she expected.
“I surprised myself today,” she told NRK. “I’ve surprised myself a lot this season. Just getting to the Tour de Ski is a bonus.”
However, while Haga is more than satisfied with her third place, she didn’t feel great during the race.
“I didn’t feel so good after the start, I felt a little slow on the first lap, and I was very stiff on the last lap,” Haga said, noting that this result means a lot to her.
With five bonus seconds awarded for first place in the prologue and a 10.2-second margin second place, Bjørgen starts 15.7 seconds ahead of Weng, 22.2 seconds ahead of Ragnhild Haga and more than 28 seconds ahead of arch rival Therese Johaug in the 10 k classic pursuit on Sunday, the second of seven Tour de Ski races.
But despite the buffer, Bjørgen is far from sure that she will win the pursuit. 10 k classic is Johaug’s specialty, and 28 seconds may not be enough to keep Johaug behind.
“The big challenge is that tomorrow’s race is a pursuit, and my lead can narrow very quickly,” Bjørgen said. “I have to hope for good conditions and fast skis.”
Looking back at the mini tour in Lillehammer, Norway, in December, it came down to a thriller sprint finish between Bjørgen and Johaug, despite Bjørgen starting the race with a 32-second lead. At the finish, Bjørgen won by 0.6 seconds.
On Sunday, Bjørgen has four seconds less of a lead for the same distance and technique. However, Bjørgen feels better now than she did earlier this season.
“The last few days and during Christmas, I’ve felt better and skiing fast has been easier than it was in the beginning of the season,” Bjørgen said to NRK.
From Oberstdorf, the tour moves to Val Müstair in Switzerland for freestyle sprints on Wednesday, Jan. 6. The next day features 5/10 k classic races in Toblach, Italy, followed by 15/35 k freestyle pursuits from Cortina to Toblach on Thursday, Jan. 8.
On Jan. 9, the skiers get a second rest day before the final two stages in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
On Saturday, Jan. 10, there are 10 k classic mass starts for both men and women in Val di Fiemme, and on Jan. 11, the Tour concludes with the brutal 9 k skate pursuit for both men and women up Alpe Cermis.
![sophie caldwell](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/01/Caldwell160105mf115-e1452125247580-729x600.jpg")
![Therese Johaug of Norway celebrates her win in the 10 k classic mass start in Val di Fiemme, Italy - and being the first woman to beat Marit Bjørgen in this edition of the Tour de Ski. (Photo: Val di Fiemme/www.fiemmeworldcup.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/Johaug_Bjoergen_Weng_Arrivo1.jpg")
![The Norwegian trio on course, with Marit Bjoergen in the lead. (Photo: Val di Fiemme/www.fiemmeworldcup.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/Bjoergen_Johaug_Weng.jpg")
![Johaug reacting to having won the sprint finish. (Photo: Val di Fiemme/www.fiemmeworldcup.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/Johaug_Bjoergen_colore.jpg")
![It was a tough day for Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland. The four-time Tour de Ski champion bled more time to the leaders, and is now more than seven minutes back from another title. (Photo: Val di Fiemme/www.fiemmeworldcup.com)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/Kowalczyk.jpg")
![Marit Bjoergen (NOR), Therese Johaug (NOR), Heidi Weng (NOR), (l-r) sweep in the podium in Val di Fiemme, Italy. (photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/image_7.jpeg")
![Marit Bjoergen (NOR) going for the 5k classic Tour de Ski stage win in Cortina-Toblach, Italy (ITA). (photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/Bjoergen070115mf038.jpg")
![Justyna Kowalczyk (POL). (photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/Kowalczyk070115mf051.jpg")
![Therese Johaug (NOR) on her way to third place. (photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/Johaug070115mf090.jpg")
![Therese Johaug (NOR), Marit Bjoergen (NOR) and Heidi Weng (NOR), (l-r) share the podium of Wednesday's 5k classic stage in Cortina-Toblach (ITA) during the Tour de Ski. (photo: Fischer/Nordic Focus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/Podium070115mf033.jpg")
![Marit Bjørgen racing to an opening victory in the 2015 Tour de Ski in Saturday's 3.3 k freestyle prologue. (Photo: Fischer/NordicFocus)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/unnamed-6.jpg")
![Podium finishers from the women's 3.3 k prologue in Oberstdorf, Germany: all Norwegian! Marit Bjoergen (center) won by 10 seconds over Heidi Weng (left), with Ragnhild Haga two more seconds back. Photo: FIS Cross Country/instagram.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2015/01/Bjorgen-Weng-Haga1.png")