Norwegian World Cup veteran and classic specialist Odd-Bjorn Hjelmeset was the early leader of Sunday’s World Cup 15km classic in Kuusamo, Finland.  He was literally derailed, however, when he collided with an Italian serviceman working for the Swiss team.

The serviceman was in the track on a downhill when the collision happened.  Hjelmeset reportedly took out his frustration by trowing several punches before taking to the race.  He finished in 15th, well off the pace.

The collision cost him a shot at the podium, significant World Cup points, and prize money.

Hjelmeset has been given a written warning for his actions by the FIS.

The Norwegian Team is demanding that the serviceman be stripped of his accreditation due to the incident.

“There is no doubt about who was at fault in this situation. We believe that such behavior should also lead to loss of accreditation,” said coach, Åge Skinstad.

A story on Kikkan Randall was featured on National Public Radio’s weekend edition this morning.

Listen to it here.

A longer version that was played on Alaska Public Radio can be found here.

FasterSkier checked in with Andy Newell following his best World Cup distance race ever.  While he was pleased, Newell did not feel he had his best race.

“I don’t think it was an awesome race. I could for sure feel it in my legs and back that I had put in a hard sprint the day before. So when I was racing it didn’t feel too fast so I was pretty surprised to see that I was only 1:24 back in the end.”

Fast conditions made for an extremely tight field.  The 1:24 back that Newell mentioned placed him in 48th.

“I think its a sign of good things to come in distance skiing though. This is my first year back training like a distance skier so I don’t really have much expectations other than a goal of scoring World Cup distance points by the end of the year. But it does feel good to distance race. I love how you only have to warm up once.”

He finished 26 seconds out of the top 30 and his first World Cup distance points.

On teammate Kris Freeman’s 4th place result – “I’m stoked Bird [Freeman] had such a good day!”

A complete write-up on the men’s 15km classic in Kuusamo can be found here.

Kuusamo Finalnd – 99 men and 88 women are scheduled to start tomorrow’s 10/15km classic World Cup race.  Most of the favorites will be present, though Marit Bjoergen (NOR) and Anna Haag (SWE), two of the top three in last week’s 10km freestyle in Norway will not race due to illness.

The US will start six skiers, and the Canadians seven.  George Grey makes his season debut for the Canadians – he was a bit behind schedule due to an injury

US Starters
Andy Newell
Torin Koos
Kris Freeman
Kikkan Randall
Liz Stephen
Morgan Arritola

Canadian Starters
Chandra Crawford
Sara Renner
Graham Nishikawa
George Grey
Alex Harvey
Devon Kershaw
Ivan Babikov

Petter Northug (NOR), who missed today’s sprint due to illness, is on the start list, but his participation has not been confirmed.

Kuusamo, Finland – 79 women and 91 men are set to start the classic sprint in Kuusamo tomorrow.  Women race first at 11:15 local time.

US Starters
Kikkan Randall
Liz Stephen
Morgan Arritola
Andy Newell
Torin Koos
Kris Freeman

Canadian Starters
Perianne Jones
Chandra Crawford
Sara Renner
Devon Kershaw
Alex Harvey
Graham Nishikawa
Ivan Babikov

The importance of points in Olympic qualifying may have played into the decison to start relative non-sprinters like Babikov and Freeman.

Petra Majdic (SLO) is feeling good after a tough opening race to the World Cup season last week.  Majdic finished 19th in the 10km skate, a disappointing result that led her to start the realy the next day to evaluate her fitness.  A strong performance in the relay led her to the conclusion that the issue was the icy track in the skate race that caused her problems, and she is confident heading into tomorrow’s classic sprint.

At an FIS press conference, Majdic was asked about a number of rule changes, and was lukewarm at best.  She supported the removal of the B-Final from sprint competitions – though noted that it didn’t impact her much as she is almost always in the A-final.  Since November 2006, Majdic has raced 21 World Cup sprints, racing in the A final 17 times.

She was not overly interested in the new rule allowing Tour de Ski participants to keep points if they drop out.  She vehemently stated that if she starts an event she will finish it.  Her plan is currently to race the Tour, but will make a final decision based on how she performs during December.

Marit Bjoergen (NOR) is sick and will not race this weekend in Kuusamo.  She will be replaced in the sprint by junior national team skier Ingvild Flugstad Østberg who was already scheduled to race the distance event.  Karianne Bjellånes will get the distance start spot, but she is struggling with a knee injury, and a final decision will not be made until after the sprint.

Bjoergen won last weekend’s 10km freestyle in strong fashion, and helped Norway to second place in the relay.

Sweden’s Anna Haag will also miss the weekend.  She is sick as well, anc chose not to travel to Finland, in part to protect her teammates.  Haag was 3rd in the 10k a week ago, and a critical part of Sweden’s victorious relay team.

Petter Northug (NOR), struggling with stomach issues will not race the sprint in Kuusamo either.  Anders Gløersen will start in his place.

A few videos from Europe, via FIS Cross-Country.

Skiers are now in Kuusamo, Finland, preparing for the weekend of racing.

Athlete Photoshoot in Kuusamo – featuring US skiers and a few Italians as well…

Norwegian Sprint Team training in Sjusjoen, Norway

And don’t forget all the video at the USSA Nordic Channel on dartfish.tv.  The US Ski Team is uploading new videos almost daily!

Visit here for the latest, including classic intervals in Kuusamo.

Marit Björgen (NOR), off to an excellent start this season, and Petter Northug (NOR) did not travel to Finland with the rest of the Norwegian team.  Björgen is reportedly experiencing “flu-like” symptoms and Northug has stomach issues.  No decision has been made on whether or not they will start, and the situation is not currently severe.

Norwegian biathlete Ronny Hafsås is considering racing cross-country in the Olympics.  After two victories in the XC World Cup last weekend (15km and relay), Hafsås is a legitimate medal threat.  And given his biathlon results, he may have a better shot in cross-country.

According to Hafsås, the decision will be made before Christmas, and will depend on his results. “I could be even better in cross country if I concentrate less on biathlon” Hafsås told Langrenn.com.