Stockholm, Sweden – Andy Newell, Kikkan Randall, and Dasha Gaiazova all advanced to the heats in the classic city sprint in Stockholm, Sweden.

Newell qualified in 17th and faces a tough quarterfinal heat against Norwegians Ola Vigen Hattestad, Oystein Pettersen, Nikita Kriukov (RUS), Tobias Angerer (GER) and Daniel Rickardsson (SWE).  The two Norwegians will present the biggest obstacle to advancement.

Alex Harvey just made it through for the Canadians, taking the last qualification spot.  He now faces three Swedes – Mats Larsson, Teodor Peterson, and Marcus Hellner, as well as Eldar Roenning (NOR) and Ville Nousianen (FIN).

Gaiazova advanced in 20th spot, just under seven seconds behind leader Anna Olsson (SWE).  She matches up with Olsson, Charlotte Kalla (SWE), Katja Visnar (SLO), Therese Johaug (NOR), and Marianna Longa (ITA).

Randall moved on in 27th place.  Her quarterfinal consists of Lina ANdersson (SWE), Katerina Smutna (AUT), Evi Sachenbacher Stehle (GER), Vesna Fabjan (SLO), and Karine Philippot (FRA).

Devon Kershaw (CAN) missed advancing by .22 seconds, finishing 32nd.  His teammates Graham Nishikawa and Ivan Babikov placed 48th and 54th respectively in the 57 man field.

Brian Gregg (USA) was 56th, +16.38 seconds.

The men’s qualification was dominated by the Swedes and Norwegians.  Together they combined to take 8 of the top-10 spots, and all-told make up half the filed in the heats.  The two conutries also combined for 13 of the 30 qualifiers in the women’s race.

The course is relatively short, with Olsson posting the fastest time for the women – 2:35.45 and Larsson leading the men in 2:13.49.

Kikkan Randall  gave the US Ski Team a second podium in less than a week, finishing 2nd in the freestyle sprint in Oslo.

Randall looked strong all day, and led heading into the finish stretch.  But Marit Bjoergen is unbeatable right now, and she skied away in the last 50 meters.  Randall held off a hard-charging Natalia Korosteleva at the line.

Andy Newell advanced to the semis, but faded in his last heat, and ended up 10th overall.

More to follow.

Oslo, Norway – Kikkan Randall and Andy Newell both advanced to the heats in the 1.3/1.5km freestyle sprint this morning in Norway.

Randall posted the 8th fastest qualifying time, 3.11 seconds behind leader Justyna Kowalczyk (POL).

Kowalczyk sped through the course in a time of 3:02.19, a full 1.45 seconds ahead of Hanna Falk (SWE) in 2nd.

With a little more time gone by since the Olympics and a large Nations Cup group from Norway, the fields are large and very strong.  A number of top skiers failed to advance, including Aino Kaisa Saarinen (FIN), Stephie Boelhler (GER), Pirjo Murnanen (FIN), and Miriam Goessner (GER).

The Norwegian women advanced seven to the heats, and Sweden and impressive five.

Dasha Gaiazova, the lone Canadian woman in the race, was 37th, 1.54 seconds out of the top-30.

Caitlin Compton (USA) was 21.22 seconds off Kowalczyk’s pace – finishing last (61st).

All 30 qualifiers were within 10 seconds of the lead.

The men’s race featured even more upsets than the women’s but as usual, Emil Joensson (SWE) was near the top.

Joensson was actually the second qualifier, a significant 2.06 seconds behind Anders Gloersen (NOR).

Gloersen led a contingent of nine Norwegians in the heats.  Top sprinter Ola Vigen Hattestad barely squeaked through, placing 29th.  Times were tightly packed, and Marcus Hellner (SWE) in 30th was just 7 seconds in back Gloersen, and 5 behind Joensson.

Newell qualified in 23rd, not as high as he usually does, but considering the tight times, and the fact that he has made aneefort to relax a little in the first round, this is not surprising.

Simi Hamilton was just outside, placing 34th, .52 seconds from 30th position.  Hamilton beat John Kristian Dahl (NOR), Kalle Lassila (FIN), Yuichi Onda (JPN), and Boerre Naess (NOR) among others.  This is an excellent result, and given the strength of the field, more impressive than his Olympic performance.

Mike Hinckley was 66th, +13.25, and Brian Gregg 73rd, +19.90.

Stefan Kuhn (CAN) finished 63rd, +12.56.

Heats start in roughly 30 minutes.

Both Randall and Newell are in quarterfinal 5 of their respective races, and while there are certainly no easy heats, their matchups look favorable.

Drammen, Norway – Andy Newell (USA) skied to 3rd place, and his third career World Cup podium.  Newell qualified in 11th, and advanced through one of the toughest World Cup fields imaginable.  It is hard to find a deeper and stronger group of racers than what you get in a classic sprint in Norway.

That didn’t phase Newell, however, and the top American sprinter advanced to the finals, placing second to eventual winner Emil Joensson (SWE) in both the quarterfinals and semis.

Joensson pulled away from the group to win the race by 1.9 seconds over Petter Northug, gaining a measure of redemption after a disappointing Olympics.  Northug barely edged Newell, crossing the line just .1 seconds in front.

Newell last finished on the podium in 2008, when he finished 2nd in the freestyle at the Lahti Ski Games.  He was also 3rd in the freestyle sprint in Changchun, China in 2006.

Over the last months, Newell has consistently stated that his fitness is the highest it has ever been.  But he has struggled to reach the finals, and the Olympics were the ultimate disappointment when he crashed during qualifying.

But today proved him correct, and he moved into 4th in the overall Sprint Cup standings, with 2nd within striking distance.

Newell has 278 points, two behind John Kristian Dahl (NOR) and 28 in back of Northug.  Joensson is now clear in the lead with 427 points.

Two sprint races remain – one this weekend in Oslo, and then next Wednesday in Stockholm.

Newell is also ranked 15th in the overall World Cup standings.

The Norwegian men took 13 of the 30 spots in the heats, while the women advanced 7 in the classic Sprint in Drammen.

Andy Newell was the lone North American male to advance, placing 11th, 2.63 seconds behind leader Emil Joensson (SWE).

Simi Hamilton was the next American in 53rd, +10.64.  Mike Hinckley was 59th and Brian Gregg 65th.

Stefan Kuhn led the Canadians in 54th with teammate Devon Kershaw just .01 behind in 55th.

A number of top skiers failed to advance, including Sami Jauhojaervi (FIN), John Kristian Dahl (NOR), and Alexei Pethukov (RUS).

Petter Northug, who qualified 2nd, just .19 seconds behind Joennson, is joined in the heats by younger brother Thomas.

Aino Kaisa Saarinen (FIN) won the women’s qualifier by .63 seconds over Justyna Kowalczyk (POL).  Pirjo Murnanen (FIN) was 3rd, three seconds behind.  Finland had three of the top four and six of the top-11.

Kikkan Randall (USA) just missed the heats in 34th, 1.88 seconds out of 30th.

Daria Gaiazova (CAN) was 39th.

Before the final exchange, Germany’s Tim Tscharnke opened a gap and handed off to Axel Teichmann in first.  Norway’s Northug and Russia’s Petukhov followed in pursuit, and though the gap was large they made the time up on Teichmann by the final downhill into the stadium.  Northug made the pass on Teichmann and put the hammer down all the way across the line.  Teichmann and Petukhov lunged for the line in a photo finish. Germany was awarded the silver by .2 seconds over Russia. In 4th finished Canada’s Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey, while Newell of the U.S. sprinted to the finish alongside Italy’s Pasini to a 9th place finish.

The first laps of the relay were very slow, and the pack remained together until the final two legs.  Italy fell in the second exchange, and France fell during the 4th exchange.

Full Results

International media are reporting that Sweden’s Emil Jonsson and Norway’s Ola Vigen Hattestad and Marit Bjoergen are all sitting out of the team sprint.

The Norwegians will start Oystein Petterson and Petter Northug on the men’s side, while it will their women’s team will consist of Celine Brun-Lie and Astrid Jacobsen.

Sweden’s team has not been confirmed, but Jonsson has apparently contracted an illness since appearing happy and healthy at the men’s pursuit yesterday. Hattestad is also sick, and Bjoergen, while not ill, is sitting out as a precaution to allow her to give everything in the relay and 30k.

Simi Hamilton was the lone US qualifier for the men’s classic sprint heats.  He is joined by Canadians Stefan Kuhn and Devon Kershaw.

Top American Andy Newell crashed on the corner at the bottom of the course while teammate Torin Koos was unable to repeat his excellent qualification round form a week ago.

The US will start two women and four men in tomorrow’s Olympic classic sprint.  Canada brings a full contingent of four men and four women to the line.

Both Marit Bjoergen and Petter Northug will start for Norway.  In the weeks leading up to the games, there was some question as to whether the two would start this event.

Women:

US
Kikkan Randall
Holly Brooks

Canada
Dasha Gaiazova
Perianne Jones
Sarah Renner
Chandra Crawford

Men:

US
Andy Newell
Torin Koos
Garrott Kuzzy
Simi Hamilton

Canada
Devon Kershaw
Stefan Kuhn
Brent McMurtry
Drew Goldsack

Women’s Start List

Men’s Start List

Emil Joennson (SWE) and Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) made it look easy, winning every heat on their way to victories in the men’s and women’s races respectively.

Kowalczyk was especially impressive gaping the field by 50 meters in every heat.  Joensson matched her in the final, putting on a huge burst on the last big climb to ski away for the win.