Cross Country - Sjusjøen (Norway)

First the Ladies 10 Km freestyle: A distinct lack of snow in the surrounding woods but a nicely prepared track on what I believe is an asphalt base (for roller blading in summer!). This event should have been held at another venue (Beitostoelen), but was moved at about 10 days notice due to lack of snow, to the surprise of the biathlon teams who were training at Sjusjoen and had to move! This ladies event was held over 10Km, with a height gain of 348 metres (not sure if that is per lap or total - hopefully the total, although the climbs looked pretty severe).

Early leader at the 2.5 Km split time was Elizabeth Stephen (USA), looking good although she was soon displaced. With about half the field away, Martine Ek Hagen (NOR) set the fastest time to 2.5 Km, but was soon pipped by fellow Norwegian and Junior World Champion Heidi Weng. Next challenger was biathlete Tora Berger, without the 4Kg rifle but also without the breaks for shooting that apparently help with lactic acid dispersal - some discussion that she was going too hard as she posted a lead of 6.2 seconds at 2.5 Km - we shall see. Even that time was beaten, first by Oestberg (also Norway), then Kikkan Randall (USA), Steira (NOR) and Skofterud (NOR), and a couple real contenders were still to come!

At the finish Stephen was the early leader with a creditable time of 25:51, which Heidi Weng lowered to 25:40. By now, as German TV put it, Tora gibt Gas! - any concerns about going too hard too early were laid to rest as she put in a stunning last 1.5 Km to take the lead at 25:05. Kikkan Randall was also looking good, but unlike Berger she faded a little and finished just over 11 seconds back. The amazing strength of the Norwegians was apparent as Steira slipped into second before Vibeke Skofterud took over as leader; the first under 25 minutes at 24:51. Out on the course however were Charlotte Kalla (Swe) and the incredible Marit Björgen (Nor), both going through the various timing points in new bests - at 2.5 Km MB was about 7 seconds faster than anyone else - this increased, dropped a bit and then she must have put on the afterburners as she was 14 seconds up at 6.9 Km. In the end Kalle, with the advantage of knowing what the split times were, took the lead from Skofterud by 1.9 seconds. That didn't last long however as rocket ship Björgen came in to finish 27 seconds ahead of Kalle - fantastic effort and a great race. In all the Norwegians took 7 of the top 10 places, with Björgen first (her 48th win at this level), Kalla (SWE) 2nd, Vibeke Skofterud 3rd, then Berger, Steira, Kristofferson, little Therese Johaug (who put in such an amazing climb in the Tour de Ski last year). Kikkan Randall (USA) was 8th, Oestberg 9th and finally Kowalczyk (POL, looking very out of sorts) 10th. Hope the men's race is as good!

Well on to the Men's 15Km freestyle; 4 laps of a slightly different, very twisty, course, and this time there is a British interest in the form of Andrew Musgrave, although he does now live and train in Norway! A strong Norwegian field, again including some biathletes - Lars Berger, Emil Hegle Svendsen and Tarjei Bø - could they do as well as Tora Berger? Musgrave was away third and set a fast time to the first split at 2.9 Km - to his credit he was very competitive at this stage, and faster than some notables including Lars Berger! However, this was a 15 Km race and a number of later starters paced themselves better, although towards the end the snow was definitely cutting up and getting slushier.

Among the real contenders the early pacesetter was Calle Halfvarsson (SWE) who went through 2.9 Km in 5:54 and the half way point in 16:37 - very competitive for someone starting that early. Although we didn't see much of him, Johan Olsson (SWE) was also flying and at half way was ahead of his fellow Swede with a time of 16:05. Later starters, who were expected to cause problems for the early leaders, included Legkov (Russia - a pair of lungs with huge shoulders attached), Petter Northug (NOR and their hope for a local win over the Swedes) and Dario Cologna (SWI). Looking at their early split times Legkov and Northug couldn't match Calle H's time at 2.9 Km, and it was left to the final starter, Cologna, to eventually set the best time over that part of the course. Meanwhile Halfvarsson had finished in 33:19, just ahead of Italy's David Hofer. Olsson, who seemed to have timed his race to perfection, came in a massive 38.6 seconds ahead to make this a Swedish 1/2 at that stage. There was then a balance between the later starters having all the information regarding split times, but with a slight disadvantage as the snow conditions worsened. Roland Clara (ITA) managed to split the 2 Swedes, but both Legkov and Cologna started to slip back. Local support was firmly with Petter Northug, who was pretty much the only Norwegian hope by that point - despite a superb effort he just couldn't catch Olsson, but did pip Clara by 0.2 second to snatch second place. A much more mixed result in the men's race: Johan Olsson (SWE) in first with Northug (NOR) 2nd 31.2 seconds behind, and Clara (ITA) in 3rd. Then Calle Halfvarsson (SWE), (the sensational?) Alex Harvey (CAN), Remo Fischer (SWI), Dario Cologna (SWI) and in 8th Lars Berger (NOR; first of the biathlon stars). Andrew Musgrave was a creditable 74, but crucially only 2 mins 35 behind the winner. Relays tomorrow!

First relay of the weekend - the Women's 4 x 5Km event; first 2 legs classic style and then 2 skating to finish. Another twisty course with a total of 720 metres of climbing over the 4 legs. Hot favourites are Norway 1, with side bets on Norway 2 and Sweden. First leg saw a great effort by Vibeke Skofterud for Norway 1 who brought her team in just over 6 seconds ahead of a nicely judged French effort, followed by Norway 3, Norway 2, Norway 4 and Finland. Germany looking disappointing and USA apparently suffering from ski preparation snags?

Therese Johaug took the second leg for Nor 1, and opened out the lead steadily - a great effort which left Kristin Steira a 14.5 second margin at the start of the first skating leg. Finland had pulled up to 2nd place followed by Norway 2, 3 and Poland - a super leg by Kowalczyk; not the prettiest technique (hark who's talking, I can't even do classic) but immense power! USA also came back well after a poor start. Steira kept it together on the 3rd leg, with Tora Berger holding her well in a good duel with the Finns. Near the end there was some suggestion that the Finn might take Berger who looked to be tiring, but that was a bad call as Steira came into the changeover 15.5 seconds ahead of a flying Tora, who had neatly pulled out 4 seconds on the Finn. Norway 3 were 4th ahead of France, Sweden, Nor 4 and Poland.

The final leg saw Magic Marit pull further away from the rest to to give Norway 1 a well deserved win. Behind her Charlotte Kalla for Sweden was facing an uphill task trying to get her team onto the podium - despite a massive effort that proved too much and the final placings were Norway 1; Norway 2; Finland; Sweden with France, Norway 3, Norway 4 following them in. A very close race for 8th saw Germany 1 just pip USA and Russia 1. A dominant start by Norway - 4 teams in the top 7!!

Final event of the weekend; the men's 4 x 10 Km relay - again 2 legs classic, then 2 skating/freestyle. Again, a closer race than the women's event and much slower/more tactical in places. On leg 1 the pace was modest until the Russians injected a bit of speed towards the handover - again waxing & ski preps seemed to be an issue for some, especially Germany 1, and this got more noticable as the temperature dropped a bit later. At the first change Norway 1 was marginally clear of Russia 1 with another nicely judged effort by France leaving them very much in touch in 3rd. The second skiers slowed the pace again, giving Cologna the chance to catch up and get Switzerland back towards the leading pack - nice effort. Cat and mouse skiing until the changeover approached and then another change of pace - Russia 1, France, Finland, Norway 1, Sweden and Italy holding the top 6 spots as we changed to freestyle. Perhaps a little odd to see so many biathletes in the Norwegian teams for the skating legs, but then Lars Berger is supposed to be one of the best exponents of this discipline.

Leg 3 was interesting - Olsson, Berger & Clara all in the mix; more tactical stuff until at the next changeover Norway 1 were just ahead with Berger handing over to Petter Northug, while Sweden had Calle Halfvarsson on their final leg, with Legkov for Russia 1. France, Italy and Finland also well up and the smart money was that the 6 leading teams had it sewn up between them. However, no one seemed prepared to take the lead and the pace slowed dramatically allowing the six leading teams to become 10 - great effort by Roethe of Norway 3 who came from 45 seconds back into the lead, although perhaps the trophy for best "gap closer" of the day should go to Emil Hegle Svendsen, who dragged Norway 2 back into the lead group just in time for them to start speeding up. There seemed to be a reluctance to speed up too much even then as most teams were watching Northug, the man with the amazing sprint speed - seems odd to be worried about his finish and then give him an easy 10 Km to save his energy?? At the end Northug gibt mächtig Gas and stormed away to such good effect that he could grandstand to the line, dusting off his sleeves and looking over his shoulder - cheeky sod! Behind him Roethe took second for Norway 3 with Halfversson getting the final podium place for Sweden. A tiny mistake by Legkov in the final rush for the line let France just pip Russia 1 for 4th place with Finland also very close in 6th; very exciting finish.

So, a great weekend for Norway, pretty good for Sweden, Finland and France but very disappointing for, among others, Germany - 8th and last in the women's relay and 15/16 in the men's. Should all make for some interesting team selection for next weekend.