World Cup - Val di Fiemme
The World Cup races at Val di Fiemme, Italy, turned out to be cracking races with important implications for the upcoming Olympics. On Saturday, men and women competed in long-distance mass-start skate races whose structure and results paralleled the distance classic mass-starts in Canada. In the women's 15k event, a large leading pack cohered around Katerina Neumannova (Czerch Republic) and Julija Tchepalova (Russia). With about 1500 meters left to ski, Neumannova accelerated on one of Val di Fiemme's classic uphills, shattering the pack and pulling away for her third skating win of the season. Tchepalova finished second, 13 seconds back, and Marit Bjorgen wound up third, 22 seconds down. With Bjorgen still off her best form, Neumannova and Tchepalova have to be considered likely winners of the 30k mass-start and pursuit races at Torino - events which demand their skating acumen.
The men's individual race, a 30k test, was far tighter than the women's event. A sizable group hung together for much of the race, until, with about 2000 meters remaining, Tobi Angerer - who else? - broke out of the pack. Seven racers - not including Vincent Vittoz, who survived several falls - tried to go with him, but Angerer's attack was decisive. Pietro Piller Cottrer (Italy) looked to have second sewn up, but Evgeny Dementiev (Russia) snuck past at the line to finish 0.3 behind Angerer and relegate Cottrer to third. The top 15 racers all finished within 9.5 seconds of Angerer. Surprisingly, three Frenchmen and six Italians finished in the top 20 - excellent showings for those nations.
On Sunday, attention turned to the last relay before the Olympics. The Finnish women's team easily won its race. Finland's second-leg skier, Virpi Kuitunen, turned a fourteen-second deficit at her exchange into an eighteen-second lead that her third and fourth legs extended for a 19-second win over Russia in second and 1:17 over Norway in third. Germany finished fourth. With the win, Finland's women's team has emerged as a contender with the those other three teams for the relay at Torino.
The men's relay developed - as these events so often do - into a mad anchor-leg rush. On the last leg, Tobias Angerer (Germany) was clearly the man to beat, sharing a small lead group with Tor Ruud Hofstad (Norway), Cristian Zorzi (Italy), and a surprising Milan Sperl (Czech Republic). With about a kilometer to go, Angerer mounted his characteristic long-distance burst, which had sealed the first relay of the season at Beitostolen and two individual races, including the preceding day's 30k. But this time, Angerer didn't pull away; rather, Zorzi countered, leading the group down the rollers and into the final straight, where his superior sprinting skills held off Angerer (2/10ths of a second back) and Hofstad (1/2 of a second back). Italy's relay win was its first in a long while, and - as with the Finnish women - a strong suggestion that the Italian quartet will contend for gold at Torino. If this relay is any indication, the men's event will be one for the ages.
This weekend, the racing goes north to Oberstdorf im Allgau, Germany, the site of the 2005 World Championships, for pursuit and classic sprint races. The Canadian and American teams are rejoining the tour in full force as ready themselves for Torino. Picks for the men's pursuit:
The women's:
The men's individual race, a 30k test, was far tighter than the women's event. A sizable group hung together for much of the race, until, with about 2000 meters remaining, Tobi Angerer - who else? - broke out of the pack. Seven racers - not including Vincent Vittoz, who survived several falls - tried to go with him, but Angerer's attack was decisive. Pietro Piller Cottrer (Italy) looked to have second sewn up, but Evgeny Dementiev (Russia) snuck past at the line to finish 0.3 behind Angerer and relegate Cottrer to third. The top 15 racers all finished within 9.5 seconds of Angerer. Surprisingly, three Frenchmen and six Italians finished in the top 20 - excellent showings for those nations.
On Sunday, attention turned to the last relay before the Olympics. The Finnish women's team easily won its race. Finland's second-leg skier, Virpi Kuitunen, turned a fourteen-second deficit at her exchange into an eighteen-second lead that her third and fourth legs extended for a 19-second win over Russia in second and 1:17 over Norway in third. Germany finished fourth. With the win, Finland's women's team has emerged as a contender with the those other three teams for the relay at Torino.
The men's relay developed - as these events so often do - into a mad anchor-leg rush. On the last leg, Tobias Angerer (Germany) was clearly the man to beat, sharing a small lead group with Tor Ruud Hofstad (Norway), Cristian Zorzi (Italy), and a surprising Milan Sperl (Czech Republic). With about a kilometer to go, Angerer mounted his characteristic long-distance burst, which had sealed the first relay of the season at Beitostolen and two individual races, including the preceding day's 30k. But this time, Angerer didn't pull away; rather, Zorzi countered, leading the group down the rollers and into the final straight, where his superior sprinting skills held off Angerer (2/10ths of a second back) and Hofstad (1/2 of a second back). Italy's relay win was its first in a long while, and - as with the Finnish women - a strong suggestion that the Italian quartet will contend for gold at Torino. If this relay is any indication, the men's event will be one for the ages.
This weekend, the racing goes north to Oberstdorf im Allgau, Germany, the site of the 2005 World Championships, for pursuit and classic sprint races. The Canadian and American teams are rejoining the tour in full force as ready themselves for Torino. Picks for the men's pursuit:
- Vincent Vittoz (France)
- Tobi Angerer (Germany)
- Axel Teichmann (Germany)
The women's:
- Beckie Scott (Canada)
- Julija Tchepalova (Russia)
- Katerina Neumannova (Czech Republic)
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