Good season finish

To day I finished the season with the Norwegian championships in sprint relay. I skied with my Strindheim IL team mate Kjersti Bø. Kjersti is a strong sprinter, and as sprint is also my strength in cross-country skiing we had a strong team and the dream was a medal. Six teams, us included, skied very strong in the semifinals and we soon understood that it would be a real fight for the podium in the final. We did a good competition and finished fifth in a very strong start field, so we were satisfied after all. Njård won the relay in front of Heming IL and Oppdal IL. A good finish of the season, now I will have my off-season, relax for some days and only train easy for some weeks. Our club mates Thomas and Petter Northug won the mens relay. My first challenge in the summer season will be TIO-mila with Wing OK May 1st.

Results from the finals: NM results sprint relay finals.

Maps WC Ånn

All the maps from the Ski-orienteering WC final in Ånn can now be found at the official web page: Maps Ånn.

Victory in ultra long distance and 4 points from WC total

I finished the season just like I was dreaming about, by winning the ultra long distance in the WC-final. It was a tough distance and as I skied alone most of the way I really had to focus on the orienteering. I just had a few minor mistakes and managed to keep the pace up alone. At the last map change before the short last round I turned around and saw nobody. I then knew that if I could just take the last controls without any mistakes I would probably win. Junior world champion Barbro Kvåle made the day even better and surprised us all with a third place, an amazing result. (Picture: ski-o.com)

Results: WC ultra long women.

The last competition was also a race for the world cup total, a race I missed with only 4 points. Only four points from victory feels a bit disappointing, but as Tomilova won the first two races in Sweden I did not only have to win, but needed Tomilova to be no better than fifth to win the total. Tomilova finished fourth and earns the world cup total. After the not to good WC season start in Russia, this season has been an adventure and I am more than happy with a second place in the overall WC. (Photo: Oskar Forsgren)

Christian did not ski the ultra long distance, but got valuable experiences the first three races for the world championship in Sweden next year. Christians season is over now, I will end mine after the Norwegian championships sprint relay (Cross country) the 26th of March.

New second place

A new second place in Ånn, to day together with my team mates Barbro Kvåle and Marie Asprusten in the relay. Both Marie and Barbro did a perfect job on the two first legs, with only minor mistakes, and I skied out on the third leg as number three, 1.20 behind Russia. I passed Kazakhstan to the first control and after half of my leg I could see Russia , with Natalya Tomilova, in front of me. In the end I took some not optimal route choices and I did not manage to close the gap to Russia. At the finish line we were 20 sec behind. Sweden had some problems in the beginning of the relay but finished third. Our team are really happy with our result and as our men team won the mens relay it was a great Norwegian day. The Norwegian men all skied outstanding and won in front of Russia and Sweden.

Sprint map Ånn

2X2 in Sweden

So far inn Ånn: Two times on the podium, both times second and both times just behind Natalya Tomilova. Amazing results and, except one 20 sec mistake on the sprint distance, I am really satisfied with my performances. On the middle distance I lost 40 sec on the first loop because of a route choice mistake, the rest of this race was really good and I skied in 25 of the lost seconds. Tomilova skies fantastic these days, and I cannot afford any mistakes if I want to beat her in the ultra long distance Wednesday.

Christian has skied OK races, but feels that his physics is still holding him back. After several 4^th and 5^th places this season, our club mate Lars Moholdt finally made it to the podium and finished as number three to day. He definitively deserved this and hopefully he can climb a place or two on the ultra long distance.

Film report from the sprint distance can be found here: Video Ånn

Results can be found here: Results Ånn

WC Final in Ånn

To day we leave for the World Cup final in Ånn, to morrow we will do the last preparations with ski-testing and model event, and saturday we will have the first competition. I have had a good training period since the last WC-round, and feel well prepared for the last competitions. I will still focus on good individual races, but the WC-total would be a great extra bonus. Christian will also ski this WC-round. He has been training really hard to come back after his back injury, and we are really happy that he can take part internationally again. The competitions will give us valuable experiences for the World Championships in Sweden next year.

Program:

Friday Mar 12th Model event

Saturday Mar 13th Sprint
Sunday Mar 14th Middle distance
Monday Mar 15th Rest
Tuesday Mar 16th Relay
Wednesday Mar 17th Ultra Long distance

Official web-page: WC Ånn

Ski-orienteering in Bymarka Trondheim

As a last preparation for the World cup final in Ånn, Christian and I skied a ski-o training competition in Bymarka in Trondheim. The 5,7 km long course was set around the cross-country tracks in the upper part of Bymarka. Dog sledge activity in the area led to additional narrow tracks, and a good mix between broad and narrow tracks in the course. It was a good training, and the course offered multiple route choice problems (see map below, for bigger map see ski-o.com). We were both satisfied with the training and look forward to the first competition in less than a week in Ånn.