March 2018 Archives

26Mar 2018 by DS News Team

Night City Sprint In April? Yes Says Town In Tyrol

You know what? We can state with some certainty that the popularity of cross country skiing is growing. Need a proof? Well, here's a brand-new xc skiing event that has every chance of becoming popular in itself - and paving the way for more. Paznaun - Ischgl area in Austrian Tyrol is very well known - for its downhill skiing. But as "narrow skiing" destination - not so much. No, it never lacked dozens of miles of great ski tracks ( more about which below) - but it lacked The Event. Nearby Engadin valley has mass distance race, ditto for Livigno while Davos has historic, famed World Cup stage - and Seefeld has both mass and WC races. Enough is enough - probably thought good citizens of Paznaun valley -…

23Mar 2018 by DS News Team

All That Moves Skiing World

Gear News, Newsfeed

November to March each year the Big Skiing Circus is on the move. Station wagons, minivans, full size vans and, top of the chain, full size, custom built tractor-trailers - all busy carrying skiers and their equipment from one European venue to the next. Some vehicles are standard, but many are custom built and, as the current ski fashion dictates, are covered with photos of the team's top skiers. Here they are, massive element of success ( or failure) in each ski team and skier's career [caption id="attachment_7363" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] Team Sverige truck is among the biggest[/caption] [caption id="attachment_7366" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] ...but not as big as a massive, two-level Norwegian one[/caption] [caption id="attachment_7370" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] THE biggest vehicle in cross country skiing, however, is travelling headquarters of the Visma Ski…

12Mar 2018 by DS News Team

Up Close & Personal With Yelena Vyalbe: Part II

Leaders, Newsfeed

Part 2. Past and present. And a bit about future too. How would you compare Team Russia at the Olympics in Sochi in 2014 and in Pyeongchang-2018? Well, we failed in Sochi . Despite memorable victory at 50k. ( Russia's 1-2-3 on the podium) The fate was against us - Ustiugoiv fall, sprint relay collision, broken poles etc. - but one can't blame the fate only. Our women failed miserably and yes, I was calling them «Tumbochka” ( literally - “nightstand”, implying that somebody's heavy, overweight, unwieldy) publicly – and much worse in the locker room. Did we play unfair in Sochi? There was no “state sponsored” or any other doping in our team – period, but we did use “legally permitted tricks” such as extending last stretch on sprints…

09Mar 2018 by DS News Team

Up Close & Personal With Yelena Vyalbe: Part I

Newsfeed

...as previously explained, we here at the DailySkier are not huge fans of loooong interviews and thus nearly always making a conscious decision to split them into 2-3 parts, depending on the original length of conversation. Today, in Part 1 Yelena Vyalbe, head of the Russian XCSki Federation and manager of Team Russia ( yes, she sits on two chairs, so to speak) talks about disqualifications of the Russian skiers , relationship with sponsors and touches upon the recent Olympics ( more on that in Part 2) ... Says Vyalbe: ...I have had very mixed feelings throughout the Olympics. Was happy for our youngsters were performing so well yet I felt bad for the guys who were not allowed to the Games – especially for ( Sergey) Ustiugov and (…

08Mar 2018 by DS News Team

Coming Up: Up Close & Personal With Yelena Vyalbe

Leaders, Newsfeed

It's hard to find a more recognizable figure in the “paddocks” of any international cross-country skiing competition than that of Yelena Vyalbe. To get the idea of how impportant that athlete & manager is to modern skiing we would have to remind you about her - truly milestone - achievements - Career 81 FIS Cross-Country World Cup podiums - 2d only to Marit Bjorgen - Of which 45 wins - only tBojorgen and Bjørn Dæhlie won more times - Five overall crystal globes of World Cup winner. Triple Olympic champion and 14 ( that's 14, folks!) times world champ. In 1997 in Trondheim won 5 golds in all 5 races she took part in. - president of the Russian Cross-Country Ski Association since 2010 - manager of the Russian cross-country team…

Month: March 2018