Cross country skiing tour planned over three countries

OBERSTDORF, ( 21/02/2005 18:22 ) Germany (AP) _ The world skiing body, FIS, announced plans Monday for a cross-country skiing tour starting in 2007 which will take place in Germany, Switzerland and Italy and award World Cup points. FIS said the "XC-Tour" will be held from Jan. 5-14, 2007, with eight stops between Munich, Germany, and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. At each stop, the full range of the sport's disciplines from pursuit to sprints will be held. Prize money for the tour's overall winner was under consideration, FIS said. 

Bjorgen beats Tchepalova as Norway claims team gold  
 
OBERSTDORF, ( 21/02/2005 18:19 ) Germany (AP) _ A powerful charge by Marit Bjorgen in heavy snowfall Monday lifted Norway to gold in the women's 4x5k cross country team relay at the Nordic ski World Championships. The World Cup leader shook off two-time Olympic champion Julija Tchepalova of Russia on the last climb in a battle of the sport's top two sprinters as Norway won in 57 minutes, 15.7 seconds. Russia took silver, 7.6 seconds back, while the Italy grabbed an unexpected bronze, finishing 49.7 behind in tough conditions on the hilly Oberstdorf course. Bjorgen, who has dominated the past two World Cup seasons, started right behind Tchepalova after their teammates finished the first three legs of the race. The two rivals matched strides for 4.3 kilometers until Bjorgen _ known for her power _ sprinted up the final hill. A comfortable gap opened within seconds and the Norwegian threw her arms into the air in jubilation just before the finish line. Bjorgen, 24, grabbed her first gold after settling for two bronzes. She also gained revenge for Tchepalova beating her in the 15k pursuit two days ago. Tchepalova added her second silver to her gold from the championships. The 28-year-old Russian's collection of Olympic medals includes a silver and bronze, along with the two golds. Bjorgen, who has won 14 World Cups in the past two seasons, plans to enter all six women's cross-country events at the worlds. Her goal is three golds. Germany, the defending world and Olympic champion, faded to fourth despite a big home crowd. Evi Sachenbacher lost almost half a minute on the final kilometer of her third-leg run, ending her team's medal hopes. Russia, the big favorite, was off to a fast start but couldn't hold its lead. Germany, the Czech Republic and Italy all closed to within a few seconds of Russia and Norway. Bjorgen and Tchepalova then pulled away in their stirring duel, ending the other countries' hopes of gold. 

Cracked skull forgotten, Demong 12th at worlds  
 
OBERSTDORF, ( 19/02/2005 00:14 ) Germany (AP) _ Bill Demong had a bright future in the world of Nordic Combined _ until he cracked his skull a few months after the 2002 Olympics. Demong returned to his sport about a year later and has struggled ever since, but Friday, he finished 12th in the 15k Gundersen at the Nordic worlds, his best showing in a major championship. Now he's trying to figure out whether to pat himself on the back or kick himself. He was just 24th in the jumps, usually his strength. "It's a mixed feeling, but I had an excellent cross country," the 24-year-old Demong said. "That's the last thing I did today, so my lips are turned up." In January of 2002, Demong won his first World Cup in Liberec of the Czech Republic. Shortly before and shortly after the Salt Lake City Olympics, he added fourth-place finishes on his sport's premier circuit. Then came Aug. 19 in Winterberg, Germany. Some messing around led to a big headache for himself and his career. "I went back to the hotel and jumped in the swimming pool. We started screwing around and I banged my head hard, real hard," Demong said. "Boys will be boys, I guess." Demong spent a week cooped up in a German hospital and the doctors told him to scrap his plans for a quick comeback. First, they told him, he needed the cracked skull to heal. Also, they said he risked permanent damage if he planned to jump 250 feet on skis through the air off a ramp, which his sport requires. When Demong finally returned, he had problems with the jumping, which had been his strength since he joined the World Cup circuit as a 19-year-old. But it wasn't the cracked skull that made him uncomfortable, it was the fact that he'd revamped his entire method of jumping. That turned out to be a mistake when he actually tried to jump off a ramp thick with snow. "It turned out that I wasn't very comfortable. The conditions are different. There's snow, slush, fog so thick you can't see your coach or hardly anything," Demong said. By last year he was down to the U.S. B squad before finally rejoining the main team just before New Year's Eve. Then an upward swing started again _ within five weeks, he posted a ninth-place showing in Liberec and finished 11th in Ruhpolding, Germany. Now he's looking forward to the team relay Wednesday at the worlds, where the Americans think they can break up European hegemony and win a medal. "Oh yeah, we have a great team," Demong said. 

Ackermann wins 15k Nordic Combined thriller on final downhill 
 
OBERSTDORF, ( 18/02/2005 17:14 ) Germany (AP) _ Ronny Ackermann's sudden charge on the final downhill surprised the competition as he defended his title at the Nordic World Championships in a thrilling 15-kilometer Gundersen race Friday. The German finished the tough, hilly course in 38 minutes, 56.2 seconds, edging countryman Bjoern Kircheisen by 1.4 seconds to give host Germany its first medals at the two-week event. Austria's Felix Gottwald, the 2000-01 overall World Cup winner, finished third, 3.4 seconds behind. After the lead three pulled away from the pack, Kircheisen and Gottwald were caught off guard when Ackermann suddenly burst through the inside from third place on the final downhill to go ahead. "I wanted the surprise effect and I was successful. This was the craziest, most furious race of my life," said Ackermann. "The blowing wind on the jumps, there were eight or 10 of us racing together for all those kilometers _ I knew I had to attack." Hannu Manninen, Ackermann's biggest rival, again came up empty-handed at a major championships. The Finn, dominating the World Cup with eight wins, has collected several team medals at the Olympics and worlds, but not one individual medal in his 14-year career. He finished ninth, 52.8 back. Manninen said he will try again in the 7.5K sprint, the other individual title handed out in Nordic Combined at the worlds. "I'm not disappointed, but if I don't medal there _ then I will be disappointed," the Finn said. Ackermann collected two silvers at the last worlds in 2003 along with his gold and two more at the Salt Lake City Olympics a year earlier. He also has won the overall World Cup title twice. "This was my biggest victory, to show I could do it again, in front of this stage," the German said, referring to the home crowd and the scenic Alpine town of Oberstdorf, shining under 50 centimeters (3 feet) of fresh snow. Manninen may have been the biggest victim of the gusting winds that hampered the two jumps before the cross country race. Results from the second run were nullified because of the conditions and the jump was done again. The big Finn, not known for his leaping ability, uncorked a 94.5-meter effort on his first try at the second jump. When it was done again, his wobbly leap was 10 meters shorter and he went into the cross country trailing by 2:40. American Todd Lodwick, third in the World Cup standings, couldn't hold a promising position after the jumps. He was eighth, best among the medal contenders, but faded to finish 21st, 2:04.1 back. Bill Demong was 12th, the 24-year-old American's best finish at a major championships. Another American medal hopeful, John Spillane, dropped out ill. He stunned the Europeans by taking sprint gold at the 2003 worlds in Val di Fiemme, Italy, the first for the U.S. team at either the Olympics or world championships 

Maslennikov leads Nordic Combined as favorites get off to slow start  
 
OBERSTDORF,  ( 18/02/2005 11:54 ) Germany (AP) _ Russia's Sergej Maslennikov took the lead Friday after the first jump of a Nordic Combined 15-kilometer Gundersen individual race at the world championships as the favorites were hampered by shifting winds. Maslennikov leaped 99.5 meters and was awarded 137 points, with Austrian Christoph Bieler second on 131 with a jump of 98 at the two-week Nordic ski World Championships. The event is composed of two jumps followed by a 15-kilometer cross country ski. The two favorites, Finland's Hannu Manninen and Germany's Ronny Ackermann, were troubled as late starters when the wind picked up. The pair have won 12 races between them this season. Ackermann was 19th on 115.5 points after a jump of 91.5 and Manninen 24th with 115.0 after leaping 90.5. Another medal candidate, Johnny Spillane of the United States, dropped out because of illness. 

Slovenian teenager wins surprise ski jumping gold 
 
OBERSTDORF, ( 20/02/2005 09:25 ) Germany (AP) _ Teenager Rok Benkovic kept his cool on the second leap Saturday in ski jumping and earned the first medal in Slovenian history at the Nordic ski World Championships. The 18-year-old student, who had never reached a podium at a World Cup, uncorked a 91-meter leap as the last jumper on the HS100 hill to seal the title. Afterward, he was mobbed by his Slovenian teammates. "I was a little shaky. I just said to myself, 'just like the first jump,"' Benkovic said. Helped by a backwind, Benkovic took a big lead with the day's best jump of 101.0 meters. He finished with 256.0 points. Jakub Janda of the Czech Republic claimed silver with 249.5, just edging World Cup leader Janne Ahonen of Finland at 249.0. Benkovic's big first jump left him with a sizable five-point lead after the first round. In the second round, favorites like Ahonen _ who won a record 12 World Cups this season _ couldn't unleash a top jump to catch the teenager with the wind almost dead. Benkovic just needed to jump 90 meters to claim gold and easily cleared that amount, landing steadily. "This is a big, big win for me _ my first time on the podium," he said. Slovenian Frank Petek did win a gold in ski jumping at the 1991 worlds, but the country was part of the former Yugoslavia at the time. 

Vittoz shakes off flawed doping test to win gold at worlds  
 
OBERSTDORF, ( 20/02/2005 15:13 )  Germany (AP) _ Vincent Vittoz shook off a flawed doping test to win the 30-kilometer pursuit and capture France's first cross country gold medal at a Nordic ski World Championships on Sunday. Vittoz outsprinted a pack of eight to reach the finish line in 1 hour, 19 minutes, 20.5 seconds. Italian Giorgio Di Centa edged Norway's Frode Estil for the silver in a photo finish. They shared a time of 0.8 seconds behind. Vittoz was shocked and said he was reduced to tears when a doping test on Jan. 15 was positive for furosemide, classified as a masking agent and diuretic on the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances, after a World Cup win in the Czech Republic. He was cleared two weeks later when his back-up B sample proved negative. "It's unbelievable," said Vittoz, 29, of his first major medal. "I knew I was innocent and I tried to concentrate on these championships. I went through 15 difficult days but I kept practicing." Vittoz, second in the World Cup standings, was one of the favorites in the race along with several Germans. Until the final sprint, the lead group was never smaller than four skiers, swelling to nine just a few kilometers before the end. Vittoz tried to bolt clear on a steep hill during the last round, but the pack caught him again. The Frenchman, after winning three World Cups this year, hadn't cracked the top 30 in any race that followed his flawed doping test _ then finished sixth in the 15k freestyle at the worlds. "After Thursday's 15k, I knew I was in good shape," Vittoz said. "I spent two weeks at high altitude and it's paying off." Di Centa also picked up his first major medal, while Estil added to a silver and two bronzes from the last two worlds. The Norwegian also won pursuit gold at the Salt Lake City Olympics. The Germans never factored in Sunday's race. Axel Teichmann, the World Cup leader, was 30th, two places behind last year's overall World Cup winner, Rene Sommerfeldt. The men's team ski jumping event is scheduled for later Sunday. 

Tchelapova wipes away disappointment with gold, beats Bjorgen

OBERSTDORF, ( 19/02/2005 13:00 ) Germany (AP) _ Two-time Olympic champion Julija Tchelapova made up for some bitter disappointment Saturday, adding a gold in the women's 15-kilometer pursuit to her silver at the Nordic ski World Championships. The Russian ended a duel with race favorite Marit Bjorgen of Norway at the 11-kilometer mark, pulling away steadily to complete the hilly Oberstdorf course in 42 minutes, 16.8 seconds. The 28-year-old Tchelapova was disappointed after Thursday's 10k race, when she missed out on the gold won by Czech skier Katerina Neumannova by just by 1.2 seconds. "I felt deep sorrow. My daughter said: 'can't you please win gold instead of silver or bronze?"' the Russian said. "It's very satisfying to me." Bjorgen finished 15.7 back for the silver medal, with 23-year-old Norwegian Kristin Steira taking her first medal at a major event, landing bronze 25.9 behind. Canada's Beckie Scott was fourth, trailing by 35.1. Tchelapova was overlooked by the Russian team for years, until the 1998 Olympics. She snatched gold in the 30k race after being snubbed for the relay team and four years later at Salt Lake City added sprint gold, along with a silver and bronze. Bjorgen came into the race the heavy favorite after winning 14 World Cup titles in the past two years, including seven of 14 this season. The 24-year-old also captured the sprint title at the 2003 worlds. She led until the Russian popped up right behind her after skis were changed at the 7.5-kilometer mark. After 10 kilometers, the Russian went around Bjorgen to take first, then steadily built her lead. "I was a little tired. The girls were so fast. My father told me you have to make a move now or you will lose," Tchelapova said. Bjorgen, expected to be the star of women's cross country at the worlds, has settled for a bronze in the 10k along with her silver. She plans to enter all six women's events during the two-week championships. Kristina Smigun of Estonia, the defending champion, dropped out of the race after six kilometers. Men's ski jumping, where Janne Ahonen faces off against Adam Malysz, is scheduled for later Saturday.  

 

Piller Cottrer leads Italian upsets at Nordic worlds  
 
OBERSTDORF, ( 17/02/2005 18:28 ) Germany (AP) _ Italian roommates Pietro Piller Cottrer and Fulvio Valbusa stunned the favorites Thursday and finished 1-2 in the men's 15 kilometer freestyle race at the Nordic ski World Championships. In the women's 10 kilometer freestyle, veteran Czech skier Katerina Neumannova also was a surprise on the two-week event's opening day, taking the first gold medal at a major championship in a 14-year career. She finished in 26 minutes, 27.6 seconds on a sunny afternoon, edging Russia's Julija Tchepalova by 1.2 seconds. Norway's Marit Bjorgen was third, 15.2 behind. Piller Cottrer managed the tough Oberstdorf course, heavy with fresh snow, in 34:49.7 with Valbusa 11.2 seconds back. Third was the Norwegian, Ruud Hofstad, 14.2 seconds behind. German bookmakers gave 15-1 odds on Piller Cottrer, fourth in the 30 kilometers at the 2002 Olympics, taking the gold. "I've had so much trouble this season with the skis, my back, I couldn't even think about making the podium," said Piller Cottrer, 30. "Now I'm world champion _ it's great. It will be a double celebration." He hadn't finished better than seventh in a World Cup all season, while the best from his 36-year-old roommate, Valbusa, was 11th. Norway's Ole Einar Bjoerndalen failed in his bid to win a cross-country medal after capturing four Olympic biathlon golds in Salt Lake City. He finished 11th, 40.9 back. Overall World Cup leader Axel Teichmann of Germany was seventh, a slot behind France's Vincent Vittoz, his biggest rival this year in cross-country. Neumannova collected several silver and bronze medals at the Olympics and worlds in her career, but never could snare the gold. "Of course it's a dream, I've won so many silvers," Neumannova said. Tchepalova, whose two Olympic victories included the 30k race, was almost a minute ahead of Neumannova with 1.6 kilometers left, before the Czech charged. Neumannova fell on her back after the race and shook her hands in glee. "I thought I had finished second, that I lost three or four seconds on the final hill," the Czech said. Bjorgen came into the race a big favorite, having dominated the World Cup season with seven wins, including three over 10 kilometers or longer. She had long been known as only a sprint specialist before breaking through in the distance events this year 

Neumannova surprises favorites; wins first gold at worlds 
 
OBERSTDORF, ( 17/02/2005 14:28 ) Germany (AP) _ Veteran Czech skier Katerina Neumannova won her first gold at a major championship Thursday, edging Russia's Julija Tchepalova at the Nordic ski World Championships by 1.2 seconds to claim the women's 10 kilometer freestyle event. Neumannova, who has collected several silver and bronze medals at the Olympics and worlds in her 14-year career, finished the tough Oberstdorf course on a sunny afternoon in 26 minutes, 27.6 seconds. Tchepalova, a two-time gold medalist at the 2002 Olympics, was second. Race favorite Marit Bjorgen of Norway finished third, 15.2 behind. "Of course it's a dream, I've won so many silvers," Neumannova said. Tchepalova, whose Olympic victories included the 30k race, was almost a minute ahead of Neumannova with 1.6 kilometers left, before the Czech charged. Neumannova fell on her back after the race and shook her hands in glee. finish line. "I thought I had finished second, that I lost three or four seconds on the final hill," the Czech said. Bjorgen came into the race a big favorite, having dominated the World Cup season with seven wins, including three over 10 kilometers or longer. She had long been known as only a sprint specialist.  
 
 

FIS retains faith in Cologne laboratory at Nordic worlds despite flawed Vittoz doping tests 
 
OBERSTDORF, ( 16/02/2005 14:26 )  Germany (AP) _ FIS officials retain full faith in a laboratory that will handle doping tests for the Nordic world championships despite flawed tests of French cross-country skier Vincent Vittoz. The world skiing body said on Wednesday the laboratory in Cologne, Germany, reproduced Vittoz's positive A sample and negative B sample when it retested the specimens to try and determine the problem. The Frenchman, who was tested on Jan. 15 after winning a World Cup event, was not considered a doping case under FIS rules, which demand both samples be positive. But the news the Cologne laboratory came up with the same results while searching for the error came at the Nordic worlds, where fears among FIS officials are rampant that doping will overshadow the two-week event starting on Thursday. The Cologne laboratory will also process the hundreds of tests expected at the world championships in the scenic Alpine town of Oberstdorf. "We have full trust in the Cologne laboratory, which handles 10,000 tests a year and is accredited by WADA, the world anti-doping agency," said FIS general secretary Sarah Lewis. Lewis said FIS officials didn't know why the samples of Vittoz produced mixed results, adding Cologne was looking into the handling of the sample outside of the laboratory. Vittoz's initial sample tested positive for furosemide, a masking agent and diuretic, at a race in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. Lewis said doping controls at the world championships will be among the biggest in sports history as FIS officials and organizers try to avoid a repeat of the scandal-ridden 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, where three gold medalists in the Nordic disciplines were caught doping. "If we don't have a big case, the world championships are saved," FIS president Gian Franco Kasper said. " It's the biggest danger that this could be a theme that would depress the mood." Lewis said doping controls were increased in the weeks leading up to the championships, and that athletes will undergo both blood and urine tests. They will be tested for EPO, HGH (Human Growth Hormone) among other banned substances, along with "own blood transfusions," athletes reinjecting their own blood into their bodies to increase their oxygen supply. On Tuesday, 16 controllers were to test athletes at the training areas scattered across Oberstdorf, and at their hotels. "The danger of doping is always there. I hope the athletes know the chances of getting caught are high," Kasper said. "Maybe it will stop them, maybe it won't."