FIS World Cup: Drammen Skate Sprint Race

Another great day in Drammen! The sun was out, the cheering crowds returned, and Kikkan Randall took home GOLD! It doesn't get much better than this, folks. 

Heia Norge!

 I arrived in Drammen around noon, and the atmosphere was already building. Athletes were previewing the course and I was able to see a few Americans (and a whole lot of Norwegians) getting adjusted to the course. The women raced 1.2K while the men did an extra section, extending their course to 1.6K.

Kikkan Randall (USA) followed by Chandra Crawford (CAN) and Petra Majdic (SLO)

Petter Northug warming up for the quarterfinals

The air was cold but the skating was still fast. Incredibly fast. A snowmobile equipped with a video camera flew alongside the racers on the starting and finishing stretches during the quarter-, semis-, and finals. I was blown away by the power and speed of the racers! It is one thing to read about it, even to watch on TV. It is something completely different to see with your own eyes the strength and agility of these athletes. They are professionals, no question about that!

The prologue went smoothly, and the crowd kept growing as we got closer to the quarterfinals. I decided to stake out a place along the fence at the corner of a downhill, coming off the highest point on the course. From my spot I had a distant (but decent) view of the start, a straight shot to the TV mega-screen, and a clear view of the finish lanes. 

Kikkan Randall and Andy Newell were the only Americans to progress into the quarterfinals. Newell had the third fastest qualification time but got bumped in the quarterfinals. Randall came in sixth in the qualifying rounds, won her quarterfinal and did the same with the semi. 

The final was stacked: Arianna Follis from Italy, Ida Ingemarsdotter and Charlotte Kalla from Sweden, Maiken Caspersen Falla and Marit Bjørgen from Norway, and Kikkan Randall, the lone North American. Randall had a strong start and stayed tight within the pack. She was second when she flew past me and barreled through the last corner onto the straight away. It was a dog fight from there, and the Alaskan pulled away with an incredibly strong V2 to her second World Cup victory this season. Congrats!

photo courtesy of worldcupdrammen.no

Alex Harvey from Canada didn't seem too phased to be the only non-Scandinavian racer in the men's final. He finished strong in second place and brought some hardware home for Canada. Emil Joensson from Sweden was the overall winner, and Petter Northug of Norway took third. Marcus Hellner from Sweden finished behind Northug, and Martti Jylhae (Finland) and Mats Larsson (Sweden) rounded out the field.

Today was such an amazing day. If this was any indication of what the sprints at Holmenkollen will be like, I'm thrilled!

Additional links:

• Here are the final results of the Women and Men.
• These videos give a nice taste of the spectator's experience at Drammen.
• Cross-country skiing news from Norway- if you translate it into English using Google Translator, the videos won't work. 
• FasterSkier, source of reliable North American ski-related news.