We all thought the big news would be the return of Norway. And certainly, that was the news, just not the lead. Norway swept both the men's and women's skiathlon podiums on Saturday and won the 4 x 5 k and 4 x 7.5 k relays on Sunday. But...and this is a big but, Alexander Bolshunov made headlines with his violent behavior as he crossed the finish line in Lahti on Sunday. 

Down the final straight, Joni Mæki from Finland went wide, closing off a charging Bolshunov - the two were battling for second and third place in the men's relay. Call it an aggressive move by Mæki or a wise tactical speed check on the incoming Bolshunov, either way, the Russian lost his cool. He swung a pole at the Finn and shortly after crossing the finish line with full steam momentum, he tackled Mæki. The Russian team was disqualified, the Finns took second place, and the podcast had an easy intro. 

The takeaway - be kind and be fair when things don't go your way. And also, we are thankful you are here to listen. 

In the big global picture, much has transpired since Jessie Diggins won the Tour de Ski. On the macro side of things, that being on the World Cup, a break has transpired. On Saturday, the cross-country World Cup returns with a skiathlon. The more notable news is the Norwegian national team will spice up the skiing as they return from a self-imposed hiatus from the World Cup since early December. 

We also answer some listener questions and discuss how we deal emotionally with less than desirable outcomes. So yeah, there's an unofficial therapy session of sorts. 

Thanks for listening and feel free to send questions to [email protected] and [email protected]. 

The question is not where to start. That is with Jessie Diggins and her shining moment over eight stages at the Tour de Ski. Diggins secured the overall win in the Tour de Ski on Sunday, the first non-European skier, male or female to win the Tour. Ivan Babikov, former Candian National Ski Team member and master of the Alpe himself, joins Devon to discuss Diggins, the Russians, the Alpe, and the vagaries of the Tour de Ski.

Thanks for listening along for our eight-episode series breaking down each stage. 
 

The Tour de Ski's Stage 7 cliff notes: Diggins remains the overall Tour de Ski leader after being eliminated in today's semi-finals of the classic sprint. The news day on the micro-level belongs to Sweden with a sweep of the women's podium and Oskar Svensson, yes a Swede, won on the men's side. More macro: Diggins wears the yellow bib heading into Sunday's final stage, the Alpe Cermis hill climb. Bolshunov has literally shut the door on the competition. 

The Tour de Ski's Stage 6 cliff notes: Diggins lands 9th on the stage but retains the overall lead, Brennan falls out of overall contention, Bolshunov wins, and Schumacher pops a top-10 for 8th place. (We are joined by guest Zach Caldwell.)

The Tour de Ski's Stage 5 cliff notes: A feisty race from both Diggins and Brennan. Diggins places third, Brennan fourth. In the men's race, Schumacher paces to 15th, and a wall of red as Bolshunov is simply peerless. Gus Schumacher arrives with a career-best 14th. 

The 5 k loop in Toblach, Italy was a Diggins course - according to Kershaw - and she took charge. With Diggins and Brennan going 1-2, again, the Tour de Ski has a decidedly American look on the women's side. 

And with most of Russia's men's roster in the top-8, the boys in red Lycra control the standings. A bright note for men's U.S. skiing, Gus Schumacher put together a top-15 worthy effort on the day.  

The Stage 4 breakdown on the podcast.

The show notes are short. Three long days of race coverage and we end stages 1-3 on a high note for U.S. women's skiing. Jessie Diggins, in a gritty race performance on Sunday, secured the Tour de Ski's overall lead while Rosie Brennan raced to second overall. If you have not taken the time to watch the race, please take the time. It is worthy. 

Here to discuss a late arriving email regarding the podcast's soft coverage of U.S. men's skiing and the day's racing is Nat Herz. Nat led the charge at FasterSkier several years ago and now is a reporter for Alaska Public Media based in Anchorage. 

Thanks again for listening. 

A big note upfront, in this episode we review a video when Devon was relegated for obstruction during a World Cup sprint. So, if you have a phone or other device handy, here's the link to the video. 

Take a look, because we'll get into this pretty deep in the episode. And .... we'll chat the racing of the day, Stage 2 of the 2021 Tour de ski - all mass start classic racing. 

The Race on the men's side shook out with a big Bolshunov win, while the women had a surprise winner of sorts with Swede Linn Svahn, known for her sprinting, won the day. Two American women in Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan remain in the hunt for the overall. 

We talk about children and car seats, obstruction on the sprint course, and where it goes from here with six stages to go. 

Let's cut to the chase ... this will be a long long 10 days of race coverage here at FasterSkier. Those 10 days include eight stages and two rest days. Phew. Today, Friday, January 1, saw Val Müstair, Switzerland host a stout skate sprint. Two laps of curves and whoops and hills at some altitude. 

Kershaw brings us into the action and susses out the trends. One major trend coming into the day, Rosie Brennan in the yellow bib  as the overall leader of the World Cup. One major trend coming out of the day, Jessie Diggins trending into her podium-form. The Swedes are back in the action and Simi Hamilton popped the fourth fastest qualifying time. Some good things to like about the day. 

For now it is onward. Seven stages to go.