Nordic Roundup: Fisher likes his flyers, Val di Fiemme bids, champs lead again

Nordic Roundup: Fisher likes his flyers, Val di Fiemme bids, champs lead again{mosimage}The two-man U.S. ski jumping squad — 2002 Olympians Clint Jones and Alan Alborn — have just wrapped a week of intensive jump training at Utah Olympic Park, on the fringes of Park City at Bear Hollow. They leave right after Christmas for the annual Four Hills Tournee in Europe and head coach Corby Fisher likes what he’s been seeing from his guys.

“We’ve had some great training this past week and now they’re taking some downtime,” Fisher told Ski Racing . “If they can maintain what they’ve been doing when we get back to Europe, they’ll keep moving up.”

Fisher, in his first year as jumping head coach after two years as jumping coach with the U.S. nordic combined team, said two things have amazed him this season — the consistency of robo-jumper Janne Ahonen of Finland, and the speedy bounce-back by Alborn. Ahonen has won an unprecedented seven of the eight World Sup contests to open the season — including coming from behind to win both weekend meets in Engelberg, Switzerland . Meanwhile, Alborn ended retirement after just a year last spring when he felt a painful knee was healthy again, he realized he’d retired too soon, and he was pleased when Fisher was named to replace Kari Ylianttila…who moved on to become head coach for Sweden.

“Every jump has been so consistent from Janne. It’s always good to see the best performing at their own level, and he’s been there all season,” the coach said. “At the same time, Alan’s come back so quickly after a year away and he’ll be back in the points (i.e., top 30 results); he’s so close and only the fact jumping is so extra competitive now has keep him out. Clint’s had three top-30s and if they jump as well as they showed this past week, they’ll keep moving ahead.”

Val di Fiemme looks for Worlds three-peat

The 1991 nordic World Championships and the ’03 championships were held in Val di Fiemme, Italy, just south of the Brenner Pass heading out of Innsbruck. Now, those same organizers are saying they want to open the next decade by holding the 2001 nordic Worlds.

In a press release this week, Val di Fiemme announced it had received the endorsement of the International Federation of Winter Sports. “The echo of the success of 1991 and 2003 still lives,” said one headline. The bids won’t be considered until the International Ski Federation (FIS) convention in Portugal in 2006 but officials said they would be lobbying during the 2005 championships in Oberstdorf, Germany, in February.

FIS chief Gian Franco Kasper, the release said, told delegates to the FIS convention in Miami last spring, “During the world championships there were no clouds in the Val di Fiemme, both from the meteorological and organizational point of view.” Their chief rival is expected to be Oslo, which last hosted the World Championships in 1982, and perhaps Lahti, Finland, scene of the 2001 Worlds and five previous championships.

Champs defending SuperTour titles…so far

After seven races, reigning cross-country SuperTour champions Dave Chamberlain and Rebecca Dussault are holding onto their crowns. Dussault has a tighter grip than Chamberlain.

Freestyle events over the weekend at Soldier Hollow saw Dussault team with Kikkan Randall for victory Sunday in the sprint relay and finish second Saturday to Sarah Konrad in the 10-kilometer skate race. While Lars Flora won the men’s 15km race and team with Chad Giese for the sprint team triumph.

As the SuperTour went into the holidays break, Dussault has 165 points and three wins (with Canadian Beckie Scott winning the only three races she entered and Konrad collecting the other victory) to 115 points for Swiss skier Karen Camenisch. Chamberlain has 135 points and one victory to 130 points (and one victory) for Giese, 113 points for Flora. Everyone mixes it up Jan. 3-10 during the U.S. championships at Soldier Hollow because the races will double as SuperTour events. They also will help sort out who goes to Oberstdorf, Germany, as part of the World Championships team.

No go on nordic combined make-up

Don’t count on the nordic combined World Cups, which were (lack of) snowed out Dec. 11-12 in Val di Fiemme, Italy, being rescheduled. FIS officials contacted a half-dozen potential backup sites — from Norway and Finland to Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic but each couldn’t pass muster. Too co$tly, no TV signal, prior commitment (Engelberg and St. Moritz already were hosting other World Cup events).

As the combiners broke after four events, Todd Lodwick was in third place and Johnny Spillane in fourth. When the schedule resumes Dec. 30 in Oberhof, Germany, with the start of the German Grand Prix, Bill Demong, skiing his best since fracturing his skull in August 2002 in a bizarre swimming pool mishap, moves up to the World Cup after leading the first period of World Cup-B action. He won twice in Lake Placid and had two podiums in Steamboat Springs.