Sapporo Pursuits (spoiler alert)

It was worth staying up late to track the races online, if not see them
(yet).

In the women's 2x7.5km, Beckie won the battle, but not the war. Scott
led at the change and was clearly gunning for the win, which she took
in an apparent sprint over Kristin Stoermer Steira. Evi Sachenbacher
Stehle took third, almost thirty seconds back, and Marit Bjorgen 42
seconds back, in fourth, earning enough points to take the overall
title, with Scott in second for the overall. Kinda sad, especially if
Scott retires now. I'd love to see her on the tracks in Vancouver in
four years, but lord four years is a long ways off.

Results: http://www.fis-ski.com/uk/604/610.ht...CC&raceid=8856

The men's pursuit was insane, and should satisfy everyone who's been
clamoring for cycling-style breakaways. A group of three or four was
out front almost the entire race: Sodergren, M. Fredriksson, Veerpalu
(even in the skating leg!), and Northug, who bridged up early in the
skating. Tracking the live FIS coverage
(http://www.sportresult.com/sports/cc...=STD&int_id=99),
I thought that Northug would close on the Swedes and sprint for the
win, but he couldn't quite do it and Fredriksson won by almost 4
seconds. So much for the "every race is just a slog with a sprint" line
of questioning. Overall champ Angerer finished more than 1:30 down. The
best North American was Devon Kershaw in 36th, the best American Andrew
Johnson in 48th.