1994–95 FIS Cross-Country World Cup

The 1994–95 FIS Cross-Country World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season for cross-country skiers. It was the 14th official World Cup season in cross-country skiing for men and women. The World Cup was organised by the International Ski Federation who also run world cups and championships in ski jumping, snowboarding and alpine skiing amongst others.

1994–95 FIS Cross-Country World Cup
Discipline Men Women
Overall Norway Bjørn Dæhlie (3rd title) Russia Yelena Välbe (4th title)
Nations Cup Norway Norway Russia Russia
Nations Cup Overall Russia Russia
Competition
Locations 10 venues 10 venues
Individual 15 events 15 events
Relay/Team events events

Bjørn Dæhlie reclaimed the crystal World Cup globe which Vladimir Smirnov had won in the 1993–94 season, thus taking his third overall men's World Cup title in four seasons. Smirnov won more races, with six wins including three during the 1995 World Championships, but Dæhlie was usually the runner-up. Also, one of Smirnov's World Championship wins didn't count towards the overall standings. Silvio Fauner, Harri Kirvesniemi, Torgny Mogren and Alexey Prokurorov also registered World Cup wins during the season.

In the women's Cup, Yelena Välbe won the six first events, and eventually won nine of the 15 races including one gold at the World Championships. Russians occupied the top five spots in the women's World Cup, with multiple races having three or more Russians on top of the standings. Only the Lahti 10 km was not won by a Russian skier, and in 11 of the 15 races did Russians occupy the top two spots in the standings. According to the Norwegian publication Sportsboken, the Russian women had not been this dominant since the 1970s.[1]

Calendar

Men

C – Classic / F – Freestyle
WC Date Place Discipline Winner Second Third Ref.
1 27 November 1994   Sweden Kiruna 10 km C   Norway Bjørn Dæhlie Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov Norway Kristen Skjeldal
2 14 December 1994   Austria Tauplitzalm 15 km C   Russia Alexey Prokourorov Norway Bjørn Dæhlie Sweden Niklas Jonsson
3 17 December 1994   Italy Sappada 15 km F   Norway Bjørn Dæhlie Italy Silvio Fauner Finland Jari Isometsä
4 20 December 1994   Italy Sappada 10 km F   Sweden Torgny Mogren Sweden Henrik Forsberg Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov
5 8 January 1995   Sweden Östersund 30 km F   Norway Bjørn Dæhlie Russia Alexey Prokourorov Norway Thomas Alsgaard
6 14 January 1995   Czech Republic Nové Město 15 km C   Finland Harri Kirvesniemi Finland Jari Isometsä Italy Silvio Fauner
7 27 January 1995   Finland Lahti 15 km F   Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov Norway Bjørn Dæhlie Finland Jari Isometsä
8 29 January 1995   Finland Lahti 15 km C   Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov Finland Jari Isometsä Norway Bjørn Dæhlie
9 4 February 1995   Sweden Falun 30 km C   Norway Bjørn Dæhlie Italy Silvio Fauner Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov
10 11 February 1995   Norway Oslo 50 km C   Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov Russia Alexey Prokourorov Russia Mikhail Botvinov
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1995[n 1] (9–19 March)
11 9 March 1995   Canada Thunder Bay 30 km C   Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov Norway Bjørn Dæhlie Russia Alexey Prokourorov
12 11 March 1995   Canada Thunder Bay 10 km F   Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov Norway Bjørn Dæhlie Finland Mika Myllylä
13 13 March 1995   Canada Thunder Bay 15 km F Pursuit   Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov Italy Silvio Fauner Finland Jari Isometsä
14 19 March 1995   Canada Thunder Bay 50 km F   Italy Silvio Fauner Norway Bjørn Dæhlie Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov
15 25 March 1995   Japan Sapporo 15 km F   Norway Bjørn Dæhlie Kazakhstan Vladimir Smirnov Norway Thomas Alsgaard

Women

WC Date Place Discipline Winner Second Third Ref.
127 November 1994Sweden Kiruna, Sweden5 km C Yelena Välbe (RUS) Nina Gavrylyuk (RUS) Trude Dybendahl (NOR)
Välbe won the 15-minute race with a 15-second margin, while Dybendahl took the only other podium place – it was to be the only podium place for Norway until Lahti.
214 December 1994Austria Tauplitz, Austria10 km C Yelena Välbe (RUS) Nina Gavrylyuk (RUS) Olga Danilova (RUS)
After a two-week break, the skiers resumed with a Wednesday race in Tauplitz, for the first World Cup race in the Austrian resort in five years. Välbe doubled her advantage to Gavrylyuk, while Danilova took third place in Dybendahl's absence, improving from 12th place in Kiruna. Larisa Lazutina placed fourth to complete the row of Russians.
317 December 1994Italy Sappada, Italy15 km F Yelena Välbe (RUS) Olga Korneyeva (RUS) Nina Gavrylyuk (RUS)
The Russians went one better than in Tauplitz, occupying the first five spots. Välbe won by 41 seconds, while Korneeva overtook both Gavrylyuk and Danilova in the longer distance, and earned the right to a relay stage for the first team the following day.
420 December 1994Italy Sappada, Italy5 km F Yelena Välbe (RUS)
 Nina Gavrylyuk (RUS)
 Olga Korneyeva (RUS)
In the final race before Christmas, someone managed to come close to Välbe. It was the same podium as the 15 km three days earlier, but Korneyeva was distanced by 11 seconds. Seven Russians placed on top of the standings.[2]
57 January 1995Sweden Östersund, Sweden30 km F Yelena Välbe (RUS) Stefania Belmondo (ITA) Nina Gavrylyuk (RUS)
Välbe won again, but Belmondo showed form by becoming the second non-Russian to make a podium place, more than 45 seconds ahead of third-placed Gavrylyuk in the longest freestyle World Cup race of the season.
614 January 1995Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic15 km C Yelena Välbe (RUS) Larisa Lazutina (RUS) Nina Gavrylyuk (RUS)
Välbe's sixth successive victory, in the first classical race in exactly one month. Once again four Russians placed in the top four.
728 January 1995Finland Lahti, Finland10 km C Inger Helene Nybråten (NOR) Marit Mikkelsplass (NOR) Larisa Lazutina (RUS)
The Russians struggled with worse skis,[1] allowing Norway to take the two top spots and get five women among the top eight. World Cup leader Välbe, unbeaten thus far in the season, finished 15th. Third-placed Lazutina was 3.9 seconds behind Nybråten, the smallest margin thus far in the season.
84 February 1995Sweden Falun, Sweden10 km C Nina Gavrylyuk (RUS) Yelena Välbe (RUS) Larisa Lazutina (RUS)
Once more four Russians occupied the four top spots, in a closer race than in Lahti; Lazutina was only 3.2 seconds behind the gold medallist. Gavrylyuk finally won a race outright, after having placed among the top four in every race up to this.
95 February 1995Sweden Falun, Sweden10 km F Pursuit Yelena Välbe (RUS) Nina Gavrylyuk (RUS) Larisa Lazutina (RUS)
The four Russians started with an advantage from the classical race, and remained in the lead. In the dash for the finish, Välbe was well ahead of her Russian compatriots.
1011 February 1995Norway Oslo, Norway30 km C Larisa Lazutina (RUS) Anita Moen Guidon (NOR) Olga Danilova (RUS)
The traditional Holmenkollen race ended without Välbe on the podium; Moen Guidon finished strongly, but finished 19 seconds behind Lazutina. Moen caught Danilova, who started half a minute ahead, and the pair got second and third, Danilova beating World Cup leader Välbe by a couple of seconds.
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1995[n 1] (9–19 March)
1110 March 1995Canada Thunder Bay, Canada15 km C Larisa Lazutina (RUS) Yelena Välbe (RUS) Inger Helene Nybråten (NOR)
A month's break followed, as the skiers acclimatised to conditions in Canada. Välbe had not recovered to her pre-January form, admitting before the Championships that Lazutina was going to win everything.[3] Indeed, Lazutina won by over a minute, the largest margin of victory per kilometre in the World Cup season. Nybråten took her second podium place of the season and what was to be her only individual international medal.
1212 March 1995Canada Thunder Bay, Canada5 km C Larisa Lazutina (RUS) Nina Gavrylyuk (RUS) Manuela Di Centa (ITA)
Välbe without a medal again, finishing fourth, but still clinching the World Cup overall standings. Lazutina won by 23 seconds, while the Norwegians complained of poor skis in the heat (15 °C), and Di Centa, two-time gold medallist at Lillehammer in 1994, got her first podium place of the season after recovering from surgery to the intestines.
1314 March 1995Canada Thunder Bay, Canada10 km F Pursuit Larisa Lazutina (RUS) Nina Gavrylyuk (RUS) Olga Danilova (RUS)
Danilova rallied from 15th place in the 5 km to record the best time of the race, but after trailing by a minute after the classical race, it was only enough for bronze. Lazutina had the second-best time and Gavrylyuk the third, while Välbe finished 12th.
1418 March 1995Canada Thunder Bay, Canada30 km F Yelena Välbe (RUS) Manuela Di Centa (ITA) Antonina Ordina (SWE)
Välbe took her sixth individual World Championship gold, and her eighth win of the season, as classical-specialist Lazutina fell to fifth place. The margin of victory was more than a minute. Di Centa got her second podium place, and her 140 points from the World Championships made up 85% of her total World Cup score. Russian-born Ordina took Sweden's only individual podium place of the season.
1525 March 1995Japan Sapporo, Japan15 km F Yelena Välbe (RUS) Larisa Lazutina (RUS) Nina Gavrylyuk (RUS)
Of the long-distance free style medallists in Thunder Bay, Di Centa didn't turn up, Ordina finished fourth, while Välbe won by half a minute in her last race of the season. It was an all-Russian podium for the seventh time this season.

Men's team

C – Classic / F – Freestyle
WC Date Place Discipline Winner Second Third Ref.
1 18 December 1994   Italy Sappada 4 × 10 km relay F    Norway I
Egil Kristiansen
Kristen Skjeldal
Bjørn Dæhlie
Thomas Alsgaard
 Finland
Sami Repo
Jukka Hartonen
Jari Isometsä
Mika Myllylä
 Sweden
Morgan Göransson
Torgny Mogren
Christer Majbäck
Henrik Forsberg
2 15 January 1995   Norway Nové Město 4 × 10 km relay C    Finland
Karri Hietamäki
Jari Isometsä
Harri Kirvesniemi
Mika Myllylä
 Sweden
Mathias Fredriksson
Niklas Jonsson
Christer Majbäck
Henrik Forsberg
 Italy
Fabio Maj
Silvio Fauner
Gaudenzio Godioz
Marco Albarello
3 5 February 1995   Sweden Falun 4 × 10 km relay C    Norway
Sture Sivertsen
Terje Langli
Bjørn Dæhlie
Thomas Alsgaard
 Finland
Jari Räsänen
Jukka Hartonen
Jari Isometsä
Mika Myllylä
 Sweden I
Mathias Fredriksson
Anders Bergström
Lars Håland
Henrik Forsberg
N/A[n 2] 5 February 1995   Norway Hamar 4 × 5.5 km relay F    Italy
Maurizio Pozzi
Gaudenzio Godioz
Fabio Maj
Silvio Fauner
 Finland
Jari Isometsä
Mika Myllylä
Jukka Hartonen
Jari Räsänen
 Germany
Peter Schlickenrieder
Jochen Behle
Torald Rein
Andreas Schlütter
4 12 February 1995   Norway Oslo 4 × 5 km relay C/F    Finland
Karri Hietamäki
Harri Kirvesniemi
Mika Kuusisto
Sami Repo
 Sweden
Mathias Fredriksson
Niklas Jonsson
Torgny Mogren
Henrik Forsberg
 Norway I
Sture Sivertsen
Erling Jevne
Egil Kristiansen
Thomas Alsgaard
5[n 1] 17 March 1995   Canada Thunder Bay 4 × 10 km relay C/F    Norway
Sture Sivertsen
Erling Jevne
Bjørn Dæhlie
Thomas Alsgaard
 Finland
Karri Hietamäki
Harri Kirvesniemi
Jari Räsänen
Jari Isometsä
 Italy
Fulvio Valbusa
Marco Albarello
Fabio Maj
Silvio Fauner
6 26 March 1995   Japan Sapporo 4 × 10 km relay C/F    Norway
Vegard Ulvang
Bjørn Dæhlie
Kristen Skjeldal
Thomas Alsgaard
 Italy
Marco Albarello
Silvio Fauner
Gaudenzio Godioz
Fabio Maj
 Finland
Mika Kuusisto
Harri Kirvesniemi
Sami Repo
Jari Isometsä

Women's team

WC Date Place Discipline Winner Second Third Ref.
1 18 December 1994 Italy Sappada, Italy 4 × 5 km relay C  Russia I
Olga Danilova
Nina Gavrylyuk
Olga Korneyeva
Yelena Välbe
 Russia II
Olga Pyleva
Yelena Shalina
Larisa Lazutina
Natalya Martynova
 Norway I
Anita Moen
Elin Nilsen
Marit Mikkelsplass
Trude Dybendahl
Russia showed their dominance of female free-style cross-country skiing with two teams ahead of the competition; Russia I won by nearly a minute, while Norway in third place were a further 20 seconds behind.
2 15 January 1995 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 4 × 5 km relay C  Russia I
Olga Danilova
Nina Gavrylyuk
Larisa Lazutina
Yelena Välbe
 Norway
Inger Helene Nybråten
Marit Mikkelsplass
Kari Uglem
Maj Helen Sorkmo
 Russia II
Olga Pyleva
Yelena Shalina
Natalya Baranova
Olga Korneyeva
With the relay being in classical style, Norway managed to beat the second Russian team; however, Russia's first team, made up of the top four in the previous day's race, won by a minute. The race time was slow, with Russia recording a total time of 65 minutes, nearly 20 minutes slower than in Sappada.
3 27 January 1995 Finland Lahti, Finland 4 × 5 km relay F  Russia I
Olga Korneyeva
Nina Gavrylyuk
Larisa Lazutina
Yelena Välbe
 Russia II
Olga Pyleva
Yelena Shalina
Natalya Martynova
Olga Danilova
 Norway
Anita Moen
Elin Nilsen
Trude Dybendahl
Bente Martinsen
The second double Russian triumph in a free-style relay this season, though the distance between Russia's first team and second team was almost four times as great as that between Russia's second and Norway.
N/A[n 2] 7 February 1995 Norway Hamar, Norway 4 × 3 km relay F  Russia
Olga Danilova
Nina Gavrylyuk
Larisa Lazutina
Yelena Välbe
 Norway
Anita Moen
Elin Nilsen
Bente Martinsen
Trude Dybendahl
 Italy
Sabina Valbusa
Guidina Dal Sasso
Cristina Paluselli
Stefania Belmondo
In a Tuesday show race inside the Olympic speed skating arena of Vikingskipet, Norway came closer to Russia than they had ever been, but still finished 12 seconds behind.
4 12 February 1995 Norway Oslo, Norway 4 × 5 km relay C/F  Russia I
Olga Danilova
Larisa Lazutina
Nina Gavrylyuk
Yelena Välbe
 Norway I
Marit Mikkelsplass
Inger Helene Nybråten
Elin Nilsen
Anita Moen
 Russia II
Natalya Baranova
Yelena Shalina
Olga Korneyeva
Natalya Martynova
Russia won by 30 seconds, the closest win margin in a relay thus far in the season, while the Russian second team and the Norwegian second team followed.
5[n 1] 17 March 1995 Canada Thunder Bay, Canada 4 × 5 km relay C/F  Russia
Olga Danilova
Larisa Lazutina
Yelena Välbe
Nina Gavrylyuk
 Norway
Marit Mikkelsplass
Inger Helene Nybråten
Elin Nilsen
Anita Moen
 Sweden
Anna Frithioff
Marie-Helene Östlund
Antonina Ordina
Anette Fanqvist
Russia were dominant, winning by more than a minute and a half. Danilova went straight to the lead on the first stage, outside the classical tracks, and Norwegian leaders commented that they could have protested but did not want to. Except for Välbe, all the Russian skiers had the best stage time. Ordina pulled away from Nilsen on the third stage, winning half a minute, but Moen Guidon caught Fanqvist in the final sprint and beat her to the finish line, winning silver by one tenth of a second.
6 26 March 1995 Japan Sapporo, Japan 4 × 5 km relay C/F  Russia
Nina Gavrylyuk
Larisa Lazutina
Natalya Martynova
Yelena Välbe
 Norway
Trude Dybendahl
Inger Helene Nybråten
Marit Mikkelsplass
Elin Nilsen
 Sweden
Anna Frithioff
Marie-Helene Östlund
Antonina Ordina
Anette Fanqvist

Overall results

Below are tables showing the number of points won in the 1994–95 FIS Cross-Country World Cup for men and women.

11 races counted towards the total; the 9 best of the 11 races outside the World Championships, as well as the two best World Championship races.

Place Points
1st100
2nd80
3rd60
4th50
5th45
6th40
7th36
8th32
9th29
10th26
11th24
12th22
13th20
14th18
15th16
16th15
17th14
18th13
19th12
20th11
21st10
22nd9
23rd8
24th7
25th6
26th5
27th4
28th3
29th2
30th1

Achievements

Victories in this World Cup (all-time number of victories as of 1994/95 season in parentheses)

Notes

  1. Until FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1999, World Championship races are part of the World Cup. Hence results from those races are included in the World Cup overall.
  2. Unofficial World Cup race inside the Olympic speed skating arena of Vikingskipet.

References

  • FIS Official Site World Cup Results
  • Sportsboken 95-96, ed. Arvid Eriksen, Schibsted, ISBN 82-516-1583-6.
  1. Eriksen et al., p. 29.
  2. "FIS-SKI - resultats - Sappada 20.10.1994". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-01-23.
  3. Eriksen et al., p. 24.
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