Biathlon: the selection of the Austrian national team for the 2025/2026 training season Biathlon | Nordic skiing : for the Olympic winter the French teams will once again be changing their overalls Biathlon | “Joining this group is a step forward in my project” : Bressaud Martin Botet talks about his arrival in the French B team Biathlon | “It was a tiring race”: Johannes Thingnes Boe reflects on his participation in the Grue Halvmaraton Biathlon | “Joining the federal group is not an end in itself”: the words of Guillaume Poirot Camille Grataloup-Manissolle and Antonin Delsol Cross-country skiing: the selection of the Swedish national team for the 2025/2026 season Cross-country skiing : Gustav Kvarnbrink’s fright after being hit by a car while training Cross-country skiing | Nordic skiing: the composition of the Austrian team for the 2025/2026 season Cross-country skiing | “It’s really nice to see progress” Jessie Diggins gives her news following plantar fasciitis Norway or Bessans : the full programme of French team training camps to prepare for 2025/2026 Nordic combined: the composition of the French teams for the 2025/2026 season Nordic combined: Ivar Stuan remains Norway’s boss for another 2 years… with an option until 2030 Nordic Combined: Florian Schabereiter becomes head coach of the Austrian women’s national team Nordic combined | Mo i Rana: Ida Marie Hagen and Jens Luraas Oftebro crowned Norwegian mass start and gundersen champions Nordic Combined : the full list of 2024/2025 World Cup winners Ski jumping | “Not the season I imagined” Ski jumping: Slovenia’s Bine Norcic takes over from Rune Velta at the helm of the Swiss team Ski jumping: Thomas Thurnbichler to coach Germany’s B team Ski jumping: the make-up of the French teams for the 2025/2026 season… with newcomer Louis Obersteiner and leaders Joséphine Pagnier and Valentin Foubert Ski jumping: Rune Velta decides to step down as Switzerland coach Rollerskiing | ASOP and Thomas Joly launch the HautDoubsLoppet a 42 km classic ski-wheel race: first edition on 27 July Rollerski | Soldier Hollow: the Schutzenski Festival free sprint for Jessie Diggins and Reid Goble Rollerski | Soldier Hollow: Luke Jager and Rosie Brennan win the individual classic at the Schutzenski Festival Rollerski | “There are many reasons”: why didn’t Arnaud Du Pasquier’s third Dupaski Festival take place this weekend Rollerskiing | “It’s very reassuring”: the satisfaction of Mathis Desloges after winning the French individual classic title in La Bresse Vu de Trondheim #2: Jarl Magnus Riiber stripped of his title From Trondheim #1 : Marit Bjoergen head coach for women’s sprint Vu de Norge #451 : Sturla Holm Lægreid stands up against homophobia Vu de Norge #449 : Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen improves his rifle Planète Nordic #29: Oleksandra Merkushyna appreciates Julia Simon’s gesture Planète Nordic #23 : Norwegian cross-country skiers take on footballer Erling Braut Haaland on his recovery techniques dog’s name… at the Tour de Ski Planète Nordic #21 : Sebastian Samuelsson donates his race number to Dmytro Pidruchnyi in support of Ukraine Nordic Planet #20 : Dorothea Wierer could do nothing about the individual short in Kontiolahti after suffering a back injury Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Discover the full composition of the Austrian biathlon team for the 2025/2026 season the equipment supplier to the French biathlon and Nordic ski teams Among the new biathletes in the federal group for the 2025/2026 preparations is Martin Botet A native of the Vosges who lives in Savoie,.. A few days after completing the Halvmaraton in 1h20m19 Johannes Thingnes Boe gave his first reaction to the Norwegian media Camille Grataloup-Manissolle and Antonin Delsol tell Nordic Magazine how delighted they are to be joining the men's Excellence 2030 group for the.. Océane Michelon talks to Nordic Magazine about her magnificent 2024/2025 season Czech Marketa Davidova has undergone surgery on her herniated disc Coralie Perrin and Louise Roguet talk about their delight at joining the women's Excellence 2030 group for.. Want to enjoy the pleasures of the mountains Paris may not be lucky enough to be at the foot of the mountains but it's less than 5 hours from some resorts but the capital is less than 5 hours from some of France’s most beautiful resorts So you can enjoy the pleasures of the mountains without having to travel too far from the capital (or almost) Here’s a short list of the most beautiful resorts close to Paris Gérardmer is a pretty town in the heart of the Hautes-Vosges. You can ski on 40 km of pistes for all levels, as well as 30 km of Nordic skiing. What a great time to be had between forest trees and lakes This favorite spot for families and amateur skiers is ideally located in the heart of the Parc régional des ballons des Vosges La Bresse Hohneck offers 33 slopes facing the summit of the Hohneck mountain but you can also go tobogganing or ice skating there’s Europe’s longest zip line We also recommend a visit to the pretty mountain village If you’re looking to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of Paris Mont Jura is the perfect ski resort to recharge your batteries three downhill ski areas and a Nordic ski area where snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are king This resort offers 125 km of groomed trails open to the mountains and 122 km of Nordic ski trails you can also stay at the foot of the slopes in the superb snow-covered village this famous ski resort boasts 183 km of slopes to glide down in total freedom impressive lifts and 250 km of slopes offering great vertical drops for thrill-seekers The perfect opportunity to take a deep breath of fresh air all spread over five massifs in the heart of the Aravis massif the resort also offers bike and scooter sessions on a specially-designed trail A whole new way to experience the mountains gives you the opportunity to admire breathtaking panoramas above the clouds that gently envelop the mountains Discover the spectacular slopes of this resort Chamrousse’s all-inclusive package allows you to purchase a train and shuttle package to facilitate your stay and create unforgettable memories A sporting trip in total tranquillity in the peace and quiet of this unique Alpine resort… This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Dauphiné cross-country skier Mathis Desloges talks to Nordic Magazine about his victory in the individual 10km classic at the French wheel-ski championships in La Bresse (Vosges) Find out where and when the French cross-country skiing team will be preparing for the summer of 2025 Rollerskiing: a long-distance race in Oye-et-Pallet this summer Come summer the major roller-ski races are all concentrated in Norway and Sweden 15:09.Just minutes after Eric Rosjoe ‘s victory in the men’s race it was the turn of the women’s cross-country skiers to compete in the.. During the classic mass-start of the French cross-country skiing championships in Les Saisies (Savoie) on Sunday afternoon Chloé Chevalier from the Isère region competed in her last biathlon race during the mass start of the French Championships.. In the final race of the 2025 French Championships in Les Saisies (Savoie) Gaëtan Paturel won the bronze medal in the mass start of the French biathlon championships in Les Saisies (Savoie) On Sunday afternoon in Les Saisies (Savoie) Romain Vaxelaire from the Vosges became the French U20 champion in the classic cross-country mass-start Canadian's Catharine Pendrel and Emily Batty complete podium who finished second and third respectively The rain that had been forecast for race day came the night before riders faced a technical section traversing the top of the course before a long and she was a last minute scratch last weekend in Albstadt having won the European Championships earlier in the month breaking away on the first long climb and then using her descending skills to further open a gap on the first lap Jenny Rissveds (Scott-Odlo) and Lea Davison (Specialized) took up the early chase who had crashed heavily a week earlier pulled out after having difficulty on the descents with her injured wrist Davison also crashed and fell off the pace but Batty and Nash were chasing together until Batty dropped the Czech rider and both she and Batty were closing on Neff as she nursed a flat down the descent to the tech zone Batty took the lead as they started the final lap but was soon joined by both Neff and Pendrel and then Neff attacked and Pendrel could not respond "I wasn't sure how I would feel on the final climb," said Neff "because on the earlier laps I could just ride my own pace so today I really didn't know before the race how I was going to feel I am extremely happy to have done so well and that I could ride I am really looking forward to recover completely." the winner of the first two rounds and the World Cup leader and was covered in mud after the second lap; clearly having difficulty with the descents and finishing 15th making the competition tight for the second half of the season Linda Indergand (Focus XC) is a distant third Paula Botet was impressive this Friday morning in the IBU Cup sprint in Geilo (Norway) after crashing and injuring themselves in separate incidents Last round of Olympic qualification battle set for La Bresse Hanlen and Joseph battle for New Zealand Olympic place Joseph, who broke her arm, was in a heated battle with fellow New Zealand rider Karen Hanlen for the single spot New Zealand is qualifying while Hungary had an outside chance of catching Denmark for the final women's spot Benko injured her ankle and while it is probably not broken Heavy clouds are now moving in after sunny weather earlier in the week which follows closely the predictions for rain this weekend the course will become muddy and slippery quickly - particularly the downhill Riders have being saying that it is still ride-able when wet but that doesn't take into account the damage that will be done by some 400 under 23 and junior riders on Saturday prior to the elite races on Sunday Stay tuned to Cyclingnews for full coverage of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in La Bresse France grueling season that started way back in South Africa for the cross country racers its finals weekend for the 2018 World Cup season France has hosting honours for this years season finals The venue hadn’t been used for a while it is the first time the town has hosted a World Cup round since way back in 2011 but it’s not an entirely new venue for the circuit RELATED: How to watch: World Cup Finals from La Bresse, France there a few changes to the usual program from other World Cup weekends Friday’s qualifiers do not carry the UCI points that they would any other round the 50 points that would go to the fastest qualifying time moves over to the finals This makes a win on Saturday worth 250 points The point seems to be to avoid having the overall title decided by points awarded during qualifying though Amaury Pierron has already locked up the Men’s title Amaury Pierron may have wrapped up the Men’s World Cup with three wins to his name already this year But the French rider will surely be hunting for a fourth with the series returning to his home country who will have the same idea in their heads and both are still fighting for position in the series overall behind Pierron A French podium has looked possible a few times this season and this could be the round it finally happens and American talent that will look to disrupt a French sweep though fresh off injury and riding a new prototype 29″ bike from YT RELATED: Watch: Preview the La Bresse World Cup Finals track Canada’s Finn Iles and Mark Wallace have been threatening the podium all year In his first year of Elite racing since graduating from Junior finishing fifth in at round #5 in Vallnord Miranda Miller looked to be back on pace at home in Canada finishing eighth at Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup It’s her final appearance in the world champion rainbow stripes before having to defend her title in Lenzerhide this September The Women’s overall is still up in the air with just 110 points separating Rachel Atherton – who has two wins and has not finished worse than third – and Tahnée Seagrave – who has three wins but was disqualified at the Leogang round for leaving the course The UCI’s change to the point structure for finals could benefit Seagrave if she can get ahead of Atherton on the podium Emily Batty has two battles on her hands this weekend in La Bresse She starts the weekend within reach of 3rd in the series overall behind Jolanda Neff and Annika Langvad who’s battle for the top spot has separated them from the rest of the field The Canadian has also been on the podium for several rounds in a row and will surely be focused on using that form to claim her first World Cup win ever Catharine Pendrel is building form after a mid-season injury The Canadian Olympian returned to racing at Mont-Sainte-Anne and will be looking to find more speed before heading to world championships in Lenzerheide in two weeks time Haley Smith had a breakout result at Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup pushing inside the top-10 for the first time Sandra Walter will also be looking to get another solid result especially if muddy conditions persist through Sunday Walter’s first top-20 this year came at the treacherously slick Albstadt The final Canadian in La Bresse is Cindy Montambault Canada’s quartet of Elite Men will all be at Le Bresse with two-time Canadian national champion Peter Disera joined by Raphaël Gagné Léandre Bouchard – racing in his KMC-Ekoi-SR Suntour’s home country Only two Canadian’s will be racing La Bresse in the Under-23 races National champion Sean Fincham and Quinton Disera both take on the Under-23 Men’s race and both have been showing impressive results this year Fincham especially has had several results in the mid-teens and the Squamish rider could benefit from a technical Get the digital edition of Canadian Cycling Magazine The 2023 USA Motoclimb Team competed against Europe’s best Motoclimb athletes at Montee Impossible in La Bresse The team—which consisted of Harold Waddell Logan Cipala and Austin Teyler—was compiled through qualifying during the 2019 IRC Motoclimb Super Series season The team put in extra effort this year and shipped over three USA-style racebikes to compete with including two GSX-R1000s and a methanol-powered KTM 950 The Montee Impossible was also the Nation’s Cup with more than five nations represented and competing for both overall and individual results Each racer had the opportunity to try the hill five times and the one with the shortest time and covered the greatest distance wins the round This hill is at least 800 feet long and gets nearly vertical in the final 30 feet Rocks and rough spots litter the entire main hill Joe Shipman was the first American to make it over the top Those two successful attempts were the only two runs in which an American waved the checkered flag at the top Cipala and Teyler were mere feet from reaching the top cleanly Shipman and Waddell suffered in the later rounds and couldn’t make successful runs to the top took advantage of their home-turf advantage and crested multiple times throughout the day Multi-time USA Champion Logan Cipala described the challenging hill “This was the most difficult hill I’ve ever raced in my life.” Yohan Peltier of France was holding the fast time with his KTM 1190 until fellow French racer Vincent Mougenot pulled off a very quick run on his Suzuki TL1000 on nitrous Harold Waddell was sitting in the third podium spot until French racer Thomas Jolly went over the top faster and bumped “The Gasser” back to fourth place There was also a Stock Bike Verticross in which racers battled up the hill in a tournament bracket format and it was Teyler who made it to the finish line first to win the class as they swept the overall podium and won the Nation’s Cup The American athletes had a couple of top 10s and placed second in the Nation’s Cup This was an exhibition race for the 2023 IRC Motoclimb Super Series which will continue stateside at its next round at the Big Hill Jam in Yoncalla 2014This article was published more than 10 years ago raised in France and considered to be the finest in the world Mark Schatzker sampled the next best thing – a similar bird farm – and got a taste of what Canadian chicken could be I received an unexpected e-mail from one Amanda Nelson of Delta She wanted to know if I would be interested in sampling the Bresse chicken she raises on her farm with her husband The default answer to an offer like this is pretty clear: When can I get some is widely considered the finest chicken in the world rigidly controlled by the French government True poulet de Bresse may only be raised in the region of Bresse These special chickens are reared outdoors for several weeks so their flesh is infused with the flavour of all the local bugs before finally being fattened on a diet of grain soaked in buttermilk so that richly flavoured flesh becomes wrapped in a layer of succulent fat Since chicken from France can’t legally be imported into Canada The Nelsons raise the same variety of chickens grown in France after which the birds are fattened on grain and buttermilk Matthew Nelson even goes to the trouble of sprinkling lime on his fields to create a more Bresse-like pasture What the Nelsons were offering me wasn’t a taste of the best chicken in all of France so much as a vision of what Canadian chicken could be apart from some of the black-skinned silkie chickens for sale at Chinese grocery stores and the odd heirloom chicken coming out of Quebec we can thank the government-imposed supply management which forces would-be chicken farmers to buy market share small farmers can raise no more than 300 meat chickens and they can’t be sold anywhere other than from the farm Canadian food-lovers have been seduced by the flavours of pastured pork and grass-fed beef over the past decade It took more than six months for the Nelsons to deliver on their offer and Matthew didn’t think the chickens fattened well He started all over again in March and by mid-summer he had a batch he was willing to stake his reputation on That gave me time to find lunch companions One of them was the winemaker Norman Hardie worked for the French chef Jean-Pierre Billoux and fell in love with poulet de Bresse who is the chef at Toronto’s Café Boulud and trained under the great French chef Daniel Boulud Shedden consulted the master on how best to prepare Poulet de Delta He recommended poaching the bird in a mild stock the buttermilk-fattened Poulet de Delta was lying on a counter in Shedden’s kitchen and Shedden was admiring the deposits of fat in the bird’s cavity which looked like little ice-cream scoops of Irish butter “Those are identical to what we got in France,” he said A pot of mild chicken stock was simmering on the stove It cost the Nelson’s $800 to import a flock of gauloise chicks from a breeder in Florida Shedden poured it into little tea cups and we sat there sipping marvelling at the chickeny aroma and uttering more than one broth-induced profanity we swallowed morsels of chicken whose ethereal depth was as much a full-body feeling as it was a flavour as though to see if what just happened was a dream awoken from an inner flavour journey that had taken him back to Billoux’s kitchen “The hardest things to do are the simple things chicken reverie gave way to chicken analysis unctuous skin beneath which lay flesh that was firmer than regular chicken with a flavour that managed to be strong yet in no way off-putting It reminded Hardie of wine that has not been sterile-filtered “there’s no medium to carry the flavour.” Shedden remarked on the sticky and wondered why it was that in North America only the Chinese seemed to appreciate the textural nuances of poached chicken What’s the possibility of Shedden putting poulet de Delta on the menu at Café Boulud the Nelson’s production is so small they use a provincially inspected abattoir which makes it illegal for them to sell their chicken in other provinces which is tiny by poultry farming standards and they can’t produce more without buying quota which would put the cost of each bird well over $20 a kilogram Even if a small grower buys chicks from the Nelsons – they’re going for $19 each – and raises 300 of them on pasture and fattens them with buttermilk they are still prohibited from selling such a chicken to a restaurant my advice is to get one of these birds by visiting the Nelsons farm Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff. Non-subscribers can read and sort comments but will not be able to engage with them in any way. Click here to subscribe If you would like to write a letter to the editor, please forward it to letters@globeandmail.com. Readers can also interact with The Globe on Facebook and Twitter Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community This is a space where subscribers can engage with each other and Globe staff We aim to create a safe and valuable space for discussion and debate If you do not see your comment posted immediately it is being reviewed by the moderation team and may appear shortly We aim to have all comments reviewed in a timely manner Comments that violate our community guidelines will not be posted UPDATED: Read our community guidelines here We have closed comments on this story for legal reasons or for abuse. For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions Taking of risks and non-essential manoeuvres for the management of the flight The accident to F-HCCL on 11 January 2021 at La Bresse resulted from the pilot’s decision to intentionally make a flight at very low height just above the trees then came to a stop in the trees several metres off the ground Collision with an obstacle during a landing The accident to F-GLAU on 20 September 2020 at Jouaville was the result of the balloon colliding with a medium-voltage power line during landing Even though the pilot had identified this line his attention had been focused on the passenger safety briefing and he observed that the balloon was very close to the power line too late Believing that it would not be possible to avoid collision the pilot pulled on the valve line and shut off the gas cylinders These actions reduced the consequences of the collision and in particular the risk of fire The Fédération Française d’Aérostation (French Aerostation Federation (FFAé)) urges pilots to give the safety briefing before the flight it is easier to demonstrate the position and to check that passengers have correctly understood the instructions a reminder of the safety positions then suffices The height above ground level and obstacles is 150 m except for the purposes of take-off or landing Giving the briefing at a sufficient height means that the pilot will be free of any constraint This topic was also identified in 2020 with two reports published The accident to F-HGAS on 16 June 2021 at Castelnaud-la-Chapelle occurred during a commercial flight with eight passengers Five passengers were injured of whom two were seriously injured during an uncontrolled descent that resulted in a hard landing the pilot warned the passengers at a very late stage and the latter did not have time to adopt the safety position As reiterated in the 2020 safety lessons passengers “may not be aware that the landing can sometimes be dynamic in particular when there is a strong wind or during an emergency descent with a high vertical speed passengers may be surprised and their physical capabilities may be exceeded.” The FFAé has sent its members a self-assessment form to enable passengers to assess their physical capabilities before taking a balloon flight. This form will soon be available on the FFAé website BEA Bâtiment 153 - 10 rue de Paris Zone Sud - Aéroport du Bourget 93352 Le Bourget Cedex Standard +33 1 49 92 72 00 Permanence H24 > reporting of accidents and incidents only +33 1 49 92 72 72 +33 1 48 35 86 54 Emily Batty added another second place finish to her incredible World Cup season on Sunday in La Bresse The only rider ahead of Batty at the finish line was reigning world champion The Swiss phenom had fought through two flat tires to make her way back to the front of the race With a win and a World Cup title on the line it wasn’t until Neff pushed to the point of complete exhaustion to finish the final World Cup of the season in first Neff earned her third World Cup series title It wasn’t until the final metres before the finish that the Canadian’s result looked secure Heavy rain on Saturday had made the already technical course treacherous in places In the four-way battle for the win with Batty were Jolanda Neff and Annika Langvad Two of the brightest stars in cross country racing were in their own private battle for the World Cup champion title Every position at the finish crucial to deciding who would be the 2018 World Cup champion forcing both to fight to hold on to the front of the race all day Batty was on her own mission to capture her first World Cup win After a steady string of podium placings and seconds the Canadian was once again in position to take the elusive win RELATED: Schurter seizes World Cup win number 30 in La Bresse the fourth rider contesting for the win all race The former world champion was racing for the French crowd Ferrand-Prevot had been on the podium already this year and was looking to step back on the top step at her home World Cup the French rider brought home fourth for a massive and course conditions adding to the challenge La Bresse was destined to be an all out brawl Emily Batty’s incredible battle for second wasn’t the only great Canadian result in La Bresse Haley Smith added another top-15 finish to her breakout World Cup season when the Norco Factory Team racer earned eighth in Mont-Sainte-Anne RELATED: Under-23 Results: Fincham 17th at La Bresse World Cup finals Catharine Pendrel (Clif Pro Team) showed more progress in her second race back finishing eights second behind Smith for 15th in France The Canadian Olympian has made a quick recovery from a broken arm sustained during mid-season training at home in Kamloops Her results in La Bresse show she has the potential to be even farther forward in the field when world championships land in Lenzerheide After several top-20 performances this year Liv Canada’s Sandra Walter was 35th at La Bresse With so much on the line and a series of close races leading into finals What unfolded over the next hour and a half was one of the most exciting World Cup races in recent memory and a fair bit of luck all contributed to six action packed laps of racing Jolanda Neff (Kross Racing) jumped out to a lead off the start racers headed out onto two shorter laps followed by four full laps of the La Bresse track The course immediately swung up into a long With a massive crowd of French fans lining the course Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Canyon Facotry Racing) quickly made her appearance at the front of the race Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) sat just behind the front row steadily working up through the field over the course of the climb followed by Alessandra Keller (Ghost RN Racing) Annika Langvad (Specialized) had fallen back to seventh which had turned into a muddy mess after the previous days rain Batty was held up as second place onward were forced off their bike to run much of the following rocky descent Neff looked like she had blown the race apart steep course seemed tailor made to suit her skills Neff had opened a 31 second advantage over her chasing trio fighting not to lose contact with her chance at stealing the World Cup title from Neff Langvad had caught the tail end of the chase group bringing Anne Tauber (CST American Eagle) with her to form a five rider chase group Haley Smith (Norco Factory Team) crossed the line in 13th at the end of one lap Knowing her chance at win was disappearing up the road splitting the group of five on the opening climb Only Batty could immediately respond to her acceleration Any ground the Dane made up to Neff evaporated as the race turned back into the woods forced off the bike with no room to pass Langvad who was not conceding any ground to the Canadian Batty finally found space to pass when Langvad opted for a B-Line around a steep Neff had pulled off to in the tech zone with a flat rear tire Keller and Tauber all rode by as the Neff stood waiting but the Dutch rider still reentered the course behind Keller and Neff and sensing her chance to steal the World Cup title Langvad attacked on the first climb Neff had caught Keller and was chasing Ferrand-Prevot Neff could finish no worse than third should the Dane hold her advantage to the finish Langvad looked considerable smoother entering the woods than on the first two laps Neff ran past Ferrand-Prevot on an unridably steep pitch back into third and into a World Cup winning position Neff caught Batty as the pair exited the woods the Canadian had a close call down the same muddy log staircase where she’d passed Langavd a lap earlier Langvad held 18 seconds over the chasing duo Neff had made up 20 seconds in under a lap since her flat tire Maja Wlosxcxowska had also suffered a flat Smith and Catharine Pendrel (Clif Pro Team) both rode by while the Polish rider waited for a change but for Batty it was one less rider in the four-way fight for third overall Batty had other goals on her mind than the overall She had attacked Neff on the final climb before the lap point and had closed the gap to the chasing pair who was struggling to control a flat front tire and a dangerous one on the descent to the tech zone If there’s such a thing as good timing for a flat Neff looked emotionally drained by her luck as her coaches tried to update her on the race situation Starting the second half of an action packed race Batty had eight seconds over Ferrand-Prevot Langvad had caught and passed Ferrand-Prevot to retake second with Ferrand-Prevot holding her wheel behind in third Langvad continued to struggle on the slippery descent holding up Ferrand-Prevot until the French woman could repeat Batty’s pass down the log staircase Langvad was back within six seconds and closing hard on Batty but the Canadian stayed glued to the Dane’s wheel and Langvad’s struggle against the technical section got worse and it was costing the Canadian more than the lead Ferrand-Prevot and Neff both rejoined the front of the race Langvad finally ran out of ways to block Batty With one climb left to go before the final lap It briefly looked like the Dane would hold contact quickly letting out an 11 second gap between the top of the climb and the finish line The leading trio traded leads several times over the course of the opening climb Ferrand-Prevot buoyed by the huge French crowd On the second climbs the leaders spread across the gravel climb it was Batty and world champion Jolanda Neff shoulder to shoulder just barely passes Ferrand-Prevot for third Knowing the Dane had struggled in that section ever lap Neff opened space between herself and Batty With just one small climb remaining before the finish Neff had a seven second lead over a hard charging Batty Ferrand-Prevot and Langvad were now 30 seconds behind Batty is chased hard all the way to the line the second of which seemed especially emotionally draining Neff has won a wild World Cup final and the World Cup overall championship taking another second place finish and third overall in the World Cup Neff collapsed off her bike in the finish area Langvad has passed Ferrand-Prevot again to take third The French woman still celebrating her fourth place in front of the home crowd Keller arrived a short time later to claim fifth The Under-23 rider had landed another podium result before having to drop back down to race her age category at home in Switzerland in two weeks Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Neff wins final UCI World Cup in La Bresse, seals overall Schurter wins in La Bresse to secure UCI World Cup Schurter wins elite men's mountain bike world title World Championships: Hirschi wins under-23 road race Neff signs with Trek Factory Racing which was also her third overall series win despite the best efforts of riders such as Groupama-FDJ's Steve Morabito AG2R La Mondiale's Mathias Frank and BMC duo Michael Schär and Stefan Küng The 20-year-old will step up from the Development Team Sunweb to the elite WorldTour Team Sunweb for 2019, and won the 'up-and-coming' prize at the gala on Thursday evening, with all six members of the successful U23 Worlds team being given an honourable mention for their teamwork in Innsbruck, Austria, that delivered Hirschi to the win. The 'team of the year' prize, however, once again included Schurter and Neff – who was also Switzerland's highest finisher, in 22nd place, in the women's road race in Innsbruck – as it was awarded to the MTB Worlds-winning team relay squad, which was also made up of U23 Worlds cross-country silver medallist Sina Frei, Alexandre Balmer and Filippo Colombo. The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox! Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999 and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling The dates for the opening of the major French ski stations and resorts have now been published Many popular stations will open at the end of November almost all of the major sites will be operating Flumet/St-Nicolas la Chapelle (December 27) two of which have stated their opening dates will be in January: Gérardmer on January 4 The dates announced come directly from the stations but they are conditional on weather conditions and the snowfall received It comes after ski stations in France have had chequered success over the past few years They were hit hard by the Covid pandemic restrictions and some struggled to recover due to mild weather and lack of snowfall at lower altitudes in 2022-23.  The 2023-24 season was an improvement in most places with heavy snowfall boosting the season in January 2024 Read also: Skiers delight as up to 60cm of snow set to hit French resorts Read also: Major ski stations in France to open early as metre of snow arrives  The resort is set to remain open to the public and not only to professionals Authorities are instead planning a ‘four season model’ – but some locals are not happy The Travelski Night Express will begin service this December and start selling tickets in May The final round of World Cup racing is underway in La Bresse France with Friday’s always exciting Cross Country Short Track event starting off a weekend full of races Mathieu van der Poel dug deep for a scorching final lap attack to win the Elite Men’s XCC Annika Langvad put in another perfect effort to win her fifth Elite Women’s XCC in six starts Canadians had less luck on the muddy La Bresse short track course Emily Batty (Trek Factory Racing) was the top placed Canuck in 12th Strong showings from Anne Tauber (CST American Eagle) and Alessandra Keller (Ghost RN Racing) pushed both riders ahead of Batty in the World Cup overall standings just 35 points out of a third place in the 2018 World Cup overall Perhaps more important than falling behind Tauber and Keller the Trek rider moved ahead of Maja Wloszczowska (Kross Racing) who’s 19th place finish cost her points as well as a place in the front two rows of the start grid for Sunday’s all-important XCO RELATED: How to watch: World Cup Finals from La Bresse, France Haley Smith (Norco Factory Team) was the next best placed Canadian in 21st just ahead of Catharine Pendrel (Clif Pro Team) who is in her second race back after breaking her arm earlier this summer Sandra Walter (Liv Canada) crossed the line 29th and Cindy Montambault (Trek) 30th Batty and Wloszczowska’s move in the standings wasn’t the only shake up as XCC is proving that it’s not just a chance for riders to move up the start grid but an important source of points for the overall series in the highly competitive Women’s Elite field Annika Langvad (Specialized) moves within striking distance of World Cup leader Jolanda Neff (Kross Racing) who finished third behind Barbara Benko (Ghost Facotry Racing) on Friday With Nino Schurter (Scott-SRAM) already locking down the World Cup overall title for 2018 Friday’s Men’s Elite XCC still had the potential to shake up the remaining podium steps behind the Swiss star After missing the Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup Mathieu van der Poel (Corendon Circus) held second by a scant 19 points ahead of Henrique Avancini (Cannondale) Both riders had already won one XCC World Cup race this year but with van der Poel leading in points it was up to Avancini to take initiative in the race Avancini led the field for the vast majority of the first six laps of tactical racing with the tall Dutch rider floating between third and fifth position and the race order was restored within half a lap each time Avancini’s Cannondale teammate Maxime Marotte put in a big attack that looked like it had potential until van der Poel went flying past the French rider into the short but steep hill that opened each lap the cyclocross phenom had opened up a sizeable gap Lars Forster (BMC Racing) put in an effort to try close but with Schurter and Avancini sitting on his wheel one-handed wheelie as he crossed the finish line earning his second World Cup win in the new XCC format with Schurter sliding out in the final turn The Dutch racers win moves him 59 points ahead of Avancini in the overall Tune in Sunday to watch as the 2018 World Cup cross country season wraps up in La Bresse, France. For start times, and how to follow racing, click here Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); On the eve of 2020 world championships, Annika Lanvad had something to say. “I’m retiring from professional racing,” Langavds statement starts.  “These 10 years of racing will probably be some of the most intense time of my entire life and now I’m ready to devote myself to other things in life.” With the biggest race of the year looming, the consistently successful Danish rider announced her retirement. Effective immediately. Retirement has been on the 2016 world champions’ mind for a while now, according to her statement Friday. The timing of the decision – the day before world championships – was not her initial choice, though. After racing both World Cup’s last week in Nove Mesto, Langavd planned for Leogang world championships to be her final race. A persistent stomach bug, says the 36-year-old in her unexpected announcement, has forced the Specialized rider to withdraw from Saturday’s event. Langvad’s retirement ahead of Saturday’s world championships in Leogang ends a remarkably successful decade-long career. In 2016, Langvad won the XCO world championships in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. The powerful Danish rider earned another five cross country marathon world championships over the course of her career. In addition to numerous World Cup wins, Langvad has an incredible five Absa Cape Epic titles to her name, in five race starts. The last earned in 2019, partnered with Boels Dolmans teammate Anna van der Breggen. Langvad also holds the course record at the Leadville 100 race. More recently, Langvad has branched out into road racing, joining Boels Dolmans at select events. There, she enjoyed quick success, the highlight being a second-place finish behind Annemiek van Vleuten at Strade Bianche Women’s World Tour race. Langvad accomplished much of this while completing her studies in Dentistry at home in Denmark. To combine such high achievement with her professional pursuits off the bike only added to the Danish rider’s lore. Langvad’s unexpected departure comes at the end of a wildly unpredictable year. There is less than a year to go before the re-scheduled Tokyo Olympics, where Langvad would be among the favorites. The women’s cross country field has incredible depth at the moment. Losing such a consistent force so unexpectedly will surely have a significant impact on the front of Saturday’s race. Best of luck to Langvad in her future endeavors! A post shared by Annika Langvad (@annika.langvad) on Oct 9 I’m feeling satisfied and content and okay with things as they are This weekend was supposed to be my last World Champs I’ve been struggling with a stomach bug since Nove Mesto which has left me drained and not able to be on the start line I wish my teammates and all riders a fantastic race” It’s no stretch to say 2018 was a fantastic year for Canadian mountain biking From cross country to the wild extremes of Red Bull Rampage Canadians were at the front and on the podium RELATED: 12 best Canadian mountain bike videos of 2018 When we started looking back at the year to narrow down our top moments of the year from Canada Cup to World Cup and the deserts of Virgin here are the top-12 best Canadian performances of 2018 rider earned an incredible five straight World Cup podium finishes to finish the year adding a third-straight Canadian XCO national championship along the way The Canadian then topped all that off with a gutsy third place ride at UCI mountain bike world championships in Lenzerheide While bronze at worlds is a career highlight for any rider her silver medal ride in La Bresse stands as our favourite race of the year World Cup finals’ return to France delivered an all-out brawl for the win Batty showed she was ready to go toe-to-toe with the world’s best attacking Neff and Langvad to temporarily take the race lead Neff was so exhausted from her winning effort in La Bresse that she faltered at her home-country world championships a week later in Switzerland Brett Rheeder has been at Rampage for a few years now, but the Ontario rider was the first to admit he’s struggled to feel at home on the exposed cliffs and drops outside Virgin, Utah The Canadian has always been known for his incredible style on a slopestyle course but has had difficulty translating that to success in Rampages rawer setting putting down a winning first run that looked controlled almost calm and effortlessly stylish despite the dangerous setting We’re stoked to watch Rheeder return to Crankworx courses in 2019 but his Rampage performance was one for the books the multi-talented youth was fifth in the junior men’s race at XCO national championships in Canmore and has been storming through Canadian National Enduro Series events for years What we should all take away from the season is that Canada has two incredibly talented young riders moving up through the age groups Whistler always brings out the strong Canadian youths Max McCulloch and Lucy Schick finished second in the under-21 event With all the top international riders still present these results are more than a hometown advantage It shows the talent of Canada’s young mountain bikers who don’t always have the support to get to EWS events overseas especially with the incredible depth of the women’s XCO World Cup field Coquitlam’s Sandra Walter suddenly broke into the top-20 this year with a 15th in Albstadt Walter followed with a 17th a Vallnord World Cup 14th in Andorra’s Short Track XCC race Italy and a silver medal at Canadian XCO national championships behind Emily Batty We say “suddenly,” but those kind of results don’t happen overnight Walter’s results show that  years of hard work and perseverance are still the best route to big results Junior racing at the Canada Cup’s is proving to be exceptionally interesting a trio of young Quebec racers dominated all year.Marianne Théberge won the Canada Cup series never finishing lower than second all season Roxane Vermette won junior women’s XCO nationals in Canmore Mireille Larose-Gingras was second overall in the Canada Cup and third behind Théberge and Emillly Johnston in Canmore Where Woods and Jones dominate the jr men’s racing the three Quebec riders made for dynamic junior women’s racing all season but the three were always present at the sharp end of the race