MEN Dario Cologna
INTERNATIONAL NORDIC SKIER OF THE YEAR
Dario Cologna might not have Petter Northug’s penchant for
drama and trash-talking, but this season, he quietly took over
the title of best nordic skier in the world. Many predicted a battle
between the Swiss and the Norwegian this season, and the first
period proved them right, though it was Northug who emerged
dominant there.
But while Northug seemed to be cooling off, Cologna was
just heating up. He finished second to Northug in Kuusamo
and Rogla, but in the Tour de Ski, he turned it on and denied
Northug the trophy that the latter had publicly claimed as
his season’s biggest goal. Try as he might, the Norwegian
superstar didn’t have anything on Cologna in cross country
skiing’s marquee event. Cologna skied to a clear victory for his
third Tour title. And he was just getting started. He cleaned up
the next weekend in Estonia, winning the sprint qualification
and skiing almost unchallenged through the heats to victory.
The next day he won the 15K by almost 30 seconds in one of
his most dominating performances of the season.
While Northug may have sat out several World Cups in
preparation for the Vasaloppet, leaving Cologna relatively
unchallenged, it’s unlikely anyone could have stopped him.
Cologna closed out the season more than 700 points ahead
of second place in the World Cup overall. He just needs
to translate his dominance in the Tour de Ski to a peak
performance at World Championships 2013 in Val di Fiemme.
That’s all Northug has left on Cologna.
