News – FasterSkier

Lumi Experiences Announces 2025/26 Headgear Sponsorship with Olympian Julia Kern

Lumi ExperiencesDecember 4, 2025

Lumi Experiences, the world’s premier provider of boutique cross-country ski vacations, is proud to announce an expanded partnership with US Cross Country Ski Team star, Julia Kern, designating Lumi Experiences as her official headgear sponsor for the 2025/2026 FIS Cross Country Season. This commitment helps support Julia as she prepares for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games in February. What is a “headgear sponsor?” The International Ski Federation (FIS) requires World Cup athletes to race...

News Olympics

Shoulda Seen This Coming . . . Russian Skiers Return to World Cup and Olympics

John TeafordDecember 2, 2025

It sounds like things just took a turn . . . and everyone really shoulda seen this coming. Articles published today (Dec 2) in both the New York Times and Langrenn reported that the Court of Arbitration for Sport had upheld the appeal submitted by Russian Ski Association (RSF) and select Russian athletes. What does that mean? Well, after a complex and convoluted set of explanations, it means that FIS cannot place a wholesale ban on...

5th ANNUAL Sovereign 2 SilverStar Ski Marathon (S2S): Early season savings for your late season finale

Sovereign 2 SilverStarNovember 23, 2025

Best pricing until midnight November 23, 2025 Accommodation deals Group savings Enjoy one of Canada’s most popular and scenic point-to-point ski marathon, with some night sprints too! Ski Marathon Two days: April 4 & 5, 2026 Two distances: 21km & 41km Two ski techniques: Classic (day 1), Skate (day 2); Wave starts Two world class venues: SilverStar Mountain Resort and Sovereign Lake Nordic Club, Vernon, British Columbia Rates steady for 5 years! With thanks to our...

Feature News Olympics

So, You’re Telling Me There’s A Chance?—Russia, FIS, and the Court of Arbitration

John TeafordNovember 10, 2025

A recently published Langrenn story reported on the possibility that FIS may be forced to reconsider its recent ruling an Russian and Belarusian eligibility for participating in Period 1 of the 2025-2026 World Cup season. According to those reports, Russian athletes and para athletes—and the Russian Ski Federation—filed a law suit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) seeking to overturn the recent FIS decision to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from events...

Feature News Training

Training Philosophy—a Holistic View

Jim GalanesNovember 6, 2025

What follows is a simplified training philosophy that works, if you apply it consistently. I’m focusing on the core elements of endurance sports: aerobic endurance and capacity (VO₂max), strength, speed, and appropriate training volume. These are the levers that matter. Coaches love to talk about nuance and the next latest and greatest shinny object: not going too hard during distance days, going hard enough during high-intensity sessions, finding the right dose of speed and strength,...

Collegiate Dryland Juniors News Racing

From Grassroots to the Summit: The Mt. Greylock Hill Climb Marks a Storied Ascent

Matthew VoisinNovember 3, 2025

LANESBORO, MA — On a crisp Sunday morning, nearly a hundred rollerskiers lined up at the base of Massachusetts’ highest peak, ready to test themselves against one of New England’s classic ascents. The Mount Greylock Hill Climb has always been more than a race—it’s a rite of passage, a season-ender that blends community, endurance, and a dash of history stretching back four decades. A Long Tradition on a Steep Road The Mt. Greylock Hill Climb...

News Olympics Tour de Ski World Cup

FIS Schedule, 2025-2026

FasterSkierOctober 30, 2025

Between World Cups, the Tour de Ski, and the Olympic Winter Games, there will be 72 elite cross-country ski races contested this winter on the international scene. FasterSkier remains committed to covering each and every international race—we’ll get up early to prepare race reports based on live results, and publish them here in our online forum. And when we have all the information on streaming, viewing, and network broadcast coverage, we’ll pass that along, too....

Feature News

Lack of Accountability in Youth Sports Abuse

Jim GalanesOctober 28, 2025

This is a follow up to the reporting of an abuse case that occurred in March of 2025 within a major Colorado club. An initial report was posted on Faster Skier earlier this summer. This subsequent article is an attempt to keep all such issues front and center so that athletes and coaches will feel safe, so that families will feel faithfully represented, and so that governing bodies will stand behind their responsibility to protect...

Feature News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Corners and Confidence: Kate Oldham’s Steady Rise to the U.S. Ski Team

Matthew VoisinOctober 27, 2025

At the World Championships last winter, a slushy, rutted corner near the finish line became a proving ground for precision and poise. The turn was taking down skiers all week — an icy edge here, a soft patch there — the kind of technical trap that can shake even the most seasoned racers. On the U.S. team’s final course preview, Jessie Diggins, Julia Kern, Rosie Brennan, and newcomer Kate Oldham took turns testing different lines....

Feature News Training

Why “Training Volume Is the Biggest Predictor of Success” — and Why That’s Only Half True

Jim GalanesOctober 24, 2025

We read it again and again in studies, articles, and coaching posts: “Training volume is the best predictor of performance.” It’s one of the most consistent findings in exercise science, appearing across endurance sports for decades, and in national training systems. But the statement is often repeated without understanding what it really means, or more importantly what it doesn’t. One reason this line gets repeated so often is that “train more” is an easy message...

Feature News Olympics World Cup

FIS Ruling: Russia is Out

John TeafordOctober 22, 2025

It’s a funny time we live in . . . one in which many of us struggle with harboring multiple opinions on particular topics (especially political ones). That’s me when it comes to whether or not Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed to enter the Olympic Games . . . multiple opinions make sense, and no easy or straightforward decisions seem likely. One thing’s for sure: when it comes to those decisions, someone’s going...

Collegiate Feature News Racing

From Olympian to Coach to Mentor: Patrick Weaver, the Quiet Architect of UVM’s Ski Culture

Matthew VoisinOctober 17, 2025

The first time you meet Patrick Weaver, you might not realize you’re talking to one of the most quietly influential coaches in American skiing. There’s no bravado, no self-promotion. Just an easy Vermont calm — a man who measures his words the same way his athletes measure their training: carefully, purposefully, with feel. On a fall morning, the UVM Nordic team threads through the mist at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, the quiet hum of rollerskis...

Feature News Racing

Cross Country Skiing Participation: What Does the Data Suggest?

Jim GalanesOctober 15, 2025

This article was made possible through the generous support of our voluntary subscribers. If you would like to see more articles like this one, please support FasterSkier with a voluntary subscription. I’ve been curious for a long time about participation trends in cross-country skiing and what direction the data might point. Ideally, I’d like to see longitudinal data over 10-20 years, but that kind of dataset doesn’t appear to be publicly available. Still, there are several...

News Opinion Racing World Cup

Language Matters: The FIS Statement on “Athlete Safety”

Op EdOctober 14, 2025

Annie McColgan is an independent writer contributing to FasterSkier. The opinions in this Op Ed are her own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of FasterSkier and its staff. By: Annie McColgan On September 24, 2025 the FIS released a statement titled, “FIS Council Reinforces Commitment to Athlete Safety,” in which three announcements were made. First, the FIS wrote about the importance of establishing clear and consistent safety guidelines, further homologation of training slopes,...

News Racing US Ski Team World Cup

21 Athletes Named to 2025–26 Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team Ahead of Olympic Season

FasterSkierOctober 14, 2025

U.S. Ski & Snowboard has officially announced the 21 athletes who will represent the 2025–26 Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team, a roster that blends seasoned World Cup veterans with emerging NCAA and junior talent — all gearing up for the Olympic Winter Games this February in Milano-Cortina, Italy. The team features a familiar core of Olympians and World Cup standouts returning to lead the charge, supported by a wave of rising collegiate stars and...

Feature Interviews News Olympics Racing US Ski Team World Cup

Finding Flow: Gus Schumacher on Training Smarter, Staying Healthy, and Loving the Process

Matthew VoisinOctober 13, 2025

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. When Gus Schumacher talks about training these days, he sounds more like a craftsman than a workhorse. There’s less emphasis on grinding and more on rhythm — on knowing when...

Feature News Racing

Honoring the Architects of the Birkie Trail: Statues Unveiled for Sven Wiik and Marty Hall

Matthew VoisinOctober 8, 2025

On October 4, amid a crisp autumn morning at the trailhead near Cable, Wisconsin, around a hundred skiers, family members, and supporters gathered to witness the unveiling of two life-size bronze statues celebrating the trail designers of the American Birkebeiner, Sven Wiik and Marty Hall. Half a century after their work laid the foundation of what has grown into the United States’ premier cross-country ski marathon, the Birkie community paused to remember the minds behind...

Feature News Training

Pitfalls of Junior Athlete Training: A Case Study in Overload and Misguided Intensity

Jim GalanesOctober 6, 2025

Over the years, I have often been asked to review training programs for junior athletes. Most of the time, these requests come when an athlete is underperforming, showing signs of overtraining, or failing to make anticipated steps in competition. Unfortunately, these situations occur far more often than we might think. In fact, I have reviewed at least a dozen similar cases in recent years, where athletes share the same training and performance profile: high motivation,...

Feature News Olympics Tech

Tariffs, Currency, and Cross-Country Skiing: How Global Economics Could Shape the 2025–26 Ski Season

Matthew VoisinOctober 2, 2025

When snow begins to dust the Rockies and frost settles into New England, North America’s ski community usually shifts into high gear with optimism. But as the 2025–26 ski season approaches—one poised to crescendo with the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina—a double economic hit is reshaping the industry: U.S. tariffs on European sporting goods and a weakened U.S. dollar against the euro. Together, they are raising prices, complicating supply chains, and threatening accessibility in a sport...

News

The Loppet Awarded $500,000 Multi-Year Grant for Habitat Conservation

Press ReleaseOctober 2, 2025

The Loppet Foundation has been awarded a $500,000 multi-year Conservation Partners Legacy (CPL) Grant through the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, launching a three-year habitat restoration effort at Theodore Wirth Park. The project will focus on restoring 50 acres of woodland, prairie, and savanna surrounding The Trailhead, aligning with the Loppet’s mission of connecting people to the outdoors while fostering stewardship of Minnesota’s natural landscapes. A Transformational Restoration Project Working alongside Minnesota Native Landscapes (MNL)...

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