Several U.S. skiers competed in the Engadin 42 k marathon two weekends ago in Switzerland, with Hannah Dreissigacker and Matt Liebsch both finishing in the top 25. Oliver Burruss blew away his top-100 goal in 50th. Burruss and Dreissigacker recall their first Engadin.
With only a few weeks left of racing across the nordic sports at each competitive level, the season is beginning to show distinct signs of drawing to a close. Most notably, Kikkan Randall (USA) won her one and only shot at [...]
Andrea Dupont was called up by Canada to race in the sprint at World Championships, and offered a World Cup start the weekend before. But it seemed silly, she thought, to go to Europe for just a few days – and so she managed to gain a start spot in Sweden’s famed Vasaloppet, where she double-poled her way to 11th place.
The classic races of World Championships took place in Val di Fiemme: interval start, relay, marathon. Biathletes competed in Oslo, Americans held their own in Slavic Cup action, and Swedes (and everyone else) gave it their all in the Vasaloppet. Summaries of the action, along with links to reporting and results.
Marit Bjørgen of Norway and Nikita Kriukov of Russia both have two gold medals to their names so far this Championships, and Dario Cologna finally got the title he’s been search for; but Americans made a splash too, in every discipline, with Sarah Hendrickson winning jumping, Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins the team sprint, and the nordic combined team bronze in the team event. Alex Harvey also made history when he took bronze in the classic sprint, the first individual World Champs medal for Canada.
The cash from Caitlin Gregg’s Birkie victory on Saturday will help keep her and husband Brian Gregg on sound financial footing as they train for next year’s Olympics in Russia.
The teamwork and tactics of a group of Italians locked the American men out of the prize money on their home turf, with Sergio Bonaldi leading a sweep of the top four.
The skiers who set the first tracks in what has become North America’s largest ski race basked in the glow of the Birkebeiner torch Thursday, telling stories, wearing knickers and gliding on wooden skis.
You might think that Norway’s 54k Birkebeiner, one of the most famous and tradition-laden marathons in the world, has always been popular. But despite being situated in a ski-crazy country, the 17,000-entrant cap was only reached in the last decade, and demand is growing more every year. Here’s how the race got so popular, and how it’s continuing to grow as an event despite the cap.
Sylvan Ellefson and Lauren Fritz each outkicked a charging field to take home the overall Boulder Mountain Tour titles in Sun Valley, Idaho, on Saturday. Ellefson repeated his 2011 victory and Fritz won in her first Tour appearance.
Skiers and jumpers tested out the Sochi trails – quite successfully for the U.S. and Canada; biathletes finished up World Youth and Junior Championships with another medal for Sean Doherty and two Canadian top-tens; Americans turned to longer marathon racing at the Boulder Mountain Tour and Craftsbury Marathon; Canadians mini-toured through Eastern Championships.
FasterSkier happened to be at Devil’s Thumb ranch for the Colorado Governor’s Cup this weekend, where Sylvan Ellefson coasted to a comfortable win in the 30 k freestyle. We asked the 2012 SuperTour champ about his season, skipping the Tour de Twin Cities and what’s coming up next.
Matt Liebsch couldn’t believe the nerves he was fighting before the 2012 American Birkebeiner. A Minnesota ski hero at the ultimate of U.S. cross-country marathons, Liebsch had won the 50-kilometer skate race in 2009. In early February, he took back-to-back [...]
Coaching a college team which you yourself are part of might not seem like the best way to learn the tricks of the trade – or to become a better athlete, for that matter. And yet that was the situation [...]
Just when you thought the ski season was over, Norway hosted one of the world’s biggest ski marathons, the 38 k Skarverennet, on Saturday morning. About 12,220 skiers competed in the race that runs from Finse to Ustaoset, high in the mountains. [...]
Whether you raced, watched or weren’t able to attend the 2012 American Birkebeiner from Cable to Hayward, Wis., the Birkie DVD has all of the excitement on tape for a “super-skier friendly” price of $14.95. According to the DVD description [...]
The 90-kilometer Vasaloppet is one of the most prestigious non-World Cup ski races in the world—such a big deal in fact that Petter Northug made the race his primary focus in 2012 following the Tour de Ski. Unfortunately for Northug, [...]
All American Birkebeiner coverage is brought to you through the generous support of Concept2, makers of the SkiErg. Dr. Ian Duncan’s first phone call to Vegard Ulvang two years ago met a little dead air. It wasn’t that Ulvang, the executive director [...]
