Welcome to FasterSkier’s World Cup Preview, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts. The World Cup begins with a classic sprint in Ruka, Finland on Nov. 24th. *** France Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 7th Women’s Ranking 2017/2018: 12th Men’s […]
World Cup Preview: #8 Germany
Welcome to FasterSkier’s World Cup Preview, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka weekend in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24 with a classic sprint. *** Germany Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 8th Women’s Ranking 2017/2018: Men’s Ranking […]
World Cup Preview: #9 Italy
Welcome to FasterSkier’s World Cup Preview, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts with the Ruka weekend in Kuusamo, Finland, on Nov. 24 with a classic sprint. *** Italy Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: Ninth Women’s Ranking 2017/2018: 10th Men’s […]
Biathlon Canada Selection Trials: Day 3 in Canmore
The third and final day of Biathlon Canada’s selection trials concluded on Friday in Canmore, Alberta. The “trials” serve as a method to fill roster spots for athletes representing Canada on the IBU World Cup, IBU Cup, and IBU Junior Cup for the first travel period to Europe. Prior to the selection trials, only Rosanna […]
World Cup Preview #10: Canada
Welcome to FasterSkier’s World Cup Preview, where we check in with the top-10 teams from last year’s FIS Cross Country World Cup tour before the season starts. The World Cup begins with a classic sprint in Ruka, Finland on Nov. 24th. *** Canada Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 10th Women’s Ranking 2017/2018: 18th Men’s […]
Biathlon Canada Selection Trials: Day 2 in Canmore
Thursday in Canmore, Alberta day two of Biathlon Canada’s selection trials featured a sprint, with the men racing a total of 10-kilometers, the women 7.5 k. Nathan Smith of Canada’s Senior National team placed first for the men in a time of 24:02.7 minutes. Smith missed one shot prone and cleaned standing. Christian Gow, winner […]
New Team, Same Hard Efforts: USST Park City Camp Part 2 from Hailey Swirbul
With the U.S. Ski Team’s final pre-season camp wrapping up on Oct. 22 in Park City, Utah, FasterSkier reached out to one of the newer additions to the USST’s D-Team, Hailey Swirbul, for a recap of her experience. (Read part 1 here.) Born in Grand Junction, Colorado, the 20-year-old grew up skiing in the Rocky […]
Wednesday Workout: Beach Skiing with the Bowdoin Nordic Team
The workout this week comes from the head coach of the rising Bowdoin Ski Team, Nate Alsobrook. While it can certainly be beneficial to train at altitude or in the mountains, Alsobrook shows that the unexpected beaches of the Maine Coast can be equally well suited for preparation. This workout highlights looking outside the box […]
Biathlon Canada Selection Trials: Day 1 in Canmore
Selection trials for Biathlon Canada began with a men’s and women’s sprint today in Canmore, Canada. Race results will help determine athletes representing Canada on the IBU World Cup’s opening races, and the first series of races on the IBU Cup and Junior IBU Cup. Prior to Tuesday’s racing, only Scott Gow and Rosanna […]
U.S. Biathlon Announces Roster for Opening World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia
Last week U.S. Biathlon’s Rollerski Team trials concluded at Soldier Hollow (SoHo) outside Midway, Utah. Along with the trials this summer in Jericho, Vermont, the SoHo results helped determine any remaining U.S. roster spots for the opening races on the IBU World Cup. On Monday, Nov. 5th, U.S. Biathlon announced it’s World Cup team for […]
Back to Basics: How to ‘Reset’ for Nordic Performance
The following strength and performance tips come from one of our resident experts, Stuart Kremzner, MS, CSCS, FMSII, OS, RN, an exercise physiologist who has coached and raced in nordic skiing for over 20 years. Kremzner has trained/consulted with college athletic programs, elite teams, and athletes with the goal of improving athletic performance and injury prevention. When […]
Egan and Schommer Close Out USBA Team Trials Week With Wins
Friday marked the final competition day for US Biathlon team trials taking place this week at Soldier Hollow (SoHo) in Midway, Utah. Biathletes hit the pavement on Friday for a men’s and women’s mass start roller ski race. A total of 24 senior athletes competed; 12 women and 12 men. At stake for many U.S. […]
Nordic Nation: The Recovery Episode with Tad Elliott
Back in January 2016, Tad Elliott emerged back onto the national championship scene with a win in the men’s 30-kilometer freestyle mass start at U.S. Nationals in Houghton, Mich. It had been some time since the skier originally from Durango, Colorado had felt unleashed from the grips of the energy-sapping Epstein-Barr virus. Elliott went on […]
Bouchard Announced as Canada’s Head Coach while Norway’s Bråten Joins CCC as a National Team Coach
It has been a transition year for Cross Country Canada (CCC). Back on June 7th, CCC announced the hiring of Nic Lemyre as its High-Performance advisor. Lemyre is Canadian but lives and works in Oslo, Norway. With the reshuffling of Canada’s staff, up until today, CCC had not formally announced its World Cup coaching roster […]
Dunklee and Nordgren Secure Day 2 Wins at USBA Team Trials in SoHo
Athletes competing in the US Biathlon team trial competitions at Soldier Hollow (SoHo) in Midway, Utah, returned to the venue on Wednesday for a second roller ski sprint race. Trials had kicked off on Tuesday with a men’s and women’s sprint. On Wednesday, 12 biathletes competed in the senior women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint, with veteran Susan […]
Wednesday Workout: Diversify Your Core Strength Progression from U.S. D-Team Coach Gus Kaeding
This gem of a Wednesday Workout comes from U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Gus Kaeding. Ready yourself for the complete menu of the U.S. Cross Country Team’s core exercises. This spring, the USST coaches sat down to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our program. One of the areas we identified for improvement was […]
Frozen Thunder Race Day 2: Going the Distance
Frozen Thunder racing continued in Canmore, Alberta, on Tuesday with a 7.5 kilometer freestyle individual start for the women and 10 k for the men. Once again, the athletes were more focused on training goals than finish order, which is summarized in the rundown. Team R.A.D.’s Ty Godfrey, the faster of the siblings today, expressed […]
USBA SoHo Trials Open with Men’s and Women’s Sprint; Dunklee and Doherty Claim Senior Wins
US Biathlon team trials kicked off on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, with a total of 47 athletes in attendance. On the line for senior competitors racing this week are starting spots for US Biathlon’s 2018/2019 World Cup and IBU Cup teams. The first race of the week involved a men’s […]
Frozen Thunder Day 2 Distance Race Rundown: Canada’s Emily Nishikawa and Russell Kennedy Win
Frozen Thunder (Canmore, Alberta) 7.5k/10k Freestyle On Tuesday, Frozen Thunder at the Canmore Nordic Centre in Canmore, Alberta hosted women’s and men’s individual start freestyle races. The women raced 7.5 kilometers, the men 10 k. Canada’s Emily Nishikawa (AIAWCA/CNST) won the women’s 7.5 k skate race in a time of 21:05.9 minutes. Nishikawa’s pacing was […]
International News: Norway Bans 16 & Under Fluoro Use, Ustiugov Breaks Thumb (Updated)
This article has been updated to include quotes from Torbjørn Skogstad. Here are a few international news items of note: According to an October 21, press release from the Norwegian Ski Federation, fluorinated wax products are banned from all race classes up through the age of 16. The decision came down from the federation’s Cross-Country Committee and […]