With the help of U.S. Ski Team head coach Chris Grover and Canadian National Team Head Coach Justin Wadsworth, Tor-Arne Hetland and the Canadian World Cup Team ended up in Vermont last month. "Andy Newell can train here for many years … That’s the reason we are here," Hetland explained.
FasterSkier tagged along with the Canadian World Cup Team and Stratton Mountain School T2 squad for a morning over-distance rollerski on Aug. 15 in Stratton, Vt.
Late last month, Billy Demong spoke on behalf of his sport at the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Foundation trustees' annual meeting. What came out of it was 15 Gold Passes, valued at $10,000 apiece, which U.S. Nordic Combined is currently trying to sell to help pay for its 2014/2015 season.
Kristin Størmer Steira's in the game for another season, but she's not so sure what the next four years hold -- definitely some school and not another Olympics. "I learned from my earlier mistakes saying this is my last year, but I don’t think longer than Falun ... we’ll see," she says in an exclusive interview.
JERICHO, Vt. — No matter how you slice it, last weekend’s race efforts at the
Devon Kershaw's friends said he'd never make it to the summit of Mera Peak -- not without popping the question to his girlfriend Kristin Størmer-Steira first. But he didn't crack in Kathmandu, like they predicted, before their three-week climbing trek in April.
With another World Cup crystal globe in hand, Finnish biathlete Kaisa Mäkäräinen, 31, is gearing up for another season and World Championships at home in Kontiolahti. It hasn't been easy: she was sick for two months from May through June.
Following the final week of training in Finland and three days of rollerski races at the coveted Blink Festival in Norway, U.S. Biathlon coach Jonne Kähkönen gives an across-the-pond update from his native Finland.
Back in April, July 31 seemed like dark cloud looming in the distance. But it wasn't that far off, and fortunately for U.S. Nordic Combined, it wasn't all that dreary. "Things are moving forward for sure, and it’s a little bit more hopeful than in April," head coach Dave Jarrett says, explaining that he kept his job and hopes to have two other coaches and two wax techs help him this season.
The U.S. Biathlon Women's A-team has been spending the last two weeks soaking up Finnish life and studying the 2015 IBU World Championships course in Kontiolahti with reigning World Cup champion (and local hero) Kaisa Mäkäräinen.
The Canadian World Cup Team and about 23 training-centre skiers ventured south to Bend, Ore., in late June for a 12-day camp that was more about finding good pavement than snow. "We felt like it was the best place for an all-around camp with a big group," coach Justin Wadsworth says.
Three biathletes from Switzerland ventured to Canmore earlier this month for three weeks of training with the Canadian biathlon team. Before heading home, they headed to the Yukon for a little R & R.
Norway's Celine Brun-Lie chatted with FasterSkier while wrapping up her camp with the U.S. Ski Team and APU on Eagle Glacier. She flew home Tuesday, but not before flying around Alaska, visiting cabins, eating salmon, seeing moose, lots of moose -- and training 20-plus hours for each of the last two weeks.
Dasha Gaiazova was on the fence about continuing her ski career after the 2014 Olympics.The Russian-born Canadian had competed at back-to-back home Olympics, and in May, she wasn't named to Canada's World Cup or senior development teams. "I felt like I wanted to keep racing," she recalled. “The team got announced and I didn't get on the team, and I was like, I gotta think about some things.”
Last month, Norwegian shooting coach Joar Himle, who previously coached biathlon greats like Ole Einar Bjørndalen and Halvard Hanevold, visited the Canadians for a weeklong camp in Canmore. While he mostly worked with individual athletes, he also had them do a few interesting drills, including a sort of 'shoot 'til you miss' exercise, which takes about an hour on the range.
Anchorage and Eagle Glacier are happening places these days, with the North American Women's Training Alliance (including Norway's Celine Brun-Lie and 13 top U.S. skiers), a couple of French biathletes and the U.S. men's team, which recently arrived for its first unified training camp in Alaska.
APU Head Coach Erik Flora isn't one to toot his own horn, but when it comes down to it, he's really in awe of the levels his Anchorage-based program has reached and his recent recognition as USOC Coach of the Year. "I had no idea it was coming," he says. "It’s such an incredible honor."
No, no, it's not paddle boating: stand-up paddle boarding requires balance, strength and technique, all things that could translate to improved skiing come winter. Plus, it's a fun cross-training option for oh-so-hot summer days.
Meet the 11 candidates up for nomination to U.S. Biathlon's X or development-group teams, from high-school upperclassmen to post grads.
Looking for motivation to get in tip-top ski shape for next winter? Check out these photo montages of the 2013/2014 FIS World Cup season.