On the eve of the Olympics, the air of excitement and anticipation among the Norwegian cross-country team was wiped out by the death of Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen’s younger brother, Sten Anders. Together, their women overcame adversity and put three in the top four of Saturday's skiathlon, with Marit Bjørgen leading the charge.
FasterSkier caught up with U.S. Ski Team member Noah Hoffman to talk about everything from his training to his mentality and goals before the Olympics. Hoffman plans to compete in four events: the 30-kilometer skiathlon, 15 k classic individual start, 4 x 10 k relay, and 50 k freestyle, respectively.
(SuperTour at Battle Creek Park,” Endurance United Executive Director Chris Sachs says. “Battle Creek is widely known as a premier competition course in the Midwest and the past couple of years these races had to be moved to other locations due to poor snow conditions, but not this year. The 2014 edition is aptly named the ‘Battle Creek SuperTour’ as we are excited to showcase this venue and put on a wonderful event! The Battle Creek SuperTour...
Of the 18 North Americans that competed in Sunday’s 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprints at the Toblach World Cup, nine made the rounds. Many of them chatted with FasterSkier about the day and final race before the Olympics.
While Russia stole the spotlight in the men's and women's individual classic races at Junior World Championships on Sunday, two Canadians notched top-15 career bests on the second-to-last day of the championships: Ricardo Izquierdo-Bernier and Dahria Beatty.
Two Frenchmen and two Norwegian women pushed each other to the finish of Saturday's skiathlons, the last races of U23 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. UVM's Scott Patterson led the North Americans in 18th and Rosie Frankowski (NMU) captured her first top 30 in 26th.
If anyone was going to deny Kikkan Randall of her third-straight skate sprint win, a feat that hasn’t been achieved on the World Cup since Marit Bjørgen's similar winning streak in 2006, it was most likely going to be Bjørgen. The 33-year-old Norwegian stayed calm and collected to do so, leading three Norwegians in the top four as Randall finished fifth in Sunday's Toblach sprint.
Erik Bjornsen of the U.S. Ski Team broke through in Saturday's 15 k classic individual start at the Toblach World Cup in Italy, two days after placing 17th the same event at U23 World Championships. Aside from Alex Harvey in fifth, the rest of the North American men placed outside the top 38 on a wet day marked by tricky conditions.
The Toblach World Cup 10-kilometer classic individual start on Saturday provided a few takeaways exactly one week out from the Olympics. Bjørgen made a statement with a definitive win, Kowalczyk missed the podium for the first time in a 10 k classic since 2009, and the U.S. women put four in the top 20, five in the top 22, in a classic distance race.
With a rocket-fast last lap and some unplanned help from Canada's Alex Harvey, Alexander Legkov made Saturday a little less about Dario Cologna, who returned to the World Cup after missing the first half of the season. Legkov won the last distance race before the Olympics, bringing Russia some good vibes before it hosts the Games.
Days after the U.S. Nordic Ski Team officially announced its Olympic squad, several of the skiers that narrowly missed the cut have been dealing with ranging emotions -- mostly disappointment -- while U.S. Head Coach Chris Grover explains the decision to keep the team size to 14.
Regardless of what happens with the official U.S. Olympic Nordic Ski Team naming on Wednesday, Caitlin Gregg says she's happy. The last four years have been about balance, Gregg explains, and a journey with her husband that she wouldn't trade for anything. "One of the greatest things though is that anticipation of not knowing that you made it," she says.
In the midst of Olympic team naming, a time when emotions often run high, we are reiterating our commenting policy.
It’s not easy being Justyna Kowalczyk — always breaking trail, always having the weight of Poland on her, and in a classic distance race at home on her birthday without any Scandinavians in the field? Forget about it. She was easily the favorite for Sunday’s World Cup 10 k classic mass start in Szklarska Poręba, Poland. That didn’t make winning any easier.
Kikkan Randall made a statement out of Saturday's freestyle sprint in Szklarska Poręba, Poland, winning each of her heats, including the final, with some tactical smarts on a flat-and-fast course. Another American, Jessie Diggins notched a career-best sprint result of fifth, and five Americans landed in the top 15.
Three days ago, Matt Liebsch likened himself to ‘Where’s Waldo’. Just where would he end up next? It was anyone's guess. One of several Olympic hopefuls, Liebsch is among the top U.S. domestic skiers trying to find the best races to maximize FIS-point potential.
No one likes to get hurt on their birthday, and while Kikkan Randall's minor back strain put a damper on her workout on Dec. 31, she had her physical therapist from Anchorage to help her recover (and win her first World Cup back) less than two weeks later.
"I’m a firm believer that things happen in life for a reason," Todd Lodwick said Tuesday afternoon while icing his shoulder at the Center of Excellence in Park City, Utah. Four days after a "fluky" crash in a provisional jump in France, the U.S. Nordic Combined veteran is rehabbing stateside. "We’re going to move forward with every intention to go to the Olympic Games," he said.
Doug DeBold edged his former CXC teammate Santi Ocariz by the slimmest of margins last Saturday in the 42 k SISU Marathon in Ironwood, Mich. And he couldn't have done it without the pole Ocariz lent him a minute before the start. Another former CXC skier, Audrey Weber was the women's runner-up in her second SISU Marathon.
Twenty-five days before the Olympics open in Sochi, Russia, Nikita Kriukov couldn’t have timed Sunday’s 6 x 1.6-kilometer team-classic sprint victory much better. The 28-year-old Russian’s execution was right up there as well. Meanwhile, Simi Hamilton and Andy Newell teamed up for one of the best U.S. men's team-sprint finishes in recent memory.