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Alex Kochon

Alex Kochon (alexkochon@gmail.com) is a former FasterSkier editor and roving reporter who never really lost touch with the nordic scene. A freelance writer, editor, and outdoor-loving mom of two, she lives in northeastern New York and enjoys adventuring in the Adirondacks. She shares her passion for sports and recreation as the co-founder of "Ride On! Mountain Bike Trail Guide" and a sales and content contributor at Curated.com. When she's not skiing or chasing her kids around, Alex assists authors as a production and marketing coordinator for iPub Global Connection.
Quick (Pro) Workout: Double-Pole Strength Training
GeneralInterviewsTechniqueTrainingWorkouts

Quick (Pro) Workout: Double-Pole Strength Training

Alex KochonDecember 1, 2011

Note: This is the first of  a “quick workout” series, which will break down one ski-specific exercise at a time in a how-to format. We start with Canadian national team member Perianne Jones, who demonstrated a double-pole technique in her hometown fitness center.) *** If you woke up this morning hoping to see several inches of white stuff and instead met a blanket of balmy air, you’re not alone. Skiers around the world are scratching...

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NewsOther News

Female Ski Jumpers to Compete in First World Cup on Saturday

Alex KochonDecember 1, 2011

Members of the Visa Women’s Ski Jumping Team will make history Saturday by competing in the first-ever International Ski Federation (FIS) World Cup competition held for women’s ski jumping. Jessica Jerome, Sarah Hendrickson, Alissa Johnson and Abby Hughes (all of Park City, UT) will represent the U.S. in Lillehammer, Norway. Lindsey Van, 2009 World Champion, is recovering from ankle surgery in October and will not compete this weekend. Organizers are expecting nearly 50 jumpers from...

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Few Sweating Lack of Snow in Davos
Canadian National Ski TeamGeneralNewsUS Ski TeamWorld Cup

Few Sweating Lack of Snow in Davos

Alex KochonNovember 30, 2011

The North Americans on the World Cup circuit had plenty to look forward to as they flew to Davos, Switzerland. After three straight days of races in Kuusamo, Finland, the cross-country skiers would have a chance to kick back, train and enjoy the sun. What many didn’t think about was the snow. The Canadians first set eyes on the green landscape before the Americans, as they drove from the airport to Davos on Monday. As...

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Notes and Quotes: Kuusamo Mini-Tour
RacingWorld Cup

Notes and Quotes: Kuusamo Mini-Tour

Alex KochonNovember 28, 2011

With three straight days of racing in the only the second weekend of the World Cup, there were plenty of comments to go around. Here’s a look at what didn’t make it into the Ruka-Triple recaps from Kuusamo, Finland. (Note: It’s pretty heavy on the men’s side, especially with the Canadians, probably because they were chatty about their performances on Sunday.) On why athletes shouldn’t get too worked up about sub-par performances: “If you really...

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RacingResultsWorld Cup

Northug Outraces Cologna to Win Ruka Triple

Alex KochonNovember 27, 2011

Even if he didn’t say it, Petter Northug presented the challenge from the onset. The first starter in the men’s 15 k classic pursuit would give his followers a fighting chance before playing the game of cat and mouse in Kuusamo, Finland. The Norwegian frontrunner in the three-day Ruka Triple mini-tour wasn’t known for charging out of the gate in those types of races anyway. As expected, he led the race with the help of...

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Kuusamo Tests NoCo Competitors
Nordic CombinedRacingWorld Cup

Kuusamo Tests NoCo Competitors

Alex KochonNovember 26, 2011

Don’t call the Americans ungrateful. They were happy to be on snow in Kuusamo, Finland, competing for the first time, jumping when they could. But they’re happy to be moving on to Lillehammer, Norway, for the second weekend of the nordic-combined World Cup. The first one was challenging enough. After U.S. veteran Johnny Spillane was eliminated from the competition before it started, missing out a qualifying jump on Friday, the team suffered another blow Saturday...

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RacingWorld Cup

Babikov the “Bulldog” Powers to 16th; North Americans Look for Bright Spot

Alex KochonNovember 26, 2011

For most of the 119 starters in the men’s 10 k freestyle, Saturday’s race was hardly a walk in the park. That is, unless you like to go out in windy, misty, rainy, sleety and snowy conditions and enjoy encroaching darkness. And if you love long, steep hills — three per lap to be exact — the course in Kuusamo, Finland, was for you. Fortunately, the conditions on the second day of the Ruka Triple...

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RacingWorld Cup

Northug Takes Over in Ruka Triple 10 k

Alex KochonNovember 26, 2011

Roland Clara had been second before. On Saturday in Kuusamo, Finland, the Italian looked pretty comfortable in the leader’s chair, bundled in a blanket and flashing a genuine smile. But the men’s 10 k freestyle race on the second day of the Ruka Triple mini-tour was only halfway through. With individual starts staggering the finishes, Clara could see his seat wasn’t permanent. With every checkpoint — 3.1, 6.4 and 8.1 k — his challengers closed...

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RacingWorld Cup

First-Time Winner at Challenging NoCo Opener

Alex KochonNovember 25, 2011

For the last week, they had been waiting to jump. Really, about 60 nordic-combined athletes from around the world waited all summer for the season to kick off in Kuusamo, Finland. Once there, it seemed the only things holding the athletes back were the weather and the ominous large hill itself. Billy Demong remembered telling someone in an email: “Sometimes survival is success in Kuusamo.” The U.S. nordic combined veteran meant that literally. He was...

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RacingWorld Cup

New Faces Top Men’s Kuusamo Sprints

Alex KochonNovember 25, 2011

Sweden’s Teodor Peterson wasn’t the only one knocking at the World Cup’s “Ruka Triple” mini-tour opener in Kuusamo, Finland, on Friday. Another 23 year old, Lenny Valjas of Canada was right there with him. After cutting it relatively close in the men’s 1.4-k classic sprint qualifier, making the top 30 in 24th and 8.86 seconds behind leader Anssi Pentsinen (FIN), Peterson was one of two to advance from the quarterfinals. There, Valjas edged out four...

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Where Are They Now: Mike Gallagher (with Audio)
InterviewsLifestyleNews

Where Are They Now: Mike Gallagher (with Audio)

Alex KochonNovember 21, 20113

This article is the third profile in the ‘Where Are They Now’ series, made possible through the generous support of Fischer Sports. Learn more about their products at www.fischersports.com. here) PITTSFIELD, Vt. — The “XC1” license plate on the Subaru wagon should have been a dead giveaway. Instead, it took a minute to be sure the man walking across the general-store parking lot was Mike Gallagher, one of the pivotal players who put U.S. nordic...

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RacingWorld Cup

World Cup Weekend in Review: Extras

Alex KochonNovember 20, 2011

As the first World Cup weekend of the cross-country ski season drew to a close, there were plenty of extra notes and quotes to go around. Here’s what didn’t make the post-race recaps following the Saturday’s individual 10k/15k freestyle and Sunday’s relays in Sjusjøen, Norway: Kris Freeman (USA) On placing 55th in Saturday’s 15 k freestyle: “I’m not coming over here for top 30s,” he told FasterSkier. “I’m over here to be in the top...

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U.S. Men Hang Tough, Finish 11th
GeneralNewsRacingWorld Cup

U.S. Men Hang Tough, Finish 11th

Alex KochonNovember 20, 2011

From the start, the U.S. men appeared ready to roll with the best of their World Cup competition at the 4×10 k relays in Sjusjøen, Norway, on Sunday. It wasn’t looks so much as action. Andy Newell jumped out to a first quick lap on the 2.5-k loop, working outside the icy track to position himself in fifth. As he found out, he wasn’t the only one working hard — most of the men he...

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U.S. Women Recover From Rough Start, Ninth in Relay
GeneralNewsRacingWorld Cup

U.S. Women Recover From Rough Start, Ninth in Relay

Alex KochonNovember 20, 2011

Sticky skis and icy conditions — they don’t always mix. You didn’t have to tell Ida Sargent that. But it wasn’t about the number of times Sargent fell down on Sunday’s rock-solid course at Sjusjøen, Norway, that mattered. As the starting leg of the U.S. women’s cross-country ski team in the 4×5 k World Cup relay, she had to get back up. “I didn’t want to lose anymore time than I already had,” Sargent wrote...

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Canadian National Ski TeamRacingWorld Cup

Notes and Quotes from Sjusjøen: Canadian Edition

Alex KochonNovember 19, 2011

Following Ostersund, Sweden). Not all of the Canadians got their wish. In fact, few of the North Americans did in the men’s 15 k freestyle. Alex Harvey was a bright spot, placing fifth in 32:49.9,  40.6 seconds behind Sweden’s Johan Olsson, the winner. Additional coverage of Harvey’s performance can be found in the main race recap here. Devon Kershaw was 37th (1:37.1), a week after placing 28th in Bruksvallarna. Saturday’s finish wasn’t exactly the result...

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Kids in Tow, U.S. NoCo Racers Ready to Go
GeneralNewsNordic CombinedRacingWorld Cup

Kids in Tow, U.S. NoCo Racers Ready to Go

Alex KochonNovember 18, 2011

If the U.S. Nordic Combined Team got together for Thanksgiving, there might be less football watching and more talk about the kids. That’s the way life is for almost half of the seven-man squad, with each of the “Big Three” aged 30 or older and with at least one child. “It’s a different dynamic than it has been in the past,” said head coach Dave Jarrett, who has two kids of his own. “But it’s...

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NewsOther News

Less Than 1,000 Spots Left in American Birkie

Alex KochonNovember 16, 2011

Planning on Registering for the 2012 American Birkebeiner or Kortelopet? Do It Now! A record-breaking number of skiers have already registered. The total number of skiers now registered for the Birkebeiner and Kortelopet has now surpassed 8,000. The cap for these two races is 9,000, so we are less than 1,000 skiers away from closing registration for 2012. The Prince Haakon has a cap of 400, and right now it is only 25 percent full....

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NoCo Athletes Jump on “Drive for 25”
GeneralInterviewsJuniorsNewsRacing

NoCo Athletes Jump on “Drive for 25”

Alex KochonNovember 15, 2011

When Cliff Field met his parents for dinner in Steamboat Springs, Colo., last weekend, the family of three knew the discussion wouldn’t be easy. A few days earlier, Field had stumbled on his mother’s quotes in a Drive for 25,” urging skiers to donate $25 to the sport on Nov. 15, the NNF was happy to create a similar donation link online for nordic combined. A few weeks after U.S. Nordic Combined launched NNF website...

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