On a blue sky day in Whistler, BC, Emily Nishikawa (Alberta World Cup Academy) skied away from the rest of the NorAm field for her first win of the season. She completed the 15 k skiathlon at the Whistler Olympic Park in 46:03.0, just 7.0 seconds ahead of runner-up Alysson Marshall (AWCA). Alana Thomas (Nakkertok) took a close third (+7.2). The lead women skied in a pack for the classic portion of the race, and...
As promised, Torin Koos (Bridger Ski Foundation/Rossignol) filed an appeal on Monday with the International Ski Federation (FIS) Appeals Commission against the the jury’s determination at the U.S. Cross Country Championships that he had obstructed competition on his way to winning the A-final of the classic sprint, which resulted in his
Our main focus in boot development has always been to bring new technology and material offerings to the sport of XC skiing; to be able to deliver high tech race and touring products with high comfort and stability values that can be used in various conditions. MemBrain® fabric balances the best performance in waterproof, breathable fabric with excellent durability. MemBrain® reduces internal condensation while increasing comfort by reducing the chilling effect caused by condensation build-up....
RUMFORD, Maine — The major story to come out of the final race of the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Championships was Torin Koos’s disqualification for obstruction of competition (which he plans to appeal). But in addition to the drama, an entire classic sprint day went on at Black Mountain. When the A-final field took the line Sunday afternoon, it was difficult to know what to expect. Koos seemed like the only safe bet to be...
Over the past year Gear West has been designing and building the world’s foremost Nordic ski flex tester, and we are pleased to announce that it is now up-and-running! In order to create the Gear West Flex Tester, over $20k in hardware and lots of man-hours have been directed to the project and our final software solution. The technical team includes Gear West employees and former engineers, Matt Liebsch and Geroge Mehr, our friends at...
After crossing the finish line in first in the U.S. Nationals classic sprint A-final, Torin Koos (BSF/Rossignol) was disqualified for moving into a lane in front of Ryan Scott (MSU/Team HomeGrown) before completely clearing Scott’s skis, which resulted in contact between Koos’ tails and Scott’s tips. A course controller saw the pass, and after the conclusion of the race, reported a violation to the jury. Per International Ski Federation (FIS) rules, the competition jury deemed...
DENVER, CO – This year’s snowless winter isn’t getting the best of the cross-country ski season – it’s in full force and Rudy Project athletes continue finishing ahead of the competition. At the 2012 Rudy Project sponsored athlete, Jessie Diggins. The event at Black Mountain, originally scheduled for last Monday, was cancelled early that morning as a result of temperatures too warm for snow making on the barren course. However, as Mother Nature often does,...
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association released its final ranking lists used to select the teams for the J1 Scando trip (J1S) and World Junior Championships (WJC) teams. World Junior Championships will be held in Erzurum, Turkey from February 20 – 26, with an optional pre-camp of Scandinavian Cup races in Madona, Latvia and Elbu, Estonia. The J1 Scando Cup trip is in Mammaste, Estonia from February 13 – 27 with an optional pre-camp in...
RUMFORD, Maine — The stadium at Black Mountain held its collective breath as spectators waited for the lead pack of the women’s 20 k classic mass start to come through for the last time at the U.S. Cross Country Championships. The question in everyone’s mind was, could Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST) pull off yet another win? The race came down to tactics — the top five women stayed in a tight group for the first five laps,...
RUMFORD, Maine — As usual, there was so much going on during Friday’s 20/30 k classic mass start at the U.S. Cross Country Championships that not all of it fit into the race reports. Here were the notables and quotables from Black Mountain: The University of Vermont placed three women in the top 10; Amy Glen led the way for the Catamounts in seventh, Caitlin Patterson was eighth, and Lucy Garrec was tenth. The trio worked...
RUMFORD, Maine — On a comfortably cold day at Black Mountain, Jessie Diggins (Central Cross Country/USST) extended her winning streak to 11 this season—her second national title of the week at the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Championships. Dasha Gaiazova (Canadian National Ski Team/Rocky Mountain Racers) finished second, while Diggins’ teammate Caitlin Gregg (CXC) landed on the podium for the second time this week in third. Despite her dominance of the domestic circuit so far this...
RUMFORD, Maine — There was no shortage of excitement at Black Mountain on Tuesday, where U.S. Cross Country Championships kicked off with a freestyle sprint. We checked in with the day’s winners Torin Koos (BSF/Rossignol) and Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST), as well as Caitlin Gregg (CXC), Jennie Bender (CXC), Ida Sargent (CGRP/USST), Corey Stock (CSU), Colin Rodgers (SVSEF), Karl Nygren (CXC), Joanne Reid (CU), Eliska Hajkova (CU), Bryan Cook (CGRP) and Nils Koons (CGRP). Sprint Brackets...
RUMFORD, Maine — Torin Koos (Bridger Ski Foundation/Rossignol) made it three straight U.S. National sprint titles Tuesday at Black Mountain, using his veteran racing experience to navigate a fast, tactical day. In a tightly packed A-final, Bend Endurance Academy’s Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess was close behind in second, and in a fight for bronze that was close enough to protest, Tyler Kornfield (University of Alaska Fairbanks) completed the men’s podium in third mere millimeters ahead of...
RUMFORD, Maine — The old adage “If you don’t like the weather, wait a minute,” was overheard many times at Black Mountain on both Sunday and Monday, but waiting around all morning didn’t change the fact that Sunday night’s rain put a serious damper on U.S. Nationals. News broke early Monday morning that an overnight downpour had soaked the artificial snow at Black Mountain and forced race organizers to postpone the scheduled freestyle sprint indefinitely....
RUMFORD, Maine — If sprint days are known for being unpredictable, the outcome of Monday’s freestyle sprint at U.S. Nationals is especially difficult to foresee. There are a handful of strong skiers in the lineup, it rained on Sunday night, and the high stakes will undoubtedly make everyone aggressive out on the course. Though the racing season has been in full swing since the end of November, Monday will be the first time a lot...
RUMFORD, Maine — The sun was out at Black Mountain on Sunday, and with the skate sprint set to start on Monday morning at 9:00 am, U.S. Cross Country Championships are practically upon us. The only trails open on Sunday were the overlapping 1.4 k and 1.6 k courses, and with nearly 400 athletes on the sprint start list, the loop was packed all morning. Athletes could be seen getting in their final pickups off...
The Nordic Integrated System (NIS) allows for quick and easy binding installation directly onto the ski, without screws—simply “click-on.” The binding is based on NNN technology so that all NNN boots (regardless of age) will fit the binding. Full integration between ski and binding The tight contact betwee the ski and the binding creates optimal stability, ski control and kick. Quick and easy installation and mounting No need to find the balance point or drill...
When Mother Nature fails to deliver bountiful snow, races are often held on a surface that resembles a dirty ice rink. Artificial snow, old snow, dirt, ice and moisture stick together in a weird conglomerate that can be very challenging for wax technicians. Athletes are forced to train in less than optimal conditions, stressing them physically and mentally. Given the dearth of snow in North America this season and the very likely chance that the...
With 12 days to go until U.S. Nationals begins in Rumford, ME, and natural flurries still absent from the weather forecast, Black Mountain is well on its way to making the snow necessary for a 3.75 k distance loop, two semi-overlapping sprint courses, a test track and a sit-ski loop. “As of Tuesday, we had two-thirds of the snow we needed to cover everything,” said Chief of Competition Carlie Casey. Black Mountain has about a...
