Jason Albert – Page 16

Sweden’s Nilsson Wins TdS Stage One Sprint; A Recharged Diggins Takes Third

Jason AlbertDecember 29, 2018

The threads of the thirty skiers who made the women’s heats of the 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint during Stage 1 of the Tour de Ski (TdS) in Toblach, Italy on Saturday could weave a complex pattern. There are the lead changes. Skiers advanced. Skiers were eliminated. At the start of a seven-stage event, one race, and the first at that, simply established the early markings of a pattern. Nothing too complex to discern — but nascent...

General News US Ski Team

Julia Kern Keeps Perspective

Jason AlbertDecember 28, 2018

Since Dec. 1, twenty-one-year-old Julia Kern (SMS-T2) has barnstormed the elite level domestic racing calendar. She qualified first and won the SuperTour freestyle sprint in West Yellowstone. The following weekend in the NorAm/SuperTour skate sprint in Sovereign Lake it was another win-win in the qualifier and final. In the next day’s 10-kilometer classic, Kern was third overall and the second American. Last weekend back in Vermont at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Kern swept the...

Opinion

Op-Ed: Should the Nordic Ski World be Considering the “4%” Effect?

Jason AlbertDecember 27, 2018

(The following op-ed is an opinion piece submitted by an author unassociated with FasterSkier. Viewpoints do not necessarily reflect that of FasterSkier’s staff or sponsors. We fully support open dialogue and encourage the use of the comments section at the bottom of this page to express varying views. To submit an op-ed, email Rocky Mountain Nordic waxing protocols. To summarize, the coaches have agreed to use three types of glide wax depending on the day’s temperature....

Lifestyle Masters News Opinion

All I Want for Xmas is a New Wax Bench by Scott “Bjorn” Cummings

Jason AlbertDecember 24, 2018

In March of 2016, we published an article penned by Scott “Bjorn” Cummings, a Postbaccalaureate student working towards his Academic Behavorial Strategist K-12 (ABS) Special Education License at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), titled “

Doping News

Russian Authorities Hinder WADA Investigation in Moscow

Jason AlbertDecember 22, 2018

On Friday, the World Anti Doping Authority stated in a press release that progress towards meeting the full conditions for the Russian Anti Doping Agency’s (RUSADA) reinstatement to WADA had hit a roadblock. Back in September, WADA’s Executive Committee voted to readmit Russia as a compliant nation with the stipulation that certain conditions were to be met by a hard deadline of Dec. 31. At issue is WADA’s access to the Moscow Lab’s Laboratory Information...

Doping News

U.S. Government Moves to Criminalize Doping in Sport

Jason AlbertDecember 22, 2018

Earlier this week, among the tumult in Washington, D.C., Senators Orrin Hatch of Utah and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, introduced the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act to the Senate. The proposed legislation is named after Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of the Russian Anti Doping Agency’s (RUSADA) Moscow Laboratory. Rodchenkov was one of several whistleblowers who helped reveal state sponsored doping in Russia. Similar legislation was introduced in June to the House, but has not...

News Racing World Cup

Johaug Wins Davos 10 k Skate; Diggins Fifth and Brennan Sixth for the U.S.

Jason AlbertDecember 16, 2018

Coming off a two-season hiatus from the World Cup for having a banned steroid in her system, Norway’s Therese Johaug has come back onto the distance race stage with time checks and results showing no remorse. This is not to say that Johaug’s reentry to the sport comes with arrogance. But it is to highlight that, on course, her level of control in the early season World Cup distance events has been dominant. Johaug has...

Multimedia Video

Davos Course Preview with Andy Newell

Jason AlbertDecember 13, 2018

This weekend in Davos, Switzerland the World Cup returns for the high life. Many World Cuppers consider Davos to be a high elevation venue and with the thinner air comes a tinge of lung burn as skiers pace themselves around the 5-kilometer loop used for distance events. (Davos sits around 5,000 feet in elevation.) The 5 k loop features a long and steady climb up and out of the valley. Then a technical descent with...

General News

Petter Northug jr.; The Curtain Closes on the Champion’s Show

Jason AlbertDecember 13, 2018

It is accurate, the way time ticks away, to say that it was an eternity ago when Norway’s Petter Northug jr. splashed onto the Word Cup scene to the delight of fans and the paparazzi. According to the International Ski Federation (FIS) data base, Northug stepped to the top of the podium in only his eighth World Cup start. In the 2005/06 season, he placed first in Falun, Sweden’s 2 x 10-kilometer pursuit. There...

General News US Biathlon

US Biathlon’s New Coaches, Michael Gries and Armin Auchentaller, Lead the Way

Jason AlbertDecember 11, 2018

This season, the US Biathlon Association (USBA) hired on two new coaches; 47-year-old Armin Auchentaller from Italy and Germany’s 42-year-old Michael Greis. Auchentaller’s primary duties are with the women’s team whereas Greis will focus on the men. The U.S. team comes off the retirements of two of its steady-stars; Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke. (Burke was hired in May as USBA’s athlete development manager.) The hiring of the two coaches is part of a plan...

Community News

Hop on Board; Technical Delegates Needed

Jason AlbertDecember 10, 2018

This article comes from Alan Watson, a certified TD and head of the cross-country section of the Pacific Northwest Ski Association (PNSA). Here’s the straight and simple request: U.S. Ski and Snowboard needs Technical Delegates (TD). Before we go any further, let’s give a brief rundown of what that means. U.S. Ski and Snowboard rules require each sanctioned race to have a jury which ensures that the race is fair, safe and conducted...

News US Biathlon World Cup

O% Expectation and 100% Focus; Clare Egan Finds her Way in Pokljuka, Slovenia

Jason AlbertDecember 10, 2018

Over the weekend in Pokljuka, Slovenia U.S. Biathlon’s Clare Egan marked a breakthrough. During the IBU World Cup’s 10-kilometer pursuit on Sunday, with a single shooting penalty, Egan placed sixth (+1:22.4, 0+0+1+0). She also raced the fastest time for the ski portion of the race. Kaisa Mäkäräinen of Finland won the race in a time of 29:16.9 minutes. Prior to her sixth place, Egan’s top result was a 13th place during last season’s IBU...

News Racing World Cup

Johaug Wins in Beitostølen; Diggins Eighth, Bjornsen 13th, Brennan 15th

Jason AlbertDecember 8, 2018

“I feel like the shape was really good today,” Norway’s Therese Johaug told the International Ski Federation (FIS) after Saturday’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start race in Beitostølen, Norway. On a day when winter felt like winter, snow fell throughout the race and temperatures hovered around 20 degrees Fahrenheit, Johaug’s shape was never in doubt. Absent two seasons from the World Cup after testing positive for banned steroids in her system, Johaug is back with...

Continental Cup News Racing US Biathlon World Cup

Saturday Rundown: Beitostølen, Pokljuka (Biathlon), and Sovereign Lake (Updated 4 x)

Jason AlbertDecember 8, 2018

FIS World Cup Beitostolen, Norway 15 k/30k Freestyle Individual Start Women’s Race Report | Men’s Race Report With snow falling and trees covered with fresh snow, Beitostølen, Norway’s wintery essence was on full display during the women’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start on Saturday. Keeping her distance win-streak alive was Norway’s Therese Johaug who won her fourth World Cup distance race of the season making it four for four in 2018/2019. Johaug won in a time of...

Multimedia Photo Gallery

John Lazenby: Through the Lens

Jason AlbertDecember 7, 2018

Here at FasterSkier, the primacy of the written word is often emphasized. We remain text driven, but we have delved into videos to help our readership learn more about the sport and of course, we rely on the eyes and vision of sport photographers to deliver visual stories in a way words simply cannot. John Lazenby is a model of the artist and the deep-in-the-trenches photographer who creates some of the images we feature...

News Racing World Cup

Johaug’s Wins Lillehammer Overall; Bjornsen 10th

Jason AlbertDecember 2, 2018

Here’s a sentence we might see routinely this season as the World Cup distance races transpire. Norway’s Therese Johaug wins again! In Sunday’s 10-kilometer classic pursuit race in Lillehammer, Norway, Johaug set an unmatched pace to win her second race of the weekend and the overall in Lillehammer’s three-race series. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla lead off the race, starting a spartan two and a half seconds ahead of Johaug. Kalla led the first lap, with Johaug...

News Racing World Cup

Johaug Takes Lillehammer 10 k Skate; Bjornsen in 9th leads Four U.S. Women in the Points

Jason AlbertDecember 1, 2018

If thirty-year-old Therese Johaug of Norway is trying to scotch the dismay of the past two years, she’s doing it with her trademark high-turnover skiing and her top-step podium ways. In April of 2018, Johaug’s 18-month ban, for having the prohibited anabolic steroid clostebol in her bloodstream, ended. Back during her last full season on the World Cup, 2015/2016, it was not uncommon for Johaug to gap the field by large margins in distance races. This...

Pellegrino Skates Away with Lillehammer Sprint Win; Canada’s Harvey in Third

Jason AlbertNovember 30, 2018

At two minutes into the men’s 1.6-kilometer freestyle sprint in Lillehammer, Norway on Friday, the six skiers in the final were strung in line — each milking a draft into the banked left turn before the final climb. Norway’s Emil Iversen was in the lead — the workhorse pushing the pace for much of the race. Behind him were Italy’s Federico Pellegrino and Canada’s Alex Harvey zooming around the corner and stepping into the climb....

General News Racing World Cup

Sweden’s Sundling Scores First World Cup Win; Sadie Bjornsen Podiums in Lillehammer Skate Sprint

Jason AlbertNovember 30, 2018

With the two big climbs over 1.3-kilometer freestyle sprint course, the women’s World Cup freestyle sprint course in Lillehammer, Norway packs a quad-burning punch. With lungs then legs poaching any extra oxygen, the women’s final, which featured four of six athletes from Sweden, was a primetime show. Nilsson is a finisher, known for her closeout efforts in the finishing straight. But as she and twenty-three-year-old Sundling glided into the S-turns before the final 100 meters,...

Resources Strength Training Workouts

Wednesday Workout: Core Nordic Exercises with Stuart Kremzner

Jason AlbertNovember 28, 2018

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 not working, he is running and skiing on the trails in New Hampshire or writing wax tips for the TOKO...

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