One down, two stages to go. Sweden's Calle Halfvarsson has both the Lillehammer mini tour's early lead with a win on Friday's sprint, and an increasingly firm grip on the World Cup Overall. Canada's Alex Harvey is happy to lurk in 12th heading into tomorrow's skate distance race.
Marit Bjorgen, hear me roar. A wake up call at Sunday's 10 k individual classic in Ruka, Finland. Bjorgen is the show, and three Americans in the points.
Get out your earbuds and a pen and paper. Good info is coming your way if you're playing the Noah Hoffman Cross Country Fantasy League. Even if you're not invested in choosing a team, you'll smile a bit when you listen to this episode. You'll hear some of the sport's greatest minds pontificate on who's in and who's out.
Most of us can imagine stumbling across a finish line, lungs burning. It’s a whole other realm of precision like suffering to pound out the kilometers while intermittently trying to hit a small target. In this episode of Nordic Nation, 28-year-old Clare Egan describes what it’s like coming to the sport as a novice shooter with Olympic aspirations.
Thirty-year-old Bryan Fletcher has a full plate. College classes, a new baby, a big training load, and refining his jumping technique were all part of the Park City based athlete's offseason. After perhaps a bit less sleep than usual, the 2013 World Champs bronze medalist is fired up for this season.
Double poling in the offseason ... it's not just for nordies. Athletes like US Biathlon team member Tim Burke incorporates it into his offseason routine. Skate ski exclusively? Then this Wednesday "double pole" workout might be for you.
Canadian World Cup Team member Alex Harvey is no stranger to success. Always lurking near the top end of the World Cup overall, Harvey has his sights set on more World Championships hardware -- specifically a second skiathlon medal -- and the season-culminating Crystal Globe.
"Imagine sprinting up twenty flights of stairs and then trying to thread a needle.” That's how Biathlon Canada veteran Rosanna Crawford describes the art of skiing, then shooting, repeatedly. Here, we learn about biathlon: how athletes prep on race day, and how Crawford approached her shooting on a personal-best day at 2016 World Championships.
U.S. Ski Team A-team member Sophie Caldwell has taken the proverbial next step and topped a World Cup podium. The seventh-ranked sprinter in the world, she feels that nothing's broken with her training, so she hasn't had any significant changes this offseason.
US Biathlon's Tim Burke leaves nothing up to chance as he preps for the upcoming race season. The 34-year-old team veteran recently explained he's not averse to double pole training and has been perfecting his shooting from one of the Jedis of American sport shooting.
Go, go, go. That's the type of energy Liz Stephen brings to skiing. From a high-tempo skate technique to steeper is better, Stephen has been a force on the Distance World Cup since her push into the top 30 in 2012. Last year was a setback for the Park City resident and she feels like this offseason she's done the work to make a rebound.
Over the dryland season, U.S. Ski Team sprinter Simi Hamilton has been working on improving his double poling and as always -- keeping the soul fed with adventure training. “I have been playing around with a much shorter range of motion on the climbs to keep my tempo much higher,” he explains.
It's back to school and the World Cup for U.S. Ski Team A-teamer Ida Sargent. Based out of Craftsbury, the Vermont native has been mindful to keep her training quality high. As she readies for the first World Cup in late November, she'll also keep her mind sharp while taking online classes in public health.
Not such a great summer for the Norwegian Ski Federation and Martin Johnsrud Sundby; now add Therese Johaug to that list. In this podcast episode, FasterSkier Editor-at-Large Chelsea Little discusses these doping cases and the recent IOC meetings where much was discussed, but perhaps not so much decided upon. Have a listen.
Often associated with Scandinavian culture, the concept of friluftsliv has helped shaped the nordic ski communities we all know. In Bend, Ore., a museum exhibit called "Winter Comes" celebrates the legacy of friluftsliv.
To double pole or not to double pole: sometimes it's not even a question for strong-enough skiers. We spoke to a few well-informed individuals on FIS's 83-percent rule and gathered their opinions.
Either on snow or on pavement, this workout offers an easy approach to lending how to cue and fire the glutes while skate skiing, something physical therapist Dave Cieslowski says will improve your skiing efficiency.
"The goals of the workout are to increase classic striding leg speed and explosiveness, make neuromuscular gains, and increase aerobic capacity," explains Chris Mallory, new head coach of the SVSEF Gold Team. "The workout is fairly short and sweet, but very effective, and it helps to sharpen the athletes up as we near race season."
In this FS podcast, it's time to learn about jumping, the other half of nordic combined many might lack an understanding of. To help guide us through the sport, we spoke with U.S. Nordic Combined Team leader Bryan Fletcher and jumping coach Clint Jones. Get ready to fly.
Colin Rodgers has left Sun Valley to take charge at Green Mountain Valley School in his native Vermont, while his good friend Chris Mallory, also from Vermont, parted ways with UVM and is moving West to head up the SVSEF Gold Team.