East Coast, West Coast ... most often it's a toss up. But for Dartmouth skier and Bend, Ore., local, Emily Hyde, she's awaiting a bit of crust-cruising shock therapy when she heads into Broken Top in the Three Sisters Wilderness just outside her hometown. Here's a Wednesday Workout for those about to "up" the training loads and intensities.
At the first on-snow camp of the season at Mt. Bachelor in Bend, Ore., the U.S. Ski Team aims to jumpstart its training year with high-volume training loads and a series of technique sessions. On Wednesday, they targeted uphill striding and herringboning, using instant videos to provide trailside feedback.
Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club coach Josh Smullin mixed it up at the end of the race season this March and ventured to Chamonix, France, where he took himself out of his comfort zone and into a ski mountaineer's dream trip along the Verbier Haute Route.
Opportunity has come knocking for Sugar Bowl Academy's 18-year-old Hannah Halvorsen. Her recent nomination to the U.S. Ski Team brings Halvorsen closer to her World Cup dreams, but she maintains she'll continue to take it day by day.
Don't live in Boulder? No problem. If you have mountains or even hills around, you can follow CU Head Coach Bruce Cranmer's recommendations for lighthearted spring training. "I recommend first and foremost, make it fun and something you really enjoy doing," he explains. "I think this is a great time to focus on non-specific training."
Coaching at the international level beings expectations, personalities to manage, not to mention the nitty gritty of booking plane tickets and travel logistics. When Justin Wadsworth stepped away from Canada's National Team head coach position this past March, it gave an opportunity for three core skiers from his tenure -- Kershaw, Harvey, and Babikov -- to reflect on where they have been.
Stepping into one of the most crucial jobs in terms of grassroots nordic development in the U.S., Hennie Kashiwa is assuming the role of executive director of the National Nordic Foundation. Tasked with promoting the NNF brand and building its funding base, Kashiwa explains how he plans to grow the organization and the community of cross-country skiers supporting the cause.
It's been 15 years since the U.S. hosted a cross-country World Cup. In that time, Canada has hosted such international races on home snow multiple times, most recently with the eight-stage Ski Tour Canada. The cost of hosting World Cups is high and the benefits are sometimes hard to measure. FasterSkier explores how Canada has pulled it off and why the U.S. avoids the risk.
Young, talented and keeping it fun. Katharine Ogden's Wednesday Workout takes us on a stroll up and a schuss down Stratton Mountain. "This is generally level one unless you are a very enthusiastic hiker," she explains.
Earlier this week, Cross Country Canada announced that its head coach Justin Wadsworth will be stepping down at the end of this season. Wadsworth spoke with FasterSkier about his decision and recommendations for developing North America's next crop of World Cup skiers while also bringing international cross-country events to his home continent.
Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby is taking home all the hardware: two Crystal Globes and the Ski Tour Canada overall. After starting with a 39-second deficit to Russia's Sergey Ustiugov on Saturday, Sundby rose and Ustiugov faded. Canada's Alex Harvey finished fifth overall for his best result in a World Cup tour.
Friday's 10 k freestyle was a good day for Norway's Ingvild Flugstad Østberg. She skied away for the win, stymied by neither the grueling course or the who's who of Norwegian stars she left in her wake. Jessie Diggins put her hold on fifth, leading four U.S. women in the top 22.
Norway's Martin Johnsrud Sundby won the Ski Tour Canada's brutal Stage 6 skiathlon on Wednesday, putting him third overall in the Tour, while Petter Northug remains in second despite losing precious time to Tour leader Sergey Ustiugov. Canada's Alex Harvey jumped a spot to fourth overall, and his teammates Ivan Babikov and Graeme Killick posted season-best results.
American Jessie Diggins posted her best World Cup classic sprint result to date, striding to a sixth in the Ski Tour Canada's Stage 5 in Canmore, Alberta. Diggins also sits in sixth overall heading into Stage 6 on Wednesday. Norway's Maiken Caspersen Falla remained undefeated in every classic sprint she competed in this season, winning the final by a whopping 7 seconds.
On a cold, clear day in historic Quebec City, Canada's Alex Harvey didn't take the win, but he stole the show. In an impressive run, Harvey placed second to France's Baptiste Gros in the Ski Tour Canada's Stage 3 freestyle sprint. The U.S. had three in the heats, with Simi Hamilton finishing eighth, Erik Bjornsen a career-best 20th and Andy Newell 29th. Canada's Jess Cockney notched 10th for his best result in four years.
Norway keeps them coming. Norwegian young gun Emil Iversen took Stage 2 of the Ski Tour Canada, the men's 17.5 k classic mass start in Montreal, ahead of an all-star cast, including teammate Petter Northug, Russia's Sergey Ustiugov, and another Norwegian, Martin Johnsrud Sundby. Canada's Alex Harvey skied up to ninth for sixth overall in the Tour.
On a 1.7-kilometer technical course with hustling and jostling, U.S. sprinter Simi Hamilton proved he had the tactics and the lungs to ski with the world's best on Tuesday. He placed third in the Ski Tour Canada's opening skate sprint, 0.09 seconds behind Russia's Sergey Ustiugov in first and 0.01 behind France's Richard Jouve in second.
For the fourth year in a row, Germany's Eric Frenzel was crowned the Nordic Combined World Cup overall champion after three days of competitions in Val di Fiemme, Italy. The long weekend started off with Americans Bryan and Taylor Fletcher racing to sixth in the team sprint for the best U.S. result in the event since 2013.
A 32-year-old father of three who works full time at Gear West, Matt Liebsch learned Thursday that he earned the final start for the U.S. at the Ski Tour Canada, which starts on Tuesday. "I’m super pumped to get an opportunity to score some World Cup points again," Liebsch said. "I think I've got a legit chance."
Last Friday through Sunday, three days of Nordic Combined World Cup competitions took place in Lahti, Finland, with Germany's Eric Frenzel retaining the overall World Cup lead. Norwegian wünderkind, Jarl Magnus Riiber, missed out on his second World Cup win, as he made a wrong turn at the finish.