In an interview in Oslo, Norway, after World Championships, Canada's Zina Kocher talked about why she's calling it quits after 15 seasons on the top international racing circuit, and what she's going to miss. "I see the growth [in Canadian biathlon] and you want to be part of it, but at some point you have to call it quits."
Jessie Diggins maintained her streak through the final race of the season, winning the women's 30 k classic mass start -- what used to be her weakest race format -- on Saturday at U.S. Distance Nationals. She broke away on the first of nine laps, making it a race for second among Ida Sargent, Caitlin Patterson and Liz Stephen.
Alaska Pacific University led from start to finish, with Erik Bjornsen, Rosie Brennan, Scott Patterson, and Chelsea Holmes, to win its third-consecutive mixed relay title at SuperTour Finals on Thursday in Craftsbury, Vt. A hybrid team called Vailbury Green placed second, and Jessie Diggins brought SMST2 from sixth to third at the finish.
After nearly sweeping the podium at U.S. nationals earlier this year, the Alaska Pacific University men got the job done in Craftsbury on Tuesday, taking first, second and third with Erik Bjornsen and Reese and Logan Hanneman, respectively.
Nine days after placing fifth in the Ski Tour Canada, the finale of the World Cup season, Jessie Diggins kept her foot on the gas and tallied a win in the women's 10 k freestyle at SuperTour Finals.
A former SMST2 elite skier, Annie Pokorny is back in navy blue and white, racing for Middlebury as a senior with junior eligibility and focused on NCAA Championships this Thursday and Saturday in Steamboat Springs, Colo. So how do NCAA amateurism rules work in this case? The 23-year-old Pokorny explains.
Therese Johaug overcame an unusual starting position in the fourth row to win the women's 10.5 k classic mass start by a minute over her Norwegian teammate Heidi Weng. With the win, Johaug claimed the Ski Tour Canada lead, while American Jessie Diggins raced to eighth to put herself in fifth overall.
Jessie Diggins felt right at home on Tuesday in Gatineau, Quebec, racing to her fourth podium in the last two months in the first stage of the Ski Tour Canada. She timed her strikes and finished third overall, while three other U.S. women made the heats and Canada's Maya MacIsaac-Jones achieved 29th.
In the first freestyle mass start of the season, Jessie Diggins gave the Norwegians a run, ultimately finishing 15 seconds off the podium in fourth. Therese Johaug dropped teammate Heidi Weng in the final kilometers to secure her second win of the weekend and record-tying 14th World Cup victory overall.
It's been a few years, but Nikita Kriukov wants you to know he's back. On Thursday, the Russian notched his first individual World Cup podium (and win) since December 2013 on a city sprint course in Stockholm. Canada's Alex Harvey narrowly missed the final and placed seventh for his best sprint result this season.
Looking for a mid-season workout that's both effective but not too taxing? Annika Taylor of the British World Cup team has one for you: a sprint workout with short intervals on varying terrain. "The workout focuses both on the neuromuscular (limb speed) required in sprinting and improving anaerobic capacity," describes Taylor.
Three American women cracked the top 25 in Sunday's 30 k classic at the world-famous Holmenkollen, finishing within 1.6 seconds of one another. Sadie Bjornsen led them in 22nd, closely followed by Liz Stephen in 23rd and Jessie Diggins in 25th. Rosie Brennan and Caitlin Patterson raced to 33rd and 36th, respectively, and Canada's Emily Nishikawa was 39th.
Sweden's Stina Nilsson retained her Sprint Cup lead despite getting reprimanded for obstruction in the final. And although none of the three American women advanced out of their quarterfinals, the U.S. team declared the day a success with all three skiing blazing qualifier times.
Add a little "speed play" into your training, following the natural variation of terrain and conditions, and you could find the less-regimented workout has a lot of benefits. Push yourself and keep track of progress with an app like Strava.
David Norris and Kelsey Phinney broke through on Day 1 of the Lake Placid SuperTour this past weekend in the Adirondacks of northern New York, while Caitlin Patterson rolled to another distance victory in the classic individual start on Day 2.
The Norwegians built up what turned out to be an insurmountable lead, despite Russia coming within 6 seconds of them at the finish, to win the men's Nove Mesto World Cup relay on Sunday. The U.S. and Canada skied together throughout the race to place eighth and ninth, respectively.
Just six months after graduating from UNH, Annika Taylor, a 22-year-old California native, found herself starting her first World Cup race in late November as the sole female representative of Great Britain's cross-country ski team. "I’m actually addicted to the lifestyle because every weekend is a new experience," Taylor says.
In their first team sprint together, Americans Ida Sargent and Sophie Caldwell placed fifth on Sunday, while the U.S. men's team of Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton missed an early tag and ended up being disqualified in the final. “It was disappointing for sure, but it was a good call by the jury," U.S. head coach Chris Grover said.
Kaitlynn Miller proved she's more than just a podium contender -- she can also be a race favorite -- after winning her first-ever World Cup title in the classic sprint at U.S. nationals in Houghton, Mich.
Although Tad Elliott’s name may have been missing from the top of U.S. results recently, at U.S. nationals on Thursday, the former U.S. Ski Team member showed he has what it takes to win races: and did so by nearly 10 seconds in the men's 30 k freestyle mass start.