It was a long and tiring journey to Lahti, Finland for Alex Harvey. After suffering cramps in the Olympic 50 k, excessive travel, a lack of training gear, and general exhaustion, the Quebec native bounced back for a top ten finish in Saturday’s 1.5 k freestyle sprint, placing seventh.
Park City Nordic Ski Club is hosting the 2014 Intermountain Nordic Division Youth Ski Festival this February 22nd and 23rd at the Utah Olympic Park in Park City. The event is designed for cross country skiers aged 15 and younger. There will be individual competitions for skate and classic, an awesome terrain park, and many more activities for everyone. Tentative Schedule: Friday, February 21 1:00PM-3:00PM – Preview IMDYSF courses at UOP 3:00PM-5:00PM – Check-in with UOP waiver/payment (UOP)...
Satisfied, yet unfulfilled was the sentiment of the North Americans who competed in the 2014 U23 World Championship 10 k and 15 k classic at Val di Fiemme, Italy. With fresh snow falling on the challenging course of Lago di Tesero, the best U23 skiers from North America put their best efforts forward in an attempt to make their mark on the international stage.
Finnish skier Iivo Niskanen and Norwegian Martine Elk Hagen have continued their families’ legacies in the 2014 U23 World Championships in Val di Fiemme on Thursday. Tackling a course covered in fresh snow, Niskanen, brother to Finnish superstar Kerttu Niskanen, and Hagen, cousin of Norway’s up-and-coming Heidi Weng, won their respective 10 k and 15 k individual classic races on the trails of Lago di Tesero.
Jessie Diggins once again demonstrated that she’s a skier with a lot of heart at the 2014 U23 World Championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. On the same course where she earned a historic world championship gold in the team sprint with Kikkan Randall in 2013, the 22-year-old left the 1.2 k freestyle sprint knowing she gave it her all.
From seven years of chemotherapy and a treatment-induced stroke, to being nominated to his first Olympic Team, Bryan Fletcher has overcome the odds to be one of the best athletes in the world. He will be joined by his brother, Taylor, in Sochi to partake in the quest to reach Olympic greatness and achieve their ultimate goal: an Olympic medal.
Fog blanketed the hillsides of Szklarska Poreba, Poland, as the men of the World Cup lined up for the start of the 15 k. In a field that lacked the esteemed Scandinavian racers, the predictions of who might win were about as unclear as the visibility on course.
Alex Harvey rocked the men's A-final in Szklarska Preba, Poland to to take his first individual World Cup win, besting Josef Wenzl of Germany and Baptiste Gros of France. Andy Newell, after finishing second in the qualification round, crashed in the A-final to finish sixth.
Simon Schempp and Lukas Hofer looked pretty chummy after the finish men’s 10 k sprint at the World Cup in Antholz, Italy this Friday. Maybe their laughter was a product of their relief of finishing a challengingly slow course, or maybe it was that both of them were on the podium for the first time this season. More likely, however, it was the fact they both sat atop that podium in a rare tie for first place having skied the 10 k in 22:44.9.
It was a day of firsts in the women’s 7.5 k sprint on the trails of Antholz, Italy. New faces found their way onto the podium, and American Susan Dunklee was just 0.6 seconds out, finishing a career-best fourth -- the best result by a U.S. female biathlete since 1994.
Bronze, silver, and now gold. Reese Hanneman of Alaska Pacific University has captured them all after his win in the 1.6 k classic sprint on the final day of the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships. En route to his first national championship, Hanneman made winning look easy despite competing against the best sprinters in the country.
At the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships, winning by any margin is enough to make most competitors’ day. Not so for Caitlin Gregg of Team Gregg and Madshus, who won Wednesday’s 20 k freestyle mass start by over three and a half minutes, a gap that has not been seen at the national level in recent memory.
Competitors at the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships have had two days of rest to prepare for the upcoming 20/30 k freestyle mass start races taking place this Wednesday. Women will ski four laps while the men will ski six, on the same Olympic 5 k course they raced this past Saturday.
In the men’s A-final this Sunday at the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships, there were several up-and-coming competitors who had some interesting stories about how they got to Soldier Hollow, and where they drew the inspiration for their success from. FasterSkier caught up with three of them to hear their stories.
The men’s field in Sunday’s freestyle sprint at the U.S. nationals was anything but shallow, making it one of the most competitive sprints in recent memory. Despite the competition, one man came out on top. Torin Koos (Bridger Ski Foundation/Rossignol) skied powerfully throughout the finals to capture his eighth national title.
In what was a flawless day at Soldier Hollow, Erik Bjornsen of Alaska Pacific University and the U.S. Ski Team achieved his second national championship in the 15 k interval start in the first day of racing at the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships. He finished 0:14 ahead of Reese Hanneman (APU) who placed second. Kris Freeman of the Maine Winter Sports Club finished third, 0:22.8 back from Bjornsen.
With the first race of the 2014 U.S. Cross Country Championships taking place Saturday, FasterSkier took to the trails of Soldier Hollow to preview the course and get a sense of how racers were feeling about it. Between wax testing, tactic planning, and pickups, athletes expressed excitement about Saturday's 10 and 15 k classic races.
Dasha Gaiazova was once again Canada’s lone star in today’s World Cup in Asiago, Italy. After qualifying in 28th in the classic sprint, she was the only Canadian to move on to the heats and ended her day in 14th. Despite some improvement, the Canadians are still looking for more.
During the holidays, opportunities for races can be few and far between, and it’s often easy to get into the lull of long distance skis with old friends. While these can be fun and beneficial, it's important to get some high intensity and completive training in before the season starts to intensify in January. BSF has the right idea with a hill-climb time trial on Dec. 28.
It makes sense that two skiers born in Alaska and Russia won Sunday's classic mass starts in subzero temperatures just above the legal limit at the SuperTour in Bozeman, Mont. "No one's psyched to be so cold, but I just try to put it out of my mind and focus," Holmes says.