Bend Camp
It is called Team Today for a reason.
After a great stay with the DelBellos in downstate Michigan, I am back in Marquette. The summer is off to a great start (it hasn’t really felt like summer though… it snowed here on Saturday…) The good news is that my legs are feeling better every day. I have been adding some running and bounding back into the training, [...]
Yesterday morning Scott, myself, Brian Gregg and Sadie Bjornsen piled into Scott's Eurovan and made the seven and a half hour drive to Bend, Oregon for our first official MOD Team training camp. For the next seven days we'll eat, sleep and train in the...
FasterSkier Performance of the Year FasterSkier Performance of the Year is given to the top single North American performance of the 2008/2009 season. FasterSkier Performance of the Year (women): Kikkan Randall (USA). Kikkan Randall won the first-ever US cross-country skiing medal when she took the Silver in the freestyle sprint at the World Championships in Liberec. This was the only the third medal won by a US cross-country skier – Bill Koch won Bronze at...
The results are out, and Nordic skiers dominated the 33rd annual Pole, Pedal, Paddle in Bend, Oregon. The fastest posted time of 1:41.58 was from men’s pairs team Eric Martin and Paul Parsons, two high school Nordic coaches. The fastest Elite Male was XC Oregon skier Marshall Greene, winning his fourth consecutive PPP in 1:43.29. XC Oregon skier Zach Violett finished 3rd and Torin Koos (USST), in his first PPP, took home a fourth place...
The Associated Press reports that the Austrian Criminal Intelligence Service told the Austria Press Agency that prosecutors have “reasonable suspicion” that Austrian skier Christian Hoffmann was involved in illegal blood enrichment. According to the Kurier newspaper’s Sunday edition, Hoffmann allegedly colluded with cyclists Bernhard Kohl and Michael Rasmussen and Kohl’s former manager Stefan Matschiner. He was arrested in March and has admitted he helped Kohl with blood doping. Hoffmann, an Olympic Champion in 2002, has...
The Canadian National Cross Country Ski Team is enjoying amazing ski conditions on Silver Star Mountain. The team on snow camp started May 10 and continues until May 18th. The team is enjoying the Okanagan weather with skiing in the morning and biking, running, beach volleyball, etc in the afternoon. Note: Today was sunny but it has been snowing almost daily during the training camp, with 20 centimeters on Thursday morning. The snow base on...
PARK CITY, UT (May 17) – Nordic combined skiers Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) received the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s highest athlete honors at an awards ceremony Friday (May 15) in Park City. Lee Todd, who has dedicated four decades of his life to serving the skiing community, was the recipient of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s Julius Blegen Award, which is presented annually to a USSA member...
My sister and I started home brewing beer a little over a year ago. After we'd brewed several kinds we had a beer tasting party at my house last summer and the beer was a big hit. Several people familiar with homebrew have commented on how good it is and that some homebrew can be pretty bad. We've never really had a bad batch and I can only assume it's because we're women and know how to follow instructions! It's really not that complicated. I started bringing the latest batch to various ski gatherings and have begun to be known for my beer in our small circle of skiers. We brewed a bunch at the end of the racing season and had several kinds ready so it was time for another party. I decided that a beer tasting would be a great way to kick off the new training season. Many people came, including some of the new team members. It was nice to have some social time to get to know everyone better besides standing around sweaty after practice. It was nice to see everyone in something other than sweaty work out clothes. We all clean up pretty good! I hope to have more parties this summer since many people were out of town or at the Cable Offroad Classic. It's hard to find a weekend when half the skiers you know aren't at some race, so I guess I'll just have to have them often so that everyone can come to at least one. There isn't as much emphasis on performance as a master skier as there was when I was trying to make the US team since we have more going on in our lives now. But I don't miss that too much since there is more of an emphasis on friends and the social aspects of the ski community. I think that's a fine trade at this stage in my ski career and something that I know I'll never feel burn-out from like I did with high-level racing. I'm so glad to be a part of this community again.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1572647974447867713-5608188549910072701?l=vakavaraceteam.blogspot.com' alt='' //div
From the AP today:VIENNA — Prosecutors in Austria are investigating possible blood doping by 2002 Olympic cross-country ski champion Christian Hoffmann.Austrian Criminal Intelligence Service spokesman Gerald Tatzgern told the Austria Press Agency on Sunday that prosecutors have "reasonable suspicion" that the 34-year-old Hoffmann was involved in illegal blood enrichment.According to the Kurier
The Factory Team, an institution in US skiing is closing down after 15 years of operation. Andy Gerlach, who has run the team, has been unable to secure a title sponsor for next season. Over the years the Factory Team has featured many of the top skiers in the country and has been a fixture at all the major US races. Past title sponsors included Saab, Subaru, Fischer, and Salomon.
This year’s squads are led by returning veterans David Chamberlain, Russell Currier, BethAnn Chamberlain and Sarah Dominick. Promotions for young stars like Grace Boutot and Nick Michaud, continue to emphasize the importance of steady, progressive development. On the cusp of the 2010 Olympic Year, MWSC is proud to introduce its largest team to date. For more information on the Maine Winter Sports Center programs, visit: http://www.mainewsc.org/teams.html Olympic Development Team: Grace Boutot – Biathlon (Ft. Kent,...
For more information on the NENSA Elite and Development Teams, including selection criteria and benefits visit:
Vasaloppet winner Daniel Tynell (SWE) is changing to ONEWAY footwear, textiles and roller skis in training and competition. Daniel Tynell (SWE), winner of the most famous ski marathon race VASALOPPET 2009 and the only racer who won this race 3 times in the history has signed a long term cooperation with the Finnish Nordic Sports brand ONE WAY. Daniel Tynell already used ONE WAY racing poles but will now also use ONE WAY textiles in...
The best XC-Ski blog thing I've seen all year.br /br /It's Becca Rorabaugh's US World Juniors / U23 Ski Team Photo Shoot Competition. The point is to wear your team spandex and take a picture, the more inventive, public, and awkward, the better. Becca ...
Who would have guessed that one could top a Sayulita/Mexican wedding with less than a week's notice no less. Swine-flu really threw a giant wrench in the cogs of the Hull/Wuikchik wedding, but Team Wuikchik/Hull pulled one of the most efficient and almost supernatural switheroos' ever performed to move the whole wedding from Mexcio's West Coast to Canada's rugged and beautiful West Coast in about as much time as it takes me to respond to an email.
FasterSkier Nordic Combined Skier of the Year The FasterSkier Nordic Combined Skier of the Year is awarded to the top North American Nordic Combined performer of the season. Billy Demong (USA). Demong has established himself as one of the top Nordic Combined skiers in the World. This season he had 10 World Cup podium finishes, including five victories. He finished the season ranked third overall on the World Cup for the second consecutive season. At...