It’s hard to believe, but the first World Cup cross-country race is just around the corner. November 29th marks the cross-country racing season kickoff, in Ruka, Finland. For fans who want to watch the races, there are a couple of easy options. Once again, Ski and Snowboard Live will be the United States’ streaming service for viewing cross-country events held outside of the country, and this season, that means every race. Their coverage will include...
The last several years have seen tumultuous changes in the ski waxing world. After the fluoro ban went into effect, manufacturers have been scrambling to bridge the performance gap between now prohibited fluorinated wax and non-fluoros. But it’s not just wax manufacturers who have been busy trying to figure out how to build a better mousetrap now that the most powerful weapon ever developed in the waxing arsenal has been sidelined. Wax technicians have also...
As a sixth grader growing up in Bend, Ore., Neve Gerard was paying attention when Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins won U.S. cross-country skiing’s first Olympic gold medal. She wasn’t a full-on skier back then—she was more into running and mountain biking—but she remembers thinking how cool it was. Nearly six years later, she found herself warming up on the same Olympic course where the duo won the team sprint in PyeongChang, South Korea. Gerard,...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. In Part I of FasterSkier’s interview with Rosie Brennan, she discussed her illness during the second half of the season, her pride in being an all around skier, and the challenges and emotions...
This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award, or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage, please contact info@fasterskier.com. Rosie Brennan has been a mainstay of the U.S. ski team for years and is routinely one of its top performers. The APU (Alaska Pacific University) skier has earned the status and acclaim...
In Part one of The Old Man and the Lake, our reporter shared his story about dealing with the sudden onset of chronic illness; how time, persistence, and swimming helped him regain his athletic life, and the odyssey of swimming across the Mackinac Straits. In part two, the story continues with his ongoing swimming saga post bridge swim, and the lessons learned about goal setting and the reality of dealing with disappointing outcomes. Next up...
As the pageantry and athletic performances of Paris 2024 captivated audiences across the United States, a team of organizers had their eyes fixed on a target far beyond the shores of the Seine. Ten years beyond, in fact. The International Olympic Committee announced on July 24th that Salt Lake City, Utah will host the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the Cross-Country and Biathlon events returning to the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, site of the...
Bobbing around in the middle of Lakes Huron and Michigan like a cork in a bathtub while staring up at the intimidating mass of the Mackinac Bridge tends to put things into a different perspective. My perspective was one of incredible insignificance. Everything around me was huge: the lake, the bridge, the distance, the current, and especially the stomach churning, energy sapping swells. I felt incredibly small. How does a guy end up in this...
Last May, FasterSkier wrote about the retirement of University of New Hampshire’s (UNH) legendary ski coach Cory Schwartz, who had been with the University for 42 years. This summer, UNH named Shane MacDowell— the team’s former assistant coach— as Schwartz’s replacement. In Part one of our interview with MacDowell we discussed the lessons learned from his mentors, and the challenges of following in the footsteps of a beloved legend. In Part II we discuss meeting...
Speaking with FasterSkier from Torsby, Sweden, Graham Ritchie is together with three teammates from the Canadian National Development Team completing a three-week long training camp in the Torsby Ski Tunnels – an experience he describes as “unique.” Working with his coach, this camp will provide Ritchie with some valuable hours on snow after an injury that caused him to sit out last season entirely. A 25-year-old Canadian nordic skier, Ritchie made a late debut into...
I think Jessie Diggins has taught the world many things. Maybe it’s how to find your grit and accept the pain while you push your body to new limits. Maybe it’s a better understanding of eating disorders, where to find help, and knowing you’re not alone. Or maybe it’s the art of applying face glitter on race day. I’ve learned a bit about all of those things (when Jessie says you’re getting glittered, you’re getting...
Last May, FasterSkier wrote about the retirement of University of New Hampshire’s (UNH) legendary ski coach Cory Schwartz, who had been with the University for 42 years. This summer, UNH named Shane MacDowell— the team’s former assistant coach— as Schwartz’s replacement. Following in the footsteps of a person whose career stretches back to the Reagan administration is a daunting task. Doing so at a university which has a dedicated and passionate alumni base is even...
It’s been 14 years since I became an Olympian, competing as a cross country skier in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Since then, it hasn’t been easy to get to the Olympics as a spectator. The Winter Games have been in Sochi, Pyeongchang and Beijing, while the summer games have been in Rio and Tokyo, with an interruption by the Covid pandemic. The Paris Games were finally an opportunity for me to attend my...
Finnegan Bailey—a resident of Landgrove, Vermont, and team member of SMST2 and the University of Vermont—was selected this spring to become one of the newest members of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team at the staggering age of 18. So how’d he do it? In the last twelve months, Finnegan (Fin) Bailey has received quite the accolades in the competitive nordic skiing scene. To name a few: he was named to the SMST2 club team, he...
For better or worse the old cliche, ski racers are made in the summer still applies. Cross country runners are made in the summer too. Conveniently, running is excellent training for skiers and obviously runners. Inconveniently, there tend to be a lot of injuries associated with running. And even more inconveniently, we don’t have a ton of research to tell us why or what to do about it. The clearest correlation to running related injury...
In Part I of our interview with Andy Gerlach we talked about how he got into the ski business, the Factory Team, and the products he carries. We continue our interview with a broader view of Gerlach’s mission to change the mindset of cross-country skiers in America and the way you think about skiing, buying skis, and racing. FasterSkier: Your backstory is interesting. You’re a mechanical engineer and have a master’s in economics. You wrote...
“If you’re not pedaling, you’re going to fall over.” Last month, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation sprang into registrants’ inboxes with a summer announcement: Ben Popp, Wisconsin native and ABSF Executive Director since 2013, had been elected President of the Worldloppet International Ski Federation. Replacing Finland’s Juho Viljamaa, Popp will serve a four year term, effective immediately. He already has the regalia to prove it. The Federation’s gavel, a relic of the Tony Wise...
We live in an era where product lines are often dominated by several large companies. More and more, small companies are bought up by large corporations as soon as the small company shows an innovation or growth pattern which its lumbering competitor can’t duplicate. Consolidation, just shy of monopoly, is standard practice for many industries. Fortunately for skiers, this pattern hasn’t held true for cross-country ski wax. There are the big two—which is really the...
Ever wonder where and how all of those cool cross-country ski products you may drool over come from? There’s one man who has an outsized role in bringing very ski specific products into the United States. But he’s also on a larger mission. He doesn’t want to just sell cool ski stuff. He wants to change your mindset about skiing, and the way the country buys skis. The man’s name is Andy Gerlach, and he’s...
Anhelina Hryhorenko is a typical 14-year-old girl in many ways—she loves art and isn’t a fan of math. And she’s excited to have her freshman year of school over. But she’s got a lot of unique qualities, too. For one, she’s a junior national champion with more medals than she can hold in two hands. She’s also the daughter of a former national cross-country ski team member team and the niece of a three-time...