Unlike most of the SuperTour field that likely crashed and burned after the last day of the U.S. domestic season in Anchorage, APU's Lex Treinen packed up the hot tub and headed to Homer for the three-part Ski to Sea race last Sunday. Treinen won it, and his brother placed second.
Justyna Kowalczyk announced at a recent Polish press conference that she's going to continue racing at the highest level for another season, but with some changes to her training. "Sixteen years of training left marks on my body and I need a rest," she said. "The training will be aimed for the World Championships in Falun.”
Current and former members of the Gustavus Adolphus ski team - which has a strong tradition of D-III excellence, having qualified a full team of three women to the 2008 NCAA Championships - were shocked when the team's varsity status was removed last week. They don't believe there is a compelling social or financial reason for the cuts, and say that without a ski team, they wouldn't have picked Gustavus.
The Wednesday Workout is back with featured contributor Aku Nikander sharing some of his secrets to success while skiing for the University of New Mexico.
A FasterSkier investigation has revealed that Johnny Klister, the former internet cross-country ski publishing sensation, has fled his former life and is now living off-the-grid in Fairbanks, Alaska. "Trying to keep up with the output of Noah Hoffman's blog was impossible," Klister says. "I was drinking 12 cups of coffee a day, pounding a dozen gels, and huffing xenon gas before bed to keep from losing my edge."
In a surprise announcement on Tuesday, USSA's new CEO Tiger Shaw announced a major change in the association's mission with the addition of Competitive Tubing its growing list of sports.
Biathlon is about to get a lot more interesting with IBU's incorporation of a new "Stand Your Ground" format, in which relay anchors can take aim at competitors who outshoot them in the range. "If you have a reasonable belief that another team is going to beat your team, of course you are going to do everything you can to stand up to them," IBU's Ulrich Untersee says. "Usually this has just meant skiing fast or playing head games. We’re putting more tools on the table."
The Greggs will be a force to be reckoned with this coming season, both on snow and on the road with a decked-out wax truck that's all their own and courtesy of a reality TV show.
A look back at the men's 50-kilometer classic mass start at U.S. Distance Nationals in Anchorage last Friday.
Scenes from the front of the pack during the women's three-lap, 30-kilometer classic mass start at U.S. Distance Nationals last Friday at Hillside trails.
Aku Nikander was somewhat an unknown in the men’s 50-kilometer classic mass start on Friday at U.S. Distance Nationals. As far as Noah Hoffman was concerned, he was the guy that stood between him and a shot at his second individual victory of 2014 Spring Series.
Sadie Bjornsen rose to the occasion for the final race of the season on Friday, going hard even when she had hoped she wouldn't have to, working with Liz Stephen to drop the pack, then attacking to leave Stephen behind in the final kilometers of the 30 k classic at U.S. Distance Nationals.
Photos from Tuesday's 4 x 5 k mixed relay, a new event at U.S. Distance Nationals, which was held at 5 p.m. in Anchorage and included 26 teams, 18 of which were vying for a national title.
The 4 x 5 k relay made its way back into U.S. nationals for the first time in about 16 years, but with a new twist of two men and two women per team. APU showed its strength and depth early on, and its winning anchor, Kikkan Randall said she's hoping the format makes it into the World Cup. She's not alone.
Canadian Nationals came to a close last Saturday, with Ivan Babikov rolling to a 41-second victory over Kevin Sandau in the 50 k classic and Amanda Ammar notching a coveted senior title with a 54-second win over Emily Nishikawa in the 30 k at Blow Me Down Trails.
Gus Schumacher, 13, doesn't have any qualms about racing up -- even if it is against Andy Newell. He's met Newell and several other U.S. Olympians in person at the World Cup, but says it's an amazing experience to race them at home at SuperTour Finals.
A questionable lane change fewer than 100 meters before the finish left jury members to decide whether or not Andy Newell's move in front of Reese Hanneman warranted a penalty in the men's classic sprint final at SuperTour Finals on Sunday -- thus relegating him from first to last. Hanneman ultimately won and Newell was demoted to sixth.
With Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan shouting encouragement, Kikkan Randall won her second straight race in front of a home crowd on a sunny Sunday at Kincaid Park.
For the first time, Canada qualified two women for a biathlon mass start: Zina Kocher, who skied in second and third place for the first half of the race, and Rosanna Crawford, who achieved a longstanding goal of making the top ten. Crawford was racing with injuries sustained in a collision with a Russian coach in yesterday's pursuit.
Martin Fourcade took flight coming into the stadium with yet another win, then stuck a perfect telemark landing; Dominik Landertinger was second and Jakov Fak third in the 15 k mass start. American Tim Burke was ninth, but disappointed after losing several spots on the final loop.