Performance of the Year This year we expanded the Performance of the Year Award to include three different categories – cross-country, biathlon, and nordic combined. XC Performance of the Year (men): This season featured a number of outstanding performances, and for the first time we breaking out the award into three categories – cross-country, nordic combined, and biathlon. The challenge, like in many of the other awards, is how to weigh Olympic results. The Olympics...
Nordic Combined Skier of the Year In a year in which the US Nordic Combined Team won five Olympic medals, including gold, and when racing a full squad on the World Cup, was a realistic threat to sweep the podium, how do you pick one athlete. Billy Demong won gold and silver at the Olympics, becoming the first US Nordic athlete to bring home a Championship gold. Johnny Spillane left the Games with three silver...
Biathlete of the Year In any normal year, this award would be as straightforward as they come. On the men’s side, Tim Burke (USA) is head and shoulders above the North American field. And despite inconsistent performances, Zina Kocher is the only woman who can threaten to crack the top-20. But this was an Olympic year, and Olympic results count more than World Cup or World Championship races – at least to the public. Neither...
Continental Cup Skier of the Year The Continental Cup Skier of the Year presented one of the biggest challenges of the 2010 FasterSkier Awards. Strong contenders from both the US and Canada entered the mix, with few head-to-head races to clarify the situation. Also complicating matters is the fact that the 2010 Canadian NorAm schedule featured many fewer races than the US SuperTour in 2010. Continental Cup Skier of the Year (women): Dasha Gaiazova (CAN). ...
Adaptive Skier of the Year A new and well-deserved addition to the FasterSkier Awards, the Adaptive Skier of the Year poses some challenges. There are many categories within adaptive skiing, and some of the athletes participate in both cross-country and biathlon. One goal of the FS Awards is to keep things clear and simple, and we decided to present one award covering all categories and both adaptive xc and biathlon. This is similar to the...
The first race of the season and the first trail race since knee surgery last June are now behind me. Yesterday turned out to be a great start to the season. I ended up winning the overall in the Navarino Eco Marathon in a time of 2:53:55 averaging 6:38′s for the 26.2 miles of trail. [...]
Welcome back for the second half of my article looking at trends in performance by US skiers (as a group) on the international scene. Last time we looked at distance events, so now it’s time to turn to sprinting. Before we move on, if you haven’t read the first half of this article, please go do so now.
Collegiate Skier of the Year Last year this category posed the biggest challenge with tough decisions for both the men’s and women’s award, but 2010 posed no such problems. Both winners were very strong during the regular season and dominating at the NCAA Championships. Collegiate Skier of the Year (women): Antje Maempel (GER). Maempel, racing for Denver University, became the first repeat winner of this award, following up her close win last year with a...
Are you ready for a great adventure? The Bend Endurance Academy is seeking collegiate skiers and older juniors ages 18-23 who have an interest in spending 3-4 months in Bend, Oregon training with professional coaches and a highly motivated Nordic team. The Bend Endurance Academy provides organized training programs for all abilities throughout the year. Our Collegiate Summer training includes rollerskiing, bounding, running, hiking, strength and agility training and late season on snow skiing. The...
Every race this year is training for Leadville. The stoke is high. Bring it.
FasterSkier Rookie of the Year It is hard to define a “rookie” in cross-country skiing. First year on the World Cup? First season as a senior? First year in college? First year skiing? We keep it loose and give the award to skiers who take a major step forward while moving up to a new level of competition. Rookie of the Year (men): Simi Hamilton (USA). In his first season out of college, Hamilton moved...
Crust cruising and powder skiing in the west, cycling in the east, and the Euros are finally winding down their race season. It is time for the third-annual FasterSkier Awards. Awards are given to the top man and woman in ten categories, three of which are new this year. In the past the Performance of the Year category was presented to a cross-country skier. We have added two additional awards in this genre, for Biathlon...
An endearing facet of cross country ski racing is the seasonal rhythm it introduces into our lives. Summer, fall and winter each hold unique rituals and landmarks of training, racing and recovery. Spring brings with it its own rituals, among them retrospection on the season just completed. Athletes around the nation use these months to reflect on their season, evaluate their performance and plan for the future. In recent years, the same has been true...
Cross-country researcher Hans-Christer Holmberg from Mid Sweden University in Östersund leads the research team gathered in Meråker. In the border community to Sweden, they will spend the next few days investigating herringbone technique according to the Trondheim newspaper. “There was research on the diagonal stride in the 70’s and 80’s, but herringbone has never been examined. In addition we will look at diagonal stride, downhill technique and swing technique. We will also look at how...
Vasque Trail Team Revved Up for another Successful Season SUBMITTED PRESS RELEASE RED WING, MINNESOTA–After a long winter of training on dirt, in the gym and in lots of snow, the Vasque Trail Team begins the season with supreme confidence and a renewed enthusiasm to race strong and hard. Coming off a successful 2009, which [...]
“At APU it is our goal to develop US skiers and help US athletes meet individual goals from Junior Olympics to winning an Olympic medal.” – Erik Flora, APU Head Coach. Alaska Pacific University is the home of recent World Cup Silver Medalist Kikkan Randall, 2010 Vancouver Olympians James Southam and Holly Brooks, three 2010 U23 World Championship skiers, National medalist, and a host of skiers having a great time training hard and getting faster!...
The Central Collegiate Ski Association released its coaches and athletes of the year last week. The honors were voted upon by a coach representing each school to reward successes in the 2009-10 ski season. Santiago Ocariz of Wisconsin-Green Bay was the recipient of Male Athlete of the Year, and Northern Michigan’s Laura DeWitt was his counterpart, taking home Female Athlete of the Year. The male coach of the year was Butch Reimer, Ocariz’ coach at...
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO – With a total of seven Olympic medals in tow, the U.S. Ski Team’s nordic combined superstars Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY), Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, CO), Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) and Brett Camerota (Park City, UT) have shipped off to the middle east to visit the troops as part of the 2010 Heavy Medal Tour. The Olympic heroes received a sendoff of gold-medal proportion on Friday as the town of Steamboat...
Before this year’s mini-tour in Fort Kent, and even before the inaugural Tour de Ski in 2007, there was the Colorado International Spring Series (CISS) in 2004 and 2005. CISS was a stage race much like those coming into vogue today, and it was one of the first of its kind—if not the very first. Nathan Schultz, now the owner of Boulder Nordic Sport, had the idea for the event, and FasterSkier caught up with...
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO – In support of the U.S. Ski Team athletes departing this week on the Armed Forces Entertainment’s Heavy Medal Tour to visit troops, the athletes’ hometown communities are enacting a Heavy Medal Tour Yellow Ribbon campaign. The Olympic medalists: Bill Demong (Vermontville, NY), Johnny Spillane (Steamboat Springs, CO), Brett Camerota (Park City, UT) and Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO) and their combined seven Olympic gold and silver medals depart Saturday, April 3...