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Bender Bags Another Classic Sprint Title, ‘What I Really Wanted to Do Here’
GeneralNewsRacingUS Nationals

Bender Bags Another Classic Sprint Title, ‘What I Really Wanted to Do Here’

Gabby NaranjaJanuary 9, 2017

MIDWAY, Utah — There was a dampness in the room, and an odor that clung to the walls like plastic. Yet athletes continued to enter, with one after another pulling open the doors to the Soldier Hollow venue (SoHo) volunteer building. Once inside, many made a beeline for the race committee’s makeshift front desk. Race bibs and start lists, however, were not what they sought. Close to an hour had passed since the final female...

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TDS Stages 5, 6, 7: Toblach/Val di Fiemme Quotes
Canadian National Ski TeamGeneralNewsRacingTour de SkiUS Ski Team

TDS Stages 5, 6, 7: Toblach/Val di Fiemme Quotes

FasterSkierJanuary 8, 2017

That’s a wrap, folks! With the 11th Tour de Ski coming to an end on Sunday with the infamous Alpe Cermis final climb in Val di Fiemme, we wanted to share some of the athlete and coach comments that didn’t make it into the race reports. Below are quotes from the last three stages of the Tour, all in Italy. *** Stage 5 (Toblach, Italy): 5/10 k freestyle Men’s report On pre-race feelings: “I think nerves were...

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Continental CupGeneralNews

Up and Over, Gregg Gets Going At U.S. Nationals with 10 k Skate Win

Gabby NaranjaJanuary 8, 2017

MIDWAY, Utah — With four grueling uphills per lap, the new U.S. Cross Country Championships women’s 10-kilometer nine years. Maybe flats are easier to find on Gregg’s Twin City turf than the hills that abound in SoHo. But the 36 year old still considers herself a climber. Gregg proved a point after she won by 2.2 seconds in the women’s 10 k freestyle on Saturday, the first day of nationals: put a hill, any hill, in front of her and...

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Eberhard Starts 2017 with Oberhof Sprint Win; IBU World Cup Skiers Call Special Meeting
BiathlonBiathlon CanadaDopingGeneralNewsRacingUS Biathlon

Eberhard Starts 2017 with Oberhof Sprint Win; IBU World Cup Skiers Call Special Meeting

Harald ZimmerJanuary 5, 2017

Even Martin Fourcade is a mere mortal who can’t win every race he competes in. After winning the first three sprints of the 2016/2017 season and five races in a row, for once the French biathlon star had to settle for an eighth place after uncharacteristically missing three targets in his standing shooting stage. That left an opening for other athletes to shine on Thursday afternoon in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint at the International Biathlon Union (IBU)...

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A New Dawn for Diggins: Learning to ‘Do it for myself’
GeneralNewsRacingUS Ski TeamWorld Cup

A New Dawn for Diggins: Learning to ‘Do it for myself’

Gabby NaranjaJanuary 5, 2017

A little more than four years ago, a group of women clad in all black race suits and bib 3 huddled in an athlete warming room. The muffled voice of an announcer speaking in Swedish could be heard broadcasting outside, an English translation relaying the same message: 10 minutes to start. The quartet departed the building, four blondes — one highlighted pink — headed for the start gate. A pass through a patch of sunlight revealed a second...

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Ustiugov Continues to Sweep; Harvey Clings to 3rd in Stage 4 Pursuit
GeneralRacing

Ustiugov Continues to Sweep; Harvey Clings to 3rd in Stage 4 Pursuit

Gabby NaranjaJanuary 4, 2017

Could Russia’s Sergey Ustiugov be the first cross-country skier to perform a seven-stage sweep? He’s certainly well on his way, after collecting his fourth Tour de Ski win in a row on Wednesday in the men’s 15-kilometer freestyle pursuit in Oberstdorf, Germany. Ustiugov’s four-stage streak alone is unprecedented. Until this year, no other nordic skier in the International Ski Federation (FIS) has been able to complete such a feat during the Tour. Not even Norway’s defending overall World...

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TDS Stages 1 & 2: Val Müstair Bonus Quotes
Canadian National Ski TeamGeneralRacingUS Ski TeamWorld Cup

TDS Stages 1 & 2: Val Müstair Bonus Quotes

FasterSkierJanuary 3, 2017

With the opening stages of the Tour de Ski  in Val Müstair, Switzerland, behind us, we wanted to share some athlete and coach comments that didn’t make it into the race reports: *** On training over the holidays leading up to the Tour: “We were in three different main locations over Christmas: France, Austria, and Switzerland, depending on which athlete you were. You kind of come back and see where everybody is. I think we all know each...

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As Birkie Outgrows Its Britches, New Developments for America’s Biggest Ski Race
GeneralInterviewsNews

As Birkie Outgrows Its Britches, New Developments for America’s Biggest Ski Race

Vince RosettaJanuary 2, 2017

It has been an exciting 2016 for the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF). After a successful completion of the Tony Wise Museum in Hayward, Wis. Just like in previous years, the ABSF has been busy in the offseason, making improvements to the American Birkebeiner (including the 50-kilometer skate and 55 k classic marathons, set for Feb. 25, 2017) and its trail system. In mid-December, FasterSkier checked in with Ben Popp, ABSF executive director, on the phone to...

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Seven-Stage Tour de Ski Starts Saturday
Canadian National Ski TeamGeneralNewsRacingUS Ski TeamWorld Cup

Seven-Stage Tour de Ski Starts Saturday

FasterSkierDecember 30, 2016

It’s time for the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) 11th Tour de Ski. The 2017 edition takes place in three countries and four different venues. Racers will compete in seven stages over the course of nine days. The grueling Alpe Cermis — a 9-kilometer freestyle hill climb in Val di Fiemme, Italy — will be featured again as the final race to determine the overall Tour de Ski (TdS) results. Directly leading up to the multi-stage event, currently out...

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After October ‘Spring Break’, Taylor Fletcher Jumps Into NoCo Season
GeneralNewsNordic CombinedRacing

After October ‘Spring Break’, Taylor Fletcher Jumps Into NoCo Season

Gabby NaranjaDecember 30, 2016

Shaking out white, sand-filled training shorts is hardly a thing many skiers find themselves doing prior to an autumn morning interval session. Nor is swimming with sea turtles a typical regular-recovery run substitute. However, this past October, U.S. Nordic Combined A-team member Taylor Fletcher did a little of both. The 26 year old’s ‘spring break’ came six or seven months early, or seven months late, depending how one looks at it, with his final days...

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An Open Letter About Depression in Competition
GeneralHealthJuniorsRacing

An Open Letter About Depression in Competition

FasterSkierDecember 28, 2016

If you follow U.S. skiing closely, you’ve probably heard of Paul Everett. After three years on US Biathlon’s development team, Everett, 20, is currently a Montana State University sophomore and member of the Bridger Ski Foundation in Bozeman, Mont. He is studying exercise science and psychology, and wrote the following letter for an assignment. It’s about depression and anxiety in athletes, “more specifically ski racing about what it is like for those competing with these disorders and...

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Dublin Prep School Homologates Trails for the Love of XC
GeneralJuniorsNewsRegional / Local

Dublin Prep School Homologates Trails for the Love of XC

Peter MindeDecember 27, 2016

              Note: In addition to the Dublin School, at least one other private school in New Hampshire has FIS-homologated trails. first high school in the world to receive the FIS homologation distinction. Founded in 1935 by Paul and Nancy Lehmann, the Dublin School had unusual criteria. For location, according to its website. In addition to the new race loop, the Dublin School developed three additional kilometers of track that are not homologated. ...

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Alsgaard on the Advent of Double Poling and FIS’s ‘Stupid Rule’
GeneralInterviewsNews

Alsgaard on the Advent of Double Poling and FIS’s ‘Stupid Rule’

Jake EllisDecember 23, 2016

Thomas Alsgaard is fired up. Having challenged the International Ski Federation (FIS) regarding rules he considers arbitrary and insensitive to other venues for nordic skiing besides the World Cup, a potential divide may be opening up between the Ski Classics marathons and World Cup racing. With 15 Olympic and World Championships medals, Alsgaard is considered by many to be the most apt pupil of the skating technique, and has the palmares to corroborate that claim. As a veteran of...

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U.S. Biathlon Announces World Cup and IBU Cup Rosters for January
BiathlonGeneralNewsRacing

U.S. Biathlon Announces World Cup and IBU Cup Rosters for January

FasterSkierDecember 21, 2016

The United States Biathlon Association (USBA) has announced its World Cup and IBU Cup rosters for the second period of racing. World Cup The women’s World Cup team will remain the same, with Susan Dunklee leading the way. Dunklee earned her first podium of the season on Friday in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic. After several top finishes she is ranked 11th overall on the World Cup. She is joined by Clare Egan, who had a top finish of 30th...

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Czech and British Biathlon to Boycott Tyumen World Cup, Other Teams Consider Joining
BiathlonDopingGeneralNewsRacing

Czech and British Biathlon to Boycott Tyumen World Cup, Other Teams Consider Joining

Chelsea LittleDecember 20, 2016

In response to evidence of widespread doping in Russia, the Czech Biathlon Union became the first to discuss a boycott. The Czechs will not attend a World Cup stage to be held in Tyumen, Russia, in March; they have been joined by the British Biathlon Union. Several other countries say they hope that the International Biathlon Union will move the event. But the Russian Biathlon Union put out a defiant press release denying any involvement in doping. A Boycott Grows At the...

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Shields Takes Road Less Traveled, Apart from Training Centre
GeneralInterviewsNewsRacingWorld Cup

Shields Takes Road Less Traveled, Apart from Training Centre

Gabby NaranjaDecember 16, 2016

At the start of last season, Canadian cross-country skier Andy Shields one point. With some of his early season results –including a first place finish in last year’s NorAm skate sprint at Sovereign Lake, B.C. –Shields earned the opportunity to compete for Canada in two World Cup races in Planica, Slovenia. They were his first. A little less than a month later, Shields returned to Canada to compete in more domestic racing, and before he knew it, he found himself living...

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Shaw on Latest McLaren Report: ‘Shocked’ But Adamant to See Justice Served
DopingGeneralNewsRacingUS Ski TeamWorld Cup

Shaw on Latest McLaren Report: ‘Shocked’ But Adamant to See Justice Served

Chelsea LittleDecember 9, 2016

While reporting regarding systematic doping by Russian teams has been building up for several years, like meldonium, is a metabolic modulator which combats angina. Another athlete tested positive for “phthalates”, plasticizers which are sometimes used in IV bags and are often assumed to indicate blood transfusions. They are also, however, present in other kinds of packaging. In all of these cases the results were reported to WADA’s anti-doping test management system, ADAMS, as negative tests:...

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