FasterSkier intern Eric Byram, of Canmore, Alberta, was one of 10 juniors selected to Canada's Junior B-Tour, which included two weekends of racing in Germany and Switzerland.
A 32-year-old father of three who works full time at Gear West, Matt Liebsch learned Thursday that he earned the final start for the U.S. at the Ski Tour Canada, which starts on Tuesday. "I’m super pumped to get an opportunity to score some World Cup points again," Liebsch said. "I think I've got a legit chance."
The final set of competitions, the team events, on Friday wrapped up the weeklong U23/Junior World Championships in Rasnov, Romania, with the U.S junior women skiing to eighth. The day before, three Americans landed in the top 15 at Junior Worlds: Jasper Good (nordic combined), Katharine Ogden and Ian Torchia.
The 22-year-old biathlete, a former World Junior Championships medalist, had teamed up with Anastasiya Merkushyna to win the single mixed relay at the IBU Cup in Arber, Germany, the day of his positive test for the metabolism-boosting hormone.
Not many skiers are accustomed to skiing in slush, but those able to find their stride on Tuesday with temperatures in the mid-50s in Rasnov, Romania, tended to fare better on the second day of U23/Junior World Championships. Stratton juniors Katharine Ogden and Julia Kern notched top 20's and Jasper Good (U.S. Nordic Combined) achieved 11th in the first nordic-combined competition.
At Western Canadian Championships last weekend in Prince George, B.C., Dahria Beatty and Kevin Sandau locked up the overall NorAm lead before the Ski Tour Canada while others duked it out during three days of races Feb. 19-21.
It was 50 degrees and sunny on Monday in Rasnov, Romania, which sounds pleasant, but what's it like racing in? "Pretty darn hot," Julia Kern explained, after racing to a career-best 16th in the freestyle sprint on Day 1 of Junior/U23 World Championships. Another American, Logan Hanneman placed 15th, and Julien Locke led Canada in 16th in the U23 men's race.
On Monday, Cross Country Canada announced its team selections for the Ski Tour Canada, the season-ending, eight-stage World Cup tour from March 1-12. The Canadian roster includes 14 men and 12 women.
Last Friday through Sunday, three days of Nordic Combined World Cup competitions took place in Lahti, Finland, with Germany's Eric Frenzel retaining the overall World Cup lead. Norwegian wünderkind, Jarl Magnus Riiber, missed out on his second World Cup win, as he made a wrong turn at the finish.
Therese Johaug racked up her 15th World Cup win of the season, putting her on track to break Norwegian teammate Marit Bjørgen's record with three more wins in eight remaining races. Norway swept the top four, and Sadie Bjornsen led the U.S. women in 15th.
After Russia won both of the men's competition events last weekend in Sweden, Norway decided it was time to fight back. In Sunday's skiathlon, five Norwegians crossed the finish line before any other country's first competitor. "We needed to come back from three Russian victories," said race winner Martin Johnsrud Sundby.
Caitlin Gregg had her mind set on winning Saturday's American Birkebeiner and led much of the last 14 kilometers to the finish to secure her record-breaking fourth Birkie win. A newcomer to North America's largest ski race, Alaska's David Norris beat three Frenchmen by seconds to win the men's title.
Jessie Diggins rocketed to her second-best result of the season and first individual World Cup sprint podium on Saturday at the Lahti World Cup. She broke up a Norwegian sweep, placing second behind Maiken Caspersen Falla and ahead of Heidi Weng, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, and Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen.
When five out of six of the sprint finalists are Norwegian, more than one is bound for the podium. Saturday's freestyle sprint in Lahti, Finland, saw not just a top-three sweep for Norway, but Emil Iversen snag his second World Cup win of the season over teammates Petter Northug and Finn Hågan Krogh.
After 10 years of the World Cup grind, U.S. Ski Team veteran Andy Newell discusses his future while regenerating at home in Shaftsbury, Vt., ahead of the season-ending World Cups in Canada. "I think being able to adapt year after year, and stay relevant and stay current in the sprints has been a challenge, but also something I'm proud of," he says.
With fewer than two weeks remaining until the Ski Tour Canada visits Gatineau, Montreal, Quebec City, and Canmore from March 1-12, we spent some time breaking down the provisional North American picks and estimated costs for Canadian nation's group skiers at the season-ending World Cups.
Ivan Babikov's a World Cup racer, not a marathon specialist, but on Saturday, Feb. 20, he'll be one of the favorites at the 2016 American Birkebeiner in northern Wisconsin. He decided to do the race a week ago. “I remembered how crazy the Birkie is and how much people there care," he said. "This is their local Olympic Games, so I’m pretty pretty psyched to be going."
Caitlin Gregg didn't feel like herself when she started out the season on the World Cup, so after pushing through the Tour de Ski she came home. Now she's shooting to win the American Birkebeiner for the fourth time and set a new record as the all-time winningest athlete in race history.
Ben Loomis jumped to second and held his own in the 5 k ski race on the first day of nordic combined at the 2016 Youth Olympic Games. In the classic sprint, Hannah Halvorsen placed sixth and Hunter Wonders was 15th.
The 2016 Youth Olympic Games kicked off in Lillehammer, Norway, this past weekend with a brand-new XC-ski cross sprint event on Saturday, followed by biathlon races on Sunday and Monday. American Chloe Levins placed fourth in Monday's pursuit. "The pursuit in Lillehammer was a dream," she said.