Kikkan Randall's been home for just over a week, and in a phone interview on Tuesday, she said she was ready for the break. "It wasn’t an easy decision to leave the racing circuit ... but with Falun being my big goals, I wanted to really try to make a drastic change," she says.
Liz Stephen found herself in fifth place in Saturday's 10 k classic mass start at the Tour de Ski, and she thought, why not? Why don't I belong here? She hung on to record her best-ever finish in the classic technique, and hopes to move from sixth up to fourth in the Tour's final stage on Sunday.
Decisions on the World Cup circuit, like when to stop when the going's good or whether to stay in Europe when things aren't going exactly according to plan, aren't easy. But they have to be made. APU Head Coach Erik Flora explains the thought processes behind some recent U.S. Ski Team member moves.
Now in second after the first two stages of the seven-stage Tour de Ski, Alex Harvey spoke with FasterSkier after an easy training day in Switzerland before the first-and-only, full-on sprint of the 2015 Tour.
Since Scott Patterson (APU) was impaled by Erik Bjornsen's ski in October he has dealt with a surgery, pulmonary embolism, and a long recovery. Despite facing what looked to be a season-ending string of health issues, Patterson is racing at U.S. Nationals in Houghton and looking to see what he can do.
In the two days leading up to U.S. nationals, we caught up with several podium contenders for the races in Houghton, Mich., which start this Sunday and last through next Saturday.
When Norway's Didrik Tønseth got appendicitis right before Christmas, replacement Simen Sveen called off the holidays and stayed in Davos to train. “I’m not nervous, just excited," he told FasterSkier in an exclusive interview. "There’s a big difference. Being excited helps me bring out the best in me."
Alex and Pierre Harvey aren't Quebec's only family skiing phenoms. Former Canadian national-team skier Jocelyn Vézina has a 20-year-old daughter, Frédérique Vézina, who's one of the promising up-and-comers on the Canadian ski scene. (In English and French)
Si la dynastie Harvey trône au coeur du ski de fond québécois, et fait résonner sa mémoire depuis les exploits de Pierre jusqu’aux succès récents d’Alex, une autre famille scintille depuis quelques décennies sur les terres du Mont Sainte-Anne: les Vézina. Jocelyn Vézina fut membre de l’équipe canadienne aux côtés de Pierre Harvey et d’Yves Bilodeau (actuellement technicien en
The second weekend of racing in Davos, Switzerland, wrapped up the first period of the World Cup, and there's still a lot left to be said. Check out our Notes and Quotes to see what didn't make it into our race reports this weekend.
Biathlon is a roller coaster, but the beauty is that lows can turn into highs: Hannah Dreissigacker wenf from placing 78th in her last World Cup competition to cleaning all ten targets and finishing 17th in today's sprint, good for her first top-20. Susan Dunklee placed 19th with two penalties.
American Caitlin Gregg had big plans to before heading to the World Cup this winter as the SuperTour leader, with qualification for World Championships at the top of the list. Disappointed in her results the last two weekends, she's got one more World Cup weekend then will try to make a statement at U.S. nationals.
It's tough to swallow getting destroyed by Norwegians week after week. Reese Hanneman is still absorbing a huge jump in training hours from the summer and fall, but also: "I think people really underestimate how hard it is to go from racing well in the U.S. to racing well here on the World Cup.”
After the first race weekend of their European tour was canceled due to low snow, Canadian biathletes finally got started in Obertilliach, Austria, and started out hot: Emma Lunder and Julia Ransom placed 10th and 11th in the women's 15 k individual, and Christian Gow 18th in the men's race.
Check out the quotes that didn't make it into our race reports this weekend, from FasterSkier's on-site coverage from the Davos World Cup 1.3 k sprint.
It has been a year and a half since Lenny Valjas last made an appearance in World Cup sprint heats. Let that sink in. The tall Canadian is thrilled that not only is he back and feeling like himself, but he didn't just squeak in - he qualified tenth and missed a lucky loser spot in the semifinals by just 0.03 seconds.
Norway's Pål Golberg tells FasterSkier why Lillehammer has been good to him in the past (and it's not because he lives there) and why he rollerskis through the winter, at least once a week, and plays golf as much as he can.
The United States biathlon team went into today’s World Cup pursuits looking for improvement, and two athletes nailed it: Lowell Bailey finished 17th and Susan Dunklee 19th. Both used deliberate shooting strategy on Ostersund's gusty range to make their moves.
U.S. Ski Team Head Coach Chris Grover was in West Yellowstone for the first time in nine years last week, and FasterSkier checked in with him to get his take on the races. "This is my first time actually seeing the younger athletes in particular, so it’s exciting to see who’s coming up," he explained.
Highly anticipated SuperTour racing kicked off Friday in West Yellowstone, Mont. with a weekend of freestyle races and FasterSkier was on-site to document it all! Check out our photo gallery of the weekend, and if you haven't already, make sure to read our SuperTour preview and recaps of each race.