Last week, Brian Gregg and Matt Liebsch decided on a whim that they might as well splurge for a chartered flight to Bozeman, Mont., for the second set of SuperTour races there. This is the first part of a story about their journey, which started with a two-day drive from Montana to British Columbia and a forgotten passport.
One of the most successful men on the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Team last season, Lt. Dan Cnossen cut right to the chase when asked about his training this summer and fall. “We’re going to find out real quick when I go up against the Russians,” Cnossen says. So far, he's placed ninth and 11th at the IPC World Cup in Canmore.
After spending most of last season away from the World Cup, Jeremy Teela and Lanny Barnes are back in action. Barnes says she is completely recovered from compartment syndrome surgery; Teela loves being a father, but is focusing for this season on one last push for his fourth Olympics. Both held their relay teams in the top 8 this weekend.
Some of the most-useful random knowledge you'll ever need (or care) to know about U.S. Ski Team leader Kikkan Randall. "I used to hate pink," she says of her trademark color. Randall is also Alaska's safest driver -- at least she was as a teen.
With less than a year of nordic experience, Tatyana McFadden -- a three-time Summer Paralympian with 10 Paralympic medals and a marathon Grand Slam to her name -- has her heart set on Sochi. "I have to just be relaxed and go with the transitions," she says. "When it comes time for me to put my skis on the snow, I have to remember everything I've learned ... and ski as fast as I can and hopefully make people proud.”
Noah Hoffman likes some strange things, such as raw meat and raw eggs, but hey, if it makes you fast... Here's some more random info about the 24-year-old Aspen native, who wants to live in the big city someday.
Andy Newell is 30 today, and if you already knew that, check out these lesser-known facts about the U.S. Ski Team sprinter, like his love of fish paste.
Moving on from last season, the Canadians are a calculated bunch and ready to get the World Cup season started -- with a goal of not overemphasizing early results in order to peak for the Olympics. For the entire team, the Tour de Ski is part of the plan.
Some of the most competitive skiers in the U.S. SuperTour circuit give thanks and express appreciation for friends and family before, during and after their Thanksgiving ski sessions in West Yellowstone, Mont., one day before the SuperTour opens there on Friday.
In his third season of skiing, Omar Bermejo is striving for the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi, Russia. The 31-year-old U.S. Paralympics Development Team member joined the Maine Winter Sports Center this summer in an effort to make that happen and trained with teammates like Kris Freeman in Italy.
Anastasiya Kuzmina has pretty happy memories of Canada: the Slovakian biathlete won gold and silver there at the 2010 Olympics. But she's making plenty more memories with a yearly training camp at Frozen Thunder in Canmore, thanks to Ivan Babikov and Biathlon Canada. “I hope to be back here more," she said.
Mention the name 'Peter Hale' and you'll be hard-pressed to find someone that doesn't think he was one of the nicest, most giving people in the U.S. nordic industry -- and it wasn't because he was a salesman. In fact, making money might have been least important to Hale; he was in it for the athletes.
On her 24th birthday, U.S. Ski Team member Sadie Bjornsen shares some little-known facts about her personal life, including what she loves most about being a skier and how Europe turned her into a meat-eater.
An assortment of random facts about Sophie Caldwell, now entering her first season as a full-fledged member of the U.S. Ski Team, including her fear of cold water and the one food she doesn't like.
Ivan Babikov is excited, to say the least, heading into his third Olympic season. At 33, Canada's most-seasoned World Cup veteran knows what to expect and what not to get too stressed about. "[I’m] not trying to reinvent the bicycle," he says.
This might be Andrea Henkel’s swan-song season, but the 35-year-old German biathlete and multiple Olympic gold medalist showed she’s in the hunt for one of her best winters yet – sweeping the opening biathlon races last weekend in Sjusjøen, Norway. We spoke with Henkel last month when she was in Lake Placid, N.Y.
In the second half of our "ask a psychologist" segment, we talk to Dartmouth sports psychologist Dr. Mark Hiatt about the pressure and stress that comes with qualifying for big races, and what happens once you do. Hiatt expands on suggestions for how to manage expectations, relax, and get in a positive and productive mindset.
Before the start of the 2013/2014 season, 22-year-old Erik Bjornsen recently sat down with Reese Hanneman for a frank discussion about last winter and the one just ahead.
Selected to head up the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Program just three years ago, John Farra is already thinking medals for his team at the Sochi Paralympics in March, and believes they'll be on par with the Russians by the 2018 Games.
Coaches can't help with everything. We talked to Dr. Mark Hiatt, a sports psychologist at Dartmouth College, for how to deal with some common situations: what if your team is taking up too much time and eating into your life? How do you compete against your teammates? What if you hate your coach? His answers, which we hope will help you.