Interviews

The 2005 US Nationals that starts Monday January 3 and will be Carl Swenson’s first race on US soil this season. The national team member left for Europe and World Cup racing in early November and returned right before Christmas. Carl is traditionally the best US skater and was close to both a medal and winning the 50-kilometer skate race at the 2003 Worlds. Those who can beat Carl in skating at National should do...

Coming off of several top performances in the recent SuperTour races at Soldier Hollow as well as a strong finish in the Italian marathon “La Sgambeda”, Lars Flora looks set to take another big step forward this season. Fasterskier.com was able to ask him a few questions as he was getting ready to race at U.S. Nationals: You've had a strong start to the season so far, both in Europe as well as at the...

Sprint World Cup leader Tor Arne Hetland of Norway is putting is some good training during the World Cup break, but is also making sure that he is getting needed rest and recovery. Hetland is spending the holiday break at his wife’s parent’s house in Meraker. – We have been here the last several years. The skiing is very good at the moment and the training is great. I have nothing to complain about, says...

APU assistant coach Erik Flora (31) of Anchorage, Alaska is both coaching and racing these days. Seventh and eight places in the recent Continental Cup races at Soldier Hollow, Utah might make him claim the title “Fastest coach in North America”. He is now gearing up for next weeks US Nationals and top-ten is his goal. Who knows, he might do even better than that. I ran into Erik at Soldier Hollow in the morning...

David Chamberlain (right) David has proven that he can do well in any distance from sprint to marathon in both skating and classic. He is in good shape and stayed in Utah to fine-tune his preparations for the upcoming US Nationals at Soldier Hollow that starts January 3. The classic race is his favorite, and making the Worlds team his main goal. He should be considered a medal candidate in any event he enters. I...

James Southam (26) captured first place in the 10-kilometer Continental Cup classic race at Soldier Hollow on December 11. The skiing in Utah was great and he didn’t go home for a Christmas break, but remained in order to prepare for the upcoming US Nationals at the same site. Doing well in the classic race at Nationals is his main goal in making the Worlds-team his dream.

Kristin Stœrmer Steira took last weekend the step all the way up to a place among the Worlds elite skiers. She reached the podium and was second in a 15-kilometer skate World Cup race. That confirmed progress and future potential and made her very happy.

University of Utah skier Barbro Hatlevik (22) from Vagstranda near Andalsnes, Norway is doing daily workouts this Christmas at the Olympic trails at Soldier Hollow, Utah in her preparations for the upcoming college ski season and the US National Championship that starts January 3. Vagstranda? I’m sorry, I’m from Norway, but where in Norway is THAT? Right next to Andalsnes! OK, well tell us about being a Norwegian college skier at the University of Utah?...

Dahl is not giving up on Worlds: The season has so far not been as last year’s Norwegian sprint champion, John Kristian Dahl had hoped. He still has a small hope of making the Worlds team. – Worlds have been the carrot this season and it would be fun to make that team. But half the train with that destination has left after my 16. place in Asiago, where I didn’t race well at all....

Biathlon skier Lars Berger (25) regrets that he wasn’t involved in setting the pace in last weekend’s 30-kilometer World Cup race in Ramsau, Austria reports Norwegian newspaper VG. He felt that the race was skied in a snail pace: – I was surprised how easy we were skiing. The pace was never really fast. I therefore regret that I didn’t position myself better in order to have a chance at influencing the outcome of the...

Remi Andresen of Norway had a tough start position in Saturday’s World Cup 30-kilometer mass start skate race in Ramsau, Austria. He was reasonably satisfied with his race and hopes to get more chances. – I started all the way back in the twelfth row and that’s not a good start position. The conditions made it hard to pass. I stood completely still for about 45 seconds in the first uphill scratching my head. It...

Kristin Stormer Steira (23), Norway made her first ever World Cup individual podium finish in Ramsau on Saturday by placing second in the 15-kilometer free technique mass-start race. Steira had not counted on or even thought about being the one that would be closest to the winner Kristina Smigun. – The podium is always a dream. But that wasn’t on my mind today. I envisioned maybe a sixth place, admits the 23-year old to Norwegian...

Anders Aukland, classic specialist, the 2004 Swedish Vasaloppet winner, World Cup winner and a member of the Norwegian national team has performed well below expectations so far this season. He is struggling with a virus that appears and acts like mononucleosis.

Axel Teichmann, like Marit Bjorgen among the women, is this season’s big name in the cross country skiing. On Saturday he won his third World Cup victory despite a crash.

Johan Kjolstad (21) of Norway got his international break-through by placing third in last Saturday’s World Cup freestyle sprint in Bern. – This was way beyond my expectations, said Johan after the race.   

I managed to catch up with Canadian National Team member Chris Jeffries after the recent Canada Cup Races at the new and improved Sovereign Lake faciility at Silver Star,B.C. He had some pretty impressive races, wiping the floor with much of his competition. His results were 1st in the 15km skate, 2nd in the 15km continuous pursuit, and 2nd in the classic sprint. How do you like the new World Cup trails at Sovereign Lake?...

Axel Teichmann (25) is by Norwegian tabloid paper VG being compared to former 400-meter super-star runner Michael Johnson (USA). It’s Teichmann’s dominance and “stiff and standing straight up style” in diagonal skiing that makes the paper compare Teichmann to the way Johnson ran on the track. VG: Teichmann is skiing classic more efficient than any other skier in the World. His style is however a hot discussion topic among the experts. – He is cross...

Davos, Switzerland: Canadian national team skier Sarah Renner started the World Cup season in Gallivare, Sweden with a 33rd place in the 10-K classic. A week later she was 31 in the 10-K skate in Kuusamo, Finland and improved even more two days later by placing 23 in the 10-k classic. Fasterskier.com got a chance to ask her a few questions before the Wold cup sprint race in Bern this weekend:

Unni Odegaard’s World Championship dream was destroyed when a car hit her during rollerski training. Unni is in this interview with Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet talking about the tough time after the accident and her dream about making the 2006 Olympic team. To see recent photos of Unni, look at the original Dagbladet article:

Hilde Gjermundshaug Pedersen (40) claims that this will be her last season as an elite ski racer. She is racing for gold at Worlds before she retires.