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DNS. It’s a rare acronym to crop up in the results portion of Sophie Caldwell’s FIS database. But after battling a cold for the first few weeks of the 2018/2019 season, Caldwell did not start (DNS) the Lillehammer freestyle sprint and also chose to sit out the women’s relay last weekend. By this Saturday in Davos, Switzerland, the 28 year old’s decision to rest and not race seemed to have paid off. She sprinted to...

Saturday Rundown: Davos, Hochfilzen, Canmore (Updated 3x)

  FIS World Cup Davos, Switzerland 1.5 k Freestyle Sprint Women’s Race Report | Men’s Race Report On a lovely Davos, Switzerland day, Sophie Caldwell of the U.S. Ski Team (USST) was the day’s fastest qualifier for the women, stopping the clock in 2:46.28 minutes. Caldwell looked cool and in-form on her way to place second overall on the day for her first podium of the season. The win went to Sweden’s Stina Nilsson after...

Friday Rundown: Hochfilzen, Austria

IBU World Cup, Hochfilzen, Austria Men’s 10 k Sprint On Friday in Hochfilzen, Austria Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Bø won the 10-kilometer sprint in a time of 24:49.2 minutes. It was Bø’s third win of the season and his third win in succession. While leading the race wire-to-wire, Bø shot clean in prone, and missed one target standing. buy ventolin online France’s Martin Fourcade shot clean to place second (+8.6). Benedikt Doll of Germany, also shooting...

Petter Northug jr.; The Curtain Closes on the Champion’s Show

  It is accurate, the way time ticks away, to say that it was an eternity ago when Norway’s Petter Northug jr. splashed onto the Word Cup scene to the delight of fans and the paparazzi. According to the International Ski Federation (FIS) data base, Northug stepped to the top of the podium in only his eighth World Cup start. In the 2005/06 season, he placed first in Falun, Sweden’s 2 x 10-kilometer pursuit. There...

Norway’s Petter Northug jr. Retires

On December 12, in Trondheim, Norway, thirty-two-year-old Petter Northug jr. announced his retirement from the sport. Northug won four Olympic medals, two of which are gold. He won 16 World Championship medals, 13 of them gold. He has a total of 38 total wins on the World Cup during his 12 year career, “I have taken a decision to post as a skier. I told myself that I could not use more energy and effort to...

US Biathlon’s New Coaches, Michael Gries and Armin Auchentaller, Lead the Way

This season, the US Biathlon Association (USBA) hired on two new coaches; 47-year-old Armin Auchentaller from Italy and Germany’s 42-year-old Michael Greis. Auchentaller’s primary duties are with the women’s team whereas Greis will focus on the men. The U.S. team comes off the retirements of two of its steady-stars; Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke. (Burke was hired in May as USBA’s athlete development manager.) The hiring of the two coaches is part of a plan...

A Sovereign Lake NorAm/SuperTour Weekend Rundown

For the third consecutive year, the SuperTour and NorAm series met up at Sovereign Lake near Vernon, BC, for a combined race weekend of skate sprints and classic interval starts. Over 450 athletes competed each day in four age groups. According to many attendees, combining the two Continental Cup series was an unqualified success. While many of the skiers expressed their pleasure in interviews, one quote stood out. “The SuperNoram is the best idea ever.”...

  This article comes from Alan Watson, a certified TD and head of the cross-country section of the Pacific Northwest Ski Association (PNSA). Here’s the straight and simple request: U.S. Ski and Snowboard needs Technical Delegates (TD). Before we go any further, let’s give a brief rundown of what that means.   U.S. Ski and Snowboard rules require each sanctioned race to have a jury which ensures that the race is fair, safe and conducted...

O% Expectation and 100% Focus; Clare Egan Finds her Way in Pokljuka, Slovenia

  Over the weekend in Pokljuka, Slovenia U.S. Biathlon’s Clare Egan marked a breakthrough. During the IBU World Cup’s 10-kilometer pursuit on Sunday, with a single shooting penalty, Egan placed sixth (+1:22.4, 0+0+1+0). She also raced the fastest time for the ski portion of the race. Kaisa Mäkäräinen of Finland won the race in a time of 29:16.9 minutes. Prior to her sixth place, Egan’s top result was a 13th place during last season’s IBU...

Norway Unstoppable for the win in Women’s 4 x 5 k Relay; U.S. 5th

For Norway, relays are often tallied not by wins, but how many wins have been missed. Back in 2009, Team Norway watched on as Team Sweden took the top spot of the podium for the women’s 4 x 5-kilometer relay event in Beitostølen, Norway. In the nine years after that second place finish in Beitostølen, the Norwegian women’s team has missed winning the World Cup relay–excluding team sprints–only one other time (FIS reports that as...

FIS World Cup Beitostølen, Norway 4 x 5 k / 4 x 7.5 k Relay Sunday in Beitostølen, Norway the women raced a 4 x 5-kilometer relay on firm tracks and under partly cloudy skies — Saturday’s races featured fresh snowfall. Norway I took the win in a total time of 57:23.6 minutes. In order of relay legs, Heidi Weng, Therese Johaug, Ragnhild Haga, and Ingvild Flugstad Østberg comprised the team that raced at the...

Johaug Wins in Beitostølen; Diggins Eighth, Bjornsen 13th, Brennan 15th

  “I feel like the shape was really good today,” Norway’s Therese Johaug told the International Ski Federation (FIS) after Saturday’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start race in Beitostølen, Norway. On a day when winter felt like winter, snow fell throughout the race and temperatures hovered around 20 degrees Fahrenheit, Johaug’s shape was never in doubt. Absent two seasons from the World Cup after testing positive for banned steroids in her system, Johaug is back with...

Saturday Rundown: Beitostølen, Pokljuka (Biathlon), and Sovereign Lake (Updated 4 x)

FIS World Cup Beitostolen, Norway 15 k/30k Freestyle Individual Start  Women’s Race Report | Men’s Race Report  With snow falling and trees covered with fresh snow, Beitostølen, Norway’s wintery essence was on full display during the women’s 15-kilometer freestyle individual start on Saturday. Keeping her distance win-streak alive was Norway’s Therese Johaug who won her fourth World Cup distance race of the season making it four for four in 2018/2019. Johaug won in a time of...

The National Nordic Foundation and the Craftsbury Outdoor Center are excited to offer six limited edition signed prints featuring Olympic Gold Medalists Jessie Diggins and Kikkan Randall, along with other members of the US Olympic Team. These six pieces of American skiing history are being auctioned off individually to benefit the National Nordic Foundation, and the Craftsbury Ski Club junior scholarship fund. The proceeds will support American athletes competing overseas and allow youth to participate...

Wednesday Workout: Hitting the Trails with U.S. Para-Nordic and Head Coach Martin Benes

For this week’s Wednesday Workout, FasterSkier reached out to Martin Benes, the newest addition to the U.S. Para-Nordic coaching staff. Benes joined U.S. Para-Nordic this August, after five years working as the nordic skiing director and head coach at Sugar Bowl Academy in Norden, California. He is still currently living in California. Benes’s primary work is with the Para-Nordic national team: A-team members Oksana Masters, Kendall Gretsch, and Dan Cnossen, as well as B-team member,...

Tønseth Bests Røthe to Lock Up Lillehammer Pursuit Win; Harvey 16th

In sport, there’s the win and then there’s the story behind the win. In the sport of nordic skiing, some of these stories seem all too familiar, such as Sunday’s Norwegian victory in the men’s 15-kilometer classic pursuit. But even among the Norwegians in the sport of cross-country skiing, there are idiosyncrasies to the success. In the case of Didrik Tønseth, the Norwegian winner of Sunday’s 15 k pursuit in Lillehammer, Norway, the victory was...

Looking for a unique gift for that special someone on your list? Checkout the Methow Valley Nordic Team’s online auction at 32auctions.com/mvnsef2018. Bid on a wide range of one-of-a-kind items: from local baked goods, ice cream, and coffee, to consultations from dentists, physical therapists, chiropractors and naturopaths, to amazing trips in and around the ‘American Alps’ of the North Cascades – whether it be by glider, airplane, hot air balloon or with a professional guide...

Johaug’s Wins Lillehammer Overall; Bjornsen 10th

Here’s a sentence we might see routinely this season as the World Cup distance races transpire. Norway’s Therese Johaug wins again! In Sunday’s 10-kilometer classic pursuit race in Lillehammer, Norway, Johaug set an unmatched pace to win her second race of the weekend and the overall in Lillehammer’s three-race series. Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla lead off the race, starting a spartan two and a half seconds ahead of Johaug. Kalla led the first lap, with Johaug...

Sunday Rundown: From Lillehammer to West Yellowstone to Pokljuka (Updated 2x)

FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Lillehammer Norway: 10 k/ 15 k Classic Pursuit On Sunday, the third and final day of racing in Lillehammer, Norway concluded with a 10-kilometer classic pursuit for the women. A win is a win, and Norway’s Therese Johaug, took the day and her second victory in as many days when she crossed the line first in 29:35.5 minutes. Sweden’s  Ebba Andersson finished second (+16.8), Norway’s Ingvild Flugstad Østberg third (+17.9)....