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Tour de Ski Rundown: Diggins 3rd; Harvey 4th; Østberg and Cologna Tally Win No. 2

Tour de Ski Stage 3 (Lenzerheide, Switzerland): 10/15 freestyle pursuits Men’s report In the first three stages of the Tour de Ski (TdS), three different American women have reached the podium. Jessie Diggins became the latest in Monday’s New Year’s Day 10-kilometer freestyle pursuit in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Heading into Stage 3, the last one in Switzerland before the Tour moves to Oberstdorf, Germany, Diggins ranked third overall in the TdS. She started the men’s 15...

Sadie Bjornsen’s ‘Dream Day’ with First Distance Podium; Østberg Puts Her Stamp on Stage 2

By the time Sadie Bjornsen sat down in the fur-lined leader’s chair on Sunday, the sunlight that had been shining brightly over sections of the women’s 10-kilometer classic course — blocked by trees and creating shade and temperature drops in some spots — was fading. Just an hour remained before sunset in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, and as she unclipped her bindings and walked out of the finishing pen, the current leader seat belonged to her. With Saturday’s...

Tick-tock. An appropriate intro in a place like Switzerland — a nation and culture known for accurate timepieces and punctuality. Depending on how you look at it, for 31-year-old Swiss skier Dario Cologna, one of two things has been on-the-dot: his three year slide in results since winning the 2014/2015 World Cup overall and his battle with both injuries and an ascendant Martin Johnsrud Sundby; Or his rejuvenated Lenzerheide, Switzerland Tour de Ski (TdS) Stage...

Tour de Ski Rundown: Sadie Bjornsen 3rd; Østberg Posts 25-Second Win; Cologna Wins at Home

Tour de Ski Stage 2 (Lenzerheide, Switzerland): 10/15 classic Men’s report For the second-straight day of the Tour de Ski, an American landed on the podium, with Sadie Bjornsen placing third in the women’s 10-kilometer classic individual start on Sunday in Lenzerheide. For Bjornsen, it was her third individual podium of the season and first in a race longer than 5 k.  She finished behind two Norwegians, Ingvild Flugstad Østberg, who took the win in...

Ustiugov Sets Stage, Wins Tour-Opening Skate Sprint in Lenzerheide

For Sergey Ustiugov, the Tour de Ski (TdS) is picking up where he left it last year. Last January, the 25-year-old Russiansix stages remaining. “I really wanted to win today to start the Tour strong,” Ustiugov said, according to an International Ski Federation (FIS) press release. Ustiugov’s opening day began with his qualifier, which he won after covering the course in a time of 2:58.46 minutes. Italy’s Federico Pellegrino posted the second-fastest qualifying time, 1.08...

Van der Graaff Wins Opening Stage of Tour de Ski; Caldwell Second

The 12th edition of the multi-stage Tour de Ski (TdS) opened Saturday with 1.5-kilometer freestyle sprints in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. On a spectator-friendly, 750-meter loop featuring a punchy and sustained climb each lap, the hustle and bustle of a gritty and soft-snowed World Cup sprint were on full display. We’ll leave the suspense out: it was the first home-snow World Cup victory for a Swiss skier since 2007. It was also the first career World Cup...

Crawford, Green Seventh at Bucket-List-Type Event: Biathlon auf Schalke

Picture some 45,000 rambunctious fans, loud music blaring, a course comprised of 10,000 cubic feet of machine-made snow, a shooting range surrounded by bulletproof glass, 1,300 fir trees as decorations, and 10 biathlon teams representing their nations, all packed into a huge stadium with a retractable roof that’s home to soccer team Schalke 04 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. That’s the setting for the annual “Biathlon auf Schalke” two-person mixed relay show race, also known as the...

Eve of the 2018 Tour de Ski: 7 Races, 9 Days, 3 Countries

FIS and FS reporting) Stage 1 start lists: Men Austria Women Teresa Stadlober Anna Seebacher Lisa Unterweger Men Dominik Baldauf Max Hauke Bernhard Tritscher   Finland Women Mari Laukkanen Laura Mononen Kerttu Niskanen Krista Pärmäkoski Aino-Kaisa Saarinen Anne Kyllönen Men Iivo Niskanen Ristomatti Hakola Martti Jylhä Kusti Kittilä Ari Luusua Antti Ojansivu   Canada Men Alex Harvey Devon Kershaw   France Men Maurice Manificat Jean-Marc Gaillard Adrien Backscheider Clément Parisse Lucas Chanavat Baptiste Gros Alexis...

U.S. Tour de Ski Selections Explained: Q & A with Grover

Last Thursday, U.S. Ski & Snowboard sent out a press release detailing the U.S. contingent for the upcoming Tour de Ski which begins this Saturday, Dec. 30, with a freestyle sprint in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. In non-Olympic and non-World Championships years, the Tour de Ski (TdS) stands as the highlight for many all-around World Cup athletes and fans. This year’s U.S. team for the TdS includes four men and seven women, all current members of the U.S....

Caldwell on His World Cup Start, Taking Chances and Gaining Experience

Earlier this month, after the World Cup sprint qualifier in Davos, Switzerland, Patrick “Paddy” Caldwell stood in the mixed zone, distracted. When a passing U.S. Ski & Snowboard board member congratulated him on his race, he brushed it off – graciously, not rudely – saying that “I ate it on that corner there.” As he answered questions, he also looked hard at each athlete who passed through the media gauntlet. “Someone took my poles from...

Nordic Nation: Wadsworth’s Two Cents on Period 1

Justin Wadsworth.   A former U.S. Olympian and coach as well as Canadian head coach, Wadsworth will be doing on-air commentary during the 2018 Olympics for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). This season, there’s much to discuss with Wadsworth. Ten races into the World Cup, the racing so far has seen an unsettled women’s side and a lopsided men’s field. Charlotte Kalla has renewed the premise that Sweden can produce a formidable nordic-ski powerhouse as...

FasterSkier’s 12 Days of FBD Christmas: Day 12

DDay 2 | Day 4 | Day 6 | 7 | Day 9 | Day 11 *** Day 12: Masters World Cup Total World Domination Package Day Twelve. We made it. Wow. Sure, we lost a few along the way, good men (and women, though most women were likely smart enough to not set foot on this sinking ship in the first place) As a quick aside, I bartended at Smullin’s rehearsal dinner, so I naturally wore a name tag...

FasterSkier’s 12 Days of FBD Christmas: Day 11

DDay 2 | Day 4 | Day 6 | 7 | Day 9 | Neck Gaiter Since the alpine vs. nordic debate can be a bit of a contentious one, we’re going to easy into today’s offerings with a product that straddles the line nicely — a neck gaiter. These are awesome for both alpine and nordic — and this is not just any gaiter, this is the “$22 at BeccaRorabaugh.com ***   $30 – $99 L.L. Bean U.S. Ski...

Rodchenkov Testimony in Zaitseva Case Includes Entire Biathlon Team: Doping Before and After Sochi

On Friday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) posted the reasoned decision from its Disciplinary Commission, in which Russian biathlete Olga Zaitseva was disqualified from the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Zaitseva’s disqualification had been announced previously, but this is the first full-length decision presenting the evidence for the disqualification of any biathlete. Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova have also been suspended, but the Oswald Commission’s full decisions for their cases have not yet been released....

FasterSkier’s 12 Days of FBD Christmas: Day 10

DDay 2 | Day 4 | Day 6 | 7 | Day 9 *** Day 10: Tech Tech — what exactly does that mean? Technology? Phones that cost >$1k but still die after being exposed to cold for less than an hour? Michigan Tech? The dudes who stay up late drinking and prepping skis? All of these? None of these? Inquiring minds want to know. In the vernacular that I am establishing here is it really more of the...

Packing Ski-Speed Punch, Fletcher Brothers Aim to Lock Up PyeongChang

On Dec. 30, the nordic-combined community will gather in Park City for the his best individual result in nearly two years. “The opportunity was there,” Bryan, 31, said on the phone from Utah this week. He explained that the jumping hill in Ramsau is smaller than the hill used for the opening weekend in Ruka, Finland. “Ramsau is one of those hills where everybody tends to jump a little bit closer. That was the first...

Swedish Coach Pichler Won’t Be Allowed at Olympics Due to Previous Work with Russian Biathlon

Wolfgang Pichler, the coach of the Swedish women’s biathlon team, will not be allowed to attend the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. The reason? He previously worked with Russian athletes who have now been convicted of doping violations. The German rose to prominence as a coach when he led the Swedish team during the time of Magdalena Forsberg, coaching Anna Carin Zidek and Helena Eckholm as well. But he then left the team and...

FasterSkier’s 12 Days of FBD Christmas: Day 9

DDay 2 | Day 4 | Day 6 | 7 | Ride your bike? I rode my bike across the country several years ago and while it was awesome, it’s probably not the most time-efficient manner of travel, in particular in the winter. And that was before cell phones, so nowadays, thanks to distracted drivers, you’d probably be dead within 50 miles of your house. Walk? We’re not far from this being your best option. Thankfully, all is not...

Stowe Nordic Seeking Youth Program Coach

Stowe Nordic, Stowe Vermont’s premier nordic ski club for over 20 years, is seeking a ski coach for the 2017-18 season to lead our youth program (BKL age group, 5-14).  The coach will be responsible for all aspects of Stowe Nordic’s youth program (weekly communication, lesson plans, and on-snow instruction). Program dates and times are: Tuesday and Thursday 3:00-5:00 pm beginning in December and ending in mid March.  Salary and other ski pass benefits available...