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Mass Start day at World Juniors: Remi Drolet 4th, Schumacher 5th…Laukli 5th, McCabe 9th (Includes Audio Interview with USST Coach Bernie Nelson)

Wednesday in Oberwiesenthal, Germany World Juniors continued with a 15 k mass start skate for the women.  Junior Women’s  15 k Mass Start Skate Norway’s Helene Marie Fossesholm (18) won her second race of these championships by taking the mass start skate in 35:55.6 minutes. Fossesholm also won the 5 k interval start classic race on Monday. Poland’s Izabela Marcisz placed second 1:09.3 back. Marcisz also won a bronze in the 5 k classic. Switzerland’s...

Soldier Hollow Nordic Center Seeks Head and Development Coaches

  Cross Country Head Coach – Soldier Hollow Major Tasks, Responsibilities and Accountability Overall The primary role of the Soldier Hollow Cross-Country Head Coach is to lead the Team Soldier Hollow Cross Country Comp team and further develop Soldier Hollows Nordic programs, which includes integration with Team SoHo Devo and Youth Programs. The Nordic Head Coach is responsible for ensuring that the vision of Team SoHo is implemented across all levels of Team SOHO Cross-Country...

The rising Madshus stars racers are posting impressive championships results, while veteran World Cup athletes deliver in Lahti. Starting off, Siri Wigger (SUI) bagged the bronze in the Junior World Championships sprint in Oberwiesenthal (GER) on Saturday, while Matvey Eliseev (RUS) went straight for the gold in the men’s 10km sprint at the biathlon European Championships. Related coverage: Medals galore at the 2020 IOC Youth Olympics  On Sunday, the young Madshus athletes earn three championship medals...

For the men, Zak Ketterson (USST/NMU) was the only American qualifier in 15th (+5.65) in the U23 World Championship men’s skate sprint in Oberwiesenthal, Germany. Logan Diekmann (Univ. of Utah) was the next American finisher in 44th (+12.36) followed by Zane Fields (Ford Sayre) in 45th (+12.82) and Hunter Wonders (APU) in 52nd (+14.03).  On the Canadian side, Graham Ritchie (Big Thunder Nordic) was the top qualifier in 6th (+3.37), followed by Antoine Cyr (Skinouk)...

Julia Kern Third in World U23 Skate Sprint (With Audio Interview)

Racing continued amidst a snowstorm in Oberwiesenthal, Germany in today’s U23 1.2-kilometer freestyle sprint event. Coming down lightly at some times and in heavy bursts at others, the precipitation accumulated on the tracks creating some excitement in the form of repeated starts and untimely crashes.  Two Americans qualified on the women’s side, with Julia Kern (USST/SMST2) near the top in third, exactly 1 second behind the top racer, Sweden’s Johanna Hagström. Hailey Swirbul (USST/SMST2) was...

With a Klæbo Anchor Leg – Norway Claims 4 x 7.5 k Relay in Lahti

Sunday, for the men’s 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay in Lahti, Finland the scene was decidedly more fitting for winter sport: The race began amidst falling snow despite bare firs and hardwoods lining the course. It’s been a sparse winter in Lahti.  Eleven teams contested the relay, with ten nations represented; Russia fielded two teams. The U.S. was not represented.    For the first 7.5 k leg, Russia I’s Ilia Semikov and Russia II’s Andrey Sobakarev...

Predictable? Maybe. Niskanen Wins 15 k Classic in Lahti

Some patterns in Lahti, Finland remained the same as it ever was: the top-11 positions in the men’s 15-kilometer classic were populated by Norway and Russia except for a lone Finn. On manmade tracks laid down through the snow-free woods of Lahti’s famed stadium, Iivo Niskanen stuck to his roots.  When the World Cup comes to Finland, Niskanen remains the king of the 15 k interval start classic. Prior to Saturday’s race, the twenty-eight-year-old Niskanen...

News Roundup for Feb. 28 – Engadin Canceled

Engadin Canceled:  Amidst the whirlwind of February racing, news happens beyond the ski tracks. Here are some notable news threads.  It was announced yesterday that the famed Engadin Ski Marathon, to be held on March 8, has been canceled due to concerns related to the coronavirus (also referred to as COVID-19). “The spread of the coronavirus in Europe – with two cases in our vicinity – has left the authorities with no choice but to...

A Memorable First Postpartum Birkie For Caitlin Gregg (With Audio Interview)

Two hours and twenty minutes after leaving the starting gate in Cable, Caitlin Gregg crossed the finish line on Main Street in Hayward, her eighth journey through Wisconsin’s north woods during the American Birkebeiner. Five of these resulted in the win, but this year, Gregg was the fifth woman across the line. Butt was still a first — her first Birkie as a mom, just over one year after giving birth to her daughter, Heidi,...

A Norwegian in Hayward: Niklas Dyrhaug Wins The American Birkie (With Audio Interview)

Several inches of new snow five days out, a cold-snap that sent temperatures in Hayward plummeting to -24 degrees Fahrenheit two nights before the race, and a bluebird day with temperatures in the high teens at the start, climbing to mid-30s in the early afternoon. Firm tracks, perfect groom, and fast snow. You could not have asked for a more perfect day to showcase the trails linking Cable to Hayward, WI at the 2020 American...

Schedule for the Oberwiesenthal, Germany Junior / U23 Worlds 

Schedule and Course Maps for the Oberwiesenthal, Germany Junior / U23 Worlds  According to the FIS Website, a live stream of the events will be available at www.jwm2020.de.   Sprints Date/Time (All Times in Pacific Standard Time) 2-29 5A (PST) Junior Women’s 1.2 k Freestyle Sprint Heats  2-29 5A (PST) Junior Men’s 1.3 k Freestyle Sprint Heats    3-1 5A (PST) U23 Women’s 1.2 k  Freestyle Sprint Heats  3-1 5A (PST) U23 Men’s 1.3 k ...

Paul Smith’s College Invests in Nordic Sport and Its Future

Running a small liberal arts college is big business. Stress over enrollment. Stress over capital improvements. Stress over staying relevant.  Paul Smith’s College in Paul Smiths, New York is a relative newcomer on the East Coast college scene; founded in 1946 and currently enrolling 745 students. One particular aspect Paul Smith’s makes it stand out – a massive 14,200 acre campus in the foothills of the Adirondack high peaks region. This is perhaps the school’s...

Madshus biathletes took home a handsome handful of medals from the IBU biathlon championships in Anterselva (ITA) last week. Let us fill you in: Vanessa Hinz (above) first earned the silver medal after shooting clean at the range and delivering strong on the trails in the 15-kilometer competition on February 18. Then she helped Germany to silver in the women’s relay on February 22, likewise nailing every target and making speed on the track. Also...

The 40th annual UP Health System Great Bear Chase is almost here! Conditions are looking great, with the Calumet area having over 250 inches of snow this season, awesome trails and great temperatures leading up to Saturday, March 7th. Online registration will be open until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4. Last-minute registration will also be available at the Calumet High School from 4-8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 6. Registration will not be accepted on...

Johaug Crushes Stage 6 for Ski Tour Overall Win; Diggins Leads U.S. in Sixth (Updated)

We’ll start with the weather: think all over the place. A moving target for meteorologist with moisture spitting from the skies, and air masses swirling this way and that making the trees sway like a mamba line along the course. A wax tech’s nightmare scenario? Yes. It certainly trended in that direction.   By all measures, this was Therese Johaug’s, Norway’s latest version of a cross-country skiing record-breaker, stage and tour. Of six stages total, she...

Dyrhaug Outlasts Pack in Sub-2-Hour Birkie; Yeaton Shatters Women’s Record

Several course records were shattered on Saturday in a largely faster-than-ever 46th annual American Birkebeiner, with temperatures steadily rising from the 20s at the start into the 30s by the finish of the point to point race from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin. Eight men broke the two-hour mark in the Birkie’s 50-kilometer skate race, half of which are American, and an Australian national team member who trains in the U.S. broke the women’s race record...

Transitions, Training, and Birkie Preparation: A Q&A with Riitta-Liisa Roponen

To view Riitta-Liisa Roponen’s complete FIS profile requires a lot of scrolling and selecting “show more.” The 41-year-old raced her first World Cup in Munio, Finland on November 28th, 1998. More than 20 years later, she raced her final World Cup event, helping the Finnish relay team to 3rd in Ulricehamn, Sweden on January 27th, 2019.  She went on to race at the World Ski Championships in Seefeld, Austria, placing 22nd in the 30-kilometer mass start...