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Continental Cup

Continental Cups are one step below the World Cup. Each year the top ranked male and female skiers in each Continental Cup series qualify to race on the World Cup. The use Continental Cup series is the SuperTour. The Canadian series is the Nor-Am.
He’s 24 years old and just won two U.S. championship races. Here’s why he could retire at the end of the season.
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He’s 24 years old and just won two U.S. championship races. Here’s why he could retire at the end of the season.

Nathaniel HerzJanuary 5, 2025

ANCHORAGE — The winner of two of three U.S. National Championships races in Alaska this week is just 24 years old, and poised for what could be a long career in cross-country skiing. But instead, Andreas Kirkeng is considering retirement. The explanation is simple: The star University of Denver athlete is not American. He’s Norwegian. And in Norway, aspiring to be a top cross-country skier is like trying to become an astronaut: Many, many try,...

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SuperTour Kicks Off in Anchorage
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SuperTour Kicks Off in Anchorage

FasterSkierDecember 14, 2023

The North American cross country scene offers numerous race opportunities throughout the winter season, but it’s the SuperTour that involves the very most competitive skiers from the United States and Canada. On December 12-17, Anchorage’s Kincaid Park plays host to the Anchorage WinterStart SuperTour, the first SuperTour event of the 2023-2024 season (presented with the support of Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage and Cross Country Alaska). Men’s and Women’s Sprint Tuesday saw SuperTour action in...

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Canadian Trials at Caledonia Nordic
Continental CupNews

Canadian Trials at Caledonia Nordic

Gerry FursethJanuary 23, 2023

The pressure was on at Caledonia Nordic in Prince George, BC, for the trials that would be used to select athletes for World Championships in Planica, Slovenia, and U20/U23 World Championships in Whistler. The three days of racing is also a Nordiq Cup, which is a FIS tier 1 event equivalent to a US SuperTour or Scando Cup, but the focus was on earning a spot on one or more of the teams. The snow...

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Eastern Canada Cup #2 at MSA
Continental CupNews

Eastern Canada Cup #2 at MSA

Gerry FursethDecember 22, 2022

Mont Sainte Anne (MSA) held the final pre-Christmas races in Canada over the weekend, with a 20km freestyle mass start Friday, freestyle sprints on Saturday, and 10km individual start classic on Sunday. Fresh snow, steep hills, and temperatures comfortably below freezing greeted 400+ racers at a continental cup hosted by Skibec, Centre National d’Entraïnemente Pierre Harvey (CNEPH) , and Club Nordique MSA. MSA is a popular racing destination, as Nakkertok’s Bronwyn Williams explained: “I love...

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Eastern Canada Cup #1 at Nakkertok Trails
Continental CupNews

Eastern Canada Cup #1 at Nakkertok Trails

Gerry FursethDecember 13, 2022

Canadian racing continued with the Eastern Canada Cup #1 at Nakkertok Trails on December 10th and 11th. The event is hosted by Évènements Nordiques Gatineau Nordic Events (ÉNGNE), a collaborative organization that leverages the skills and volunteers of four local clubs: Chelsea Nordiq Ski Club, Nakkertok Nordic Ski Association, Club Skinouk and the Gatineau Loppet. Canada recently divided the Canada Cup series into Eastern and Western to reduce the need for travel and to make the...

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Canada Cup/SuperTour Individual Classic at Sovereign Lake
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Canada Cup/SuperTour Individual Classic at Sovereign Lake

Gerry FursethDecember 9, 2022

Race day four at Sovereign Lake was a 10km individual start classic in the sunshine. With humid new snow at -10C all day while the air warmed up to -4C, all the teams found fast skis and solid kick on a great day for striding. Once again, the Open and U20 categories skied 2x5km first, followed by U18 and U16 who skied 2×2.5km, for a total of 385 starters Sunday. Individual start races are about...

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NNF: NNF Cup Celebrating Club Excellence Returns to SuperTour for Another Season
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NNF: NNF Cup Celebrating Club Excellence Returns to SuperTour for Another Season

FasterSkierDecember 5, 2022

With the first round of SuperTour racing complete in Sovereign Lakes, British Columbia, the NNF is proud to announce the return of the NNF Cup as a presenting sponsor of the US SuperTour this season. Originally launched in 2012, the NNF Cup celebrates club excellence in America’s premier domestic ski competition by tallying performance of club teams across the SuperTour season. The NNF Cup was awarded to Alaska Pacific University last season. The recent success...

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Canada Cup/SuperTour Skate Sprint at Sovereign Lake
Continental CupFeatureNews

Canada Cup/SuperTour Skate Sprint at Sovereign Lake

Gerry FursethDecember 4, 2022

Day 3 of the Sovereign Lake race week brought a skate sprint on a shorter course and warmer weather:  -10C with no wind and occasional light snow. Wednesday and Thursday were Nordiq Cup events, with only U20 and Open categories. Saturday and Sunday are Canada Cup races, with the addition of U18 and U16 categories, resulting in 402 racers across the eight groups. All four race days are part of the US SuperTour. All groups...

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Nordiq Cup/SuperTour Mass Start Skate at Sovereign Lake
Continental CupFeatureNews

Nordiq Cup/SuperTour Mass Start Skate at Sovereign Lake

Gerry FursethDecember 2, 2022

Continental Cup racing at Sovereign Lake continued Thursday with a 10km mass start skate for both genders, using the traditional Upper World Cup 5km course. The weekday races are U20 and Open categories only, with ‘smaller’ fields of 87 women and 127 men registered Thursday. “I think this is probably the most competitive race in North America this year, so there were a lot of really strong and talented skiers.” — John Steel Hagenbuch, Dartmouth...

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Nordiq Cup/SuperTour Classic Sprint at Sovereign Lake
Continental CupFeatureNews

Nordiq Cup/SuperTour Classic Sprint at Sovereign Lake

Gerry FursethDecember 1, 2022

North American racing hit high gear today with the opening of the combined Nordiq Cup and SuperTour series at Sovereign Lake with classic sprints. This week brings together the top skiers from all of North America, Mexico included, and Wednesday’s qualification was kicked off by the top ranked skiers: USA’s Hailey Swirbul and Canada’s Russell Kennedy. Many teams arrived two weeks in advance to enjoy some elevation training on corduroy while teams with good early...

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Two Years In, the BSF Pro Team is on the Rise: An Interview with Head Coach Andy Newell
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Two Years In, the BSF Pro Team is on the Rise: An Interview with Head Coach Andy Newell

Rachel PerkinsJune 15, 2022

In the spring of 2020, the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) launched a new professional racing team, led by Andy Newell, who spent nearly two decades on the U.S. Ski Team as a staple and leader of the American men’s program. Launching early in the pandemic, the BSF Pro Team had few opportunities to show their strength in the first race season, but they came on strong in 2021-22. During U.S. Nationals in Soldier Hollow in...

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Head Coach Transitions for the SMS T2 Program with Pat O’Brien and Perry Thomas
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Head Coach Transitions for the SMS T2 Program with Pat O’Brien and Perry Thomas

Rachel PerkinsMay 31, 2022

After eight years at the helm of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 team, head coach Pat O’Brien is in the process of taking a few steps back, passing the reins to Perry Thomas, who has spent the last five years as the assistant coach at the University of Vermont. Perhaps highlighting this transition and the sharing of responsibilities the two are in the process of navigating, FasterSkier connected with Thomas in mid-May while he...

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With Dreams Chased and Achieved, Adam Martin Retires from Professional Skiing
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With Dreams Chased and Achieved, Adam Martin Retires from Professional Skiing

Ben TheyerlMay 16, 2022

Adam Martin’s skiing has always tended to be best described in conjunctions rather than disjunctions. He could do this and he would do that. Or, that’s always how his mentors looked at it. My most distinct memory of Martin is from a CXC (Central Cross Country Skiing) camp about a decade ago when Sten Fjeldheim, then Martin’s coach at Northern Michigan University (NMU), gathered a group of us J2s (U16) around in the lobby of...

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Training with APU this Summer
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Training with APU this Summer

FasterSkierApril 13, 2022

APUNSC is now accepting applications for the University & Elite Team for the 2022-23 training year, as well as for the summer U23 training program. Applications are due by end of day April 22nd and decisions will be made by April 29th. APU is one of the preeminent cross country ski clubs. APU athletes consistently make up a sizable portion of US Olympic and World Championship Teams. Our accolades include an Olympic Gold medal as...

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“It’s a Good Time to be an American Ski Racer”: A Look Inside the OPA Cup Finals Trip to Sappada, ITA
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“It’s a Good Time to be an American Ski Racer”: A Look Inside the OPA Cup Finals Trip to Sappada, ITA

Rachel PerkinsApril 6, 2022

While World Cup Finals were underway in mid-March in Falun, Sweden, a second contingent of top American skiers was lining up roughly 2,000 kilometers south to race in the OPA Cup Finals in Sappada, Italy. Located along the northern edge of Italy near the Austrian border, the small town is nestled among the spectacular, jagged massifs of the Italian Dolomites, roughly an hour’s drive east of Toblach, which typically hosts the final stages of the...

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Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Ritchie and Kern Top 45 k Podium in Equal-Distance Event
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Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Ritchie and Kern Top 45 k Podium in Equal-Distance Event

Ella HallMarch 29, 2022

We’ve arrived at the final act, the culmination of a week of racing in Canada and a season of international racing before that. Piloting a gender-equal distance, both men and women raced a 45 k mass start skate on Sunday, completing six laps of a 7.5 k loop at the Whistler Olympic Park. Continuing a pattern of challenging weather conditions, the day started with temperatures around 37° F with rain, making for soft and wet...

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Team Birkie 2022/2023 Season Application
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Team Birkie 2022/2023 Season Application

FasterSkierMarch 28, 2022

Team Birkie is now accepting applications for the 2022-23 training year as well as for their summer collegiate training programs. Applications will be due by end of day April 10 and decisions will be made by April 15. Based in the Twin Cities, Team Birkie trains and lives throughout the Midwest. We are excited to be hosting multiple World Cup races in our region in 2024, with events at both Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis...

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Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Team sprint yields another win for Kern with Sonnesyn for SMS T2, University of Utah’s Jager and Keefe take men’s race
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Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Team sprint yields another win for Kern with Sonnesyn for SMS T2, University of Utah’s Jager and Keefe take men’s race

Ben TheyerlMarch 26, 2022

“You need some Gordie Howe elbows out there today” said the commentator on the live feed at one point during Friday’s Team Sprint in Whistler. You know, just in case you needed a reminder that this is Canadian Nationals. Alongside his legacy as one of hockey’s greatest players of all time, leaving his mark on the sport as an indomitable force with both his goal scoring and dynamism on the ice,   Howe was known as...

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Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Julia Kern wins again, while Xavier McKeever takes first Canadian title in Classic Sprint
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Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals: Julia Kern wins again, while Xavier McKeever takes first Canadian title in Classic Sprint

Ben TheyerlMarch 24, 2022

Racing at the joint Canadian Nationals/US SuperTour Finals resumed on Wednesday, showcasing some of the best racers in North America facing off for a classic sprint.  As the Whistler Olympic Park was home for cross country skiing during the 2010 Vancouver Games, the classic sprint course on Wednesday was one that played host to an important stepping stone in North American skiing history. In that competition, both American and Canadian skiers solidified the inroads they...

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Martin and Kern Stride to the Top on Day Two in Whistler
Canadian NationalsContinental CupRacing

Martin and Kern Stride to the Top on Day Two in Whistler

Rachel PerkinsMarch 22, 2022

Carrying the momentum from the first day of racing into a second distance event, athletes lined up once more at the Whistler Olympic Park for a 10 / 15-kilometer interval start classic. Over 130 men and 90 women participated in the open categories, representing clubs across Canada and the United States.  Adding a springtime layer of complexity to remind us that we are officially past the equinox, temperatures in Whistler hovered above freezing while a...

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