Continental Cup

Andrew Newell edges out Koos and Chamberlain in the men's final. Wendy Wagner wins women's final over Sandra Gredig and Aelin Peterson. Reports from West Yellowstone indicate that lots of new snow before and during the race made for soft conditions. In these conditions, the well-tracked route was the fastest, meaning passing was extremely difficult. In most cases, the skier who made it to the first turn in first place was the winner. Full results:

Chris Jefferies finished only 6th in the sprint qualifying heats, but was the fastest when it counted – the men's final. Jefferies outsprinted Devon Kershaw, Gordon Jewett and Sean Crooks to win the second race of the Nor Am Canada Cup and take the overall lead in the series. Beckie Scott and Sara Renner left for Europe and the World Cup yesterday, meaning that the women's sprint race was a chance for the up and...

CANADA’S NORDIC SKIERS CRUISE TO PODIUM AT SEASON-OPENING HAYWOOD NORAM CANADA CUP —Montreal’s Gaiazova, Russia’s Babikov, capture gold in unique skiathlon event— Vernon, B.C.—The talent pool for cross-country skiers in Canada is proving to be deep after athletes wearing the maple leaf captured five of the six positions on the podium in the skiathalon event at the Haywood NorAm Canada Cup on Sunday. The skiathalon is a unique nordic event which replicates a triathlon. Athletes...

From USSA: WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. (Nov. 28) — Dave Chamberlain (Bethel, ME) outsprinted Chris Cook (Rhinelander, WI) over the final stretch Friday to win a 15K classic technique SuperTour race while Wendy Wagner (Park City, UT) won the women's 10K CL by more than a minute and a half. With temperatures in the upper 20s, Chamberlain, a member of the last two world championships teams, was timed in 41:06.8 for the three-lap race with Cook...

From Cross Country Canada: Vernon, B.C.—The snow is covering the ground, the tracks are set and the names of the winners in the opening event of the 2003-04 Haywood NorAm Canada Cup campaign are in the history books. Canada’s Beckie Scott of Vermilion, Alta. and George Grey of Rossland, B.C. powered their way to the top of the podium through the 10 and 15 kilometre classic events at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Club on Silver...

Lots of races going on as the ski season kicks into gear. World Cup, Nor Ams, and more. The World Cup travels to Kuusamo, Finland with an individual classic race on Friday and Pursuit (Skiathalon) on Sunday. Look for Carl Swenson and Kris Freeman to move up in the ranking from their first races of the season last weekend. The biggest story in Kuusamo was to be the return of Mika Myllyla and Jari Isometsa...

A couple more reports from this weekend's Nor Am SuperTour races. Articles from the Anchorage Daily News.

ANCHORAGE, AK (Nov. 12) – The inaugural cross country SuperTour opens this weekend in Anchorage. Recent snows have boosted track conditions. “I just spoke with Matt Pauli [of the Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage, race organizers] and he says the conditions are improving rapidly with a storm dropping snow in Anchorage, which should make for good race conditions at Kincaid Park. This will be a good start for the winter,” U.S. Nordic Director Luke Bodensteiner...

FAIRBANKS, AK (Nov. 4) – The lack of snow and a forecast calling for continued rain forced U.S. Ski Team officials and local organizers Tuesday to cancel the first cross country ski races in Fairbanks for the new SuperTour, U.S. Nordic Director Luke Bodensteiner announced. “There wasn't anything anyone could do about this,” Bodensteiner said Tuesday. ” John Estle and the organizing committee have done everything at Birch Hill, but the weather wouldn't cooperate. Even...

The following is the most recent draft of the US National race calendar for the 2003-2004 season. THIS IS NOT A FINAL DRAFT. Races on this schedule are subject to change, but for those who want to begin planning their season, it will give a good idea of what the schedule will look like. Date Location Race Nov. 8-9 Fairbanks, AK Nor/Am Opener Sprint F/Pursuit Nov. 15-16 Anchorage, AK Nor/Am 5/10km C, 5/10km F Nov....

This past weekend's Nor Am Continental Cup Races in Mont Orford Quebec wrapped up the 2003-2003 edition of the premier race series in North America for elite skiers. The men's and women's winners are guaranteed a spot in the spring World Cup races. Kris Freeman and Wendy Wagner took those honors, while Lars Flora and Aelin Peterson won the Sprint NorAm titles. Andrew Newell and Daria Gaiazova won the Junior division. Carl Swenson, who finished...

Results from this weekend's Continental Cup in Mont Orford, Quebec. Saturday – Skate Races It was a very tight women's race, with the top 5 within fifteen seconds. It was American World Championship team member Aelin Peterson who beat out a number of strong Canadians for the win. Women's 5K Freestyle 1 Aelin Peterson Alpina Racing 0:15:10.8 2 Tara Whitten NSDT Canmore 0:15:11.9 3 Rebecka Laakso Lappe Nordic/NTDC 0:15:12.9 4 Tasha Betcherman NSDT Canmore 0:15:17.6...

The Continental Cup races this weekend in Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec were postponed for a day after extremely cold weather hit the region on Saturday. All three days of racing were postponed one day, and on Sunday the temperature was a balmy -17 degrees C (races cannot be FIS legal below -20C) and the races went ahead. Classic Race In the women's 5K classic race, Canadian Junior sensation Daria Gaiazova took the victory, just 4...

US Ski Team veteran Carl Swenson continued his mastery of long skate races today in the Nor Am Continental Cup race outside of Rossland, BC. On the women's side junior skier Kristina Trygstad-Saari won her first Continental Cup race, beating out two skate distance specialists in the process. This weekends races were moved to the Paulsen Cross Country trails about 30 minutes from Rossland because of lack of snow in town. Instead of a sprint...

After having both of their winning streaks ended in yesterday's skate races, both Kris Freeman and Wendy Wagner were back on top on Sunday's 10K & 5K classic races in the Rossland, BC Continental Cup. Freeman (USST) edged out Saturday's winner, Carl Swenson (USST) by 8 seconds. The next skier, David Chamberlain (Maine MSC) was 45 seconds out. The course was substantially longer than the normal 10K distance, with the winning time being 37 minutes....

Some of the soggier memories of ski racing in New England flooded my mind this weekend at the Continental cup races being held in Rossland, BC. New England ski racers are brought up in an atmosphere of rain, slush, red klister, and back up race sites, so I felt right at home this weekend racing in a cool slushy drizzle. I’ve been on the road for almost two months now and I believe this weekend’s...