This is the last of several previews in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. Teams were presented in no particular order. Team name: Alaska Pacific University (APU) Nordic Ski Center Coach: Erik Flora (head coach/director) Roster: Kikkan Randall (U.S. Ski Team A-team), Holly Brooks (USST B-team), Sadie Bjornsen (USST B-team), Becca Rorabaugh, Rosie Brennan, Kate Fitzgerald, Erika...
Maybe it was the transition to full-time racing or the fact that Zoe Roy was competing in her home nation last season. It could’ve been the back-and-fourth flights across the U.S/Canadian border, or one team’s hospitality that helped Roy reach new heights on the NorAm circuit. Whatever it was, she wasn’t fighting it. After spending some 20 years in Bend, Ore., Roy, who turned 25 on Sunday, is moving to Canmore, Alberta. Starting Aug. 1,...
Note: This one of several previews in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) Nordic Elite Team Coaches: Dragan Danevski (program director/head coach), Tim Baucom (assistant coach/service tech), Andrew Morehouse (service tech) Roster: Torin Koos,...
SHAFTSBURY, Vt. – Andy Newell had been home in southern Vermont for just about a week – and he hadn’t had a ton of free time between
Note: This one of several previews in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Stratton Mountain School T2 Team (SMST2) Coaches: Gus Kaeding (first year; former assistant at Central Cross Country, or CXC) Roster: Andy Newell (U.S. Ski Team),...
In Anchorage, getting on the front page of the Alaska Daily News is a big deal. It doesn’t matter if you’re an Olympian and U.S. Ski Team member; Holly Brooks was still pumped to be wasn’t even wearing a watch. A three-time runner up, Brooks had finally sealed her first Mount Marathon win. Engaged the day before the 2008 race, in which she came in second, she had a special history with the event. She...
Birkie Classic winner will challenge Birkie Skate winner at Telemark Forest Mountain Bike Race (Press release) CXC Team member Jennie Bender, the 2011 Birkie Classic Winner and 2012 Birkie skate third-place finisher, will be entering the CXC Triple standings and she is looking to make up ground before the Birkie Trail Run in September. Both athletes have great fitness right now and it should be a battle to the finish. Modeled after the prestigious Norwegian Birkebeiner Trippel, the CXC Triple provides competitors with a year-round competition to...
The Western Regional Elite Group (REG) Camp kicked off in earnest at 6 a.m. Monday, June 25, with a trail-run time trial up Agony Hill. On the training schedule, instructions read: “Bring your ‘A’ game.” Dozens of teenage athletes raced uphill, ran and rollerskied last week. They worked on strength and agility, hill bounding and intervals, and attended presentations at night. Several U.S. Ski Team (USST) members from around the country made it to the camps...
Note: This is the eighth preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation (SVSEF) Gold Team Coaches: Colin Rodgers (head coach), Clarke Sullivan (service tech) Roster: Simi Hamilton (U.S. Ski Team), Mike Sinnott,...
Note: This is the seventh preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Methow Olympic Development (MOD) Coach: Scott Johnston Roster: Sam Naney What’s new: Brian Gregg as a training partner. Gregg will spend much of the summer...
Note: This is the sixth preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Far West Farm Team Coaches: Ben Grasseschi (head coach), August Teague, Martin Benes Roster: Phillip Violett, Wyatt Fereday Who’s new: No one – yet. However,...
Note: This is the fifth preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Craftsbury Green Racing Project (GRP) Coaches: Pepa Miloucheva (head coach, 15th season), Jeremy Nellis (junior coach) Senior roster: Ida Sargent (U.S. Ski Team), Susan Dunklee...
Note: This is the third preview in a quick-and-dirty series on U.S. elite teams. We asked coaches to send their 2012/2013 rosters and tell us what’s new for the coming season. We will be publishing additional reports over the next few weeks. Teams are presented in no particular order. Team: Maine Winter Sports Center Olympic Development Teams Coaches: Will Sweetser (cross-country), Seth Hubbard (biathlon), Amber Dodge (development), TBD (wax tech, intern) Roster: Cross-country: Kris Freeman (U.S....
That last ski of the season might not have set well this year. You weren’t exactly ready. Some places enjoyed sufficient snow dumpings this winter, but on the whole, it just wasn’t enough. It ended too soon. Certain parts of the country aren’t quite in summer mode yet. Snow has been known to make April appearances, and some ski towns recently saw a late-season blast of the white stuff. But in Hayward, Wis., home of...
With fresh powder falling for the two days preceding the 2012 Stowe Derby there is only one word that can describe this years race most accurately… Epic. A local junior skier, who started at the back of the freestyle race, donned a GoPro video camera to give us all an incomparable view of his race.
Saturday December 17 was the Free Technique Sprint – Besh Cup #1 race at Anchorage’s Kincaid Park. Temperatures right at the freezing mark and recent wet snow made for fast conditions. The excitement built among the spectators in the Mens’ first semi-final heat as David Norris of the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks (NSCF) tucked low and passed the field coming down the small hill over the tunnel at the south end of the stadium. ...
Craftsbury, VT – Extreme cold overnight allowed the crew at Craftsbury Outdoor Center to blow a huge pile of snow, and racers on the 1.5K artificial snow loop today were greeted with even better conditions than the day before. With almost 450 starters in today’s 4.5 and 9 kilometer freestyle events, the additional snow and slightly widened trails were much appreciated. The J2 Boys raced 4.5K with Stratton Mountain School’s Koby Gordon earning a narrow 5.3...
Craftsbury, VT – Cool temperatures, a light covering of new snow, and the deep base of artificial snow on the race trail at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center today made it feel like winter for the over three hundred competitors at the TD Bank Eastern Cup Opener here today. The day featured two events, both in the classic technique. The racers who travelled from Quebec, Ottawa, New York and the New England states brought with them a...
(Note: this preview doesn’t include college or junior skiers, although many will be competing in the opening SuperTours. College racing will have its own preview at a later date.) With one week until the opening SuperTour races in West Yellowstone, it’s time to start remembering what the domestic race circuit looks like. A number of top athletes retired after last season, but their spots have been filled by recent college graduates. Here’s what you need...
When the parade of brightly-colored spandex suits heats up the domestic circuit this year, competitors and spectators will see a new squad: Stella Racing. And while America’s first elite women-only team in more than a decade might be small, it will definitely be fast. Morgan Smyth, Evelyn Dong, and Zoe Roy decided to start a team based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, and have spent the spring and summer making it happen. Their rationale...