RUMFORD, Maine – In the wake of the 2012 United States Cross Country Ski Championship natural snow has finally started to fall and the racers move on to the next event on their schedule, but we take a look back at the final day of competition on the trails of Black Mountain. Watch how the ladies’ classic sprint transpired. Contributing camera work by Alex Matthews and Audrey Mangan.
As promised, Torin Koos (Bridger Ski Foundation/Rossignol) filed an appeal on Monday with the International Ski Federation (FIS) Appeals Commission against the the jury’s determination at the U.S. Cross Country Championships that he had obstructed competition on his way to winning the A-final of the classic sprint, which resulted in his
RUMFORD, Maine – Swirling around the Black Mountain venue was news that Justin Freeman was done. After 16 consecutive U.S. Cross Country Championships, including his recent appearance at this year’s nationals, the 35-year-old Olympian, national champion and brother of current U.S. Ski Team veteran, Kris, wouldn’t be back. Of course, that all depended, Freeman said in phone conversation on Saturday. “It’s my last consecutive nationals,” he clarified. “It’s unlikely that I won’t be back.” Soon...
RUMFORD, Maine – For most of the racers in the men’s 30km classic mass start at the United States Cross Country Ski Championship there was one long effort, but for Noah Hoffman it was ski 20km and then race 10km as fast as he could. Watch how things played out for Hoffman and the rest of the field. Full Race Report: “Hoffman Uses Smarts, Grit to Win 30 K”, by: Alex Matthews
RUMFORD, Maine — Since the 2012 U.S. Nationals kicked off Tuesday, there was plenty of action and comments to go around throughout the weeklong event, which ended Sunday. Here’s a look at what didn’t make it in print: On the week (which included freestyle sprints, 10/15 k freestyle individual starts, 20/30 k mass starts and classic sprints): “I’m just really thrilled, it was kind of unexpected so I’m just really happy with it.” — Jessie Diggins...
RUMFORD, Maine — The major story to come out of the final race of the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Championships was Torin Koos’s disqualification for obstruction of competition (which he plans to appeal). But in addition to the drama, an entire classic sprint day went on at Black Mountain. When the A-final field took the line Sunday afternoon, it was difficult to know what to expect. Koos seemed like the only safe bet to be...
RUMFORD, Maine — With falling snow and six trips up Black Mountain’s infamous ‘High School Hill’ the ladies’ 20km classic mass start was exciting. Through the race the lead pack decreased from a mass to just five and by the time the skiers finally crossed the line it was the US Ski Team/CXC’s Jessie Diggins who got there first to win another title. Check out how it unfolded.
After crossing the finish line in first in the U.S. Nationals classic sprint A-final, Torin Koos (BSF/Rossignol) was disqualified for moving into a lane in front of Ryan Scott (MSU/Team HomeGrown) before completely clearing Scott’s skis, which resulted in contact between Koos’ tails and Scott’s tips. A course controller saw the pass, and after the conclusion of the race, reported a violation to the jury. Per International Ski Federation (FIS) rules, the competition jury deemed...
RUMFORD, Maine – Dasha Gaiazova had been around the block at least a few times before. Heck, the Canadian Olympian skied the Rumford course in 2004 during her junior racing years and placed second in a 5 k there in 2003. It had been a while, but the 28-year-old hadn’t lost touch with western Maine. In fact, Gaiazova found it suited her perfectly. Five-foot-10 and with plenty of World Cup sprinting experience, she soared ahead...
RUMFORD, Maine — After the final sit-ski and stand-up distance events of the 2012 U.S. Adaptive Cross Country Championships on Saturday, athletes and coach John Farra reflect on their week (with three total races, including the 0.8 k sprint and 5/10 k) at Black Mountain in Rumford, Maine.
RUMFORD, Maine — Watch the action from Thursday at Black Mountain of the men’s 15 k individual start skate race, which featured four laps of a 3.26 k loop.
RUMFORD, Maine — In case you missed it on Thursday, check out the action from the women’s 10 k skate race at Black Mountain, which featured three 3.26 k loops.
RUMFORD, Maine – As the men’s and women’s adaptive skiers at the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Championships crossed the finish line in a spread-out finish, they did what many racers often don’t think to do – they waited. After their longest races of the week — 6 k for most women and 12 k for most men in the sit-ski category –several were noticeably cold. But they were also a family, joint by backgrounds of personal challenges...
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association released its final ranking lists used to select the teams for the J1 Scando trip (J1S) and World Junior Championships (WJC) teams. World Junior Championships will be held in Erzurum, Turkey from February 20 – 26, with an optional pre-camp of Scandinavian Cup races in Madona, Latvia and Elbu, Estonia. The J1 Scando Cup trip is in Mammaste, Estonia from February 13 – 27 with an optional pre-camp in...
RUMFORD, Maine – Following a nail-biter of a skate sprint to open the U.S. Cross Country Championships, the athletes contesting Sunday’s classic sprint can be expected to finish out the week with another great race. And with important U23 Championship qualifying points still up for grabs, the younger skiers especially will be looking to fight to the top spot on the podium. Athletes have been racing and training on the 1.4 and 1.6 k sprint...
Rumford, ME – In this podcast Sam Evans-Brown talked to the techs who prepped some of the winners’ skis to find out what exactly was the right combination for a rocket pair of skis. And for those of you who’s eyes cross when wax talk starts, we ask how to get fast skis with minimal research. Have a listen… [podcast]http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/01/Classic-Podcast-Final.mp3[/podcast]
RUMFORD, Maine – There was no sugarcoating it. U.S. Ski Team member Noah Hoffman wasn’t happy with his performance on Thursday at the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Championships. The 22-year-old had gone out too hard in the men’s 15 k freestyle individual start at Black Mountain. The definitive race leader for the first two laps, Hoffman dealt with the consequences of his pacing – or lack thereof – on the last two. With the fourth-place...
RUMFORD, Maine — The stadium at Black Mountain held its collective breath as spectators waited for the lead pack of the women’s 20 k classic mass start to come through for the last time at the U.S. Cross Country Championships. The question in everyone’s mind was, could Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST) pull off yet another win? The race came down to tactics — the top five women stayed in a tight group for the first five laps,...
RUMFORD, Maine — As usual, there was so much going on during Friday’s 20/30 k classic mass start at the U.S. Cross Country Championships that not all of it fit into the race reports. Here were the notables and quotables from Black Mountain: The University of Vermont placed three women in the top 10; Amy Glen led the way for the Catamounts in seventh, Caitlin Patterson was eighth, and Lucy Garrec was tenth. The trio worked...
RUMFORD, Maine — After an exciting morning of mass start racing, the junior men and women had their chance to shine at U.S. Cross Country Championships on Friday. With the morning’s snow flurries behind them, the athletes found themselves on a well-skied loop at Black Mountain. The junior men’s race consisted of three laps around the 3.26 k course for approximately 10 k, while the junior women raced two laps, one of which was on...