With two events down, the U.S .Cross Country Championships is now half over. Friday, January 6th, 2012 will kick off with the 20/30 k classical mass start events. Conditions appear to be remaining steady, making for relatively predictable glide, which allows coaches to concentrate on kick. This may prove to be useful as the event is the first classic event of these championships. We’re especially excited about the race because it’s the first domestic mass...
RUMFORD, Maine – With a strong headwind down the homestretch, the men proved that it was all about their position into the stadium, staying low and having enough energy for the final burst to the line. When the snow settled it was Torin Koos who took his third straight sprint title. Contributing camera work by Evan Dethier.
RUMFORD, Maine – On the second day of competition at the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Championships, a longer course and a massive hill made for some spent athletes in the women’s 10 k and men’s 15 k freestyle individual starts at Black Mountain on Thursday. Here are a few quotes that didn’t make the recaps: On the course: “It was a really fast course so it was really hard, too, not a lot of recovery.”...
RUMFORD, Maine — On a comfortably cold day at Black Mountain, Jessie Diggins (Central Cross Country/USST) extended her winning streak to 11 this season—her second national title of the week at the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Championships. Dasha Gaiazova (Canadian National Ski Team/Rocky Mountain Racers) finished second, while Diggins’ teammate Caitlin Gregg (CXC) landed on the podium for the second time this week in third. Despite her dominance of the domestic circuit so far this...
Flying Point Road photo proceeds will be donated to the
RUMFORD, Maine — Following the completion of Thursday morning’s 10/15 k freestyle distance events, the adaptive skiers had their chance to take to the course at the 2012 U.S. Adaptive Cross Country Nationals at Black Mountain. A change in schedule resulted with the adaptive race being shortened. The male sit-skiers completed four laps of the 2.5 k loop for 10 k while the women did two laps for 5 k. With 18 athletes out on...
RUMFORD, Maine – Aside from their “bro” talk and Colorado slang, Team HomeGrown knows how to get serious when it counts. It might not seem that way when its athletes, like U.S. Ski Team members Tad Elliott and Noah Hoffman, jokingly hold hands. Most of Team HomeGrown thinks every race is “awesome” and “pretty sweet,” even if it isn’t their strength. That’s just their attitude. In its third season as part of Ski and Snowboard...
RUMFORD, Maine – A cold and windy day on the trails of Black Mountain resulted in tactical sprint races on Tuesday. When the boots finally crossed the finish line it was a CXC sweep of the podium, check out how it went down. Contributing camera work by Evan Dethier.
RUMFORD, Maine — Racing resumes at Black Mountain on Thursday at 9:00 am with the 10/15 k individual-start freestyle. With forecasts predicting temperatures to remain below freezing for the majority of the week, the upcoming races will likely all be held on hard-packed, fast courses. The Course On Wednesday, athletes and coaches were seen testing skis, training and acquainting themselves with the entirety of the 3.26 k lap of which the women with do...
RUMFORD, Maine — Eighteen athletes braved Wednesday’s brutal temperatures and wind to kick off the 2012 U.S. Adaptive Cross Country Championships with the 0.8 k sprints at Black Mountain. The number of competitors was likely a record, according to U.S. Paralympics High Performance Nordic Director John Farra. “Some of them are just developing some of them are racing World Cups and finishing in the top ten,” Farra said. “We’re really developing as a nation and...
RUMFORD, Maine — There was no shortage of excitement at Black Mountain on Tuesday, where U.S. Cross Country Championships kicked off with a freestyle sprint. We checked in with the day’s winners Torin Koos (BSF/Rossignol) and Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST), as well as Caitlin Gregg (CXC), Jennie Bender (CXC), Ida Sargent (CGRP/USST), Corey Stock (CSU), Colin Rodgers (SVSEF), Karl Nygren (CXC), Joanne Reid (CU), Eliska Hajkova (CU), Bryan Cook (CGRP) and Nils Koons (CGRP). Sprint Brackets...
RUMFORD, Maine — Torin Koos (Bridger Ski Foundation/Rossignol) made it three straight U.S. National sprint titles Tuesday at Black Mountain, using his veteran racing experience to navigate a fast, tactical day. In a tightly packed A-final, Bend Endurance Academy’s Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess was close behind in second, and in a fight for bronze that was close enough to protest, Tyler Kornfield (University of Alaska Fairbanks) completed the men’s podium in third mere millimeters ahead of...
RUMFORD, Maine – Standing opposite of six bodies storming toward the finish at the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Championships on Tuesday, a spectator a few hundred meters away might have struggled to pick out a specific racer in the Central Cross Country crew. There were three of them in the women’s 1.4 k freestyle sprint A-final at the Black Mountain on Tuesday — all in red, all blond and all at the front of...
Rumford, ME – Sam Evans-Brown spoke with some of the top racers from the sprint races at US Nationals about their performances on the day, and hopes for the rest of the week.
RUMFORD, Maine – Sam Evans-Brown caught up with skate sprint champion Torin Koos, and talked with other skiers in the men’s final to hear how the race unfolded. Listen in. [podcast]http://images.fasterskier.com/2012/01/Finished-Mens-Cast.mp3[/podcast]
RUMFORD, Maine — With the first day of U.S. Nationals racing over and done, here’s a look at what didn’t make it into the freestyle sprint recaps. Racers shed light on course conditions, changing strategies and the unavoidable bumps along the way. On preparations: “I planned my season to get good right now, and it looks like its coming together and that’s all you can hope for.” – Torin Koos (BSF), 1st in Tuesday’s freestyle...
A look at the US Cross Country Championship freestyle sprint at Black Mountain. The men raced 1.6 k beginning with qualification at 10:00 a.m. After delaying the race from Monday due to heavy rains, cooler temperatures allowed the course to firm up and provide the athletes with great conditions for the freestyle sprint.
RUMFORD, Maine – A firm and fast track in addition to a finish stretch that greeted the racers with a hard wind created a race that was full of tactics today on the trails of Black Mountain for the US Cross Country Ski Championship. Here is a look at the ladies’ action.
Note: Due to a change in the results from the women’s sprint qualifier, this article has been updated. RUMFORD, Maine — Twenty-four hours after the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Nationals were originally scheduled to start, the women in the 1.4 k freestyle sprint qualifier found themselves racing on completely different conditions on Tuesday – and no one was complaining. The second to start, Jessie Diggins (Central Cross Country) posted the fastest qualifying time in 2:58.84,...
RUMFORD, Maine — A look at the freestyle sprint course on Black Mountain, about 1 1/2 hours before the start. The women’s 1.4 k qualifier kicks off at 9 a.m. and the men start the 1.6 k qualifier at 10 a.m. Video: Athletes were busy warming up on the sprint course and some coaches had been testing wax since before dark.