Enjoy some footage of the “Tour of the Golden Heart” classic sprint, held Wednesday at Birch Hill in Fairbanks prior to the two long-distance national championship events. The sprints were won by Torin Koos and Laura Valaas, both of the US Ski Team. For the full report, see the article at the following link: http://www.fasterskier.com/racing.php?id=5284 Men's and Women's B- and A-Finals: Podium Ceremony (with a slightly entertaining hitch):
Enjoy some footage from Sunday's mass-start 30k (women's) and 50k (men's) classic races at the US Distance Nationals in Fairbanks, Alaska. Ivan Babikov (Factory Team) and Liz Stephen (USST) were the overall winners on an especially tough day of racing at Birch Hill. For the full report, see yesterday's article at the following link: http://www.fasterskier.com/racing5294.html The footage of the women's race includes the close finish between Kassie Rice and Kristina Owen for the 3rd American....
Frode Lillefjell wanted to make his last race count before moving back to Norway after 13 years in Anchorage. On Sunday at Birch Hill Recreation Area, he ended up winning a U.S. Distance National Championship that he didn’t even know he was eligible for. Lillefjell, at age 39 the oldest of 43 starters in the 50-kilometer classic, took the lead right from the start and wound up third behind winner Ivan Babikov of Canada and...
Liz Stephen just wanted to have fun. Winning her second straight national championship distance ski race took care of itself. Stephen, of the U.S. Ski Team, left best friend Morgan Arritola behind shortly after the midway point of the 30-kilometer classic at Birch Hill Recreation Area, using a challenging course to her advantage to win in 1 hour, 38 minutes and 49 seconds. “I was so excited to come out and race today, not because...
Liz Stephen skied away from Morgan Arritola in the second half of the 30Km, and Ivan Babikov left Factory Team-mate Andrei Golovko in the final 10Km to repeat as victors in the USSA National Distance Championship/ SuperTour 30K and 50K races, respectively. Stephen and Arritola skied with a pack that included Sigrid Aas, Nicole DeYong, Kassie Rice and Kristina Strandberg for the first, short (5.5Km) loop. On the first long (8Km) loop, Stephen and Arritola...
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (March 28) – The U.S. Ski Team's Liz Stephen (East Montpelier, VT) and Leif Zimmermann (Bozeman, MT) skied their way to titles in the pursuit event during the U.S. Cross Country Distance Championships on Friday evening in Fairbanks. The events were held in the late evening twilight in Fairbanks. The event also served as the finale of the USSA SuperTour. Russian Ivan Babikov took the win, with Zimmermann the top American in fourth...
The 2007-2008 racing season comes to a close with the US Distance National Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska, starting on Thursday. Schedule: Friday, March 28 – 15/30km Duathlon Sunday, March 30 – 30/50km Classic There will also be a 5/10km Freestyle race on Tuesday, March 25th and a classic sprint on Wednesday, March 26th. These races are not National Championship events. Shorter distance junior races will also be held on both Friday and Sunday in conjunction...
Coleraine, MN. Walt Shepard (Brunswick, ME), Laura Spector (Lenox, MA), and Leif Nordgren (Marine-on-St. Croix, MN), scored a biathlon hat trick by winning their third National Championship in three days in the Mass Start competitions at the North American/US National Championships. Shepard, after two strong performances on the shooting range, struggled with twelve penalties today, but still claimed his third US title in the Men’s 15K Mass Start, finishing in 43:36.7. Brendon Green (Hay River,...
Coleraine, MN. Walt Shepard (Brunswick, ME), Russell Currier (Stockholm, ME), Laura Spector (Lenox, MA), and Leif Nordgren (Marine-on-St. Croix, MN) all won their second National Championship of the week in the Pursuit Format competitions at the North American/US National Championships. Shepard continued his strong showing today with another excellent day on the shooting range at the Mount Itasca Biathlon facility. After recording one penalty in the Sprint yesterday, he came back to shoot clean in...
Coleraine, MN, March 20 – Laura Spector (Lenox, MA), competing in the Junior Division posted the top result today in the 7.5K Sprint at the North American/US National Championships at the Mount Itasca Biathlon facility. On a day that featured clear skies, minimal wind and temperatures in the lower thirties, Spector shot clean in prone and despite two standing penalties. She covered the 7.5K course in 21:29. This time put here 26 seconds ahead of...
SOLDIER HOLLOW, Utah – The U.S. Ski Team's Bill Demong (Vermontville, NY) passed teammate Johnny Spillane a kilometer from the finish to win the 2008 backcountry.com U.S. Nordic Combined Championships in a sunset race at the Soldier Hollow Olympic venue. Jessica Jerome (Park City, UT) won an exhibition women's Nordic combined event. Demong had to overcome a 23 second deficit at the start behind Spillane, who led after the morning jump on the HS134 (134...
All photos courtesy of TokoUS. To view more images and read about the wax of the day for each race at US Nationals, visit Leif Zimmermann brought his A game this week. CXC's SuperTour leader Garrott Kuzzy is an exciting and fun athlete to watch. USST's Kris Freeman. USBA/CXC's Caitlin Compton showing that she can still handle the Classic boards. Rossignol's John Bauer. USST's Kris Freeman. USST's Leif Zimmerman. USBA/CXC's Caitlin Compton. APU's Laura Valaas....
Watch the sprint-relay awards ceremony at the end-of-week pasta feed as well as some words from USSA Cross-Country Director Luke Bodensteiner and USST head coach Pete Vordenborg, followed by the naming of the US World Cup squad for the upcoming World Cups in Canada. Sprint Relay Awards: (US teams recognized only – see www.itiming.com for overall results.) Luke Bodensteiner, Pete Vordenberg, and the World Cup team naming:
The First Annual “Natty†Awards were voted in a closed ballot following the final coaches meeting of the week at the US National Championships. The “Natties†are the brainchild of Utah Coach Eli Brown who was looking for a way to celebrate the events of the week. The races in Houghton were tightly fought and presented many skiers to vote for in the following categories. Here are the awards and winners: Most Inspiring Result (women):...
HOUGHTON, Mich. — Nordic ski racing isn’t just about fitness, strength, technique and tactics: sometimes it’s waxing that can help swing the outcome. Such was the case Sunday at the classic team sprint, the concluding race of the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships, as Lindsay Williams and Lindsey (Weier) Dehlin had fast skis when it counted most while Kikkan Randall and Laura Valaas of Alaska Pacific University did not. The Alaska Nanooks duo of Marius...
Enjoy these video interviews with the top two finishers in Saturday's men's and women's sprint finals in Houghton. If you've never had conversations with the country's fastest sprinters, here's the next best thing! Podium Ceremony: Andrew Newell: Kikkan Randall and Laura Valaas: Torin Koos:
A strong final lap by anchor Lindsay Williams gave the team of Dehlin/Williams the victory and the National Title. Williams' skied away from Martina Stursova, who faded after a strong race with teammate Karin Camenisch. The Rossignol team was in position for a victory. Camenisch posted the fastest lap times for each of her legs. Dehlin and Williams stayed close and took advantage of the opening on the final loop. The team of USST/APUNSC skiers...
For the second straight year, Northern Michigan University is the College Cup ski champion. The College Cup is a tabulation of the classic and freestyle college results from the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships currently being held in Houghton, Mich. The Wildcats scored 909 points to top runner-up Middlebury (877) and third-place Dartmouth (857) among 27 teams. Dartmouth actually had the highest women’s score (483 to NMU’s 466) but the Wildcats more than offset that...
Watch the men's and women's A- and B-Finals from Saturday's US Nationals sprint race here on FasterSkier. For a link to the full results and more on the sprints, see Saturday's articles: http://www.fasterskier.com/racing4945.html http://www.fasterskier.com/racing4953.html Men's B- and A-Finals: Women's B- and A-Finals:U23 Men's and Women's A-Finals: (Apologies for the glitches in the women's A-Final video)
Kikkan Randall (APUNSC/USST), who became the first American woman to win a cross-country World Cup event earlier this season, ended the day where she started – on top. After winning the qualification by a convincing two seconds, Randall one each of her heats on the way to the National Title. Laura Valaas (APUNSC/USST), the second qualifier, held position and took silver for the day. Rossiginol's Karin Camenisch finished third. Valaas had won both of her...