Four North American women advanced to the heats on the first day of medal competition at the 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, with American Sophie Caldwell leading the crew in 21st in Thursday’s classic-sprint qualifier. Poland's Justyna Kowalczyk won the qualifier by 0.24 seconds, and Kikkan Randall missed advancing by 3.22 seconds in 36th.
Ben Saxton of Stratton Mountain School T2 wasn't initially part of the U.S. World Champs squad but was added after a sixth place finish at the U23 Champs. He answered 10 questions before his first World Championships as part of our series on World Champs rookies.
Bend Endurance Academy's Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess answered 10 questions on the eve of the 2015 World Championships in Falun, Sweden, as part of our series on World Champs rookies.
Northern Michigan University's Kyle Bratrud answers 10 questions before he premieres in his first World Cup and World Championships as part of FasterSkier's series on World Champs rookies.
On Monday, the U.S. Ski Team (USST) announced its much-anticipated cross country selections for the 2015 FIS Nordic World Championships.
In her second-ever team sprint (and first one since 2009), Rosie Brennan teamed up with Ida Sargent to advance to the final, where they placed sixth of 10 teams. The U.S. women's first team, Sadie Bjornsen and Sophie Caldwell placed 11th, as did the U.S. men's second team (Erik Bjornsen/Matt Gelso), and Andy Newell and Simi Hamilton ended up 19th after a late semifinal crash.
Three Americans made the quarterfinals on Saturday in the second World Cup classic sprint of the season: Sadie Bjornsen, Simi Hamilton and Andy Newell. None of them advanced to the semifinals, and while it wasn't a bad day, most were left wanting more.
Kikkan Randall's been home for just over a week, and in a phone interview on Tuesday, she said she was ready for the break. "It wasn’t an easy decision to leave the racing circuit ... but with Falun being my big goals, I wanted to really try to make a drastic change," she says.
Liz Stephen found herself in fifth place in Saturday's 10 k classic mass start at the Tour de Ski, and she thought, why not? Why don't I belong here? She hung on to record her best-ever finish in the classic technique, and hopes to move from sixth up to fourth in the Tour's final stage on Sunday.
After leading a chase group in fourth place for the first portion of the race, Sadie Bjornsen finished 14th in today's World Cup 10 k pursuit - closely followed by American teammate Liz Stephen. The U.S. faced some disappointments, with Jessie Diggins dropping 40+ places, but saw one athlete, Ida Sargent, climb through the ranks.
Sunday's 15 k classic pursuit proved to be rough for the American men on the Tour de Ski. Erik Bjornsen led the Americans in 60th, while Simi Hamilton, following a successful prologue, finished just behind in 61st. Andy Newell suffered a crash and finished in 88th.
By attacking Oberstdorf's long, hard climb on the second lap, Sadie Bjornsen, Liz Stephen, and Jessie Diggins chalked up their best results of the season: seventh, eighth, and fourteenth in the 3.3 k Tour de Ski prologue. Kikkan Randall joined them in the points and the U.S. women's team is confident.
Last year, Canada's Alex Harvey won the Tour de Ski prologue. That wasn't going to happen today: "I haven’t quite found my groove in skating this year," he said, but he's still in a great position for tomorrow's 15 k pursuit. Meanwhile, Simi Hamilton of the U.S. Ski Team scored his first World Cup distance points in 26th.
How does one get ready for the Tour de Ski, or more specifically, prep for a prologue? Jessie Diggins takes us through a "prologue practice day" workout, which she did about a week ago in advance of the 3 k freestyle prologue on Saturday, the first day of the 2015 Tour de Ski.
With their eyes on the prize of a holiday break (for biathletes and non-Tour de Ski participants, two weekends off of the World Cup), a number of North American skiers notched competitive results, and for some -- even career bests -- in the last week.
Three women in the quarterfinals and one just barely outside? U.S. Ski Team coach Matt Whitcomb was thrilled with Ida Sargent's and Sophie Caldwell's quarterfinal appearances and pleased to see Kikkan Randall a bit more like herself, he also stayed realistic: "I wouldn’t use any other word that celebrates it more than [good]."
DAVOS, Switzerland— “I’ve been feeling pretty good this season,” U.S. Ski Team veteran Andy Newell says after the finish of today’s skate sprint. “I think I was carrying a little bit of fatigue just from the fall training, but still I think I’m a top 15 World Cup sprinter right now, I just haven’t had a chance to show it.” He was one of the 15 best sprinters in the world today, qualifying in 15th...
Photos from an exciting day of World Cup racing in Davos, Switzerland. Take some lessons in classic technique from the best!
Liz Stephen wants to ski like skiing really matters: "I was focused on that aggression, and wanting to win more than I’ve ever wanted to win." That took her to 20th place in the 10 k classic, leading teammates Jessie Diggins and Sadie Bjornsen who all finished within a few seconds. Erik Bjornsen led the U.S. men in 48th place in the 15 k classic.
The first individual IBU World Cup race took place a week ago in Östersund and wrapped up this past Sunday. Here, we recap everything from biathlon in Sweden and at home in Canmore, to the Lillehammer mini tour and nordic-combined competitions, and second U.S. SuperTour stop in Bozeman, Mont.